Distinct regional patterns emerged in a comparison of letters of recommendation from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Both quantitative (linearity, symmetry, data integration, advance organizers, sentence types) and qualitative (content) analyses revealed differences, including organizational patterns and methods of…

A collection of essays on pronunciation instruction theory and practice includes: "Teaching Pronunciation as Communication" (Marianne Celce-Murcia); "Learner Variables and Prepronunciation Considerations in Teaching Pronunciation" (Rita Wong); "Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension" (Judy B. Gilbert); "Pronunciation Tutorials for Nonnative…

This instructional guide in French is intended for training Peace Corps volunteers serving in the Central African Republic. It includes 35 topical lessons at the intermediate level, each consisting of briefly stated competency objectives and a number of brief, related situational dialogues. Lesson topics include: introducing oneself; introducing…

A study compared the topical structure (TS) of Arabic and English in order to determine whether Arab learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) transfer potential differences between Arabic and English in their English writing, or whether they use an altogether different TS indicative of developmental factors. Four sets of data were compared…

This study analyzed the English discourse organization of sixty academic book reviews in three disciplines (linguistics, chemistry, economics) published in 1990, to help define book reviews as an academic written genre. Analysis revealed that although book reviews show regularities in information form, function, and content, some variation occurs…

This guide is designed for the Spanish language training of Peace Corps workers in Chile and reflects daily communication needs in that context. The workbook contains a series of sentence completion exercises at the intermediate to advanced level, notes and exercises on metric system conversion, verb/substantive lists, specialized vocabulary lists…

This guide, entirely in Spanish, is designed for language training of Peace Corps workers in Paraguay and reflects daily communication needs in that context. It consists of 10 thematic instructional units, each targeting 2 to 7 specific language competencies. A table of contents outlines the units, competencies, and related grammar points and…

Papers from the linguistics colloquium address a variety of topics in linguistic theory and language research, most in French. Topics include: objectivity and subjectivity in understanding language; focalization in conversational language; the notion of "popular etymology"; serial construction in Malagasy; linguistic competence (in German);…

A study of individual variability in second-language learners' performance in specific classroom tasks is presented as evidence that instruction in language for special purposes (LSP) has an important role to play. Subjects were 17 Singapore university students in a remedial English course; all had studied English since elementary school. The…

Papers on language research include: "L'expression de l'opposition en Latin" ("The Expression of Opposition in Latin" (Claude Begin); "Le francais de l'Abitibi: characteristiques phonetiques et origine socio-geographique des locuteurs" ("The French of Abitibi: Phonetic Characteristics and Socio-Geographic Origin…

Essays on second language teaching focuses on how the kinds of tasks performed by the learner relate to language output. "Choosing and Using Communication Tasks for Second Language Instruction" (Teresa Pica, Ruth Kanagy, Joseph Falodun) contains a taxonomy of communication task types, based on the concepts of goal and activity,…

This elementary school, intermediate level curriculum guide for English as a second language (ESL) contains introductory sections on the program's educational objectives and philosophy, outlines for 10 units on basic elements of grammar, and an appendix. Each unit outline includes a listing of structural items, cultural concepts, lexical items,…

This book analyzes an intercultural project undertaken by French and English 14-year-olds based on an exchange of materials created by the pupils and focused on the topic of law and order. The project was based on a view of learning as a dialogic process in a more meaningful way than is often the case in foreign language classrooms. Chapter 1…

One of the ways in which language testing interfaces with applied linguistics is in the definition and validation of the constructs that underlie language tests. When language testers and score users interpret scores on a test, they do so by implicit and explicit reference to the construct on which the test is based. Equally, when applied to new…

A study investigated the phenomenon of learner autonomy in six graduate students in a course in English for academic purposes. Students were developing skills in discourse intonation using a CD-ROM program, designed to encourage autonomous learning. Student interview data suggest that development of explicit knowledge of the language system can…