The studies presented here represent an attempt to determine which of several alterations to the input directed to second-language learners affect comprehensibility. The first study manipulated both speed and syntax, and the second study examined the introduction of pauses into the input. (JL)

Urges the combination of grammatical instruction with pragmatic spoken usage in the teaching of language. (LG)

Paper prepared with the support of the Defense Language Institute English Language School, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas under contract F41609-70-C0033, and delivered in 1970 to staff members of the DLIELS. (DS)

Presents study designed to examine trait structure of a cloze test using confirmatory factor analysis. Results suggest that a modified cloze passage, using rational deletions, is capable of measuring syntactic- and discourse-level relationships in a text, and this advantage may outweigh considerations of reduced redundancy which underlie random…

Examines the relationship between language universals and language acquisition, comparing data from studies on first and second language acquisition and universals of relative clause formation. It is concluded that second language acquisition data provide a clearer window for the investigation and verification of language universals than first…

In a survey, 130 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students were asked to describe the meanings of English tenses in terms of time concepts used in ESL grammar texts. Results suggest that grammar teaching utilizing descriptions of time accepted in English-speaking communities to explain usages and meanings of English tenses can limit learner…

This study examined the sensitivity of adult second language learners to deviance in English sentences. The subjects were 18 Egyptian, Arabic-speaking students attending classes at the English Language Institute of the American University in Cairo. (Author/CFM)

In university level English as a second language classes, massive vocabulary instruction should begin as soon as possible and the status of lexical knowledge should be given greater emphasis. Traditional views in favor of emphasizing the teaching of syntactic structures are challenged. (SW)

Paper presented at the TESOL Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1971. (VM)

Offers a critical review of arguments for and against T-unit analysis in second language research. Maintains that T-unit length is a valid measure of syntactic complexity and a true index of overall development in second language acquisition. (PMJ)

In this study the inadequacies of rules governing the present perfect in isolated sentences are discussed and then two contextual factors thought to be connected with current relevance and the use of the present perfect are described. These factors are experimentally shown to influence use of the present perfect significantly. (CHK)

Discusses the influence a first language can have on the acquisition of a second language. Includes some tentative proposals on the interaction of prior first-language knowledge and the creative construction process. (EKN)

Describes difficulties with nominalization and with the rhetoric of scientific papers experienced by English of Science and Technology (EST) students, relating nominalization occurrence to scientific rhetorical divisions. Finding significant differences in that-nominal construction frequency between rhetorical sections, suggests coordinating…

Suggests that for improving syntactic fluency and the overall quality of compositions, exercises should be based on generative rhetoric. These exercises in which students supply the content of the sentence from a list of suggested structures are superior to sentence-combining exercises that provide the student with all the information. (PMJ)

Illustrates a stategy for teaching vocabulary, using a computer-held corpus of native speakers' contextualized utterances of each word. The purpose is for the learner to develop lexical competence, that is, the ability to use a word syntactically, semantically, and pragmatically. Verbs are the focus of these materials although other parts of…