While there has been insightful research on the commonly used expression "I think" (IT), this study introduces a non-conventional and innovative conception of elasticity (Zhang 2011), bringing together several properties of IT. Drawn on large-scale naturally occurring classroom data with a rare combination of linguistically and…

Driven by interactionist theory and operationalized by task-based interaction, this study aims to investigate EFL learners' task-based negotiation in Second Life (SL), a 3D multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). A group of adult EFL learners with diverse cultural/linguistic backgrounds in L1 participated in this task-based virtual class. Learners…

This study explores dispute sequences in talk between bilingual couples communicating in Japanese. Specifically I examine naturally occurring face-to-face talk between Japanese wives and their American husbands who communicate primarily in Japanese at home. Conversation analysis (CA) is employed to document occasions where the talk between these…

The discoveries of theoretical linguistics could aid teachers in explaining such usages as "well,""sort of," sex link uses, and forms marking levels of politeness. Conversely, there is much about second language learning that theoretical linguistics could learn from applied linguistics. (Author/KM)

Reports a study of the relationship between nonverbal forms of communication, principally gestures, and second language (L2) private speech through recall and picture narration task. Results show nonverbal elements illuminate the private speech they accompany, and gestures alone act in a self-regulatory capacity after pauses, implying a connection…

Effective teaching of a foreign language to people who already have a command of their mother tongue requires surveying the main elements of the second language to determine differences from the first language. Phonological, lexical, and grammatical systems and cultural differences are considered. (SW)

Describes the environment and cultural at Columbia Academy, a private international high school in Kobe, Japan. Emphasizes the role of language and how second-language skills represent learned cultural competencies. Considers the influence of language use on group behaviors. Addresses the issue of transnationalism or transculturalism. (DMM)

Compares the developmental patterns in the acquisition of negation by five French Creole-speaking and four Creole English-speaking Saint Lucian children ages five and six. Similar patterns of development and error types were found for both groups, but the French Creole speakers remained at a less advanced stage than did the Creole English speakers…

A study explored alternative ways of collecting data on cultural values as expressed in speech behaviors. It investigated perceptions of the use of compliments in American English interactions by five Japanese and five American women. Methods of data collection included, first, a questionnaire and then for comparison, interviews using items from…

The author feels that there is no reason to suppose that adults are less capable than children in learning a second language, given adequate opportunity and motivation. In terms of amount learned in comparable time, the adult is about five times as efficient as the child. This is what would be expected of any other kind of intellectual or rational…

Discusses the importance of the cultural component in the language learning process for providing a sound communication base. Examples are presented that reflect differences in speech patterns, such as politeness, of native speakers of British and Moroccan Arabic, with emphasis on culturally specific language patterns. (25 references)(OD)

Despite similarities between Hindi and Urdu and mutual intelligibility, at least on the spoken level, slight grammatical differences between the two languages do exist. The treatment of gender provides an example of such differences. Explanation of the actual differences in gender usage can be based on a synchronic, linguistic level as well as on…

The term "ethno-lingual relativity" is defined as a perspective that is not limited by one's own cultural and linguistic experiences, but rather is open to the contrasting cultural and linguistic patterns of other peoples. It is hypothesized that having an ethno-lingually relative perspective can facilitate one's ability to learn a new language.…

A study of the interlanguage pragmatics of learners of Hebrew and English (L2s) focuses on pragmatic indicators used in requests and apologies (situations in Appendix). Deviations from native-speaker norms in the speech of non-native speakers are discussed. Results suggest L2s' misuse of pragmatic indicators can have serious interactional…