This paper is concerned with the impact that public and political discourses on the issues of language and ethnicity in Germany have on integration. It suggests that a combined effect of factors such as the traditional concept of "Germanness", peculiarities of Russian Germans' "cultural identity" and certain aspects of German…

This study analyses specific written discourse production in which NNSs' usage of English tenses and voice appears to be dramatically different from that of NSs. The data for the study narrowly focuses on a small number of verb phrase features, such as tenses, aspects and the passive voice, examining how they are presented in writing instruction…

A study investigated the effects of instruction in metadiscourse on composition students' writing skills. Subjects were students in two 100-level college composition classes. A Control Class (CC) was taught using a process approach, and the Experimental Class (EC) had direct teaching of metadiscourse. The CC students worked on the propositional…

A study of the dialogue journal writing of six sixth grade students of English as a Second Language (ESL) examines the interaction with the teacher. The subjects had been in the United States for less than a year, and came from Korean, Vietnamese/Chinese, Burmese, and Italian language backgrounds. Data for the study were drawn from the students'…

The focus of the present study is to examine the communication strategies used by learners and teachers in the foreign language classroom. The data is from introductory Spanish classrooms at the university level. The author analyzed the data for instances of communications strategies according to taxonomy developed for ESL studies. Important…

A major implication in the communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages concerns classroom interaction in which students should participate. Ideally, this interaction should be identical to interaction in real-life communication situations that students will encounter. A prerequisite for determining whether these situations are in…

To determine the usefulness of cohesion frequency analysis in differentiating proficiency in the oral and written composition of English as a second language (ESL) learners, 22 adult learners of ESL were asked to write and tell a story. After transcription, the data were analyzed by holistic evaluation, cohesion form and frequency count, and error…

English essayist literacy shares many features with the discourse patterns of English speakers. Where these patterns are different from those of another ethnic group, literacy will be experienced as interethnic communication. Athabaskan discourse differs from that of English in (1) presentation of self (an Athabaskan is silent with new…

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…

Computer-mediated communication (CmC) refers to interactive computer messages (E-messages), electronic mail (E-mail); forums, and computer conferencing. The use of CmC in business and classroom environments is described in light of (1) the organization of conversation; (2) surface discourse features; (3) choice of medium; and (4) the acquisition…

A discussion of the translation process focuses on inferencing strategy, using attributes and contexts that are familiar in recognizing or making sense of what is unfamiliar in a text. Examples drawn from Belgian translation student work are used to illustrate this principle in operation, at several levels of difficulty. The examples come from…

Discusses the close connection between cultural beliefs and practices and the use of language and focuses on the erosive impact of Western language literacy on native cultures. Suggests that when teachers teach connections between first- and second-language discourses, students can retain the intimate truths of their primary discourse while…

This article examines writing conference discourse in one English as a Second Language (ESL) basic composition course. The study is based on a 25,000-word corpus of 10 writing conference interactions between the instructor and seven students. Through a microlevel analysis, the authors demonstrate how and to what degree the writing conference can…

This paper proposes a process model of reflective practice for second language teachers, designed to facilitate a closer understanding of language use and interactive decision-making. The L2 classroom is portrayed as a dynamic and complex series of inter-related contexts, in which interaction is central to teaching and learning. An understanding…

Context of learning, such as whether a learner studies a second language (L2) in a formal classroom--"at home" or abroad--may be a key factor in developing grammatical and lexical abilities. Yet, little empirical data is available comparing the effects of study abroad (SA) and formal instruction "at home" (AH) experiences on…