One important but undervalued aspect of productive vocabulary is collocation--the ways in which words are combined with one another. To move from receptive to productive vocabulary, students need to learn a wide variety of ways that words collocate with each other. This paper describes the major types of collocations, typical collocational errors…

Research conducted at a German teachers' college revealed that in English instruction at a "Comprehensive" School, equal amounts of corrective measures were devoted to each of the various types of errors. It is recommended that differentiation be made between the importance of the categories of errors. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Synthesizes findings from observational classroom research on corrective feedback and presents an observational study of patterns of error treatment n an adult English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. Examines the range and types of feedback used by the teacher and their relationship to learner uptake and immediate repair of error. (Author/VWL)

Proposes strategies for reducing foreign language anxiety in the classroom: (1) discuss feelings with instructor and other students; (2) relax, exercise, and eat well; (3) prepare for and attend every class; (4) keep foreign language class in perspective; (5) seek opportunities to practice the language and accept errors are a part of the learning…

Examined reactions of anxious and nonanxious foreign language learners to their own errors. Native Spanish speaking students were videotaped as they took part in an English conversation with the researcher and as they watched themselves in the taped interview. Analysis of participants' English interactions and responses to their performances…

In a French study based on Spanish research, the communicative effectiveness and grammatical accuracy of foreign language students in generating appropriate classroom questions was investigated. Despite language differences, similarities were found in communication errors, especially incorrect interrogative words and structures, verb tenses and…

A case is made against the educational application with nonproficient writers of "canned" feedback provided by text analysis computer programs marketed as grammar checkers and style analyzers. The feedback does not teach students. Alternative approaches for giving students feedback in the electronic medium are offered. (46 references) (Author/LB)

This article explores the attribution of linguistic resources to multilingual students in a primary school in the Netherlands. Drawing on an ethnographic study of a regular, multicultural classroom, it describes patterns of attribution emerging from observations of classroom activities and interviews with the teacher. Its focus is on the…

What syntactic patterns emerge in students' use of articles and modals? What are the reasons for these patterns? What implications do the findings of the study have for English language instruction in Botswana? Exactly 1556 essays comprising class assignments, written seminar presentations, test papers and examination scripts from 514 randomly…

This study evaluated a partial-immersion program in French in Victoria, Australia, an area in which little research has been conducted to date. The program has operated at an elementary school since 1991 and is the first English/French program of its kind in Victoria. French is the language of instruction for at least 40 percent of classes, with…

A study of the acquisition of the auxiliary (tense, modal, perfect, and progressive) by 36 adult learners of English as a second language at three levels whose first languages were Arabic, Japanese, and Spanish is reported. The students were given three tests, on oral production, written production, and written reception. Nineteen verb structures…

This transcript of and guide to a two-cassette course designed to assist Italian immigrants in erasure of their foreign accents can be used for either individual or group study. Narrative and taped demonstrations of American English that pinpoint typical phonological barriers and pronunciation difficulties are outlined. The author's own system of…

Certain simplification and reduction processes used by Arabs in learning English as a second language are examined, such as: (1) simplification of syllables, (2) deletion of English articles, and (3) generation of English questions by using only intonation and leaving word order intact. The study is made from the perspective of two theories of…

A study of transfer of native language training and/or interference in learning English idioms had as its subjects 12 Venezuelan students in an American university who were advanced learners of English as a second language. Fifteen equivalent and commonly used English and Spanish idioms were used in tests of recognition, comprehension, recall, and…