The major portion of this paper is devoted to delineate the types of errors made by Arab learners of English in the area of the article system. By so doing, the paper classifies learners' errors according to the Surface Structure Taxonomies of errors, and illustrates the possible sources of these errors. In order to overcome learners' difficulties…

Defines the term "hedging" (the use of words which make meaning less clear), focusing specifically on its nature and consequences in the teaching of the English language. Ways in which students can be made more aware of such language use and can avoid it are outlined. (CB)

The different ways of expressing a nuclear phrase from one language in another language are examined with reference to Finnish, Swedish, and French. Two specific methods of representing the root phrase in surface structure are examined in some detail. (MSE)

The Polish notions catalog systematizes a variety of informational codes used in Polish, resulting in lists of notions, each presented from a structural perspective. Where applicable, they are accompanied by a morphological component, structural chart, semantic description, frequentative expressions, and related vocabulary items. The notions…

The German preposition "bei" has several meanings and uses. If the basic meaning of "bei" is taken as "abstract setting," the analysis can be extended naturally to account for the more concrete locational uses such as references to activities or specific circumstances. (CB)

Measurement of adult English as a second language students' reading comprehension of metaphors indicated that idiomatic language resulted in lower comprehension. Because the vehicles of many metaphors have become lost and are not retrievable from surface structure, it may be necessary to teach metaphors as vocabulary items. (Author/CB)

Presents rules for the correct use of the French pronouns "ce" and "il," based on the criterion of discourse coherence and an understanding of the principles underlying the use of demonstrative vs. personal pronouns. (MSE)

Students in intermediate language courses, especially conversational courses, can benefit from a simple set of instructions for combining words and phrases into sentences. A description of the basic concepts determining word order in German--the fundamental sequence of clause elements, the "infrastructure," and the movement rules by which the…

Discusses the importance of teachers of English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) in developing countries to understand the difference between teaching by rote and teaching for comprehension, primarily in the form of questions. A teacher training course that emphasized the importance of teaching for comprehension and promoting students' cognitive…

Investigates the influence of the familiarity of the setting/interlocuter factors on the oral task performance of adult intermediate second-language learners. Findings indicate that the unfamiliar setting elicited a significant proportion of language transfer errors than the same task performed in a familiar environment. (23 references) (Author/CK)

Fifty-five structures of the Chinese language are described and their particular usage patterns are discussed for the use of teachers, linguists, and advanced students of Chinese. Each structure is listed by its major structural element(s), its grammatical element(s), or a combination of the two. The examination of each structure consists of an…

Papers from the 1973 Neuchatel Colloquium in Applied Linguistics are presented. Contents are as follows: "Karttunen's Types of Implication in English and German: A Contrastive Study," W. Abraham; "The Relevance of Generative Semantics for Language Teaching," R. Dirven; "'Be' plus 'ing' Revisited," H. Adamczeski; "The So-Called Deep Structures and…