Second language (L2) classroom research has sought to shed light on the processes and practices that develop L2 learners' abilities [Nunan, D. 2004. "Task-based language teaching." London: Continuum; Verplaetse, L. 2014. "Using big questions to apprentice students into language-rich classroom practices." "TESOL…

THE AUTHOR STATES THAT BEFORE PRESENT FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODS CAN BE DISCUSSED INTELLIGENTLY, THE RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS WHICH HAS INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE METHODS MUST BE CONSIDERED. MANY FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS WERE BEGINNING TO FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE AUDIOLINGUAL APPROACH WHEN NOAM CHOMSKY, IN HIS 1966…

Studies the distraction potential of 45 written usage elements, traditionally considered errors, for 2 different educated reading audiences: postsecondary business communication teachers, and executive vice presidents in large firms. Finds that the usage errors least distracting to both audiences were lexical elements and the use of an adverbial…

This volume presents seven papers on topics about second language instruction, language research, and applied linguistics. titles include: "Grammar and Its Teaching: Challenging the Myths" (Diane Larsen-Freeman); "Cross-Cultural Writing and Rhetorical Styles: Toward a 'Socially Realistic' Contrastive Rhetoric" (Yamuna Kachru); "Mother, I'd Rather…

Four papers on linguistics include: "The Teacher-Research Relationship: Multiple Perspectives and Possibilities" (Teresa Pica), on the research relationships of researchers and language teachers; "Politeness in the Speech of Korean ESL Learners" (Nancy Bell), focusing on the speech acts of disagreeing, requesting, and making…

A regional replication of the Williams Study of teacher evaluation of children's speech was attempted, using the same 40 language tapes as stimuli for 87 elementary school teachers, both black and white, from the Memphis, Tennessee, school district. During listening sessions, conducted during a teacher inservice program, subjects were asked to…

The purpose of this study was to change preservice teachers' attitudes toward black English in a positive way. The students were shown that the deep structure of black English and standard English is the same; it is only the surface structures of the two dialects that exhibit variations. Pre-test data garnered from the control group and the…

A study investigating difficulties encountered by Chinese graduate students in asking questions in the American classroom, and suggested solutions, are presented. An introductory section describes features of the Chinese educational system, focusing on attitudes toward questioning. The first chapter offers sociolinguistic and pragmatic…

As studies indicate that dialect usage is not a barrier to reading, teachers can create an effective reading program for black students not by giving instruction in standard English, but by changing their own attitude toward black dialect. Showing that dialect users reencode standard English into their own language patterns when reading orally, Y.…

A study investigated whether sociolinguistic rules are taught as part of instruction in English as a Second Language in Japan. It was determined that of three types of institutions in which English is taught, the private language institutes offer far better language instruction than public schools or universities, and that some of the instructors…

The experiment described in this report investigates two basic questions concerning beginning reading instruction to speakers of nonstandard dialects. 1--Will learning to read be facilitated if the primary reading material is phrased in the actual word patterns and grammatical structure used by the children in their oral speech? 2--Will learning…

The problem of teaching standard English reading and language skills to children who speak nonstandard dialects can be facilitated through a language program that distinguishes between "everyday talk" and "school talk," while recognizing the position of both types of speech. The instructional materials must be meaningful with respect to the…