As an instance of foreign language comprehension, L2 humor perception is proved to be challenging for the foreign language learners. However, the body of literature is heavier on the side of humor production than humor perception. The current study explores the extent to which Iranian English as foreign language (EFL) learners perceive different…

Semantic information rather than syntax should be emphasized in teaching the deaf to read. (PHR)

Two language-delayed children (three-four years old) received comprehension instruction on preposition-object phrases using a miniature linguistic system format to structure generalization. Results indicated generalization not only to untreated two-word combinations but also to comprehension of four-word phrases. In addition, there was some…

One hundred eighty-eight congenitally deaf high school students were given sentence comprehension tests in order to determine which if any of four possible hypotheses--developmental lag, the method of sentence presentation, teaching methodology and acquisitional modality--explained the observed syntactic deficit in the deaf language user. (PHR)

Full reading comprehension is dependent on a knowledge of language usage, specifically, how syntactic constructions function in relation to pragmatic knowledge. To avoid some of the problems which might arise concerning the pragmatic aspects of reading comprehension, the following steps may be taken: teach children very early the relationship…

In deciding what grammar should be taught, teachers of English as a second language can notice and record common errors (goofs) made by their students. It is possible to expose all types of goofs, state the rules to correct them, acquaint the teacher with the types of goofs made by persons from all over the world, and give them the grammar…

Research supported in part by a grant from the U.S. Office of Education. (DD)

The focus in studies of language awareness in L2 learning generally has been on the efficacy of teacher-generated attention to discrete elements of the forms of language through the manipulation of texts or corrective feedback. The study reported in this paper engaged learners in a collaborative task that involved learner-generated attention to…

This study examined the effects of two instructional practices on cognitive response to three sonnets at the sense level of comprehension. The subjects were twelfth grade students in an elective English program who had not had work in poetry that year before the experiment. One teaching method dealt with morphological, lexical, and syntactical…

The Interactive Teaching Project was designed to test an instructional model to help students with learning disabilities comprehend content area concepts. This paper describes the theoretical model and the effective interactive teaching and learning strategies used, including semantic feature analysis, semantic mapping, and semantic/syntactic…

Regardless of the way in which one chooses authentic texts for a course in reading a language for special purposes, at one time or another, one is confronted with the problem of textual analysis. The analysis has to be done in view of the course objectives. A pre-instructional analysis allows the instructor to work out teaching strategies which…

These proceedings of the 1976 Georgetown Round Table are divided into four sections that deal with: (1) synchronic and diachronic aspects of semantics; (2) semantics and linguistics; (3) semantics and other disciplines; and (4) semantics and teaching methods. More specifically the papers treat: the semantic interpretation of anaphoric expressions;…

Research in linguistics (theoretical, socio- and psycho-linguistics) on relative clause formation is reveiwed in order to determine the advisability of teaching this construction in English as a second language (ESL) classes. It is suggested that research on other constructions can lead to implications for teaching these constructions when there…

The development of a method for teaching oral comprehension in a second language depends on an understanding of the nature of comprehension and on an analysis of the problems that arise in the learning process. These issues can be approached by a theoretical investigation of comprehension from a psycholinguistic point of view and by the…

Seven research-based papers on writing disorders of learning-disabled college students are listed and reviewed. The papers deal with persistent auditory language deficits in adults with learning disabilities; error patterns and instructional alternatives relating to college learning-disabled writers; syntactic complexity in written expression;…