Syntactically correct code does not fall from the sky; the process that leads to a student's first executable program is not well understood. At the University of Kent we have begun to explore the "compilation behaviours" of novice programmers, or the behaviours that students exhibit while authoring code; in our initial study, we have…

The current emphasis in second language teaching lies in the achievement of communicative effectiveness. In line with this approach, pronunciation training is nowadays geared towards helping learners avoid serious pronunciation errors, rather than eradicating the finest traces of foreign accent. However, to devise optimal pronunciation training…

In order to attempt to identify the linguistic difficulties of slow learners, errors made by two groups of English-speaking adults learning French as a second language were compared. The subjects of the two groups shared similar characteristics, with the exception of the amount of time required to cover the same linguistic material (Group 1: 17…

Error analysis concerns the investigation of negative influences on the foreign language learning process. Errors are usually thought of as caused by interference from the native language to the target language. In this article it is shown that interference occurs in the other direction as well, i.e. from language 2 to language 1. Jakobovits has…

Concludes that in the first stage of reading, students appear to make relatively few nonsense errors on familiar words, whether they are taught with a meaning-based or phonics approach. However, if initial instruction emphasizes phonics, real word substitutions tend to be graphically constrained; with initial meaning-emphasis instruction,…

This study compared the spoken and written English errors of 20 severely hearing-impaired postsecondary students with intelligible speech but poor English language. Writing samples exhibited a greater number of function word errors than did speech samples; there were no significant differences in content and structure errors. Implications for…

Supports the use of the applied linguistics technique of error analysis (i.e., charting and analyzing patterns in language errors) in developmental writing instruction. Argues that error enables teachers to diagnose the cognitive strategies and processes used by students in writing. Discusses teaching strategies and the approach's limitations.…

This paper analyses the use of the word "where" in texts written by Malay-speaking learners of English. Data from a learner corpus is compared with data from two corpora of academic writing by native English-speaker writers. Considerable over-use of "where" is found: this is explained as a consequence of various patterns of misuse of "where" and…

A study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of a spelling instruction method using a computer spell-checking program. The proposed teaching methodology is supported by theoretical hypotheses drawn from the field of cognitive psychology associated with the learning of spelling and pedagogical principles associated with the teaching of…

This literature review explores the phenomenon of dysmathematics and problems in its definition. Dysmathematics is suggested as a modern term for low achievement in mathematics. This document addresses: (1) concomitant variables associated with dysmathematics; (2) mathematical characteristics of dysmathematicians; (3) diagnosis and prescription…

In an attempt to initiate a new approach to the teaching of Pascal, a study was conducted to ascertain the difficulties students encountered when they attempt to learn this computer language. Screening tests were given to 68 students in grades 11 and 12 who had just completed a semester course in Pascal. The purpose of the test was to detect…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 23 titles provide information on a variety of topics, including the following: (1) voice and the fictional narrative; (2) the effects of oral response groups before and after rough drafts on writing achievement and apprehension;…

This experiment continues the GUME experiments investigating methods for teaching English to Swedish school pupils. The aims of this particular study are twofold: (1) to analyze and classify the errors made by Swedish pupils in an oral English test in an effort to establish error patterns; and (2) to describe how the twelve most frequent errors in…

Inexperienced writers, including both basic writers and learning disabled, commit errors that often follow a discernible pattern due to applying erroneous or incomplete rules. Techniques for teaching editing skills are described, including textual analyses of students' writing, interviews with students, structuring the editing task, and providing…

Errors in the spoken French of immersion students, reflecting a fossilized interlanguage and language transfer, are attributed to an erroneous assumption underlying immersion instruction: that students acquire the second language in the same way they acquire their native language. An improved syllabus aimed at second-language learners is…