Describes a method of teaching basic writing to native and nonnative students that emphasizes a regression to the most basic elements of writing. Considers what writing content, rhetorical techniques, grammar exercises, and proofreading methods are most effective for the two groups. (TB)

This study sought to establish a hierarchy of error gravity for different types of common errors in American learners' spoken Russian by surveying 75 native and nonnative speakers of Russian, including teachers and nonteachers. Grammatical accuracy was considered one of the most important issues in learners' spoken Russian by all the respondents.…

Investigated whether the methodologies of explicit and implicit language instruction account for differences in the identification of grammatically well-formed sentences for college students of Spanish. Results showed that students receiving implicit instruction scored significantly higher in a grammaticality judgment test than those receiving…

Provides a number of reading and discussion exercises on issue-oriented questions (such as "overpopulation") that may be used for just about any level of English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. Suggests a role-play exercise in imitation of the television show "Dating Game." (TB)

Presents a review of selected influential works in Spanish applied linguistics in the twentieth century, with an accompanying bibliography. The research is divided into four eras, which are defined by "paradigm shifts" that occur when significant changes are perceived in the following areas: psychological/second language acquisition theories,…

This study compares the relative effects of two types of instruction, processing instruction and traditional instruction, on the acquisition of the verbs "ser" and "estar" with adjectives and past participles. (Author/VWL)

Two cross-sectional studies used a replication design to investigate the degree to which adult Francophone English-as-a-Second-Language learners' use of tense/aspect markers in past contexts supported the predictions of the aspect hypothesis and the degree to which it showed first language influence. (Author/VWL)

Describes characteristics of the Native Esperanto of eight speakers, ranging from age 6 to 14 years. Found bilingualism and nativization effects, differentiating native from non-native Esperanto speech. Among these effects are loss or modification of the accusative case, phonological reduction, attrition of tense/aspect system, and pronominal…

Investigates tense, modality, and aspect in the English of adult Malay speakers. Tense and aspect (TA) in Malay and English are first contrasted to arrive at a specification of what Malay speakers have to learn about English TA. Then the use of TA in two English conversations with Malay-speaking subjects is examined and compared with a…

Surveyed English-as-a-Second-Language teachers of adult learners from New York and Puerto Rico to determine their attitudes about consciously teaching grammar in second-language courses, comparing results to research on the subject. Most teachers from both groups had clearly defined approaches to grammar teaching. There were between- and…

Explores how second-language (L2) learners often develop grammatical competence in the absence of concomitant pragmatic competence. Looks at the extent to which instructed L2 learners of English are aware of differences in target-language production in grammar, which addresses the accuracy of utterances, and in pragmatics, which addresses the…

Presents evidence from studies on adults' language processing and children's language acquisition that the lexicon is at the core of grammatical generalizations at several levels of representation. Proposes that phonological acquisition might provide the bootstrapping into grammatical generalization in general. Concludes that age-appropriate…

Offers an overview of changing attitudes towards the place of mechanics in writing instruction, as documented in "College Composition and Communication" over the 50 years of the journal's existence. Argues that the role of formal correctness within each instructor's teaching depends on the purposes, goals, and contexts of each writing…

These case studies describe and compare the language characteristics of two bilingual children (age 7), one with specific language impairment (SLI). Results found the child with SLI produced significantly more morphosyntactic errors and less variety of grammatical forms and sentence types in both languages, and demonstrated significant…

Addresses use of the World Wide Web in the foreign language classroom. Introduces methodological considerations for effective implementation, discusses predidacticized material available on the Web, provides practical examples of applications that focus on enhancing communicative proficiency, and presents activities for practicing grammar items in…