A study investigates how asking-for-information interactions are managed in actual talk and how they are represented in textbooks for learners of English as a second language (ESL). Data are confined to opening and closing sequences in interactions, and are derived from 60 real-life and 60 textbook dialogue interactions. The real-life interactions…

A study investigated the immediate recall protocol as a means of determining what second language learners retain of a spoken text. Three factors in comprehension were considered: topic familiarity, topic accessibility, and topic structure. A dialogue, a news broadcast, and a popular song were all presented to groups of beginning-level students of…

A collection of suggestions is presented for ways in which second language students can be encouraged to express real feelings, opinions, and judgments within their level of linguistic competence. Sections are included which focus on dialogue, grammar, vocabulary, narratives, and culture as content areas for which lesson plans can be devised to…

A guide to the use of and rationale for dialogue journal writing for promoting the writing development of limited English proficient students is organized in question-answer format. It answers questions often asked by teachers about dialogue journal writing: What is a dialogue journal? What are the benefits to students and teachers? How much time…

The third in a series of three volumes comprising a college-level course in Kikuyu, a Bantu language, this document contains four essays on the structure of the Kikuyu language, transcripts of taped paradigms, nine conversations, sixteen texts, and a glossary. The four essays, which are intended to supplement grammatical explanations, cover the…

This handbook provides lessons and exercises for Peace Corps volunteers learning to communicate in Belizean Creole. The 41 lessons emphasize such aspects of Belizean culture as asking for directions, talking about personal feelings, introducing people, visiting, when to use Creole, Creole food, and the economy. Each lesson includes a conversation…

A study was undertaken to investigate the variation in the speech of child second language learners as a function of the different discourse constraints imposed by three participant structures: narrator-audience, child-adult conversation, and child-child conversation. The subjects were 18 children aged 7 to 12, temporary residents in the United…

This handbook of the Pijin language is divided into four parts: (1) survival language skills, (2) situations in which the Peace Corps volunteer is likely to be involved, (3) getting the job done, and (4) information on the culture of the Solomon Islands. It establishes classroom activities that require the students to exchange messages in a way…

This handbook presents many situations in Botswana which the Peace Corps volunteer is likely to be involved in, and it establishes classroom activities that require the students to exchange messages in the Setswana language that are appropriate to the cultural context. An introductory section acquaints the learner with techniques of language…

Turn-taking in language classroom discourse is analyzed in order to discover patterns of instructional teacher-pupil exchange. It is concluded that traditional modes of second language instruction (especially in English as a second language) tend to stifle student initiative. Since students rarely have the opportunity to open an exchange, it is…

The first of three volumes of an integrated course in intermediate Persian is presented. Emphasis is on the "four skills approach," involving speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing. Ideally students completing all the volumes should be able to read most texts of medium difficulty independently using a dictionary, carry on simple free…

This is the first in a two-volume basic course in Guarani, the indigenous language of Paraguay. The volume consists of an introduction to the Guarani language, some general principles for adult language-learning, and ten instructional units. Because the goal of the course is to encourage and lead the learner to communicate in Guarani in class and…

This volume of the basic course in Guarani (the indigenous language of Paraguay) contains the core stage, or class-instructional phase, of the ten units presented in Volume One. These units contain explanations, exercises, dialogues, various types of pattern drills, suggestions for games and communication activities, and various types of…

This module provides additional material principally for women in the military and female dependents. The three dialogs in the module take place at a cleaner's, at a drugstore, and at the hairdresser's. The vocabulary and dialogs are intended to familiarize the student with words and phrases which might be needed in a situation when the post…

This second of ten volumes of audiolingual classroom instruction in Albanian for adult students treats Albanian grammar, syntax, and usage in a series of exercises consisting of grammar perception drills, grammar analysis, readings, question-and-answer exercises, and dialogues illustrating specific grammatical features. A vocabulary list is…