Focuses on discourses in the classroom. Presents three simple steps to ensure that students' voices are heard and valued. Suggests that educators educate themselves about the many existing Discourses (ways of behaving, speaking, reading and writing accepted by specific groups of people), value student contributions by using their Discourses as…

Describes and quantifies aspects of the comparative clauses conjoined with correlatives "than" and "as." The data are compared to show patterns of distribution, their spread across different genres, and the similarity or otherwise of their use in Britain and Australia. Findings show that the scalar comparative clause does not…

Uses content analysis to compare two community newspapers for indices of elaboration identified through various theoretical sources. Traces the relationship of economic development and technological growth to use of elaborative elements in text describing science and technology. Concludes there were strong correlations for breadth and depth in the…

This study investigated how repetition is used in conversation among native speakers of British English, native speakers of Japanese, and Japanese speakers of English. Five interactional functions of repetition (interruption-orientated, solidarity, silence-avoidance, hesitation, and reformulation) were identified, as well as the cultural factors…

Exploration of gender-biased language in two editions of learning disabilities textbooks found that the male author's work exhibited a 7:1 ratio of masculine to feminine pronouns, whereas the female author's text showed no significant differences in use of gender-specific pronouns. The male author had increased use of gender-neutral pronouns…

Presents an analysis of past tense and participle usages by children, focusing on overapplications of irregular vowel-change patterns, as in "brang"; blends, as in "branged"; productive suffixations of "-en," as in "walken"; gross distortions, as in "mail-membled"; and double-suffixation, as in "walkeded." Findings indicate that these errors are…

Looks at the shifting profile of bilingualism in Hong Kong. Whereas Hong Kong society could once be characterized as diglossic, with differentiation of English and Cantonese in terms of their functions and status as "high" and "low" languages, it is currently undergoing a rapid shift away from diglossia, with erosion of these…

Presents challenges to Canadian curriculum theorists: (1) to create curriculum languages and genres that represent all of Canada; (2) to use Canadian scholars and indigenous languages to find these curriculum languages and genres; (3) to seek interpretive tools to understand what it means to be Canadian; and (4) to create curriculum theory that…

Explores the relation between gender and language use in Japanese preschool children. Gender-based differences in Japanese include phonological, lexical, and morphosyntactical differences, as well as differences in conversational style. Data come from monthly naturalistic observations of 24 monolingual Japanese boys and girls engaged in same-sex…

Addresses the issue of swearing, in the sense of oath taking, as a very frequent speech act in daily conversations in Jordan. A corpus of oaths exchanged by interlocutors in real-life contexts is analyzed. Shows that swearing exhibits an extensive amount of variation in form, usage, and function. (Author/VWL)

Examined African Americans college students' perceptions of audiotaped people using: Black English (BE), Standard English (SE), and appropriate or inappropriate code switching (CS). Surveys indicated that participants rated SE and appropriate CS speakers more favorably than BE and inappropriate CS speakers, and they wanted to get to know and work…

Presents various definitions of culture and contemplates how much a culture can really be shared by those not born into it. Asserts that, in international education, certain concerns must be raised, including: (1) a truly shared meaning depends upon a shared culture; (2) language plays a key role in understanding and developing a culture; and (3)…

An oral practice system of "chats" in the classroom functions as an extemporaneous speaking exercise or chat (without notes or prompt sheets), occurring between two students for a minute or so at the beginning of class, following which the presenters respond to other students' questions. (CNP)

Summarizes the presentations of Ginny Moore Kruse and Lois Lowry at a Master Class in the Teaching of Literature conducted at the 91st annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English (Baltimore, MD, November 17, 2001). Notes the class addressed censorship and intellectual freedom, challenge and choice, the right to read and the right…

The adverbial phrase "a lo mejor" (at best) does not take the subjunctive, although other adverbial expressions of possibility may be followed by either indicative or subjunctive. Examines statements co-occurring with "a lo mejor" from the viewpoint of statement and mood, taking into account communicative discourse function. The study shows that…