Discusses the conflict between academic discourse and students' right to their own language. Shows how the study of interlanguage looks at the learner's present language use and provides a conceptual framework for seeing student writing as a stage in a developmental process, for seeing individual differences, and for seeing common patterns. (EL)

Current colloquial use of the simple past and present perfect shows a tendency of the former to encroach on the semantic field of the latter so that the two may be used in free variation in many contexts. The contexts in which this is not possible are defined, and implications for teaching English as a second language are discussed. (MSE)

Describes the development and validation of a simple scale for quantifying English use among Mexican Americans and analyzes its applicability to the study of health behavior and attitudes. Asserts that this scale may prove most useful for studying clinical phenomena which are more dependent on communication and less dependent on income and…

Outlines a method for introducing poetry to two-year college students, many of whom have negative feelings about poetry after years of schooling that required them to read bad poems and that presented explication as a puzzling, frustrating activity. (FL)

Describes a cloze test designed to measure writing flexibility, then examines its effectiveness in distinguishing experienced college-level writers from the inexperienced ones. Concludes that the measure is effective and that responsiveness to style features is a significant component of experienced writing. (FL)

Describes two writing assignments that elicit investigations of language and generate topics for which students are knowledgeable authorities. The first requires students to write an extended definition of a familiar slang term, while the second assignment requires them to write a final report after participating on a language usage panel. (HTH)

Examines four common student misconceptions in grammar and punctuation, suggests the reasons for these misconceptions, and argues that teachers need to help students develop a thorough understanding of the English language system. (MM)

Focuses on several myths and fallacies prevalent in the field of French grammar. The importance of keeping up-to-date with language and grammatical usage is stressed, since the rules of language do change. Thus, the validity of the linguistic content of French grammar books must be questioned, so that any outmoded or invalid concepts can be…

Describes an exercise to develop students' vocabulary using the more complex language on popular television programs. (HTH)

Describes the work experience of an English teacher as a writer/editor in a large manufacturing company and her realization that good writing depends on purpose and audience. (CRH)

Reports on a recent study of first grade writing efforts that confirms the importance of scribble in the writing process when it is an accepted language behavior in the classroom. (FL)

Raises four objections to a program of oral drills in standard English for children who speak black dialect. (HTH)

Provides several typical negative sentence structures, discusses why children find them difficult, and suggests how to begin teaching them to handle negatives. (FL)

Presents a variety of social contexts for verbal interaction between adult and child and between children. Discusses the variations in interaction caused by different contexts, as well as features that are consistent across contexts. (HTH)

Using a 16-year-old deaf male as an example, shows how language-handicapped students can benefit from the language experience approach when their dictation is modified toward standard written English. (FL)