Analysis of how students of English for Science and Engineering use certain categories of nouns in their technical writing projects revealed a significant use of "sub-technical" and "text-structuring" words serving both referential and discourse-oriented functions. The use of matching or cloze-type and open-ended writing exercises to improve…

Attempts to clarify the notion of language competence and draws on its relevance to language teaching practices. Language use competence may involve the adjustment of pre-assembled and memorized patterns and not so much the generation of expressions by direct reference to rules. (Author/CB)

Discusses adaptability of Welsh language as key to its survival. Summarizes history of Welsh in relationship to English. Details Welsh usage and cultural education in schools from 1940 to 1985. Analyzes current hindrances to development of bilingual education in Wales' secondary schools. (TES)

Describes the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE), a project at the University of Louvain in Belgium that collects written work from, and analyzes the usage of, advanced adult English as a Foreign Language learners. Recurring combinations and concordances in ICLE are examined. (Contains five references.) (MDM)

In a sociolinguistic study of nonpathological language loss, residents of German-speaking background who arrived in Australia between 1970 and 1981 were interviewed. Quantitative findings show an insignificant difference in favor of the second language, whereas qualitative feelings of competence in the first language had decreased. (Contains 27…

A study of two year olds investigated the nature and development of children's early productivity with verb-argument structure and verb morphology. Results indicated that the children showed no signs of productive verb morphology, but they did use newly learned verbs in some creative ways involving nounlike uses and the appending of locatives.…

An experience-based learning model is reported that helps intermediate and advanced students make the transition from language to literature courses in the context of real-life situations. In the Santa Clara project, students meet practical needs of underserved Hispanic populations while practicing their language skills. (Contains seven…

Twenty different monologues were analyzed; and the interrelating roles that clause relations, lexico-grammatical cohesion, and intonation choices play in creating cohesive monologue were examined. It is argued that these linguistic resources can be exploited by speakers to signal underlying concepts and help listeners interpret the text. (Contains…

Reviews the evolution of semicolon use in English, examining the frequency of semicolons, colons, and dashes in grammar, language, and linguistic books from the mid-16th century to the present. Concludes that after flourishing in the 17th and 18th centuries, the semicolon may have become a marginal component of the English punctuation system. (42…

Individual differences in children's conceptual strategies at 3 years of age were predicted by aspects of children's behavior and language at 13 and 24 months. Production of pointing gestures at 13 months and nouns and attributive adjectives at 24 months were positively associated with the use of a taxonomic matching strategy at 3 years of age.…

Describes the development and teaching uses of the Gender-Specific Language Scale (GSLS), an instrument designed to assess recognition of sexist language. Results from three experiments assessing GSLS reliability and validity are presented that suggest that the GSLS measures a different construct than an essay questionnaire used in previous…

Argues that formal English is a prestige dialect containing select constructions so unnatural as to be outside the domain of normal language acquisition. Among these are nominative pronouns used as conjoined subjects. Prestige usage is unavailable for consistent use. While formal education may have some effect on normal usage, that effect is…

Examined the language awareness and attitudes of five Brazilian business professionals who used English as a Foreign Language (EFL), finding that the more exposed to sociocultural aspects of a language an EFL speaker was, the more he or she was able to perceive and talk about language as a whole. (16 references) (MDM)

Explores the concept of language awareness (LA) in relation to the acquisition of two languages by young children, examining the bilingual development of two toddlers and factors that affect bilingual development and outcomes. Suggests that communicative intent, rather than traditional tests, is a key variable in determining how LA is to be…

To establish baseline data on South African children's behavior, observed 80 children at home and interviewed the children's primary caregiver. Gathered data on patterns of interaction and language use, content of activity, and use of objects. Presents general biographical and behavioral data, notes gender differences, and compares this data to…