Study of Danish language needs of an immigrant student leads to the assertion that concepts pertaining to first- and second-language vocabulary need revision, particularly regarding certain minority languages and certain fields, including the distinction between "active" and "passive" vocabulary and first-language and…

Describes a six-week program in which a teacher did not talk to her students but rather wrote all assignments and questions on the board. Concludes that the experiment improved student self-reliance and helped them to read and interpret instructions. (FL)

Discusses the manifestation of sexism in language and makes practical suggestions for overcoming these problems in second-language instruction. Topics covered include forms of address; occupational titles; exclusion of gender; sexual stereotyping; sex differences in language use; politeness; verbosity; and classroom interaction. (CB)

Analysis of the spontaneous speech of English- and Italian-speaking children with specific language impairment indicated that word-final consonants adversely influenced Italian subjects' tendency to use articles. There was no evidence of syntactic differences between the language groups. (Author/CB)

Discusses diverse examples of literary devices by comparing metaphor and humor. Defines and illustrates paronomasia, paradox, oxymoron, anacoluthon, zeugma, parody, jargon, satire, conceit, anachronism, hyperbole, cacography, understatement, and doggerel. A humorous appendix contrasts errors with rhetorical devices. (NKA)

A review of research concerning bilingual (English and Spanish) Chicanos' use of code-switching during spontaneous oral narrative indicates that such code-switching may be organized to achieve more dramatic effects through personalizing (as opposed to objectionalizing) certain parts of the narrative and through techniques of foregrounding and…

The linguistic complexity of humor is illustrated with examples of word play translated from French to English and English to French. Examples from the writings of James Joyce and Marcel Proust are highlighted. (CB)

It is proposed that, although lexical derivation has received some attention among linguists, little interest is shown in its pedagogical implications. Hypotheses about the mechanisms of derivation are outlined, current pedagogical applications are described, and further practical suggestions are made, using examples from English, French, and…

Discusses language use as a variable in studies of second-language learning, considering a study of 300 secondary school students learning Chinese that showed that integrative and instrumental motivation to be independent and that language use explains one-fifth of total variance in language achievement. (Author/CB)

Investigates the influence of the prefix "o-/ob-" on the choice of case for nominal objects of prefixed verbs, using a semantic field analysis. Focuses on four semantic functions: (1) objective; (2) locative; (3) factitive; and (4) comparative. The results are useful both to theoretical linguists and to teachers of Russian. (LMO)

Describes how triglossia in Nigerian education lies in the complementary distribution of languages by functions, with the languages of home, community, and school corresponding roughly to the affective, conative, and cognitive psychological categories. Provides a triglottic model which describes actual function of language in education in Nigeria.…

Indicates a greater effect of hospitalization experience on children's general conception of hospital roles and plots than on specific linguistic markers of the sick-room register. Showed that girls performed better in the role of nurse and mother whereas boys performed relatively better in the role of doctor and father. (JD)

Shows that sixth-grade students did not use as much oral language for forecasting and reasoning as did third-grade students or students in kindergarten when their language was recorded under similar conditions. Suggests that perhaps the very process of schooling inhibits students' need to think creatively and to reason. (FL)

Analysis of 12 Scottish and 12 American 3- to 6-year-olds interacting with adults indicated that, because Scottish adults use the present perfect tense more frequently in their speech to children than American adults do, Scottish children use the tense in their speech long before American children do. (Author/CB)

Two experiments showed that: 5- and 6-year-old listeners have difficulties with spatial reference if it includes "left" and "right"; and 7-year-olds understand this limitation on the comprehension skill of younger children and make appropriate allowances by using more landmarks instead. (CB)