Examined Grade 8 French immersion students use and accuracy of pronominal verbs within one of two tasks--jigsaw or dictogloss--while working in pairs. Two groups of students viewed a videotaped mini-lesson on pronominal verbs, while another two did not. Found that the mini-lesson had a significant impact on students' use of pronominal verbs in…

An exploration of the increasingly important role of linguistics in literacy research and instruction reviews literature on reading comprehension, written language, orthography, metalinguistics, classroom language use, reading disabilities, native tongues, nonstandard dialects, bilingual education, adult literacy, and second-language reading. (86…

Presents classroom activities (based on "Language in Thought and Action" and intended for use at various grade and ability levels) divided into four areas of general semantics: (1) language as symbolic process; (2) meanings of words in context; (3) referential and emotive language; and (4) relationships between language and thinking.…

Explores how written text emerges from classrooms and wider socio-cultural contexts by examining writing in art, English, biology, sociology, history, and geography classes in a London secondary school. Asserts that writing is a mode of inquiry embracing a variety of language transactions as students make meaning of their world. (MM)

In a follow-up project, this study examined how and when six university language teachers actually used English and the target language in the classroom. Results suggest that switches to English may be made to help maintain classroom order, to create solidarity or empathy, to cover lack of experience or strategies, or to rephrase or modify their…

Following a brief discussion of legal and academic statements on mandatory bilingual education and mainstreaming, three models of the Planned Alternation of Languages (PAL) approach are described as a way to prepare students for mainstreaming. PAL allows for both languages to have feasible functions and support learners through acquisition of…

Ngee Ann Polytechnic, a leading postsecondary technical institution in Singapore, offers English for academic and occupational purposes to prepare students for writing their final year projects. This article discusses the approaches used in Mechanical Engineering and Biotechnology projects. A sample exercise is appended. (Contains two references.)…

A case study is reported of a mature-aged Aboriginal woman who acquired the academic literacy necessary for participation in university education. It suggests the possibility that members of marginalized minority groups can acquire the literacy practices of the dominant society without becoming complicit in them. (Contains 19 references.) (LB)

Arguments for students' use of their first language as well as English in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom are reexamined. Pedagogical and political aspects of ESL instruction are noted. (LB)

In "Vygotsky and ESL Literacy Teaching," Cazden uses examples from South Africa to discuss internalization of socially acquired language, instruction as "scaffolded assistance," and social meanings of English-as-a-Second-Language literacy. In "Cummins, EAP, and Academic Literacy," Starfield focuses on a University of…

Develops analytical techniques to determine "borrowability," the ease with which a lexical item or category of lexical items can be borrowed by one language from another. These techniques are then applied to Spanish borrowings in Bolivian Quechua on the basis of a set of bilingual texts. (29 references) (MDM)

Surveyed 99 Anglo-Argentine students aged 10 through 18 at five Spanish-English bilingual schools in Buenos Aires about their language attitudes and usage. It found that, despite the prestige of the English language, Spanish had become the dominant language for most. Age and place of residency in Buenos Aires also had a significant effect on…

Reviews a book that emphasizes the role of families in maintaining minority languages and, ultimately, cultures. The book sees efforts to preserve and restore minority languages as societal reform efforts that lead to appreciation of other cultures as well. Three sections cover introductory considerations, case studies of threatened languages, and…

A qualitative study is described investigating the university graduate student seminar presentation as a speech event and its status as a genre. Findings support Swales' (1990) contention that the graduate seminar is an independent genre related to the experimental research article, not merely an oral replication. (20 references) (Author/LB)

Applies a functional perspective to examine aspects of lexical style in English-language Indian newspapers and to explore the dynamics of Indian nativization of English. Findings reveal that the sociocultural constraints of the native situation significantly affect lexicology, with variations influenced more by situations than by language…