The third year of an ongoing research project to document and evaluate an innovative Japanese language program in grades K-5 (n=195) is reported. Two strands of research are examined. The first deals with school and community ambiance, and attempts to capture in a systematic way the attitudes and perceptions of parents, teachers, and students in…

A study investigated the use of negative polarity items (NPIs) in child language, and in particular, how children acquire the restrictions on these items. Data are drawn from studies of NPIs in the spontaneous speech of Dutch- and English-speaking children. Results show the first NPIs to appear in Dutch and English are widely different…

The testing of grammar is one of the mainstays of language testing, since it can be argued that a basic knowledge of grammar underlies the ability to use language to express meaning. The most common way of testing grammatical knowledge is the multiple-choice test, and the most common multiple-choice item is one in which the student selects a word…

Focusing on children's books identified as "notable" for their rich use of language, this book presents essays that discuss literary genres and literary language, responding to the language of Notable Books, and developing an appreciation for language diversity. The book also presents brief essays by well-known children's authors…

College composition teachers face serious difficulties with student anger in trying to teach writing to poorly prepared students who do not see the need for learning standard English. Most teachers would agree that they are trying to teach writing in a much harsher, less receptive climate produced by powerful social forces over which they have…

Unofficial, vernacular literacy of four diverse sixth-grade groups in a midwestern area was explored using naturalistic, direct observation in classrooms, informal interviews, and literacy survey. Research spanned the 1991-92 through the 1994-95 school years. The focus group, which was studied all 4 years of the research period, attended an…

This 24-week Daily/Weekly Lesson Plan and Study Guide is designed to facilitate teachers'"in-the-classroom" study of Romalda Spalding's "The Writing Road to Reading," the Riggs Institute's auxiliary materials and other selected teaching aids which augment and enhance this methodology. After an introduction, the first section of…

The International Language Testing Association has some 250 members in 15 countries. Most are specialists in the testing of second language skills, with a special interest in performance assessment because of the testing of speaking and writing performance that is critical to second language skills assessment. The association believes that certain…

A study analyzed patterns of usage of political vocabulary in Hong Kong English as found in newspaper reports of a leading Hong Kong English-medium newspaper and two other English-medium newspapers. Data were drawn from a computerized corpus and a clippings file. The report begins with an overview of the theoretical basis of the study of ideology…

This research analyzes language development in the classroom as fostering the development of students who are community builders, problem solvers and critical thinkers. Examples of both positive and negative classroom situations are used to illustrate these three language domains. Successful classrooms are safe communities where children are…

This learning module is intended to improve the spelling, reading, and writing skills of health care industry employees by enhancing their word usage skills. The module, which is designed to be presented in a 32-hour course of eight 2-hour biweekly sessions, is divided into two parts. The initial part emphasizes the development of new learning…

This book introduces the general reader to the mosaic of American Indian languages and cultures as they exist in time and space, and supplies limited technical linguistic orientation to encourage further exploration of language interrelationships, cultures, and other ways of knowing. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the status, diversity, and…

Some failure types that occur in cross-cultural interactions are described, mainly from the point of view of Finns and Finland and from primarily anecdotal and "folk theoretical" data. Material from such sources as newspapers, joke collections, proverbs, and student experiences are used as the basis of the discussion. Non-grammatical…

Results are presented of an experiment involving the reactions toward accented speakers by immigrated native and near-native proficient English speakers from the same Spanish-speaking ethnolinguistic background. It was hypothesized that: (1) the negative reactions of listeners reflected an observable association with a geographic location such as…

Cultural differences are very much a part of international trade and global competition and companies which are currently in, or would like to engage in, international trade must be willing to adapt to foreign cultures with a firm understanding of national and individual environmental factors. Successful intercultural communication includes an…