The effects of different approaches to learning Chinese characters were investigated. Ninety-two high-school students were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups: translation, verbal mnemonics, visual mnemonics, dual coding mnemonics, or self-generated mnemonics. All groups received instruction and completed posttests in a…

Clear communication between physicians and their patients is essential for the success of any health program or intervention. In some cases, though, doctors and patients do not speak the same language. Also, patients sometimes cannot read, or they read very little in any language, including their native tongue. Occasionally, interpreters may be…

Moroccan Immigrant Children in a Time of Surveillance: Navigating Sameness and Rooted in twenty months of ethnographic fieldwork in Southwestern Spain, this dissertation analyzes the socio-cultural and linguistic lifeworlds of 8-11 year-old Moroccan immigrant children as they navigate family, school institutions, and peer groups in Spain. To…

Objective: To record the views of individuals whose main professional role is community liaison on dental health education material for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Methods: Tape-recorded interviews were undertaken, reviewed by two individuals and themes identified. Results: Twenty four individuals were interviewed out of a…

Egyptian English majors in the faculty of Education, South Valley University tend to mistranslate the plural inanimate Arabic pronoun with the singular inanimate English pronoun. A diagnostic test was designed to analyze this error. Results showed that a large number of students (first year and fourth year students) make this error, that the error…

This paper focuses on the mechanism by which the successful learner acquires a second language. The author postulates a core language, the common core of the speaker's native and target languages, and states that the second language becomes an extension of this common core. Whatever language-specific features are added while acquiring the second…

A group of 28 texts in Mamanwa, an Austronesian language of the Visayan family of the Southern Philippines, is presented. They were told by native speakers and transcribed in Mamanwa and English. Three types of discourse are represented: narrative (both traditional and factual); procedural/explanatory; and hortatory. The main cultural themes…

The guide to "false friends," or false cognates, in German and English is designed such that it can be used as either an instructional tool or a reference guide. An introductory section defines false friends and discusses different types, and provides a set of symbols for distinguishing them. The first major section lists, alphabetically…

The second guide to "false friends," or false cognates, in German and English lists and discusses more difficult terms than the first guide. An introductory section defines false friends and discusses different types, and provides a set of symbols for distinguishing them. The first major section lists, alphabetically in German, and…

Three studies of language brokering among linguistic minority (LM) children are reviewed and discussed. In child language brokering, children act as linguistic mediators, not translators or interpreters, for their limited-English-proficient parents and relatives. The purpose of the studies was to describe brokering in LM communities and to examine…

"Yakudoku," the traditional, non-oral method of teaching language in Japan, is described and compared with the grammar translation method of language instruction. The methods differ in that "yakudoku" focuses mainly on translation of the foreign language text into Japanese, with grammar instruction a secondary concern, and that…

A study investigated the study strategies used by 450 native Cantonese-speaking distance education students in Hong Kong/Macau studying in English, and the correlation between language skill levels and study approaches used. Students were surveyed concerning study motives and strategies, demographic information, langbuage use patterns, and…

This paper discusses aspects of signaling structure by means of textual organizers in Finnish and French academic discourse. The assumption that there exist culture-bound conventions for marking textual organization by either explicit or implicit linguistic means was explored. Observations are offered of French and Finnish articles and summaries…

This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using the mother tongue in foreign language instruction, specifically in the explanation phase, in exercises and drills, in testing, and in the presentation of new grammar. (CLK)

Interpreting as an exercise of language skill is presented as a necessity for communication, limited (in the instructional process) to everyday situations. Interpreting offers something different, and is therefore a source of motivation at the intermediate level. Basic characteristics of the skill, teaching hints, and types of exercises are…