Pragmatic competence in second language (L2) speech acts, specifically in requests, is examined through data obtained from native speakers of English who are learning Spanish. Attention is focused on whether L2 learners transfer first language rules of politeness to L2 speech production. (41 references) (Author/OD)

Ethnographic analysis of a Black female urban community college teacher's classroom speech revealed two distinct but culturally appropriate ways of speaking. Results regarding comparison of the speech events' effects on student participation and their interpretations and meanings are discussed. (Author/CB)

Describes how an English as a second language teacher of pharmacy students developed authentic dialogues specifically dealing with interchanges the students could expect in the retail pharmacy situation. The authentic materials covered such areas as self-service, pharmaceutical services in different countries, server- or customer-initiated…

The findings from research on written and oral summarization are discussed under three headings: summarizers' strategies, improving summarizers' performance, and the assessment of summary quality. Objective measures of summary quality used by researchers are described, and ways these measures could be adapted for use in higher education assessment…

A grid system designed to help students and other writers exploit familiar forms of discourse for better thinking and composing is outlined. The technique helps link topic and discourse form innovatively, promotes understanding of the contextual character of every writing task, and can encourage students to read in order to master writing…

Presents results of a study of the effects on viewers of the first presidential debate in the 1992 election. Compares audience perception of candidates' image with audience gain of issue knowledge. Shows that viewers learned a lot about candidates' issue positions. Claims that Ross Perot's image improved. (HB)

In a follow-up to Michaels' research that identified "topic associating," the narrative styles of 48 low-income urban kindergartners were examined. Results, which revealed both topic-associating and topic-centered stories, showed storybook and fairy tale themes/structures in both styles but most clearly in topic-centered narratives and a…

This article considers the pragmatic and pedagogic issues involved in trainee teachers' choice of direct and indirect classroom management directives, and presents an analysis of three English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher trainees' classroom management requests. It recommends the use of more direct forms by ESL teacher trainees. Contains 25…

Studied the grammatical knowledge that undergraduates specializing in bilingual education have of their mother tongue. Data collected from an entrance exam, dialog journals and a simulated oral proficiency exam indicate that these students do not have a formal knowledge of grammatical rules but do have a high level of functional grammar. (24…

Examines the difficulty foreign language learners of Spanish experience in distinguishing between indicative and subjunctive moods after four semesters of study. An analysis of two oral production tasks suggests that, at this intermediate level, they are unlikely to possess enough linguistic foundation to fully benefit from instruction in mood…

Indirect object doubling is the use of the pronoun "le" with a corresponding noun phrase within the same sentence ("Le regalo el anillo a Karen"). Redefining pronominalization as verb agreement leads to hypotheses that explain the construction's use within discourse. Data from an Argentine novel shows correlations between…

Focuses on some of the foundation texts of adult literacy teaching (ALT) and examines how the declared principles of ALT relate to the contemporary policy context within which ALT is located. Topics covered include the learner as an individual whose needs should determine the curriculum; the student-teacher power relationship; and student rights.…

This study analyzed complimenting behavior in French between French native speakers and American advanced French learners in seven dinner party conversations. Data are found to provide a rich source of lessons in politeness for both sociolinguistic and pedagogic descriptions of French speech acts. (Author/MSE)

Illustrates how nostalgic communication invites individuals disenchanted with their lives to make a temporal escape to a secure place of opposition. Analyzes the HBO documentary "When It Was a Game" and identifies how the text invites contemporary United States workers facing loss of workforce identity to effect a temporary escape to a…

Argues that the formal properties of language reflect the underlying mental processes that individuals deploy in problem-solving situations. This analysis of the linguistic features of "private writing" reveals that writers utilize their linguistic systems to organize and direct strategic mental processes. (69 references) (CK)