This article reports on several studies that used discourse analysis to interpret the linguistic interactions between students with special educational needs in segregated and integrated settings. Results indicated that integrated settings were characterized by "didactic" interactions, while segregated settings showed "familiar" behavior. (DB)

Perspectives that underlie a study of scientific reasoning of elementary students with mild mental retardation (EC 612 096) are provided. Epistemological issues that appear to shape knowledge of special education are addressed, specifically "constructivism" versus "behaviorism" and the relative worth of "constructed" versus "instructed" knowledge.…

In a 10-week time-series investigation of a class of 12 students, this study looked at whether Suggestopedia affects more sophisticated language skills than recall. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were included to address the criticism that Suggestopedia affects memory skills alone. Findings suggest that Suggestopedia can positively…

Investigated the relationship between free choice writing in primary classrooms and gender construction. Suggests that girls are rewarded for producing gendered content, form, and structure in their writing, and are not offered opportunities to learn to write in different forms for different audiences. Thus, free choice does not appear to lead to…

Discusses some aspects of the Japanese language that look inexplicable at first but that turn out to be explainable by pragmatic principles shared with English. Focus is placed on how the Japanese choose a particular word to use in a sentence involving indirect quotations, when the words would be synonyms in other languages. (20 references) (GLR)

Recent research has shown that transfer operates on the discourse as well as the phonological, semantic, and syntactic levels. This is the case with relative clauses (RCs) used by Chinese students of English. RCs are less frequent in Chinese and their low incidence in interlanguage production by such students is a case of transfer, not avoidance.…

The degree to which television conversations follow the rules of naturally occurring conversation is investigated. The occurrences of 1 type of pragmatic behavior (the dispreferred behavior of refusing social invitations) in 25 television conversations are compared with a theoretical description of such conversational strategies. (seven…

A comparison of three popular computer programs for text analysis examined their effectiveness in analyzing texts written by students of English as a Second Language (ESL). Results indicate occasional incorrect advice and emphasis on relatively trivial issues, raising doubts about their effectiveness as a stand-alone revision aid for ESL writers.…

Two types of main hall discussions at an ecology conference were studied: plenary lecture discussion as an accepted, established spoken research process genre with its own conventions; and poster session discussion as a fragile, embryonic research process genre struggling for definition. (14 references) (Author/LB)

A test on the effects of native/nonnative (NS/NNS) English-speaker status and gender on the structure of directions issued by native speakers of English is reported. It confirms that direction giving is highly conventionalized and that NS/NNS status and gender systematically influence a small range of linguistic choices. (24 references) (Author/LB)

Reporting verbs used in reporting statements, or citation, in medical journal articles are described, and their role in the discourse is examined. Choice among Discourse Verbs, Real-Word Verbs, and Cognition Verbs correlates with the rhetorical function of the report; e.g, Cognition Verbs correlate with reports of consensus views of the scientific…

Discusses and problematizes the notion of agency in the English classroom. Considers both teachers and students to be constructed agents in the classroom. Focuses on an excerpt from a first-year writing class. Provides comments from the teacher and four students in the class. (HB)

Studies employed detailed discourse analysis techniques to examine Montreal nursing students' comprehension of texts in both their first and second languages. The results suggest that the use of second-language production tends to underestimate and distort second-language comprehension, at least at intermediate levels of second-language…

Examines the writings of graduate students in a seminar to reveal a complex discursive scene. Provides a narratological analysis of student authorship. Raises questions about writing across the curriculum theory and suggests new possibilities for research and teaching. (HB)

Considers how the development of a computer-based microconcordance program could be used to produce cloze tests that do more than present a mutilated text derived from a single source, with an example within the context of advanced learners of English-as-a-Second-Language. (CB)