A study examines the use of Kiswahili as representative of the dynamism of Kenyan society and the degree to which the Kenyan body politic has achieved cohesion. It focuses on a series of urban centers with overlapping spheres of influence, referred to as the urban corridor. The Kenyan situation is viewed through a model provided by chaos theory…

This paper discusses the status of the endangered Kwak'wala language on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and efforts to revive it. Kwak'wala, also known as Kwakiutl, belongs to the Kwakiutlian group of the Wakashan language family. Following a description of Kwak'wala's historic decline and current status (mostly elderly speakers comprising…

This paper describes the communicative function of language in a monolingual public school kindergarten. The study was based on observations of classroom communication and interviews with the teacher. The paper describes the speech of students and the teacher during different segments of the school day, and presents an analysis of 290 speech acts…

This article proposes two general instructional strategies that a course designer or materials writer may use to create a second language course that makes new demands on learners, yet contains feasible learning tasks. First, course designers can manipulate task components believed to determine task difficulty, components such as input text, the…

This paper discusses various techniques that scientists and other professionals can use to keep current in their field despite the large amount of available information, such as consulting abstracts, indexes, reviews, and catalogues. It also examines specific language patterns that are used in the sciences to produce synthesis and abridgement,…

An overview of the skills, techniques, tools, and compensation of language translators and interpreters is offered. It begins with a definition of translation and a brief history of translation in the western world. Basic principles of translation dating back to Roman writers are also outlined. A five-step process in producing a good translation…

Second language acquisition (SLA) research is examined in terms of what might be used in the planning, design, and implementation of language courses. A conception of language and the communicative use of language that is appropriate for formal language teaching and learning is discussed, and different conditions are described under which second…

Observing that educators can have a healthy impact on students by making them aware of the implications of sexist language, its distortions and ambiguity as well as its demeaning and alienating effect on females, this paper presents a number of exercises and activities on sexist and nonsexist language usage both for high school and college English…

Two major theories trace the origins of black English to African influence or British Isles influence. According to the African origin theory, black English was created through pidginization, creolization, and decreolization as Africans came into contact with Europeans through the slave trade. The second theory holds that most black English…

The role and status of English instruction in Malawi is outlined. The role of English in Malawi as a whole, English instruction within the educational system, language teacher supply and training, and British support for English instruction in Malawi are reported. English is taught as a subject in primary school and is the language of instruction…

Drawn from a conference intended as a step toward reuniting the disciplines of behavioral sciences and law, the items in this compilation were prepared by practitioners and educators in the areas of law, communication, social psychology, and sociology. The items are arranged in five sections according to these topics: interviewing and counseling,…

At the beginning of the 1981-82 school year, the Board of Education of the Portland (OR) Public Schools established a system-wide achievement goal of improved learning in all areas of the curriculum including the basic skills. This report describes the gains made during the first year of implementation of that new achievement policy. Portland's…

As global migrations of both teachers and students have increased, so has the need to re-learn English in response to local parlances. Thus, the use of formal and informal language styles, the masking of accents, and the understanding of the differential use of certain specific words, expressions, and the like become critical for teachers and…

This study was conducted to determine the effect that hands-on, creative activity using the Language Experience Approach would have on language usage in students' written stories. Twenty-five fifth grade students were randomly divided into three sample groups. Sample A received hands-on, creative stimulus and art materials; Sample B looked at and…

Viewing language as both presentational and representational, or as having both manifest and latent content, can help writing instructors and student writers appreciate its full function and better understand the nature of writing errors. This essential duality of language usage is seen by its functions consisting of unconscious (primary process)…