Examines the lexis of two university students and identifies their styles and competence levels. (DF)

Distinguishes between Stanley Fish's idea of interpretive communities and rhetorical communities and asserts that because language is the passport to these communities, schools should seek ways to help students enter the communities to which they seek access. Cites evidence from an international study of writing to support the idea of rhetorical…

Presents a psycholinguistic analysis of young children's performance in Japanese before, during, and after a two-month stay in Japan from the perspective of Vygotsky and the Soviet school of psycholinguistics. Looks at the social function of their utterances, the types of regulation involved, and strategic functions that may be intended. (SED)

Concludes that providing black children with the inspiration, correct environment, and materials can allow them to express themselves in the ways they know best. Offers suggestions for teachers working with dialect speakers and a list of reading materials. (FL)

Looks at education in American Foundation Schools in Mexico and finds teacher-student interaction similar to that found in American schools between teachers and Black, inner city students. (FL)

A survey of university faculty responses to questionable usage by their students reveals a wide variation in expectations with regard to usage among the group. Suggests the need to devise strategies that take into account the wide gap between the ideal of proper grammar and the reality of an infinity of standards. (RBW)

Reviews the problems and strengths of an English for Science and Technology teacher-training course at the University of Chile (Santiago). Since most students come to the course with a humanities background, coupled with a "traditional" or "general" English background, they have the following types of problems: attitudinal,…

Expresses some concerns about English teaching in Australia today and argues for an English curriculum that emphasizes the practical skills of language use. (HOD)

Many providers are keen to implement the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), seeing this as an opportunity to further improve the experience of disabled learners. However, the DDA Part 4 raises many issues about the ways in which education providers encourage a learner to disclose an impairment in order to make adjustments,…

Dr. Joshua Fishman, a world renowned sociolinguist and expert on endangered languages, postulates a continuum of eight stages of language loss for indigenous languages. The most-endangered languages are in stage 8 and only have a few elderly speakers. In stage 7 only adults beyond child-bearing age still speak the tribal language. In stage 6 there…

A study investigated gender differences in language use in electronic mail discussion groups. A review of research on discourse analysis identifies areas in which gender differences are found in interpersonal interaction and language use in general, and how these reflect differences in socialization. Research on electronic discussion groups…

Two approaches to teaching English as an International Language (EIL) are outlined, noting their roles in a newly-formed undergraduate major in EIL at International Pacific College (New Zealand). EIL is defined as a form of English used by non-native speakers to communicate with other non-native speakers. "Implicit" EIL refers to a…

First-year teaching assistants (TAs) at Arizona State University participate in a fair amount of training--in rhetorical theory, composition theory, teaching theory and practices, the English 101 syllabus, and university policies and services. But one classroom incident which began with a TA resulted in much turmoil on campus. Two examples of…

The 26 teaching strategies in this collection originally appeared in IDEAS PLUS, a special publication of the National Council of Teachers of English. The teaching strategies are entitled: (1) "A Dream House" (Thomas M. Cobb); (2) "A Journal-Writing Pot of Gold" (Irina Markova); (3) "Adopt-a-Word" (Annette Matherne); (4) "Contrasting Moods" (Don…

A checklist for teachers of English as a Second Language who are teaching the expression of comparisons is presented. It is intended to assist in the systematic classroom presentation of features of comparison, with adaptation for any proficiency level. Broadly, it addresses how both the units being compared and the points of comparison need to be…