Considers issues in customizing descriptions of English grammar in the context of creating an electronic database for secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. In developing the database, the aim was to incorporate insights from functional grammar and corpus linguistics while keeping information accessible and relevant to teachers only familiar with…

Investigates effects of second-language acquisition age, length of exposure to the second language, and Japanese language specificity on the bilingual dual coding hypothesis proposed by Paivio and Desrochers (1980). Balanced Japanese-English bilingual returnee (having resided in an English-speaking country) subjects were presented with pictures to…

Examines competition between conflicting principles in Kenyan English (animacy hierarchy and discourse pressure to place given information before new), manifested in news discourse. Results suggest some differences between spoken and written Kenyan English pointing to a tendency toward a more standard native-speaker variety in news discourse, and…

In Bulgaria, a complex matrix of power relations governs English language education, and a triangle of international and intercultural relations between Bulgaria, United States, and United Kingdom. In the context of the changing economic and political milieu of central and eastern Europe, a study examines how Bulgaria fits into the emerging…

An experiment compared group oral protocols of 37 native English-speaking subjects enrolled in a fourth-semester college French course making grammaticality judgments in English and French. Results indicate the subjects do not necessarily use the same strategies in rendering grammaticality judgments in first and second languages, casting doubt on…

Focuses on cohesion in discourse and connector usage. The article uses a bottom-up approach and evaluates previous studies of learner connector usage, including literature on contrastive French-English connector usage, and hypothesizes an overuse of connectors. It is concluded that learners should be taught the semantic, stylistic, and syntactic…

Investigates the performance of students from different language backgrounds, using data from a computer-adaptive Japanese grammar test developed as a placement tool. Findings indicate item difficulties to be quite different for each group of candidates and imply that when candidates are from a different background from that of the trial…

Reports a study investigating how multilingual language learners evaluate their own multilingualism, how they view the interaction of their different languages, and whether they think the different languages help or hinder them when speaking, listening, understanding, or writing the foreign languages. Ways in which these perceptions can be used to…

A study of error patterns of Arabic-speaking learners of French at a Jordanian university revealed a negative influence of Arabic polysemic words on the learning and use of French vocabulary. It is recommended that second-language instruction make use of explicit instruction in vocabulary that, in the native language, has multiple meanings. (MSE)

Discusses construction of the Hebrew Communicative Development Inventory (HCDI), an adaptation of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI). The HCDI was administered to a stratified sample of Israeli mothers of 253 toddlers. Results are presented and compared with scores from the MCDI. Results indicate that conclusions concerning…

A case study of a 3-year-old with a phonological disorder is used to demonstrate the application of optimality theory to the assessment and treatment. A tutorial of the theory is provided and then several prototypical error patterns evident in the child's productions are analyzed within the framework. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This article concludes a forum that considered theoretical and analytical frameworks applied to developing systems in phonological theory and treatment. It discusses the role of complexity in target selection of children with language impairments: error pattern interaction and complexity; complexity, treatment, and constraint demotion; and…

This study surveyed social work educators about the importance of multiple intelligences for social work practice and social work education. The sample consisted of 91 faculty members who responded to an online survey that asked them to rate the importance of 7 intelligences (linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial,…

This article is one among a series of studies on the acquisition of patterns of linguistic variation observable in the speech of native speakers of Canadian French by French immersion (FI) students. The present study is centered on deletion of the central vowel schwa, a widespread feature of casual spoken French. In this study, FI students are…

Because of the recent demographic changes, early intervention (EI) professionals are more likely to interact with increasing numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children and families. A challenge in providing effective EI services is the lack of personnel from CLD backgrounds and lack of knowledge, understanding, and sensitivity…