The assumption that question-answer sequences consist of two moves was examined using data from recordings of second-grade classrooms in Austin, Texas. Interactions initiated by children's spontaneous questions in informal, small group settings were evaluated. Twenty-nine dialogue samples are presented and analyzed. Four issues in the study of…

Certain aspects of the reading process have suggested that second language reading skills are determined to some extent by native language reading skills. Some of this research is reviewed here and an experiment is described in which the reading skills in Spanish and English of three groups of Spanish speakers learning English are compared.…

A study of children's syntax from a transformational perspective was initiated to explore the following areas: syntactic differences between narrative, descriptive, expository, and argumentative writing, and the relation of these differences to IQ, sex, and reading comprehension; the relation of syntax content; and the relation of children's…

A discussion of word acquisition rates and strategies is based upon a 6-month case study of an Estonian-speaking child who gradually and systematically relaxed phonotactic constraints to allow greater complexity in word production. In addition to the cognitive tools of assimilation and accomodation as described by Piaget, the child used a further…

THIS DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING IN THE WASHOE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RESULTED FROM A SURVEY CONDUCTED BY AN EXPERIENCED LANGUAGE TEACHER. USING DATA GLEANED FROM QUESTIONNAIRES DISTRIBUTED TO THE UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDENTS AND INFORMATION GATHERED FROM CLASS…

IT IS THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE IN THIS BOOKLET TO HELP TEACHERS AND CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS UNDERSTAND WHY LINGUISTICS IS SO IMPORTANT AND TO UNDERSTAND ITS APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM. THE READER IS ALSO INTRODUCED TO THE HISTORY, TECHNICAL VOCABULARY, AND PRESENT STATUS OF RESEARCH AND THEORY IN LINGUISTICS AND ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE SELF-STUDY IN…

THE AIM OF THIS TENTATIVE SYLLABUS FOR TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS OF SPANISH IS TO INTEGRATE MORE CLOSELY THE LANGUAGE PRACTICE, APPLIED LINGUISTICS, AND METHODS ELEMENTS OF THE TRAINING COURSE AND TO RELATE THEM DIRECTLY TO THE PRACTICE ELEMENT BY THE INTRODUCTION OF MICROTEACHING. THE FIRST PART OF THIS FOUR-PART SYLLABUS IS ON APPLIED…

Philippine students in grades K-6, representing different socioeconomic classes, participated in individual elicitation sessions. Using Pilipino (Tagalog) as the language of elicitation, experimenters used pictorial stimuli to elicit specific structures of English grammar, in order to discover if the subjects had mastered these structures. Only…

There has been growing interest in the effect on achievement of teacher and student attitudes toward language. This paper attempts to examine the relevant studies in this area in order to draw some conclusions for bilingual bicultural classroom settings. The reported attitude studies focus on research with standard and non-standard varieties of…

This study arose from the recently published report of the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in Britain, "Primary French in the Balance" (1974). The study consists principally of a series of discussions between the project leader, Ontario Ministry of Education officials, the principal investigator, and other invited…

This article reviews some of the research literature dealing with factors which contribute to success in acquiring second language speaking skills. Language attitudes, cognitive style variables (i.e., field dependence and independence; overgeneralization and negative transfer from the native language), personality variables (tolerance of…

The nature and extent of code-mixing in the language acquisition process over a 12-month period was studied with a child growing up in a bilingual English-Chichewa (Bantu language) speaking home. Data are examined from age 18 1/2 months to 30 1/2 months. Definitions of code-switching are offered, and an analysis of code-mixing in the speech of the…

Current research on adult second language learning suggests that study is necessary to separate interference variables from intralinguistic variables and to determine the relative difficulty of structures in each group. This research on the acquisition of the English relative clause was specifically designed to test the transfer hypothesis…

Foreigner talk (FT) is the term used to characterize possible adjustments in the speech of a native speaker (NS) when he or she is in conversation with a non-native speaker (NNS). The paper examines conversations between 6 native speakers and 3 non-native speakers and characterizes the speech of the native-speakers involved. The data were…

This is an investigation of the notion of language for special purposes and a discussion of the topic from the point of view of reading comprehension and its pedagogical implications. The meanings, connotations, and inadequacies of the terms "langue de specialite" and "Language for special purposes" are discussed. A distinction is made between…