Traditional, formal grammar instruction has, at best, a negligible affect on writing improvement, but transformational-generative grammar instruction can improve syntactic versatility in writing. (AN)

Revised version of a paper presented at the TESOL Convention, March 1971, New Orleans, Louisiana. (VM)

Probes the effects which syntax and semantics can have on readers of news stories and points to several ways in which reading education can help students develop skill in critically interpreting what they read. (MD)

Supports the position that white literary critics cannot judge black writing, and suggests that they settle for stylistic analysis. (RD)

Describes a study using matched-guise technique designed to (1) determine how West Welsh preadolescents would react to Welsh speakers reading a passage of prose in one of three language varieties (Received Pronunciation English, Welsh-Accented English, Welsh) and (2) to examine what effect language of testing might have on children's social…

Discusses ethnic speech styles in New Zealand, the extent to which they can be detected, and how they and English received pronunciation are evaluated by listeners. (EKN)

Analyzes the linguistic, rhetorical, and conceptual variables of English scientific texts. Examines some problems which can arise in an English for special purposes reading program and notes some guidelines, based on the text analysis. (EKN)

Described sequential patterns of verbal behaviors between supervisors and trainees in the supervisory interview. Supervisors audiotaped supervision interviews with their assigned trainees. Results indicated repetitive patterns of verbal behavior in the supervisory interview and that a sequential analysis can effectively describe these…

Transcripts analyzed by computer programs reveal that when individuals shift from truthfulness to deception, there are corresponding shifts in lexical diversity, such as fewer words, decrease in the number of unique words used, fewer past tense verbs, and a decrease in the perceptual-cognitive activity. (PD)

Suggests criteria and strategies for an efficient use of textbook grammar presentations to give students a useful and native-like language. Shows how text deficiencies can be remedied through rearrangement and deletion of grammatical points and emphasizes the need for reentering useful, high frequency items in new contexts throughout the course.…

Reports on a survey of how laypeople responded to errors in usage, their attitudes toward the acceptability of certain errors, and the values they placed on certain language styles. (RL)

Reviews what recent research into speaking-writing relationships has to say about a particular problem of unskilled writers--those who tend to write as if they were talking. Examines the differences and interdependence of oral dialogue and written monologue. (RL)

Analyzes some of the educational problems that can arise from teachers' lack of awareness of the systematic differences between standard English and nonstandard dialects. Discusses the serious linguistic and social consequences of the situation in Britain, where most schoolchildren speak nonstandard English. (SK)