Reports on two studies conducted in college freshman composition classes dealing with gender-based variations in verbal behavior. For an in-class assignment, students described two objects, a metal washer and a piece of cloth; for an out-of-class assignment, students wrote a letter to a landlord asking for a $300 deposit refund which had been…

Discusses two computer programs designed for third-year university-level Spanish composition classes. The programs are based on the process model of composing and consist of pre-writing, writing, and revision. (SED)

Describes some of the strategies of repetition and metaphor used by Black American novelist Richard Wright, as a model that students can adopt in their own writing, both for generating ideas and for revising them. Appendixes include various drafts of an interview statement by Wright. (HTH)

Attempts to identify the linguistic and situational features of officialese, the language register of public administration. Suggests that any situation-type is a complex of five dimensions which collectively define its register: setting, participants, instrumentality, context, and purpose. Reports an analysis of 50 administrative letters in…

A major change in British language teaching is in emphasizing the use of language; knowledge of rules and vocabulary is insufficient if a student cannot communicate. This paper discusses five ways in which this idea is being introduced: in language functions, discourse, testing, reading and teaching in the foreign language. (CHK)

Urging that the technical student be taught the kind of English which he will encounter in his classes and textbooks, the author uses examples from chemistry textbooks to illustrate the kind of situation and the language material found in one particular area of study. To be continued in a later issue. (FWB)

Examines, through a matched-guise technique, the conflict in attitudes and behavior toward the use of a mixture of Cantonese and English (MIX) among English-Cantonese bilingual students in Hong Kong. Results indicate hostility toward MIX but produce evidence that it is a useful, culturally neutral choice and that it may have covert status in the…

Counselor predicate use similarity in a social psychological context was considered in a study involving 180 college students. Results failed to support the hypothesis that clients perceive counselors with similar predicate preferences as more attractive or that predicate similarity in natural language is too subtle to detect. (JAC)

Potential uses of newspaper editorials for French instruction are presented, including interpretation of such elements as type style, layout, writing style, grammar, vocabulary and word usage, and punctuation as well as content and context. (MSE)

Examines the writing of five administrators and six caseworkers in a county social services agency to determine their sensitivity to rhetorical issues and writing style. (HOD)

Describes a study designed to examine native speakers' reactions to errors contained in compositions written by advanced Spanish students, as a measure of error seriousness and a guide for selective correction. Suggests that errors interfering with comprehension should be eliminated first, followed by those that elicit negative reactions from…

Steps are outlined in the development of an academic language proficiency test in Spanish, to measure teacher candidates' language abilities necessary to conduct instruction in Spanish-English bilingual classrooms. Such tests must consider linguistic tasks that bilingual teachers generally perform and communicative skills in academic interaction.…

Explores the genre of the post graduate research proposal as an institutional requirement for international graduate students in an Australian university. Following a survey of attitudes and practices of supervisors, reflects on the political and social dimensions of the role of English for academic purposes (EAP) teachers and reconceptualizes EAP…