Individual approaches to the reading and study of 14 modern poems that have proved their worth and appeal to adolescents are offered in this publication. The poems--by such poets as Marianna Moore, Stephen Spender, W.H. Auden, Wallace Stevens, and Robinson Jeffers--are reprinted; and each is followed by a discussion in which a high school teacher…

Reading instruction for the college student learning a second language should begin by establishing symbol-sound-meaning association. The step from speech to reading could best be made at the structural level. The emphasis at this point should be on sentence structure and the student should be taught to develop the ability to interpret the…

Use of poetry in advanced college-level classes of English as a second language is discussed, focusing on the oral (acoustic) texture of poems as contrasted with their syntactic, lexical, or figurative qualities. Discussion begins with the characteristics and objectives of the learners in question and the basis in both literary and linguistic…

This paper seeks to understand the role of culturally-specific styles of discourse in the classroom. The paper uses and expands upon three categories of classroom language use (control, curriculum, and critique) to present data on how a Puerto Rican American teacher uses repetition and discourse styles that have African and African American…

A case study analyzed the echolalia behavior of an autistic 11-year-old boy, based on recordings made in his home and school. Focus was on the subset of immediate echolalia referred to as pure echoing. Using an approach informed by conversation analysis and descriptive phonetics, distinctions are drawn between different forms of pure echo. It is…

This paper considers four levels of analysis in the observation of the prosodic features of pause in speech: phonetic; syntactic; semantic; and informative. On the phonetic level, a pause is related to length and intonation, and intonation in turn, being a result of the speaker's meaning, constitutes an expression of his/her emotional state. On…

Suggests ideas on how visuals and video-texts such as TV commercials and talk shows can enrich foreign language curricula; provide students with exposure to language in various contexts; develop socio-linguistic competence in a foreign language; provide models of pronunciation, intonation, rhythm and accent; and reduce anxiety in the classroom.…

Specific tools and techniques to help students of English as a Second Language overcome pronunciation problems are presented. The selection of problems addressed is based on the frequency and seriousness of errors that many native Chinese-speaking learners produce. Ways to resolve various problems (e.g., missing final consonants, misplaced stress…

Techniques for using children's rhymes, games, tongue twisters, and fables in Spanish to teach bilingual education classes are described. It is argued that these abundant materials serve as natural sources for authentic Spanish from a variety of Hispanic cultures. With the appeal of rhythm, rhyme, and game-like feeling, they can be used to teach…

Stressing language development as the prime component of all learning, this resource book presents suggestions to teachers to aid them in developing children's descriptive language. Basic to the described activities is the concept that vocabulary development is essentially concept development, requires a variety of experiences, and results from…

Two years of language study is a requirement in most colleges and universities for many degree programs and, at the high school level, an expectation for college-bound students. However, some very capable students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have difficulty learning a second language. Recent research has identified characteristics of…

This book serves as a guide for the native and non-native speaker of English in overcoming various problems in articulation, rhythm, and intonation. It is also useful in group therapy speech programs. Forty-five practice chapters offer drill materials for all the vowels, diphthongs, and consonants of American English plus English stress and…

Two types of contextualized input in prosody training were investigated for 28 advanced L2 speakers of English (L1 Chinese). Their oral presentations provided training materials. Native-speakers (NSs) of English provided global prosody ratings, and participants completed questionnaires on perceived training effectiveness. Two groups received…

This collection of papers on linguistic experiments includes: "Initial Tones and Prominence in Seoul Korean" (Ken de Jong); "The Domains of Laryngeal Feature Lenition Effects in Chonnam Korean" (Sun-Ah Jun); "The Timing of Lip Rounding and Tongue Backing for /u/" Gina M. Lee); "Prosody and Intrasyllabic Timing in…

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which listening comprehension is impaired when students are confronted with the colloquial use of French, as opposed to its formal use. It was found that amoung 128 prospective French teachers who participated in the study, there existed a low comprehension level of colloquial French, a discrepancy…