Noam Chomsky's numerous criticisms of formerly well-accepted beliefs about the nature of language learning (e.g. in his review of Skinner's "Verbal Behavior") have led to a diversity of views regarding the potential application of transformational theory to the teaching of English as a second language/dialect. It seems clear, moreover, that his…

The first part of this Linguistics Research and Demonstration Project report presents articles which have greater implications for a theory of instruction in English than for practical activities for classroom utilization. It includes "Changing Emphasis on Formal Language Study,""The Growing Importance of and Emphasis on Oral…

The basic black rhetoric of violence during the 1960s differed little from other American rhetoric of violence in its expressions of values, attitudes, and beliefs. This conclusion is drawn from studying the speeches of five representative black spokesmen for violence: Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver, Huey P. Newton, and Bobby…

The modern German grammar approach stresses good usage not in isolation but in hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. Consequently, practice precedes analysis for the primary-level native learner. The child learns by demonstration what a sentence is and is then taught five parts of speech according to function: noun, verb, adjective, pronoun,…

Pronunciation of some sounds in Australian English causes ambiguities in cases where phonemes seem to have merged. This paper discusses some of the ambiguities arising from phonemic changes and provides examples of pronunciation variations in British and Australian English--mainly in vowels, but also in consonants and syllabification. Several…

The purpose of this study was to locate those measurable criteria of responsiveness to language which have not been utilized to any significant extent in standardized tests. The project involved creating a testing instrument, reviewing of the instrument by a panel of experts, and applying the resultant test to a small population of college…

Drawing upon his own experience as an English Teacher in a secondary school in Tobago (the Caribbean), the author focuses upon the deep problems of identity encountered by black people having to use the white man's language. In using the white man's language, the black is denied his true autonomy and through his educational process within a white…

This text is a syllabus for the training of teachers of standard English to speakers of nonstandard dialects. The assumptions underlying this publication are that important elements of foreign-language teaching methodology are applicable to teaching standard English as a second dialect and that this methodology can be taught effectively if applied…

A manual concerned with communication and the development of communicative skills in general is presented. Specifically, it deals with the significance of speech in its relation to reading. The point is made that a child's awareness of self as an individual and as a worthy human being emerges in direct relation to this ability to express himself.…

The English spelling system and the teaching of English spelling are discussed in relation to students who are learning English as a second (or foreign) language. The systematic nature of English spelling is described and a brief summary is presented of sound-to-spelling correspondences and of other spelling rules. Specific difficulties which may…

Divides American (Midwestern) sounds into 10 categories, and describes their pronunciation on the basis of Daniel Jones'"English Pronuncing Dictionary." Also describes American peculiarities of intonation, rhythm and nasalization. A list of words differing in pronunciation from British is added. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Although studies of Vietnamese refugees indicated that their language values and attitudes encouraged the use and maintenance of Vietnamese as well as the development of English proficiency, a study of adolescent Vietnamese suggested that "Vietnamese English" is an emerging dialect featuring modifications of English structures.…

A "system" comprising the learner-speaker, the specific linguistic system itself, and the interactions with native speakers is posited to explain the dynamics of the acquisition of French as a second language. Through self-regulation, this system devises solutions which pertain to that common area in language at the crossroads of…

Teachers of nonstandard dialect-speaking students need to become ethnographers of local communication. For minority education and bidialectal programs to work, there must be an informed awareness of community language functions and of the structural equality of all world dialects. (41 references) (CJH)

This book addresses the growing need to familiarize classroom teachers with the structure and use of language. Written with future teachers in mind, it addresses the core areas they will find most relevant, introducing them to various types of linguistic analysis while covering the basics of phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Seven…