To support and continue the motivation of participants in virtual learning environments it is important to achieve a successful learning atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary to reach the participants on a personal level and to perceive their personal needs and emotions when conversing with them. These factors of learning motivation depend on the…

The aim of this study is to discuss the interaction of linguistic complexity and morpho-syntactic development in foreign language learners. The analysis of morpho-syntactic structures was carried out within the framework of Processability Theory (Pienemann 1998). To capture the level of complexity we investigate the following: sentence length,…

This study investigates the effects of parent-child shared book reading and metalinguistic training on the language and literacy skills of 148 kindergartners in Hong Kong. Children were pretested on Chinese character recognition, vocabulary, morphological awareness, and reading interest and then assigned randomly to 1 of 4 conditions: the dialogic…

Efforts by Canada Natives to put their languages into standard written formats and to use Native languages with their children are discussed in this review of the Stoney Indian Language Project. The Stoney community is centered at Morley, Alberta (Canada), and the population of the three bands--Bear's Paw, Chiniki, and Goodstoney--is nearly 2,700.…

This paper is an analysis of behavioral texts (speech directed obligatorily to a second person in a communication situation) and a discussion of the persuasive devices employed by the speakers in an effort to effect a change in the listener's behavior. This study deals with two Eastern Bontoc behavioral texts. Several nonlinguistic persuasive…

An organizing framework is presented that can help integrate the large mass of apparently disparate work on written language. The starting point of the paper was collections of articles of reading, writing, and literacy, which seemed not to have a conceptual framework. Ways are discussed that knowledge from linguistics as an academic discipline…

This paper attempts to show that certain structural relations that contribute to creating text in spoken and written monologue also bind segments together in conversation. Methodology is based on a model of text as consisting of sequences of a problem-solution structure. Analysis of texts from 12 purpose-oriented telephone conversations focuses on…

The notion of "textual norms" refers to sociocultural conventions that define the "well-formedness" of a text. Because well-formedness in texts is characterized by convention, different conventions may exist in a community and lead to norm conflicts when used in actual text generation. In this article, two types of norm conflict are described. In…

Exploring the use of the prefix "meta" and the use of "meta" terms in the context of Lev S. Vygotsky's theories demonstrates that students need to use language to learn about language. "Writing about writing" is already part of many classrooms, but by establishing a connection between metadiscourse written informally…

The play activity of 20 children was videotaped and annotated. The children were questioned about their play and artifacts of the play were collected. Data revealed a qualitative organization similar to a hierarchy. This structure reflected themes, domains of literate behavior, functions, and skills. A vignette of an episode of spontaneous play is…

Describes an alphabetic process for cuing readers to speak the three dimensions of sound: fundamental frequency, duration, and intensity. (RB)

This article discusses the definition, classification, etymology and history, formation and the use of acronyms, and provides a list of the most common acronyms currently in use. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This article discusses the problems that arise with the formation of plural forms of surnames in Spanish, problems both with morphology and with ambiguity. Suggestions as to how to lessen problems are made. (Text is in Spanish.) (CLK)

Given that a word in a language may function on different levels of meaning, this article presents a system for classifying these levels. The common denominator is the point of view of the speaker; the emotive, the representative and the concrete are the basic divisions within this common denominator. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Dodson, in "Language Teaching and the Bilingual Method" (London; Pitman 1967, 1972), described a controversial, new bilingual method that involves the use of the mother tongue and introduction of the printed word along with the first auditory presentation. Dodson is interviewed about certain controversial points. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)