RECENT RESEARCH WOULD SEEM TO IMPLY THAT THE RESULT OF INTENSIVE TEACHER-CORRECTION OF STUDENT COMPOSITION DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE EFFORT. IF TEACHER-CORRECTION DOES NOT PRODUCE THE IMPROVEMENT OF STUDENT COMPOSITION, PERHAPS PEER-CORRECTION WOULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE. A REVIEW OF THE FEW PERTINENT STUDIES INDICATES THAT PEER-CORRECTION IS AT LEAST AS…

WHEN CHILDREN ENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THEY POSSESS A LANGUAGE SYSTEM WHICH HAS BEEN INTUITED FROM WHAT THEY HEAR AND WHICH CAN PRODUCE FOR THEM AN INFINITE NUMBER OF SENTENCES REFLECTING EITHER STANDARD OR NONSTANDARD DIALECTS OF ENGLISH. THE ELEMENTARY TEACHER CAN EQUIP THOSE WHO SPEAK A DIVERGENT ENGLISH DIALECT WITH ANOTHER, MORE SOCIALLY…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The ten titles deal with the following topics: (1) rhetorical theories for college writing teachers, (2) contemporary rhetorical criticism of literary art, (3) the rhetoric of the new religious cults, (4) Victorian argument, (5)…

There has been growing interest in the effect on achievement of teacher and student attitudes toward language. This paper attempts to examine the relevant studies in this area in order to draw some conclusions for bilingual bicultural classroom settings. The reported attitude studies focus on research with standard and non-standard varieties of…

The nature and extent of code-mixing in the language acquisition process over a 12-month period was studied with a child growing up in a bilingual English-Chichewa (Bantu language) speaking home. Data are examined from age 18 1/2 months to 30 1/2 months. Definitions of code-switching are offered, and an analysis of code-mixing in the speech of the…

Foreigner talk (FT) is the term used to characterize possible adjustments in the speech of a native speaker (NS) when he or she is in conversation with a non-native speaker (NNS). The paper examines conversations between 6 native speakers and 3 non-native speakers and characterizes the speech of the native-speakers involved. The data were…

This is an investigation of the notion of language for special purposes and a discussion of the topic from the point of view of reading comprehension and its pedagogical implications. The meanings, connotations, and inadequacies of the terms "langue de specialite" and "Language for special purposes" are discussed. A distinction is made between…

Three hundred twelve respondents representing a cross section of Colorado Hispanic families participated in a 1978 questionnaire survey developed by the Colorado Department of Education to assess the mobility and point of origin of the state's Hispanic population and to provide information about attitudes and feelings concerning the public school…

Compositions in the narrative and argumentative modes of discourse were collected from 240 students (40 boys and 40 girls each from grades 6, 10, and 12) and analyzed for mean T-unit length to determine any differences in syntactic complexity across modes of discourse or grade levels. At each grade level, T-unit length was significantly greater in…

A study was undertaken to confirm previous findings on the relation between teacher performance on the "Teacher Test of Black English" (TTBE), certain teaching behaviors (direct correction, establishing a set, and "directly relevant" teaching), and the achievement of Vernacular Black English speaking students. In addition, the study sought to…

The goal of integrating coping skills into the English as a second language (ESL) curriculum is to enable adults to use language in the real world. To accomplish this goal, two kinds of input are needed: (1) comprehensive knowledge about the workings of American English, and (2) accurate information about the language contexts in which adults need…

A study was conducted in Ireland of the mechanisms of linguistic change and the effects of a politics of linguistic irredentism on the language behavior of the population. The objectives of the study were: (1) to discover the nature and the importance of people's attitudes toward the Irish language and its restoration, and (2) to ascertain the…

THE GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THESE UNITS ON SEGMENTAL AND SUPRASEGMENTAL PHONEMES, PREPARED BY NORTHERN UNIVERSITY'S PROJECT ENGLISH CENTER, IS TO HELP 11TH- AND 12TH-GRADERS TO DISCOVER, THROUGH AN UNDERSTANDING OF PHONOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES, THE SYSTEMS UNDERLYING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE. SPECIFIC LANGUAGE-SKILL OBJECTIVES ARE THE IMPROVEMENT OF (1)…

LANGUAGE PATTERNS OF BALTIMORE FIFTH-GRADERS FROM FOUR DISADVANTAGED, INNER-CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS--TWO WHITE AND TWO NEGRO--AND FROM ONE WHITE MIDDLE-CLASS SUBURBAN SCHOOL WERE EXAMINED (1) TO IDENTIFY SUBGROUPS WHOSE LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR DIFFERS SYSTEMATICALLY FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM STANDARD ENGLISH, (2) TO GATHER INFORMATION ON THE LANGUAGE…

Four historical studies, carried out under the direction of Professor Raven I. McDavid and reported in this monograph, trace the various attitudes toward language study expressed in the journals (1911-63) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). For the years between 1911 and 1929, Betty Gawthrop reports a cautious questioning of the…