Employs the Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) analytic framework to produce pictorial representations of lengthy Chinese and Australian news journal text. Results demonstrate the feasibility of using the RST framework in this type of analysis. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the role of primary school teachers in Hong Kong, especially with respect to their treatment of individual learner differences among students. Looks specifically at how three teachers cope with the demands of attention to individual differences, an emphasis of the new target-oriented curriculum. (Author/VWL)

Examines the English language standard of a group of Hong Kong science undergraduates using the ACER Word Knowledge Test Form F. Results show a significant difference in apparent English skill levels between Hong Kong, American, and Australian students.(Author/VWL)

Reports findings from two surveys into the experiences and attitudes of teachers in a university English teaching unit to the prospect of a curriculum increasingly mediated through information technology. Responses bear witness to problems teachers experienced attempting to computerize their pedagogical practices and show how issues of technology,…

Examines the discussion of results in medical research articles to determine the strategies used by the writers to persuade the readers that their research is either new or a development of previous work and that their study is a contribution to a specialist field. Twenty-four research articles were analyzed using Swales moves analysis as well as…

Reviews various strategies for addressing language needs in teacher development courses, ranging from providing separate language provision to incorporating language development within the methodology component of the course. Discusses how transcripts can be used to develop awareness of and promote practice in the language used for various…

Investigates whether Spanish- and Turkish-speaking learners of English discover the semantic and syntactic constraints on the causative/inchoative alternation in the absence of overt morphological clues. Results of a picture judgment task show that second language learners do discover these properties and that overall verbs appear to cluster in…

Offers suggestions for drawing attention to form and content in both introductory language courses and upper-division content courses. By implementing strategies for revising traditional speaking and writing tasks through "creative personalization," students can enhance critical thinking skills across the language/literature curriculum…

Describes the changing roles played by foreign language teachers in the new multimedia-enhanced, learner-centered classroom. Describes in detail the various parts that make up a technology-rich lesson on French fashion and analyzes the multiple roles that teachers may assume in their efforts to expand the language learning experience and…

Longitudinally compared the production of syllable shapes in 10-minute spontaneous speech samples of 20 children with expressive specific language impairment (SLI-E) and 15 typically developing (TD) peers from 24 to 36 months of age. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)

Presents a study of integrated computer technology which incorporates pace-controlled syntactic chunking in a captioned video presentation. In addition to increasing student motivation and learning efficiency over time, the program supplied the least able students with the means to better understand and respond to foreign language discourse. The…

Provides a detailed description of a way to encourage students to write for a purpose and to actively engage in the evaluation of their product. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the use of improvisational acting exercises as a productive tool for overcoming reticence in English-as-a-Second-Language students. The approach stresses participation rather than accuracy of production. (Author/VWL)

Reports findings of an investigation of how English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writers edit their academic papers. Interviews were conducted with 50 university students: 10 ESL writers (graduate students) whose final drafts exhibited grammatical accuracy, and 40 ESL writers (undergraduates) whose final drafts exhibited frequent and varied…

Explores the impact of analogies and prior content knowledge on reading comprehension of expository texts by both first and second language readers. Written recall protocols were analyzed for two texts. Readers were university students of French or English as a foreign language. Analogy was to have a debilitating effect on comprehension regardless…