Presents rules for the correct use of the French pronouns "ce" and "il," based on the criterion of discourse coherence and an understanding of the principles underlying the use of demonstrative vs. personal pronouns. (MSE)

Traces the development of predicate use for genre and cohesion in the narratives of children aged two to five, examining predicate structures and types and their linkages via three types of parallelism and by means of explicit connectives. (Author/SED)

Measured high school students' use of Black American English (BAE) via three different data collection techniques: actual conversation, conversation simulations, and self-report questionnaires. Found significant differences in BAE usage according to type of data collection technique used. (PD)

Investigates the power of a macropropositional model of comprehension for a complex social interaction (a rape interrogation) to predict accurate recall by both individuals and groups. The findings are considered in relation to strategic models of discourse comprehension, and the implications for future social psychological research are discussed.…

Explores the problem of implicit and explicit knowledge in a second language. The theoretical characterizations of Bialystok and Krashen are shown to be unsatisfactory in addressing these two problems. Some characteristics of explicit knowledge that any improved theory should be able to explain are considered. (SED)

Discusses the interactional state referred to by speakers of Hebrew as "brogez" as an example of the ritual regulation of conflict. Identifies specific forms and strategies of this type of interaction as they are used by Israeli children and their relevance to children's communicative competence. (SED)

Proposes a technique of developing conversational, expressive competence based on a discourse model. Exercises to develop an understanding of commercial negotiation illustrate the technique. (MSE)

Examines how people use "accounts," (communicate their own preferred meaning to explain a failure or problem in a more acceptable way). Illustrates the use of accounts in a teacher-student conference. (PD)

Ideas for using entire comic strips or parts of cartoons to teach coherence, cultural information, vocabulary, semantics, grammar, syntax, discourse, and other elements of language in the French language classroom are presented and illustrated. (MSE)

Outlines the development of a French second language program based on the communicative needs and professional objectives of individuals conducting diplomatic affairs in France. Two examples of discourse analysis are given: one of a number of telephone conversations recorded in an embassy and the other of a collection of notes. (MSE)

Investigation of commonalities in children's language across tasks showed that children with literate and oral speech styles made both contrastive and similar types of adaptations when portraying events through play and oral narration. As they moved from playing to narrating, both groups edited more carefully and employed more explicit language.…

After a summary and critique of traditional approaches to politeness that are based on appropriateness, suggestions are made for an approach based on interpersonal supportiveness. The issues in the proposed model pertain to cross-modal ways of expressing emotion, supportive and nonsupportive use combinations, and a redefinition of politeness. (SED)

Explores four drafts of a child's story about the disappearance of television, showing how the later draft suggests the writer's interest in questions about the nature of reality, and how the student grew as writer. (HTH)

Argues that communicative competence is as important in writing as in speaking, and that more emphasis should be placed on written work and writing skills in the second language classroom. Discusses some of the insights that discourse analysis provides into written communication in the areas of pragmatics, semantics, lexicon, and syntax. (EKN)

Examines the quality of conversation produced by small groups of subjects in fifth, ninth, and twelfth grades and the last year of college. Results supported Piaget's sequence of conversational development. However, topical coherence apparently is not fostered by focused turns but emerges as a generalization of the normative constraints applying…