Two types of main hall discussions at an ecology conference were studied: plenary lecture discussion as an accepted, established spoken research process genre with its own conventions; and poster session discussion as a fragile, embryonic research process genre struggling for definition. (14 references) (Author/LB)

A test on the effects of native/nonnative (NS/NNS) English-speaker status and gender on the structure of directions issued by native speakers of English is reported. It confirms that direction giving is highly conventionalized and that NS/NNS status and gender systematically influence a small range of linguistic choices. (24 references) (Author/LB)

Reporting verbs used in reporting statements, or citation, in medical journal articles are described, and their role in the discourse is examined. Choice among Discourse Verbs, Real-Word Verbs, and Cognition Verbs correlates with the rhetorical function of the report; e.g, Cognition Verbs correlate with reports of consensus views of the scientific…

Discusses and problematizes the notion of agency in the English classroom. Considers both teachers and students to be constructed agents in the classroom. Focuses on an excerpt from a first-year writing class. Provides comments from the teacher and four students in the class. (HB)

Studies employed detailed discourse analysis techniques to examine Montreal nursing students' comprehension of texts in both their first and second languages. The results suggest that the use of second-language production tends to underestimate and distort second-language comprehension, at least at intermediate levels of second-language…

Examines the writings of graduate students in a seminar to reveal a complex discursive scene. Provides a narratological analysis of student authorship. Raises questions about writing across the curriculum theory and suggests new possibilities for research and teaching. (HB)

Considers how the development of a computer-based microconcordance program could be used to produce cloze tests that do more than present a mutilated text derived from a single source, with an example within the context of advanced learners of English-as-a-Second-Language. (CB)

Examines the relationship between new biology teachers' subject matter knowledge and classroom discourse, contrasting classroom discourse during laboratory investigation with discourse during other classroom activities. Data analysis suggests that knowledge and control are related but in ways unique to the communicative context of the laboratory.…

Explores the potential utility of Bayesian statistical methods in determining the predictability of multiple polls. Compares Bayesian techniques to the classical statistical method employed by pollsters. Considers these questions in the context of the 1992 presidential elections. (HB)

Examines life history interviews with English as a foreign language teachers in Poland, employing an analysis based on Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of language, which describes language as "heteroglossic" or comprising multiple, competing discourses in dynamic dialogue with one another. The central question focuses on what discourses…

Presents a notion of small culture as an alternative to what has become the default notion of large culture in applied linguistics, social science, and popular usage. A small-culture view of English-language curriculum settings reveals mismatches between professional-academic and organizational cultures at the mezzo level of the institution. (VWL)

Presents the results of an analysis of science-classroom lab talk which focuses on topics and manner of talk as an approach to understanding the social context of undergraduate lab work. Argues that lab instructors should pay attention to how "scientific" the lab talk is, and to sociability among students. Contains 32 references.…

Considers whether it is possible to account for the phenomenon of uptake by looking at some of the discoursal features of the interactive work that goes on between an instructor and his students in biology lessons in the context of nonnative English-speaking instructors working with nonnative English-speaking students in a tertiary-level…

Recorded conversations of seven pairs of children and parents from a kindergarten and seven from a school for the gifted were recorded and analyzed. Dramatically different discourse patterns were found. The gifted group's interactions better reflected the style of classroom discourse. (SK)

Reports the results of research conducted in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) graduate courses on the discourse socialization of students through the process of engaging in oral academic presentations. Data sheds light on the complex process of discourse socialization and are informative for faculty who assign oral academic…