Describes the different effects for four types of activities on students' pronunciation of targeted second-language (L2) vocabulary used in oral presentations. Samples of pronunciation were elicited at three points. The observed effects over time are presented graphically, and the complex learning processes underlying these effects are discussed.…

Controversy lingers regarding the name of the language spoken in the Spanish autonomous province of Valencia. Although the variety of Catalan spoken there has long been called both "Catalan" and "Valencian," recent controversy has become bitter and often surrounded by violence. Despite the debate, the language is in danger of…

Discusses the patterns of language usage in international families in which the native language of one parent is Japanese and the other English. Using data from several surveys of such families, this article analyzes patterns of language use between spouses, parents and children, and among siblings. Also discussed are the problems that…

Reports on data concerning language environments in classes with children who had been in the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development project when they were three and four years old. Activities and types of talk used in preschool classrooms changed as children grew older. (BB)

A context-based framework for teaching the history of Portuguese is presented. It incorporates passages from a medieval Galician-Portuguese work to illustrate diachronic linguistic processes in the evolution of the language. Advantages of the approach, prerequisites, text, and syllabus are described, and a sample analysis is provided. (53…

Investigates the effect of stimulation of fantasy play on the level of symbolic play, language, and cognitive ability of four-year olds in Guyanan nursery schools. Concludes that provision of opportunities for fantasy play can have positive effects on symbolic play and language. (Author/BB)

Utilizes a sample of 225 first graders and 246 seventh graders to examine the imagery developed in response to neutral words. Finds that the children developed sex-specific masculine imagery in response to neutral messages, with boys doing so more frequently than girls, but the seventh graders used more inclusive imagery than the first graders.…

Reports on a study of written protocols by 147 children, ages 7-14. Comparisons were made between those who were asked to debate an issue (formal discourse) and those who were asked to defend an opinion (natural discourse). Finds that older children were able to use different structures for argumentation and write longer arguments. (CFR)

Discusses various responses to the author's book "Ways with Words--Language, Life and Work in Communities and Classrooms" (1983). Describes how these reactions have led the author to see things in the work that she had not seen before. Strengths and weaknesses of the book she identifies have implications for the conduct of future ethnographic…

A response to a Henry Widdowson article on the English language and its teaching focuses on three issues: the importance of the political context of language use; the notion of language as a weapon; and the recommendation in favor of teaching English for special purposes rather than general English in many cases. (MSE)

Compares speech-related (coverbal) gestures in brain-damaged patients (aphasics and visuo-spatial deficits) and in matched controls. Results suggest ideational gestures probably facilitate word retrieval and reflect transfer of information between propositional and non-propositional representations during message construction, and that conceptual…

Reports a study of the relationship between nonverbal forms of communication, principally gestures, and second language (L2) private speech through recall and picture narration task. Results show nonverbal elements illuminate the private speech they accompany, and gestures alone act in a self-regulatory capacity after pauses, implying a connection…

Discusses the description of English discourse for teaching purposes, drawing on new information from analysis of CANCODE (Cambridge/Nottingham Corpus of Discourse in English). Concludes that language teaching should be based on regularities and patterns, not rules, and that exposure to real, informal language of native speakers, with its…

Describes three pilot projects carried out with a special version of a computer-assisted language-learning activity, known as SEQUITUR, that seeks to develop awareness of cohesive devices and coherence features by displaying the start of a text and offering possible continuations. Usage logs of responses given by native and nonnative speakers of…

Review of research on trends in teaching second-language listening focuses primarily on strategy instruction and a strategy-based approach but also refers to developments in terms of listening and "high-tech contexts," interactive listening, and academic listening. Classroom listening textbooks are discussed, with attention to the mismatch between…