Suggests that Kachru' model representing English worldwide must adapt by (1) moving away from a focus on nation-states in favor of a sociolinguistic focus on English-speaking communities wherever they are found and (2) recognizing that fundamental differences across contexts for English worldwide cannot be glossed over in support of specific…

Investigated the use of 50 common second language learning strategies by English for academic purposes students across eight disciplines--building, business, computing, engineering, English, mathematics, primary education, and science--in a university in Hong Kong. Compared and contrasted strategy use across disciplines and examined relationships…

Investigates how the use of think-aloud protocols, both concurrent and retrospective, can contribute to the study of the role of attention in second language acquisition. The study is based on analysis of think-aloud protocols produced by 74 first-year learners of Spanish during and immediately after a reading and multiple-choice activity.…

Sociolinguistic studies have found that female speakers prefer standard speech forms, while male speakers prefer vernacular forms. Examines when this split between male and female language occurs in the language of young children, and looks at how little boys and girls come to prefer linguistic features that are predominant in the language of…

Investigates use of a functional approach to discourse analysis--knowledge structure analysis, which focuses on meaning, form, and function simultaneously--to evaluate both writing development and content learning. Examined written texts in science, produced by English-as-a-Second-Language students with limited to intermediate English language…

Demonstrates some of the limits of the translation of sound effects in poetry from a purely linguistic point of view, as opposed to a literary critical one. Three examples of poetry were recorded in the original language and transcribed phonetically, as were English translations of the same works. (Author/VWL)

Argues that the teaching of English as an international language (EIL) should be based on an entirely different set of assumptions than has typically informed English language teaching (EL) pedagogy. Describes how two developments have altered the nature of English: a dramatic increase in the number of second language speakers of English and a…

Investigates the use of code switching in first-year learners of Danish. Points out that code switching appears as a skill used in early attempts of playing with the languages involved in the conversation. Acknowledges code switching as an increasingly sophisticated language skill even a an early stage of second language acquisition. (Author/VWL)

Reports the results of a descriptive study on sex differences in the use of a second language. A questionnaire was administered to 581 Spanish-speaking students learning Basque and English as second language to answer the following question: Do male and female second language learners differ in the number and the range of vocabulary strategies…

Describes two key principles that are claimed to be at the core of teaching languages, according to the lexical approach. Discusses difficulties with the approach and suggests that there is still much work to be done before the approach can be more fully integrated into mainstream English language teaching instruction. (Author/VWL)

Reports the results of a study carried out with high intermediate/advanced English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners who completed two form-focused tasks--a dictogloss and a text reconstruction) collaboratively. Learners' interaction with both tasks was codified and language-related episodes were identified. Results are considered in the light of…

Shows that two key principles of communication (the Shared Knowledge Principle and the Economy Principle), which monitor the framing of all well-formed referring expressions, are manifest in a specialized mode in the framing of focal specific indefinite referring expressions. Suggests that the special features associated with this type of…

Reports on three empirical studies carried out within the theoretical framework of folk linguistics, using questionnaire data. Examines the layperson's reactions to the use of difficult and incomprehensible language. Subjects from Germany, Norway, Poland, and the United States were asked which professional language groups exhibit the use of…

Investigated Reid's (1987) hypothesis that a mismatch between teaching and learning styles causes learning failure, frustration, and demotivation. Data were collected through Reid's questionnaire, interviews, and tests using 206 English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students and 46 EFL teachers at a Hong Kong university. (Author/VWL)

Identifies a set of writing conventions whose primary function is to monitor the development of a crucial component of narrative, the crisis of the story, but that are also customarily used by skilled writers to enhance the attention-getting power of their expository writing. Shows that English-as-a-Second-Language learners who have not learned to…