Investigation of preschoolers' (20 native and 20 non-native English speakers) understanding of English speakers' gestures found that the subjects understood about half of all the gestures, with non-native subjects understanding less than native subjects. Level of comprehension was affected by age as well as by cultural familiarity. (Author/CB)

A contrastive analysis of Hebrew and English dress and cooking verbs and their noun/object collocations supports a series of generalizations about second-language learning and reveals that psychosociolinguistic and situational factors influence the behavior of both native and foreign users of language. (Author/CB)

EKTB, a new transliteration scheme for Hebrew based on the historical development of the alphabet, treats Latin characters as graphic variants of Hebrew letters and permits Hebrew to be used with standard equipment while maintaining its traditional writing methodology. (Author/CB)

Although "Received Pronunciation" (RP) has been recommended for years as the most suitable form of British English for first and second language instruction, it is not easiest nor most appropriate accent for foreigners to learn. Linguists, phoneticians, and teachers should overcome their fascination with the accent of elite minority and concern…

Argues that metaphor should be given a more important place in language teaching and considers ways in which the expanded available knowledge about metaphors can be incorporated into language art curricula, through such methods as multi-text exercises. (Author/CB)

Explores the different ways in which the term "competence" has been used in linguistics, considers the difficulties that arise when the term is used outside the domain for which it was originally intended. Making a clear distinction between "competence" and "proficiency" helps to resolve these difficulties. (Author/CB)

Argues that pragmatics should expand its research interest to include not only the study of how speakers perform speech acts but also the investigation of instances where they decide not to perform them, referred to as the "opting out" choice. (CB)

Study of the second language retention of students who completed a seven-year elementary Spanish immersion program found that some language loss occurred soon after program termination, with greatest loss in productive skills. Findings suggested that attitudinal predisposition influenced the extent to which students retained their Spanish skills.…

Proposes a framework for integrating sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and linguistic aspects of research on second language acquisition, encompassing five levels in a learner's conversion of input to output: apperceived input, comprehended input, intake, integration, and output. (Author/CB)

Investigated the effects of cue adequacy on second language learners' ability to infer and remember the meaning of new words. Subjects who received cue-adequate sentences reported greater ease in word inference, scored higher in inferring and remembering the contextual meanings of new words, and better retained the contextual meanings of targeted…

Discusses several objections to Krashen's Input Hypothesis which states that language acquisition is the learners' understanding of a language at a stage slightly higher than their current one because of their understanding of extralinguistic cues of the language. (Author/LMO)

Defines language transfer as a psycholinguistic procedure by which second language learners activate prior knowledge in developing or using their interlanguage. A functional differentiation of language transfer is proposed, according to its activation in learning, reception, and production. (Author/LMO)

Classroom observation of three adult English as a second language classes and pre- and post-testing of students for proficiency were used to investigate the relationships between instructional processes and learning outcomes. The observation scheme, Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching, and the various results are described in detail.…

Examination of existing empirical and theoretical literature suggests there is no conclusive support for the existence of a critical period for human speech learning. Assumption of a critical period may inhibit the search for testable hypotheses concerning observed adult-child differences in second language production. (Author/LMO)

Describes a set of criteria for selection of core vocabulary, with examples given from English. Suggests applications for such a vocabulary in grading reading materials and analyzing stylistics. (LMO)