Discusses the recent shift in the use of English by nonnative speakers using English for international communication, resulting in nonnative speakers of the language outnumbering native speakers. Argues that this shift has serious implications for English language teaching pedagogy, principally with regard to phonology and pronunciation.…

Explores the potential of cognitive linguistic notions such as conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonym for comparing the figurative phraseologies of English and Malay and anticipating second language learner difficulty. A comparative analysis is undertaken that identifies six types of relationship between figurative expressions in the two…

Comments on Lindstromberg's (2001) article that argues that prepositional representation in dictionaries is frequently inadequate. Suggests that Lindstromberg's arguments are not exhaustive, and that he fails to include crucial psycholinguistic studies and to relate his views to current linguistic theories. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on semicommunication and accommodation and discusses two longer extracts from a large corpus of authentic communication from Scandinavia. Various aspects of a comprehensive model of semicommunication are presented and discussed, showing code switching and accommodation are not considered antagonistic but rather as scalar phenomena covering…

Reports on a study exploring the effectiveness of giving oral remedial instruction to secondary and university students using a consciousness-raising approach. The focus of remedial instruction was three high frequency lexico-grammatical anomalies: psuedo-tough movement, the verb "concern" and the related adjective "concerned," and the…

Considers key concepts of elicited imitation (EI), to clarify this technique for language testing. Reviews the literature on EI and suggests some issues for discussion, such as the process of imitating, the length and structure of the stimulus, contextual support, whether the test evaluates comprehension or production skills, whether it assesses…

Examines "expert" discourse--complexes of signs and practices that organize and legitimize social existence and social reproduction--to demonstrate the ideological process involved in the manufacture of Standard English ideology and its continual duplication as necessitated by the three axiomatic conceptions of the English-sacred imagined…

Investigated similarities and differences between Egyptian Arabic and American English refusals using a modified version of the discourse completion test. Thirty U.S. interviews resulted in 298 refusals, and 24 Egyptian interviews resulted in 250 refusals. Results indicate both groups use similar strategies with similar frequency in making…

Argues for refinement in the traditional approach to transfer in second language acquisition (SLA), where transfer is generally investigated as the unidirectional influence of native (or other language) knowledge on acquisition and use of a second language. Shows transfer can be bidirectional, influencing an individual's use of both the first and…

Explores the use of directives through an analysis of a 2.5 million word corpus of published articles, textbooks, and second language student essays, and through interviews with insider informants on their perceptions and practices. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on interpretations of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development for foreign language teaching in the United States. Comments on progressive and conservative trends in the U.S. foreign language profession and on the reception of the construct, focusing on three cases in which the ZPD has been invoked in recent publications on research and…

Reacts to Cook's (2001) essay on invented sentences, which argues that sentences such as "the philosopher pulled the lower jaw of the hen," have the valuable language teaching functions of providing useful language data for the student, promoting noticing and memorability, and allowing he teacher to create new sentences. (Author/VWL)

Gossip has mainly been investigated as an oral discourse practice, one that serves as a mechanism to reaffirm relationships and to construct, monitor and maintain social norms and values within communities. This study investigates how a group of Aboriginal English speaking teenage girls constructed norms, values and identities in their email…

Changing global and local conditions have given rise to complex issues of identity. Within such conditions, the challenge for educators is to help students to develop a language with which to describe the new and dynamic cultural identities and relationships constitutive of what Hall (1996a, p.223) describes as "New Times". Students need…

This study investigates achievement in second language learning (Chinese) in primary school in relation to learner variables such as amount and duration of instruction and home language background. Currently in the State of Victoria it is recommended that all students learn a second language from the beginning of primary school to the end of Year…