Emphasizes kinship systems and language choice among academics in a multilingual capital in India. Interviews with 17 faculty members reveal reasons why some parents use English with their children at home. (Author/VWL)

Explores the use of English in Cypriot Greek, focusing on extensive data from informal conversations between members of a Limassol family. Suggests that instances of language alternation can be accounted for in terms of discourse analytic categories such as the distinction between local and global phenomena and the tri-partite scheme of…

Presents the results of a study of stereotypical perceptions of ten foreign populations by 164 Brazilian university students studying diverse foreign languages. Socio-cultural stereotypes were investigated using bipolar adjective scales paired in a Likkert-type format. Factor analysis suggested a three-factor system is at work, consisting of…

Investigates sex and language proficiency differences in the color-naming performance of Chinese-speaking English learners at the university level. Data were obtained on color terms used by 40 females and 40 males in naming 40 color stimuli. An interest related variable, five demographic factors, and seven language proficiency indices were…

Responds to an earlier article that investigated sex and language proficiency differences in the color-naming performance of Chinese-speaking English learners at the university level. (Author/VWL)

Reacts to comments made by Paul Matsuda about an article written by the author that investigated sex and language proficiency differences in the color-naming performance of Chinese-speaking English learners at the university level. (Author/VWL)

Demonstrates how second language acquisition research can inform textbook writers and language teachers. Presents an analysis of 40 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) grammar textbooks, which shows that few mention unaccusative verbs or inappropriate passives in their presentation of active and passive voice. Offers suggestions for dealing with…

An English for academic purposes needs survey conducted at a Canadian university among first-year Bachelor's and Master's level students reveals native speakers (NS) and nonnative speakers (NNS) of English perceive that the language skills necessary for academic study are of different levels of difficulty. English language difficulties appear to…

Analyzes differences between experts and university students of various academic levels in the application of the macrorules of deletion, generalization, and construction of text summaries. Learners of French as a second language wrote summaries of a French text in French as well as in English, their mother tongue, while professors of French and…

Focuses on the indirection process presented in Searle's and Vanderveken's theory of speech acts: the performance of a primary speech act by means of the accomplishment of a secondary speech act. Discusses indirection mechanisms used in advertising and in political communication. (Author/VWL)

Examines the variable presence/absence of third person plural marking on French verbs in the speech of French immersion students. Considers both linguistic and social factors that condition variation and compares results with those found for native speakers of French. (Author/VWL)

Discusses part of a large-scale survey on the oral performance of advanced French-as-a-second-language students, as represented by recorded speech. Although schwa rarely leads to semantic confusions, its analysis in word-median or monosyllabic contexts shows interesting phonostylistic variations. (Author/VWL)

Explores the issue of the emergence of English as a global language and how this is affecting educational policies and practices. Considers this question in relation to the Greater China region looking specifically at Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Data are from multiple sources, including questionnaires, interviews, and documentary…

Examines the benchmarking of English language teaches in Hong Kong. Contextualizes the benchmarking initiative, which has been put in place to ensure that all teachers in Hong Kong have the necessary competence to teach English. Focuses on the representativeness of the sample used to field test the prototype of the benchmark assessments and to…

Looks at the value of language corpora for designing teaching materials and argues that they are an essential tool for teachers wishing to keep up to date with language as it is actually used in real life. Provides a number of useful and practical teaching examples for designing teaching tasks and for raising students' awareness to the differences…