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)

Examined Grade 8 French immersion students use and accuracy of pronominal verbs within one of two tasks--jigsaw or dictogloss--while working in pairs. Two groups of students viewed a videotaped mini-lesson on pronominal verbs, while another two did not. Found that the mini-lesson had a significant impact on students' use of pronominal verbs in…

Sets out 11 principles that relate second language teaching to more general theoretical perspectives on teaching. (Author/VWL)

Reports on a study that found that both first-language summarizing skills and second language proficiency affect second language summarizing skills, with the exception of inclusion of main ideas and amount of distortion that are more affected by first language summarizing skills. (Author/VWL)

Demonstrates how multimedia tools can be combined with an enunciation based analysis of the French verb system in order to develop innovative ways of teaching the imparfait and passe compose. (Author/VWL)

Discusses ways of achieving productive use of authentic language in a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment. Concentrates on a particular area of CALL--parser-based CALL. Outlines two existing parsers for two CALL tools that support text production by encouraging learners to concentrate on the linguistic structure of a text…

This article presents a demonstration of how the saliency of certain dialectal variants has led to a major controversy in the standardization of place names in Cyprus. (Author/VWL)

Explores the concept and role of intensity in the research project on Intensive Core French in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Illustrates the relationship between second language learning and the development of cognitive, social, and personal capacities and organizational skills. Argues that the type of strategies used in second…

Describes the use of a pitch visualization software in a pronunciation course in French as a second language. Outlines the software's characteristics and explains the methodological and pedagogical framework of the experiment. (Author/VWL)

Discusses applications of second language acquisition (SLA) research to the preparation of language coursebooks. Suggests a number of ways that SLA research findings can help improve coursebooks and enhance the learning of large numbers of students. (Author/VWL)