Metadiscourse refer to linguistic resources that are used to refer to the act and the context of writing about some subject matter. Study of metadiscourse provides a gateway for understanding interactional features of texts or speech, looking beyond the ideational dimension of texts at how writers characterize the world and function…

An analysis is made of research focusing on how speaking and listening activities are relevant to the language classroom. Current thinking is reviewed on spoken language, with a focus on pronunciation, as a medium of information transfer and of interpersonal exchange. (66 references) (GLR)

Two meanings of the word "discourse" are distinguished. The first treats discourse as conversation (D1), and the other refers to different ways of understanding (D2). Rather than seeing the two kinds of discourse as different, they are seen as having an important connection, particularly in classroom communication. Examples are drawn from the…

Reviews research on apologies, considering research goals and results in assessing the "maturity" of apology research. Argues that such research needs to progress beyond a descriptive goal to an explanatory goal in terms of the underlying cultural assumptions that inform the perception of contextual factors that in turn inform apology…

Reviews a decade of rehabilitation literature which calls attention to imprecise, stereotypical, and devaluing language that is often used to discuss people with disabilities and offers more appropriate alternatives. Brings attention to these issues because professional counselors sometimes commit these language abuses, and counselors of all…

Reviews the theories which assert the necessity for prolonged intensive listening without expectations of production for some time in language teaching. Asserts that comprehension and production are indissoluble partners in the two-way process of communicative interaction and that teacher-directed and dominated classrooms are not interactive…

Reviews published research on the question of whether recipients of utterances pay attention to gesture and whether they alter their understandings of utterances in light of this. Examines both experimental and observational studies. (51 references) (MDM)

An analysis of differences in politeness between Japanese and English focuses on those that affect the relative imposition involved in a request. Introductory sections draw on previous research and theory, and discuss general linguistic and cultural principles underlying requests, politeness, and politeness strategies. Four rules for times when a…

A review of literature in sociolinguistics and classroom conversation reveals areas in which sociolinguistic research and theory can inform the conducting of student writing conferences with teachers. Studies on classroom discourse, communicative competence in classroom exchanges, the nature and role of teacher talk, and the features of…

The language of twins allows researchers in language development to examine acquisition in a unique environment. Researchers investigating the nature-nurture controversy, the order of acquisition, and other linguistic features find the twin situation particularly interesting because of the children's shared genetic makeup and environment. A…

Discusses four major outcomes of studies on language acquisition and the dimensions of the concept of communicative competence that need to be substantiated empirically. Warns that classroom teachers may go further than theoreticians in condemning the teaching of grammar, as if communication were something to be acquired in spite of grammatical…

Analysis of the speech of the people of Santa Maria Lachixio, a Zapotec town in Mexico shows they use a high voice to show respect toward others, and that variability in the height of pitch is unimportant. No other voice quality changes occur, such as laryngealization or breathiness. Kinship, age, and authority are important determiners of high…

Education may be seen as a form of verbal communication. Opinions about the part language plays in pedagogical communication differ according to the emphasis placed on: (1) the teacher (i.e., language as a means of transferring knowledge, as in the traditional teacher-centered concept); (2) the students (or language as a means of learning); or (3)…

The revised second edition of a 1976 book explores the literature of research on memory, creation of meaning in language learning, and second language teaching methodology, incorporating results of recent work in those areas. Each of the 12 chapters begins with a series of questions to be addressed and ends with further questions. Chapter topics…