Examines two works, "Pnin" (1957) and "Pale Fire" (1962), by writer Vladimir Nabokov, a polyglot with strong metalinguistic awareness. Shows how Nabokov used a polylinguistic matrix to create a subtext partially accessible to monoglots but only fully comprehensible to those who know several languages, literatures and histories.…

Analysis of the processes of composing in a distinctly foreign language, Japanese for Anglophone Canadians, suggests a need for decisions concerning instructional strategies for "keeping up the standard" (associated with native language composition) and for "lowering the standard" in order to access knowledge in the foreign…

To investigate the hypothesis that cognitive rules govern writing behavior, Carter's signaled stopping technique was used to study language and cognitive effects in public relations messages. Principles from Grunig, et al (1985) Axiomatic Theory of Cognition and Writing, which proposed premises, axioms and definitions about writing, were applied…

To find differences and similarities between spoken and written English, analyses were made of four specific kinds of language. Twenty adults, either graduate students or university professors, provided a sample of each of the following: conversations, lectures, informal letters, and academic papers. Conversations and lecture samples came from…

Second language learning research suggests the existence of a theoretical device (a monitor) that can examine an utterance for grammaticality and appropriateness. The monitor theory gives insight into the process that native language speakers follow in learning to write their own language. The monitor can be developed consciously (learning) or…

Contains annotations describing research conducted in the following areas: writing (contexts, status surveys, instruction, processes, text analysis, assessment, rhetoric, writing and learning), language (processing, development, interrelationships, language and schooling), literature, and teacher education. (HOD)

Describes research studies that relate to writing instruction, writing processes, language development, literature, and English teacher education. (HOD)

Sentence combining--a technique of putting strings of sentence kernels together in a variety of ways so that completed sentences possess greater syntactic maturity--is a method offering much promise in the teaching of writing and composition. The purpose of this document is to provide a literature review of this procedure. After defining the term…

A study investigated the oral and written language used in college student groups working on draft revisions. Subjects were 19 freshmen in a composition class. Data were gathered in two speech situations: (1) students and instructor engaged in revision; and (2) a three-student peer group revision session with no teacher present. The use of…

A study analyzed the second-language essays of seven anglophone and one French-speaking Quebec university students enrolled in a literature course by using a cognitive-metacognitive framework developed for mathematical problem-solving and a think-aloud protocol. Results indicate the framework, with some adjustments, is a reliable tool for…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the adolescent writer's developing sense of audience; (2) the entry skills, methods, and attitudes of intermediate composition students in postsecondary composition programs; (3)…

This paper presents suggestions for writing and publishing articles in second language teaching journals, focusing on three areas: getting started (appreciating the benefits of writing for publication, starting with good ideas, efficiency, considering options beyond the typical article, choosing a good topic, replicating research, cooperating with…

Provides annotations of research studies in the areas of language, literature and media study, writing, and English teacher education. (HOD)

A study investigated the effects of instruction in metadiscourse on composition students' writing skills. Subjects were students in two 100-level college composition classes. A Control Class (CC) was taught using a process approach, and the Experimental Class (EC) had direct teaching of metadiscourse. The CC students worked on the propositional…

A planned 3-year joint project of the Nordic research council for the humanities that focuses on writing development in school-age children is described. Four Nordic countries are involved in the project: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. In the study, discourse-level performance analyses of student writing in English as a Second Language are…