Schachter's "An Error in Error Analysis," is reviewed in light of subsequent research on avoidance. Hypotheses based on her figures suffer from the lack of methodological detail in her original study. To establish whether avoidance is a feasible explanation for learner underproduction, first language form, distribution, and function of…

Examines why some sayings and catchphrases stick in people's minds, while others are unrecognized and unused. Offers an answer to this question from an evolutionary standpoint. (Author/VWL)

This study reflects a social constructivist theoretical framework in which the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a central element, as two teaching approaches, communicative language teaching (CLT) and explicit focus on form (FonF) are examined. Research questions include: Are CLT and explicit FonF conducive to reaching the ZPD? Is there a…

This is a qualitative interpretive study that explores the past and present experiences of heritage learners (HLs) of Mexican descent who were studying or had recently studied advanced Spanish in institutions of higher education. All of the participants had been exposed to Spanish in the home and began their studies in elementary or middle school…

Among several hundred indigenous languages, Bahasa Indonesia gained pre-eminence as the national language of Indonesia during the country's first 50 years of independence. The fall of Soeharto in 1998 and the subsequent devolution of power to the regions might have been expected to lead to a resurgence in use of local languages but instead it…

This paper aims to present an overview of language testing in Thailand. Language testing practices in the past are also reviewed. Attention is paid to the washback effects of language tests, the use of language tests in school admissions, questions of test validity, the emergence of standardized tests, the influence of societal values on testing…

This article looks at the competing language ideologies that preschool children negotiate in "Mi Clase Magica" (MCM), a Spanish-English bilingual/bicultural after-school program in San Diego. It examines children's language choice in interactions with peers and adults taking place at computer and "tareas" (homework) activities.…

This study investigates L2 learners' use of French derivational processes and their strategies as they form agent nouns. It also attempts to find out which of the acquisitional principles (conventionality, semantic transparency, formal simplicity, and productivity) advanced by Clark (1993, 2003) for various L1s acquisition of word formation…

This study explores the utility of analytic scoring for TAST in providing useful and reliable diagnostic information for operational use in three aspects of candidates' performance: delivery, language use and topic development. One hundred and forty examinees' responses to six TAST tasks were scored analytically on these three aspects of speech. G…

Writing is difficult for students who are learning English, as they often struggle to express what they really want to say. Writing is difficult for their teachers, too, who often struggle to respond in ways that are helpful. In this article, the authors offer an approach that looks at students' writing from a functional linguistics perspective,…

After beginning primary of English-as-a-Second-Language students learn phonetics and are advanced into spelling, reading, writing and vocabulary development, this practical spelling dictionary is suitable for general use and is edited for special use with "The Writing Road to Reading" and "America's Spelling & Reading with…

Students' use of French in unsupervised classroom situations and outside the classroom was investigated in immersion center schools (all students are involved in French immersion programs) and dual track schools (French immersion programs co-exist with regular English language programs). A total of 414 students in grades 3 and 4 were observed…

Evaluates tenses as to (1) communicative importance, (2) frequency, and (3) range. Under (1), finds actual tense less important than accompanying adverbials and extra-linguistic factors. Discusses chief difficulties appearing in use and interpretation of past tenses, and how the results of linguistic research may help to deal with them. (Text is…