This paper questions the assumption that corpora are authentic, with particular reference to their application in language pedagogy. The author argues that, because of the form the corpus takes, authentic source texts forfeit a crucial criterion for authenticity, namely context, in the transition from source to electronic data. Other authentic…

Research on interaction has provided important insights on how second languages may be acquired through interaction, and on how second language learners use their second language in various settings and tasks. Research into computer mediated communication (CMC) in a second language learning context has been a logical outcome of interactionist…

This study focuses on the characteristics of discourse between Latino immigrant children and their teacher during science instruction. Peer interaction was analyzed to identify the use and importance of the native language (L1) for the development of content knowledge during group collaboration. In addition, the interaction between teacher and…

This study explored acculturation and acculturative stress in Sudanese adolescent refugees living in Brisbane. Twenty Sudanese adolescents participated in semi-structured interviews which revealed that the main source of acculturative stress was related to concern over English language proficiency, issues of parental control and conflicting…

This contribution investigates the frequency patterns of the modal verbs as they occur in the one-million-word corpus of Cameroon written English. An analysis of dominant senses of some of the modals is also attempted. I have used results and statistical figures from British and American English (as reported in studies such as Biber et al. 1999…

The present paper explores the extent of Irish language use in networked communications, and attitudes towards the language by 125 schoolchildren from three backgrounds in Ireland: (1) an Irish-speaking area (Gaeltacht) and Irish medium of instruction, (2) an English-speaking area and Irish medium of instruction, and (3) an English-speaking area…

In this article authenticity is defined by componential concepts, common to spoken and written communication through language, which frame assessments of interchanges produced for "high-stakes" examination purposes. They are referents for analysis and critique of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme evaluations of second and foreign…

In this article, we report on an investigation that aimed to describe adolescent multilinguals' use of the different languages they were learning at school when performing a translation task. We wanted to find out whether written translations of a mother tongue text into the learner's different foreign languages would reflect a multilingual rather…

This study investigates how immigrant minority pupils in a primary Flemish 5th Form construct their self-ascribed identities in terms of their cultural and linguistic affiliations. Two generalizable findings emerging from these pupils' discourse seem to shed light on synchronic variation and diachronic change in their strategies of identity…

This study examines and compares the production of discourse markers by native speakers and learners of English based on a pedagogic sub-corpus from CANCODE, a corpus of spoken British English, and a corpus of interactive classroom discourse of secondary pupils in Hong Kong. The results indicate that in both groups discourse markers serve as…

The present article suggests that teachers bring students' attention to the link between language and bias against nonhuman animals. First, the social phenomena that have brought our attention to the issue of what is known as speciesism ("a failure, in attitude or practice, to accord any nonhuman being equal consideration and respect",…

Examples are given of real lexical errors made by learner writers, and consideration is given to the way in which three learners' dictionaries could deal with the lexical items that were misused. The dictionaries were the "Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary," the "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English," and the "Chambers Universal Learners'…

Situations are given with which to teach beginners the English simple present in its meaning of habitual action. For advanced students, situations and dialogs are suggested with which the future meaning of the simple present can be expressed and learned. (IFS/WGA)

A system for teaching foreign languages to adults is described. The course material is divided into categories based on the language needs of the students, and credits are given for each completed category. (Text is in French.) (PMP)

A comparison is made of American and Japanese humor in a class of English as a second language. American humor is categorized into four types: anecdotal, wordplay, wise sayings and contrived. (AG)