Study of the conversational interaction of elementary school children, about one-third of whom were limited-English-proficient, found that proficient classmates used little "caretaker speech" or "foreigner talk" and that the amount of social talk did not markedly affect second-language proficiency or the ability to use it in academic activities.…

Examines Australia's reverse language shift (RLS), presenting eight stages of RLS for immigrant-derived and Aboriginal languages and noting the severity of intergenerational dislocation. Aboriginal languages are dying quickly, and language shift continues in immigrant-based community languages. Steps to encourage second language learning are often…

This article is derived from a lecture given in 1992 and addresses issues in English language education that concern "linguistic property" and "linguistic propriety." (JL)

Argues that English-as-a-Second-Language writing can have its own distinctive power and eloquence in spite of, and sometimes because of, its errors. Examines several different kinds of "poetic" nonnativisms, suggesting why they were created and why they may strike native speakers as especially expressive. (SR)

Describes a 10-week study abroad program in Salzburg, Austria, where students were required to interview native speakers. Students prepared a written protocol of the interview and gave an oral presentation of the results. Out-of-class contact with native speakers, such as the interviews described, has a positive effect on students' self-confidence…

Discusses two complementary traditions in the study of communication and social context and shows how one researcher's theory of context influences the methodologies he or she adopts. Reviews substantive findings of sociolinguistic researchers in four main areas of second-language acquisition and use: interlanguage variation, cross-cultural…

Highlights the differences between many grammar rules and how we actually communicate. Encourages teachers to evaluate the rules they teach in light of common usage. (Author/VWL)

The prototype effects in understanding unfamiliar meanings and usage in a polysemous word, "play," are examined. The learners use prototypical meanings as a referential point to understand peripheral meanings. (Author/VWL)

Gives a detailed account of the lexical growth in a bilingual child (German and English) and discusses its theoretical implications. Evaluating the principle of contrast in bilingual acquisition, concludes that evidence of lexical-equivalent learning and usage of equivalents can contribute to the debate on language separation in bilingual infants.…

Argues that applied linguistics, as the interdisciplinary field that mediates between the theory and practice of language acquisition and use, is the overarching field that includes second language acquisition (SLA) and SLA-related domains of research. (Author/VWL)

Addresses the fate of languages acquired during childhood that have not been used in a long time to find out if they are lost, overridden by other languages acquired later, or maintained despite a lack of use. German subjects were tested for their knowledge of Dutch, which they acquired as a second language during childhood. (Author/VWL)

Presents a small case study of language shift in the Teochew Chinese community in Singapore. The study highlights the complex relationship between societal change processes, government policy, people's attitude, and language use. (Author/JL)

This article presents a replication of a study by Chaudron and Parker (1990) on the effect of discourse markedness and structural markedness on the development of noun phrase use. The study analyzed the language usage of 55 young adult Spanish learners of English, finding that only intermediate and high-level learners used zero anaphora. Contains…

Proposes questions teachers can use to structure language activities that encourage students to analyze their own use of language. The questions arose from a workshop that focuses on assisting teachers and learners to explore language function together. Teachers can use these questions to exploit language in English as a Second or Other Language…

Reviews recent theoretical and empirical literature regarding teachers' uses of the target (TL) and first languages (L1) in second and foreign language classrooms. Explores several issues related to teachers' use of the L1 and the TL in the classroom; exposure to TL input, student motivation, cognitive considerations, code switching, and…