Describes the acquisition, frequency, and function of the English articles ("a,""the," and "O"--the zero article). Explains the two types of zero article (zero and null), and shows how these occur in alternation with "a" and "the." Also provides a framework for the presentation of the articles in the classroom at the beginning, intermediate, and…

Five categories of answer-processing for computerized drill programs in foreign languages are described: nonevaluation, right-wrong evaluation, pattern markup, error anticipation, and parsing. Each strategy is explained in terms of its operation, advantages and disadvantages, ease of use for authoring courseware, and capability to support…

Introduces the technique of computer-aided error analysis, a new approach to analyzing learner errors in second-language learning. Data used to demonstrate the technique consist of a 150,000-word corpus of English written by intermediate and advanced-level French-speaking learners. The study concludes that error analysis is worthwhile,…

Describes a study of English writing by Norwegian English-as-a-foreign-language learners. Language problems on different linguistic levels are analyzed and the theory of compensatory strategies is used to explain the process behind the production. Results show that less proficient learners have a higher number of grammatical, orthographic, and…