A response to a paper on Translation Quality Assessment and the training of translators looks at parallel developments in second/foreign language learning/teaching, particularly in error analysis, error evaluation, and language authenticity. Argues criteria used to assess quality of translations in a professional context, for which functionalism…

This paper analyses the use of the word "where" in texts written by Malay-speaking learners of English. Data from a learner corpus is compared with data from two corpora of academic writing by native English-speaker writers. Considerable over-use of "where" is found: this is explained as a consequence of various patterns of misuse of "where" and…

A discussion of discourse analysis focuses on its usefulness as a framework for analyzing and improving the communication skills of international teaching assistants (ITAs). The discussion is based on the transcript (appended) of a native Chinese-speaking ITA conducting an organic chemistry class in English. Using discourse analysis at one level,…

A study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of a spelling instruction method using a computer spell-checking program. The proposed teaching methodology is supported by theoretical hypotheses drawn from the field of cognitive psychology associated with the learning of spelling and pedagogical principles associated with the teaching of…

A study investigated the effect of explicit training and practice in learning strategies on errors in a second language listening cloze test. Subjects were 150 Japanese university students enrolled in four classes of first- or second-year English as a Second Language. Two additional classes served as control group. The treatment group received…

Japanese university English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students have problems structuring English sentences, especially complex compound sentences. This study reviewed undergraduate EFL student writings from three Japanese universities to identify common sentence structure aberrations. Four types of sentence structure aberrations were examined:…

Examines how sound spectrographs provide students learning a second language direct, visual feedback that is more useful than instructors' comments on articulation. Shows spectrographs of words pronounced by native and non-native English speakers. Argues this real-time acoustic analysis is less frustrating and more productive than traditional…

The study reported on in this article set out to replicate and extend Bardovi-Harlig and Dornyei's (1998) investigation of pragmatic awareness by addressing two research questions: (a) Do learners in English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) contexts display differences in their recognition and rating of pragmatic…

This paper presents a study in which we examined spelling mistakes made by 34 learners of German in an online CALL exercise. We analyzed a total of 374 spelling errors that occurred in 341 words and subsequently classified them along four dimensions: (a) competence versus performance, (b) linguistic subsystem, (c) language influence, and (d)…

A notable feature of developing interlanguage grammars is the apparent optionality in those areas of grammar where optionality is not characteristic of stable state grammars. In the Valueless Features Hypothesis, it is proposed that the appearance of apparent optionality in the very early stages of interlanguage development is due to the partial…

Reconsiders Ioup's (1984) claim that individuals can only use phonological clues in identifying the native language of English-as-a-Second-Language students. Results indicate that Ioup's claim does not give sufficient regard to some crucial considerations, including the potential of bilingual judges to detect characteristic structural errors of…

Outlines an application of theoretical understandings of institutionalized or nativized varieties of English to the practical concern of English-as-a-Second-Language programs, including testing, placement, and pedagogy. (29 references) (Author/OD)

This article analyzes the self-correction of spelling by learners of intermediate Japanese. Participants in this study consisted of 20 students with "kanji" (Chinese characters) background and 43 without. This study investigates (1) types of spelling errors made; (2) the success rate of corrections made when codes for types of errors…

This paper reports on an experiment designed to determine whether a novice second-language (L2) reader can be characterized as concept-oriented or syntactic-structure oriented. The operating premise was that high school L2 students read and understand not so much by translating as by combining conceptual fragments into a tentative "script," which…

A technique used in college-level accounting courses helped students to develop technical expertise and, at the same time, to improve writing skills. The approach was intended for classes that include both large groups of students learning English as a Second Language (ESL) and groups of non-ESL students. Student responses to exam questions were…