Preterite/Imperfect (PI) usage is one of the hardest grammatical features of Spanish to learn. Some of the blame lies with misleading textbook explanations. A discussion of problematic P/I textbook explanations shows why the presentation of a more reliable set of principles is a preferable alternative to questionable rules of thumb. (18…

Cognitive development research can be applied to the learning of a second language, resulting in a view of language learning as the acquisition and development of expertise. From this framework, two processes are viewed from within this framework for learners of English: learning vocabulary and learning discourse and story. (Contains 10…

Analyzes the metadiscourse in persuasive essays written by university students studying English as a Second Language at a midwestern university. Results indicate that skilled writers are aware of their readers' needs and control the strategies for making their texts accessible to the reader, whereas poor writers cannot generate considerate texts.…

Analysis of "tutor talk" occurring between native or proficient nonnative speakers of English and limited- or non-English-speaking elementary students found that, although tutors used little sentence-level simplification, they made extensive use of conversational and tutorial strategies similar to those used by native and nonnative adults. (59…

Investigates learner-centered and teacher-centered discourse in interactive exchanges between teachers and learners in the second-language (L2) classroom. The analysis of interaction shows that learner-centered discourse provides opportunities for negotiation of form, content, and classroom rules of behavior, which creates an environment favorable…

Investigates the use of discourse markers by advanced Turkish learners of English. The research discussed here aims to make an initial contribution to the study of how discourse markers are used by second-language learners, and to illustrate why such research should be valuable and necessary component of interlanguage pragmatics. (Author/VWL)

Explores the role of language awareness in the teaching and learning of languages within the framework of educational reform in Spain. Three different types of discourse are compared: the official curriculum, teachers' views obtained in interviews, and teachers' classroom practices. (Author/VWL)

Argues that mastery of modal particles is important for interpersonal aspects of language development. The article outlines the difficulty of learning and teaching German modal particles with regard to the theoretical explication. The study shows how a teaching program improved initially poor comprehension and production skills in the area of…

Investigated how 30 tertiary English-as-a-Second-Language learners, at advanced and intermediate levels, engaged in a text reconstruction task. The study examined the types of grammatical items that caused the students most concern, and the reasoning they used to arrive at grammatical decisions. (Author/JL)

Reports on an empirical study of the politeness strategies in Chinese business correspondence and considers its implications in teaching business Chinese. The study investigated 20 examples of business correspondence by native speakers of Chinese. By analyzing linguistic/stylistic features of the letters in two predesigned situations, the study…

This case study shows how an English-as-a-Second-Language teenager in the United States created literacy experiences for himself through involvement in various forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on the Internet. Analyzes the learner's information on textual identity through the theoretical constructs of voice, design, and…

Group work offers a viable alternative to the teacher-centered, direct instructional model. However, many teachers have been reluctant to incorporate extensive group work into their teaching repertoire, citing concerns about the amount of English used and off-task behavior. This study reports the results of an analysis of five conversations of…

This paper concerns the relationship between learning English as an additional language (EAL) and school mathematics. In bilingual education, Cummins has proposed a distinction between coercive and collaborative power-relations as an important consideration in the education of such students, advocating collaboration as a means to empower such…

This paper revisits the question of why pragmatics should be taught in the foreign language classroom and demonstrates how this can be achieved effectively with materials informed by conversation analysis (CA). Since findings in CA describe systematic action sequences underlying verbal activities that display cross-cultural variation, they capture…

This study was a comparative investigation of face-to-face and written electronic conferences. The participants were advanced English as a second language (hereafter: ESL) students. The two types of conferences were compared in terms of textual features and participation. There was no statistically significant difference in the total number of…