Reports on a study investigating the unlearning of null subjects and null objects by Chinese students (n=159) of English as a Second Language. Results show an asymmetry in Chinese learners' English, which is opposite to that found in native English. (70 references) (Author/CK)

A French professor teaching in Australia, and learning to cope with the distinctive features of Australian English, reflects on second-language learning processes and their implications for language teaching. Topics discussed include verbal versus nonverbal communication, authentic language situations, cultural context, developing…

Follows up on a study by Dagut and Laufer (1985), who found that Hebrew learners of English avoid phrasal verbs. Three tests (multiple choice, memorization, and translation) were administered to Dutch learners of English to determine whether Dutch learners would tend not to avoid English phrasal verbs because they do not exist in Dutch. (Author/OD)

Reports preliminary findings of an ongoing study of prosodic mixes in the speech of three trilingual siblings. The children are primary bilinguals in Portuguese and Swedish, and acquired English as the language of schooling. Prosodic mixes are defined as the intrusion of prosodic patterns of one language into another.(Author/VWL)

Investigates the potential interference between the grammars of French-English bilingual children, ages two to three years. The study examined their acquisition of functional categories, specifically the properties of INFL (finiteness and agreement) and negation. Results indicate that these children evidence no transfer, acceleration, or delay in…

The paper addresses a key issue in language planning of the third world countries, specifically Pakistan, a country that remained under the shackles of Colonialism till 1947. But, still the country does not have a clear cut language policy. Being richly multilingual and multicultural, it had to cope with the problem of a second language, the…

A discussion of the use of dialogues in second language instruction focuses on uses of the techniques that are more appropriate than those used in the era of audio-lingual methodology. It is argued that during this period, dialogues were overused. Techniques are offered for use of dialogues to develop learners' listening and speaking skills.…

A study investigated the frequent choice of the term "always" instead of the more appropriate term "often" in the essay writing of native Chinese-speaking learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), focusing on how problematic usage of "always" can adversely affect perceptions of the student's competence in…

The effect of pronunciation instruction on the speech of 29 adult speakers of other languages (Japanese, Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and Korean) with previous training in English as a second language was studied. Pronunciation improvement was compared in three groups: one receiving group pronunciation training, one receiving individualized…

Essays on language transfer in language learning include: excerpts from "Linguistics across Cultures" (Robert Lado); "Language Transfer" (Larry Selinker); "Goofing: An Indication of Children's Second Language Learning Strategies" (Heidi C. Dulay, Marina K. Burt); "Language Transfer and Universal Grammatical Relations" (Susan Gass); "A Role for the…

This transcript of and guide to a two-cassette course designed to assist Swedish and Norwegian immigrants in erasure of their foreign accents can be used for either individual or group study. Narrative and taped demonstrations of American English that pinpoint typical phonological barriers and pronunciation difficulties are outlined. The author's…

Part of a 20-year Yugoslav Serbocroatian-English Contrastive Project, this study is intended to make students, teachers, textbook writers, and scholars aware of elements in the system of English modals that might cause difficulties to the native Serbocroatian-speaking learner of English. An eclectic method of contrastive analysis consisting of…

A case study investigated the linguistic and social contexts of an adult Indonesian learner of English as a second language (ESL) in Australia, and how these factors affected his language learning progress. The learner, raised in Indonesia, was a young adult of Chinese descent. The discrepancy between the learner's perceptions of his own language…

Chicano English, spoken by many Chicanos and some Anglos, is an ethnic variety of English that serves as a marker of social identity, and it has specific linguistic parameters. It is similar to standard English, and often exists alongside interference English, spoken by Spanish-speakers beginning to learn English. Research supports the argument…

A major problem that continues to plague United States education is the fact that large numbers of disadvantaged black students are not learning to read well enough to function in society. This paper discusses three reasons for the problem of teaching reading to these students. First, there exist no comprehensive developmental reading theories, no…