This document presents ideas on various topics in teaching English as a second language. Some of the problems of English orthography and semantics are illustrated. The role of contrastive analysis is mentioned with Spanish-English illustrations. A list of second-language-acquisition principles and techniques is provided, and suggestions for…

The evaluation reviews the implementation of the "Crossroads Cafe" English language instruction program in Florida, focusing on the program's management, training, and overall effectiveness as measured by its impact on adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and learners. "Crossroads Cafe" is a series of videotape…

Papers from a conference on the teaching of grammar, particularly in second language instruction, include: "Grammar: Acquisition and Use" (Richard Johnstone); "Grammar and Communication" (Brian Page); "Linguistic Progression and Increasing Independence" (Bernardette Holmes); "La grammaire? C'est du bricolage!" ("Grammar? That's Hardware!") (Barry…

Papers on the role of language in the work environment include: "Institutions, Writing and Talk in Environmental Discourse" (Greg Myers); "Negotiating Training: Shifting Participant Frameworks in the Workplace" (Kristina Bennert); "Relational Management in Chinese-British Business Meetings" (Helen Spencer-Oatey,…

A study examined differences in argumentative strategies in Japanese and American English by analyzing English essays on capital punishment written by 22 American high school seniors and 30 Japanese college sophomores. Differences were found in the organizational patterns, content and use of rational appeals, preference for type of diction, and…

The Peace Corps volunteer language training materials for the Moroccan language Tashelheet are designed for group, individual, or self-instruction. An introductory section gives the learner an overview of language characteristics, the materials, and their design. The main section of the materials is divided into two parts. The first contains 16…

College teachers of English for Science and Technology (EST) are encouraged to conduct research in preparation for designing appropriate writing instruction. Specific recommendations are made for creating such a program, providing adequate support, and organizing its content, with examples offered from the program in computer science writing at…

A study comparing the request strategies of native and non-native speakers of English and Spanish is reported. Subjects were 29 American and 78 European students with varied first languages, enrolled in English and Spanish courses at the University of the Basque Country (Spain). Data were obtained using a general background questionnaire and a…

A study examined the acquisition order of English article functions, and attempts to explain the results in terms of transfer and language universals. Subjects were French, German, Japanese, and Korean students, aged 10-15 years, studying English as a second language in schools in Seoul, Korea. All were administered a test consisting of 18…

This grammar of Pashto was designed to accompany a set of beginning- and intermediate-level instructional materials for teaching the Pashto language to English speakers, but can be used separately as a reference by readers who are not learning the language. Introductory sections in English and Pashto describe the content and organization. The…

A study was conducted at an American university to collect data on how native English-speaking students asked questions in class. The data were analyzed for use of syntactic forms, formulaic expressions or prefatory comments, terms of address, functions fulfilled by the questions, and politeness markers. The results were then compared with the…

A case study of second language development in a college student focused on comparative changes in the development of oral and written skills over a period of two years. The subject was a Russian student of English as a second language who had recently arrived in the United States. Errors and syntactic maturity were analyzed in writing samples…

This guide, entirely in French, is designed for language training of Peace Corps workers in Tunisia and reflects daily communication needs in that context. It consists of 25 theme-based lessons, each containing a situational dialogue, vocabulary, and exercises. The exercises focus more on new vocabulary and its usage than on systematic grammar…

This book focuses on communication as the central feature in teaching and learning within second language classrooms. It examines the classroom as a unique communication context with highly regulated patterns of communicative behavior that are actively negotiated between teacher and students, and explores how and why these patterns of…

A study quantitatively analyzed the frequency of English article deletion by Korean learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Subjects were 49 freshmen in a South Korean university. The absence of an article system in Korean induces usage errors in which learners ungrammatically either omit or add an article. The study especially focuses on…