The effect of repetition on grammatical change in an unrehearsed talk is examined based on a case study of a single learner. It was found that repetition allows for accuracy monitoring in that errors committed in repeated contexts undergo correction. Implications for teaching are discussed. (23 references) (LB)

Literacy must be grounded in creation: imagination, vision, revision, metaphor, and image. Literacy entails imaginative interpretation of texts in private and social contexts. Literacy education that ignores storytelling in favor of "practical" skills prevents construction of perspectives that make experience comprehensible. (SK)

Drummond and Hopper's article in this issue, "Back Channels Revisited," is discussed in terms of its ability to elicit contrary responses from different scholars because it incorporates elements of two incommensurate approaches to the study of conversation. Weider sets the stage for subsequent articles in this issue. (11 references) (LB)

Free-standing acknowledgement tokens are contrasted with tokens that begin full turns. Jefferson's theory is tested and supported that "yeah" displays greater speakership incipiency than "mm hm." Two research traditions that guide the present inquiry are reviewed. (17 references) (LB)

The structure of televised conversations were compared with theoretical structures of such conversations, based on data drawn from commercial television soap operas. Results show that portions resemble naturally occurring speech as represented in theoretical frameworks, but others do not; implications for language teachers are noted. (17…

This article offers a linguistic and paralinguistic explication of the oral practice of chismeando (gossiping) as engaged in by a group of women from the Dominican Republic. A culture-specific study of the structuring resources by which the participants construct, maintain, and/or modify their in-group identities in everyday oral practice is…

Transcripts of undergraduate group discussions uncovered strategies used to explore assumptions: defining, qualifying definitions, eliminating inappropriate meanings, broadening the context, testing generalizations by hypothesis and personal anecdote, challenging generalizations, challenging the original question, challenging the validity of…

Presented is an analysis of creationist styles of presentation from the viewpoint of a student of folklore. Folklore themes, and formulaic utterances are discussed. The roles of language development and culture are stressed. (CW)

An investigation into the effects of varying speech rates on English-as-a-Second-Language learners' comprehension of 350- to 400-word passages read by native speakers found that moderately fast speech rates resulted in significantly reduced comprehension, although there were few differences among comprehension at slow and average speech rates. (56…

Discusses the deviation of early Welsh literature from standard literary form and looks at the change process from the earlier literature in its oral form to written form. It is suggested that some forms and features apparent in the early literature, which suffered extinction because of a movement toward standardization, still survive in some…

Two experiments explored the tongue-twister paradigm, which involves reciting a word string several times over at a fast rate, using a task variation that minimizes articulatory and mnemonic load. The task was found to elicit good rates of "pure" articulatory errors. Two features had a significant error-reducing effect: repeated…

Examined phonological processes in spoken-word production, applying a form-preparation model to the question of whether phonological features could be preplanned to facilitate word production. Results are explained in terms of the WEAVER model of word-form encoding, which follows a serial encoding of segments with a parallel activation of…

Presents comparative think-aloud protocols of beginning level language learners listening to an oral test. Argues that successful listeners use more metacognitive strategies and use these strategies to interact at a deeper level with a text to construct meaning. Outlines an instructional model for developing metastrategic awareness. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that performance tests as currently represented in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)-Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) may not adequately address the basic concerns brought about by the perceived shortcomings of academic second language programs. Supports this argument with a critical analysis of the ACTFL…

Investigates the lexical forms of speech sound production of a child learning Norwegian and English bilingually from birth. Data for lexical analysis are words attested by the MacArthur Development Inventory for Infants and diary data when the child was 1;2 to 1;8 years of age. (Author/VWL)