Reports on a study which investigated the relative merits of indirect and direct feedback on errors in the written work of English-as-a-second-language writers by comparing four types of error treatment, each of which provided the writers with progressively less salient information for making revisions in their compositions. (SED)

Considers the correction of two kinds of error in the English-as-a-second-language classroom: errors of accuracy and errors of fluency. Describes the functions of feedback in conversation and suggests ways to develop feedback fluency in the classroom so that learners may develop this aspect of language use. (SED)

Studies patterns of frequent mistakes in the use of articles in English by speakers of Hindi/Punjabi. The control over the definite and indefinite article is examined in relation to their forms and functions. The use of articles is also considered in complex noun phrases and different syntactic structures, and an attempt is made to establish a…

Presents three types of exercises which are designed to develop the advanced learner's awareness of the problems caused by lexis, style, and appropriateness. In addition, describes how translation may be incorporated and used at the active stage and how a somewhat analytical and academic approach to this area of learning/teaching for the advanced…

Describes a part of a study on children's acquisition of Warlpiri, an aboriginal language spoken in central Australia, which aimed to find out at what age the children respond consistently to particular word orders and case frames for simple transitive sentences. Makes comparisons with the acquisition of Turkish transitive clauses. (SED)

Discusses a test given to a group of elementary school students of English as a second language. The purpose of the test was to measure developmental errors, that is, errors which reflect a learner's competence at a given stage, and to illustrate some of the general characteristics of language acquisition. (SED)

Concludes that, although first-grade students generate more haphazard responses on standardized reading tests than do older students, they nevertheless do apply similar reasoning strategies to vocabulary and comprehension items. (FL)

Compares the written English of Chinese ESL students and native English-speaking Australian students. Analyzes the texts for four semantic components: experiential; interpersonal, textual, and logical. Also analyzes the errors made by both groups. (EKN)

Examines the hypothesis that errors in children's drawings of objects in anticipated states of rotation result from their inability to imagine the objects in those states. The hypothesis was tested by comparing children's performances on a drawing version and a reaction-time version of a rotating squares task. (Author/RH)

The purpose of this study was to help clarify the effect on comprehension performance of corrective feedback applied to oral reading errors of remedial readers. (HOD)

Jorm's proposal (EJ 205 636) that developmental dyslexics resemble brain-damaged deep dyslexics is not grounded on firm evidence. Holmes' likening of developmental dyslexia to acquired surface dyslexia at least demonstrates clear similarity between the errors made by the two groups. (Author/CP)

Subjects instructed to circle misspellings while reading prose were less likely to detect misspellings in function than in content words. Misspellings that changed the shape of a word were more likely to be detected. It is not clear whether differences between function and content words are due to familiarity or redundancy. (Author/RD)

Examines the role of constructive feedback in adult foreign language error correction. Gives guidelines applying to written work and discusses indirect and direct correction treatments. While stressing the value of the former as an opportunity for discovery learning, favors a combination of the two as the most effective technique. (MES)

Present a study in which Arab subjects were to change 10 English declarative sentences into yes/no questions. Results showed 25.6 percent of the answers were erroneous. An attempt is made to account for the source of error. Most errors were not due to effects of the native language, but to the verb form used. (PJM)

The methodology used to determine readability of English texts (cloze procedure and word lists) is not applicable to foreign-language material. Linguistic variables are proposed as the basis for readability formulas. Contrastive and error analysis are possible strategies. (JB)