A descriptive study of Ngaanyatjarra, an Australian Aboriginal language, examines two major areas of sentence structure. First, it describes the grammatical structure of the sentence, beginning with the simplest sentence and moving into verb clusters, complex sentences, and juncture strategies. Second, it outlines the meaning and usage of various…

Six papers on Australian Aboriginal and Islander grammars include: "Repetition of Tiwi at Clause Level" (Marie P. Godfrey); "Iwaidja Verbal Clauses" (Noreen Pym); "Murinbata Noun Clauses" (Chester S. Street); "Clauses in Kala Lagaw Ya" (Rod Kennedy); "Kalaw Kawaw Verbs" (Rod Kennedy); and…

A discussion of bilingual education begins with a look at theoretical issues and then describes a community bilingual education program in London. Issues addressed include the distinction between additive and subtractive bilinguality, the relationship between contexts and outcomes of bilingual education, the cognitive and academic effects of…

The actual possibilities for communication among Africans are unsatisfactory. While the north has adopted Arabic as its lingua franca, most African states south of the Sahara still use the language(s) of their former colonial masters as official languages, thereby neglecting their native languages. This situation excludes many people from higher…

A study tested hypotheses concerning thinking in a foreign language. Specifically, it looked at whether (1) inferencing in a foreign language relies on mental models and propositional thinking; (2) the three stages of the theory of comprehension apply to understanding foreign-language discourse; and (3) propositional thinking manifests native…

Criteria for the evaluation of foreign language materials in the commonly and less commonly taught languages in secondary and postsecondary institutions are presented. They are intended for use by individual teachers or appointed committees when selecting and evaluating language teaching materials. The criteria contain a set of evaluative and…

This handbook resulted from a project to develop a tape-based alternative test of language proficiency in less commonly taught languages. The objective was to produce a test that is modeled on and readily interpretable by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Interagency Language Roundtable (ACTFL/ILR) proficiency guidelines…

This transcript of and guide to a two-cassette course designed to assist Filipino 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 own system of…

Fifty-five structures of the Chinese language are described and their particular usage patterns are discussed for the use of teachers, linguists, and advanced students of Chinese. Each structure is listed by its major structural element(s), its grammatical element(s), or a combination of the two. The examination of each structure consists of an…

Papers from a workshop on the role and development of national languages include: "What Is a National Language Good for?" (Florian Coulmas); "To the Language Born: Thoughts on the Problem of National and International Languages" (Jacob Mey); "Swahili as a National Language in East Africa" (Marilyn Merritt, Mohamed…

The historical background and the current status of Swahili in Kenya and Tanzania, where it is designated as the national language, and in Uganda, where it has assumed a less prominent role, are described. Major factors contributing to the selection of national languages in the region are presented. The ways both linguistic and sociopolitical…

Materials for use by the parents of native Khmer-speaking high school students in a vocationally-oriented bilingual secondary program include a series of home lessons, provided simultaneously in English and Khmer and designed to be done with the high school student. The lessons concern back-to-school night, understanding American schools, the…

Materials for use by the parents of native Vietnamese-speaking high school students in a vocationally-oriented bilingual secondary program include a series of home lessons, provided simultaneously in English and Vietnamese and designed to be done with the high school student. The lessons concern back-to-school night, understanding American…

Materials for use by the parents of native Spanish-speaking high school students in a vocationally-oriented bilingual secondary program include a series of home lessons, provided simultaneously in English and Spanish and designed to be done with the high school student. The lessons concern back-to-school night, understanding American schools, the…

A Hungarian teacher of English as a foreign language (EFL) chronicles her research on the use of the cloze procedure in her native country's EFL classes. The research began as an effort to convince other teachers of the test format's usefulness, and ultimately led to further study of the factors affecting responses and scoring and the…