Assesses the effects on second language learning of written feedback that either suppressed student errors or made them salient. Planned comparisons showed achievement was consistently superior under salient error conditions and with constructively critical feedback. Relevance of the findings for instructional theory and second language teaching…

Describes a simple teacher-scored method which can be used to determine the proportion of correct usage in freshman ESL compositions. Concludes Correctness Scores provide a useful tool for investigation of hierarchy of significant errors in English and is a technique well-suited to supply data for future work along these lines. (Author/BK)

Describes pilot project on effectiveness of proofreading exercises in English as a second language classes in reducing common student errors in use of tenses, concord, and spelling. Results show some improvement, but not as much as was hoped. (BK)

Shows that hesitation phenomena are intricately connected with propspective and retrospective speech production tasks and mark critical points in processing. Two major hesitation categories exist: stalls and repairs. Stalls head off errors and represent error-free output; repairs take care of errors already committed. English and German examples…

Presents examples of interference phenomena, lexical, grammatical, and orthographic, which occurred in the translation section of examinations given to prospective teachers of English in German university-preparatory high schools. The elements of error are analyzed, and corrected versions are supplied. (IFS/WGA)

Demonstrates that a more direct cause of verbal slips is occasional noise or interference in the phonological encoding processes, with the associations provided by cognitive states (and verbal context) serving merely as reference information for the semantic phase of prearticulatory editing. Relates this to "Freudian slips." (JMF)

Proposes an error gravity/distribution factor to give a mathematically consistent evaluation method to error analysis. Such an approach assumes that "seriousness" of error is related to frequency of output and not to notions of degree of communicative difficulty. Distribution of error type is also taken into account. (PJM)

Defines basic writing as a kind of writing students produce as they learn. Examines techniques for error analysis, arguing for one technique in particular--the study of students' oral reconstructions of texts. (RL)

Discusses the ineffectiveness of one-phase marking, i.e. direct correction of errors by the teacher, and the effectiveness of two-phase marking in which the teacher makes the student aware of an error but does not indicate what the error is. (CFM)

Comments on the increasing variation in grading practice in English courses in grades 11-13. Discusses the judgment categories of content and expressive ability, as well as formal correctness and the definition of the error quotient. Two thirteenth-grade student papers are corrected and graded. (IFS/WGA)

Reports on research into the validity of the theory of interlanguage, based on evidence of interference of the native language in Dutch students of French. (AM)

This article analyzes three studies undertaken to scientifically define error patterns, and outlines a methodology for investigating them. The studies concern native English speakers learning French. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Production of the morpheme BE was studied among 22 children (ages 4-5) with and without specific language impairment (SLI). Contractible contexts were produced more accurately than uncontractible contexts by both groups, and there were no significant interactions between language status and contractibility. Copula forms were produced more…

Questions the universality of academic genres and discusses ways in which national rhetorical styles affect strategic choices in writing. Recommends that teachers of English for academic purposes should take seriously the role of raising the awareness of differences in rhetorical style among discourse community members. (42 references) (Author/CK)

Reviews psycholinguistic theories on the relationship between structure and function in language production. Criticizes the theory that sentence structures are reducible to the general forces of cognition that drive interpretation and communication. Argues that syntactic structures are necessary elements in an explanation of language use. (FMW)