Analyzes the discussions of participants at a company-faculty forum on energy policy. Reveals the speakers' use and misuse of contradictory rhetoric--the simultaneous appeal to emotions and to reason. (RL)

Offers reviews of six standardized English tests, noting their applicability/usefulness to journalism educators. Concludes that none of the tests meets all needs of journalism programs. (RL)

Suggests a way of looking at difficulties students have in using words appropriately, and an approach for presenting this information to students. The discussion concentrates on: (1) restrictions on words that can co-occur; and (2) rules for the grammatical marking of various noun phrases that occur with certain verbs and adjectives. (Author/PJM)

Describes the functional/notional approach to language instruction, discussing key features, misconceptions, and practical applications of the model. (AM)

A study of teacher attitudes towards prescriptive grammar instruction stresses the use of reinforcement as a teaching technique and reveals the importance of preservice and field experience programs geared to realistic presentation of practical classroom situations. (LH)

A communicativity index (Index I) is described that measures the potential communication function performed by a given language in a designated communication situation. Significant sociolinguistic contrasts between the language situations of West Malaysia and Singapore are revealed by applying this index. (PMJ)

Lakota Indians use five speaking styles--formal and informal Lakota and three types of nonstandard English. Choice of style is determined by the social context and the individuals. Since the styles are used to meet specific linguistic and social needs, they are likely to be maintained simultaneously. (PMJ)

The study involved (1) a sociolinguistic description of Spanish/English use by 10 children (ages two to three) and eight mothers in two different bilingual preschool contexts (instruction and freeplay), and (2) an experimental attempt to encourage the use of Spanish, using Spanish "immersion" in a freeplay setting. (Author/DS)

A model of two-person interaction in psychological counseling, which is derived from Alfred Schutz's phenomenological theory of social relations, and a computer-assisted metalanguage based on case-grammar theory are presented, and their applicability to the analysis of natural language in counseling is argued. (Author)

Pattern drill is criticized as being monotonous, not transferable to real-life situations, and not conducive to the development of communication-competence. Situational exercises are needed, designed to enable the learners to verbalize their wishes and needs. (IFS/WGA)

Discusses the implications of the tendency of adult second-language learners to develop a well-structured, simple form of language outside the classroom, i.e. the Basic Variety (BV). Focuses on the structural properties of the BV, the status of these properties and the reasons why some structural properties of "fully fledged" languages are more…

Gender and group composition variables in a computer-mediated communication context are examined. Subjects were 36 undergraduate male and female psychology students. Findings are analyzed in terms of choice of language; participation; satisfaction; and interpersonal conflict. Ten tables present study results. (Author/AEF)

Examines factors influencing language maintenance among secondary school students of Vietnamese ethnic background. Students' Vietnamese language ability and frequency of Vietnamese language use were evaluated and correlated with demographic, cultural, social, and attitudinal factors. Length of residence in Australia was more influential in…

Argues that teaching about Italian dialects ought to form an integral part of the Italian curriculum and offers ideas on what could be included in such a course. Points out that the study of these dialects can teach students about the history and synchronic structures of standard Italian as well as the role of Italian sociolinguistics as it…

The Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanic Youth (SASH-Y) was used to assess acculturation among 137 fourth- and fifth-grade children in rural southern Colorado, including 11 Mexican, 33 Mexican American, and 93 Euro-American children. The SASH-Y, especially questions related to language use, was found to be robust with a young, rural Latino…