Discusses the problems involved in teaching Italian students the English equivalents of the verb "dovere." (CFM)

Ten language-impaired children, aged 4-6, were found to exhibit more pronounced syntactic deficits than 10 normal children matched by mean length of utterance. Language samples were analyzed with respect to: grammatical marker need index; grammatical marker error index; and grammatical marker errors for nouns, verbs, bound, and unbound forms.…

Discusses prevailing ideas of how children learn language and addresses the argument of rules versus analogies in learning to form the past tense of verbs. Cites cases involving connectionist models. (ML)

Six brief articles discuss these aspects of language instruction: contrasting the imperative "let" with other imperative forms; distinguishing between perfect and nonperfect tenses in English; the various functions a question can perform; use of humor to illustrate language quirks; learning appropriate uses of count versus noncount nouns; and…

Discusses some possible phrase-structure patterns for the "for + noun/pronoun" structure, exemplified in "It is easy for you to say that." Only the simple active patterns involving the structure should be taught at the elementary and intermediate levels. Passive and other patterns should be delayed in teaching. (PJM)

This article discusses some of the recurrent syntactic problems that the foreign learner of English faces when using the English verb-particle construction and attempts to show how a pedagogic dictionary could help the learner to cope with these problems. (Author/CFM)

Describes a module used to teach ESL students to distinguish phrases from clauses and sentences from nonsentences or fragments, thus enabling them to edit the errors of punctuation out of their writing. A chart of four grammatical units in a hierarchy (single words, groups of words, clauses, and sentences) is included. (Author/PJM)

A survey of native Spanish speakers from both Spain and Latin America found that the choice of predicate adjectives governing "tough" constructions in Spanish (e.g., "el libro es facil de leer") varies by individual, but some patterns did emerge that suggest "tough" constructions and "it is" constructions…

Illustrates a stategy for teaching vocabulary, using a computer-held corpus of native speakers' contextualized utterances of each word. The purpose is for the learner to develop lexical competence, that is, the ability to use a word syntactically, semantically, and pragmatically. Verbs are the focus of these materials although other parts of…

Discusses the importance of the English passive voice in particular contexts and suggests a program for teaching it. There are three stages: (1) the student is shown the use of the passive and its function, (2) work is done on reading and listening comprehension, and (3) some grammatical markers are shown. (PJM)

Describes a sequence for teaching the Russian passive construction to exemplify how a learning sequence based on a contrastive analysis and on error analysis can lessen student errors. These errors are caused either by interference from the first language or over-generalization in the second language. (PMJ)

Audiolingual and translation exercises are presented that were designed to correct syntax of junior high school French language students. The exercises were given to eliminate translating the present progressive and the imperfect word for word, and to develop more awareness of reflexive construction and the imperfect tense. (SW)

This book addresses the growing need to familiarize classroom teachers with the structure and use of language. Written with future teachers in mind, it addresses the core areas they will find most relevant, introducing them to various types of linguistic analysis while covering the basics of phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Seven…

Three dictionaries are compared for their usefulness to teachers of English as a foreign language, teachers in training, students, and other users of English as a foreign language. The issue of monolingual versus bilingual dictionary format is discussed, and a previous analysis of the two bilingual dictionaries is summarized. Pronunciation…

The methodology reported in this paper argues for a synthesis of various theories and methods. First, a synopsis is given of the pedagogical and linguistic approaches that should underlie a successful attempt to teach the contrast in two verb tenses in Portuguese. Secondly, a contrast unique to Portuguese is examined and a multistage approach for…