Traces the development of "Australian English" from the 1940s to the present time, noting a radical change in both public and individual acceptance. Briefly surveys the extent of the scholarly documentation of Australian English in dictionaries and style manuals, and addresses the question of Australianness in a range of text types and…

The report details results of a research project to monitor and map the literacy development of three learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) studying in an Australian English program for adult migrants. The objective was to gain a longitudinal picture of their reading and writing development over a period of nine months. Five additional…

Reports on research concerning the impact of pupils' speech styles on teacher attitudes. Focuses on Australian research and the classroom implications for Australian teachers and students. (RL)

This publication is intended for parents, teachers, and anyone in the wider community who has an interest in language, language acquisition, and second language learning; bilingual and multilingual education; bilingualism; language, culture, and society; language and power; and literacy. Extensive long-term research was conducted on a number of…

Examination of existing research on language learning and cross-cultural competence and an analysis of the popular press in three Australian states suggests (1) the wider community believes language learning results in target culture understanding and (2) languages learned in a formal class setting do not necessarily lead to cross-cultural…

Videotapes of French lessons in two Australian high schools at the level of year eight identified lesson features relevant to development of second-language skills. Classroom ecology and the importance of mime and gesture in relation to students' active listening and comprehension are stressed. Transcripts and the structure of exchanges in the…

Although the Italian system of address pronouns is relatively complex, scant attention is paid to the issue in L2 manuals designed for English-speaking learners of Italian. After showing that Italian L2 manuals are not necessarily accurate in the limited detail they provide, we examine specifically the frequent claim that so-called informal…

The experiments reported here were designed to investigate the influence of stress typicality during speeded grammatical classification of disyllabic English words by native and non-native speakers. Trochaic nouns and iambic verbs were considered to be typically stressed, whereas iambic nouns and trochaic verbs were considered to be atypically…

A study investigated the attitudes of bilinguals toward each language and toward language mixing (codeswitching), expressions of identity, and how this relates to linguistic behavior. Subjects were 15 undergraduate students of Spanish-English interpreting and translation at an Australian university whose age (19-53), language proficiency, and…

Australia has a unique range of language communities and language education needs. A variety of languages is currently offered to different groups of learners through diverse programs. Language teaching may be provided through bilingual education, limited-exposure programs, or compulsory language instruction. Federal and state education agencies,…

A study investigated the way in which children make use of morphemic information when they are learning to spell. Specifically, it examined the use of morphemic information in spelling compound words; the use made of morphemic information when adding suffixes to words, and the way the morphological rule governing the formation of the past tense is…

Based on the assumption that the same conditions that promote talk in the preschool years might continue to promote oracy if they could be replicated in schools, this paper investigates conditions most likely to promote growth in oral communication, summarizes the findings of two relevant Australian research studies, and draws implications for…

Examines the role of metalinguistic abilities in the initial stages of learning to read. Indicates that children's ability to acquire low-level metalinguistic skills depends in part on their level of operativity, and that phonological and syntactic awareness play more important roles in beginning reading than does pragmatic awareness. (JK)

Drawing on native/non-native speaker discourse data from goal-oriented interaction in Australian workplaces, it is argued that modality is inherently a centrally important function in such discussions, and that appropriately nuanced expression of modality is often crucial to "getting the job done," and that emphasis should be given to…

Second language acquisition research has led to a major emphasis on the need for learners to experience the target language (TL) in use if they themselves are to become users of the language. At the same time, there is discussion of the role of the first language (L 1) as a tool in the processing of language/culture experiences. Achieving optimal…