The School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies (LALS) at Victoria University of Wellington conducts research and teaching in Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Writing and Deaf Studies. It incorporates a Deaf Studies Research Unit, which undertakes research on topics relating to deaf people and their language in New Zealand, and the New…

In New Zealand, as in other countries, increasing numbers of students are learning English through immersion in the mainstream curriculum. These students are reliant on their teachers' planning for language form in their content teaching. In addition, there are many native speaker students whose learning difficulties are linguistic in origin and…

This paper investigates the code-switching behaviour of two native speaker teachers teaching their mother tongue--French and Korean, respectively--to predominantly English monolingual students in New Zealand secondary schools. A close analysis of these teachers' classroom discourse and their perceptions about classroom language use reveals a range…

All languages encode aspects of culture and every culture has its own specificities to be proud of and to be transmitted. The papers in this book explore aspects of this relationship between language and culture, considering issues related to the processes of internationalization and localization of the English language. The volume is divided into…

Analyzed attitudes of 617 New Zealand listeners toward a New Zealand English speaker and a Standard American English speaker. Speakers altered pitch and rate in their delivery. On balance, the impact of paralinguistic behaviors was greater than that of accent. (Author/SLD)

Based on a corpus of ca. 18 1/2 hours of dyadic interactions between near-strangers, this paper investigates the use of general extenders (GEs) by native speakers of New Zealand English (NSNZE) and German (NSG) in terms of their forms and frequencies. The results are compared with the use of GEs produced by German non-native speakers of English…

This article describes the process of developing and implementing a quick Web-based screening test designed for the purpose of identifying, within a large, culturally diverse population of undergraduates enrolled at an English-medium university, those students unlikely to require English language support during their 1st year of academic study.…

This paper reports on a study of disagreement strategies used by Japanese learners of English (JLEs) studying at language schools in New Zealand. The study stemmed from an observation that JLEs were unwilling to express disagreements in exchanges with high-power (+P) interlocutors, possibly due to the threat of face-loss and the consequences of…

This paper describes the Niuean community and the evolving roles of Niuean language and identity in New Zealand, where the majority of Niueans now reside. As part of the Pasifika Languages of Manukau Project (PLMP), 30 New Zealand Niueans participated in detailed interviews on issues relating to language main-tenance. This paper considers their…

This paper discusses the use of metaphors in describing relationships with indigenous languages, focusing on native and newly-fluent speakers of Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Data come from interviews with male and female Maori speakers age 19-44 years who discussed their commitment to becoming fluent speakers of Maori and used a range of…

The two studies reported examine changes in the control over inflections of New Zealand children aged 5-10 years. The progress of White New Zealand children with English as their mother tongue is contrasted with the progress of urban Maori children and urban Samoan children in Auckland. (Author/DB)

Three articles on near-native English language proficiency are presented. "Attitudes to English Usage: A Comparison between Native and Non-Native Speakers," by Ann-Christin Miemois, reports on a study of attitudes toward usage of certain lexical items in English in four distinct situations. Subjects were natives of Finland and New…

Confronted with various issues in teaching business writing to Chinese students in New Zealand, this paper sees the need for bridging the gap between genre-based research and teaching in an intercultural context. Specifically, it develops an intercultural reflective model in the light of Bhatia's sociocognitive genre study as well as…

Describes establishment of language renewal program, Te Kohanga Reo, for Maori preschool children. The plan reinforces a sense of community through local collaboration and promotion of Maori cultural values. Examines the influence of Maori social and cultural values in the program's organization, content, and style. Contains 36 references.…

Writing research has long attempted to define and assess coherence in written prose; however the researchers have often ignored or inadequately met the needs of writing students who require a simple definition of coherence that they can use to revise their own prose. One exception is Joseph Williams, author of "Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity…