This paper examines whether a web-based training on English discourse intonation leads to better spontaneous speech quality for Mandarin Chinese speakers who reside in the U.S. and in China. The four-week fully online training consisted of meta-instruction videos as well as listening and speaking activities, including instant visual pitch contour…

This study examined how longitudinal interaction impacts the development of second language (L2) oral proficiency in relation to learners' different experience and proficiency levels. Japanese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) participated in weekly conversation exchanges with native speakers (NSs) in the USA via videoconferencing…

This paper explores the role of lexical phrases in language education in general (native language or L1; and second/foreign language or L2) and more specifically, in the education of English learners in US and European contexts as well as in other English-speaking countries worldwide. Even though this topic has been addressed by researchers and…

The literature on formulaic language lacks sufficient research on how L2 learners make progress in native-like formulaicity of their target language. This study analyzed the use of formulaic sequences (FSs) by 56 Chinese university English majors in their prepared monologues at the beginning and end of a three-year period and compared the student…

Discusses differences in German and American English pragmatics in the use of routine formulae, e.g., "Hi, how are you," and small talk through the observations of native speakers of German reacting to the verbal behavior of American English speakers in the United States. (14 references) (JL)

A study of syntactic variation in Spanish spoken by native speakers in the United States examined patterns of variation in different areas of the country. High school students in larger Hispanic communities throughout the country were surveyed concerning their own and their parents' demographic characteristics and their Spanish speaking,…

Suggests ways that authentic speech for Spanish-language broadcasts intended for Spanish-speaking audiences in the United States can be used in the classroom to present not only idealized speech of the so called "educated native speaker," but also dynamic and current models of interlocutors from many nations, interacting effectively as…

A directory of collections of audio recordings of varieties of American English spoken in North America and including English-based creoles contains information about collections of any size, classified according to the primary state in the U.S. represented by the speakers in the sample and cross-referenced when more than one state is represented…

Papers for the fifth Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL) Conference include the following papers: "The State and the Global Marketplace in the Provision of Minority Media Services" (George Jones); "Local Language Media: What Does It Take?" (Paul Lewis); "Power of the Media for the Good of Small Languages: An Indian…