Paraphrasing is a productive exercise for students at the intermediate level because it develops capability in both directions: the cognitive capability to comprehend and the linguistic capability to express ideas autonomously--that is, without needing to copy from the original or from a model. However, for students at this level, paraphrasing is…

Suggests teaching methodology for second language teaching which helps learners acquire forms of linguistic system, link forms with meanings they communicate, and progress toward point where they can produce language forms while focusing on the meaning, not the forms themselves. (Author/BK)

Points out the need for audience consideration in technical writing. Discusses how memory divides information into chunks for processing, and how this affects the readability of technical text. (HTH)

In the context of teaching culture, this article presents teaching materials that provide learners of German with opportunities to reflect about, analyze, and practice, how Germans commonly react to compliments. Based on findings from conversation analysis, the materials provide students with rich contextual information and a variety of…

Discusses the value of using translation exercises in the second language classroom, specifically for the insight they afford into the organizations of meanings in different languages and cultures. (EKN)

Surveys modern language and cognitive theories and their implications for the teaching of undergraduate composition. (JL)

Discusses Mikhail Bakhtin's vision of the continuous affluence of language and claims it celebrates the polymeric nature of discourse as opposed to the traditional triangular paradigm which proves hopelessly inadequate.

Emphasizes that, in order to comprehend, a reader must chunk the many words of a sentence into meaningful groups of words. Offers suggestions for developing "thought units" in the upper grades. (FL)

Echoes Robert J. Conners' call for a reexamination of sentence pedagogies in composition teaching. Offers an explanation of the unsolved mystery of why sentence combining improves student writing, using insights provided by work in contemporary research in linguistics and in language processing. Argues that educators invite words and phrases, the…

Explores the concept of emergent literacy, discussing what children know about reading and writing, how they come to know it, and what this information means for classroom practices and school policy. (MM)

Explores ways teachers can teach attentive listening and makes suggestions for developing listening skills used in natural ways in the classroom. (FL)

Looks at devices that stimulate intralinguistic thinking patterns, that is, patterns that can only be induced by the structures and forms of the target language without any dependency upon native-language patterns. Focuses on problem-solving activities that help the learner develop modes of thought that can be solved "Italian." (SED)

Experiences in teaching French verb tenses to Japanese students are used to illustrate teaching techniques that not only help students acquire verb forms but also present them as a coherent linguistic unity tied to fundamental communicative needs. A variety of exercises are included. (MSE)

A solution is proposed to the traditional, unexplained use of optional backshifting in teaching past tenses of English verbs. The solution is based on correct and explicit formulation of the past tense examples used, so that optional backshifting would be unnecessary and inappropriate. (MSE)

Offers a number of techniques designed to challenge or alter or disrupt how a student perceives reality, thereby facilitating student development in creative thinking. (RL)