Peggy McIntosh (1988) famously unpacked what she called an "invisible knapsack" of privileges socially conferred upon whites, men, and heterosexuals (1988). She argued that not only are women and minorities at a disadvantage, but those with social power enjoy benefits that are both unearned and unjustified. We often accept those…

During the last years there has been an increasing interest in examining the brain responses to word order variations. In one ERP study conducted in Spanish, Casado, Martin-Loeches, Munoz, and Fernandez-Frias (2005) had participants read Spanish transitive sentences with either an SVO (subject-verb-object) or an OVS order. The word order of a…

The importance of tone and style to communication is attested by the longevity of the popularity of "Elements of Style," published originally in 1918, with the fourth edition published in 2000 (Strunk, 1918; Strunk & White, 2000). Communicators in business and academia at all levels need to send messages that are understood pleasantly and…

Responds to the two main issues addressed by authors of two previous articles: the notion of near-native speaker and that of linguistic purism. (Author/VWL)

This paper asserts that uses of a tongue other than one's own can reveal unexpected ways of dealing with the cross-cultural clashes that second language learners encounter as they migrate between languages. It notes that learners' appropriation of foreign languages enables them to construct linguistic and cultural identities in the interstices of…

Presents an account of the authors' shared explorations and efforts to name some important variables or criteria that bear on the question of whether or not to invite students to write in a home dialect or language. Offers conclusions in the form of a list of 10 variables to consider. (SG)

Looks at what constitutes near-native language skill for students looking for jobs and for those hiring them, with particular reference to Spanish. Finds little consensus among search committees or students about the definition of near-native ability. (Author/VWL)

This paper responds to Claire Kramsch's essay on the demise of the notion of the idealized native speaker as the model for second language learning and implications for second languages and cultures education. Focusing on the nonnative speaker of Russian and Russian language education in the United States, it asserts that both the quantity and…

Offers an alternative to the two approaches to teaching Spanish to adolescent and college-level bilingual native speakers interested in developing their Spanish abilities. This theory draws heavily from Freire's problem-posing procedure for critical dialogue and Vygotsky's theory of social learning. (28 references) (Author/VWL)

This chapter responds to an article by Claire Kramsch on the privilege of nonnative speakers. It agrees with Kramsch that in second language teaching, there is no single standard of native speaker language to target, since the cultural and linguistic reality of a given language is too complex and multifaceted to allow identification of…

An experiment was conducted at Bentley College (Massachusetts) using native-speaking peer tutors to help foreign language students. The experiment met with some success, however, it is noted that, for major universities, the logistics of administrating thousands of tutor-student meetings is a substantial hurdle. (GLR)

Discusses a new Spanish program for heritage language speakers at Peace College in North Carolina. While most programs designed for native speakers have been implemented in large institutions near a strong Hispanic community, the efforts at Peace College show how a program can be effectively developed even in a small women's college with a…

This paper responds to Claire Kramsch's essay on the demise of the notion of the idealized native speaker as the model for second language learning and implications for second languages and cultures education. Focusing on French, this paper suggests that it is not certain whether the elevation of the native speaker model ever was as real or…

This paper responds to Claire Kramsch's essay on the demise of the notion of the idealized native speaker as the model for second language learning and implications for second languages and cultures education. In her essay, Kramsch forcefully argues against the native speaker construct and exhorts teachers and learners not to abandon their unique…

Reports on the findings of a study that examined the persuasive written texts of 60 university first-year composition students, half of whom were native speakers of English and half of whom were nonnative English speakers. Considers 33 variables between the 2 subgroups. Finds clear differences. Discusses results and implications for…