In applying linguistics to the task of analysing how agentivity is construed through verbal interaction, scholars often equate social agency with grammatical agency, and in particular with the grammar of transitivity. The difficulty I want to address in this paper is that we may miss other important, systematic and contrastive patterning in the…

This paper examines points in oral test interviews where an interviewee explicitly seeks clarification from the interviewer on the content of a question posed, prior to attempting to answer a question. Some of the interviews are drawn from the Finnish Foreign Language Diploma for Professional Purposes examination (Tyoelaman kielidiplomi); others…

The question of whether students perform linguistically differently when writing under examination conditions than when writing term essays is addressed in this working paper. The study was prompted by the feeling by many students that their linguistic performance deteriorates in examination conditions and that this deterioration makes a…

This paper describes a collaborative project that sought to combine teacher development and illuminative research. Eight teachers on a general English course, working in pairs, observed each other's lessons and then held discussions, which were recorded and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Published coding systems were used by the…

This volume, one in a series on modern language testing, collects four essays dealing with current approaches to lanquage testing. The introduction traces the development of language testing theory and examines the role of linguistics in this area. "The Psycholinguistic Basis," by E. Ingram, discusses some interpretations of the term…

This is a two-way contrastive analysis of the use of the article in English and Hungarian. The study works in both theoretical and applied contrastive linguistics by stating the rules governing determination and developing a methodology for analysis, and by noting language acquisition difficulties to reduce language learning interference. Part One…

Through examination of the discourse markers "ano" and "sono" in Japanese, this paper explores how these linguistic devices function differently in conversation. The focus of this analysis is the mental and social functions through which a speaker attempts to achieve an interpersonal rapport with a listener. In particular, the…

Describes the relationship between the political structure and traditional tendencies in education as these relate to language instruction. Problems in language and culture of immigrant children are treated as well as methods involving an orientation toward communication skills. (AMH)

Examines how selected research articles reporting empirical investigations in applied linguistic proceed from first presenting results to eventually offering final conclusions or some other form of closure. (Author/VWL)

A study investigated teacher, student, and supervisor attitudes toward and specific use of native Arabic in classes of English as a Second Language. Findings are reported, and recommendations for a systematic and purposeful use of the native language are made. (52 references) (MSE)

In a study of student response to feedback, data were collected by two questionnaires reflecting the actual feedback and wider attitudes. Results suggest that feedback procedures and their rationale must be made more explicit, and that techniques for producing permanent change must be explored. (Contains 23 references.) (Author/LB)

The interaction of rules concerning verb placement and verbal conjugation in the acquisition of German as a foreign language is discussed. A study using constrained written tasks showed that accuracy in verbal conjugation varies by word-order environment and improves in tasks that focus solely on conjunction. Tests are appended. (Contains 49…

Systemic functional linguistics, particularly ideas about the relationship of language to its context, is used to examine the selections and functions of different sets of genres found in science and history textbooks in junior secondary education. Genre selection was found to point students in different directions, either from action to…

A test on the effects of native/nonnative (NS/NNS) English-speaker status and gender on the structure of directions issued by native speakers of English is reported. It confirms that direction giving is highly conventionalized and that NS/NNS status and gender systematically influence a small range of linguistic choices. (24 references) (Author/LB)

Study results indicate that motivation and attitudinal factors are critical in predicting students' success in beginning Japanese. Classroom personality factors such as risk taking and discomfort were also found to be determinants of the students' final grades. (27 references) (Author/LB)