Three studies investigated the effects of concrete versus abstract wording and negative versus positive premises on the difficulty subjects had in solving several kinds of reasoning tasks. Subjects for all three studies were college undergraduates who received booklets containing either hypothetical, disjunctive, or linear syllogisms. Each booklet…

As the field of sociolinguistics has emerged, its terminology, which like many other emerging disciplines contains many neologisms and new usages, has sometimes been called insensitive. This reaction may interfere with serious examination of the field's content. Areas of disagreement or dispute include terms used for the speech of black…

A study to develop a methodology for discovering how one important notion or semantic category, "frequency of occurrence," is expressed in words, phrases, or other linguistic devices in academic English began with a search for devices expressing that notion, by analyzing text from a news magazine, a New Zealand geography textbook, and a…

Studies in psychology, language, and foreign language suggest that it is the qualitative nature of the task students perform while learning that is important, because of the creativity factor. Some explanations of creativity are concerned with hemisphericity of the brain. Another explanation is that creativity results from divergent rather than…

Although listening comprehension has been identified as the first and most important foreign language skill, research has shown that little class time is devoted to developing more than very basic listening skills. Early practice in listening in a foreign language helps to develop both language skills and confidence in communicating in the target…

Many language teachers experience frustrations about their lack of success in developing fluency in their students. Reasons for the difficulties are discussed, and the avoidance of short-cuts is advocated. (LB)

Many classics in children's literature have metaphoric structures that enhance the structure of the plot. Metaphor is not an added frill to creative writing, nor is it the private province of poets. It is a necessary part of everyday language. One viewpoint on metaphor can be found in studies on child language acquisition. Children do use…

Points of similarity and contrast between English and Modern Standard Arabic in relativization are examined. It is concluded that while the relativization process is essentially the same in both languages, they differ with respect to the relative pronoun, the agreement of the relative pronoun with its antecedent, and the appearance of the…

This study presents direct observation of a 7-year-old, native Spanish-speaking female learning English in a mainstreamed first and second split classroom. Subject is described in the school setting, and it is shown how she worked, what she did during the mornings, how she responded to commands and directions, and how and with whom she…

A study analyzed patterns in one speech act, that of refusal, in 60 native English speakers (responding in English only) and 120 native Spanish speakers (60 responding in English and 60 in Spanish). Native English speakers were college students in the United States and Spanish speakers were students in Spain. A questionnaire was used to elicit…

A discussion of ethnographic research methods in language learning research focuses on what is involved in good descriptive and analytic ethnographic research and the value of the approach in the study of English as a second language (ESL). A basic definition of ethnography is offered, some key research principles are identified, and the…

The need for a better understanding and better treatment of learning disabilities (LD) in adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) is discussed. Such an effort should draw on both existing knowledge of LD in the first-language context and new research on LD and second language learning. The ethical implications of teaching ESL to…

The work of researchers, theorists, and practitioners suggests that to facilitate academic success for college-level students of English as a Second Language (ESL), attention must focus on, but not be limited to, the following areas: (1) students need to become "acquirers," not just "learners," of the second language; (2)…

The position this paper assumes views vocabulary not as single words but as phrases, sentences, and sometimes entire segments of discourse that act as single words. This view of vocabulary would be helpful in: (1) bringing the vocabulary aspect of instruction in English as a second language (ESL) closer to current research in language performance,…

Previous research on Spanish vocabulary for second language instruction has focused primarily on word frequency in a variety of print sources, and has the added disadvantages of being outdated and having too complex a format. A new, computer-based analysis of spoken Spanish from different dialect regions of the world was undertaken to provide more…