Error analysis concerns the investigation of negative influences on the foreign language learning process. Errors are usually thought of as caused by interference from the native language to the target language. In this article it is shown that interference occurs in the other direction as well, i.e. from language 2 to language 1. Jakobovits has…

This paper attempts to characterize what seem to be key movements in the teaching of EFL at various levels in Europe. These movements reveal that semantic approaches to language teaching are widespread. Recent research into the effectiveness of teaching methods has demonstrated how difficult it is to show whether audiolingual or cognitive code…

The summary papers of the conference on second language teaching include (1) a summary of the concluding panel discussion (Kip Cates, Denis Cunningham, Albert Raasch, Braj Kachru, Carol Rinnert) on the role of languages and the responsibility of language education in lowering cultural barriers, the ethical responsibility of language professionals,…

This article examines English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) textbook telephone dialogues against the backdrop about what is reported about real telephone interaction based in research in conversation analysis (CA). An analysis of eight ESL textbooks reveals that the fit between what conversation analysts say about the nature of natural telephone…

Finnish university language centers are responsible for testing the foreign language proficiency of nearly all university students. It is important that students are assigned equitably to courses, including Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) courses. It is also important in LSP teaching for students' needs and opinions to be taken into account,…

Problems involving empirical research into written business communication in Finnish and English are examined. Some of the problems are shown to be obvious reasons for the scarcity of research in this field. Three issues are discussed: (1) problems in establishing sub-categories and classification of current written business communication; (2) the…

This paper attempts to give a unified view of the workings of noun clauses. These are considered according to three main types corresponding to three different kinds of source sentences. All three types can be used in any usual noun-phrase function, especially subject, direct object, and prepositional object. Four factors which complicate the…

Supporters of the teaching of "standard English" maintain that permitting students to retain their own dialects leads to chaos, hampers communication, and promotes ignorance. Those supporting the rights of students to retain their own dialects focus on the concept that language is constantly changing, expresses the thoughts of living people, and…

In teaching a course on the history of the German language, it is preferable to use the linguistic approach, which deals with the structure of language and those linguistic events which characterize the development of contemporary German from Proto-Indo-European, rather than the cultural approach, with emphasis on extralinguistic data. The main…

The purpose of this paper is to show that: (1) language universals have much to offer to students of contrastive linguistics, and (2) in order to make contrastive analysis more meaningful, one ought to go beyond cataloguing mere contrastive structure statements and capture underlying structural tendencies. Some characteristics of word order in…

From the perspective of a reading consultant, the processes of thinking and reading apply to efficient learning. Language teachers should know: (1) the difference between surface structure and deep meaning of an utterance, (2) the importance of "affect" on learning: the reader's personal involvement with the material and with its presentation,…

A major problem in learning a second language is the interference of a structurally different native language. Contrastive analysis (CA) combined with learner error analysis (EA) provide an excellent basis for preparation of language instructional materials. The Yugoslav Serbo-Croatian-English Contrastive Project proved that full application of CA…

This paper attempts to provide guidelines for writers who are preparing new materials as well as to offer suggestions to language teachers who must use prescribed texts. The basic assumption is that scientific grammars only describe the production of language by native speakers, while pedagogical grammars are sets of rules ordered in such a way as…

The methodology reported in this paper argues for a synthesis of various theories and methods. First, a synopsis is given of the pedagogical and linguistic approaches that should underlie a successful attempt to teach the contrast in two verb tenses in Portuguese. Secondly, a contrast unique to Portuguese is examined and a multistage approach for…

Considerations for communicative competence instruction in second language courses are largely undefined as to exactly what topics of appropriate behavior or rules of social interaction should be included. Sociolinguistics can provide second language teachers with an abundance of analytical material regarding the underlying cultural implications…