Examines the speech act of complimenting as example of sociolinguistic information needed to understand problems of language learners. Describes semantic and syntactic structure of compliments in American English and compares this with complimenting behavior in other cultures. (Author/BK)

Provides information on planning an English as a Second Language curriculum, compatible with existing language policy in various countries. Four categories are discussed: (1) English as a Second Language, (2) English as a Foreign Language, (3) English as an Additional Language, and (4) English as a Language of Wider Communication. (Author/PJM)

Identifies four types of bilingual education programs, those having transitional, monoliterate, partial, or full bilingualism as their objectives, and discusses the importance of societal information in deciding which type of program to establish. (FB)

Two articles discuss recent trends in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) research, focusing on the conflict between research that examines the social contexts in which English is used and micro-level ethnographic research, and research that more directly involves teachers and students in the study of classroom discourse. (contains 20 references)…

This article presents and discusses some exercises designed to help the second language learner develop both receptive and productive sociolinguistic competence. (Author)

Paper prepared with the support of the Defense Language Institute English Language School, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas under contract F41609-70-C0033, and delivered in 1970 to staff members of the DLIELS. (DS)

A total of 455 essays written by Asian learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) were compared to 280 essays on similar topics written by native speakers of American English. Results found that the usage of the root modals "must,""have to,""should,""ought to," and "need to" appears to be…

Foreign language teachers should be aware of certain sociolinguistic concepts that can be termed "language ecology," which has been defined as the study of a "language and its environment." These concepts are: classification, users, domains of use, concurrent languages, internal varieties, written traditions, standardization,…

Paper presented at the 1972 TESOL Convention in Washington, D.C. (DD)

The relevance of anthropological theory, methodology, and literature to language teaching is discussed. It is argued that culture should be taught explicitly in the language classroom, and that the anthropological theory of cultural relativity is useful in creating a judgment-free atmosphere. (Author/RM)

Examines how second-language educators label second-language students and argues that in the process of labeling learners, educators may stigmatize, overgeneralize, and make inaccurate predictions about these learners. Argues that second-language learners should be allowed to name themselves and thus construct their own identities. (23 references)…

A longitudinal study of the acquisition and use of the English sound system by Japanese learners of English is reported. The variability model of sociolinguistics is used. (Author/RM)

This paper traces the history of changing attitudes toward American English. Two approaches to language policy have always been present, the conservative one, which considers British English the only acceptable standard, and the liberal, which favors American English. (CFM)

If language research is to arrive at valid analyses of speech behavior, both observation and elicitation methods of data collection will have to be used as necessary complements to one another. The advantages and disadvantages of different research methods are discussed. (CB)

Reviews the results of research in language acquisition, interactional analysis, pragmatics, repair, error, and social and affective factors. Extracts four language teaching principles relating to acquisition activities in the classroom, the importance of affective factors, the communicative capacity of learners, and the nature and treatment of…