An attempt to fill the gap between the purely theoretical and the purely practical, this book provides the classroom teacher with a set of principles for using linguistics in devising and evaluating teaching techniques. Briefly, the chapters (1) present some special learning principles that distinguish language learning from other types of…

Fluent Spanish-English bilinguals were asked to translate passages containing idioms into everyday conversational English. Results confirmed the use of knowledge of English to produce many idioms and the production of more idioms that were identical in both languages. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/LB)

Defines the concept of native speaker insight and suggests that, for the purpose of teaching English as a second language, the goal should not be native speaker insight (NSI) but NS Type 1, a reduced, adequate and attainable goal for foreign learners. (CFM)

Examines the effect of adult recasting in sign language on the acquisition of specific syntactic-semantic structures by deaf children aged 9 to 76 months. Results indicated that recasting triggered the acquisition of new syntactic-semantic structures in American Sign Language and English, evident in the spontaneous production of previously…

Addresses, from a neurobiological perspective, the input-intake distinction commonly made in applied linguistics and the role of selective attention in transforming input to intake. The study places primary emphasis upon a neural structure (the nucleus reticularis thalami) that appears to be essential for selective attention. (79 references)…

Discusses work on age in interaction in terms of constructivist epistemologies, relating research on ageism to work on adult-child interaction in a cultural comparative perspective. By focusing on identity in interaction, applied linguistics combines constructivist developments with close textual analyses and maintains that it is possible to avoid…

Research results suggest that neural networks are able to generalize the past tense form from the base form and that phonological form plays a significant role in generalizing. This conclusion questions the scope and validity of learning models currently promoted in both first- and second-language learning theories. (Contains 29 references.)…

It is claimed that second-language classroom research cannot establish itself as a discipline if it does not relate at least to the fields of second-language acquisition, discourse analysis, syllabus design, and methodology. The argument is drawn from experiences in Tunisian secondary schools. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/LB)

The notion of code-switching among Arabic-English bilinguals is examined. Various syntactic constraints are delineated that govern this phenomenon, the susceptibility of particular sentence constituents to switching, and the determination of the matrix language in their linguistic performance. (Contains 10 references.) (Author/LB)

This paper examines language trends in 21st century Asia and reports on the development of Applied Linguistics (AL) in the region. It has a dual focus: the first analyses the unique preoccupations of Asian and Asia-based applied linguists that have given rise to present research directions and preferences. These, however, seem to be not much…

Language learning and language teaching are discussed in terms of H.E. Palmer's theory that language can be divided into primary matter (units learned by heart integrally) and secondary matter (units built up or derived by the pupil from primary matter). Excerpts from the "Nuffield German Teaching Materials" are used to illustrate how…

It is possible to perform a structural analysis of similar conversations and define units within particular types of conversations to discover the regularities underlying the considerable variation in natural communication. Convergent communication consisting of an exchange of information in pursuit of a mutually agreed upon goal can be seen as a…

The ability to anticipate elements in sequence is the foundation of all language skills. Because of its naturally high redundancy, it is almost always possible in the normal use of language to partially predict what will come next in a sequence of elements. The central feature of language processing is expectancy for successive elements. A very…

If teacher education is to train second language teachers to be principled practitioners, it is essential to resist the attraction of panaceas and recipe-type solutions to instructional problems, and to promote teachers' better understanding of what constitutes successful language learning. Second language acquisition (SLA) research, both applied…

Prior to the development of modern sociolinguistics the immediate contribution of linguistics to society as a whole was negligible. Without the further development of sociolinguistics, the situation will not change radically. In order to arrive at a more useful system of linguistics, linguists must realize that this situation does not result…