A sociolinguistic analysis of language use among eight preschool children in a bilingual English/Hebrew classroom was conducted to examine the effects of teacher background (U.S. or Israeli born/educated) while interacting with children from bilingual or monolingual backgrounds and teacher's participation (presence or absence) in classroom…

After receiving instruction in reading, science, and mathematics in the Choctaw language by native-speaking paraprofessionals and supplementary instruction by the regular classroom teacher, Choctaw second graders had significantly higher posttest scores on science and social studies subtests than did the control group who received instruction in…

Provides an overview of the approximately 1200 Ethnic Community Mother Tongue Schools (ECMTS) in the United States, describing some of their salient characteristics and noting relationships between these schools and the United States bilingual education movement. Explains six assumptions commonly made by ECMTS teachers and leaders. (Author/SB)

Investigated pragmatic transfer in American learners of Japanese responding to compliments. The study used a closed role play to collect interlanguage data from the learners and normative data from Japanese and American native speakers. Findings substantiate a utility of pragmatic transfer research for improving instructional approach and course…

Presents some policy issues regarding Chinese language courses for students whose mother tongue is Chinese or a dialect of Chinese. (five references) (Author/CK)

Tested whether the predictions of a particular syntactically based theory about partial availability of universal grammar in post-critical-period second-language acquisition can provide insight into the acquisition of English restrictive relative clauses. (48 references) (Author/CK)

Reports a study of the production of Thai vowels, consonants, and tones by native English speakers using two forms of evaluation: acoustic measurements and auditory evaluation by native Thai-speaking listeners. The study focused on the differences in acoustic parameters between the two groups and the acoustic parameter influencing native…

Subjects (n=93) participated in an investigation of how the number of errors from different linguistic sources affects evaluative judgments about the need for revision in a non-native language. Results of the participation of non-native and native writers of English as well as of English as a foreign language teachers show that lexical errors have…

This study extends previous research on the relationships among intelligibility, perceived comprehensibility, and accentedness. The researchers obtained accent and comprehensibility ratings and transcriptions of accented speech of Cantonese, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language students from native English…

Investigated the effect of grammatical and discourse features on rater perceptions of writing quality in evaluating foreign language writing samples. Also investigated differences in rating profiles between native and nonnative speaking raters. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the relations in learning between primary (L1) and second languages, including the theme of language learning and face-to-face verbal interaction; the conjunction of research in language learning and in bilingualism; and work on the role of metalinguistc activities in this area. Notes that the ethnographic data collected show that resort…

Identifies three common "channels" through which student-writers are inducted into the critical thinking practice via advanced writing courses. Argues that critical thinking is a socio-cognitive practice drawing on cultural norms shared by mainstream students, a process not open to students of English as a Second Language. (100…

Examines the origin and current meaning of the labels, ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a foreign language). Places these acronyms in historical context, evaluates their current credibility, distinguishes three contexts commonly referred to as ESL environments and proposes a new nomenclature that better captures the role of…

In a small Mexican town with a sizeable English-speaking population and bilingual schools, some native Spanish speakers develop native-like proficiency in English. Interviews found that the only Spanish speakers acquiring much English attended bilingual schools and frequently had close friendships with native English speakers and favorable…

A study of native and non-native English speakers' production of vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables found that non-native speakers had most difficulty with four-syllable words, producing a first-syllable vowel of variable quality, failing to reduce the second-syllable vowel, and failing to produce appropriate durations for vowels…