The purpose of this study was to investigate how retrospective verbal reports can contribute to our understanding of the factors influencing the interlanguage development of tense and grammatical aspect. The goal was to gain insights into (1) the mental representations second language learners hold of tense and grammatical aspect, and (2) the…

A theory of language may prove conducive to many important and complex issues in philosophy of education. After grouping these issues into four main categories, I explore the possibility and need to back up the categories with a comprehensive theory of language or a cluster of theories of compatible assumptions. I argue that Habermas's universal…

Zo eplicates in a synchronous learning environment a study that looked at the effectiveness of providing two types of corrective feedback to students in the classroom. Elementary learners of L2 English (N = 31) completed two communicative tasks, during which time they received either recasts (implicit feedback) or metalinguistic information…

A survey of textbooks and official Ministry of Education programs of study for the Province of Ontario, Canada, revealed three stages in the history of teaching English language in intermediate and secondary schools. Prior to the mid-1960s language study was fundamentally the study of formal grammar and standard usage. From the mid-1960s until the…

Investigates the development of morphological awareness in Chinese and English. Indicates that morphological awareness develops with grade level and is strongly related to reading ability. Notes that Chinese students' acquisition of derivational morphology seems to lag behind that of compounding rules, which might reflect the nature of Chinese…

Discusses how American Sign Language does and does not resemble African American Vernacular English (Ebonics). The need for metalinguistic awareness in students is highlighted. Students are urged to learn Standard English, recognize and respect other languages they use, and know the link between language, status, and power. (CR)

Different theories of second language acquisition offer conflicting views of the relationship between metalinguistic task performance and oral production. Examined this relationship with respect to the possessive determiners "his/her" in English. Learners' oral production was elicited using a picture description task and described according to…

Data are presented on some aspects of metalinguistic awareness in Dutch adults who emigrated to Australia at least 25 years ago. The findings show that the migrants do not differ significantly from a control group in the Netherlands, suggesting that first-language metalinguistic skills are extremely resistant to attrition. (Contains nine…

Finds SAT Verbal scores correlated with parts 2 and 4 of a four-part Morpheme Sensitivity Test (MST); standardized test scores correlated with all parts of the MST; and significant difference between means on all parts of the MST for proficient and nonproficient high school readers. Notes that results are consistent with the morphophonemic nature…

Drawing on sociopsychological theory and research on intergroup relations, it is argued that awareness should not necessarily lead to tolerance. An exploratory study of 253 American students showed only extremely modest and uncertain relationships between language awareness and tolerance. (37 references) (Author/LB)

Reports on a study that started out as an investigation into learner training, but evolved into a more holistic study on consciousness raising. The study was carried out in a university-level English reading course that incorporates learner training sessions and group work. (Author/VWL)

Explores the potential of a corpus-based approach for promoting language awareness in student translators. Examines principal criteria required to produce a good translation and discusses obstacles to language awareness that can be found in the classroom: resistance to correction, lack of motivation, and lack of awareness of the distinction…

Teaching materials for university-level second language learners were created with the aim of raising the learners' awareness of the rhetorical organization and salient linguistic features of essays. The teaching method relied heavily on explicit instruction and essential metalanguage. Concludes that explicit genre-based instruction with the…

Describes an exercise in lexical analysis, involving verbs of sound in English and Spanish. The aim of the exercise is to enable students to discover underlying patterns of meaning that are representative of lexical-conceptual structure. (Author/VL)

Presents brief descriptions of 30 children's trade books from every genre (published in 1997), selected by the Notable Children's Books Committee for their outstanding potential to enhance language awareness among students in grades K-8. (SR)