bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deletion of mPGES-1 affects platelet functions in mice
Authors: Raouf Joan , Mobarrez Fariborz , Larsson Karin , Jakobsson Per-Johan , Korotkova Marina
Published: October 2016

Microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1) constitutes an essential player in inflammation and is involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Platelets participate in the regulation of inflammatory processes by the release of proinflammatory mediators and platelet-derived microparticles (PMPs). However, the role of the inducible mPGES-1/PGE2 pathway in platelet functions has not been investigated. In the present study we report a significant impact of mPGES-1 on platelet functions during inflammation. Wild-type (WT) and mPGES-1−/− knockout (KO) mice were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 h. Platelet counts and activation were assessed by flow cytometry analysing CD62P–CD154 expression, PMP numbers, platelet–leukocyte aggregates and platelet aggregation. The accumulation of platelets and fibrinogen in the liver was analysed by immunofluorescent staining. In native platelets from WT and mPGES-1 KO mice, there were no differences among the investigated functions. After LPS treatment, the number of platelets was significantly decreased in WT, but not in KO mice. Platelet activation, platelet–leukocyte aggregates and PMP numbers were all significantly lower in KO mice compared with WT mice after LPS treatment. In addition, KO mice displayed a significant reduction in platelet aggregation ex vivo. In the liver of LPS-stimulated WT and KO mice, there were no differences in platelet accumulation, although the percentage of total vessel area in the KO liver was significantly lower compared with the WT one. Our results demonstrate that systemic inhibition of mPGES-1 prevents platelet activation, which should have important implications with regard to the cardiovascular safety of mPGES-1 inhibitors.
Synthesis of a self‐assembled Mn3O4 nanostructure aerogel for the adsorption and oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate
Authors: Peng Meng , Yuan Hua , Yang Xiaojun , Yin Chaofan , Wu Jiaxiong , Wu Yuanxin
Published: October 2016

Mn3O4 nanostructure aerogels have been successfully synthesised through an epoxide‐driven sol–gel method with thioacetamide as precursors, followed by lyophilising (freeze drying). The prepared nanostructures were characterised by power X‐ray diffraction pattern, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, surface area measurement (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. The cauliflower‐like and spheroidic morphologies Mn3O4 nanostructure aerogels can be successfully synthesised under different experimental conditions. The growth mechanism for different nanostructures is proposed. The cauliflower‐like Mn3O4 aerogel exhibited higher adsorption capacity for methylene blue and phenol than the spheroidic Mn3O4 aerogel. In addition, the cauliflower‐like Mn3O4 aerogel is a novel co‐catalyst which is more effective for oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate. It may be attributed to the largest surface area and the nanostructure of the cauliflower‐like Mn3O4 self‐assembled by small nanoparticles. This work points out the way to develop a novel and more active self‐assembled nanostructure aerogel co‐catalyst for oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate.
Twenty years of turtle tracks: marine turtle nesting activity at remote locations in the Pilbara, Western Australia
Authors: Pendoley K. L. , Whittock P. A. , Vitenbergs A. , Bell C.
Published: October 2016

Little is known about the biology and ecology of marine turtles in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and most potential habitat is unconfirmed and, therefore, undescribed. Understanding basic biological parameters at a regional level is critically important for effective long-term management. We used the ‘track census’ methodology to identify reproductive habitat and assess species-specific abundance of adult flatback (Natator depressus), green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles at 154 locations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Between 1992 and 2012, potential nesting habitat was assessed via either ground or aerial ‘snapshot’ (single visit) or ‘census’ (more than one night) surveys and additional information obtained using the Expert Elicitation Method. Species-specific abundance (tracks night–1 ± s.d.) was varied; green turtles were most abundant, nesting at fewer locations (n = 47) but in greater numbers (1200.5 ± 62.0) than flatback or hawksbill turtles and primarily (93%) at island locations. Flatback turtle nests were more widely distributed (n = 77) than those of green or hawksbill turtles, yet abundance (877.4 ± 29.5) was lower than that of green and greater than that of hawksbill turtles. Activity was primarily (76%) island-based and activity on the mainland coastline was concentrated close to Mundabullangana and Cemetery Beach. Hawksbill turtle abundance (314.1 ± 17.1) was lowest and the least widespread (n = 43), concentrated primarily in the Onslow and Dampier subregions with no activity recorded in the Port Hedland subregion or on the mainland coastline.
The findings provide information with which the Federal government can meaningfully assess the status and distribution of EPBC Act–listed species where habitat overlaps with areas zoned for development. We highlight the urgent need for the Federal Government to regulate the process by which we accumulate data to support data quality and provide meaningful information to enhance efficacy in state and Federal management of species of concern.
Foreign languages in the high schools
Authors: Joy Barrie K.
Published: October 2016

“If you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there.” Henry James.
Computer corpora in English language research
Authors: Collins Peter
Published: October 2016

This paper provides an overview of various English language corpora. It examines the relationships between the various extrant corpora and also indicates some of the features of a corpus of written English being developed in Australia. The article considers some of the linguistic and theoretical constraints on corpus-based research.
English language development across the curriculum
Authors: Houston Claire
Published: October 2016

The article provides information about the English Language Development Across the Curriculum (ELDAC) Project. The ELDAC Project was initiated to develop whole-school responsibility for the English language needs of students of non-English speaking background. The aim was to integrate appropriate language support for NESB learners within all subject areas. The project emphasizes the crucial role that language plays in learning; the relationship between meaning and form; and the need to focus on language development as an integral part of all subjects. The approach is based on a view of language which provides the theoretical framework for the analysis of language demands of high school subjects. A basic tenet of the approach is that the identification of language demands associated with teaching and learning objectives is an essential part of lesson and unit planning and should be reflected in the presentation of content, learning activities, preparation for writing tasks and assessment. Work done by teachers as a result of the project has not only provided necessary support for learning for NESB students but has also resulted in a significant enhancement of the language and learning abilities of many native-speaking students.
Discourse analysis models for second language teaching
Authors: Perrett Gillian
Published: October 2016

The categories of the functional-notional syllabus are inadequate because, like the speech act theory on which they are based, they recognize only the social function of language and not its discourse function. A further difficulty is that illocutionary acts do not map onto single utterances as this approach to syllabus design appears to assume. Communicative acts in interactional discourse function both as illocutionary acts (they have an intentional effect on another participant) and as interactional acts (they have a role in structuring the discourse of the interaction). This paper discusses attempts by various discourse analysts to model this fact in three different ways: (1) to conflate both types of function into a single analysis (John Dore), (2) to code all utterances for both types of function keeping the two sets of analysis separate (Willis Edmonson) and (3) to code the two types of function in a manner which relates them to each other in a systematic manner (Gordon Wells, Jim Martin). Problems with each solution are discussed, but the need for language materials writers to take a broader view of language function is stressed.
The role of linguistics in peace and conflict studies
Authors: Clyne Michael
Published: October 2016

This paper discusses various meanings of the word “peace” and its equivalents in a variety of languages. It argues that “peace” has developed as the marked alternative to “war”. It investigates the consequences of this use of language and suggests actions that linguists might take to reduce the markedness of “peace” at the international, national and interpersonal levels.
Academic communication in a foreign language
Authors: Baldauf Richard , Jernudd Björn H.
Published: October 2016

The view that Science consists of cooperative networks formed amongst invisible colleges of scholars is discussed and the role of language in scholarly communication is described. A detailed description of one such network, that formed by Scandinavian Psychologists, and the role that language plays in communicating information within and to those external to that network is then provided.
Ensuring the survival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages into the 21st century
Authors: Shopen Tim , Reid Nicholas , Shopen Glenda , Wilkins David
Published: October 2016

There were over 200 distinct languages in Australia at the time of European settlement. Today less than 40 of these are still being passed on to new generations, and all of these are under threat of extinction. Aboriginal people are struggling to adapt themselves to the massive European presence without losing their identity. The greatest threat to Aboriginal languages is the physical, economic and social situation in which their speakers find themselves. Language maintenance will not be possible without social maintenance and this in turn is a political issue. The most important factor will be the success of Aboriginal people in gaining control and self-reliance in their communities. The government can help by assisting in a program of self-determination where Aboriginal people participate at least equally with others in decisions concerning priorities and funding, and in addition by educating non-Aboriginal people to the value of the Aboriginal part of our cultural heritage. Aboriginal teacher education is of primary importance with the goal of schools with Aboriginal control where Aboriginal teachers develop the curriculum and the pedagogy. It is in this context that bilingual education can be put to best use. Bilingual education is of great importance but it must be used not just to assimilate Aboriginal children more easily into English and Western schooling but to have Aboriginal languages and English used together in a coherent educational program where the children become strong in two languages and in the academic and cultural skills they need for contemporary life. Like education, media has the potential for strengthening Aboriginal languages and oultures as well as for destroying them. The outcome will depend on the extent to which Aboriginal people themselves can control what is broadcast and printed.
Language death among Australian languages
Authors: Fesl E.D.
Published: October 2016

This paper looks at the history of language policy formulation and implementation in conjunction with social factors influencing attitudes to both Koorie1 people and their languages.

It endeavours to trace the process of enforced language shift, with consequent language death, in the social history of Australia.

Factors which aid or are hastening language death in the contemporary period are also discussed.

Attention is drawn to the rapidity with which language death has occurred and will continue to occur if measures are not taken to curb the current trends.
Varbrul analysis in applied linguistics
Authors: Horvath Barbara M.
Published: October 2016

VARBRUL analysis is a well known technique used in sociolinguistics for the analysis of variable linguistic phenomena and it is suggested that it would also be useful as a tool in Applied Linguistics. A VARBRUL analysis was undertaken of the placement of students of non-English speaking background (NESB) in high, average and low English and mathematics streams in N.S.W. high schools. The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not NESB students were over-represented in the low stream. The factor groups analyzed were ethnic background, school subject and country of birth.
Transference markers in New Zealand Italian
Authors: Kinder John J.
Published: October 2016

The spoken Italian of migrant Italians in New Zealand contains verbal devices which accompany items transferred from English. These “transference markers” (paralinguistic and prosodic features, hesitation phenomena, hedges, synonymous glosses and explicative statements) convey the speaker’s awareness that the marked items are in fact transfers, and invite a response, verbal or otherwise, from the hearer. This exchange of signals is one way in which conversational interactants negotiate a consensus as to what is comprehensible and acceptable linguistic behaviour to both. Migrant bilinguals can thus be shown to be not only creative language users but also more able than is usually thought, to monitor and control the transference process in their speech.
Factors influencing the initial stages of foreign language phoneme acquisition
Authors: Ronowicz Edmund A.
Published: October 2016

The paper presents an analysis of the initial stages of foreign language phoneme acquisition and a report from two years of empirical research designed to verify the validity of some of its findings. The most interesting results seem to have been obtained so far in the study of those linguistic and non-linguistic factors which are related to the learner’s age: they indicate that interference from native phonemes the learners have stored in their memory may not necessarily be the only, or the most important, factor responsible for older learners’ problems with learning foreign phonemes during the initial stages.
Communicative grammar awareness development in language education
Authors: Thomas Andrew L.
Published: October 2016

The ambiguity in the title is meaningful in the following way: ‘Communicative Grammar’ describes the relationship between the rules of grammar and the pragmatic principles of communication. ‘Communicative Development’ of awareness of this relationship is a procedure which involves learners in solving problems of communicative grammar, as an individual, group and class activity. Learners for whom this procedure is most appropriate include advanced students of language, language teachers and language teacher educators, rather than language learners, whose need is to acquire language competence rather than awareness. The paper describes, exemplifies and justifies the process and the product.
Types of oral translation in the Australian context
Authors: Gentile Adolfo
Published: October 2016

This paper discusses oral translation work carried out in Australia. It argues that the physical presence of the translator is a significant factor both for the act of translation and for the development of typologies of translation. In his highly readable and extremely thought-provoking book Grammatical Man Jeremy Campbell titles one of his chapters “The Struggle against Randomness” (Campbell, 1982:75). I believe that this is an apt definition of our particular concerns with the development of text typologies. I consider it a struggle because in my view we are still grappling with the randomness of phenomena; we are still in a high entropy state. The aim of this paper is to attempt to make a small contribution to the typology debate by outlining some observations of certain data which form part of the random world of texts; these data are different in at least two ways: one, they are derived from the Australian context and two, they refer to “oral translations” which, while being specific to the Australian context are firmly ensconced in the universe of oral translations. I intend to briefly describe the Australian context and then outline the characteristics of that context which sets it apart from others. I shall then discuss a theoretical framework for the observations which will be subsequently described and finally, I shall venture a possible avenue for further investigation.
Teaching the meanings of words
Authors: Bradshaw Julie
Published: October 2016

This paper explores the practice of meaning elaboration in language teaching. From observations of eight English language tutors at work, it is observed that there are six dimensions which may be exploited in the process. The explanation may link an item to others within the linguistic system by means of sense relations, it may specify the semantic attributes or components that are considered salient, it may indicate the referents of the item, it may contextualize the item, or specify the preconditions for its occurrence, or it may invoke metalanguage. Discourse devices may be employed to indicate which of these aspects are being employed. The paper examines in detail the processes of contextualization and the specification of preconditions.
From guest to family friend
Authors: Rubino Antonia
Published: October 2016

This articles reports on the fieldwork methodology that was adopted to collect naturally occurring conversations within an Italo-Australian family. In particular, it focusses on the gradual development of the researcher’s position from an outsider to the family network to an insider of a special kind, as reflected through gradual changes in the topics and discourse structure of the conversations, the participants’ constellation and the languages used. The articles evaluates some major adjustments that had to be made to the ethnographic methods adopted as initial fieldwork models. It concludes that any method needs modifications in order to suit the specific speech community under scrutiny as well as the linguistic focus of the research.
The process vs genre debate
Authors: Walton Christine
Published: October 2016

This paper examines the debate between process and genre approaches to language teaching and learning in a particular cross-cultural and English as a Second Language setting. It argues a position based on the analysis of both the respective theoretical assumptions as well as the evidence from classroom practice.
Through the glass darkly?
Authors: Rado Marta , Foster Lois
Published: October 2016

The implementation of the National Policy on Languages depends on a viable infrastructure including qualified teachers, effective methodologies, suitable materials, equitable access to a range of courses and, significantly, some agreement and flexibility within that concensus on the nature and purposes of tertiary language courses. This paper illuminates the various approaches tertiary language teachers have adopted in response to the recommendations of the National Policy, the pressures of the Dawkin’s era in higher education and their view on the value of studying languages. The paper also makes recommendations as to how to reconcile the conflicting views that emerge.
Gender differences in a bilingual Tamil-English community
Authors: Saravan Vanithamani
Published: October 2016

In this paper the relationship between socio-cultural, socio-economic factors and linguistic variables in a bilingual community in Singapore is examined. The results show that education and socio-economic status correlate significantly with linguistic variables. Socio-economic status and socio-psychological factors best help to explain gender differences in linguistic variation.
The role of language in television news violence
Authors: Paridaen Paul
Published: October 2016

This paper analyzes the role of language in the perception of violence in television news stories. 240 people were asked to watch and/or listen to news stories and then to record their perception of the information. The difference between perceived violence from pictures only on the one hand, and spoken narrative with or without pictures on the other, was highly significant, indicating that the spoken narrative was responsible for the perception of violence in the stories.
Miscommunication in the medical encounter
Authors: Worley Leticia , Elder Catherine
Published: October 2016

The paper draws upon a study of interaction between staff and non-native speakers of English in the Outpatients Department carried out at the request of a large public hospital. It discusses the nature of communication in the medical setting and the effects of institutionalized models of interaction on patients of both non-English speaking and English-speaking background. An attempt is made to characterize typical language exchanges at various points in patients’ passage through the system and to offer explanations for communication problems arising from selected interactions between patients and hospital staff. Outcomes of these interactions as evidenced by patients’ ability to demonstrate understanding of their medication regimes are also considered.

While according cross-cultural factors an important role in communication with non-English speakers, and accepting that NESB patients on account of their limited English may be disadvantaged in the medical encounter, it was concluded that communication difficulties can arise intraculturally as well as cross-culturally and that the differentiated roles of staff and patients constitute the overriding constraint on effective communication. Implications are drawn for the ways in which social interaction between unequal parties is mediated through language.
The evolution of languages administrative policies in New South Wales
Authors: Croft Kerrie , Macpherson R.J.S. ‘Mac’
Published: October 2016

This paper identifies the nature of the administrative policies prior to ‘The Wyndham Report’ and then traces changes up until the late 1970s. It reports research that used documentary analysis and depth interviews, and has three main findings. First, the administrative policy changes from 1962 to 1979 overlooked their impact on Languages education. Second, school-based decision making exposed Languages to diverse administrative practices, including those that reinforced elitism. Third, the falling numbers of candidates being examined in Languages in the late 1970s was only halted by the introduction of ‘Z Courses’ and by the demand for community languages.

From the earliest days of civilization — and until quite recently — it went without saying that the principal business of education was to ensure that an educated person had a mastery of language.

Modern Language Association, USA, 1977)
Towards a further analysis of teacher talk
Authors: Love Kristina
Published: October 2016

Current systems for analyzing classroom talk require some refinement in order that they may be applied for professional development purposes. Sinclair and Coulthard’s (1975) system is particularly useful as a potential tool for diagnostic purposes, but requires further development at the level of ‘act’ both in order to clarify theoretical frameworks and to provide manageability in terms of its application. This study will present a first approximation towards the development of a more refined system of classifying classroom discourse. In its focus on teacher talk, it will provide a preliminary taxonomy of types of teacher acts. This taxonomy, it is hoped, will both inform existing theory and provide a diagnostic tool in the training of teachers.
The use of video to develop language and learning strategies
Authors: Jones Janet , Bignall Ian
Published: October 2016

Video in the classroom has been used mainly as source material for teacher and student exploitation. It is also used to a lesser extent as a medium for oral language development and self-evaluation where the content of the video is the learner’s own performance. This second use involves camera-work and providing feedback on learner performance.

This paper, based on a video programme conducted in an ESP course for Thai Government Officers over 2 years at the ELICOS Centre University of Sydney, argues that video is still under-utilised and can play a more integral role in programme development. We discuss how a more systematic approach to using video can develop learner self-monitoring strategies and communicative competence in a range of contexts.
Dutch immigrants in New Zealand
Authors: Folmer Jetske
Published: October 2016

This article contains a report of a case study on language shift and language loss in three generations of a Dutch immigrant family in New Zealand carried out in 1990/1991 (Folmer 1991). Language shift refers to the shift from Dutch to English and language loss to the loss of the mother tongue Dutch. In addition to language shift and loss, the personal linguistic history of the subjects and their (language) attitudes were examined; these topics are only discussed indirectly in this article.

One first generation member, five members of the second generation and two third generation children took part in the investigation. The instruments used were an analysis of letters, an interview, a domain questionnaire, an editing test and a correction test.

It was found that language shift increases with each generation. The factors education, exogamy, (language) attitudes and age also proved to be important. Furthermore, the type of domain or activity made a difference.

In both the first and the second generation the degree of language loss in Dutch was rather low. Some trends in the loss process were established and certain word classes turned out to be more problematic than others.
Metalinguistic awareness in Dutch immigrants
Authors: de Bot Kees
Published: October 2016

In this paper data are presented on some aspects of metalinguistic awareness in Dutch adults who emigrated to Australia at least 25 years ago. A grammatically judgement test was administered to 37 informants in Melbourne. The data show that the migrants do not differ significantly from a control group in the Netherlands. This outcome, which is in line with earlier findings from Dutch migrants in France, suggests that metalinguistic skills in L1 are extremely resistent to attrition.
On the analyzability of conversational fabrication
Authors: Emmison Michael
Published: October 2016

This paper sets out to clarify the nature of fabrication in relation to conversational interaction. Drawing upon work in the conversation analysis tradition, the paper argues that two dimensions to talk-in-interaction can be distiguished which permit a clearer understanding of the idea of fabrication. Fabrication involves questions of content or substance where the functional end is one of deception, but it can also be seen as referring to practices involved in the production of talk in institutional settings – courtrooms, news interviews, etc. -where a degree of rehearsal of what is to be said is deemed necessary. The paper then explores these dimensions of fabrication in the context of an examination of a tape recorded exchange between a police officer and his informer, an encounter which has been alleged to have been an ‘artifical facade’.
Are women really the only ones who work hard in interaction?
Authors: Faraco Solange
Published: October 2016

This paper is a replication of Pamela Fishman’s ‘Interaction: The work women do’ using Brazilian Portuguese speakers as subjects. The study develops Fishman’s methodology, in particular in the treatment of question forms which are analysed taking into account the function of the questions in the discourse. Not all questions were found to have a role in the development and maintainance of interaction. There are few similarities between the findings reported in Fishman’s study and the findings in this study. There appears to be no clear evidence of unequal distribution of work in the conversations of the two couples. Even though the men raised more topics, both men and women worked for the conversation to develop smoothly by doing support work while the other participant was talking.
Multiple semiotic sources as scaffolding for young children’s emergent reading of picture-story books
Authors: Unsworth Len
Published: October 2016

The significance of children’s literature in early reading development is supported through linguistic analysis of literary texts for young children and the transcripts of classroom interaction deriving from the reading of these texts. This paper will provide a sample analysis of texts for young readers. It will examine the use of colour coding in illustrations, alignment of textual cues in illustrations with corresponding segments of the main text and the use of speech bubbles to repeat selected dialogic exchanges from the main text. The analysis will show how these features interact with Thematic variation of projecting and projected clauses in dialogic segments of the main text. This interaction provides textual scaffolding which assists beginning readers to actively engage in meaningful shared reading of literary texts for young children.
Aspects of later language development*
Authors: Collins Peter
Published: October 2016

This paper reports some findings of a study of six year old and ten year old children which suggests that the process of language acquisition is by no means complete at the age of five (a popular misconception in some of the early literature). In particular, it is suggested that the later years are marked by an increase in the complexity of structures at group/phrase level. The study did not reveal significant developments at clause level, but several were noted at discourse level, including an increased sensitivity to the role of topic-selection in developing the shape of a text, and to the broader structural requirements of different genres.
Information sequencing in Modern Standard Chinese
Authors: Kirkpatrick Andy
Published: October 2016

The hypothesis presented in this paper is that the sequence of ‘modifier-modified’ is a fundamental unit of sequencing in Modern Standard Chinese (MSC). It is shown that this sequencing unit extends beyond word pairs such as adjective-noun to sentences with complex clauses and also that it constitutes a fundamental principle of sequencing at discourse and text levels. Examples of ‘modifier—modified’ sequencing (also called ‘because—therefore’ sequencing) occurring at levels of the complex sentence, extended spoken discourse and written text are provided. These examples are taken from naturally occurring MSC data.

A discussion concerning the implications of the differences in information sequencing between MSC and English in the fields of cross-cultural communication and language teaching concludes the paper.
Legal English
Authors: Iedema Rick A.M.
Published: October 2016

In this paper student Case Notes are analysed to exemplify the degrees of linguistic intricacy that come into play within the context of legal discourse – the ‘target discourse1-and to demonstrate that apprenticeship into this particular academic discourse community involves more than familiarisation with content specific material on the one hand and the control of common English structural conventions on the other. The discussion sets out to show that the intricate and often ‘hidden’ (as in ‘not made explicit’) linguistic demands academic discourses impose on NESB students need to be brought out into the open to highlight and clarify the association between specific lexicogrammatical realisations and generic meanings in the discourse. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for linguistically informed assistance for NESB learners at the tertiary level.
Does year 12 French improve proficiency?
Authors: Martin Anne L.
Published: October 2016

Do students believe that Year 12 LOTE courses contribute to the development of oral and aural proficiency in the target language? Attitudinal and performance data collected from university French 1 students shed some light on students’ satisfaction with their Year 12 LOTE course and on the relationship among perceived outcomes, course components, language of instruction and language performance. The findings, while not definitive, provide some insights for secondary and tertiary LOTE teachers, together with some baseline data for further research into the success of school language programs.
Aboriginal English inside and outside the classroom
Authors: Malcolm Ian G.
Published: October 2016

It is argued that Aboriginal children’s English is different inside and outside the classroom largely because characteristically, inside the classroom the Aboriginal children do not have the freedom to determine the discourse pattern which they have outside the classroom. This is illustrated on the basis of an analysis of five first person oral narratives of Aboriginal children of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia recorded outside the classroom, which are compared both with a first person oral narrative of a non-Aboriginal child and with teacher led interactions in the classes of which these children were members. The Aboriginal children’s discourse exhibits ‘tracking,’ a culture-specific way of organising narrative, which is widely exhibited in Aboriginal communities. It is implied that education of speakers of Aboriginal English needs to be sensitive to such discoursal features which are not shared by other English speakers.
Factors influencing elective language choice
Authors: McGannon Judith , Medeiros Anna
Published: October 2016

Factors influencing the decision of secondary school students to continue or discontinue the study of French beyond the compulsory years were investigated in a government secondary college in an outer eastern suburb of Melbourne. Six classes of year 8 French students were surveyed. The results of the study indicate that gender, perceived ability in French, encouragement from parents and teachers, peer group preference, and beliefs about the career relevance of French influence the decision of students to opt in or out of the language programme.
Language bias against women in British and Malaysian newspapers
Authors: Hawes Thomas , Thomas Sarah
Published: October 2016

This paper examines a few techniques of sexist role reinforcement in the British newspapersThe SunandThe Daily Mirrorand the Malaysian newspapersThe StarandThe New Straits Times.Beginning with a discussion of stereotyping and the conservative male- dominated ideology prevalent in the British press, it goes on to cite linguistic items and female/male ratios that expose this ideology. Features we look at include modification, relexicalisation and reductive language, as well as puns, alliteration and the classification of women as either pin-up commodities or annexes of the males to whom they ‘belong’. Sexist language in the Malaysian press being much less explicit, many of these categories are not present when it comes toThe StarandThe New Straits Times.In a more limited study of these papers, we nevertheless find an even greater bias towards males as the makers of news. It is suggested that teachers refrain from using sexist materials in class unless it is to discuss their ideology explicitly.
The relationship between content knowledge and practise opportunities in non-native learners’ interaction
Authors: Alcón Eva , Guzman Josep-Roderic
Published: October 2016

The following study was undertaken to further understand the effect of content knowledge on learners’ participation in interactions between non-native speakers. 120 male students, all of them Spanish, were paired to form 20 dyads whose members had equal content knowledge, but different levels in oral proficiency, 20 dyads in which fluent learners were relative content experts, and 20 dyads in which learners with limited oral skills were the experts. Measures of conversational participation included: amount of talk, conversational fillers, back channels, topic moves, clarification questions, confirmation checks, and comprehension checks. x
2 analysis of results indicated that, regardless of learners’ level of proficiency, relative content knowledge can explain different conversational patterns of participation: the relative expert producing more output (number of words), while the relative nonexpert works hard to understand the message. Findings of the study support the relationship between content knowledge and conversational participation in the context of non-native interaction.
Talk around text
Authors: Love Kristina
Published: October 2016

Baker and Freebody (1989) argued that the teaching of reading was the teaching of culture, and in learning the culture of schooling, children were learning how to respond to the authority of the teacher and the school texts. Their interest in analysing the talk around text which occurred in primary schools lay in critiquing the politics of school knowledge. In this paper, a transitivity analysis within a systemic functional grammar will be used to explore what the discourse of reading lessons looks like in one secondary school context, to examine what is being communicated about the culture of schooling and to come to a different conclusion to that of Baker and Freebody about the value of teacher and text-authorising strategies.
Call at the crossroads
Authors: Burston Jack L.
Published: October 2016

CALL has been promoted for nearly 30 years essentially on the basis, not of fact, but of the myth, that it demonstrably produces positive language learning outcomes. In reality, there is no reliable evidence to support such claims. If the effectiveness of CALL is to move beyond the stage of myth to that of demonstrably “certified” fact, development in the field needs a clear theoretical base from which to operate. SLA theory can provide insights and help ensure that we are at least asking the right questions. Likewise, it has reliable research methodologies available to properly frame hypotheses and evaluate the results of CALL efforts. No less so, however, SLA theory very much needs the kind of “hard” language learning input which CALL can deliver. Collaboration in the design of CALL programmes offers a valuable means of eliciting linguistic data essential to the testing of SLA hypotheses. Even more importantly for SLA theory construction, the ability of computer-based programmes to unobtrusively track the behaviour of learners, offers a unique “window of observation” on the processes underlying observed performance. Despite much promise, and nearly three decades of efforts by CALL enthusiasts, effective exploitation of educational technology in language teaching remains to be achieved.
Teaching verbal interaction and culture in the language classroom
Authors: Crozet Chantal
Published: October 2016

This paper explores a model for teaching communicative performance which integrates the teaching of norms of interaction in French with the teaching of kinesics, prosodies and the grammar of spoken French. Students’ own perceptions of stereotypes were used as an entry point into the discourse practices of the target culture. Students were filmed while they perform role plays in which they try to reproduce the rules of French conversation. The group viewed the filmed performances and feed back was given to students who are encouraged to discuss their response to learning foreign codes of cultural behaviour. The paper looks into the complexities of teaching culture and language as an integrated process.
Competing constraints in alternative dispute resolution
Authors: Smith Calvin D.
Published: October 2016

Despite rapid growth in the provision of alternative dispute resolution services by governments, little sociological attention has been paid to the emerging form these services take. In this paper I offer a preliminary analysis of mediations conducted by the Community Justice Program in Queensland. I focus on the interactional management of two competing constraints on the talk. On the one hand mediation services must provide an accountably standardised and recognisable process. This creates the need for formalisation of the mediation process. On the other hand, because of philosophical commitments to disputant control over the dispute and its outcome, Community Justice Program mediations must be conducted in such a way as to display this commitment to disputant control and authority in the proceedings. This creates a conflicting need for displays of informality. This paper focuses on some strategies which appear to be designed to achieve this mix of formality and informality in Community Justice Program mediations.
From emergence to acquisition
Authors: Mansouri Fethi
Published: October 2016

This paper concerns the emergence and development of agreement marking in Arabic interlanguage. It investigates the effect of competing structures (pragmatics, semantics and morphosyntax) on the development of Arabic subject-verb agreement morphology. It is hypothesised that Arabic Interlanguage morphology is constrained by the availability of processing strategies (Clahsen, 1986) and competing information structures (Bates and McWhinney, 1981; 1987) especially when dealing with complex agreement patterns. The results show that linguistic complexity (a) influences the types of processing strategies employed and (b) determines the order of acquisition of different agreement patterns. It is also revealed that when the three information structures compete for interpretation of speech, morphosyntax emerges as the least influential eventhough it seems that S-V agreement in Arabic, at least on the surface, is essentially a transfer of morphosyntactic features (person, number and gender) from the subject onto the verb.
‘How not to answer a question’ revisited
Authors: Bramley Nicolette
Published: October 2016

Women in politics in Australia have been in the spotlight recently as their numbers have increased over the last decade particularly with the unprecedented number of women elected in the 1996 General election and also with the 1994 promise of the ALP to increase the number of women preselected in winnable seats to 35% by 2002. Recent research on language and gender has shown that women and men use different discourse strategies when they speak and that women tend to be more ‘cooperative’ in their speech while men are more ‘adversarial’ (Tannen 1993). The context of this paper will be the highly public forum of the political media interview. The hypothesis that women avoid answering questions less than men is tested, showing that women do avoid answering questions less than men. The gendered use of different avoidance strategies is also examined but with no significant difference in the way questions are avoided. The use of prefered and disprefered answers, however, showed a gender difference with women using significantly more prefered answers than men. To define different types of answer and avoidance, the notion of topic used by Gardner (1987) and the Gricean Maxims (1975) are used.
Media research in second language settings
Authors: Gruba Paul A.
Published: October 2016

Despite the popularity and widespread influence of broadcast video media, this paper argues that applied linguists has generally ignored such media as a site of research. Media research techniques, emphasising qualitative approaches within second language settings, are discussed from a pedagogical, cognitive, and sociological perspective. The paper concludes with a call for further research of media in second language settings.
Can reading strategies be successfully taught?
Authors: Carrell Patricia L.
Published: October 2016

The purpose of this article is to examine whether and how reading strategies can be successfully taught in second or foreign language reading instruction. A number of researchers agree that it is important for second or foreign language readers to become ‘strategic’ readers. Yet, there is disagreement among these same researchers as to how to accomplish this goal. Part of the problem is that there are no inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ reading strategies. What is a good strategy in one situation for one reader, may be a bad strategy in a different situation or for a different reader. Successful and unsuccessful strategy use is apparently context and text dependent. In this article I present a comprehensive survey of the research which has been done on reading strategy training, and confront the critical issue of how to make reading strategy instruction appropriately text and context sensitive rather than the mindless teaching of lists of strategies.
An individual approach to imitation
Authors: Littleton Peita
Published: October 2016

The available literature on the facet of imitation and its role, if any, in language acquisition is bipolaric in nature. The efficacy of imitation is seen as either a minor inconsequential feature, or a primary means to the child’s learning of language. The present paper investigates a strategy for language acquisition adopted by one child, and the usefulness of imitation in supporting that strategy. Naturally occurring conversations between the child and his parents were recorded and examined. Imitated utterances were found to surpass spontaneous ones on the dimensions of grammatical and semantic complexity, and, with few exceptions, new structures appeared first in imitative utterances. The higher complexity and the prior appearance of new construction in imitative utterances suggest that imitation fulfilled a progressive function for the child. The usefulness of imitation for language learning and the implications of imitation as a primary strategy are discussed.
The lexico-syntactic marking of chronological order
Authors: Tickoo Asha
Published: October 2016

The complexities inherent to the acquisition of temporal reference have not been associated with the first formal means of representing time in L2 acquisition of temporal reference, namely temporal adverbials. But this study of the use of ‘then’/ ‘after that’ by Vietnamese learners of ESL suggests that this temporal adverb poses as much of a learning challenge as morphological means of temporal reference. A distinct form to function mapping is evident in this learner’s use of ‘then’/ ‘after that’, just as it is in interlanguage morphological marking of tense and aspect. The same asymmetry in the learning process is evident, with target-like form being acquired at a point at which the corresponding function is till not completely target-like. ‘Then’/ ‘after that’ marks chronological order for salient narrative events. I will show that this learner’s usage is monitored by a looser notion of salience, which emerges from the transference of a salience-marking principle from a tense-free L1. It is suggested that since the tenseless L1 is clearly impacting not just the acquisition of English tense-aspect morphology, but rather the entire system of temporal reference, the teacher should not assume shared intuitions on the felicitous use of ‘so simple a word’ as ‘then’. And target usage should be introduced as a proper subset of the learner counterpart, using negative evidence to illustrate the more highly constrained nature of target usage.