bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Morphosyntactic accuracy in the written compositions of advanced university level students of French
Authors: Mogilevski Eugene , Burston Jack L.
Published: October 2016

This article investigates the morphosyntactic accuracy of second year examination compositions written by advanced level students of French. The study provides a detailed error analysis of 212 compositions done on the basis of an error classification system consisting of twenty-two linguistic categories. The findings derived from this data highlight areas where students’ linguistic competence is at its weakest, and the rate of progress made by students from one semester to another. More specifically, they present the problem of linguistic accuracy, or rather lack thereof, as widespread, deeply engrained, and worthy of serious attention. The outcome of this investigation leads to a discussion of practical and theoretical explanations for our students’ lack of morphosyntactic accuracy and to a consideration of ways of reducing orthographic and grammatical imprecision. The effectiveness of focus on form is examined, with particular reference to processing instruction linked to the classroom use of the French grammar checker Le Correcteur 101.
Using affect to effect in Lebanese-Arabic and Australian-English pre-school interactions
Authors: Rieschild Verna
Published: October 2016

The cross-linguistic research reported in this paper was designed to investigate language-specific and universal aspects of emotion display in teacher interactions with pre-school children. It assumes that communicative strategies are underpinned by beliefs about the appropriate and strategic use of emotion, and the different values given to emotion expression. Using data from Australian-English interactions and Australian Lebanese-Arabic interactions, the study uses semantic and conversation analysis to compare and contrast the coincidence of emotion expression and interactive intention. It explains the language-specific preferences for expres-sion of certain emotions; and how emotion display contributes to the teacher role. The study found language-specific preferences for expressing negative and positive emotion in feedback and encouragement strategies that reflect language-specific role expectations.
When “okay” is okay in computer science seminar talk
Authors: Rendle-Short Johanna
Published: October 2016

Analysis of a series of seminars given by CSIRO computer scientists indicates that the use of the discourse marker: okay, is not random; rather, it plays an important role in orienting the listener to the overall structure of the seminar. This paper shows how okay occurs in specific environments, with specific prosodic features, and how its role and function vary according to where it occurs within the talk. Okay occurs most frequently at the boundary of one section of talk and the next, although its function varies according to whether it is associated with the beginning or with the end of a section of talk. This paper highlights the close interaction between talk and action, with special emphasis on the precise way in which saying okay is co-ordinated with placing the overhead slide on the screen.
Medical discourse in a hispanic environment
Authors: Cordelia Marisa
Published: October 2016

This paper gives a preliminary insight into Hispanic medical discourse. It explores how a physician exercises power andsimpatíain conversations with patients and it includes patients’ perception about good medical practice.

The focus is on the analysis of a conversation tape-recorded between the most popular and likeable doctor in the clinic and a female patient. This interaction is compared with the results obtained from a semi-structured interview aiming to discover if this medical exchange represents what patients have identified as positive medical behaviour.

The Hispanic data demonstrate that the doctor uses a variety of strategies in the exchange in order to show both his medical knowledge and his linguistic competence in expressingsimpatíain discourse. The latter helps to create a pleasant atmosphere in an interaction in which the doctor’s use of the language is paramount.
An investigation of foreign language students’ conceptualisations of literary reading
Authors: Bouvet Eric
Published: October 2016

This study investigates how first-year post-secondary students conceptualise and judge their strategic behaviour in relation to reading foreign language literary texts. The questionnaire used to collect data is structured around four important metacognitive aspects of reading: what readers believe they are able to do (Confidence), how readers conceive efficient reading in a foreign language (Effectiveness) and what readers believe makes reading difficult (Difficulty), as well as how readers believe they are able to overcome reading difficulties (Repair). In addition to providing information on conceptualisations of key areas of reading, a contrastive investigation of self-assessed proficient readers and self-assessed less proficient readers is carried out in order to elicit possible differences between the two groups.

The results obtained show that the large majority of the surveyed students are able to envision reading as a cohesive and constructive activity. Most of them report they are able to incorporate bottom-up and top-down strategic behaviour in their conceptions of foreign language reading. However, students appear to be mostly concerned with lexical difficulties which are naturally perceived by them as the major impediment to reading comprehension. As for possible conceptual differences between self-assessed proficient and less proficient students, results suggest that they are minimal. In fact, the only area where a significant discrepancy between the two groups appears is confidence.
On enumerative prose in ESL
Authors: Tickoo Asha
Published: October 2016

A number of researchers (Meyer 1975, 1977a, 1977b; Meyer, Brandt & Bluth 1980; Meyer & Freedle 1984; Carrell 1983; Connor 1984) have claimed that Collection is one of the most rudimentary of expository text configurations. They suggest that, unlike expository configurations such as Comparison, Causation and Problem/Solution, it possesses no top-level structure at all. In this paper, I will re-examine the structure of one type of Collection by building on a set of claims by Tadros (1994) which suggest, contra Meyer and others, a clear basic rhetorical make-up for Collection. I will closely examine a type of Collection referred to by Tadros as Enumeration, to argue that it possesses a well-defined constituent structure and set of interconstituent relationships. I will then analyse randomly selected samples from a body of twenty essays by Cantonese-speaking freshmen enrolled in the English department of a Hong Kong university, to support two claims: 1° the majority of these learners have considerable difficulty conforming to the interconstituent constraints on Enumeration; 2° as a group they show evidence of three developmentally differentiable levels of acquisition of the rhetorical structure of Enumeration. In a final section, I will consider the pedagogical implications of these findings.
The use of ‘well’ in spoken interaction
Authors: Alcón-Soler Eva , Tricker Deborah
Published: October 2016

In this study the use of "well" as a discourse marker is analysed in sixteen episodes of a television series and in two English language textbooks to illustrate what communicative language teaching can get from work on discourse analysis. Results of the analysis show that the meaning of well as a mainly interactive device signalling acceptance due to modification is present both in television series and in textbooks. However, the analysis also shows an absence of inductive and language awareness approaches to focus learners’ attention on the interactive features of “well” as a discourse marker. Further research is needed in different languages to understand the meaning and use of discourse markers and the implications of these analyses for language teaching.
English-speaking learners’ use of component information in processing unfamiliar kanji
Authors: Toyoda Etsuko
Published: October 2016

Reading in the Japanese language cannot be accomplished without adequate recognition of kanji words. Abundant research suggests that, when recognizing kanji words, it is crucial to use semantic and phonological information of constituent components of kanji. This paper reports on the results of a study investigating if English-speaking learners of Japanese have the ability to use kanji component information. A test measuring learners’ ability to utilise component information was devised and administered after training sessions. The analysis of the test results suggests that learners of Japanese have an ability to use component information. Judging from the findings of the study, learners are better at using semantic information than using phonological information for processing kanji words
Nonverbal features of speech and foreign language comprehension
Authors: Battestini Joëlle , Rolin-Ianziti Jeanne
Published: October 2016

Are nonverbal features of speech a valuable source of information in L2 aural comprehension? This paper starts with the results of a questionnaire suggesting the teaching profession’s belief that nonverbal features of speech facilitate foreign language comprehension. This belief is then examined in the light of studies in various fields (applied linguistics, social psychology, anthropology, cross-cultural studies) where research deals with nonverbal features of speech at the receptive level. Our review of this literature raises several issues: 1) the importance of the context of use in decoding the meaning and functions of gestures; 2) potential discrepancies in the use of gestures in L1 and L2; 3) the interpretability of gestural expressions across cultures; and 4) the most appropriate teaching approach to integrate nonverbal features of speech into the teaching of L2 comprehension. The paper also discusses possible avenues for further research.
Some characteristics of fathers’ and mothers’ speech to young children
Authors: Galloway Ann
Published: October 2016

This study investigated a range of formal, conversational and functional aspects of fathers’ and mothers’ speech to children aged 2;6-3;8 in two dyadic contexts (book reading and puzzle play), and one triadic context (family mealtime). Speech situation influenced the type of speech produced, and parents’ speech changed in a similar direction across contexts. Nevertheless, there were some differences found between parents across tasks. There was little difference between parents in respect of formal characteristics of speech, but differences were evidenced at the pragmatic level.
Understanding signals and reading comprehension
Authors: Chung Jenny S.L.
Published: October 2016

This paper explores the issues of signals and reading comprehension. A study was made of the effect of logical connectives and paragraph headings on the reading comprehension of 577 Hong Kong Secondary 6 students learning English as a Second Language. A reading comprehension placement test with normal signals was used to create three ability groups. Four versions of a text were then produced. Version 1 was a non-signalled passage; versions 2, 3, and 4 were embedded with logical connectives, paragraph headings and these two signals in combination. All four versions had the same content and level of difficulty. All signals contributed to reading comprehension for the Low Ability Group except for logical connectives, which did not aid microstructure understanding. Implications for the teaching of reading to poor readers are discussed.
Organisers in expository text
Authors: Davies Rosalind Lawe
Published: October 2016

This paper presents the concept of ‘organisers’ in expository text, as a tool for discourse analysis and the teaching of writing skills. The notion of an ‘organiser’ is based on the work of Harold (1995) in which he suggests that there is a universal cognitive function of early position in the paragraph called ‘organisation’. For Harold, the ‘organiser’ serves to both group and divide text, and link to what has gone before. The present classification was developed to account for differences between expository essays, judged by readers on the basis of coherence. Characteristics of essay organisation could be clearly discriminated when ‘organisers’ were given clear operational definition, and a distinction was made between ‘unifying’ and ‘dividing organisers’. The classification includes lexical and grammatical units that are not traditionally considered to be discourse ‘signposts’. Extended to other genres of expository text, the usefulness of this approach can be demonstrated and validated. This method of analysis has pedagogical implications for the teaching of writing by offering another way to explain to students the practical means and strategies available to create an ‘organised’ expository text that is easy for a reader to comprehend.
The roots of applied linguistics in Australia
Authors: McNamara Tim
Published: October 2016

In this paper an attempt is made to identify the origins and distinctive character of Applied Linguistics in Australia, which differ significantly from those in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the field developed in the context of the English language education of international students. The Australian tradition differs in two main respects: (1) the strong influence and representation of the applied linguistics of modern languages, manifest in the work of university teachers of French and other modern languages, and in research on language in immigrant communities; and (2) the distinctive role of the applied linguistics of English, both as a mother tongue in schools, and as a language of immigrants. Using information from a series of interviews with leading figures in the development of Australian applied linguistics, the unique character of Australian Applied Linguistics is revealed.
Anxiety and oral performance in a foreign language test situation
Authors: Machida Sayuki
Published: October 2016

This research investigates a situation specific anxiety: oral examination anxiety in a foreign language learning situation. It examines how a particular type of language anxiety - anxiety in oral communication - impacts on the learner’s oral performance. The subjects are first year Japanese language students at tertiary level in Australia. Questionnaire surveys were conducted to measure the students’: a) anxiety in foreign language classes, b) their anxiety toward oral examinations, and c) the anxiety they actually felt in an oral examination. The objectives of the study were to investigate relations between anxiety and scores in oral examinations. The results indicated that state anxiety can be a strong predictor of learners’ performance in an examination. However, the subjects’ trait anxiety had also both direct and indirect influence over their oral performance. A cause-effect relation among trait anxiety, oral performance, and state anxiety (MacIntyre and Gardner 1989) was also observed in this study.
The parameters of speaking for writing tasks
Authors: Franken Margaret
Published: October 2016

This paper seeks to identify student, syllabus, and instructional parameters which influence the outcomes of speaking tasks aimed at preparing students for writing. The parameters arise from cognitive, affective and rhetorical concerns. The paper takes the view that some parameters are ‘givens’ while others can be manipulated positively by teachers to increase the productivity or change the outcomes of speaking to writing tasks.
Aids awareness and discourse interpretation
Authors: Paltridge Brian , O’Loughlin Kieran
Published: October 2016

This paper describes a study which examines how people interpret the safe sex messages presented in posters distributed throughout Australian airports as part of the government’s Travel Safe AIDS awareness campaign. The subjects who participated in the study were all under 25 years old, one of the target groups for the particular campaign. The group was made up of 20 native speakers of English and 20 non-native speakers of English. Both groups of readers largely recognized the intended messages of the texts and, in many cases, learnt something new from them. This was particularly the case with the non-native speakers of English. The paper cautions, however, on drawing the conclusion from the study that all readers will necessarily enter into the intended reading position of the texts, and respond positively to them.
Learning strategies employed for learning words written in Kanji Versus Kana
Authors: Kubota Mariko , Toyoda Etsuko
Published: October 2016

The aims of this paper are: (1) to compare learning strategies employed to memorize the meaning of words written in kanji (logograph) and kana (syllablics); and (2) to identify effective learning strategies to memorize meanings of words in kanji. Eleven native speakers of English enrolled in Japanese at a university participated in this project. Twenty words were selected as the main research instrument. Participants were asked to memorize in 20 minutes the English meanings of the 20 Japanese words written in kanji while saying what they were thinking (a think-aloud protocol). Participants’ behavior was observed, and a test was given after the memorization. About one month later the same procedure was used for words written in kana. A questionnaire was used to find participants’ Japanese learning backgrounds. The findings were: (1) seven out of 11 participants employed different strategies for memorizing the meanings of words written in kanji from words written in kana; and (2) recognition of radicals and analysis of whole words were effective for memorizing the words written in kanji.
What are they getting at?Placement of important ideas in lengthy Chinese newstext
Authors: Ramsay Guy
Published: October 2016

When reading lengthy expository texts, Australian-born (Aus) learners of Modern Standard Chinese (MSC) as a second language (L2) often find it difficult to elicit the main points being expressed by the text author. Contrastive rhetoric studies attribute this to the differing stylistic patterns of argumentation between L1-English and L1-MSC discourse. This explanation, however, is far from universally accepted, with many studies refuting such conclusions. This study seeks to contribute to the debate by applying a more rigorous analytic framework, the Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) framework, to lengthy newstext, so as to explicate the lower level, more local features of Chinese discourse that may lead to the problems faced by L2 learners of MSC. Results reveal that local level placement of clauses differs between Australian and Chinese newstexts. Pedagogical implications are discussed, namely the benefits of promoting awareness of such cross-cultural variation within the language classroom.
Grammars and corpora
Authors: Collins Peter
Published: October 2016

This paper surveys developments that have occurred in the major ‘corpus-informed’ English reference grammars of the past three decades. During this time there has occurred not simply a massive increase in the size of the corpora available to grammarians and an increasing sophistication in the methods by which they are able to analyse and present quantitative data, but, more fundamentally, a shift in the attitudes of authors towards their object of description. No longer is it considered that a single variety—typically standard educated English—will suffice for the description of language use: sensitivity to usage across a range of registers and dialects is now accepted as essential.
The cultural significance of coda in Chinese Narratives
Authors: Ho Judy W. Y.
Published: October 2016

In Western studies of narrative, Complication, Resolution and Evaluation have received a substantial amount of attention whereas Coda is regarded as an optional and relatively insignificant element. This paper analyzes narratives written by Grade 5/6 students in Hong Kong and investigates some of the contextual factors which help to shape the production and interpretation of these narrative texts. Findings suggest that the functions of Coda are culture-specific. In Chinese narratives, Coda is an obligatory element. It is important because of its role as a carrier of value-laden messages. It is the locus where the social purpose of Chinese narrative is stated, and where the cultural meaning of narrative texts is expressed. It provides a mechanism through which a process of self-reflection and self-discovery is instated so that what one experiences in the external world is given some significance. This process of self-discovery is extended to others through processes of moralization and generalization so that a general discovery of truth will result. The paper also demonstrates how the significance of Coda is conveyed through teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices.
Do learners thank too much in Indonesian?
Authors: Hassall Tim
Published: October 2016

This study investigates how frequently Australian learners of Indonesian thank in everyday situations compared with Indonesian native speakers. The data were collected by means of interactive roleplay. Learner subjects were found to thank very consistently in the situations, probably due to pragmatic transfer from their first language combined with influence from formal instruction. Indonesian native subjects also thanked frequently. This finding contradicts popular wisdom, and appears to reflect a rise in verbal thanking in Indonesian due to a weakening of traditional cultural values. This trend has major implications for cross-cultural pragmatics. It suggests that in developing countries where cultural values are changing, speech act behaviour may steadily converge with western pragmatic norms.
Early bilingual writing
Authors: Aidman Marina
Published: October 2016

The paper reports some influences of the mother tongue uses on the majority language writing in a simultaneously bilingual child. The child was observed over a five-year period (from the pre-school through mid-primary years) when receiving mainstream schooling in English, whereas her communication with the parents largely occurred in a minority language (Russian). The written texts produced by the child in both her languages over this five-year period, both in the school and at home, were analysed using the systemic functional methodology (Halliday 1994). The written texts of the child’s classroom peers were sampled for comparative analysis. The findings provide evidence that language development in one of the bilingual’s languages tends to enhance the development in the other. Thus there have been differentiated text types in the child’s English writing that were not explicitly taught in English, and also some genres not typically found in the same age monolinguals’ writing. These genres have been scaffolded using the minority language, thus indicating that aspects of the schematic structure and grammar mastered in one of a bilingual’s languages can be carried across to their second language and stimulate the emergence of new written genres in it. Overall the findings support the hypothesis of the interdependence of bilinguals’ languages development (Cummins, 1981; 1984), in the area of written genre learning.
The development of comprehension in interlanguage pragmatics
Authors: Cook Misty , Liddicoat Anthony J.
Published: October 2016

In the past, research in interlanguage pragmatics has primarily explained the differences between native speakers’ (NS) and non-native speakers’ (NNS) pragmatic performance based on cross-cultural and linguistic differences. Very few researchers have considered learners’ pragmatic performance based on second language comprehension. In this study, we will examine learners’ pragmatic performance using request strategies. The results of this study reveal that there is a proficiency effect for interpreting request speech acts at different levels of directness. We propose that learners’ processing strategies and capacities are important factors to consider when examining learners’ pragmatic performance.
Towards standards of feedback on written assignments in language teacher education
Authors: Crabbe David , Lewis Marilyn
Published: October 2016

As alliances are formed between various tertiary institutions within and beyond the same country, the issue of standards arises, particularly with reference to the marking of assignments. This is true not only of the summative grading of assignments but also of the formative effect of written feedback. This paper reports on an exercise in analysing, comparing and reflecting on the feedback offered by two university lecturers on postgraduate programmes for teachers. The writers examine retrospectively the written feedback each provided on written assignments and suggest how the information might be used to derive feedback standards that themselves would be the basis for further evaluation.
Focus on learnable form in a communicative context
Authors: Dyson Bronwyn
Published: October 2016

In this article I present the concept of ‘focus on learnable form’ and show how it could be implemented in the classroom. ‘Focus on form’ research has produced increasing evidence that a form focus can improve the acquisition of the particular form while remaining compatible with the communicative approach. The learnability of grammatical form, a key issue in this research, has been addressed in some studies by identifying the emergence of the form. Since there are problems in relying on emergence, I argue for the adoption of Processability Theory (Pienemann, 1998) and specifically the construct of developmental stages. This framework enables teachers to predict the forms that would be beneficial to focus on and those that are developmentally too advanced for effective focus on form. Despite criticisms of ‘structural’ approaches to SLA research, Processability Theory has a lot to offer communicative language teaching. As I have found in teaching ESL to adolescent and adult learners, ‘focus on learnable form’ in a communicative context is achievable in the classroom and can be implemented as one component of a communicative curriculum by following three steps: assessing the learners, selecting a ‘learnable’ form and focusing on this learnable form in a communicative context.
Attitudes towards disputable usages among Australian teachers and students
Authors: Lee Jackie
Published: October 2016

Some previous studies (eg Watson, 1978; Collins, 1979) have found that while Australian teachers are sensitive to traditional prescriptions such as the use of whom rather than who in object function, and between you and me rather than between you and I, Australian students accept language variation more readily. This paper aims to examine whether Australian teachers nowadays still display more conservative attitudes towards disputable usages than their students. Data were collected via several elicitation tests. In the first survey, 34 Australian English teachers and 54 Australian high school students were invited to participate in a judgement test. In the second survey, 73 Australian teachers and 207 Australian students were presented with a slot-filling test and a proofreading test. The findings showed considerable differences between teachers and students towards disputable usages. Australian teachers had a higher tendency to reject and replace items such as different than, these sort and dangling participles. This suggests that tolerance diminishes with involvement in teaching.
A useful kind of interaction? evaluations by university students of feedback on written assignments
Authors: Storch Neomy , Tapper Joanna
Published: October 2016

In content subjects, university teachers hope that students find their comments on written assignments useful contributions to student learning of content and disciplinary writing. However, teachers often do not know what effect this form of interaction has on student readers. In this study we investigated student reactions to teacher feedback in a law subject. Data included teacher feedback written on 76 student assignments, responses by 72 students to a questionnaire about the feedback and interviews with 9 students. Responses from two groups were compared. One group (Group A) comprised students born in Australia or another English-speaking country and those born in non-English speaking countries but who had been residents in Australia for over seven years. The other group (Group B) comprised students born in non-English speaking countries and who had been resident in Australia for less than seven years. The students from both groups were most interested in specific comments on content matters and only half were interested in comments on written expression. Students from Group B were more likely than Group A students to find teacher comments useful for subsequent assignment writing. The responses from all students indicate that although they found teacher comments useful, they were not necessarily totally satisfied with the nature of the feedback.
Framing institutional policies on literacies
Authors: Reid Ian , Parker Lesley
Published: October 2016

In at least one fundamental respect, our universities are failing to clarify what they expect of students and what students and other stakeholders can expect of them. This failure concerns communication skills. The present paper identifies particular problems of academic literacy and proposes a coordinated institutional approach to their solution. Standards of oral and written communication among those who enter universities are often deplored by academics. Standards of oral and written communication among those who graduate are often deplored by employers. What evidence do we have about actual competencies at various levels of the higher education system? What are the practical implications for curriculum, pedagogy and assessment? How significant are cross-cultural aspects of literacy in academic settings? How distinctive are the literacy demands of different fields of study? Such questions must be explored if universities are serious about devising an appropriate framework of institutional policies to support improved literacy practices. This paper draws in part on a recently completed multi-university research project funded by the Australian Research Council on "Framing Student Literacy". Its theoretical background includes concepts of framing, particularly as developed by Tannen (1993) and MacLachlan and Reid (1994).
The interaction of discipline and culture in academic writing
Authors: Golebiowski Zosia , Liddicoat Anthony J.
Published: October 2016

Work in contrastive rhetoric has often sought to examine the impact of culturally-based writing conventions on text production and has outlined cultural differences in texts in different languages. At the same time, the study of specialised languages has often claimed a degree of uniformity in text construction both at the level of culture and at the level of the discipline. It appears however that approaches which consider just culture or just discipline miss part of the picture. This paper argues that considerations of discipline and culture are complex and interrelated and that this complexity and interrelationship can be seen at several different levels in specialised academic texts.
Cultures of learning
Authors: Kirkpatrick Andy , Mulligan Denise
Published: October 2016

Australian university students are characterised in some quarters, and by employer groups especially, as lacking a high facility with literacy skills. But what literacy skills do students actually need for tertiary study in Australia today? What expectations do students and teachers have about learning the particular literacy skills needed to acquire, evaluate and convey information in their discipline? And to what extent are traditional notions of the culture of learning in Australian universities as ‘critically active’ reflected in practice? This paper compares course requirements and student reading practices in a selection of units in Business, Engineering, Health Science and Social Science and the findings challenge prevailing ideas of what constitutes ‘tertiary literacy’ in Australian universities.
Identifying key dimensions of language and cultural disadvantage at University
Authors: Borland Helen , Pearce Amanda
Published: October 2016

One of the challenges for English language medium universities today is their increasingly globalised student population, as students from around the globe join the members of existing resident ethnic and linguistic groups who have been accessing tertiary education in increasing numbers. In this context it is of growing importance for university policy makers and program developers to be able to identify and assist students who may be experiencing educational disadvantage associated with language and/or cultural factors. In identifying such students and reporting on their educational outcomes a range of terms are used. In the Australian context the term NESB (Non English Speaking Background) has had wide currency. In North America and the UK terms such students have been referred to more commonly as ethnic minority or ESL/EFL students. These broad categorisations are characterised by either partial or indirect focus on the underlying factors that affect students’ success.

In this paper we will argue that such students’ academic needs and potential difficulties are best understood by focusing on particular parameters of two key dimensions of their life experience: English language acquisition history and cultural experience. Using some contrasting case studies from among the current student population at one university in Australia, we will illustrate how these dimensions enable us to conceptualise the broad range of experiences of university of these NESB students. We will demonstrate that designing support which effectively targets disadvantage of very different kinds entails a more sophisticated analysis of the sources of student difficulty than categorisations based only on years of schooling or length of residence in the country concerned.
Mapping trajectories of change – women’s and men’s practices and experiences of feminist linguistic reform in Australia
Authors: Winter Joanne , Pauwels Anne
Published: October 2016

In this paper we address the issue of the evaluation of feminist language planning in Australia. Through case studies of some self-identified linguistic reformers and non-sexist language users we present a ‘trajectory’ framework for the exploration of evaluation as part of the language planning cycle. We map the users’ trajectories of change through documenting their ‘first contact’ with gender bias in language (an initiating trajectory), their responses, practices and actions in relation to this (a trajectory of practice) and their perceived roles in bringing about, facilitating and spreading change (a trajectory of agency). This documentation reveals narratives of resistance and empowerment through engagement with change in the context of dominant discourses but sometimes also of powerlessness and oppression through rejection and opposition. The outcomes of this analysis suggest multiple and complex interpretations and iterations of feminist linguistic reform evidenced through the mapping of trajectories.
Alliance building in girls’ talk
Authors: Ardington Angela
Published: October 2016

This paper focuses on those speech activities which foreground the conversational accomplishment of alliance building in pre-adolescent girls’ talk. The methodology and analysis of alliance building is synthesised from the theoretical frameworks of interactional sociolinguistics and Conversation Analysis. Delicate microanalysis reveals how playfully negotiated behaviours are interwoven into interactions by participants during the course of their talk in a range of interactional tasks. Findings demonstrate that alliance building is accomplished in a diversity of forms that contribute to the overall gamelike key of pre-adolescent girls’ talk. Some of the selected resources foreshadow documented interactional practices associated with women, realised in turn taking procedures and features such as close monitoring of talk complimenting actions and statements of self deprecation (Coates, 1991; Holmes, 1993; Tannen, 1993). Findings also reveal that alliance building is not confined to overtly positive affect practices and supportive behaviours reported in the widely embraced cooperative model. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the literature on older children’s language use.
Is it a case of mind over matter? Influences on teachers’ judgements of student speech
Authors: Haig Yvonne , Oliver Rhonda
Published: October 2016

Although language variation is widespread and natural, it is subject to judgement. Where a standard language has developed, other varieties tend to be judged against its ‘standard’. While a number of overseas studies have found that this type of linguistic bias occurs in education and negatively impacts on dialect speakers, there has been little research in Australia. This study investigates how teachers judge the speech of school-aged students and what influences that judgement. Twelve teachers met in four school-based groups to rank tape-recorded samples of speech from students who were not known to them. They determined the criteria to be used in the ranking process which was tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed. The results suggest that teachers’ perceptions of speech were most strongly influenced by the students’ use of non-standard varieties of English. This is of particular concern where the use of nonstandard varieties is also associated with lower ability as seemed to be the case in the present research. These findings have implications for education, particularly given the emphasis on oral language competence in recent curriculum documents and the increasing reliance on teacher judgements of students’ learning outcomes.
Searching for the semantic boundaries of the Japanese colour term‘AO’
Authors: Conlan Francis
Published: October 2016

The Japanese language has a colour term,‘ao’, which is usually referred to in bilingual dictionaries as being the equivalent of English ‘blue’. Very often, however, it is used to describe things which English speakers would describe as being green. Granny Smith apples are‘ao’, so are all Westerners ‘ eyes, regardless of whether they would be described as being ‘blue’ or ‘green’ in English. The sky and the sea are prototypically‘ao’, but this term is also used to describe lawns, forests, traffic lights and unripe tomatoes. What, then, do Japanese native speakers (JNS) understand by this term? How do its semantic boundaries relate to those of the term‘midori’(‘green’)? What is the JNS understanding of the foreign loan words ‘guriiri (green) and‘buruu’(blue)? This paper reports on‘ao’prototypes and prototype theory’s good and bad examples of referents for these four colour terms. It explores, from a semasiological perspective, both the relationships of entailment and the processes of exclusion which operate when JNS select amongst these colour terms. The possibilities and non-possibilities for the shared use of these colour terms are identified for a variety of referents.
The effects of individual learner factors and task type on negotiation
Authors: Bitchener John
Published: October 2016

Since the early 1980s, SLA research has been exploring the contribution of negotiated interaction to second language learning. Attention has been and continues to be given to the conditions that are necessary for L2 acquisition, the relationship between negotiated interaction and language learning, and factors that may facilitate the process. This article reports on a study which investigated the extent to which two individual learner variables (ethnocultural pairing and gender) and certain types of task (free conversation and decision-making tasks) have an effect on negotiation opportunities provided for and by advanced Japanese and Korean male and female ESL learners. Data from 24 dyads found that neither of the individual learner variables affected the amount of negotiation that occurred but that free conversation generated a significantly higher amount of negotiation than decision-making tasks.
Medieval Chinese rules of writing and their relevance today
Authors: Kirkpatrick Andy
Published: October 2016

Chen Kui was a scholar-official of the Southern Song dynasty. He published theWen Ze(here translated asThe Rules of Writing)in 1170. This book is commonly described by Chinese scholars as China’s first systematic account of Chinese rhetoric. The book comprises ten chapters, covering aspects of rhetoric and composition, including the use of rhetorical devices, the functions and methods of citation, and the importance of using everyday language. Despite its acknowledged importance by Chinese scholars, The Rules of Writing’ remains comparatively unknown, even within China. This article will focus on three topics discussed by Chen Kui that I hope will be of interest to applied linguists and to teachers of academic writing, especially those involved in the teaching of academic discourse to international students of Chinese background. The three topics are: the appropriate use of language; the sequencing of argument when writing discursive texts; and the methods and uses of citation. It will be argued that writing styles are a product of the age in which they develop, and that these styles change significantly over time, no matter in which culture they may be set. Principles of Chinese rhetoric as discussed here have their counterparts in other rhetorics. They are not uniquely Chinese.
An integrated approach to foreign language writing instruction
Authors: Mesana Corinne
Published: October 2016

This paper puts forth the need for further integration of research on writing-as-a-process in foreign language writing and teaching practices. Several problems are identified concerning the teaching and learning of writing skills, as most teachers attend to the product – its originality, clarity and correctness, and recent popular textbooks on French language and culture still focus on the product and rarely on the process. The extensive research on writing-as-a-process in both Francophone and North American applied linguistics for L1 and L2 does not seem to have had the same repercussions on foreign language teaching or material development as it did on L2 writing skills for ESL/EFL. Here, I propose an integrative approach to writing instruction comprising different findings in process writing, self- and peer-assessment and cross-cultural awareness. The design of a six-step approach stems from a recent book on the pedagogy of writing skills (Mesana-Alais, 2001) and shows how to explore and produce genre-based texts.
Sinking or swimming?
Authors: Love Kristina , Arkoudis Sophie
Published: October 2016

In this paper we examine the academic and language learning needs of Chinese international students preparing for high stakes examinations in an independent secondary school in Melbourne, Australia. We argue that the needs of these secondary students and their teachers are different from those of their tertiary counterparts, yet have received almost negligible research attention by comparison. We focus on Commerce/Economics subjects as those which many Chinese students seek to study at university, but which present particular challenges for them at school level. In particular, we analyse the linguistic and academic demands of one examination paper in this subject group in order to identify the linguistic knowledge, the disciplinary background knowledge and the cultural background knowledge students are presumed to have by the teacher. We match this analysis with the interview comments of the Commerce/Economics teacher, who, while concerned about the educational needs of these international students, struggles to learn how to meet these needs in his classroom. We conclude by arguing that more professional support needs to be made available to content area teachers of international students before the rhetoric of government policy regarding the quality of education for international students matches the reality.
A contrastive analysis of letters to the editor in Chinese and English
Authors: Wang Wei
Published: October 2016

This study examines similarities and differences between English and Chinese letters to the editor on newspapers from the perspectives of contrastive rhetoric and genre theory. Generic structures, rhetorical structures, and logico-semantic relations of 20 letters to the editor (10 in Chinese and 10 in English) were examined in detail. Findings of this study include: 1) there was often an editor’s preview (i.e. a brief introduction to the letters written by editors) in Chinese letters to the editor in this study; 2) Appeals to values and needs were used to support their claims in Chinese letters to the editor, whereas English writers employed evidence to do this. The study suggests that ‘evidence’ and ‘appeals to values and need’ are deeply rooted in the two cultures and societies, and hence find their place in the writers’ texts; 3) consequential and additive logico-semantic relations were often used in both the Chinese and the English letters, however, consequential relations were more frequently used in the Chinese letters to the editor than in the English ones. All the findings are discussed in relation to the different writing styles and the socio-cultural values of each culture.
A contextualised examination of target language use in the primary school foreign language classroom
Authors: Carless David R.
Published: October 2016

This article discusses an issue which is of longstanding and central importance to foreign language teachers in a variety of contexts, namely teacher use of classroom language. It uses detailed qualitative case study data to explore how and why an expert practitioner uses English in her Hong Kong Primary school language classroom. Through the interplay between teacher beliefs, experiences and classroom transcript data, the paper develops a contextualised picture of classroom language use with young foreign language learners. The paper suggests that it is not necessarily the language proficiency of the learners which plays a major role in the quantity of target language use, but the teachers’ own proficiency, experience and beliefs.
Languages taken at school and languages spoken in the community – a comparative perspective
Authors: Clyne Michael , Fernandez Sue , Grey Felicity
Published: October 2016

This paper compares two sets of data from the same year, 2001 – the numbers of students taking languages other than English at primary and secondary level, and census statistics for the home use of languages other than English. The data draws attention to languages that are taught principally in day schools and those taken mainly in after hours programs, and to variation between States and between education systems. While it is acknowledged that the strong presence of a language in the community is not the only reason for offering it in schools, the paper demonstrates that some important international languages are now among the major community languages and that some of them are marginal in the mainstream education systems in Australia. The presence of large numbers of speakers will facilitate the utilization of community resources in language teaching. Consideration needs to be given especially to Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Spanish, community languages with increasing numbers, the first two especially among the young.