Category: PDFs

PDF #96 – Adele E Goldberg – The nature of generalization in language

This paper provides a concise overview of Constructions at Work (Goldberg 2006). The book aims to investigate the relevant levels of generalization in adult language, how and why generalizations are learned by children, and how to account for cross-linguistic generalizations.

How do learners acquire generalizations such that they can produce an open-ended number of novel utterances based on a finite amount of input? Why are languages the way they are? In order to address these long-standing questions, many linguists with varying backgrounds have converged on several key insights that have given rise to a family of constructionist approaches. These approaches emphasize that speakers’ knowledge of language consists of systematic collections of form-function pairings that are learned on the basis of the language they hear around them. This simple idea is, to my mind, what sets constructionist approaches apart from traditional generative grammar. The learning of language is constrained by attentional biases, principles of cooperative communication, general processing demands, and processes of categorization.

The term constructionist is intended to evoke both the notion of “construction” and the notion that our knowledge of language is “constructed”
on the basis of the input together with general cognitive, pragmatic and processing constraints. It is intended to be a more inclusive term than Construction Grammar, as the latter is a particular instance of a constructionist approach.

After reading “The nature of generalization in language” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs and visit my channel by YouTube.

PDF #95 – Pfenninger, Simone E. and Navracsics, Judith – Future Research Directions for Applied Linguistics

It is important to know what is the future research on applied linguistics. To the extent that this collection, as its title implies, offers a snapshot of future implications for applied linguistics, our intention is to contribute to the progress and academic development of this broad discipline.

You can check more on Applied Linguistics in this link, and I am discussing some of the topics of this site in my Youtube channel.

PDF #94 – P Skehan – Second and Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2006, The Chinese Uni HK

A number of preliminaries are unavoidable here. There is the issue of a critical period for language, that is, a period during which acquisition is different from other learning processes.

PDF #93 – P H Matthews – Language as a Mental Faculty Chomskys Progress

 Noam Chomsky is at once a brilliant grammarian and an important philosopher of language. As a grammarian, he has had greater influence on our conception of English syntax, both of the nature of syntax and the nature of particular constructions, than any other scholar now living, and continues to display a remarkable ability to discover new problems and new generalizations that his predecessors had entirely failed to notice.

After reading “Learning an L2 in a troubled world” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

PDF #92 – Mark B Ulla – English language teaching in Thailand Filipino teachers experiences and perspectives 

English language teaching and learning is vital for the development of the country and its people. In Thailand, English language teaching has become one of the most popular jobs both for native and non-native English speaker-teachers.

After reading “Learning an L2 in a troubled world” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

PDF #91 – Marianne Celce-Murcia – Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language

This book purpose is to produce a comprehensive introduction to the profession of teaching English to speakers of other languages. The goal has been to maintain a balance between theory and practice.

PDF #90 – Daniel Madrid – Teacher and Student Preferences of Native and Nonnative Foreign Language Teachers, 2004, University of Granada

The present paper focuses on the much debated issue of native and nonnative speakers as teachers of English. After offering a brief literature review of the research which has been conducted on the differences between native and nonnative teachers, it reports on the design and outcomes of a study carried
out to obtain a deeper insight into student and teacher perceptions of the influence of native and nonnative teachers on the English language classroom.

After reading “Learning an L2 in a troubled world” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

PDF #89 – Androula Yiakoumetti – Harnessing Linguistic Variation to Improve Education

In the context of globalization and late-modernity, scholars have started asking how education can prepare students for transnational communication.

After reading “Learning an L2 in a troubled world” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.

PDF #88 – Yu-Cheng Sieh – A Possible Role for the First Language in Young Learners’ Processing and Storage of Foreign Language Vocabulary

This research was carried out to explore the role played by the first language (L1) in young learners’ processing and storage of English vocabulary in English as a foreign language (EFL) context.

PDF #87 – Mohammad Khatib – Literature in EFL ESL Classroom

This paper is a review of literature on how literature can be integrated as a language teaching material in EFL/ESL classes. First, it tracks down the place of literature in language classes from the early Grammar Translation Method (GTM) to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) era. The paper then discusses the reasons for the demise and resurrection of literature as an input for language classes. After that the reasons for and against the use of literature in EFL/ESL classes are enumerated and discussed. For so doing, the researchers draw upon recent ideas on language teaching practice and theories. Finally in a practical move, this paper reviews the past and current approaches to teaching literature in language teaching classes. Five methodological models for teaching literature are proposed.