Focus on the Language Learner

Preface; Acknowledgements; PART ONE: BASIC ISSUES; Introduction; 1. The learning part; The learning process; Learners' aims; Learners' expectations; The eclectic approach; 2. The language part; Linguistic analysis; Rules and explanations; Communicative competence; 3. The analysis part; The inevitable numbers; The research question; Further reading; PART TWO: WHAT LEARNERS NEED TO KNOW; Introduction; Analysis in terms of communicative competence; Analysis from the 'inside' perspective; Analysis of needs at four levels of generality; 4. Global needs analysis; A welfare case; An agricultural case; An engineering case; Involving the learners; 5. Grammatical-rhetorical needs analysis; 1. Form and function in native speaker performance; For special purposes: written language; For special purposes: spoken language; 2. Inherent variability in native speaker performance; Eyewitness accounts; Native speakers aren't perfect; 6. Review of techniques; Further reading; PART THREE: WHAT LEARNERS DO AND DO NOT KNOW; Introduction; 7. Grammatical competence; 1. Investigating grammatical competence; Stating the rules; Discrete-point and integrative measures; Grammaticality judgments and making corrections; 2. Variability in learner language; Degrees of accuracy; The influence of cohesion and communicative pressure; 8. Sociolinguistic competence; 'What would you say if ...'; On teaching speech acts; 1. Investigating learners' sociolinguistic skills; Taking turns; Have we got the right script?; 2. An alternative approach; Fostering interactive learning; The four components; Frameworks for reflection; 9. Strategic competence; 1. Using a task-based methodology; 'The three legs'; 'The arm of the chair is ... when you use for to write'; 2. Communication strategies; 3. Fostering strategic competence; Classroom activities; Identifying the essential structure; Maintaining a balance; 10. Some methodological issues in investigating learner language; The addressee; The topic; The task; The data analysis; Further reading; PART FOUR: GETTING THE LEARNERS' VIEWS; Introduction; Questionnaires; Diaries, observations, and interviews; 11. The confidence factor; Very confident wrong answering; Individual self-monitoring ability; Accuracy and self-monitoring; 12. The perception of improvement; Measuring change over time; What improves when accuracy doesn't? ; Conclusion and speculations; Further reading; Bibliography; Appendices; 1 Informal needs assessment; 2 Supermarket story; 3 Grammaticality judgment exercise (relative clauses); 4 Tape-recording interaction by learners; 5 Description tasks; 6 Assembly tasks; 7 Narrative tasks; 8 Communication strategy classwork; 9 Exercises used for self-monitoring study; Index