LINGUIST List 12.1591

Sun Jun 17 2001

Qs: Link Between /a/ and /r/, Essays for ESL

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. darlene lacharite, Phonological link betweeen /a/ and /r/
2. CallMeSal, Essays for ESL

Dear Linguists,

We are working on loanword adaptation and have come across phenomena
in a few languages that suggest an interaction between /a/ and
/r/. Can anyone tell us of language internal phenomena that suggest a
phonological link between these two sounds?

Many thanks in advance,


Darlene LaCharit�

Hi, everyone. 

I teach a lot of upper-level composition classes for ESL. I'm
concerned about the essays that are offered as models in ESL
textbooks; often they're not authentic essays in the sense of written
by professional writers and for the purpose of informing,
entertaining, stating a position, etc. Often the essays appearing in
composition textbooks were written by students, the textbook author,
or instructors for the purpose of teaching a rhetorical point. Often
the topic is nonacademic (i.e. an essay in which the writer compares
herself to her sister), even for textbooks at the upper levels.
 It seems to me we should be giving students more models of
authentic writing, writings by professionals, on topics in the
students' fields of study so that they can learn the language and
structures used in those fields. For example, Mosaic One, by Blass
and Pike-Baky (McGraw-Hill) has a number of such writings: "Cynicism
and Mistrust Tied to Early Death," by Blakeslee, originally in the New
York Times; "Small World," by Greengard, about microcomputers; "Valley
Visionaries" by Abate, about entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley. I
have a list of about 30 such essays I like to use.

I was wondering if other teachers out there have favorite authentic
essays they like giving their classes? I'd really like to hear about
them. 

Thanks so much--Stacia Levy, University of Pacific, California
USA