Teacher Discussion Forums

Larry, you're the only one talking about prescribing anything. I thought I was pretty clear in saying that the terms are interchangeable but that one is more often used in formal speech than the other. That is precisely the choice the user has, to sound relaxed or edgy, casual or formal, friendly or...

This is our district's second year using High Point in both middle and high school. Last year I helped write the district HS ESL curriculum and halfway through the project called a meeting to ask why the heck we were working so hard when High Points was such a great resource with an even greater TE....

Since production (actually speaking the language) is frequently one of the later stages of development for L2 learners, oral tests aren't such a great indicator for student placement. Our school district certainly relies on them heavily, but look at all the external factors that can effect them...th...

Duncan, I didn't have a point. I was mulling it over. The researchers concluded from the error counts that SLA has identical developmental stages as FLA. Some also conclude that the learning processes are the same.

Sally, I admire the perspective you hold toward our students. I'll keep it in mind.

It's not a matter of shoulds, dude. Language isn't dictated, it's negotiated. When one wants to sound more formal one chooses different words. It's misleading to suggest to L2 learners that word choice isn't sometimes a matter of tone rather than meaning.

C'mon, Larry! Now you're just trying to make me do busy work. :( Are you really saying you don't know the difference between formal and informal speech? Do you address your dog the same way address a judge? Do you write a note to your friend during a boring lecture the same way you write a complaint...

Larry, Larry! It's like reading something from Ignatius J. Riley's notebooks! Eschew obfuscation, homes! Andrew's answer is really clever. I think he's right that don't have to go is the opposite of must go ...but I think must not still qualifies as an opposite of must, too. The idea that people sa...

Thanks for your replies. I have to say that it's my own neurotic need to control things that made me want to come across the table at my colleague. Guest of Japan...your response regarding comparing input to one's native language makes me think...I was reading some research that focused on errors L2...

Very tricky, dudes, but the negation argument is specious. . " Have to " isn't a phrasal verb. It isn't a modal auxilliary either. The verb is actually have , not have to , and, according to the American Heritage, it means must . So, when you say "must not," the auxilliary must isn't receiving the n...

I heard this at an in-service today. Of 9 teachers hired to teach in a startup, Newcomer programs, 6 had never taught ESL before. A slightly more veteran teacher said, "Well, the important thing to remember is that you learn a second language the same way you learn a first language." How would you h...

To my knowledge there is no difference between "have to " and "must." " Can" and " may" are different in that the former indicates ability while the latter denotes either permission or possibility. "Can" is, however, a word in transition and is gradually becoming synonymous with "may" with regard to...