When inferring the meaning of unknown words in a second language, learners make use of a variety of cues including the cross-linguistic formal similarities of loanwords and cognates. However, because learners do not always recognize these cross-linguistic relationships, cognate strategy training has been recommended. The present study investigated…

Aural vocabulary knowledge (AVK) of high-frequency words is critical for second language listening comprehension. However, learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), despite considerable periods of language study, often do not have the AVK needed for basic communicative competence. A mixed methods approach is applied to determine whether…

Though generally under-utilised in spoken English, the passive voice plays a crucial role in formal, written English (Biber et al., 1999). An understanding of how the passive voice operates in English writing is therefore a vital skill for EFL learners in secondary and higher education so that they may be able to both understand and produce fluent…

Anecdotal evidence tells us that certain L2 linguistic features are more difficult to learn than others. For post critical period English-as-a-foreign-language Japanese learners, English articles ([zero or null], "some," "a(n)," and "the") are notoriously difficult grammatical features. After providing the reasons why…

This issue of "Cross Currents" includes the following articles: "The Japanese Concept of Hanashi-Kata and Its Potential Influence on Foreign Language Acquisition" by James R. Bowers; "Linguistic Relativity and Foreign Language Learning" by Ronald Taubitz; "On Being a Sansei English Teacher in Japan" by Ruth…

The collection of papers on the teaching of English as a second language includes: "Teaching English in Japan"; "Reading and Evaluating Quantitative Research"; "Transformational Generative Grammar and Language Teaching"; "Process and Social Aspects of Writing: Theory and Classroom Application";…