This article provides a conceptual review of the principles of input spacing as they might relate specifically to oral task repetition research and presents some of the common methodological considerations from the broader input spacing literature. The specific considerations discussed include the interaction between intersession intervals and…

Peer collaboration benefits second language (L2) learning and is a cornerstone of effective classroom instruction. It is, therefore, essential for teachers to consider how tasks work to promote peer collaboration and thus maximize learning. These considerations concern the task type, a task's inherent characteristics, and possible ways of task…

The goal of this article is to make the case for a radical exemplar account of child language acquisition, under which unwitnessed forms are produced and comprehended by on-the-fly analogy across multiple stored exemplars, weighted by their degree of similarity to the target with regard to the task at hand. Across the domains of (1) word meanings,…

This article synthesizes the conclusions of the empirical studies in this special issue and outlines key questions in future research. The research reported in this volume has identified several fundamental issues in pronunciation-focused task design that are discussed in detail and on which suggestions for further research are outlined. One…

Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching has received sustained attention from teachers and researchers for over thirty years. It is a well-established pedagogy that includes the following characteristics: major focus on authentic and real-world tasks, choice of linguistic resources by learners, and a clearly defined non-linguistic outcome. This…

Although second language acquisition (SLA) and language teaching are two distinct fields, an increasing number of classroom-based SLA research on the effectiveness of different types of instruction, such as focus on forms, focus on meaning, and focus on form (see Norris & Ortega, 2000 for a review), corrective feedback (e.g., Lyster &…

Less than two decades ago most of the activities in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) were created with a "one-size-fits-all" understanding of how computers could enhance language learning. Across the board, the sole rationale for using technology, mostly computer- based, was that it was useful and motivating for learners. The…

Focused tasks engage learners in using language for communication and in addition have a specific predetermined linguistic focus in mind. The difficulty in designing focused tasks is that many meanings can be articulated using more than one language form, making it difficult to design tasks which induce learner use of a specific target form. This…

This paper presents some of the overall frameworks and models for language learning that were used under Avalon (Access to Virtual and Action Learning live ONline), an EU co-funded project aimed at developing language-learning scenarios in virtual worlds. The introduction and background summarize some of the theories that constitute the starting…

A metalinguistic deficit in the awareness of phonological aspects of spoken language has long been assumed to be the single most important cause of reading failure among developmental dyslexics. Majority of this proposal's empirical support has come from examination of reading problems in irregular language like English and it's relation to the…

Piaget's ideas are discussed: that the basic thrust of education is determined by the intellectual development of the child, that the child's intelligence develops in definite stages, and that the goal of the developmental process is to reason in logical terms. (MLW)

Speech directed towards young children ("motherese") is subject to consistent systematic modifications. Recent research suggests that gesture directed towards young children is similarly modified (gesturese). It has been suggested that gesturese supports speech, therefore scaffolding communicative development (the facilitative…

This project was designed to develop a vocational language program for secondary trainable mentally retarded students based on an analysis of the concepts needed for entry and continuation in vocational training programs and related jobs. Twenty-five students from the Ebensburg State School in Pennsylvania participated in the project. The three…

The traditional view of development is stage-like progress toward increasing complexity of form. However, the literature cites many examples in which children do worse before they do better. A major challenge for developmental theory, therefore, is to explain both global progress and apparent regression. In this article, we situate U-shaped…