The last four decades have observed a renewed research interest in the area of error analysis. It has been the focus of attention, and subject of debate, among scholars particularly those of second-language acquisition. Scholars in this area of study hold the unanimous view that errors are an integral and unavoidable feature of second-language…

Han's (2009, 2013) selective fossilization hypothesis (SFH) claims that L1 markedness and L2 input robustness determine the fossilizability (and learnability) of an L2 feature. To test the validity of the model, a pseudo-longitudinal study was designed in which the errors in the argumentative essays of 52 Iranian EFL learners were identified and…

Describes an attempt made at the University of Reading to support or discount claims made about the pedagogic value of communication games. Some evidence was found in support of games' roles in encouraging students to practice language skills. (Author/CB)

Causes of language fossilization and ways to overcome it are considered. Fossilization is the relatively permanent incorporation of incorrect linguistic forms into a person's second language competence. The discussion is focused on fossilization of incorrect syntactical rules, based on experiences with learners of English as a second language at…

Learning characteristics of students undertaking computer assisted instruction using the PLATO system were assessed for five Russian courses at the University of Illinois. Since the computer allows accurate measurement of the interaction of the student with the material being learned, four measures of student performance were assessed--error rate,…