Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate how different types of background noise that differ in their level of linguistic content affect speech acoustics, speech fluency, and language production for young adult speakers when performing a monologue discourse task. Method: Forty young adults monologued by responding to open-ended questions…

In this article we investigate the effects of first language (L1) on second language (L2) neural processing for two grammatical constructions (verbal domain dependency and grammatical gender), focusing on the event-related potential P600 effect, which has been found in both L1 and L2 processing. Native Dutch speakers showed a P600 effect for both…

In the experiments outlined in this article, the authors investigate lexical access processes in language production. In their earlier work, T. Pechmann and D. Zerbst (2002) reported evidence for grammatical category constraints in a picture-word interference task. Although grammatical category information was not activated when subjects produced…

Examines language transfer or interference from the perspective of the input the bilingual child is exposed to. Argues that transfer occurs in those domains of the grammar where the language learner is confronted with ambiguous input. (Author/VWL)

Eight commentaries are included on an article that examined language transfer or interference from the perspective of the input the bilingual child is exposed to and argued that transfer occurs in those domains of the grammar where the language learner is confronted with ambiguous input. (Author/VWL)

Responds to commentaries written about an article that the author wrote on language transfer and interference from the perspective of the input the bilingual child is exposed to. (Author/VWL)

In learning a second language, the student should not only learn the native speaker's patterns of phonology, morphology, and syntax; but he should also internalize the native speaker's collective view of the universe and the appropriate related behavior patterns, both linguistic and nonlinguistic. Languages divide reality into different…

The research discussed here, primarily that of P.J. Gal'perin and his associates at the University of Moscow, is an experimental demonstration of basic tenets of Vygotsky's theory. According to Gal'perin, grammatical knowledge is formed first by teaching the students material grammatical actions; these actions are ultimately to become mental…

Two questions arise from attempts to develop reading comprehension in scientific French: (1) should the concentration be mainly on vocabulary, or on grammar as well, and if so, what aspect of grammar; and (2) should the students' native language be taken into account, and if so, in what way: by translating, or through a systematic comparison of…

This essay considers three areas in Spanish grammar that generally cause difficulty to English-speaking learners: the use of "ser" and "estar," the difference in use between the preterite and imperfect tenses, and the use of the subjunctive. Like most problematic grammatical elements in any language, these points are difficult for non-native…

The following articles are included in this anthology on Chicano speech: (1) "Mexican Spanish," D.N. Cardenas; (2) "The Archaic and the Modern in the Spanish of New Mexico," J. Ornstein; (3) "Problemas Lexicograficos del Espanol del Sudoeste," A.M. Espinosa, Jr.; (4) "Associative Interference in New Mexican Spanish," J.B. Rael; (5) "Some Aspects…

Certain proposed theories on second language acquisition, their justifications, and their predictions about English are examined in this paper. The first section discusses the process of second language acquisition; the stages and strategies learners use and progress through on their way to mastery are described. The second section discusses the…