Discusses the use of verbal reports--general verbal descriptions of cognitive processes and experiences of "subjects." This includes a variety of specific versatile research techniques that can be employed in the study of second-language speech production processes. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the assessment of learner strategies in the computer assisted language learning context, and the pros and cons. Reviews empirical studies that have used the computer to record the interactive process where second language learners demonstrate different on-line language learning behavior, operationalized as types of learner strategies.…

Discusses writing and literacy in the domain of applied linguistics. Focus is on needs analysis for literacy acquisition; second language learner identity; longitudinal studies as extensions of identity work; and applied linguistics contributions to second language literacy research. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the second language acquisition (SLA) process and the differential success of second language learners. Examines the fundamental challenges that this characterization faces, and highlights the contributions SLA is capable of in the coming decade. Offers topics for a training and development of curriculum for future applied linguists from…

Honors Dan Davidson, winner of the ADFL Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession, by discussing his contributions over the past three decades in shaping the course of Russian language learning, Russian studies, and international education in the United States. Davidson has shown exemplary leadership and vision and has given new meaning to…

Reviews visual anthropology, educational anthropology, and ethnographic filmmaking literature on questions concerning collection of valid video recorded data in the second language context. Examines h an interaction should be video recorded, who should be video recorded, and who should do the recording. Examples illustrate the kinds of research…

Cites and summarizes essays and research reports on second and foreign language writing and writing instruction that became available to compilers during the period from April 1, 2001 to June 30, 2001. (Author/VWL)

Examines whether instruction can facilitate second language acquisition (SLA). Considers studies investigating the effects of instruction on the rate and ultimate level of attainment of SLA as well as on the route of development of acquisition. Explores implications for classroom teaching in the area of syllabus design, teaching materials,…

The authors report 4 experiments exploring the language-switching performance of highly proficient bilinguals in a picture-naming task. In Experiment 1, they tested the impact of language similarity and age of 2nd language acquisition on the language-switching performance of highly proficient bilinguals. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 assessed the…

For some time now second language acquisition (SLA) research has been hampered by unhelpful debates between the cognitivist and sociocultural camps that have generated more acrimony than useful theory. Recent developments in second generation cognitive science, first language acquisition studies, cognitive anthropology, and human development…

Since Selinker's (1972) historic invocation of language learning strategies (LLS) and communication strategies (CS) as two distinct processes involved in the development of interlanguage, it has become customary in SLA literature to distinguish the strategies of learning from the strategies of communication. It has been argued in this article that…

For the purposes of this article, the authors define "multilingualism" as a state of general communicative proficiency in more than two languages; that is, a person is multilingual when he or she can fulfill his or her communicative goals in at least three languages. Bilingualism and trilingualism are thus seen as specific subtypes of a…

A variety of studies have reported that learners of English as a second language find subject relative clauses easier to produce and comprehend than direct object relatives, but it is unclear whether this preference should be attributed to structural factors or to a linear distance effect. This paper seeks to resolve this issue and to extend our…

This study investigated whether a word-learning method in which learners infer the meaning of unknown words from the context, subsequently verify the meaning with the aid of a word list, and finally memorize the meaning ("meaning-inferred method") leads to better retention than one in which the meaning of unknown words is given in the form of a…

This study examines the acquisition of English syllable codas by two native speakers of Vietnamese. Data were collected at three intervals over 1 year. Results indicate that a developmental sequence may exist and that this sequence may not be linear, with some longer (i.e., two and three member) codas emerging before some singleton codas.…