Reports the results of an experiment designed to identify and define learning behaviors characteristic of successful adult students in an intensive language program. Findings are interpreted in terms of an information processing model. (AM)

Discusses the relationship in language and specifically in French between the standard language norm, the various registers and styles available to native speakers of a given language, and second language learning. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This annotated bibliography cites both theoretical works and works having application to language instruction from the field of sociolinguistics, in five main areas: general research tools, social stratification, ethnic groups, communication situations, and works concerning specific countries. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This article is concerned with the pragmatic aspects of linguistics research, i.e., the characteristics of language use such as the psychological motivations of speakers, the reactions of the hearers, and discourse analysis, insofar as they relate to second language learning. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This article reports major findings of a longitudinal, naturalistic study of the acquisition of English as a second language by a five-year-old Japanese girl. The emphasis is on empirical findings rather than on any particular theoretical orientation. (Author/POP)

Discusses whether the relationship between field dependence/independence (FD/I) and second-language acquisition is significant. The article contains introductory material defining FD/I within the context of second-language acquisition, a review of relevant research, and a discussion of the research's implications for educators and instructional…

Presents a tentative cognitive-psychological model of language attrition, which draws on information from studies in second language attrition, neurobiology and psychology. Notes that this model is presented to demonstrate that a model based on consideration of the brain has the potential of providing a plausible account of the process of language…

Discusses the conflict between the two camps of second-language learning that exist within the university environment, one emphasizing communicative competence and the other, the importance of exposure to culture and literature. Notes that much research is needed into the role of culture and literature in language learning. (52 references)…

Discusses the similarities between the science of chaos/complexity and second language acquisition (SLA). Notes that chaos/complexity scientists focus on how disorder yields to order and on how complexity arises in nature. Points out that the study of dynamic, complex nonlinear systems is meaningful in SLA as well. (78 references) (Author/CK)

Using frequency findings from corpus linguistics, explores the relationship between the information presented in English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language (ESL/EFL) materials and what is known about actual language use based on empirical studies. Three aspects of materials development for grammar instruction are discussed. (Author/VWL)

Investigates how second language intake was affected both by awareness and by the conditions under which a problem-solving task was performed. Spanish conditional sentences were presented to learners through five different degrees of explicitness. Intake was measured through a multiple-choice recognition test administered immediately after the…

Introduces this special issue of the journal and presents results from comparative research into the principles constraining learner varieties (interlanguages) in use. Articles analyze the oral production of complex verbal tasks in second language Dutch, English, French, German, and Italian. (Author/VWL)

Explains the differences between constituency and dependency theories for structural linguistics. Reasons are provided for why the former has been indirectly responsible for the neglect of lexical acquisition in language acquisition research and for proposing a notation based on dependency theory for describing learners' segmentation of initially…

Theory and research suggest three ways grammar instruction might assist second-language acquisition. These include the following: as an advance organizer; as a meaning-form focus in communication activities where there are many examples of a single meaning-form relationship; and through monitoring, if learners can acquire their own input. (41…

Experiments with skilled readers (N=83) from four native-language orthographic backgrounds examined the effects of: (1) blocked visual or auditory information on lexical decision-making; and (2) heterographic homophones on reading comprehension. Native and second language transfer does occur in second language reading, and orthographic structure…