In reading research, studies on good and poor reader characteristics abound. However, these findings remain largely scattered in applied linguistics and cognitive and educational psychology. This paper attempts to synthesize current theory and research on the topic in the past 20 years along 3 dimensions: language knowledge and processing ability,…

A comparison of the error profiles of monolingual (child L1) learners of Dutch, Moroccan children (child L2) and Moroccan adults (adult L2) learning Dutch as their L2 shows that participants in all groups massively overgeneralize [-neuter] articles to [+neuter] contexts. In all groups, the reverse gender mistake infrequently occurs. Gender…

This article explores recent changes in the landscape of second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language pedagogical (FLP) research. Firth and Wagner's (1997) proposal for the reconceptualization of SLA has been supported by SLA and FLP researchers who share the sentiment concerning the need for increased attention to social and contextual…

In Japanese, self-qualification, or a qualifying segment of talk that reduces the force of the speaker's own utterances, is frequently introduced with contrastive markers, such as "demo," "kedo," and "ga." This study explores the relationship between the grammatical and pragmatic competence of Japanese L2 learners by examining their use of such…

Many factors that contribute towards the perception of second language (L2) sounds and the subsequent establishment of L2 phonetic categories have been the focus of past research. However, learning a third language, unlike SLA, may be influenced by additional factors attributed to the presence of two language systems in a bilingual instead of one…

This study builds on the concept that aural-written verification helps L2 learners develop auditory discrimination skills, refine word recognition and gain awareness of form-meaning relationships, by comparing two modes of aural input: reading while listening (R/L) vs. listening only (L/O). Two test tasks (sequencing and gap filling) of 95 items,…

This annotated bibliography lists research published between 1960 and 1980 in the field of vocabulary acquisition and word handling in a second language. The bibliography is divided into two sections. The first contains 280 entries listed alphabetically. A short abstract is provided for each entry. The second section is a supplementary…

This bibliography is a follow-up to the "Specialised Bibliography 3," published by the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, in 1983. This volume covers work in the field of second language vocabulary acquisition that has appeared between 1980 and 1985. There are approximately 300 entries in this bibliography, and for each…

Language learners use different learning strategies, specific actions and behaviors to help them learn, at least partly because their general learning styles, or overall approaches to learning and the environment, are so varied. Learning style encompasses: cognitive style; patterns of attitudes and interests; a tendency to seek situations…

This issue contains two feature items. The "SLANT Special Report on Current Research with Indochinese Refugees in the U.S." describes 14 research projects in progress. The article "Southwestern Applied Linguistics" by John W. Oller, Jr. and others presents an overview of sociolinguistic research in the southwestern United…

These two issues of the "SLANT" Newsletter for researchers in second language acquisition are highlighted by reports on research in progress in France. Also included are reports from the 1977 Los Angeles Second Language Research forum, including abstracts of presentations at the Forum. (JB)

This issue of the "SLANT" Newsletter for researchers in second language acquisitions is highlighted by reports of research in progress in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany. Also included are reports of various second language conferences, a list of upcoming conferences, and announcements of developments that are of…

PROJECTS CONDUCTED IN A SAMPLING OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS HAVE PROVIDED A POSITIVE ANSWER TO THE CONCERNS OF MANY COMMUNITIES OVER THE VALUE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (FLES). THE RESEARCH PROVED THAT (1) EVEN THOUGH TIME HAD BEEN TAKEN FROM OTHER SUBJECTS, AVERAGE FLES PUPILS GENERALLY PERFORMED AS WELL AS OR BETTER THAN…

Expands on Ochsner's (1979) call for a "bilingual" attitude toward second language acquisition research. Suggests work be viewed as science and art in order to better understand what we do and how we do it. Argues that theorists use artistic and scientific devices in building theories, and consumers of those theories use aesthetic and…

Refutes the assumption on which most second language research is based--that language is intended by its speakers to transfer information to some interlocutor--by responding to Tomlin's paper in the same journal, "The Treatment of Foreground-Background Information in the On-Line Descriptive Discourse of Second Language Learners."