Follows up on previous research attempting to identify the focus of attention in listening of children at different ages and from different language backgrounds. Findings indicated stronger influence of prosody for children regardless of age or native language. (Author/VWL)

Examines certain instructional effects on second-language acquisition, such as code-focused instruction and classroom interaction. Empirical research on instructional effects are outlined in relation to some basic issues, including learning environment influences and processing constraints. (54 references) (GLR)

Focuses on the strategies that adolescent learners use to discover the meaning of new words in a second language and to consolidate their knowledge of such words. A questionnaire is used to probe the perceptions of students in two content-oriented French second language classrooms at the secondary school level. (Author/VWL)

Summarizes a study on block scheduling for second-language programs among Canadian middle school students. Results show that students studying French on a block schedule (e.g., one-half day instruction over a 10-week period) performed better on standardized tests than did control students who received standard 40-minute per day French instruction.…

Focuses on the importance of vocabulary knowledge as fundamental to proficiency in a second language (L2). The article notes that each of the studies in this issue examines L2 vocabulary learning from a particular angle, including lexical progress, learning strategies, context effect, the role of learner factors such as age and first language…

Investigates the relationship between age of arrival in the second-language environment and a preference for prosodic versus syntactic cues to sentence interpretation in English. The study found that older English-as-a-Second-Language learners were just as likely as the younger ones to attend to prosody rather than syntax. (43 references)…