In commercial materials for the teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation, common bottom-up approaches segment phonology into a series of discrete and decontextualized linguistic components with rules that students are encouraged to internalize. Such approaches seem out of step with recent second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research…

This paper aims to discuss how the emerging new language with its own developing socio-cultural foundation affects the existing L1-governed knowledge and pragmatic competence of "adult sequential bilinguals." It is assumed that these bilinguals already have an L1-governed pragmatic competence at place, which will be adjusted to…

L2 requests in developmental pragmatics research are commonly investigated using non-interactive data collection techniques or sidelining the larger discourse sequence in which the request proper is embedded. This study takes a different approach to the study of L2 requests. In a cross-sectional design, we collected role play data from learners at…

This paper explores the representation of honorifics in the teaching of Korean as a second language through the analysis of three leading series of textbooks published in Seoul. Despite the fact that Korean is a language with a highly developed honorifics system, these textbooks at times under-emphasize the importance of honorifics and focus…

This article discusses sociolinguistically oriented research on second language acquisition (SLA) in the decade since Firth and Wagner (1997). Over the last 10 years, substantial progress has been made in developing a model of the sociolinguistic processes that inform second language acquisition. This model is supported by empirical evidence on…

Reviews research related to the second language acquisition social context, and the interface of social context and interlanguage grammar. (Author/VWL)

This article considers how 3 fundamental concepts of second language acquisition (SLA), the native speaker, interlanguage, and the language learner have fared since Firth and Wagner (1997). We review the ascendancy of these concepts and their relationship to the traditional dichotomies of language learning versus language use and individual mind…

Describes the experience of three American children learning French in a francophone environment. Discusses the patterns of French language use that emerged during their first year in Paris, identifying four distinct stages, and suggests criteria for measuring learners' success. Emphasizes communication and functional language skills rather than…

Ellis's target article suggests that language processing is based on frequency and probabilistic knowledge and that language learning is implicit. These findings are consistent with those of SLA researchers working within a variationist framework (e.g., Tarone, 1985; Bayley & Preston, 1996). This paper provides a brief overview of this research…

Discusses two complementary traditions in the study of communication and social context and shows how one researcher's theory of context influences the methodologies he or she adopts. Reviews substantive findings of sociolinguistic researchers in four main areas of second-language acquisition and use: interlanguage variation, cross-cultural…

A detailed analysis of an Italian-American woman's speech is presented, and her interlanguage patterns are discussed in relation to a pidginization hypothesis. Data are presented on the following speech characteristics of the woman: free speech negatives, interrogatives, and present and past tense constructions. Her language is shown to be…