Study of the probabilistic nature of processing strategies in Dutch/English bilinguals indicated that sentence interpretation in English generally paralleled that in Dutch, with divergence toward similarity in performance by English monolinguals. (Author/CB)

Describes a study in which English relative clauses were elicited from two groups of Italian learners: formal learners and informal learners. The results agreed with the order of acquisition predicted by the Accessibility Hierarchy (Keenan and Comrie, 1977, 1979). (Author/SED)

Discusses current literature dealing with the pedagogical implications of the ACTFL Provisional Proficiency Guidelines. The argument that grammatical accuracy needs to be stressed from the beginning of instruction is reviewed in the light of second language acquisition research, and it is suggested that such emphasis on grammatical correctness is…

Provides a brief overview of S. Krashen's language acquisition theory. Examples of exercises on French-English cognates are provided, and the role of cognates and of exercises on them in relation to the monitor theory is discussed. (SED)

Reviews the theoretical foundations of current-second language acquisition models. Draws upon this research as well as upon various studies of memory and verbal-input processing to present a theoretical model of adult second language comprehension. Discusses the implications of comprehension theory for second-language teaching. (Author/SED)

Examines assumptions about second language acquisition by means of the anatomical model described in Part 1 of the study (see vol. 6, no. 2 of this journal). The analysis shows that the assumptions are rooted in the Direct Method and that they retard learning. Implications for second language instruction are noted. (SED)

Reports the results of an experiment which tested the ability of native English-speaking students of Spanish and native Spanish speakers to comprehend an oral passage, in Spanish, and remember the word order of certain sentences. The findings indicate that word order significantly affected the degree of the English speakers' comprehension.…

Discusses the theoretical foundation for Ferguson's correlation between speed in detecting syntactic errors in written English and acquisition of the listening comprehension skill. A detailed analysis of Ferguson's procedure is given along with references to other pertinent literature. The original conclusions are questioned. (AMH)

Examines the linguistic awareness of the translation process by analyzing the self-corrections made by native speakers and matching subjects' self-perception of what they had done with what they actually did in order to establish a set of parameters of linguistic awareness. Contains extensive bibliographic references. (PMJ)

Delineates five developmental listening comprehension stages second language learners pass through: (1) streams of sound, with no comprehension; (2) word recognition within the stream; (3) phrase/formula recognition; (4) clause/sentence recognition; and (5) extended speech recognition, or general comprehension. The discussion illustrates the…

Discusses the feasibility of Basic Variety (BV) principles proposed by Klein and Perdue, arguing that some of them need clarification with learner varieties and that they are not part of Universal Grammar (UG) as they exclude phenomena (e.g., psych verbs) that cannot be excluded from the core of natural language. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Shows how language processing is intimately tuned to input frequency. Examples are given of frequency effects in the processing of phonology, phonotactics, reading, spelling, lexis, morphosyntax, formulaic language, language comprehension, grammaticality, sentence production, and syntax. (Author/VWL)

Considers the proposed developmental sequence of formula>low-scope>pattern>construction in the emergence of future expression in a longitudinal study of adult learners of English as a Second Language. Findings suggest that the use of formulaic expressions may be subject to individual variation and that learners may use formulaic…

Investigated processing of English wh-questions by native speakers of English and advanced Chinese, German, and Korean learners of English as a Second Language. Performance was evaluated in relation to parsing strategies and sensitivity to plausibility constraints. Results suggest native and nonnative speakers employ similar strategies in…

This partial replication of an earlier study that found second language (L2) learners of Spanish have trouble simultaneously attending to meaning and form of aural input addresses the effect of modality on attention to meaning and form by including a written mode and using English as a Second Language. Revealed listening was more difficult than…