Reports a study which investigated the use of rational cloze procedure in conjunction with retrospection or introspection assessment techniques to examine how individuals understand text in both first and second languages, especially the use of contextual constraints. (MSE)

Describes a study done to test the hypothesis that factors that shape children's production of their native language (L1) will also influence adults' pronunciation of sounds in a foreign language (L2). Results confirmed the hypothesis that developmental processes are "reactivated" when adults attempt to produce L2 sounds not found in their L1.…

Deals with lexical derivation as it is manifested in the oral and written production of anglophone learners of Italian. Assumes that lexical derivation belongs to that linguistic competence which is based on creativity and that no essential differences exist between the ability of native and nonnative speakers to utilize this competence. (SED)

Considers the acquisition of language by deaf children of deaf parents and by deaf children of hearing parents in the light of such linguistic theories as Andersen's "nativization-denativization" and Bickerton's "bioprograms." Findings both support the theories and bring to light complexities that the theories do not exactly explain. (SED)

Investigates the notion of communicative strategies as it has been treated in the literature and then attempts a more precise and explanatory redefinition. Provides an overview of the Vygotskyan psycholinguistic research model which this study uses as a theoretical framework. Also presents a new typology of interlanguage. (SED)

There has been a longstanding interest among second and foreign language educators in research on language and the brain. By understanding how the brain learns naturally, language teachers may be better able to enhance their effectiveness in the classroom. This digest examines current brain research and discusses its implications for second…

A review of research on the development of linguistic competence in second language learners looks at the role played by input to children in their development of linguistic competence, the nature of children's metalinguistic development, and the same processes in the naturalistic second language learning of adults, and then examines the role of a…

A study shows that advanced ESL students explore and clarify ideas and attend to language-related concerns primarily after their ideas have been delineated. These results call into question the prescriptive approach to writing instruction that is overly concerned with correctness. (MSE)

Argues that the emphasis of writing instruction in ESL classes should be on writing as a creative process, not on syntax, vocabulary, and rhetorical form. (EKN)

Examines and compares two measures of adult second language learner performance: cued production and elicited imitation. Discusses the utility of each in terms of the contrasting results of the tasks on a carefully delineated area of grammar, namely the related structure of third person simple present and present progressive in WH-questions. (EKN)

Identifies the stages in the development of language policy in Australia and notes that language issues are no longer considered central to a multicultural society. Argues that the underlying rationale for language policy has moved to the economic sphere and that policymakers must understand the nature of language learning. (19 references)…

Extends previous research on the relative effects of input processing and output processing on the use of Spanish clitic pronouns. Results of a repeated measures analysis of variance reveal that input and output processing students significantly explored their scores on various comprehension tests compared to a control group. (35 references)…

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 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)