This article presents a selective review of previous research findings on first language (L1) attrition. The review is intentionally limited in scope as it only discusses studies on morphosyntactic attrition in the L1 grammar of adult bilinguals. To this end--and in order to present the most current line of research in this field--I first report…

Change of first language (L1) status from the most stable language to a less accessible language over the life-span of a bilingual individual is termed "language attrition". Such a shift in ease of L1 access has been reported to affect the lexicon (Pelc, 2001) more than other aspects of language. However, whether L1 attrition is affected by…

"The EUROCALL Review" is published online biannually by the European Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL). This issue offers regular sections on: (1) up-to-date information on Special Interest Groups; (2) reports on on-going CALL or CALL-related R&D projects in which EUROCALL members participate; (3) reports…

Grounded in research and practical expertise, this volume helps K-6 teachers skillfully support all of their English language learners (ELLs)--from a single student to an entire classroom. Ideas for teaching ELLs across different grade and proficiency levels include ways to link instruction to students' lived experiences, use a variety of…

This article examines common lexicogrammatical problems found in Cantonese English as a second language (ESL) learners' written English output. A study was conducted with 387 student participants, who were asked to do two untutored and unaided free-writing tasks of about 200-300 words each. A range of lexicogrammatical error types commonly found…

We investigate how L1 phonology and semantics affect processing of interlingual homographs by manipulating language context before, and auditory input during, a visual experiment in the L2. Three experiments contained German-English homograph primes ("gift" = German "poison") in English sentences and was performed by German (L1) learners of…

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is currently implementing a program to improve the language proficiency of pilots and air traffic controllers worldwide. In justifying the program, ICAO has cited a number of airline accidents that were at least partly caused by language factors. Two accidents cited by ICAO are analysed in this…

The architecture of the language processing system for speakers of more than one language remains an intriguing topic of research. A common finding is that speakers of multiple languages are slower at responding to language stimuli in their non-native language (L2) than monolingual speakers. This may simply reflect participants' unfamiliarity with…

Synchronous Computer-mediated communication (CMC) creates affordable learning conditions to support both meaning-oriented communication and focus-on-form reflection that play an essential role in the development of language competence. This paper reports how corrective feedback was negotiated through expert-to-novice collaborative efforts and…

Collocations are one of the areas that produce problems for learners of English as a foreign language. Iranian learners of English are by no means an exception. Teaching experience at schools, private language centers, and universities in Iran suggests that a significant part of EFL learners' problems with producing the language, especially at…

This paper examines one aspect of article acquisition: the various nongeneric uses of the definite article in English. Previous research (Hawkins, J., 1978. "Definiteness and Indefiniteness." Academic Press, San Diego, CA.) identified eight major categories of nongeneric use. More recent work by (Liu, D., Gleason, J.L., 2002.…

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between working memory capacity and L2 reading comprehension of both linear texts and hypertexts. Three different instruments were used to measure comprehension (recall, comprehension questions and perception of contradictions) and the Reading Span Test (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980) was…

The acquisition of English verbal morphology has been mostly tested as a second language (L2) in English-speaking settings (Bardovi-Harlig, 1992a, 1992b, 1992c, 1998; Bardovi-Harlig & Bergstrom, 1996; Bayley, 1991, 1994), more rarely as a foreign language (e.g., Robison, 1990, 1995), in only one cross-sectional study with native speakers of French…

In three experiments native speakers of Czech translated bare nouns and gender-marked adjective + noun phrases into German, their second language (L2). In Experiments 1-3 we explored the so-called gender interference effect from first language (L1) as observed in previous picture naming studies (naming latencies were longer when the L1 noun and…

In four experiments we explored processes underlying L2 gender retrieval. We focused on L1 interference and on the influence of the L2 noun's termination. In Experiments 1 and 2 we tried to manipulate the intensity of L1 interference. We found that L2 speakers cannot eliminate or substantially reduce the interlingual interference neither when they…