This research investigates the usefulness of two major types of interactional feedback (elicitation and reformulation) in dyadic interaction. The focus is on the different ways in which each feedback type is provided and their relationship with learner repair. The participants were 42 adult intermediate English as a second language learners and…

This paper investigates object omission in French longitudinal production from two English-speaking children (Lightbown, 1977). Similar patterns of object omission are observed: direct objects start being dropped as transitive verbs are emerging and licit and illicit null objects occur in all recordings thereafter. Moreover, the incidence of…

A discussion of the nature and function of interlanguage in second language acquisition draws on research on interlanguage and experiences in teaching German to Finnish secondary students. The theories giving rise to the concept of interlanguage are outlined and compared, and the characteristics of interlanguage are discussed. Special attention is…

Aims of classroom-centered research on second language learning and teaching are considered and contrasted with the experimental approach. Attention is briefly directed to methodological problems of experiments, such as controlling classroom events in various ways, and to conceptual weaknesses with study variables. In contrast, classroom-centered…

An error analysis of the oral production of Korean adults learning English was performed on informant speech samples, using Corder's Algorithm for providing data for description of idiosyncratic dialects as a guide for determing error. The procedures of error analysis and morpheme acquisition studies were combined to address the following…

An informal diagnostic spelling test of Hebrew as a second language was constructed and administered to 30 students, 8 boys and 22 girls, in a Jewish middle and high school. As evidenced by the subjects in this study, spelling errors in Hebrew tended to centralize in four areas: (1) the spelling patterns according to grammatical and phonetic…

Recent studies have shown that the behavioristic theory of learning is not adequate as a model for language acquisition. Far from being the linear accumulation of a series of automatic reflexes, language acquisition is a cognitive process in which individuals construct and test hypotheses and where there is considerable variation from learner to…

Recent years have seen the decline in popularity of contrastive analysis (CA) and the rise of error analysis (EA) as a method for explaining and predicting errors in second language learning. In CA, it is felt that by comparing the structure of a first language (L1) to that of one being learned (L2), errors can be predicted. These errors are…

This paper begins with a discussion of the meaning and importance of error analysis in language teaching and learning. The practical implications of what error analysis is for the classroom teacher are discussed, along with several possible systems for classifying learner errors. The need for the language teacher to establish certain priorities in…

Compares the error-grading system of Zydatiss (in 'Linguistik und Didaktik', No. 24, 1975) with examples from the "Natural L2 (Second Language) Acquisition" project, and raises the question of how far it is possible for a teacher to utilize the approach of a self-guided language-learning process. (IFS/WGA)

Analyzes the sources of spelling errors made by English children. These are found to be not only linguistic but also psychological and social in nature. English ideas of teaching spelling are discussed. Parallels to the German school situation are drawn, and possibilities for solution are suggested. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Analysis of errors made by students learning a second language often reveals active attempts to master the L2 rules. Awareness of error patterns can help language teachers make correction a positive experience and an aid to learning. (CHK)

The uses of error analysis in teaching English as a second language are discussed. Error analysis can pinpoint areas of difficulty for an individual or an entire class. Materials and methods to use in error analysis are detailed, and use of a card file to catalog errors is suggested. (CHK)

Analyzes intermediate English-as-a-second-language learners' (N=63) written responses to high and low cognitive level questions. Results indicate that although the degree of linguistic inaccuracy remained stable, the higher order of cognition increased both the amount and the order of syntactic complexity of written English responses. (Author/CB)

Investigates the degree to which potential users of language reading proficiency scales acquire the standard for accurately grading reading passages of foreign-language learners. A five-day workshop helped users of the guidelines rank reading passages for levels of difficulty and rate them accurate according to the ACTFL scales. (Author/CB)