The experiment described in this report considers whether children who learn a second language will develop the same semantic system as monolingual children or whether their semantic system will be different because of linguistic or cultural interference, and also whether the bilingual child develops separate meaning systems for his two languages…

This exploratory study examines the efficacy of Focus on Form (i.e., brief instruction on linguistic forms while learners engage in meaning) at the pragmatic level. Specifically, comparing Focus on FormS (interactions followed by explicit debriefing on pragmatic forms) and Focus on Form (interactions followed by debriefing on meaning), the…

A 50-item, five-point Likert scale inventory was designed to be a valid and reliable group-administered instrument to provide a profile of the declarative knowledge of electronic mail (e-mail) strategies used by students learning English as a second language (ESL) or foreign language (EFL). The inventory was developed primarily for voluntary use…

Focuses on how the foreign language instructors' understanding of the historical development of forms and systematic language patterns enhances classroom presentations by transforming lists of irregularities and exceptions into coherent groups of related elements. Discusses examples of structures traditionally presented in lists or tables and…

Discusses whether the proficiency approach to teaching Arabic, which is now advocated, is really functional enough to suit true needs of students, and whether the debate concerning proficiency is becoming so polarized as to make impossible real discussion of the issues. Trends and changes that have occurred in the Arabic language over the decades…

Reviews research findings on second-language (L2) interaction from the perspective of syntactic development. The article argues that better understanding of the role of negotiated interaction in L2 syntactic development requires examining the specific grammatical structures in interaction guided by the criteria of relevance, availability,…

To many Chinese students, learning the words such as "make" and "do" seems a piece of cake, yet learning how to use them appropriately is anther case. This paper aims to investigate Chinese learners' use of the verbs "make" and "do", two major representatives of high-frequency words from the perspective of…

A discussion of second language learning and second language underproduction proposes a differentiation between conscious avoidance and subconscious underproduction Reference is made to J. Schacter's avoidance theory, which was based on a study in which Chinese and Japanese students of English as a Second Language (ESL) produced fewer Relative…

A study described, analyzed, and evaluated a project to rear three French-English bilingual children in a predominantly English-speaking environment. Using weekly tape recordings of spontaneous dinnertime conversation, a ratio of French-to-English utterances was calculated, and correlated with linguistically significant events documented in field…

The teaching of English present perfect tense to Japanese learners of English as a second language at the high school level is discussed, focusing on how this is currently done and how it could be done better. It is suggested that the greatest problem encountered by Japanese learners of English is aspect, and that students must dissect their own…

A study examined the development of pragmatic competence in second language learners, focusing on the requests produced by adult non-native speakers (NNSs) of English across three settings (a university public administrative office, the private office of a university program officer, and an English as a Second Language classroom) and nine levels…

This paper discusses the English verbal inflectional system within the lexicalist framework. A lexicalist approach to syntax is one in which all syntactic grammatical relations, lexical items, and the result of transformations are subject to semantic interpretation. That is, semantic information cannot be generated by syntactic rules. A filtering…

Physical Verbalization (PV) is a program designed to encourage language/speech development by combining movement with appropriate verbal patterns. Using the normal developmental stages of listening/watching, imitating, and initiating, the program allows the child to "play" with standard English in a nonthreatening and rhythmic fashion and to be…

This paper attempts to give a unified view of the workings of noun clauses. These are considered according to three main types corresponding to three different kinds of source sentences. All three types can be used in any usual noun-phrase function, especially subject, direct object, and prepositional object. Four factors which complicate the…

The work reported here is part of an ongoing project to develop a language comprehension assessment instrument that: (1) is sensitive enough to pinpoint the particular language phenomena that are causing difficulty or have not been mastered, and (2) is also broad enough in scope to provide a credible and useful description of language proficiency.…