Reports on research carried out in the Netherlands using visual feedback showing that training in perception of intonation resulted in statistically significant improvement in production of English intonation patterns. (Author/BK)

Advances the hypothesis that learning a miniature artificial language (MAL) can be regarded as a means of furthering knowledge on inductive second-language (L2) learning. Suggests that more creative use of MAL methods can have pedagogical manipulation of input. (Author/BK)

Outlines the theoretical assumptions and pedagogical implications of error analysis and attempts to show the relevance of error analysis to language teaching practice. (CFM)

Examines the role of form-focused instruction (FFI) in developing implicit knowledge by reviewing 11 studies that have examined the effect of FFI on learners' free production. Suggests that FFI can contribute to the acquisition of implicit knowledge and points to two variables that appear to influence its success--the choice the th target…

Addresses a developing myth in language teaching based on Long's (1988) focus on form, which assumes form-focused instruction is best provided during communicative activity and justified only by difficulties in communication. Argues advocacy of focus on form as the most effective teaching strategy is only theoretically motivated and lacks…

Identifies ten of the most problematic grammatical constructions in Spanish based on an examination of selected elementary and advanced Spanish textbooks, consultation with students, high school teachers and colleagues, and professional judgment. (Author/VWL)

Introduces the authors of the articles in this theme issue, who are all members of the Reading Initiative study group at Bradley Elementary School in Columbia, South Carolina. Defines this Reading Initiative group as a learning community. Outlines language and literary theory and practice the group came to value through experience. (PM)

The author replies to a critique a paper he wrote on defining applied linguistics as a field of inquiry and the extent to which corpus analysis can properly inform its practices. (Author/VWL)

Scholarship on dialect diversity in classrooms has yielded two seemingly incompatible lines of research. Although numerous pedagogical approaches have been shown to provide productive alternatives to traditional responses to stigmatized dialects, research on public perceptions and teachers' attitudes suggests that negative beliefs about…

Beginning foreign language (FL) courses in high school often have high numbers of learning disabled (LED) and at-risk students, perhaps because many students who are considered to be college bound begin foreign language study in middle school. This paper examines FL difficulties as well as effective strategies that others have used to conquer…

Most research on language awareness in a second language (L2) has been carried out with adult learners. This research presents data showing that pedagogical techniques can be devised enabling children as young as 8 to develop metalinguistic awareness of their emerging L2 system. Building on existing work by Canadian researchers, this…

Corpus-based vocabulary research has had a profound impact on English language education, and there is abundant evidence that this will remain the case for the foreseeable future. Perhaps the greatest challenge of such research is the determination of what constitutes a "Word" for counting and analysis purposes. Decisions in this regard have…

In an examination of effective presentation and practice of English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) instruction, this paper focuses on the ways that teachers can use examples as instructional techniques. The purpose of the paper is to clarify both the process of exemplification and its agent, examples, as they are used in ESL teaching and especially as…

The relation between reading and writing is important because tacit and possibly unwarranted assumptions underlie the theories and pedagogies which govern these processes. These assumptions are challenged by the claims that: (1) reading and writing are related in neurolinguistically specifiable ways; (2) they do not seem to be simple inverses of…

Modern linguistic knowledge can provide a base for sound initial reading instruction. (JH)