Some aspects of second language referential communication are analyzed in an experimental setting. The experimental task required subjects, who were visually separated but allowed to converse freely, to reach agreement on the ordering of a set of abstract shapes over a number of trials. (Author/LMO)

Analyzed sound systems of six phonologically disordered children and assessed relative phonological knowledge of target sounds. After-treatment results indicated that error sounds of which the children had the most knowledge were easiest to learn. Treatment beginning with the most difficult sounds resulted in more widespread changes in the…

Speech samples of Chinese scientists studying in an intensive English-for-science-and-technology program were evaluated by native English-speaking professional peers. Such evaluation techniques could be used by other languages for specific purposes programs. (Author/LMO)

Proposes that the study of basilectal and acrolectal Singapore English can contribute to a better understanding of second language acquisition and use, emphasizing the operation of the monitor and specifications of the hierarchy of difficulty in the acquisition of syntactic structures. (Author/CB)

This handbook provides an integrated discussion of key issues in second language acquisition (SLA). The 24 chapters include the following: (1) "The Scope of Inquiry and the Goals of SLA" (Catherine J. Doughty and Michael H. Long); (2) "On the Nature of Interlanguage Representation: Universal Grammar in the Second Language"…

Background: Persian English learners committed mistakes and errors which were due to insufficient knowledge of different senses of the words and collocational structures they formed. Purpose: The study reported here was conducted for a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for The Master of Arts degree, School of Graduate…

This study explored the relationship between discourse topics and interlanguage variation, describing the following: relationships between discourse topics and a second language learner's participation in native speaker/non-native speaker (NS-NNS) conversation; relationships between discourse topics and the grammatical complexity, accuracy, and…

This review examined the sequencing and grading of tasks in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) task-based learning pedagogy. Recent research on task-based learning has focused on cognition and the role that cognitive processes play in determining the ease or difficulty of any particular task. It is argued that an understanding of the effects on…

A study is described which (1) focuses on the syllable structure of the interlanguage in an attempt to determine how it differs from the syllable structure of the target language, and which (2) begins to identify some of the processes which may shape that interlanguage syllable structure. (Author)

Examines the inferencing procedures used by university-level second language (L2) learners of French to guess at the meaning of unfamiliar words in a written L2 text. The article combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and compares the strategies used by students assessed as high or low in French proficiency relative to their…

Investigates target language variability between speaking and writing in the second language acquisition of non-native English speakers. Results reveal that as narrators advance in English proficiency, they develop more abstract content and reported style in speech and writing and that speech and writing become more interactive. (28 references)…

Examines group differences in second-language development from perspectives provided by literature on orality and literacy. Results show that university English-as-a-Second-Language students from traditional oral cultures tended to focus on interpersonal involvement in their speaking and writing, and use difficult structures more than students…

Examination of the development of form/function relations of the prepositions "por" and "para" at different levels of proficiency in the interlanguage of study-abroad students in Granada, Spain, revealed "noncanonical" as well as "canonical" uses of these prepositions. The most common noncanonical uses were…

Examines the problems associated with interlanguage in French immersion and how teachers can use the writing process to help students develop the target language. It is suggested that language can be mediated through conferencing sessions, and in so doing, propel students into their zone of proximal development. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Examines the emergence of the present perfect in the interlanguage of adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Part of a growing body of research on the acquisition of temporal expression by learners of a variety of second languages, this study explores a tense/aspect form acquired late in first language acquisition. (Author/VWL)