Showing papers on "Second-language acquisition published in 1991"

Second language learning and language teaching

Abstract: 1. Background to second language acquisition research and language teaching 2. Learning and teaching different types of grammar 3. Learning and teaching vocabulary 4. Acquiring and teaching pronunciation 5. Acquiring and teaching a new writing system 6. Strategies for communicating and learning 7. Listening and reading processes 8. Individual difference in L2 users and L2 learners 9. Classroom interaction and Conversation Analysis 10. The L2 user and the native speaker 11. The goals of language teaching 12. General models of L2 learning 13. Second language learning and language teaching styles

Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers

Abstract: Part 1 An empirical approach to language teaching methodology: defining "methodology" research into language processing and production the context and environment of learning classrooms in action exploring language classrooms how to use this book. Part 2 Listening: bottom-up and top-down views of listening identifying different types of listening textual connectivity listening purpose what makes listening difficult? listening texts and tasks investigating listening comprehension. Part 3 Speaking in a second language: identifying different types of speaking predictability and unpredictability the concept of "genre" the difficulty of speaking tasks classroom interaction stimulating oral interaction in the classroom investigating speaking and oral interaction. Part 4 Reading - discourse perspective: bottom-up and top-down views on reading scheme theory and reading research into reading in a second language reading and social context types of reading text the reading lesson investigating reading comprehension. Part 5 Developing writing skills: differences between spoken and written language writing as process and writing as product the generic structure of texts differences between skilled and unskilled writers writing classrooms and materials investigating writing development. Part 6 Mastering the sounds of the language: a contrastive approach to pronunciation recent theory and research pronunciation in practice investigating pronunciation. Part 7 Vocabulary: the status of vacabulary in the curriculum word lists and frequency counts vocabulary and context vocabulary development and second language acquisition semantic networks and features memory and vocabulary development investigating the teaching and learning of vocabulary. Part 8 Focus on form - the role of grammar: the "traditional" language classroom second language acquisition research and its influence on practice grammatical consciousness-raising pedagogic materials and techniques for teaching grammar investigating the teaching and learning of grammar. Part 9 Focus on the learner - learning styles and strategies: research into learning styles and strategies the "good" language learner a learner-centred approach to language teaching learning strategies in the classroom investigating learning strategy preferences. Part 10 Focus on the teacher - classroom management and interaction: amount and type of teacher talk teacher questions feedback on learner performance classroom management in action investigating teacher talk. Part 11 Materials development commercial materials research on materials in use materials and methods materials design materials adaptation investigating materials. Part 12 Language teaching methods - a critical analysis: the psychological tradition the humanistic tradition the second language acquisition tradition investigating methods.

Second Language Instruction Does Make a Difference

Abstract: A number of studies on second language (SL) instruction point to the hypothesis that instruction is effective, but determining the effect experimentally has been problematic. Overall, three difficulties with previous attempts to demonstrate a causal relationship between SL instruction and second language acquisition can be identified: (a) inappropriate or inadequate research design, (b) failure to operationalize or even to describe the instructional treatment, and (c) choice of SL assessment measures. This article presents the findings of a recent empirical study which (a) show that SL instruction is effective; (b) show that attention to form, either via detailed analysis of structure or highlighting of target language (TL) structures in context, promotes acquisition of interlanguage (IL) grammar, but that only the latter comes hand-in-hand with comprehension of input; and (c) replicate earlier findings suggesting an important role for markedness theory in instructed IL development.

Adverb placement in second language acquisition: some effects of positive and negative evidence in the classroom:

Abstract: This paper focuses on a parametric difference between French and English, namely the issue of whether or not the language allows verb movement. The lack of verb-raising in English causes a potential learnability problem for francophones, as far as English adverb placement is concerned. In particular, an adverb in English is not allowed to interrupt a verb and its direct object, in contrast to French. It is argued in this paper that form-focused classroom instruction, including negative evidence, is more effective in helping L2 learners to arrive at the appropriate properties of English than positive input alone. An experimental study on the effectiveness of teaching adverb placement was conducted with I 1 and 12 year-old francophone learners of English. One group (n = 82) was explicitly instructed on adverb placement, and another on ques tion formation (n = 56). Subjects were tested on a variety of tasks relating to adverb placement; they were pretested, and post-tested twice, immediately after the instru...

Communicative Tasks and the Language Curriculum

Abstract: Over the last 25 years the communicative task has emerged as a significant building block in the development of language curricula and also as an element for motivating process-oriented second language acquisition research. This paper reviews the influence of the communicative task on curriculum development and summarizes the research base for task-based language teaching. In the final part of the paper, an agenda for future research is set out.

Acquiring Literacy in a Second Language: The Effect of Book-Based Programs *

Abstract: This article outlines a set of recent little-known empirical studies of the effects of “book floods” on students’ acquisition of a second language in elementary schools. In contrast to students learning by means of structured, audiolingual programs, those children who are exposed to an extensive range of high-interest illustrated story books, and encouraged to read and share them, are consistently found to learn the target language more quickly. When immersed in meaningful text, without tight controls over syntax and vocabulary, children appear to learn the language incidentally, and to develop positive attitudes toward books. In some cases, the benefits are found to spread to other subjects and languages. Implications are drawn for language policy in developing countries and some support is established for such concepts as “comprehensible input” and “whole language” approaches to language acquisition in schools.

Communicating About Grammar: A Task‐Based Approach

Abstract: Providing learners with grammar problems they must solve interactively integrates grammar instruction with opportunities for meaningful communication. This article reports the results of an exploratory study of the use of a communicative, grammar-based task in the college EFL classroom. The two research questions addressed are whether the task successfully promoted L2 linguistic knowledge of a specific grammar point and whether it produced the kind of negotiated interaction which has been assumed to facilitate L2 acquisition. The limited results of this investigation suggest that the grammar task encouraged communication about grammar and enabled EFL learners to increase their knowledge of a difficult L2 rule.

Foreign language research in cross-cultural perspective

Abstract: 1. Foreword (by Lambert, Richard D.) 2. Preface (by Bot, Kees de) 3. I. Priorities in the US and in Europe 4. Foreign Language Instruction and second Language Acquisition Research in the United States (by Ferguson, Charles A.) 5. Empirical Foreign Language Reaserch in Europe (by Els, Theo van) 6. Measurement and Research Design (by Ginsberg, Ralph B.) 7. Focus on Form: A Design Feature in Language Teaching Methodology (by Long, Mike) 8. Pros, Cons, and Limits to Quantitative Approaches in Foreign Language Acquisition Research (by Lambert, Wallace E.) 9. Ask A Stupid Question...: Testing Language Proficiency in the Context of Research Studies (by Klein-Braley, Christine) 10. Item Response Theory and Reduced Redundancy Techniques: Some Notes on Recent Developments in Language Testing (by Oscarson, Mats) 11. II. Teaching Environments 12. Introduction to the Section on Teaching Environments (by Bot, Kees de) 13. Research on Language Teaching Methodologies: A Review of the Past and an Agenda for the Future (by Larsen-Freeman, Diane) 14. Problems in Defining Instructional Methodologies (by Brumfit, Christopher) 15. Evaluation of Foreign Language Teaching Projects and Programmes (by Mitchell, Rosamond) 16. The Characterization of Teaching and Learning Environments: Problems and Perspectives (by Allwright, Dick) 17. III. Learning Environments 18. Introduction to the Section Learning Environments (by Kramsch, Claire) 19. Some Ins and Outs of Foreign Language Classroom Research (by Edmondson, Willis J.) 20. Linguistic Theory and Foreign Language Learning Environments (by Flynn, Suzanne) 21. Culture in Language Learning: A View from the United States (by Kramsch, Claire) 22. Implications of Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Research and Practice in Foreign Language Learning (by Ginsberg, Ralph B.)

Foreign language learning differences: Affective or native language aptitude differences?

Abstract: immersing an adult in a foreign language culture would force or motivate that individual to learn the language.' In the same audience sat a woman who admitted to having spent two years in each of three northern European countries with her husband, who had failed to learn any of the languages involved.2 Testimonials continued as conference participants relayed their various frustrating experiences with learning a foreign language. Why the topic of learning a FL was even discussed at a conference on dyslexia is an appropriate question. Its answer forms the springboard for our hypothesis here: namely, that students who experience difficulties learning a FL may have native language problems that impact upon their L2 learning as it is currently taught in schools. In this paper, we use the terms FL and L2 interchangeably to refer to the learning of an unfamiliar language. Dyslexia, a disability associated with reading and writing difficulties in individuals with average to superior intelligence (104; 120; 121), is one such native language disability. Learning disabilities (hereafter LD), defined in Public Law 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975) as ". . . a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written . .. ," is the generic term. For the past five years the authors, both LD specialists, have been studying the native and FL learning characteristics of high school and college s udents who are unable to fulfill FL requirements.3 In reviewing research on LD and dyslexia, we have found numerous references alluding to the difficulties these students have in FL classes. Many of these "at-risk learners" are diagnosed as LD only after college entry and only after failure in FL classes.4 Our recent explorations into the FL research literature indicate that FL educators, too, have been puzzled by the dilemma of why some persons learn a FL quickly and easily while others, given the same opportunities to learn, fail at the task. Among FL educators, these students commonly have been referred to as "underachievers."5 Aptitude and motivation for learning a FL have been issues of concern among FL educators in their search to understand indi-

Grammar Pedagogy in Second and Foreign Language Teaching.

Abstract: To provide some perspective on current issues and challenges concerning the role of grammar in language teaching, the article reviews some methodological trends of the past 25 years. When, and to what extent, one should teach grammar to language learners is a controversial issue. The paper proposes a decision-making strategy for resolving this controversy, based on learner and instructional variables. Then taking Canale and Swain's (1980) model of communicative competence, which views grammatical competence as one component of communicative competence, the paper argues that grammar instruction is part of language teaching. In this new role, grammar interacts with meaning, social function, or discourse—or a combination of these—rather than standing alone as an autonomous system to be learned for its own sake. After addressing feedback and correction in terms of research and pedagogical techniques, the article concludes with a survey of options for integrating grammar instruction into a communicative curriculum and with a reformulation of the role of grammar in language teaching.

The Role of Grammar Instruction in a Communicative Approach

Abstract: guage instruction in the United States in the seventies and early eighties has been described as a "cognitive" approach. The theoretical model that underlies the approach is that a language consists of a "set of rules" with an associated lexicon. It follows logically from the model that foreign language students must learn rules of grammar. The suggested sequence is: study a rule (usually with instructor explanation), practice a rule (in grammar exercises), and then apply the rule in meaningful interactions in the target language. Krashen (13) has proposed a model of second language acquisition in which the processing of input, rather than grammar instruction, plays the pivotal role. His hypothesis is that acquisition occurs when learners process input in a low anxiety context. Learners presumably make use of a mental language acquisition device that allows them to store and produce utterances in the target language. Krashen does not attempt to specify how the acquisition process unfolds, but rather describes the conditions necessary for it to take place. He posits that the learner must be relaxed (have a low "affective filter") and be focused on meaning rather than form. The input must be comprehensible and in addition be at an "i + 1" level, that is, slightly more complex than the learner's current level of knowledge. An explicit knowledge of grammar by adults is said to be useful in only one way --as a "monitor" for self-correction under certain circumstances, to wit, that the learner "know the rule" to be applied, that the learner be focused on correctness, and that the learner have time to think about applying the rule to the output. Krashen has also suggested that grammar study may lower the affective filter for some adults and indirectly contribute to the acquisition process. The major implication of this "input model" is that learners' output is supposedly based directly on the input they process and store. Children acquiring a first or second language seem to do what Krashen's model predicts: there is usually a silent period in which children appear to "build up" competence which is later displayed in their speech. While this model appears to describe in broad terms how children acquire language, adult second language learners vary greatly in the strategies they use for second language acquisition. Some adult learners indeed do seem to rely heavily on input for their output. They experience a rather long silent period and do not attempt much speech until they have built up some competence. As an example, consider DC, a Spanish-speaking learner of English living in San Diego for the past two years. DC has had a great deal of input in English, but little of it is comprehensible (for example, he watches a great deal of television in English), and he has had even less input at i (his level of comprehension) or i + 1. He has rarely attempted to speak English, preferring instead to rely on other more bilingual speakers of Spanish to translate for him. However, recently he has begun to speak some rudimentary English, and it is clear that his output consists of words and phrases he has heard at work (in a restaurant). Other adults appear to take a different approach to acquisition. As an example, consider RV, a native speaker of Dutch who has lived in the United States since he was fourteen. RV has managed to acquire a fair amount of competence in Spanish on a social basis solely The Modern Language Journal, 75, i (1991) 0026-7902/91/0001/052 $1.50/0 ?1991 The Modern Language Journal

Parameter setting in second language phonology and syntax

Abstract: This paper reports on studies of second language acquisition in two domains, phonology and syntax. The phenomena investigated were the acquisition by native speakers of Hindi, Japanese, and Korean ...

Listening in the Native and Second/Foreign Language: Toward an Integration of Research and Practice

Abstract: After reviewing research on native language (NL) listening, the article discusses (a) the importance of listening in second language acquisition, (b) factors that influence success or failure of comprehension of first or second language messages, (c) the role of listening in the L2 curriculum, (d) posited models of NL and L2 listening comprehension, and (e) proposed taxonomies of listening skills and pedagogical activities. The essay argues that researchers and practitioners working together can foster greater understanding of L2 listening comprehension; it is hoped that such collaborations will lead to better preparation of nonnative speakers of English who must function effectively in a contemporary industrialized society that appears to be shifting increasingly toward the use of English, and simultaneously to be shifting away from literacy toward orality.

Integrating formal and functional approaches to language teaching in French immersion : An experimental study

Abstract: This experimental study was designed to evaluate the effect on French language proficiency of an integrated formal, analytic and functional, communicative approach (experiential) to second-language teaching in the immersion classroom. The impetus for the study arises from previous research indicating that immersion children show persistent weaknesses in their grammatical skills despite the fluent, functional proficiency they achieve in their second language. The experimental materials, which were custom-designed for our study, highlight form-function relations, promote noticing, encourage metalin-guistic awareness, and provide opportunities for language practice and thus relate to some of the theoretical issues that Rod Ellis (this volume) has indicated are important in SLA in the 90s. This classroom-based study on the conditional is one of a series of studies undertaken in Canadian French immersion to investigate the effectiveness of form-focused instruction in classrooms (see Swain, 2000). The results of our study, which was conducted in grade 7 early immersion, showed that the Experimental group performed significantly higher in writing than the Control group, in both the post- and the follow-up testing. Although this was not found for speaking, an examination of the individual class data revealed greater and more consistent growth in speaking for the Experimental than for the Control classes, suggesting that they benefited somewhat from the experi- mental treatment in this domain as well. Although Ellis (this volume) notes that research on form-focused instruc- tion in the 90s has tended to split pedagogy from theory, the immersion research in this area does not seem t o reflect this shift. In a recent article, Swain (2000) reviews the French Immersion (FI) studies and summarizes their re- sults as follows: “Overall, the set of experiments conducted in FI classes suggest that there is value in focusing on language form through the use of pre-planned curriculum materials in the context of content-based language learn- ing” (Swain, 2000, p. 205). Her reference to curriculum materials and to the specific context of content-based lan- guage learning should signal to the reader the orientation t o pedagogical considerations that characterize this research. As Ellis notes, hybrid research using both experimental and qualitative methods is becoming more common in SLA. Recently, the experimental materials in our study were implemented in a grade 8 immersion classroom, and the children's collaborative language activity was observed by a researcher working from a sociocultural theoretical per- spective (Spielman-Davidson, 2000). The uptake of our research by a researcher working in another paradigm introduces another kind of hybridity that we hope will also shed further light on questions in form-focused instruction and lead to appropriate changes in pedagogy and in the design of immersion curricula.

The Structural Conformity Hypothesis and the Acquisition of Consonant Clusters in the Interlanguage of ESL Learners.

Abstract: The validity of two implicational universals regarding consonant clusters was tested in an analysis of the interlanguage of 11 subjects who were native speakers of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. The results were strongly supportive of the two universals, suggesting the possibility that primary language universals hold also for nonprimary languages.

Learning to learn in a second language

Abstract: Children from language backgrounds other than English represent a quarter of all our school population. "Learning to Learn in a Second Language" has been written specifically for all teachers of children for whom English is a second language, although it will be equally helpful to teachers of English speaking children. The book is based on the assumption that the classroom program is a major resource for language development, and that a responsive program takes into account the fact that children are not only learning a new language, but that they are learning in that language as well. It exemplifies current theories of second language development through a wide range of strategies and practical suggestions for the classroom teacher.

Second Language Acquisition Research: Staking Out the Territory

Abstract: Since its emergence some 20 years ago, the field of second language acquisition research has focused on two areas: the nature of the language acquisition process and the factors which affect language learners. Initial research was essentially descriptive. More recently, researchers have been attempting to explain how acquisition occurs and how learner factors lead to differential success among learners. The focus has alternately broadened as researchers became more aware of the complexity of the issues and narrowed as greater depth of analysis was required. The paper suggests that the next phase of research will be characterized by a union of these two focal areas: learning and the learner. It also recommends that more research attention be given to tutored acquisition. One could argue that the launching of the TESOL Quarterly 25 years ago predated the emergence of second language acquisition (SLA) research as an identifiable field. Accordingly, my task should have been easier than that of my colleagues writing for these commemorative issues of the Quarterly. This was small comfort, however, when faced with the daunting challenge of doing justice to all that has transpired since the early 1970s.' What has occurred since then, of course, is a veritable explosion of research focusing first upon the acquisition/learning process and second upon the language learner.2 This review will be organized around these two foci and around two subthemes: the alternate broadening and 1 Certainly some important studies of language learning were conducted prior to this (see, for example, some of the early studies compiled in Hatch, 1978), but these did not constitute a field of investigation as was to emerge in the 1970s. 2 It is beyond the scope of this article to treat either of these comprehensively. Interested readers may wish to consult overviews by Ellis (1985), and Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991) for more detail. I have especially drawn upon the latter in writing this review. I will also be unable to deal with matters concerning research methodology in this article. Interested readers should see J. D. Brown (1988), Hatch and Lazaraton (1991), Kasper and Grotjahn (1991), and Seliger & Shohamy (1989).

Grammatically Judgments and Second Language Acquisition

Abstract: This article takes a critical look at grammaticality judgment tasks in second language acquisition research. It begins by examining the theoretical assumptions that underlie grammaticality judgment tasks, pointing out that previous studies have reported considerable differences between the results obtained from grammaticality judgment tasks and from other, production-oriented tasks. A description of the design features of grammaticality judgment tasks that have been used to date is then provided. There follows an account of a small-scale study designed to investigate the nature of learner judgments. Twenty-one adult advanced Chinese learners of English were asked to judge sentences designed to test their knowledge of dative alternation. The results indicated that the learners rarely used the “not sure” option in the test. Eight of these subjects were then administered a reduced version of the original test as a think-aloud task 1 week later. The results showed that these learners were inconsistent in 22.5% of their judgments. The think-aloud protocols showed that they resorted to a variety of strategies in making judgments. The article concludes by arguing that grammaticality judgment tasks elicit a particular kind of performance that needs to be understood much more thoroughly before it is used as a basis for investigating second language acquisition.

Child Language and Developmental Dysphasia: Linguistic studies of the acquisition of German

Abstract: The subject of this two part work is the acquisition of language structure in which the development of syntax and morphology is examined by investigations on children without language problems and on children with developmental dysphasia. The author uses a comparative acquisition study to provide insights into the structure and development of the language acquisition device, which cannot be obtained by isolated analysis of only one type of learning. The theoretical framework used for the investigations is the learnability theory , in which acquisition models are proposed which are heavily influenced by theoretical linguistics. Part I shows how child grammar acquisition can be explained in the framework of learnability theory and Part II deals with deficiencies in normal grammar acquisition using the learnability theory.

Methods in Second Language Classroom-Oriented Research: A Critical Review

Abstract: In this article, the current state of second language classroom-oriented research is subjected to critical review. The article begins by providing a brief overview of aims and issues in classroom-oriented research, before focusing more specifically on methodological issues in research. The review is based on an analysis of 50 empirical investigations of teaching and learning. These studies are analyzed in terms of their rationale, the environment in which they were carried out, the design and method of data collection, and the type of analysis carried out on the data. In the final part of the article, the implications of the study for future classroom research are presented and discussed.

The Development of L2 Lexis in the Expression of the Advanced Learner

Abstract: SINCE THE MID-SEVENTIES, MANY RESEARCHers of second language acquisition have been showing an increased interest in the developmental process of L2.1 Attention has no longer focused on deviations from the L2 norm ("errors") at a given point of time, but on the performance of the learner at various stages of the L2 learning process. Corder (7), Nemser (26) and Selinker (33) have introduced the terms "transitional competence," "approximate system," "interlanguage" respectively, which, in general, suggest that the learner constructs the language on the basis of the input received from the target language speakers, and in subsequent stages keeps reconstructing his language on the basis of additional data. The product of this development will, in some rare cases, be identical to the language variety spoken by native speakers who provided the input; most often, however, the learner's language will only approximate that of the native speaker. One way in which L2 development was examined was in cross-sectional studies as in Dulay and Burt (8), Larsen-Freeman (17), where it was assumed that structures with fewer

Language Acquisition: A Linguistic Introduction

Abstract: Preface and Acknowledgements.1. Introduction: Linguistics and Language Acquisition.1.1.Knowledge of Language: Competence and Performance.1.2. Types of Linguistic Knowledge.1.3. The Projection Problem.1.4. Universal Grammar.1.5. Outline.Notes.Further Reading.2. Phonological Acquisition.2.1. Speech Sounds.2.1.1. How Sounds are Made.2.1.2. Features.2.2. Phonetics, Phonology and Language Variation.2.3. Categorical Perception in Adults and Infants.2.4. Early Speech Sounds.2.5. Feature Acquisition.2.6. Child Phonologies.2.6.1. Segmental Rules.2.6.2. Suprasegmentals.2.7. Problems and Ideas.2.8. Summary and Conclusions.Notes.Further Reading.Questions and Exercises.3. Morphological Development and Innovation.3.1. Types of Morphological Rules.3.2. A Morphological Model.3.3. Children's Knowledge of Level Ordering.3.4. Rule Use and Innovation.3.5. Problems and Unknowns.3.6. A Cross-Linguistic Perspective.3.7. Summary and Conclusions.Questions and Exercises.4. The Acquisition of Syntax.4.1. Syntactic Structures and Universal Grammar.4.1.1. Basic Syntax.4.1.2. Levels of Representation.4.1.3. Universal Grammar: Principles and Parameters.4.1.4. Modules of Government Binding Theory.4.1.5. Government Binding Theory and the Acquisition of Syntax.4.2. The Outer Course of Development.4.3. Early Syntax.4.3.1. Early Phrase Structure.4.3.2. Subjectless Sentences.4.4. Syntax in Pre-School Years.4.4.1. Children's Knowledge Of the Binding Theory.4.4.2. Bounding Theory and the Development of Movement.4.4.3. Children's Grammar of Control.4.4.4. Summary.4.5. Syntactic Development after Age Six.4.6. Syntactic Development: Some Popular Ideas Reconsidered.4.6.1. 'Semantics First'.4.6.2. 'Syntax is Late'.4.7. Summary and Conclusions.Notes.Further Reading.Questions and Exercises.5. Further Aspects of Syntactic and Semantic Development.5.1. The Auxiliary System of English.5.1.1. Auxiliary Verbs and Morphological Endings.5.1.2. Negation and "Do" Support'.5.1.3. A Syntactic Analysis.5.2. The Acquisition of Auxiliary Systems: Syntax.5.3. The Acquisition of Negation.5.4. An Aside on Developmental Orders and Individual Development.5.5. The Acquisition of Modality, Tense and Aspect.5.5.1. Modality.5.5.2. Tense and Aspect.5.6. The Development of Word Meanings.5.6.1. Word Meanings.5.6.2. The Semantic Feature Hypothesis.5.6.3. Challenges to the Semantic Feature Hypothesis.5.7. Quantification and Logical Form.5.8. Summary and Conclusions.Note.Further Reading.Questions and Exercises.6. Cognition, Environment and Language Learning.6.1. Innateness.6.2. Input and Errors.6.3. The Role of Universal Grammar in Language Development.6.4. Learnability and Acquisition Principles.6.4.1. Subjacency and Degree-n Learnability.6.4.2. The Subset Principle.6.5. Summary: Components of a Learning Model.6.6. Some Questions and Problems in Acquisition Theory.6.6.1. Markedness and Orders of Acquisition.6.6.2. Continuity or Maturation?6.6.3. Parameter Setting vs. Hypothesis Testing.6.7. The Limits of the Linguistic Model: Lexical Learning.6.8. Motherese.6.9. Language Development and Cognitive Development.6.9.1. Specificity and the Logic of Learning.6.9.2. Constructivism and Developmental Orders.6.10. Summary and Conclusions.Notes.Further Reading.Questions and Exercises.7. Performance Development.7.1. Estimating Competence.7.2. Adult Processing Mechanisms.7.2.1. A Model.7.2.2. Grammar vs. General Knowledge and Strategies.7.2.3. Words-to-Message Processing.7.3. Children's Sentence Processing.7.3.1. On-line Computation of Syntactic Structure.7.3.2. Strategies and Children's Comprehension.7.3.3. Resolution Strategies.7.4. Discourse Integration.7.5. Summary and Conclusions.Notes.Further Reading.Questions and Exercises.Bibliography.Index.

The Acquisition of Second Language Speech

Abstract: From being a relatively neglected area in the study of second language learning, the acquisition of second language speech has emerged over the last decade as an important research field with a wide range of approaches; the traditions of articulatory, acoustic, perceptual, phonetic, phonological, and psycholinguists investigation contribute a rare interdisdplinarity to this area of linguistic inquiry. Current scholarly interest augurs well for future theoretical advances.