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This paper investigates the extent to which productive use of formulaic sequences by intermediate students of two typologically different languages, i.e., English and Spanish, is associated with their oral proficiency in these languages. Previous research (e.g., Boers et al., Language Teaching Research 10: 245-261, 2006) has shown that appropriate use of formulaic sequences helps learners of English come across as fluent and idiomatic speakers. The evidence from the present study, which was conducted with the participation of Dutch-speaking students of English and Spanish, confirms that finding, as oral proficiency assessments based on re-tell tasks correlated positively with the number of formulaic sequences the students used in these tasks. The correlations were strongest in the English language samples, however. It seems that the greater incidence of morphological-inflectional errors in our participants' spoken Spanish dampens the contribution that using formulaic sequences tends to make to their oral proficiency (as perceived by our assessors). The findings are discussed with reference to typological differences between L1 and L2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust finding from studies investigating the Aspect Hypothesis is that learners at the early stages of acquisition show a strong preference for using the progressive aspect as associated with activity verbs. As they advance in their acquisition of the second or foreign language, learners move from this prototypical association to associations traditionally considered to be more peripheral (e.g., -ing with accomplishments or achievements).Within this framework, the goal of this paper is to provide further evidence from groups of learners with different proficiency levels with regard to the acquisition of progressive aspect by tutored learners of English who are bilingual Catalan-Spanish. This is done by eliciting data by means of two different task types and by looking at both tokens and types. Our results are consistent with previous research according to which -ing morphology is closely associated with durative lexical aspect, although not necessarily with activity predicates. The study also shows that the type of task has an influence on the frequency and the distribution of learners' progressive forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study that investigates the impact of learning context on the L2 acquisition of English by German-speaking pupils. Learning context is operationalized in terms of the relative prominence of the L1 and the L2 within the learning context, which in turn reflects the functional roles and domains of use allocated to the L2 and L1. L2 learning outcomes are compared across four different authentic language-learning contexts which represent four distinct positions on the second language (SL) -- foreign language (FL) context continuum. The results show that the learners in the learning context most close to the SL end of the continuum (with high L2 prominence and very low L1 prominence in the wider extra-curricular context) outperform the learners in the three other contexts on most aspects of L2 proficiency investigated. Comparisons between the learners in the three other contexts yield less straightforward observations, including better than anticipated results for the learners in the prototypical FL context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on individual multilingualism and third language acquisition has expanded greatly in recent years. A theoretical correlate of this is the recognition of the fact that humans are potentially multilingual by nature, that multilingualism is the default state of language competence, and that this in turn has implications for an adequate theory of language competence, use and acquisition. Traditional second language acquisition (SLA) research usually treats all non-first language learners as second language (L2) learners. The recent focus on third language (L3) acquisition means that one has begun taking the complexity of multilingual learners' language background into account. This gives raise to reflection about some of the currently used basic terminology in the field, in particular how the concepts first, second and third language are understood. These terms are used variably in the literature. One approach, the common practice of labelling a multilingual's languages along a linear chronological scale as L1, L2, L3, L4 etc., is shown here to be untenable, being based on an inadequate conception of multilingualism. A different and arguably more satisfactory approach is based on the conventional dichotomy of L1 (established during infancy) versus L2 (added after infancy) and relates the notion of L3 to the presence of a more complex language background. The limitation to a three-order hierarchy involving the distinction between the concepts of L1, L2 and L3 is discussed and adopted as a working hypothesis, awaiting further research on this issue. Finally, the problems with the expressions first, second and third language have become more apparent with the emergence of research on L3 acquisition. Maybe the time is ripe to work for a change of these established terms? As possible replacements, primary, secondary and tertiary language are put forward for discussion. The paper stresses the need for reconsideration and clarification of the concepts L1, L2 and L3 from the point of view of multilingual language users and learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a conference titled The Role of the Background Languages in Third Language Acquisition. Romance Languages as L1, L2 or L3 which was held in Stockholm, Sweden on February 5, 2009 on third language (L3) acquisition is presented. Topics include Romance languages as background languages, research on vocabulary and syntax. The conference presented the works several language researchers including Christina Lindqvist, Rebekah Rast, and Jason Rothman.

This paper examines cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition relative to language typology, psychotypology and proficiency level. In particular, it observes how learners make use of their background languages when faced with a language they know little to nothing about. The participants, native French speakers with English as a common L2 (other L2s varied) exposed to Polish (L3) for the very first time, were tested on initial exposure and then at various intervals up to 8 hours. The input provided to our learners from the moment of first exposure was recorded and transcribed. This methodology allowed us to analyze learners' use of prior linguistic knowledge (L1 and other L2s) when performing tasks in a language with low proficiency. Tasks included translating written and spoken sentences, judging grammaticality and rearranging words in sentences. Despite a limited number of participants in each language group, results indicate tendencies. They not only suggest an important role for both typology and psychotypology at this level of proficiency, but they also reveal that even minimal knowledge of a background language can be the source of cross-linguistic influence of various types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to give an up-to-date picture of study of the role of the background languages (the first language, L1, and the second language, L2) in third language (L3) acquisition, mainly in the two areas of vocabulary and syntax. These seem to be the two linguistic levels on which there has so far been most research concerning cross-linguistic influence (CLI). Lexical CLI and syntactic transfer have in most cases been studied separately, but as we will see studies indicate that L3 learners seem to rely on both vocabulary and grammar from their background languages, at least to some extent. The role of the background languages in morphology and phonology has been less investigated in L3 studies, although there are a few studies that indicate that L3 performance can reflect activation of previously acquired languages at these linguistic levels too. The paper also includes a survey of neurolinguistic approaches to multilingualism and discusses how these findings can contribute to the understanding of transfer in L3 acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the issue of whether negative sentences containing auxiliary do in L1 and L2 English share the same underlying syntactic representation. To this end, I compare the negative sentences produced by 77 bilingual (Spanish/Basque)L2 learners of English with the corresponding data available for L1 acquirers reported on in Schütze (Carson, The status of he/she don't and theories of root infinitives, 2001), under the assumption that L1 and L2 grammars may be underspecified for Tense and/or Agreement features. I conclude that, despite similarities in the type of errors children and L2 learners produce, the L2 data do not show evidence of underspecification. Rather, it appears that L2 learners use a lexical strategy whereby they adopt don't as an independent preverbal negative marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper specifically focuses on the findings of research on interaction in foreign language contexts in which time and L2 input are both limited. Although theoretical work on the relationship between interaction and second language development has placed great emphasis on the benefits of input, feedback and modified output when they arise from meaningful communication between learners in L2 settings, these aspects have not been greatly considered in a range of FL contexts. The authors argue for the need for further research on the nature and outcomes of interaction in this setting, and particularly on how interactional features and effects differ according to instructional context. Such research needs to explore the extent to which interaction facilitates L2 development in contexts where target-like input and opportunities for interaction are greatly limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the first language (L1) in the learning of a second language (L2) has been widely studied as a source of cross-linguistic influence from the native system (Gass and Selinker, Language Transfer in Language Learning, John Benjamins, 1992). Yet, this perspective provides no room for an understanding of language as a cognitive tool (Vygostsky, Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, Harvard University Press, 1978), that is, language as a mediating tool in all forms of higher-order mental processing. Recent findings in both foreign language classrooms (Antón and DiCamilla, The Modern Language Journal 83: 233–247, 1999; Brooks and Donato, Hispania 77: 262–274, 1994) and immersion classrooms (Swain and Lapkin, Language Teaching Research 4: 251–274, 2000) suggest that the L1 may be a useful tool for learning the L2. This line of research argues that an L1 shared by learners provides cognitive support that allows them to work at a higher level than that which would be possible if they were just using the L2. This paper reports the findings of a study which analyses the use of the L1 and its functions in the oral interaction of twelve pairs of undergraduate EFL learners with low proficiency in the target language while engaged in three collaborative tasks (jigsaw, text reconstruction and dictogloss). Our findings indicate that the L1 is an important tool for these learners and that there is task-related variation in its use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding in a manner that does not align with an action or affiliate with a stance implicated in just prior talk is potentially sensitive work. Conversation Analysis (CA) has shown that participants orient to the sensitive nature of sequences of talk used to project responses that do not align, or, are dispreferred (Pomerantz, Agreeing and disagreeing with assessments: Some features of preferred/dispreferred turn shapes, Cambridge University Press, 1984) in some way. This paper examines such responses, especially with the use of no tokens. The talk comes from the interactions of one adult learner of English in a language learning classroom over the course of five ten-week terms. The findings show that the participant's use of no (for other-correction, third-position repair, and multiple sayings) is oriented to by peers as appropriate for the classroom community of practice. Learning, it is suggested, may be seen in the learner's orientation to the preference for affiliation when doing negative responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to shift the focus on ‘learning’ away from the traditional locus of inquiry in SLA – the L2 classroom – in order to extend the SLA empirical database, and by so doing extend and broaden our understanding of what it means to learn and use (in mutually reinforcing and enlightening ways) an additional, or second, language. I examine instances where participants are using English as a lingua franca in an international workplace setting. I show that although parties produce non-standard linguistic (lexical, morphosyntactic, etc.) forms that may mark their speech as non-standard, they go to great lengths, interactionally, to disavow any intimations of ‘learner’ status, and artfully deflect attention from and circumvent potential or actual language-encoding difficulties. However, in order for this to occur, various kinds of local learning is taking place within the micro-moments of interaction; for example, the interactants are compelled to assess, in situ, the language competence of their co-participants, and implicitly calibrate their own linguistic and interactional behaviour accordingly. Such calibrations, I argue, entail learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we explore the role that the linguistic landscape, in the sense of all the written language in the public space, can have in second language acquisition (SLA). The linguistic landscape has symbolic and informative functions and it is multimodal, because it combines visual and printed texts, and multilingual, because it uses several languages. In this paper we look at its potential use as a source of input in SLA, in general, and in the acquisition of pragmatic competence, in particular. We also inquire into the role of the linguistic landscape in the acquisition of multimodal literacy skills and multicompetence. We conclude that the linguistic landscape is a learning context and can also be used for raising awareness in SLA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main claims of the research on language learner strategies is that the ultimate aim of the empirical work conducted in this area is to develop knowledge that can be useful in improving language learning and teaching in second and foreign language classrooms. Yet, attempts at making strategy instruction a central component of instructed language learning remain at the level of isolated initiatives rather than being part of mainstream pedagogical recommendations and practices. The central question that this paper addresses is why, despite the growth over the years in scholarly concern with strategies, advances in the field have not made their way into mainstream foreign language pedagogical thinking. In order to answer this question, I first account for the rationale behind strategy instruction as an approach to language teaching. I then review some of the main concerns that were raised up to the end of the 90's regarding the extrapolation of strategy research findings to the language classroom. This takes me to an analysis of some current developments in strategy theory and research with a view to ascertain their pedagogical relevance. My conclusion is that some headway has been made in the conceptualization of strategies and also in the manner in which the purported benefits of strategy instruction have been put to empirical test. It is also my view that future progress is dependent upon grounding theoretical and empirical work in the field more firmly in current developments in second language acquisition research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an experiment which examined the knowledge of verb placement by Japanese learners of English (JLEs). The results of two grammaticality judgement tasks indicated that JLEs acquire the unavailability of an NP-shift operation relatively early, but their judgements of sentences involving V-raising (i.e., illicit *SV-Adv-O word order) was indecisive up to the Intermediate level, and this seemed to improve at the Advanced level. On the other hand, the results of a sentence matching task showed that no JLE group clearly differentiated the +/-V-raising word orders in terms of their matching speed for both the present and the past tense contexts. The results are interpreted to indicate the possibility that JLEs can learn the overt word order facts, but never end up with the same grammatical representation of V-raising parameter as native speakers. This supports the hypotheses arguing for impairment of grammatical features in second language acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major findings in previous research on reflexive coreference in a second language is that learners of English violate the locality requirement of the reflexive form x-self more readily when it appears in the subordinate infinitival clause than when included in the subordinate tensed clause (a phenomenon called the tensed-infinitive asymmetry). This paper argues that the cause of this asymmetry is the difference in the factivity of the event/situation to be configured into a particular construction, rather than the difference in the syntactic type of the sentence per se. In an experiment that was designed to test the validity of this postulation, the learners tended to respond differently to the different degrees of factivity presumed in individual sentences, in line with the prediction. Thus, it seems that the learners based their interpretation on the semantics of the sentence. The theoretical as well as pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the effects of manipulating the cognitive complexity of L2 oral tasks on language production. It specifically focuses on self-repairs, which are taken as a measure of accuracy since they denote both attention to form and an attempt at being accurate. By means of a repeated measures design, 42 lower-intermediate students were asked to perform three different tasks types (a narrative, and instruction-giving task, and a decision-making task) for which two degrees of cognitive complexity were established. The narrative task was manipulated along +/− Here-and-Now, an instruction-giving task manipulated along +/− elements, and the decision-making task which is manipulated along +/− reasoning demands. Repeated measures ANOVAs are used for the calculation of differences between degrees of complexity and among task types. One-way ANOVA are used to detect potential differences between low-proficiency and high-proficiency participants. Results show an overall effect of Task Complexity on self-repairs behavior across task types, with different behaviors existing among the three task types. No differences are found between the self-repair behavior between low and high proficiency groups. Results are discussed in the light of theories of cognition and L2 performance (Robinson 2001a, 2001b, 2003, 2005, 2007), L1 and L2 language production models (Levelt 1989, 1993; Kormos 2000, 2006), and attention during L2 performance (Skehan 1998; Robinson, 2002). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we describe a taxonomy of task demands which distinguishes between Task Complexity, Task Condition and Task Difficulty. We then describe three theoretical claims and predictions of the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson 2001, 2003b, 2005a) concerning the effects of task complexity on: (a) language production; (b) interaction and uptake of information available in the input to tasks; and (c) individual differences-task interactions. Finally we summarize the findings of the empirical studies in this special issue which all address one or more of these predictions and point to some directions for continuing, future research into the effects of task complexity on learning and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention to a task, and the language it requires to be performed, can be described in relation to two theoretical models which have prompted research into the effects of task demands on learning and performance outside the field of second language acquisition (SLA). These are the SEEV (selection, effort, expectancy and value) model of selective attention, and the Multiple Resources Model of divided attention to task demands. This paper describes these models, and some of their implications for research into the effects of second language task demands on speech performance and SLA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a corpus of ca. 181/2 hours of dyadic interactions between nearstrangers, this paper investigates the use of general extenders (GEs) by native speakers of New Zealand English (NSNZE) and German (NSG) in terms of their forms and frequencies. The results are compared with the use of GEs produced by German non-native speakers of English (GNNSE). GEs are a group of pragmatic devices such as and things like that, or something, which have been associated with expressing epistemic modality and interpersonal politeness. The results of the study suggest that, while NSG use GEs more frequently than NSNZE, GE construction in English is more flexible than in German. Furthermore, GNNSE seem to transfer some NSG forms to English, creating nonnative-like structures. An increased awareness of the native norms in terms of construction and use of GEs might help non-native speakers facilitate communication in cross-cultural interactions and establish interpersonal rapport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One branch of research in second language acquisition has investigated the ways a learner's interlanguage (IL) varies between tasks. IL variation research has examined linguistic, psycholinguistic, and sociolinguistic constraints, and has revealed much about this phenomenon. An additional potentially-useful perspective that has, to this point, been virtually unused in IL variation research and theory, is the cognitive psychology construct transfer of learning. This paper examines the relationship between IL variation and transfer of learning. An argument is made that IL performance is learning transfer; so, variation in IL performance may in some cases be related to constraints on learning transfer. If that is the case, research and theory on learning transfer can contribute to research and theory on IL variation, and several ways this may happen are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current emphasis in second language teaching lies in the achievement of communicative effectiveness. In line with this approach, pronunciation training is nowadays geared towards helping learners avoid serious pronunciation errors, rather than eradicating the finest traces of foreign accent. However, to devise optimal pronunciation training programmes, systematic information on these pronunciation problems is needed, especially in the case of the development of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training systems. The research reported on in this paper is aimed at obtaining systematic information on segmental pronunciation errors made by learners of Dutch with different mother tongues. In particular, we aimed at identifying errors that are frequent, perceptually salient, persistent, and potentially hampering to communication. To achieve this goal we conducted analyses on different corpora of speech produced by L2 learners under different conditions. This resulted in a robust inventory of pronunciation errors that can be used for designing efficient pronunciation training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simultaneous presence in a learner's grammar of two features that should be mutually exclusive (optionality) typifies second language acquisition. But generative approaches have no good means of accommodating the phenomenon. The paper proposes one approach, based on Truscott and Sharwood Smith's (2004) MOGUL framework. In this framework, development involves items being written in the lexicon during processing, in accordance with UG principles embodied in the processors, and their resting activation levels gradually rising as a consequence of repeated use. Stored items compete with one another for inclusion in the representations constructed during processing, with success based on resting levels plus demands of the current processing task. Optionality occurs when two rival items coexist and neither has yet achieved a resting level at which it consistently triumphs over the other. The account is applied to various cases of optionality in second language acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confronted with various issues in teaching business writing to Chinese students in New Zealand, this paper sees the need for bridging the gap between genre-based research and teaching in an intercultural context. Specifically, it develops an intercultural reflective model in the light of Bhatia's sociocognitive genre study as well as cross-cultural persuasion. As an important part of the model, New Zealand and Chinese experts' intracultural and intercultural reflections on business writing are solicited and compared and the theoretical implications for teaching and learning business writing are discussed. It has been found, through a case study of analysing English and Chinese business faxes, this model can offer an in-depth understanding about discursive competence across cultures, and provide a link between genre-based theory, teaching practice and professional expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of first and second language acquisition have reported that in the acquisition of long lag (aspirated) stops, the effects of the place of articulation of the stop and the height of the following vowel may be significant. This paper examines these two variables in the acquisition of English long lag stops by Spanish speakers. Results indicate that the effects of the two variables are significant, and furthermore suggest a dominant effect of the place change over the change of vowel height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines some reasons for why gestures are relevant to the study of SLA. First, given cross-cultural and cross-linguistic gestural repertoires, gestures can be treated as part of what learners can acquire in a target language. Gestures can therefore be studied as a developing system in their own right both in L2 production and comprehension. Second, because of the close link between gestures, language, and speech, learners' gestures as deployed in L2 usage and interaction can offer valuable insights into the processes of acquisition, such as the handling of expressive difficulties, the influence of the first language, interlanguage phenomena, and possibly even into planning and processing difficulties. As a form of input to learners and to their interlocutors alike, finally, gestures also play a potential role for comprehension and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper centres on published research reports produced by members of the TESOL discourse community. The analysis extends the Hallidayan concept of given/new information from its origins (used for capturing information structure at the clause level) and relates it to the analysis of the macro-structural organisation of TESOL research reports. The pragmatic aspect of given and new is combined with Hoey’s (1983, 2001) Problem-Solution pattern to help demonstrate not only how TESOL research report texts are organised, but also what the pragmatic function of that organisation is at the genre level. Then, a deeper analysis of writer management of certain elements of the Problem-Solution pattern is undertaken; this gives insights into how writers align themselves as members of the TESOL community while simultaneously presenting their own contribution as new and valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the variation underlying subject-verb agreement in the spoken French interlanguage of Irish classroom and study abroad learners. Results outline the range of factors constraining that variation, such as the learners’ level of informal contact with the language, as well as linguistic factors such as temporal context, verb frequency, and functional constraints. Since the variation observed is specifically restricted to irregular verbs in third person plural contexts, the findings are discussed with reference to the acquisition of (ir)regular verb morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss recent neuroimaging evidence on three issues: (1) whether the same “language” areas are used to process a second language (L2) as the first language (L1) (2) the extent to which this depends on age of acquisition and (3) to the extent that the same areas of the brain are used, are they used in the same way? The results examined here are in general consistent with the hypothesis that the same areas of the brain are in general used for both languages, even for relatively low proficiency speakers. On the other hand, it appears that these areas are not necessarily employed as efficiently in L2, even for languages learned early in life. This may show up as a shift to the overuse of one part of the L1 processing system and an underuse of another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past fifteen years or so examiner input in oral proficiency interviews has provided a constant topic of discussion within language assessment quarters. Despite the attention received, the precise nature of such input remains largely elusive, as does its relationship to test-taker performance and its assessment. The aim of this paper is to shed some further light on this matter by focussing on the relationship between examiner support and test-taker vocabulary. An analysis of 30 Spanish oral examinations reveals that test-takers’ lexical richness and diversity, on the one hand, and examiner’s support strategies, on the other, discriminate between grades awarded for vocabulary in these examinations. Qualitative analysis of the transcribed corpus and of examiner retrospective verbal protocols, however, reveals that vocabulary output on its own does not adequately explain some of the grades awarded. Nor does frequency of examiner support entirely explain the relative impact of accommodation strategies and vocabulary on grades. In view of this, an integrative approach that combines statistical and qualitative analysis is suggested as an optimal framework within which to develop current work on oral proficiency interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important problem for a language learner is identifying how properties of argument structure are realized morphosyntactically in the particular language they are learning. Speakers of some L1s overgeneralize the morphosyntactic reflexes of the movement of Theme objects in English to unaccusative intransitive verbs, using passive morphology in such cases. In contrast, it appears that the same L2 learners are less likely to do this with unergative verbs. The present paper addresses the question of whether L2 learners of English with typologically different L1s such as Japanese and Spanish will overgeneralize passive morphology to unaccusative verbs in the same way. The results show that both Japanese and Spanish learners of English differentiate unaccusatives from unergatives. However, the two groups differ in their treatment of unaccusatives with transitive alternants and intransitive alternants, suggesting influence of the morphological properties of the L1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on data used in the pilot application of data-driven pedagogical strategies for dealing with non-nativeness in the writing of advanced FL learners of French to expose attendant practical problems and theoretical issues. The discussion focuses on the question of vagueness in academic writing and involves a three-way comparison of FL French data, NS target language data and NS mother tongue data. This contrastive approach entails assessing the relationship between speech and writing in the diagnosis of sources of non-nativeness, and the influence of both interlingual and intralingual transfer. It underscores the interrelatedness of discourse and psycholinguistic factors generally, and, more specifically, the likely psycholinguistic relevance to questions of non-nativeness and written phraseology of contrasts in cognitive and discourse constraints between speech and writing; it also points to limitations of classroom data likely to be used in pedagogical applications, and suggests that principled guidance from research is needed if these questions are to be satisfactorily dealt with in teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a framework for researching the Cognition Hypothesis which claims that pedagogic tasks be sequenced for learners on the basis of increases in their cognitive complexity. It distinguishes dimensions of complexity which increase the conceptual and linguistic demands tasks make on communication, so creating the conditions for L2 development, from dimensions which increase demands made on accessing a current interlanguage repertoire during real-time performance. Studies providing some support for three predictions of the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson 2001a) are then reviewed. Increasing the cognitive demands of tasks along developmental dimensions; a) encourages grammaticization, and so greater accuracy and complexity of L2 production; b) promotes interaction and heightened attention to form, and memory for input, therefore increasing incorporation of forms made salient in the input; and c) individual differences contributing to perceptions of task difficulty progressively differentiate performance and learning as tasks increase in complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous investigations of the variable marking of past time by the L2 learner have given rise to a number of hypotheses which predict the patterns of acquisition and use of past time markers in interlanguage (IL). However, given the complicity between their predictions, it has been previously noted that hypotheses such as the aspect and discourse hypotheses can be supported with the same data. In an attempt to distinguish between the effects of such multiple constraints in advanced French IL, this paper presents quantitative findings to suggest that no single factor exclusively outweighs another, but rather, the factors ‘interact’ in their effect, such that the causes of aspectuo-temporal variation are not singular, but indeed multiple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an Optimality Theoretic account of how Hungarian learners of English acquire /∊/ and /æ/. It is hypothesized that as the learners' pronunciation becomes more nativelike, Li transfer substitutions will diminish; non-transfer substitutions will be especially prevalent in the intermediate stages, and that all learners will have equal or greater success with the similar segment /∊/ than with the unfamiliar segment /∊/. A study involving eight Hungarian ESL learners and four American English subjects largely supports these hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evidence used to support the claim that children initially do not encode new referents like adults do (e.g., Maratsos 1974; Warden 1976; Emslie and Stevenson 1981; Hickmann et al. 1996). It argues that a better understanding of the information structure of the target language forces a reinterpretation of previous experimental results in the sense that children comply with the adult requirements more than has been assumed. The discussion is based on a detailed examination of how new information is encoded in spoken French. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult and child L2 acquisition of syntax-semantics interface phenomena must be compared with monolingual L1 acquisition of the same phenomena in order to assess the possible effects of interference and transfer. However, this "L1A touchstone" can also be misleading because non-grammatical mechanisms that interact with such interface phenomena may be independently undergoing development in child cognition. This can affect linguistic performance, and perhaps also the acquisition of linguistic competence. The purpose of this paper is to investigate one such cognitive factor that has recently been hypothesized to affect monolingual children's comprehension of the specific reading of indefinite subjects and objects. The hypothesis is based on experimental research with Dutch children. We will examine English children, focusing on the indefinite subject in the single-clause English sentence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the acquisition and use of emphatic constructions by advanced guided learners of French, in particular (Dutch) first grade university students of French are studied and compared to the acquisition and use of emphatic constructions by (Dutch) secondary school pupils learning French in a purely institutional situation. It is shown that the learners use appropriate syntactic constructions to emphasize topics or foci, but that quantitatively they do not use these syntactic constructions in a target-like fashion. On the basis of the results it is suggested that obligatory, i.e., one-to-one, pragmatic-syntactic interface relations (c'est-cleft) are more easily acquired by guided learners than optional, i.e., one-to-more, interface relations (dislocation and ii y a-cleft). It is claimed that learners will have to be exposed to native spoken French in order to become aware of the relative strength of one-to-more interface rules in oral French. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using experimental data from adult and child non-native language acquirers (L2ers), this paper addresses `interface issues' in language acquisition in two different ways. First, it examines the acquisition of direct object scrambling in Dutch, a phenomenon which involves the interaction of at least two different modules of language, i.e., syntax and semantics. Second, it considers the interface between language and cognition in terms of the potential effect of cognitive maturity on the language acquisition process. Specifically, we examine data from adult and child non-native acquirers (L2ers) of Dutch, comparing these two groups both with each other and to relevant first language (L1) data. The results of these comparisons indicate that not only are both groups of L2ers able to acquire the particular aspect of scrambling under investigation, the developmental stages which they pass through are identical. Implications for the status of the syntax-semantics interface in L2 acquisition are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the L2-Dutch of a group of adolescent Moroccans living in the Netherlands is studied. Four tasks were administered to these informants, to a number of Dutch peers, and to some of the mothers of the Moroccan informants. These tasks were designed to test if the informants were able to cope with complex sentences, such as sentences with topics that are not placed at the beginning of the sentence or sentences with topics that do not represent the actor of the sentence. These young Moroccans were all born in the Nether- lands or moved to the Netherlands before the age of four. It was found that their Dutch cannot be compared to the L2-Dutch of immigrants as described in many studies (such as their mothers' Dutch), as they were very well able to cope with complex topics and they were also able to produce them themselves. At the same time however, their Dutch was still different at some points from that of their Dutch peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the structure of research articles has developed into a significant field of research. The original research focus on texts produced by English academics has been expanded over the years to allow for the investigation of the structure of texts written by academics publishing in various other languages. Then ongoing discussion between the members of the international discourse community has not as yet addressed the question whether the tool most frequently used in such studies, i.e., Swales' CARS model, is sensitive enough to capture all the characteristic features of theoretical research paper introductions. This study proposes to address these two issues: on the basis of an analysis conducted on English research article introductions, it suggests a modification of the CARS model so that the tool becomes better suited for the analysis of theoretical research article introductions, and reports on the results of a contrastive analysis of English and Hungarian theoretical research article introductions. Whereas a number of similarities have been found in the structure of the introductions written in English and Hungarian, the study highlights on a number of significant differences.

There is very little evidence of research in the receptive dimension of phonological interlanguage - how non-native speakers manifest their competence in processing phonological input. A simple, but effective, experiment is described in this paper in which the receptive interlanguage phonological competence of non-native speakers is investigated. The target is British English vowel and consonant phonology for twenty Korean adults in higher education in UK. Their data indicates the major difficulties they display in perceiving British English consonants and vowels, as opposed to - and contrasted with - producing them. This article discusses the paucity of receptive phonological data, presents a methodology which includes a contrastive phonological analysis, exploits a parallel study in productive phonological interlanguage and produces a comprehensive analysis of the subjects' misperceptions (and their mispronunciations). It also speculates on the strategies they used when their interlanguage phonology proved inadequate. Finally, individual and group phonological pro-files are provided, against which published pronunciation materials are measured - and shown to be inadequate in many cases. The study shows the importance of an adequate phonological competence and the importance of adequately designed teaching materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the link between empirical research in business discourse and the development of appropriate teaching materials for the teaching of business language. It highlights three key areas of interest; new media, the organizational context and the impact of national culture, and it suggests a number of activities that could be used to raise student awareness of these three areas within international business communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of needs analysis conducted with Turkish government-sponsored students who are studying towards master's or doctoral degrees in the US and with students who attended a specific language program in Ankara, Turkey before they started graduate programs in the US. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to gather information about these students' needs in learning English from both graduate students' and prospective graduate students' perspectives, and (2) to explore the extent to which the classroom instruction in the language program in Turkey responds to these needs. Data for this study was collected from three sources: survey questionnaires, interviews, and videotaped classroom discourse. Whereas the quantitative data showed that the respondents perceived their academic needs to be far more important than their everyday and TOEFL needs, the qualitative data revealed concern for more immediate needs: to attain a score of 500 or more on the TOEFL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses pedagogical issues on the integration of pronunciation into a language program. Basic to the discussion is the gradual nature of pronunciation learning. Like grammar and vocabulary, the learner should be gradually immersed into pronunciation. This is better achieved by (a) setting priorities for aural-oral intelligibility in order to better deal with immediate phonological needs; (b) starting instruction from a beginner-level. Instruction is suggested in meaningful units or tone groups rather than with isolated segments or words, even for beginner-levels. Rhythmic patterns are presented as the basic realisation of the tone groups. Suggestions are also given on how to integrate pronunciation practice into the listening-speaking activities of a communicative course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a new methodology for examining the way assessors make subjective evaluations of written texts. The method presents texts to assessors one word at a time in a cumulative fashion, and asks them to indicate when they have enough material to make a judgment that they feel confident about. Preliminary results from this approach suggest that assessors require only very small amounts of text in order to make a judgment - typically thirty words or so. Non-native speaker assessors require slightly more text than native speaker assessors. The locus of the decision points varies enormously, however. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textbook conversational closings have come under criticism for their failure to replicate natural conversation. Given that authentic conversation is both difficult to collect and use in a classroom context, television and video materials have been suggested as an alternative (McCarthy and Carter 1994; Vanderplank 1993; Allan 1985; MacKnight 1983). This paper uses Schegloff and Sacks' (1973) description of native speaker conversational closings as a framework for analysing closings in ESL/EFL textbooks and soap operas. It compares textbook closings with closings from fifty episodes of the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. The results show that although New Zealand soap opera materials are far from ideal, they are a better source of data than many textbook examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ability of native and non-native speakers of English to hear English speakers' voices and interpret the emotions being portrayed. In the study native speakers of Japanese, Spanish and English listened to audio tapes in which professional actors portrayed emotions and they identified the portrayed emotions by selecting from among eight possibilities. Results suggest major differences between native and non-native listeners in their ability to identify emotions expressed in voice. Also an analysis of judgements made by ESL learners at different proficiency levels did not show an increase in ability to judge the emotional content of English speech with increased language proficiency. This suggests that the ability to accurately judge emotions being portrayed through vocal cues in a second language may not be acquired by L2 learners without extensive exposure in a native context or without special attention to developing these skills in an instructional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that applied linguistics needs to pay more attention to the properties of the writing systems of language. Knowledge of writing is implicitly involved in many areas of language. It consists of at least: the characteristics of sound-based or meaning-based writing systems and of writing direction; rules for linking written forms with spoken sounds; a memory store of individual instances of visual forms; orthographic regularities in letter positioning; orthographic forms such as capital letters and word spaces; the ability to execute the written forms physically. Specific problems for linguistics are: the seeming debt of phoneme-based theories of phonology to sound-based writing systems; on the one hand the unacknowledged use of written conventions such as capital letters in the presentation of spoken data, on the other the failure to take account of writing systems, for example in work on the acquisition of the past tense -ed in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various papers published in this issue including one on the capacity of the Modular On-Line Growth and Use of Language model (MOGUL), another on the interlanguage ability of Dutch and German children, and one on the impact of interlanguage approach on teaching.