This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to…

Presents a method which draws upon students' imagination, creativity, and associative abilities and engages them in the language learning process. (Author/AM)

Reexamines the question of why pattern practice fails by hypothesizing about the information processing activities that they entail. (Author/CFM)

Argues that Piaget's cognitive stage theory complements psycholinguistic theories of fluent reading by clarifying how readers acquire and then use prior knowledge. Suggests that, in this light, teachers may want to rearrange the order and manner in which they present units from basal readers. (FL)

A review of research was conducted on the possibility of a sensitive period for the acquisition of native-like pronunciation in a second language, as well as on related questions concerning the universality of this phenomenon, age factors, biological versus cultural origins, and developmental psychology. The review showed variation in studies and…

An examination of second language learning focuses on how universal cognitive processes in language learning and individual differences account for differences in language learning patterns. An introductory section gives background information suggesting that psycholinguistic factors in language learning should receive more attention for two…

Reviews current foreign language teaching methodology as it concerns the organization of the lesson into phases, and presents an alternate phase-sequence entailing linguistic environment, application, remedial, monitor, and feedback phases. (AM)

Research in psycholinguistics and learning theory is reviewed to support the integration of oral and written language skills, and the language experience approach (LEA) is recommended for secondary school second language instruction. This approach incorporates listening, speaking, reading, and writing in purposeful communication. Students use the…

Discusses the important role of background knowledge in a psycholinguistic model of EFL/ESL reading and demonstrates the relevance of schema-theoretic views of reading to the teaching of reading to EFL/ESL students. Also discusses classroom implications of the schema-theoretic view and suggests techniques for bringing about reader-centered EFL/ESL…

Suggested teaching techniques for secondary reading include clarifying the learning task, avoiding information overload, encouraging risk taking, and understanding the nature of feedback. (MKM)

A discussion of errors made in second-language learning focuses on the control that the speaker himself exerts over mistakes and argues that this would be a useful area for further research. Implications of such analysis for second-language instruction are considered. (MSE)

According to recent neurolinguistic theories and research, language and other analytic functions are located on the left side of the brain, while spatial and configurational abilities are located on the right side. However, there is some evidence that while learning a language requires the use of both hemispheres of the brain, the right hemisphere…

Lists suggestions for implementing a reading-for-meaning instructional approach that focuses on the development and comprehension of language. (FL)

Describes an experiment designed to determine which language errors interfere to the greatest degree with comprehension by native speakers of the language. For this purpose, an instructor prepared a list of most serious Spanish language errors which was submitted to native speakers for evaluation in terms of comprehension and acceptability. (MES)