This study aims to suggest a checklist for teachers and researchers to analyze English as a second or foreign language textbooks from a sociolinguistic perspective. In the literature there is not a checklist or framework by which English textbooks can be evaluated considering the sociolinguistics issues raised in this study. After obtaining expert…

This paper investigates the critical period hypothesis (CPH) for the acquisition of a second language sound system (phonology) in a naturalistic setting. Ten cases of successful late-starters with a native-like Hebrew pronunciation are presented in an effort to determine possible variables that may account for their exceptional accomplishment. The…

The development of accent and fluency are traced in the speech of 20 Mandarin and 20 Slavic adult immigrants to Canada over a period of 10 months. The participants were enrolled in an ESL program but had no special instruction in either pronunciation or fluency. The immigrants' self-reported exposure to English outside of class was used to…

Dialysis encephalopathy is a progressive neurological disorder occurring after long-term hemodialysis in some renal failure patients. Accumulation of aluminum in the brain is suspected as its cause, and the use of reverse osmosis of the dialysis water and administration of desferrioxamine to the patient have been successful in reducing the…

Forty-four university students, of whom 11 had learning disabilities (LD), were tested on tasks requiring multisyllabic pseudoword repetition, oral reading, memory for digits, and vocabulary. In both LD and non-LD groups, significant correlations were found between pseudoword repetition accuracy and reading, suggesting that poor readers also have…

A study investigated whether markedness relationships within a target language influence the degree of difficulty in acquisition. The Intralingual Markedness Hypothesis was developed, stating that if structures in the target language differ from those in the native language, and if those structures in the target language are in a markedness…

Listening skills research has tended to focus on strategy use in classrooms and on theory and practice of second language (L2) teachers. This study examined the teachers' and learners' perceptions of listening skills in non-classroom learning situations. Five (n = 5) study skills teachers and 19 former learners in a distance study skills course at…