This article provides a comprehensive synthesis of research on language attrition to date, with a view to establishing a theoretically sound basis for future research in the domain of second language (L2) attrition. We identify the variables that must be tracked in populations who experience language loss, and we develop a general model for the…

Although techniques of autosuggestion in personal development have a long history in some Eastern cultures, suggestibility as a character trait first came into focus in the West with the "animal magnetism" of Franz Mesmer. The uncovering of the nature and phenomena of hypnosis resulted in a steady and enduring interest in this state of…

The suggestopedic technique of second language instruction is sketched. Recent efforts to adopt the technique in parts of the American West are reviewed. The historical precedent of suggestopedia and the interpretation of the technique by two linguists at the 1979 TESOL convention are investigated. Hypnosis is compared to suggestopedia, and…

A thorough investiqation is attempted of efforts to apply hypnosis and suggestive learning techniques to education in general and specifically to second language learning. Hypnosis is discussed in terms of its dangers, its definition, and its application. Included in this discussion is a comparison of auto- and hetero-hypnosis, an overview of the…