Poverty of the stimulus has been at the heart of ferocious and tear-filled debates at the nexus of psychology, linguistics, and philosophy for decades. This review is intended as a guide for readers without a formal linguistics or philosophy background, focusing on what poverty of the stimulus is and how it's been interpreted, which is…

This article describes ways in which pragmatic language abilities may play a role in the writing performance of children and adolescents with language learning disabilities. First, a brief overview is presented of how pragmatic language difficulties might negatively influence writing performance. Next, research on the writing performance of…

The article discusses the potential of combining learner corpus research with experimental studies in order to fine-tune the understanding of learner language development. It illustrates the complementarity of the two methodological approaches with data from an ongoing study of the acquisition of the English tense and aspect system by French…

Learners frequently experience phonologically inconsistent input, such as exposure to multiple accents. Yet, little is known about the consequences of phonological inconsistency for language learning. The current study examines vocabulary acquisition with different degrees of phonological inconsistency, ranging from no inconsistency (e.g., both…

Recently, talk of a new type of learning disability (LD)--a foreign language learning disability, or FLLD--has made its way into the LD and foreign language (FL) literature. However, no empirical evidence has been published to support the concept of a "disability" for FL learning by those professionals who use the term. In this article, the author…

We investigate a unique attempt at working out a unified theory of second language acquisition (SLA), Carroll's "Autonomous Induction Theory". This theory integrates SLA traditions that often ignore each other and adds a learning theory where novel information gets created to resolve learning problems. Cognitive universals, modularity theory,…

Reviews research on the acquisition of second-language (L2) phonology, focusing on whether adult learners have access to the principles and parameters of Universal Grammar (UG). It argues that UG is still accessible in L2 phonological acquisition, and parameters can be reset but that the Subset Principle can impede learning success. (51…

A theoretical basis for a first-/second-language link is presented along with an explanation of why current global theories of language are incomplete. Implications for foreign language (FL) methodology and instruction for students with FL learning problems are addressed. (123 references) (LB)

Fossilization is a the term used generally to denote what appears to be a state of permanent failure on the part of a second-language learner to acquire a given feature of the target language. This article reviews different accounts of this phenomenon and offers another account. The implications of this new account of fossilization for…

Considers several factors that combine to hinder a learner in the task of second language acquisition, including barriers related to culture and society and the classroom environment. Appropriate teaching strategies for Spanish classes and research opportunities are also discussed. (CB)

Children with specific language impairments (eight learning Italian, eight learning English as a first language) were studied for grammatical deficits. Italian-speakers used noun inflections, verb inflections, copula forms more than English-speaking counterparts, matched by utterance length. Articles were used similarly. Results were consistent…

Explores the adjustment of 13- to 15-year-old Greek remigrant students in Greek schools. Teacher-ratings, self-ratings, achievement records and language competence data were studied. Remigrant students, especially those returning later, were found to experience difficulties mainly in the language/learning domain and less in the interpersonal and…

Reports on two studies designed to prove three hypotheses: (1) five-year-olds can successfully learn a second language (L2); (2) early L2 learning has a positive effect on the development of children's cognitive and first language linguistic abilities; and (3) early L2 learning assists socio-economically disadvantaged children in overcoming…

Reports on the training experiences of workers from linguistically diverse backgrounds via a focus on their learning activities in community college apprenticeship programs. A survey identified areas of linguistic difficulty that students were experiencing in their coursework and ways in which instructors could reduce these barriers to success.…

Reports results of a study conducted with learners of Chinese who were involved in a late immersion program in a graduate school of education in Australia. The aim of the project was to explore the depths of learners' experiences of learning Chinese in an immersion setting. (Author/JL)