In response to Ellis (2002), which resurrects the notion that language acquisition consists of frequency-based abstraction of regularities from input, this article suggests Ellis ignores fundamental and well-known problems, including the poverty of the stimulus, cases of instantaneous acquisition, and evidence for innate knowledge. (Author/VWL)

Argues that the second language acquisition process involves two models, providing complementary accounts of different components which could be combined. An integrated model is proposed that would carry the acquisition-learning distinction of the Monitor Model while including the Neurofunctional Theory, which uses the distinction to describe the…

Responds to Ellis (2002), which focuses on frequency in language processing, language use, and language acquisition. Contextualizes the frequency factor in terms of the evolution of second language acquisition (SLA) research. Suggests that although relevant and important, the frequency factor requires greater definition and qualification.…

The concept of input to the language learner is examined with reference to some current theorizing about language processing and the idea of modular systems of knowledge. It is argued that exposure to a second language engages the learner in a whole battery of different processing mechanisms. (21 references) (Author/LB)

Responds to an Ellis (2002), which focuses on frequency in language processing, language use, and language acquisition, Emphasizes the importance of placing frequency in an overarching theoretical framework of language acquisition. (Author/VWL)

Ellis's target article suggests that language processing is based on frequency and probabilistic knowledge and that language learning is implicit. These findings are consistent with those of SLA researchers working within a variationist framework (e.g., Tarone, 1985; Bayley & Preston, 1996). This paper provides a brief overview of this research…

Responds to Ellis (2002), which suggests the statistical structure of the linguistic environment is a crucial and relatively neglected variable in language learning. This approach makes three assumptions about cognition and language learning that are not universally shared. Describes a distributed, instance-based approach that retains key features…

Discusses frequency effects in language acquisition. Provides an example of how frequency may relate to grammatical judgments of nonnative speakers acquisition of multiple wh-questions. (Author/VWL)

Ways are described in which studies on grammaticalization in second-language learning are a challenge for second-language acquisition theory. This article introduces four articles on grammaticalization. (21 references) (LB)

Refutes the assumption on which most second language research is based--that language is intended by its speakers to transfer information to some interlocutor--by responding to Tomlin's paper in the same journal, "The Treatment of Foreground-Background Information in the On-Line Descriptive Discourse of Second Language Learners."

In response to Ellis (2002), which focuses on frequency in language processing, language use, and language acquisition, this article argues in favor of a role for frequency in several areas of second language acquisition, including interactional input and output and speech processing. Also discusses areas where L2 acquisition appears to proceed…

An author reacts to a series of responses written in regard to an earlier article by the author on frequency in language processing, language use, and language acquisition. Addresses a number of issues raised in the responses and concludes by emphasizing that language acquisition is a process of dynamic emergence and learners' language is a…

Responds to L. Eubank and K. R. Gregg article (this issue), suggesting they have misinterpreted and misrepresented claims made by B. Jacobs and J. Schumann. Claims discussed include the micro- and macro-organization of neurobiology and language, the Explananda, Jacobs and Schumann's acquisition mechanism, and reductionism. The single acquisition…

Responds to L. Eubank and K. R. Gregg article (this issue), negating their rejection of neurobiological accounts of language acquisition because they are not based on Government and Binding theory and addressing their ideas on the explanatory power of associative learning. A discourse between neurobiology and linguistics is possible only if…

Responds to Ellis (1996), who claims that much of first- and second-language acquisition is sequence learning and can be explained in terms of connectionist theory. This article does not disagree with the substance of Ellis's article but rather the extent to which his model can be applied to many aspects of natural languages. (six references) (CK)