In this paper two questions are raised: (1) Is there any meaning to current research? (2) Is meaning important to the language acquisition process? It is necessary to explore the nature of research in general to evaluate what kind of research we are doing. This leads us to consider next the content of research on human learning and on the…

Timing sensitivity (awareness of rhythm of lapsed time), age, and sex were studied as possible predictors of success in hearing adults' learning of sign language. The results of school evaluations revealed that younger hearing adults with a sensitivity for timing learned sign language faster than did other adults. (PMJ)

Some aspects of a general systems theory of second language acquisition are as follows: the system is greater than the sum of its parts; each component has a distinctive role in the overall operation of the system; some components may be entire systems themselves; the workings of the system proceed according to patterns, and rules for any given…

Reports on the objectives and phases of a research project seeking to discover the relationship between grammar as learned in the native language and as learned in a second language. (AM)

The thesis of the paper is that the process of learning a second language, if successful, is the same as that of learning a first one. The paper discusses various objections that have been raised against this thesis, and it discusses the considerable body of research which explores it. It examines the appropriateness of the research data for…

Reports on research seeking to isolate and analyze high frequency errors in secondary students of German, to identify learning tactics, and to apply the research results to improving language instruction. (AM)

Examines the learning strategies of one student of French grammar, and draws implications for curriculum writers and language teachers. (AM)

This volume on second language learning contains the following eleven articles: "The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis," by Ronald Wardhaugh, "Students' Errors and the Learning of French as a Second Language," by Magdelhayne F. Buteau, "Error Analysis and Second Language Strategies," by Jack C. Richards, "Induced Errors," by Nancy Stenson, "Global…

This paper describes a method of corrective phonetics based on perceptual phonetics, because it is in this area that contact with a foreign language is first established. Methods of correcting phonetic perception by frequency manipulation (using the frequency selector "SUVAG-Lingua") within the framework of the verbo-tonal method of…

It has been claimed that error analysis (EA) has two broad aims and two levels of application: pedagogical (relevant to syllabus design and second language teaching) and psycholinguistic (relevant to language learning studies). At the moment, EA's pedagogical claims are stronger than its psycholinguistic ones. In its early days, EA defined its…

Community Language Learning (CLL) is a humanistic approach to learning which emphasizes the learner and learning rather than the teacher and teaching. In some situations where the teacher is not fluent in the various languages spoken by the students, such as in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, advanced students may serve as…

Students learning foreign languages often experience difficulty in mastering new vocabulary and expanding their lexicon. This paper attempts to clarify the role of the native language in the acquisition of new words. Does an adult learn foreign words quicker if the native language is employed (bilingual method) or if words are explained in the…

This investigation was designed to examine the acquisition of a set of complex English structures by Egyptian Arabic-speaking adult learners at different levels of proficiency. Two studies were conducted using the methodology of Chomsky as adapted by d'Anglejan and Tucker. In addition, some subjects were asked to translate a number of stimulus…

The paper presents a comprehensive summary of recent research on attitudes in foreign language instruction, discusses it in the light of four functions generally thought of as being characteristic of attitudes, and comments on the usefulness of the attitude concept in foreign language education. Research on attitudes is presented on several…

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to investigate the effectiveness of music as a mediation factor in the learning and retention of lexical units in German language sequences. The main question to be considered was whether or not the addition of melody and rhythm would constitute an aid or a hindrance to the Ss in learning the…