A test was administered to 200 children (ages 6-15) who were learning ESL to study the relationship between age and the rate of learning. The results indicated that while the rate of learning English as a second language changes with age, the order of acquisition remains constant. (MS)

In comparing the mechanism of a native language sound change and the acquisition of a second language phonology, it is concluded that individuals approach the learning and changing of phonology in a psycholinguistically unified way; the foreign language learner is fundamentally like himself as a native language changer. (Author/POP)

Our research reflects the current trend to relate individual differences in second language learning to underlying cognitive processes e.g., Robinson, 2002. We believe that such investigations, apart from being of practical importance, can also shed light on the cognitive mechanisms underlying the language learning process. Here we focus on the…

Reviews the notions of system and variability as applied to interlanguages, especially with respect to variability in the syntax of second language learners. Summarizes the findings of Huebner with respect to referentiality and then examines some new data collected 20 months after the end of the initial study. (SED)

There is little agreement on the mechanisms involved in second language (L2) processing of regular and irregular inflectional morphology and on the exact role of age, amount, and type of exposure to L2 resulting in differences in L2 input and use. The article contributes to the ongoing debates by reporting the results of two experiments on Russian…

The objective of this investigation was to examine the influence of self-efficacy and other motivational self-beliefs on the achievement of college intermediate French students (N= 303). Self-efficacy for self-regulation was a stronger predictor of intermediate French language achievement than were self-efficacy to obtain grades in French, French…

Recent work addressing the phenomenon of perceptual simulation offers new and exciting avenues of investigating how to model knowledge representation. From the perspective of language, the simulation approach has given rise to new impetus to work on models of language understanding (e.g., Zwaan, 2004, and references therein), and provides a way of…

In his article, Chris Burt focuses on the relationship between time and autobiographical memory. The question Burt puts forward is whether temporal markers in reports on autobiographic memories reflect specific temporal information or result from rather complex cognitive processing of time-relevant knowledge. The aspect of time is inherent to the…

In this chapter, the historical roots of contemporary Practice Theory are unearthed in the work of semioticians, philosophers, and anthropologists. Saussure's semiotic theory is contrasted with that of Peirce, and the importance of Peirce's work for understanding the context of signs is stressed. The philosophy of language in the writings of…

Recent studies of paralinguistic intonational meaning show that languages differ systematically in how pitch range is used to signal meaning differences, contra previous claims. This poses an additional challenge to second language learners, who generally receive little tutoring on intonation. This study investigates learners' competence and…

Responds to a previous article on emergentism, connectionism, and language learning. Suggests that connectionist models of emergent language knowledge will continue to be important in the years to come. (Author/JL)

Studies of second language acquisition have concentrated primarily on the speech production of their subjects. This article discusses the relationship between speech directed to the learner and his speech production. (Author/KM)

A study was designed to ascertain whether syntactic avoidance behavior could be demonstrated for two groups of ESL learners (native speakers of Arabic and of Spanish and Portuguese) in accordance with contrastive analysis difficulty predictions. An avoidance pattern was found in accordance with such predictions. (CHK)

Discusses the results of the administration of the SLOPE test, a measure of oral production, to 66 adult speakers of English as a second language. (Author/RM)

Replies to McLaughlin's (l978) critique of the Krashen (1975, 1977) Monitor Model of language learning, presenting rebuttals to major attacks, followed by a discussion of minor issues. (AM)