Compared pronunciation of targeted vocabulary items in spontaneous speech by 23 adult Chinese learners of English as a Second Language grouped according to mode of instruction: (1) traditional drilling activities; (2) self-study with tape recordings; (3) interactive activities; and (4) nonintervention control condition. Ratings of pronunciation by…

Research on second language lexical development during reading has found positive effects for word frequency, the provision of glosses, and elaborative word processing. However, findings have been inconclusive regarding the effect of such intervention tasks on long-term retention. Likewise, few studies have looked at the cumulative effect of…

Proposes a model of second language learning that accounts for discrepancies both in individual achievement and achievement in different aspects of language learning. (Author/AM)

The aim of this article is to investigate the effect of creativity on performance in oral narrative tasks. Participants in the study were Hungarian learners whose creativity was measured with a standardized creativity test. We examined the relationships among 3 aspects of creativity--originality, flexibility, and creative fluency--and different…

Explores the "translation-recognition" task, using two experiments, one for adult Dutch learners of English and the second for people from the same population. Results suggest that translation recognition and translation production respond to the same manipulations, except when cognates and noncognates are focused on separately. (23…

Describes a study which examined the relationship between learner chatacteristics and achievement in French as a second language. Results indicate that subjects who have more schooling, a higher degree of nonverbal reasoning ability, and make greater use of French outside the classroom are more likely to benefit from formal language instruction.…

The study examines the relationship between second language (L2) passage comprehension and intake (form recognition), gain (meaning recognition and production), and retention of new lexical items from the passages. The effect of topic familiarity on the above relationships is also examined. Participants were a cross-sectional sample of L2…

The study reported in this article describes second language (L2) vocabulary learning outcomes associated with adult L2 reading comprehension processes, thus connecting L2 learning with the complex cognitive and linguistic processing involved in reading. The study aimed to determine whether background knowledge moderated the relationship between…

Analyzes the interaction during peer response occurring in a writing class. The article identifies four categories of reader stances--authoritative, interpretive, probing, and collaborative--and examines language functions and topics discussed during the response sessions. It is concluded that interactive peer response is beneficial to students.…

Examines the central characteristics of interlanguages that distinguish them from all other natural language systems. It is proposed that, since permeability presupposes an interlanguage norm which is relatively stable, we are forced to gather enough data to establish the overall level of linguistic competence of the learner. (Author/POP)

Examines the structure of language-learning beliefs about learning in general and beliefs specifically about language learning and explores the relationship between the two belief domains. A brief questionnaire was administered to 187 college students learning Japanese as a foreign language. Factor analyses identified five dimensions of general…

This study explores the acquisition of complex words composed of both verbs and nouns through novel forms produced spontaneously by a French-English bilingual child. Diary recordings were kept by the child's mother from ages 2:8 to 5:0. The results showed little support for a proposed developmental sequence based on cross-sectional data e.g.,…

The socioeducational model of second language acquisition postulates that language learning is a dynamic process in which affective variables influence language achievement and achievement and experiences in language learning can influence some affective variables. Five classes of variable are emphasized: integrativeness, attitudes toward the…

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…

Analyzes syntactic processes in three learning situations, Japanese reading English, Persians reading English and English speakers reading Hindi; discussed in terms of reading process and second language learning models. (Author/RM)