Many studies on bilingual language processing have shown that lexical access is not selective with respect to language. These studies typically used nouns as word stimuli. The aim of the present study was to extend the previous findings on noun processing to verb processing. In the first experiment, Dutch-English bilinguals performed a lexical…

This article provides a comprehensive synthesis of research on language attrition to date, with a view to establishing a theoretically sound basis for future research in the domain of second language (L2) attrition. We identify the variables that must be tracked in populations who experience language loss, and we develop a general model for the…

Examines Tomlin and Villa's (1994) analysis of attention and Leow's (1998) attempt to operationalize this model. Argues that Leow's efforts to provide empirical support for the model fall short of that goal. (Author/VWL)

Reacts to a response by Simard and Wong (2001) to Tomlin and Villa's (1994) discussion of a model that postulates a fine-grained analysis of attention for second language acquisition and the prediction that awareness at the level of detection is not crucial for further processing of second or foreign language data. (Author/VWL)

Hudson addressed two issues on second-language acquisition: the validity of the multidimensional model and the application of developmental sequence findings to assessment and pedagogy. This response suggests that his lines of argument are based on serious conceptual flaws. (Contains 37 references.) (LB)

Much research has posited a developmental sequence approach in second-language acquisition. This study reexamines the original social-psychological research upon which the multidimensional model is based and shows that it is incorrect because of faulty analysis. It also examines the limited applicability/generalizability of the developmental…

Examines classroom language learning from the perspective of research and teaching. Looks at the classroom as a special social situation; identifies eight features of the classroom as culture and applies them to the language class. Argues that the classroom has its own communicative potential for language learning. (SED)

This study places the predictions of the bilingual interactive activation model (Dijkstra & Van Heuven, 1998) and the revised hierarchical model (Kroll & Stewart, 1994) in the same context to investigate lexical processing in a second language (L2). The performances of two groups of native English speakers, one less proficient and the other more…

This paper reviews the research on speech perception and reassesses the contribution of innate capacities versus external stimulation in conjunction with age in first- and second-language acquisition. A developmental model of speech perception is then discussed in relation to neonatal auditory perception. (Contains 86 references.) (MDM)

A series of experiments shows that Spanish learners of English acquire the "ship-sheep" contrast in a way specific to their target dialect (Scottish or Southern British English) and that many learners exhibit a perceptual strategy found in neither Spanish nor English. To account for these facts as well as for the findings of earlier research on…

Illustrates the advantages of laboratory research into second language acquisition (SLA) by describing two studies of acquisition of second language syntax. The first, conducted in Wales, addresses the question of whether human morphological abilities can be understood in terms of associative processes, and the second presents a bootstrapping…

This study investigates whether proficient second language (L2) speakers of Spanish and English use the same parsing strategies as monolinguals when reading temporarily ambiguous sentences containing a complex noun phrase followed by a relative clause, such as "Peter fell in love with the daughter of the psychologist who studied in California."…