Investigated the psychological factors that affect access to metalinguistic knowledge in second language (L2) production. A verbalization task was used to assess the metalinguistic knowledge about target uses and a judgment test was administered to determine relative prototypicality of these uses of 64 adult Chinese learners of English.…

Discusses possibilities and limitations of laboratory research methods for testing theories of second language acquisition. Reviews experimental lab studies and focuses on the motivation for conducting these studies, the use of artificial or semiartificial language structures and different design features. (54 references) (Author/CK)

Replicates R. P. Leow's 1993 study on the effects of simplification, type of linguistic item, and second/foreign language experience on learners' intake of linguistic items contained in written output. Results on the type of linguistic item underscore the need for research to consider seriously the role of modality while addressing cognitive…

Examined the influence of input and interactional modifications on second-language acquisition, assigning 41 learners of Japanese to 1 of 3 experimental groups: (1) unmodified input with no interaction; (2) premodified input with no interaction; and (3) unmodified input with the chance for negotiated input. Results indicated that comprehension was…