Research has suggested that long spacing (i.e., temporal intervals) within a training session facilitates second language vocabulary learning. Studies, however, have been limited to treatment that involved sessions for only initial learning but not subsequent relearning. Furthermore, most studies have investigated only the benefits of spacing…

The current study was designed to assess the central claim of the Teachability Hypothesis (TH), a corollary of general Processability Theory (PT), which predicts instruction cannot alter posited universal, hierarchically organized psycholinguistic constraints behind PT's developmental sequences. We employed an interventional design, which adhered…

This study examined the influence of first language (L1) orthographic experiences on decoding and semantic information retention of new words in a second language (L2). Hypotheses were that congruity in L1 and L2 orthographic experiences determines L2 decoding efficiency, which, in turn, affects semantic information encoding and retention.…

A study was conducted to determine if informal learners of ESL had the same acquisition order of morphemes as formal learners have and to find out what would happen to the established order if only certain of the grammatical morphemes were explained and drilled. Instruction did not change acquisition order. (Author/KM)

Reports on an experiment in which high school and college students were tested to ascertain: (1) to what extent students learning French as a foreign language treat sentences with negative elements as native French speakers do and (2) to what extent students perform similarly in French and English. Offers two suggestions for teaching French…

A study of certain aspects of second language learning among three university students, all in an advanced ESL class at UCLA. An error analysis of written verb forms was undertaken. An examination of correction revealed that it was neither systematic nor enlightened enough to actually influence error production. (Author/RM)

Investigated whether topic-prominence transfer is a universal developmental stage or a transferable typology by analyzing the behavior of 46 native speakers of English learning Chinese, a subject-prominence (SP) language, as a second language. Results found that the learners displayed a process of systematically transferring English SP features to…

Investigated the acquisition of base-generated topics in Mandarin Chinese by British students learning Chinese. The hypothesis is not confirmed that it would not be difficult for English speakers to acquire the base-generated topic in Chinese because in the acquisition of Chinese, English-speaking learners are exposed to positive evidence of…

Testing of a second-language phonological acquisition model with four beginning learners of Spanish supported the claim that transfer processes decrease over time while developmental processes increase and then decrease. Analysis also revealed a hierarchical organization of processes in second-language acquisition and an interaction of the native…