Beginning with the classic work of Shepard, Hovland, & Jenkins (1961), Type II visual patterns (e.g., exemplars are large white squares OR small black triangles) have held a special place in investigations of human learning. Recent research on Type II "linguistic" patterns has shown that they are relatively frequent across languages…

The construct of awareness plays a pivotal role in several big debates in the field of second language acquisition. It lies at the heart of discussions about the (im)possibility of learning without awareness, or conversely, whether some degree of awareness is a requirement for learning to take place. In this study, I propose a research agenda to…

Language maps signals onto meanings through the use of two distinct types of structure. First, the space of meanings is discretized into categories that are shared by all users of the language. Second, the signals employed by the language are compositional: The meaning of the whole is a function of its parts and the way in which those parts are…

The advance of digital video technology in the past two decades facilitates empirical investigation of learning in real time. The focus of this paper is the combined use of real-time digital video and a networked linguistic corpus for exploring the ways in which these technologies enhance our capability to investigate the cognitive process of…

Learner autonomy has been an important issue in English Language Teaching since the 1960s. In language teaching it is of vital importance, since learning can only occur if the learners are willing to learn. So, the students have to realize that their role in the process of learning is crucial. Students have different needs, styles of learning and…

Results indicate that increasing sentence length decreased recall and that objects were recalled more easily than verbs. (RB)

Two experiments are reported in which subjects performed simple mental arithmetic problems which were presented visually in a sequential fashion. At some point in the presentation of each problem, the sequential display was interrupted and a memory task introduced. The purpose was to validate a measure of transient memory load. (Author/RM)

A study is reported describing an output-monitoring phenomenon in free recall and establishing that subjects have accurate knowledge concerning their previous output performance. Implications with respect to other known memory phenomena are discussed. (Author/RM)

The purpose of the experiment was to test the prediction that non-specific facilitated learning of a second prose passage will occur in the situation where an initial passage read by the subjects contained concrete referents designed to increase the comprehension of a difficult to understand second passage. Two-hundred and forty subjects…

Three studies of the development of gender competence in elementary and intermediate level learners of French as a second language are reported. The findings support an emerging rule-governed process of gender assignment related to the learner's development of skill with the language's underlying phonological system. (11 references) (MSE)

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)

Input from a course syllabus in advanced university level English as a second language composition was compared with student intake as manifested in the linguistic product (i.e., compositions). The frequencies and types of classroom, teacher, and textbook explanation of sentence control, paragraph organization, and rhetorical control were…

Addresses one aspect of individual differences and how socially learned cues may radically influence the verbal learning tasks performed by university students taking a foreign language. The nonuniversity studies reviewed provide the backdrop for a more in-depth study on four memorization modes and how these strategies are largely dependent on…