This article explores French L1 speakers' attitudes toward French L2 speakers' negation use. Negation in prescriptive grammars calls for a pre-verbal ne and a post-verbal element like "pas." Although orally "ne" deletion is frequent, it is rarely or never taught. One common, albeit meagerly supported, explanation is that L1…

This study investigates modality in textbooks designed for learners of English by exploring the frequency and distribution of modal verbs in two corpora--one of authentic native-speaker language and a pedagogical one used by francophone learners of English in Quebec--with a view to identifying areas where added support for learning may be…

The effects of song and elaboration were assessed on the acquisition and retention of lexical items by beginner learners of Italian. Lexical acquisition investigated through an incidental learning experiment based on the premise that growth in L2 vocabulary can be facilitated by subvocal rehearsal and elaborate processing of lexical items.…

This article describes a collaborative research project with four Quebec college teachers offering French and ESL classes designed to support immigrant students' bilingual learning. Using action research, a professional learning community was created that allowed the researcher and teacher participants, through cycles of planning, action, and…

This study examines the opportunities that a collaborative writing task completed in pairs and in small groups offers for attention to form. Previous research suggests that collaborative writing activities encourage learners to focus their attention on language and to collaborate in the resolution of their language-related problems in ways that…

This article explores the use of gesture by a French language teacher during lexical focus on form (FonF). The analysis compares pre-emptive FonF (before a problem in communication has occurred), and reactive FonF (after a problem has occurred) and looks at the differences between teacher-initiated and learner-initiated FonF in the use and type of…

Explanations for the well-documented second language (L2) learning challenge of the English regular past include verb semantics (Bardovi-Harlig, 2000), phonetic properties (Goad, White, & Steele, 2003), and frequency factors (Collins, Trofimovich, White, Cardoso, & Horst, 2009). Difficulty perceiving past-tense morphology (i.e., hearing…

Due to the growing number of plurilingual learners in the world today (Hammarberg, 2010), the present multiple case study examines four plurilingual participants' beliefs toward first language (L1) and second language (L2) mediation in the acquisition of French as a third language (L3). During a 16-week classroom-based study in a French university…

Outlines comparative approach to translation as flexible method which consists of comparing literary works from the target language word for word with several competent translations. Uses concrete example from Spanish literature. (BK)

This article is a brief discussion of some exercises in guided translation and comparative analysis designed not only to increase students' competence in translation and knowledge of French but also to make them more attentive to their English. (CFM)

Proposes a system that can be used to analyze and evaluate any language teaching method at any level, by breaking down a particular method and comparing it to another, in terms of linguistic and sociocultural content, methodological organization; and physical quality. (AM)

The relationship between the teaching of grammar and the acquisition of communicative competence is examined, and it is concluded that, contrary to some arguments, there is a definite correlation between grammatical accuracy and efficient communication. (MSE)

Contrastive analysis has an important role to play in the contemporary second-language classroom. It will move more and more into a domain of analysis that will focus on the underlying conceptual systems of the native language and target language. (Contains 48 references.) (LB)

A study comparing the use of the Silent Way technique in an experimental setting with its use in a real classroom setting suggests that results of experimental research cannot necessarily be transferred directly to the classroom. Student compositions based on ten Silent Way worksheets and an editing task are appended. (MSE)

A discussion of the effectiveness of French immersion education chronicles its history, presents some of the evidence against the approach, discusses the findings of a recent report in light of pedagogical rather than theoretical second language acquisition assumptions, and outlines the alternative road to bilingualism through classroom…