The aim of this personal reflection is to revisit the major concepts that have informed my academic research in the area of applied linguistics and second language development, and show how my overall pedagogical approach has evolved, thanks to the contribution of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (SCT). The main focus of this paper is on the…

Since its inception in the late 1960's, the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has undergone many transformations. As pre-existing theories have been expanded upon and new theories introduced, researchers and practitioners have come to a deeper understanding of the second language (L2) learning process. The past two decades, in particular,…

This corpus-driven longitudinal study investigates the structural use of lexical bundles in published research article (RA) introductions in applied linguistics written by English experts and Korean graduate students across two different levels of study. Frequency-based bundles were retrieved from a corpus of 200 published RA introductions and two…

The present paper attempts to provide a critical evaluation of the most prominent pedagogical models that have dealt with the language of the second language (L2) learner starting from the second half of the 20th century. The three most influential approaches in the domain are investigated in this study: contrastive analysis (CA), error analysis…

This paper reports the compilation of a corpus of Taiwanese students' spoken English, which is one of the sub-corpora of the Louvain International Database of Spoken English Interlanguage (LINDSEI) (Gilquin, De Cock, & Granger, 2010). LINDSEI is one of the largest corpora of learner speech. The compilation process follows the design criteria…

The paper discusses World Englishes (WEs) in relation to English as an International Language (EIL) and Applied Linguistics. Taking into account Kachru's interesting but at the same time controversial debate about the status of English in its varieties, which are commonly called WEs and the opposing ideas presented by Quirk, it is aimed to present…

This issue contains seven articles, including the following: "Dictionary, Systemicity, Motivation" (Tom Bartlett); "The Nature of the Initial State Zulu L2 Grammar and Subsequent Interlanguage Development" (Sibusisiwe Dube); "Translating the Folk" (Bryan Fletcher); "The Acquisition of the English Article System…

Focuses on the interlanguage pragmatic strategies used by Japanese and Korean learners of English. Data was collected from a project carried out jointly by Korean and Japanese university students. Observation, analysis, and discussion of student data suggest that interspeaker understanding and sensitivity to pragmatic variables of the target…

It is proposed that error patterns in acquisition of a second language can provide otherwise unavailable evidence for testing linguistic hypotheses about the second language itself. Three types of production and perceptual error patterns found in the learning of English by native Arabic speakers are outlined to support this suggestion. The error…

The use of different communication strategies (CSs) in interlanguage application was studied with 51 Persian first-year university learners of English. Emphasis is on determining which CSs are more favored under a given condition and on identifying a link between task type and the use of specific CSs. (23 references) (LB)

This article summarizes a study (Odlin 1978) using variable rules analyses to describe the contraction patterns of six Mexican students of English as a second language. (CFM)

Focuses on the development of pragmatic competence by adult non-native users of English. One aim of the study was to verify whether exposure to models of requesting devices used by a competent user would be beneficial to a less competent user. Results suggest that such exposure is beneficial. (Author/VWL)

The speaking ability of 40 Finnish college students of English as a Second Language was assessed in tests of interactional and transactional language function. In the interactional test, the learner introduced a topic of his choice and attempted to converse with two native speakers of English. In the transactional test, the learner watched a video…

This study introduces strategies of interlanguage communication associated with developing solutions for limited English proficient learners as they become skilled at English as a second language. First, a significant classification of Faerch and Kasper's communication strategies will be presented. Second, the organizing methods of the other nine…

This paper reports on a pilot study examining how Chinese-speaking learners of English reset the non-empty topic [-Te] parameter. Whereas Chinese allows empty topics coindexed with variables in both subject and object positions, English does not. With respect to this particular parameter, Chinese can be said to form a superset of English as the…