This paper provides an empirical study of word formation and lexical expansion in a set of Algonquian languages, considering 153 terms for each language. These terms range from words that predate European colonialism to more recent forms coined by English L1 speakers. We propose a classification of the methods of lexical innovation, which involves…

L2 learners' problems with English articles have been linked to learners' L1 and their access to universal semantic features (e.g., definiteness and specificity). Studies suggest that L2 adults rely on their L1 knowledge, while child L2 learners rely more on their access to semantic universals. The present study investigates whether child L2…

Providing a comprehensive survey of cutting-edge work on second language learning, this "Handbook," written by a team of leading experts, surveys the nature of second language learning and its implications for teaching. Prominent theories and methods from linguistics, psycholinguistics, processing-based, and cognitive approaches are…

Most research on language awareness in a second language (L2) has been carried out with adult learners. This research presents data showing that pedagogical techniques can be devised enabling children as young as 8 to develop metalinguistic awareness of their emerging L2 system. Building on existing work by Canadian researchers, this…

Examines the extent to which research findings from second language and immersion programs--concerning the efficacy of different instructional approaches--are transferable to the context of foreign language learning in British higher education. Data are drawn from a study of German learners exposed to focus on form tuition and focus on forms…

The French gender usage of grade two and grade five Franco-Ontarian children was compared with that of English-speaking children enrolled in French immersion programs, and monolingual French-speaking children in Quebec. While some of the Franco-Ontarian children are similar to the Quebec children with respect to the gender "rules" they…

Qualitative analyses of teacher-student interaction recorded during subject-matter lessons in Grade 4 French immersion classrooms indicate that language form is often out of focus in immersion classroom discourse. Discusses pedagogical implications of research findings related to corrective feedback. (Author/VWL)

This study explores the role of the language learning situation by comparing the speech of children in an immersion program, children learning a second language in a natural setting, and native French children. Three groups of children participated in the study: (1) 39 children (Grades K, 1, 3, 5) in a French immersion program in the U.S.; (2) 13…

An experiment in a grade 2 French immersion program compared performance of a group-taught music lessons totally integrated into classroom instruction and a group not given music instruction. Pre- and post-tests of tonal-rhythmic patterns and form that have commonalities with pronunciation, oral grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension found…

The paper discusses the major second language teaching methods used to date in contrast with the strategies and techniques all children so successfully employ in first language acquisition. Second language acquisition for adults is not identical to first language acquisition but research seems to support the theory that it is similar. Successful…

This study describes certain communication strategies used by Anglophone children learning French as a second language as well as by children whose mother tongue is French. Three groups of children in the third and fifth grades participated in the study: French native speakers, Anglophone children learning French in an immersion setting, and…

The following are English translations of the titles of student research papers from a university conference on linguistics: "The Onomastic Syntagm in Geology: A Comparative Study of English and French"; "Hunting Ideology Through Discourse Analysis"; "Peculiarities of Canadian French (Archaisms and Pronunciation): An…

Selected papers on second language acquisition and instruction from the University of Wisconsin at Madison symposium include the following: "Learning and Teaching: The Necessary Intersection" (Susan M. Gass); "Reenvisioning the Second Language Classroom: A Vygotskian Approach" (Linda Schinke-Llano); "The FOCAL SKILLS…