A study is presented that examines the null-subject parameter (NSP) and that seeks to attain the following objectives: (1) to assess the validity of the implicational hierarchy for the NSP, especially as proposed by Liceras (1989); and (2) to determine if there is any evidence to support the theory of the Weaker Logical Problem of Acquisition…

Discusses the scarcity of research on the characterization of the second-language (L2) initial state, where "L2 initial state" refers to the starting point of nonnative grammatical knowledge. The article emphasizes that exploring the mechanisms of "development" of interlanguage requires an understanding of what a particular stage changed "from."…

We discuss the results of an experiment that investigates English-French learners' interpretation of quantifiers with detachable restrictions. Such quantifiers are ungrammatical in English. We investigate aspects of interpretation that rely on a highly idiosyncratic interface between grammar and general principles of conversational cooperation in…

Reviews the research on first and second language acquisition, enumerates some basic features of human language learning, and discusses implications for the foreign language classroom. (RM)

An approach to teaching grammar concepts treats conceptualization as a process of sensitization, consisting of three stages: motivating the student to learn the concept, presenting the operating concept and the grammatical category in question, and consolidating and enriching the concept in the student's mind. (MSE)

Questions the value of the theory of interlanguage for language learning research. (AM)

This paper reports on the development of the article system in an adult's interlanguage over a one-year period. It compares the results of a conventional order-of-acquisition analysis with a paradigm model based on Bickerton (1975). (Author/CFM)

After a survey of current methods of studying lexical acquisition, none of which are really suitable for studying how specific words are acquired and used by adult learners and how such usage differs from that of native speakers, a method is proposed for the study of such qualitative aspects of second language lexical acquisition. Learners are…

Essays on second language teaching focuses on how the kinds of tasks performed by the learner relate to language output. "Choosing and Using Communication Tasks for Second Language Instruction" (Teresa Pica, Ruth Kanagy, Joseph Falodun) contains a taxonomy of communication task types, based on the concepts of goal and activity,…

The language learner is activated by exposure to primary linguistic data in the target language, categorizes that data and deduces from it a system of rules or hypotheses. When the language acquisition process is successful, as is virtually always the case in first language acquisition, the learner's rule system corresponds to that of the speech…

The book outlines, for second language teachers, how students can be helped to attain both fluency and a high level of accuracy. It explores language learning theory and research and a variety of classroom instruction issues and techniques. The discussion begins with an overview of theories, models, and methods of classroom language learning and…