A study examines the relationship among the variables of practice, instruction and performance of adult learners of English as a second language. It is concluded that formal instruction is the most important determinant of student performance at intermediate and advanced levels because it provides a structural environment for feedback. (Author/RM)

Reviews the relationship between linguistic theory and language teaching. The suggestion is made that a teaching approach should not be based completely on one theory, be it structuralist or generative. In selecting an approach, the teacher should draw selectively on various linguistic theories, on educational psychology, and on practical…

It is argued that three misconceptions about language learning have limited the utility of performance objectives in individualized second language instruction. These misconceptions--confusion between competence and performance, inadequate identification of linguistic elements, and assumption that linguistic elements correspond to learning…

One of the several causal mechanisms for errors made by adult second language learners is interference from the native language. This paper attempts to account for the cognitive nature of interference by proposing two psycholinguistically based principles that will explain various types of production and perception errors made of second language…

The effects of a language versus a dialogue emphasis and a structured versus an unstructured follow-up in intensive language instruction were assessed using eighty-three students destined for missionary work in Spanish-speaking countries. A 2 X 2 analysis of variance design was employed, with students assigned to one of four treatments: language…

This book is designed to assist those who work with non-English dominant students by providing resource information relevant to second language teaching and learning. The articles in the series encompass both theory and practical learning techniques in six general topics. The articles in the first text of the series, concerning background and…

This book is designed to assist those who work with non-English dominant students by providing resource information relevant to second language teaching and learning. The articles in the series encompass both theory and practical learning techniques in six general topics. The articles in the second text of the series, concerning speaking and…

The present study offers a model of second language learning and examines aspects of the model in two experiments with high school students learning French. The model describes learning in terms of three parameters - learning processes, learning strategies, and learner characteristics. These three parameters together may be used to explain both…

This paper reports on a study undertaken to investigate the relationship between elicited imitation data and comprehension data, as measured by a picture-identification task and a second language (L2) to first language (L1) translation task, and between elicited imitation data and production data, as measured by a spontaneous production task and…

This is a report of a study conducted by a group of teachers to discover the extent to which students in the first three years of school were aware of the phonetic system of their native language (French) with emphasis on the means they used to analyze it. In the first year, the children discovered phonetic oppositions by touching their lips and…

Exploring psycholinguistic factors which bear directly on student achievement in language instruction in college, this article concludes that programed language instruction has no negative influence on student attitudes. The author directly links learning rate to the learner's attitudes while focusing discussion on results of an attitudinal…

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…

This paper discusses the conflict occurring as a result of two languages and their corresponding cultural bases coming into contact in North America, particularly in the context of bilingual education. Difficulty exists in translating awareness of problems such as language interference, cultural shock, and lowered self-image into attitudinal…