These proceedings are a collection of papers by researchers in neurology, bilingualism, linguistics, and the neurolinguistics of bilingualism. Topics are addressed using neurolinguistic data for second language learning, learning models for second language acquisition, and implications for teaching and research. Summaries of the following papers…

This review of research into the acquisition of grammatical coordination (i.e., the use of conjunctions) pulls together both English language and cross-linguistic data. Although the importance of pragmatic factors in language acquisition is not denied, the data make it clear that grammatical factors seem to play a significant role in the…

A major concern in recent research is whether perceptual or functional information is of primary importance in children's early word meanings. In the study described here, artificial objects were used so that form and function could be independently manipulated. There were 57 subjects, ranging in age from 2.5 years to adulthood. The subjects were…

Forty Swedish university students produced sentences from homographs that could be interpreted either as verbs or nouns. The words also varied in degree of polysemy (multiple meaning). The results indicated that the subjects prefered verb productions when the words were grouped according to objective frequency. This was more evident when the…

The results of two experiments indicate that the two phonological properties of a word, its initial phoneme and length, strongly influence the latency to detect a target phoneme which begins the following word. Studies showing increased detection latencies following ambiguity are analyzed. (SW)

This study examines two views of lexical storage and word production, a derivational hypothesis and an independent unit hypothesis. Reaction times and errors were related to derivational complexity. A model of lexical retrieval process incorporating derivational processes is proposed. (Author/SW)

To show the organization of recall, items that are remembered together can be written on the same line of a two-dimensional (2D) grid. Such 2D recall does not induce the clustering it reveals. Various aspects of 2D recall and the clustering it reveals are discussed. (Author/RM)

Presents three studies which examined adults' and preschoolers' sensitivity to implicit causality in interpersonal verbs. Findings suggest that the scenes concerning the causes and consequences of interpersonal events can readily be activated in the process of understanding these verbs. This finding holds true for both preschoolers and adults.…

Seven postulated stages of acquisition of Spanish as a second language are examined within the context of Processability Theory, whose predictive paradigm is applicable to interlanguage development in any second language (L2). The theory argues that the sequence in which the target language unfolds in the learner is determined by the sequence in…

Three lexical decision experiments tested the claim that lexical access is based on a word's basic orthographic syllabic structure (BOSS). No evidence was found that BOSS is a word's unique lexical access entry, and one experiment suggested that morphemic units are more likely to be access codes than purely orthographic units. (MSE)

Examines children's errors in interpreting 'ask' as 'tell' in the framework of pragmatic development. Results indicate that if the children do not know the information, they relay the question, i.e., 'ask.' If they do know the answer, they supply it, i.e., 'tell.' (EKN)

Examines the language processing and acquisition abilities of the right hemisphere. Discusses functions performed by the right hemisphere that could play an important role in second language acquisition. (EKN)

Study examined the relationship between comprehension and production of lexical items when children are taught to both comprehend and produce new lexical items and when children are taught either to comprehend or produce new lexical items. Study involved teaching 12 adults and 12 children a miniature language. Results indicate production training…

Presents study performed to clarify the role that imagery plays in sentence understanding. Results show that reading selectively interferes with comprehension of high-imagery sentences and demonstrates that sentence comprehension is not a process that is independent of the decoding stage. (Author/BK)

Presents data on the past and present state of research on the interlanguage hypothesis, with specific attention to its extension to children. Outlines a dual approach to developing a theory of second language acquisition--a macrobehavioral approach and a neurofunctional approach. Finally, problems for the interlanguage hypothesis are discussed.…