From the perspective of complexity theory and based on Robinson's Cognition Hypothesis and the Triadic Componential Framework, this paper investigated the effect of manipulating task complexity along resource-dispersing dimension on L2 written performance. The results showed that: 1) Significant interactive effects were found between the two…

Examines the role of "routines" and grammatical patterns in first and second language acquisition by children and adults, specifically with regard to syntactic structures. (Author/AM)

Foreigner talk (FT) is the term used to characterize possible adjustments in the speech of a native speaker (NS) when he or she is in conversation with a non-native speaker (NNS). The paper examines conversations between 6 native speakers and 3 non-native speakers and characterizes the speech of the native-speakers involved. The data were…

Landes (1975) reviewed research studying adult-child linguistic interactions. Evidence that the language which adults use in addressing young children is different from that used in addressing adults and that parent-child interaction patterns change with the increasing age and language skills of the child has important implications for the study…

Part of a study is presented of native speakers of Hebrew who are acquiring English without formal instruction. A Hebrew-speaking child, aged 5 years 6 months, and her American playmate were audiotaped bi-weekly in natural settings for 11 months. The American child periodically used "foreigner talk," that is, the variety of language…

This paper argues that formal and explicit instruction and learners' prior knowledge play a crucial role in teaching and learning English as a second language (ESL), and that a pure communicative approach is inadequate in achieving optimum results. The discussion is presented in two parts. The first outlines the issues under consideration,…