This collection of 16 papers covers theoretical issues and research on interlanguage development and second language acquisition variables. Among the specific topics addressed are: morpheme group interactions, acquisition of complex sentences in English as a second language, uniformity in interlanguage development, Spanish-English basilang,…

Answers to theoretical questions about the place of input in a formal second language acquisition model are dependent on a distinction between two kinds of learner hypotheses. Type-N hypotheses require "negative evidence" for testing, while Type-P hypotheses are tested on the basis of "positive data" alone. (Author/CB)

Investigates whether the Wave Model of linguistic change can furnish a valid idealization for the patterning of variation in interlanguage systems and a scale for determining degree of naturalness. Data from 162 French-speaking adult learners were used to analyze the variability in the evolution of the English possessive determiners…

Investigates the influence of formal instruction on natural second language acquisition processes by an experiment in which investigators tried to force other than "natural" learning processes in learners' natural acquisition of a second language. The informants in the experiment were ten Italian children attending elementary school in Munich.…

Uses data from English-speaking children learning French in the Toronto French Immersion Program as evidence to support the 1981 study by Gundel and Tarone on the acquisition of pronouns by Chinese- and Spanish-speaking adults learning English. This study concluded that the acquisition of direct object pronouns proceeds in three stages. (SED)

Argues for the studying of the language learning process itself, rather than doing contrastive or error analyses for determining the source of error in second language acquisiton. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies can help determine the language learning stages. A multidimensional model of language learning is proposed. (PJM)

Variability has been the subject of recent debate in the study of learner interlanguage. Empirical evidence from a longitudinal study suggests that learning follows a systematic route. A grammaticality judgment test is appended. (Contains 19 references.) (Author/LB)

A study compares and contrasts a set of English and Spanish prepositions of location in the context of prototype theory. It seeks to establish the prototype concept of each preposition and the degrees of prototypicality by testing for native-speaker choices of examples that illustrate best the most basic use of the preposition. The prepositions…

Theories and research on second language acquisition and grammatical theory are reviewed and discussed, especially those concerning the recent interest in understanding the nature of the language-learning faculty. The review includes work in the areas of universal grammar, interlanguage, parameterization of universal grammar, second language…

The stages of interlanguage, the speech of beginning second language learners as they progress toward second language fluency, are described. Examples are drawn from the speech of Spanish speaking students of English as a second language. The continuum of interlanguage development from native language forms to target language forms includes three…

This paper describes a preliminary study which focuses on the syllable structure of interlanguage and begins to identify some of the processes which shape that interlanguage. Adults learning English as a second language in a formal classroom situation were recorded as they described a series of pictures in English. Two subjects were native…

Describes the experience of three American children learning French in a francophone environment. Discusses the patterns of French language use that emerged during their first year in Paris, identifying four distinct stages, and suggests criteria for measuring learners' success. Emphasizes communication and functional language skills rather than…

A longitudinal study of the acquisition and use of the English sound system by Japanese learners of English is reported. The variability model of sociolinguistics is used. (Author/RM)

Analyzes the difference between "ultimate-target language" (authentic English in all its varieties), "learner's language" (with its limitations), and "learning-goal language," this latter referring to differentiated instruction with graded "input" steps. Teaching suggestions are given. (IFS/WGA)

Reports on an experiment designed to compare the linguistic ability of English-speaking students of French to that of native French-speaking students, through sentence repetition, in order to draw some conclusions regarding approximative grammars. (AM)