Purpose: Given the growing prominence of computational modeling in the acquisition research community, we present a tutorial on how to use computational modeling to investigate learning strategies that underlie the acquisition process. This is useful for understanding both typical and atypical linguistic development. Method: We provide a general…

This study aims to explore the nature of definitions and classifications of Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) in the current studies of second/foreign language learning in order to show the current problems regarding such definitions and classifications. The present study shows that there is not a universal agreeable definition and…

To examine the relationship between syntactic processes in language comprehension and language production, we compared structural persistence from sentence primes that speakers heard to persistence from primes that speakers produced. [Bock, J. K., & Griffin, Z. M. (2000). The persistence of structural priming: transient activation or implicit…

Learner autonomy has been an important issue in English Language Teaching since the 1960s. In language teaching it is of vital importance, since learning can only occur if the learners are willing to learn. So, the students have to realize that their role in the process of learning is crucial. Students have different needs, styles of learning and…

Reviews the literature on general learning strategies as they pertain to the UG (universal grammar)- or non-UG debate and the second-language acquisition process and discusses this literature in the context of the literature on learning strategies from psychological research. (Author/JL)

Reviews theoretical and research literature on learner strategies and self-directed language learning, particularly concerning the role of metacognitive knowledge in learning. Argues that too little attention is given to the function of metacognition in language learning. Practical implications for second-language instruction are discussed.…

Presents arguments for an emphasis on listening comprehension in language learning and teaching. An explanation of how listeners use strategies to enhance the learning process is presented with a review of the existing research base on how second-language listening is taught. Pedagogical recommendations are presented as well as examples of…

Reports on a study which sought to identify and examine the effects of certain learning strategies--practice, monitoring, and inferencing--on second language learning. (AM)

Three studies of the development of gender competence in elementary and intermediate level learners of French as a second language are reported. The findings support an emerging rule-governed process of gender assignment related to the learner's development of skill with the language's underlying phonological system. (11 references) (MSE)

Provides overview of issues associated with second-language learning strategies, examines research findings outside of the field of language instruction, and explores implications of current research both in terms of instruction and future research needs. (55 references) (LET)

Synthesizes research on nine individual-difference factors that influence success in learning a second language and offers instructional implications for each. The nine factors include aptitude, motivation, anxiety, self-esteem, tolerance of ambiguity, risk taking, language learning styles, age, and gender. (72 references) (LET)

Reports on an experiment designed to reveal how the learner's passive foreign language vocabulary is built up, what role the context plays, what kinds of learning strategies are involved, and whether a false competence results from these strategies. (IFS/WGA)

This study tested the hypothesis that children as young as two years use what adults tell them about meaning relations when making inferences about new words. Subjects (n=18) learned two new terms, with instructions to treat one term as superordinate to the other or replace one with the other, and with no instructions. Children used both kinds of…

Reports a study of the learning strategies and processes of four adult learners of Chinese, using data collected over a two-year period. Students showed a number of different approaches to learning, not all of which could be classified "good language learner" strategies. Findings suggest areas for exploration in immersion education, especially…

Examined the use by children of the Novel Name-Nameless Category principle, under the framework that lexical principles are acquired in a developmental sequence. Results indicated that the particular principle was not available at the start of lexical acquisition but that exhaustive categorization ability and a vocabulary spurt occur…