Both sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics are relatively recent areas of study and they tend to overlap. One way in which they overlap is in the selection of topics, among them bilingualism and linguistic relativity. Studies of linguistic relativity demonstrate that, although there are clear surface distinctions between the way languages map…

Krashen's Monitor Model of second language learning is examined critically in light of other research, and a unified, more comprehensive theory combining theories of first and second language learning is called for. (MSE)

Introduces a colloquium on the scope and form of a theory of second-language learning. The value of a general theory is argued for, and the relation of theory to practice is considered. (16 references) (JL)

This study, in which adult Navaho interviewers recorded conversations with Navaho children, involved the analysis of Navaho lexicon and spelling. Computer processing made it possible to base the study on the vocabulary of these young Navaho. (Author/RK)

Explores the requirements for a general theory of second language learning that accounts both for the fact that people can learn more than one language and for the generalizable individual differences that occur in such learning, and considers the formalization and testing of such a theoretical model. (Author/CB)

Discusses the three main approaches to defining language knowledge and use: (1) the structural approach, (2) the functional approach, and (3) the general proficiency approach. Asserts that each approach has specific consequences for language testing and that no one approach can claim to be the only way of representing that knowledge. (Author/SED)

Fries' definition of knowing a language rejects the layman's notion that the criterion is knowing a certain number of words. It involves, rather, knowing a set of items--sound segments, sentence patterns, lexical items--which must be made a matter of automatic habit. Various approaches to testing someone's use of a language have failed to take…

The interaction between theoretical linguistics and language teaching has historically been problematic. This interaction is viewed here from the standpoint of educational linguistics, which is the intersection of linguistics and related language sciences with formal and informal education. The issue is the relevant educational problem that…

Describes attempts to formalize and characterize a theory of communicative competence, focusing on the advantages of a preference model (which identifies and grades learning variables in order of importance) and of models developed on the premise of parallel distributed processing (which suggest that such rule-based processing are in fact gross…

A critique of a previously published article about artificial intelligence-based models for English-as-a-Second-Language instruction points out the author's failure to distinguish clearly between expert systems and connectionist models. In response, the author attempts to clarify his understanding of the usefulness of the models. (CB)

This introduction to sociolinguistics is presented in four parts. The first part gives an overview of this branch of language study, its scope and principles of inquiry, and its basic and key concepts. This portion is written for individuals with no prior knowledge or expertise in the subject. Topics covered in this section include: the nature of…

Israel is fertile ground for research in multilingualism. Revitalization of Hebrew resulted in a tendency for ideological and instrumentally-motivated monolingualism to replace earlier multilingual patterns, even in the context of pressure for language shift by Arabic, Russian, Yiddish, and other languages, and Hebrew's competition with English in…