Early foreign language (FL) programmes have grown rapidly worldwide in the past two decades, resting on the assumption that "earlier is better" for learning a FL. However, the majority of empirical studies that investigated the "earlier is better" hypothesis were conducted in naturalistic immersion contexts. Given the…

Listening comprehension plays a key role in language acquisition, yet little is known about the variables that contribute to the development of second language (L2) listening ability. This study sought to obtain empirical evidence for the impact of some of the learner variables and the degree to which they might predict success in L2 listening.…

Providing a comprehensive survey of cutting-edge work on second language learning, this "Handbook," written by a team of leading experts, surveys the nature of second language learning and its implications for teaching. Prominent theories and methods from linguistics, psycholinguistics, processing-based, and cognitive approaches are…

Research concerning the success factors in language immersion education is reviewed, focusing on five major schools of thought. First, the traditional model for immersion research, implemented in a Montreal (Canada) suburb is examined. Then three studies of the influence of affective variables in immersion program success are examined, and it is…

This study acoustically analyzed the production of single and geminate stops in Japanese by English-speaking children (N = 19) at three different grade levels in a Japanese immersion program. Results show that both their singletons and geminates were significantly longer than those of Japanese monolinguals and the bilinguals' immersion teachers,…

The French gender usage of grade two and grade five Franco-Ontarian children was compared with that of English-speaking children enrolled in French immersion programs, and monolingual French-speaking children in Quebec. While some of the Franco-Ontarian children are similar to the Quebec children with respect to the gender "rules" they…

Draws on sociocultural theories of language and learning and research on bilingual families to examine home language practices of trilingual-immersion students. Ethnography was used to explore daily language use at home, children's views of their identity as trilingual, families' values of maintenance and additional language learning, and reasons…

Six papers on interlanguage are presented. The first, "Language Transfer," experimentally tests Robert Lado's contrastive analysis principles on the transfer of language skills to second language acquisition. The second paper, called "Interlanguage," builds on this work in discussing the structured nature of interlanguage and…

This state-of-the-art review explores types of foreign language (FL) programs, the rationale for early FL study, research evidence, program development, evaluation issues, and areas for further development. Chapter 1 outlines the various types of early FL programs that have been implemented, such as foreign language experience (FLEX) programs,…

Discusses the relationship between research, theory, and policy in language policy formulation in the context of a "conflict" paradigm. In bilingual programs in the United States and Canada, the sociological context of the debate plays a major role in determining the choice of issues to investigate. (CB)

It is proposed that research on neurological organization, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence can contribute to understanding the relationship between second language learning processes and academic achievement. Relevant research in these areas and in the field of neurolinguistics is reviewed, with several themes or topics…

The following are English translations of the titles of student research papers from a university conference on linguistics: "The Onomastic Syntagm in Geology: A Comparative Study of English and French"; "Hunting Ideology Through Discourse Analysis"; "Peculiarities of Canadian French (Archaisms and Pronunciation): An…

Selected papers on second language acquisition and instruction from the University of Wisconsin at Madison symposium include the following: "Learning and Teaching: The Necessary Intersection" (Susan M. Gass); "Reenvisioning the Second Language Classroom: A Vygotskian Approach" (Linda Schinke-Llano); "The FOCAL SKILLS…

Papers on language processing, culture, and language learning and teaching include: "A Theory of Intelligence as Semiosis: With a Couple of Comments on Interlanguage Development" (John W. Oller, Jr.); "Along the Way: Interlanguage Systems in Second Language Acquisition" (Larry Selinker); "Strategy and Tactics in Second Language Acquisition"…