There is a noted advantage of dense neighborhoods in language acquisition, but the learning mechanism that drives the effect is not well understood. Two hypotheses--long-term auditory word priming and phonological working memory--have been advanced in the literature as viable accounts. These were evaluated in two treatment studies enrolling twelve…

This study introduces a typological model of the "conceptual language-specific approach" to the L2 research on the acquisition of tense-aspect. The model is based on the typological notion of prominence, classifying languages into tense-prominent and aspect-prominent (Bhat 1999) and the L1 research proposal that language-specific…

This article presents a non-technical discussion of the way in which modern transformational generative linguistics can help in understanding the reading process. (FB)

This volume, intended for use in basic courses in language arts methods or in in-service training situations, presents a program of instruction based on Piaget's views of learning and the psycholinguistic perception of language acquisition and development. Throughout the discussion, language and intellectual development are related to children's…

One of the essential differences between teaching a first and a second language is that the former is merely learned whereas the latter must usually be taught. This difference, while not absolute, still has enormous consequences. Although the "natural method" of second-language teaching is often championed, there is no way whereby the…

Research was supported in part by a faculty grant from the San Jose State College Foundation. (DS)

Discusses current research in child language to help teachers understand how young children acquire language skills. (DR)

Second language (L2) learning has much more in common with L1 acquisition than has been traditionally acknowledged. New ideas about the nature of language, how it is learned, and how it is used must be taken into consideration when planning foreign language programs. (Author/CFM)

This paper discusses the problem of how to deal effectively with students' errors from the perspective of Error Analysis. Basic aspects of the theory such as "interlanguage,""learning strategies" and "the interpretation of errors" are introduced; and empirical data from child language learning studies are presented to support the underlying…

This dissertation examines the principles of two current theories of first language acquisition and from them synthesizes a second language methodology. As a background to the problem of second language methodology, it is stated that the basing of second language methodologies on first language learning is currently being questioned and that the…

An annotated bibliography cites 11 publications on a variety of topics in linguistic research produced since 1986. Topics include child language, oral language, a speech synthesizer, French speech, the free expression approach to language learning, French language teaching methods, and French for special purposes. (MSE)

Noam Chomsky's numerous criticisms of formerly well-accepted beliefs about the nature of language learning (e.g. in his review of Skinner's "Verbal Behavior") have led to a diversity of views regarding the potential application of transformational theory to the teaching of English as a second language/dialect. It seems clear, moreover, that his…

Argues that the study of second-language acquisition theory can be enhanced through time-series research designs. Within the context of investigating the effects of second-language instruction, four main reasons for using T-S design are identified. (95 references) (Author/CK)

Intended to provide a basis for a sociolinguistic theory of reading by placing reading within a discussion of the formal and functional characteristics of language use in social settings, this book explores the state of the art of reading and literacy, the relations between spoken and written language, and explanations of reading failure. Chapters…

This document reviews the major trends of thought concerning first and second language acquisition, in an attempt to trace a sequential history to second language teaching methodology today. The contributions of the behaviorist and nativist schools of thought are examined in particular, and two major issues are focused upon: (1) the origins of…