Although several studies have focused on novel word learning and lexicalization in (presumably) monolingual speakers, less is known about how bilinguals add novel words to their mental lexicon. In this study we trained 33 English-French bilinguals on novel word-forms that were neighbors to English words with no existing neighbors. The number of…

Application of psycholinguistic insights initiated a long career researching how children learn to read words. A theory was proposed claiming that spellings of individual words are stored in memory when their graphemes become bonded to phonemes in their pronunciations along with meanings, and this enables readers to read stored words automatically…

Lexical ERPs (event-related potentials) obtained in an oddball paradigm were suggested to be an index of the formation of new word representations in the brain in the learning process: with increased exposure to new lexemes, the ERP amplitude grows, which is interpreted as a signature of a new memory-trace build-up and activation. Previous…

This study investigated the relationship between a metaphor-based approach to teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and involvement of the brain's right hemisphere. Specifically, it examined learners' understanding of three levels of sureness associated with different expressions in English -- those that are "certain,"…

Previous research has shown that explicit cues specific to the encoding process (endogenous) or characteristic of the stimuli themselves (exogenous) can be used to direct a reader's attentional resources towards either relational or item-specific information. By directing attention to relational information (and therefore away from item-specific…

The primary impediment to literacy in Japanese is kanji proficiency. The ostensible reason kanji present such a formidable challenge, especially for the second language learner, is the combined effect of their quantity and complexity. Research into the cognitive processing of logographic characters, however, indicates that the main obstacle to…

The general purpose of this study is to increase, in a classroom environment, formal communication by using reading and writing. Our research focuses on reading as a means to develop the writing of a good précis, which in its turn contributes to improve: 1) memory, vocabulary and grammatical-syntactical structures, in brief, the organization of a…

Linguistic relativity, the idea that language affects the way that people think, and that people who speak different languages think differently, has implications for mathematics education because people use different languages to teach, learn and practice mathematics. This paper reviews research on linguistic relativity and number, looking at…

A controversial issue in bilingual research is whether in the early stages of L2 learning, access to the conceptual system involves mediation of L1 lexical representations [Kroll, J. F., & Stewart, E. (1994). Category interference in translation and picture naming: Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory representations.…

Recent research in psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated that co-speech gestures are semantically integrated with speech during language comprehension and development. The present study explored whether gestures also play a role in language learning in adults. In Experiment 1, we exposed adults to a brief training session presenting novel…

Prediction is essential for reading for the following four reasons: words have too many meanings, spellings are confusing, visual information processing of brain, and the capacity of short term memory are limited. (JH)

This issue consists of the following: an article entitled "Suggestopaedia and Language Teaching, International Perspective"; an article which discusses possible adaptations of the Bulgarian Suggestopaedia - A New Method of Teaching Foreign Languages"; and bibliographical notes from Canada and Bulgaria announcing new publications on…

The possibility of an optional time span for grammar systematization in second language learning is discussed, together with related difficulties in self-paced instruction. (RM)

This issue consists of the following: a "minilexicon" of terms directly or indirectly related to the field of suggestion and learning; the translation of an article by T. Tachev entitled "Learning Foreign Languages by Suggestion: The Unsuspected Possibilities of Human Memory"; a review of the book "An Introduction to…

Reviews the theoretical foundations of current-second language acquisition models. Draws upon this research as well as upon various studies of memory and verbal-input processing to present a theoretical model of adult second language comprehension. Discusses the implications of comprehension theory for second-language teaching. (Author/SED)