Within the same learning context, learners' outcomes in terms of oral fluency vary greatly. This study tracked the relative contributions that first language (L1) and initial second language (L2) fluency skill and working memory (WM) made to L2 fluency development. We assessed the performance of French-speaking Grade 6 learners' (n = 47, mean age:…

This study investigates the acquisition of null subjects by Mandarin Chinese native speakers ('Chinese NSs' hereafter), with different levels of L2 English proficiency, at initial stages of L3 Italian acquisition. The aim is to find out if, when acquiring Italian null subjects, Chinese NSs resort to their L1, which, like the L3, allows null…

This study investigated the relationship between language proficiency and negative pragmatic transfer from a first language (L1), focusing on the speech act of refusal as realised by American learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) in Egyptian Arabic. Twenty American AFL learners (10 intermediate and 10 advanced) and 2 baseline groups (10…

There is considerable interest in teacher collaboration across mother tongue and second language curricula. However, cross-curricular collaboration in reading strategy instruction has seldom been investigated. We report a two-year study involving collaboration between the French first language (L1) and English second language (L2) teachers in an…

Since the 1980s, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has enjoyed considerable interest from researchers of second language acquisition (SLA), resulting in a growing body of empirical evidence to support how and to what extent this approach can promote language learning. Although transferability and generalizability are critical assumptions for…

The earliest stages of adult language acquisition have received increased attention in recent years (cf. Carroll, introduction to this issue). The study reported here aims to contribute to this discussion by investigating the role of several variables in the development of word recognition strategies during the very first hours of exposure to a…

A study investigated language transfer in the writing of 20 Spanish-speaking learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Research on language transfer is critically reviewed, and it is concluded that existing theory supports a reconceptualization of language transfer as a form of second language (L2) learning/communication strategy that…

Classroom procedures for Brazilians to develop English reading abilities in the shortest possible time are outlined, based on the idea that the students possess dormant lexical and syntactic competence from their native language experience. The techniques combine simplification with reading activities aimed at guessing in the target language. (MSE)

A study investigated the importance of reading in developing writing competence in an intensive Business Spanish course at the University of Toledo (Ohio). In class projects, two groups of students wrote business reports in which they advised a company on whether or not to market a product in a Spanish-speaking country. The projects each included…