This article discusses peer editing and how it can be used at any level of foreign language learning to check syntax or content problems. Application in the classroom shows that peer editors can help detect writing problems of their classmates. (Contains 17 references.) (JL)

Analyzed longitudinal data from 28-year-old Cambodian man who, despite instruction in English-as-Second-Language and residence in English-speaking community, used form "has" for both possessives (PO) and existentials (EX). Shared semantic properties of PO/EX, together with syntactic, pragmatic, perceptual characteristics of native…

Reports on the results of a case study indicating that written language in general and journal writing in particular may be the preferred vehicle for syntactic acquisition of some adult learners. Five adult English-as-a-Second-Language learners, all illiterate in their first language, took part in the study. (Author/JL)

Argues that functional categories instantiated in the learners' first language (L1) transfer to the initial state of second language syntactic development. On the basis of Zulu interlanguage data on acquisition of the obligatory declarative complementizer "ukuthi" (that) by English native speakers, argues that Comp contains a null…

Presents evidence of language transfer from Cantonese to English in three areas where the two languages contrast typologically: wh-in-situ interrogatives, null objects, and prenominal relatives are observed at a period when Cantonese is dominant as measured by MLUw. Comparisons with monolingual development show both qualitative and quantitative…

The population of children in the United States who require English as a second language (ESL) instruction increases every year. Among this diverse group of learners, which now exceeds four million, are learning disabled students. Their evaluation for special education services presents significant challenges to ESL, general education, and special…

This study investigates the effect of a cross-cultural bilingual communication project on students' second language learning. A collaborative key-pal project was conducted between Japanese university students learning English and Canadian university students learning Japanese. Ethnographic data were collected from the students' exchanged messages…

The expression of modal meanings presents a difficulty even for advanced speakers of a foreign language and it has been shown that beginning and intermediate learners produce few modal auxiliaries. To investigate the phenomenon, a functional/semantic framework was used to determine what forms these students use to convey a particular meaning. The…

Uses a parable from a Kafka novel to illustrate and support the premise that language and literature study should be integrated, even in the early stages. Reading short literary works can explain involved language problems better than long explanations, and can also stimulate further literary study. (CHK)

This article notes some problems arising from treating verb-final German word order as basic, as suggested by previous articles, and suggests that communicative competence and understanding of work-order principles would be better achieved with early introduction and drill in all three order types. (CHK)

This study of the speech of a five-year-old Japanese girl learning English focused on the use of prefabricated routines where items are memorized as wholes. The forms of the copula, "do you" questions and embedded "how to" questions were examined. (AG)

Explains techniques used in teaching the process of nominalization to foreign students at the Universite de Paris VIII, in reaction to common usage in the press. The techniques specifically do not use a generative grammar approach but apply principles of transformation for syntactical description. (Text is in French.) (MSE)

The relationship between ease of comprehension and the syntactic form used to convey indirect requests was investigated among intermediate and advanced learners of English as a second language (ESL). The results were compared to those of native English speaking children and adults. Subjects were 82 college students enrolled in intensive ESL…

The article outlines the need to eliminate rote-learning and pure imitative strategies in second language learning, particularly in the areas of syntax and semantics. Theoretical foundations for this need are discussed, with reference to the coding hypothesis for memory functions in language learning. Results of experimental investigations are…

The following papers are included: (1) "The Theoretical and Practical Relevance of Simple Codes in Second Language Acquisition" (Krashen); (2) "Talking to Foreigners versus Talking to Children: Similarities and Differences" (Freed); (3) "The Levertov Machine" (Stevick); (4) "Acquiring a Second Language when You're Not the Underdog" (Edelsky and…