Deals with several related problems of language contact, approximative systems, and language learning situations. Proposes the recognition of "fixed approximative languages" in relation to learning situations. (Author)

Reviews J. Rohrer's work on the role of memory in language learning. Evaluates the practice-oriented treatment, which is in opposition to current concepts when practical considerations require it. (IFS/WGA)

Addresses the issue of code switching in the classroom and analyzes the roles and functions of the first language in the second language class. The observation of intra-sentential code switching shows complex learning ad communicative strategies and emphasizes the need to better understand these strategies and their role in the learning process.…

Explores the differences in nature and origin between two constructs that are used in the contemporary professional literature to explain the processes and consequences of language learning: i + 1 and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Each construct is situated with respect to its history and to the fundamental assumptions it makes about…

The purpose of this study is to build upon our understanding of the place and value of writing in the advanced foreign language curriculum. Specifically, the study examines how students in writing-intensive Spanish-major courses are affected by the writing-intensive (WI) requirement at the University of Minnesota. Writing-Across-the-Curriculum…

Learner autonomy has been an important issue in English Language Teaching since the 1960s. In language teaching it is of vital importance, since learning can only occur if the learners are willing to learn. So, the students have to realize that their role in the process of learning is crucial. Students have different needs, styles of learning and…

Most studies evaluating the effectiveness of strategy training for L2/FL learners have been product-oriented, i.e. they have quantitatively measured improvements in learners' test scores following the completion of a strategy training programme. However, such evaluation methods are only partial, and they must be supplemented by a qualitative…

This article focused on the investigation of the differences in the frequency of language learning strategy use by successful and unsuccessful first-year students of a Chinese university. The study found that successful students used a wider range of learning strategies for EFL learning significantly more frequently than unsuccessful students. It…

Testing of Spanish students revealed that students preferred to learn vocabulary through use of synonyms or devices using similarity of implied class membership. (CK)

Compensation strategies, the attempts made by non-native speakers to remedy the disparity between their communication needs and the linguistic tools at their disposal, are examined. Two tactics for non-native speakers are distinguished: that of averting problems by acting on oneself, and that of averting problems by acting on one's interlocutor.…

Different types of learning styles among sophisticated second language learners are described. Excerpts are presented of interviews with four adults who were gifted in acquiring command of foreign languages. Each of the respondents used a different approach to second language learning but considered that approach to be the one naturally…

The approach adopted can be characterized with respect to three types of problems in interlanguage studies: the choice of perspective, the relationship between learning and communication, and the ontological status of classes of interlanguage phenomena. This description of processes and strategies is based on the learner's viewpoint. Strategies…

The "natural" acquisition of a second language is compared to learning from instruction, including aspects of learning such as sequence of items learned (e.g., syntactic) for both children and adults. It is concluded that suggestions offered hitherto for applying findings from research in natural acquisition to the field of foreign language…

This paper reviews the biological origins of the critical period hypothesis and the neurophysiological evidence which was initially supplied in support of a critical period for the acquisition of language. Noting the inconclusive nature of neurophysiological evidence, the author suggests that we look to the interplay of affective and cognitive…

Discusses the role of speed in second language learning, specifically the idea that speech in teaching leads to speed in learning. (Text is in French.) (AM)