Native language acquisition is a natural and non-natural stage-by-stage process. The natural first stage is development of speech and listening skills. In this stage, competency is gained in the home environment. The next, non-natural stage is development of literacy, a cultural skill taught in school. Since oral-aural native language development…

This book has been conceived as a companion to learnability for the benefit of those linguists who base their work on Chomsky's "Principles and Parameters Hypothesis." General concepts from formal theory and complexity theory and important facts from psycholinguistics, historical linguistics, and language processing have been introduced…

Selected language acquisition research findings are examined in the light of the language teacher's daily needs. Research results are reported that provide an empirical basis for selecting and grading materials, determining skills to be taught and their order of presentation, deciding on classroom presentation and procedures, and formulating…

Discusses research supporting the contention that listening fluency should be taught first and oral response delayed because languaqe acquisition takes place without any overt performance. Includes extensive bibliographic references. (PMJ)

Discusses the consensus among language teachers that the teaching of grammar helps second language learners develop linguistic competence as part of communicative competence. The article argues that pedagogical grammar can be made less formal by keeping metalinguistic terms, concepts, and analysis at a minimal level. (45 references) (Author/CK)

This study investigated the effect of using computer-mediated reading supports on the reading comprehension and reading behavior of beginning learners of Arabic as a foreign language. Recommendations for future research are given as well as theoretical and pedagogical implications for second-language instruction. (eight references) (LRW)

Addresses the principles underlying the merging of interlanguages in multiple-language acquisition. The article claims that there is an "interlanguage logic" in multiple- language acquisition and that one can see the structure of the basic learning strategy in interlanguage creation: "interlingual identification." (seven…

"Why" questions used by teachers and students were examined to determine whether they produced words or phrases (short answers) or extended student responses (long answers) in 12 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses. Results indicated that both teachers and students ask few why questions, which could be better used in ESL classes to elicit…

Addresses the need for a more balanced approach in teaching observable culture (music, letters, and arts) and nonobservable culture (belief, behavior, and values) associated with the second language learning process by looking at the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Topics discussed include the Chinese Zodiac, household preparations and social…

Discusses the various components necessary for a formal model of the acquisition of the prosodic phonology of a second language and reports on empirical investigations of the acquisition of English metrical parameters by native speakers of Polish, Hungarian, and Spanish. (50 references) (MDM)

Addresses one aspect of individual differences and how socially learned cues may radically influence the verbal learning tasks performed by university students taking a foreign language. The nonuniversity studies reviewed provide the backdrop for a more in-depth study on four memorization modes and how these strategies are largely dependent on…

A study investigated, within a cognitive attentional framework, whether amount (single/multiple) and type (teacher-centered/learner-centered) of exposure to the same morphological information had positive effects on first-semester adult learners' second language development of morphological forms, and whether there is any differential performance…

Describes metacognitive processing strategies employed by nonnative readers of German who read and recalled authentic texts. Findings indicate that second-language readers of German engage in metacognition, using the following strategies: awareness of text format and attention to trivial detail, and an ability to monitor comprehension and identify…

Presents the results of research into language acquisition in technology-based environments, discusses how these results allow second-language educators to develop conceptual bases for second-language learning and teaching, and demonstrates the framework of optimal learning environments that has served as a model for a college…