Researchers who assume that Universal Grammar (UG) plays a role in second language (L2) acquisition are still debating whether L2 learners have access to UG in its entirety (the Full Access hypothesis; e.g. Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994; 1996; White, 1989; 2003) or only to those aspects of UG that are instantiated in their first language (L1) grammar…

This study examined word identification skills between two groups of college students with different first language (L1) backgrounds (Chinese and Korean) learning to read English as a second language (ESL). Word identification skills were tested in a naming experiment and an auditory category judgment task. Both groups of ESL learners demonstrated…

This study examined development of pragmatic comprehension ability across time. Twenty native speakers and 92 Japanese college students of English completed a computerized listening task measuring ability to comprehend two types of implied meaning in dialogues: indirect refusals (k = 24) and indirect opinions (k = 24). The participants'…

In general terms automaticity could be defined as the subconscious condition wherein "we perform a complex series of tasks very quickly and efficiently, without having to think about the various components and subcomponents of action involved" (DeKeyser 2001: 125). For language learning, Segalowitz (2003) characterised automaticity as a…

The Task-Based Approach (TBA) has gained popularity in the field of language teaching since the last decade of the 20th Century and significant scholars have joined the discussion and increased the amount of analytical studies on the issue. Nevertheless experimental research is poor, and the tendency of some of the scholars is nowadays shifting…

Describes diverse aspects of the speaking proficiency of novice-low to novice-mid level foreign language in the elementary school students and to identify the syntactic knowledge underlying such behavior. Data were collected from students who had been studying Japanese continually for 6 and 7 years on a variety of oral production tasks.…

Reports findings from a study on the use of computer-mediated communication to support postgraduate second language teacher education. Findings are reported according to organizing categories of social interaction and different tasks that can effect online communicative exchanges.(Author/VWL)

A protocol analysis of second language (L2) writing of adult speakers of Japanese, English, and Spanish observed how language switching (first language (L1) switching use in L2 writing) was affected by L2 proficiency, task difficulty, and language group. Less proficient L2 learners switched to their L1 more frequently than more advanced learners,…

Used two methods to assess bilingual dominance in four groups of Italian-English bilinguals. Ratios were derived from bilinguals' self-rating of ability to speak and understand Italian compared to English. Dominance in Italian was associated with a relatively high level of performance in Italian (assessed in a translation task) and relatively poor…

Reports on an exploratory study that investigated the comparability of listening assessment tasks used to assess and report learning outcomes of adult English-as-a-Second-Language learners in Australia. Focused on the effects of task characteristics and task conditions on learners' performance in competency-based listening assessment tasks that…

Reviews a study that was designed to find evidence of factors influencing the kind of interaction found in small-group work in language learning among young adult English teacher trainees in a developing country. (22 references) (GLR)

Investigated ways in which different writing tasks influence quality and quantity of foreign language composition, as well as writing strategies used by American college students when composing in Japanese as a foreign language. Study proposed to compare qualitative and quantitative differences between descriptive and narrative writing tasks; to…

The objective of this study is to identify potential sources contributing to any mismatch between teacher intention and learner interpretation by explaining learners' and teachers' perceptions of the nature, the goals, and the demands of selected language-learning tasks, and by analyzing classroom events. (three references) (JL)

Practice on cognitive tasks, such as word recognition tasks, will usually lead to faster and more stable responding in a second language. An analysis is presented of the relationship between observed reductions in performance latency and latency variability with respect to whether processing has become faster or whether a qualitative change, such…

Reports the results of research attempting to document the role of learners' linguistic output in drawing their attention to linguistic form and in acquiring the form. Compares experimental and comparison groups that participated in a pretest, two post-tests, and four learning tasks. (Author/VWL)