The author objects to criticism of current programed language instruction (PLI) materials. In a "conventional FL (foreign language) class" of 120 class hours a year, the amount of time spent in active, immediately reinforced responding by any individual student would be less than 100 minutes. This is in contrast to the shortest PLI program (53…

This is a discussion of another phase of bilingualism--structural difficulties in the target language of the student which impede his second language acquisition. The paper focuses on errors in learning English which do not derive from transfers from another language, and which cannot be predicted from contrastive analysis. These are intralingual…

Phonetic symbolism implies that there are intrinsic relationships between sounds employed in words and the meanings of the words. Research in phonetic symbolism and how it operates has implications for foreign language learning. Such research seeks to determine whether one's capacity for correctly guessing the meanings of words in another language…

Students learning foreign languages often experience difficulty in mastering new vocabulary and expanding their lexicon. This paper attempts to clarify the role of the native language in the acquisition of new words. Does an adult learn foreign words quicker if the native language is employed (bilingual method) or if words are explained in the…

This article summarizes a study (Odlin 1978) using variable rules analyses to describe the contraction patterns of six Mexican students of English as a second language. (CFM)

A study was conducted to measure the extent to which three learning strategies--practicing, monitoring and inferencing--affected student performance in three grade 10 (ages 14-15) and three grade 12 (ages 16-17) classes of French as a second language. (Author/HP)

Summarizes current trends in second language acquisition research and suggests their implications for teaching. Five second language acquisition principles are presented, followed by a discussion of the relevant literature and a description of language teaching practices consistent with each principle. (SED)

Considers several factors that combine to hinder a learner in the task of second language acquisition, including barriers related to culture and society and the classroom environment. Appropriate teaching strategies for Spanish classes and research opportunities are also discussed. (CB)

Keyword mnemonics compares favorably to other devices for learning words in a foreign language. The keyword approach provides both an acoustic link between a native-language word and the second-language word and an image of the keyword interacting with the native-language word or phrase. (LMO)

Reports on a study which attempted to discover what types of experience former English-an-a-second-language students perceived as having contributed most to their language learning in intensive language programs; what qualities of teacher behavior contributed most; and what types of language use predominated in their academic work. (SED)

It has been commonly assumed that language learning strategy training would improve language learning and should be included in foreign language instruction. However, few empirical studies have explored that effectiveness of strategy training in improving learners' target language learning. The effectiveness of strategy training on language…

Reflexivity, defined as the self-applied process of learning, the use of self and others as active signs in the learning process, is examined through relevant literature in English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) instruction. When EFL learners are encouraged to stand back and examine the way they learn and why they learn this way, reflexivity…

An instructional module designed to help prepare college-level teaching assistants (TAs) for their duties in second language instruction is presented. It consists of an overview of research on foreign language teaching, focusing on research conducted within a theoretical framework. Attention is directed to four issues: the language being taught;…

Explored the relationship of similarity, dissimilarity, and markedness to second language, specifically English, phonological acquisition. The article hypothesized that the rate of acquisition for a dissimilar phenomenon is faster than for a similar phenomenon. Findings revealed that degree of markedness can increase or decrease rate. (38…

Discusses variation in interlanguage and suggests two hypotheses to explain such variation as multiple internal representations of a form and processing errors. Suggests that second language learners can initially represent new forms as prototype schemas, and that such non-discrete representations are a third source of variation in interlanguage.…