This document consists of the four issues (Spring 1988, Fall 1988, Fall 1989, Fall 1990) of Volume 1 of the serial publication "Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education" (TPFLE). TPFLE is the official journal of the Foreign Language Education Program of the University of Texas at Austin. These four issues contain 6, 8, 5, and 7 papers each,…

The Spanish psychological verb construction seems to be especially difficult for native English-speaking learners to acquire. Since some of the most common Spanish psych verbs, such as "gustar" (to please) and "encantar" (to delight), require a grammatical structure that is different from that of the English verbs frequently…

This study addressed two questions concerning subject-verb agreement and erroneous feature migration in French second language learners: whether multiple or single token items elicit greater errors in subject-verb agreement, and whether linear distance increases errors in agreement. Empirical research suggests that a mismatch in number between…

This brochure explains in lay terms what an accent is and how it occurs, focusing on how learners of English-as-a-Second-language come to have what is perceived as an accent. It begins with an explanation of two kinds of accent: that of a non-native speaker and that of a speaker from a particular region in which a language is spoken. The second…

A study investigated the effect of classroom instruction in giving compliments on actual encounters between native and non-native speakers of English. Production of compliments and replies to compliments were compared in two nine-member groups of Japanese learners of English as a Second Language, one group receiving six hours of formal instruction…

In research on second language instruction, the researcher's knowledge of the learner's background has not always been central in data collection. However, data collection is part of a research design that should include both a description of the sample population and the role of the learner in the decision to carry out a given study.…

With respect to the ultimate goal for limited English proficient students, it would appear that the policy of transitional bilingual education in the United States is explicitly non-bilingual, incorporating a minimalist form of bilingualism for the period students are in the programs, and viewing the first language as only instrumental insofar as…

A detailed error analysis was performed on spontaneous and elicited speech samples of Anglo second graders learning Spanish. The results tended to disconfirm the L to the subpower of 1 = L to the subpower of 2 hypothesis that first and second language acquisition follow identical patterns. However, evidence suggests that genuine similarities do…

Linguists of various theoretical backgrounds have likened second language (L2) acquisition to pidginization (Ferguson 1971, Richards 1971, Bickerton 1975a). This paper examines these two processes and suggests areas where a study of the process of second language acquisition in a natural setting might contribute insights to a general theory of…

Some aspects of a general systems theory of second language acquisition are as follows: the system is greater than the sum of its parts; each component has a distinctive role in the overall operation of the system; some components may be entire systems themselves; the workings of the system proceed according to patterns, and rules for any given…

The fourth volume in this series contains the papers presented at the Zagreb Conference on English Contrastive Projects. They are: "Recent Center Activities in Contrastive Linguistics," by William Nemser; "The Yugoslav Serbo-Croatian-English Contrastive Project So Far," by Rudolf Filipovic; "The Poznan Polish-English Contrastive Project," by Jacek…

A new dimension may be added to the study and teaching of a second language by the development of contrastive sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics is defined here as the study of how a person relates to another person in terms of language, and is concerned with relational utterances rather than factual statements. Relational utterances are those…

Studies of second language acquisition have concentrated primarily on the speech production of their subjects. This article discusses the relationship between speech directed to the learner and his speech production. (Author/KM)

This article discusses the use of the formal and informal forms of address in French from a sociolinguistic standpoint, and considers the implications of the issue for second language instruction. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Research on error analysis indicates that the learner develops an ordered system of language which is frequently erroneous, but which represents a transitional stage in his progress towards mastery. A brief analysis of some textbooks provides information about the selection and presentation of material to the learner. (SW)