In this study, we present the analyses stemming from a survey administered to 2149 foreign language learners at Michigan State University. We had three goals. First, we aimed to compile a profile of language learners' technological acumen, access to and ownership of technology, and the current uses of technology across a wide range of languages…

This paper examines the relationship of age factor to second language acquisition. Age as an affective factor brings about different performance stages in second as well as first language learning. Traditionally, research in Critical Period Hypothesis and other variables has derived two major aspects of language learning--the younger = the better…

This thesis reports a survey study of the autonomous L2 learning by 100 first-year non-English-major Chinese post-graduates via the instruments of a questionnaire and semi-structured interview after the questionnaire. It attends to address the following research question: To what extent do Chinese postgraduate students conduct autonomous L2…

Learner beliefs are an important individual difference in second language (L2) learning. Furthermore, an ongoing debate surrounds the role of grammar instruction and error correction in the L2 classroom. Therefore, this study investigated the beliefs of L2 learners regarding the controversial role of grammar instruction and error correction. A…

In Spring semester 2006, we conducted a study with 50 learners of German to investigate the use of a new measure (Cardenas-Claros, 2005) for research on the field independent/dependent (FID) cognitive style and CALL use. After the measure was administered, students worked on a CALL program for German that logs interaction. This paper reports the…

Although the L2 acquisition studies of Japanese particles "WA" and "GA" were investigated by many researchers (Sakamoto, 2000), they completely ignored learners' individual differences. Indeed, learners' individualities are important factors for the L2 learning (Lightbrown & Spada, 1999). Thus, this research explored whether learners' individual…

Reading in another language (L2) is a complex, multidimensional process dependent upon both reader-based and text-based factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of reader-based individual difference variables and of the text-based variable of genre in reading comprehension in French. The sample included 153 adult learners…

This review of research on the learning, teaching, and assessment of L2 German published or completed between 2002 and 2008 may be particularly timely due to developments from within the profession as well as recent political changes which continue to have a strong bearing on the way L2 German is promoted, learned, taught and assessed. Far from…

In this paper we describe a taxonomy of task demands which distinguishes between Task Complexity, Task Condition and Task Difficulty. We then describe three theoretical claims and predictions of the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson 2001, 2003b, 2005a) concerning the effects of task complexity on: (a) language production; (b) interaction and uptake…

Higher education settings in the United States typically include several types of writing assessments. Since tests determining students' placement into writing courses are often high-stakes, it is imperative for those who make placement decisions to be knowledgeable of the different types of learners entering higher education in order to make…

English is a language, which is spoken by numerous people across the world. It has acquired a prominent place in meeting the communicational needs of the people. Grammar is a set of rules that helps the people to use the language better. In schools, the teachers of English are considered as the most important factor in making the study of English…

The purpose of the current study is to examine language influence in sequential bilinguals. Specifically, this study evaluates whether performance in a first language predicts success in the acquisition of a second language nine months after exposure to the second language begins. Forty-nine Spanish-speaking children attending English-only…

This article reports research into the development of vocabulary in lower-intermediate level learners of French as a foreign language in Year 12 in 20 schools in the south of England. The focus of attention is the role of less common, or non-basic, vocabulary at a stage in students' learning when they have just moved to a much more advanced…

This Facilitator's Guide has been prepared for presenters of the "Language Development for English Language Learners" professional development module. It accompanies the 67-slide PowerPoint presentation with speaker's notes and contains materials to help prepare for a professional development session, including activity instructions, handouts,…

Reports on a qualitative study conducted in the Japanese foreign language context about good foreign language learners, in which strategy use is analyzed in 67 books reporting on "how I have learned a foreign language." Results suggest that there are strategies especially favored in the Japanese foreign language context and that the issue of some…