Investigated the extent to which form-focused instruction and corrective feedback (i.e., "input enhancement"), provided within a primarily communicative program, contribute to learners' accuracy in question formation. Study results are interpreted as evidence that input enhancement can bring about genuine changes in learners' interlanguage…

Numerous cases are used to illustrate language mistakes made by Hebrew-speaking students learning English. Teachers' and students' reactions to error correction are discussed, and some linguistic reasons for errors (e.g., mother-tongue interference) are suggested. (12 references) (LB)

Critiques a study on instruction, first language influence, and developmental readiness in second language acquisition. Agrees with conclusions of the study but argues that the study itself provided no justification for the conclusion other than what has been evident in research carried out on Quebec francophone school learners of English. The…

Previous work in the literature reveals that EFL learners were deficient in collocations that are a hallmark of near native fluency in learner's writing. Among different types of collocations, the verb-noun (V-N) one was found to be particularly difficult to master, and learners' first language was also found to heavily influence their collocation…

The study investigates the effect of explicit contrastive analysis and translation activities on the incidental acquisition of single words and collocations. We compared three high school groups of learners of the same L1 and comparable L2 (English) proficiency. Each group represented one instructional condition: meaning focused instruction (MFI),…

As one of several approaches to SLA as social practice, Conversation Analysis (CA) has the capacity to examine in detail how opportunities for L2 learning arise in different interactional activities. Its particular strength, and one that distinguishes it from other social practice approaches, is its consistent focus on the orientations and…

Presents four sets of natural language processing-based exercises for which error correction and feedback are produced by means of a rich database in which linguistic information is encoded either at the lexical or the grammatical level. (Author/VWL)

Describes a web-based intelligent computer assisted language learning (ICALL) system for German that provides error-specific feedback suited to learner expertise. Focuses on the Domain Knowledge and Filtering Module. Concludes with a study that supports the need for a CALL system that addresses multiple errors by considering language teaching…

Offers sufficient responses to 60 of the most frequently made errors in German grammar, plus 13 punctuation rules, and proposes that the instructor hand out this list to the students and henceforth "tag" language errors by the corresponding number, then have the student correct them and resubmit the assignment for a better grade. (GLR)

A study of the use of the student monitor sheet, which indicates suggested correct answers in communicative paired and group foreign language learning activities, found that the sheet helps students to communicate more effectively, creates a more lively and relaxed learning atmosphere, and increases student confidence. (four references) (Author/CB)

A discussion of the need to teach revision as part of the writing process begins with an analysis of the revision process and presents results of experiments in teaching revision. Some specific classroom techniques for teaching error detection and revision are then outlined. (20 references) (Author/MSE)

Explores the potential of a corpus-based approach for promoting language awareness in student translators. Examines principal criteria required to produce a good translation and discusses obstacles to language awareness that can be found in the classroom: resistance to correction, lack of motivation, and lack of awareness of the distinction…

A questionnaire administered to 607 Colombian foreign language students and 122 of their teachers and to 824 U.S. foreign language students and 92 teachers elicited student and teacher perceptions concerning the role of explicit grammar instruction and corrective feedback in foreign language learning. (Author/VWL)

Reports a study on the impact of learner control on the error correction process within a web-based Intelligent Language Tutoring System (ILTS). During three 1-hour grammar practice sessions, 33 students used an ILTS for German that provided error-specific and individualized feedback. Results indicate the majority of students (85%) sought to…

Explores the notion of "fine-tuning" in connection with the corrective feedback process. Describes a longitudinal case study, conducted in the context of Norwegian as a second a language, that shows how fine-tuning and lack thereof in the provision of written corrective feedback differentially affects a second language learner's restructuring of…