Traditional form-focused instruction is compared with processing instruction, which involves explanation and practice/experience processing input data and takes learner strategies into account. Analysis of sentence-level interpretation (comprehension) and production tasks suggest significant gains for subjects receiving processing instruction. (39…

The assumption that pragmatic probability facilitates the processing of lower linguistic levels is tested and disproved. Two experiments demonstrate that detection of acoustic properties that distinguish two speakers is harder in more pragmatically probable sentences and indicate that discourse- and sentence-level representations are functionally…

Explores four views of the role of interclausal connectives as a set of linguistic devices that help the reader interpret a narrative text. Finds that interclausal connectives carry meaning, connect textual meaning at both local and global levels, and mark discourse continuity and discontinuity both in the text and as inferred by the reader. (SR)

Proposes that a second-language acquisition research paradigm using Universal Grammar (1) did not consider the paradigm's theoretical and logical basis; (2) simplistically interpreted the parameter-setting paradigm; (3) and made false assumptions regarding statistical analysis methods and regarding the empirical facts of language processing. An…

Discrimination and phonetic identification abilities of children (ages 5-6) with language impairments were compared to those of normally developing 4-year-olds and previous findings on children and adults. Results support hypotheses suggesting disorders in the phonological component of working memory in children with language impairments and the…

Compares hypertext to an encyclopedia of nonsequential writing or collection of writings through which the reader is free to move in any sequence. Discusses the advantages and problems involved in hypermedia systems. (NH)

Compared responses of English-French bilinguals performing semantic categorization and lexical decision tasks using translation-priming stimuli. Using the same stimuli, priming effects were significantly stronger in semantic categorization than in lexical decision, suggesting the translation-priming effect in the former is mediated by semantic…

Results from an English acceptability-rating experiment are presented that demonstrate that people find doubly nested relative-clause structures just as acceptable when only two verb phrases are included instead of the grammatically required three. Three possible accounts of the results are considered. (Author/VWL)

Examines crosslinguistic variation in "filler-gap dependencies" (wh-questions and relative clauses) from a processing perspective, and integrates research findings from psycholinguistics, language typology, and generative grammar. Numerous implicational universals and hierarchies are proposed that receive a natural explanation in terms…

Word substitution errors from a corpus of 2,400 French slips of the tongue were grouped into several categories: contaminational, semantic, formal, and mixed cases; substitutions of syntagmatic codependents also occurred. Semantic and formal substitutions involved a resemblance between target and error. All substitutions exhibited a strong degree…

Shows that getting involved with a story is the primary dimension of story appreciation, and that different readers interact with the same story in different ways. Indicates that the first-person grammatical device invites readers to identify with the main character, but whether or not they do is a complex function of story properties,…

Outlines the scenario-mapping and focus (SMF) account of text interpretation, which puts mapping of text onto knowledge in a key position with respect to processing. Reviews supporting evidence. Uses plural reference and nonlogical quantification as illustrations of problems that might be better understood within the SMF framework. (SR)

Three threshold hypotheses proposed by Cummins (1976) and Diaz (1985) as explanations of data on the cognitive consequences of bilingualism are examined in depth and compared to one another. A neuroscientifically updated information-processing perspective on the interaction of second-language comprehension and visual-processing ability is…

A study assessed the effects of reverberation, noise, and their combination on 80 listeners' (ages 6-30) identification of consonants and vowels in naturally produced nonsense syllables presented at different sensation levels (SL). Listeners achieved maximum consonant identification performance at 50 decibels SL. Vowel identification scores were…

Assessed encoding of suffixed words (both derivations and inflections) by monitoring eye movements during reading English sentences in which target words were embedded. Whole-word frequency and root frequency were independently manipulated, where pairs of words differing on one variable and matched on the other were inserted into the same sentence…