bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AFFECTIVE FACTORS AND LANGUAGE EXPOSURE IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING1
Authors: Hamayan Else , Genesee Fred , Tucker G. Richard
Published: October 2006

The constellation of personality and language exposure factors associated with learning French as a second language was examined among students enrolled in different second language programs–Early Immersion, Late Immersion or FSL. It was found that use of English with acquaintances was negatively associated with performance on the oral production measure and the Test de Rendement en Français, and shyness was similarly negatively associated with reading skills in French. There were significant interactions between language program and the following predictor variables–use of French with strangers, use of English with acquaintances, conformity and control. There was a significant positive relationship between the personality traits of conformity and control and language proficiency in an FSL program, but not in Immersion programs. An interpretation of these interactions is presented in terms of the language learning demands of the Immersion and FSL programs.
INTENSIVE SECOND LANGUAGE STUDY: EFFECTS ON ATTITUDES, MOTIVATION AND FRENCH ACHIEVEMENT1
Authors: Gardner R. C. , Smythe P. C. , Brunet G. R.
Published: October 2006

This study examined changes in students' attitudes, motivation and French achievement during a five‐week, residential, summer program. Sixty‐two students were administered a battery of attitude and motivation tests as well as a test of oral French proficiency prior to, and upon completion of the course. In addition, both teacher‐ratings and self‐ratings of French language skills were collected at several time periods during the course. Data were analysed across the various testings for three groupings of students (i.e., beginning, intermediate, or advanced). Changes in attitudes, motivation and French proficiency were observed and the course was particularly effective in increasing student motivation to learn French and in promoting a rather rapid improve‐ ment in oral/aural skills. The pattern of attitude changes was more complex as both positive and negative shifts were observed. Possible implications of these findings for similar programs are discussed.
MARKEDNESS AND THE CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS HYPOTHESIS
Authors: Eckman Fred R.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this paper is to propose that the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) should be revised to incorporate a notion of degree of difficulty. This notion corresponds to typological markedness which can be determined independently of any particular language and independently of the facts concerning second language acquisition. Moreover, it is argued that if typological markedness is incorporated into the CAH, it is possible to predict not only the areas of difficulty for a second language learner, but also the relative degree of difficulty. Finally, it is argued that given certain assumptions about language and human learning, typological markedness is a natural and highly plausible notion of difficulty.
ATTITUDES AND ATTAINED PROFICIENCY IN ESL: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF NATIVE SPEAKERS OF CHINESE IN THE UNITED STATES
Authors: Oller John W. , Hudson Alan J. , Liu Phyllis Fei
Published: October 2006

The relations between various measures of attitudes toward self, the native language group, the target language group, reasons for learning English as a second language, reasons for traveling to the U.S. and attained proficiency in ESL were investigated. Subjects were Chinese speaking foreign students primarily studying at the graduate level in the U.S. It was hypothesized that positive attitudes, especially positive attitudes toward the target language group, would correspond to higher attainment in the target language, and similarly negative attitudes, especially toward the target language group would correspond to lower attainment in the target language. Results of factor analysis of the various attitude scales included in a questionnaire revealed meaningful clusters of attitudinal variables which were related to scores on an English proficiency test (based on the cloze procedure) via a multiple regression analysis. In general, attitudes toward self and the native language group—as well as attitudes toward the target language group—were positively correlated with attained proficiency in ESL. Indirect attitude scales of the type used earlier by Spolsky seemed to produce more meaningful variance than direct attitude questions which fit into the Lambert‐Gardner paradigm of attitude research. However, the distinction between integrative and instrumental motives seemed helpful in explaining certain patterns in the data. Generally, learners who were apparently more integratively motivated performed better than those who were less integratively motivated. The relation between attained proficiency and attitudes toward the target language group, however, seemed more complex than the relations between attained proficiency and attitudes toward self, and towards the native language group. The relation between reasons for studying ESL or traveling to the U.S. and attained proficiency was contrary to previous predictions. For instance, there was a significant negative correlation between desire to stay in the U.S. permanently and attained ESL proficiency.
A DESCRIPTIVE MODEL OF DISCOURSE IN THE CORRECTIVE TREATMENT OF LEARNERS' ERRORS1
Authors: Chaudron Craig
Published: October 2006

The reaction of the target language speaker to the L2 learner's errors may play an important role in developing awareness of norms of correctness. Corrective feedback functions in different ways to guide the learner towards preferred performance. Based on the corrective portions of classroom interaction in French immersion classes, a model for this kind of discourse has been developed. Different types and features of correcting acts combine into a structural model that can describe actual corrective interactions for a given error or set of errors.

Use of the model in description helps isolate ambiguities; it highlights special features of corrective interaction that are likely to be more effective in eliciting correct performance. The example of various types of “repetitions”, or “response modeling”, is taken to show which types appear to lead to more successful correction.

The model may be of use to both teachers and students in learning to identify corrective techniques and to be sensitive to the function of various kinds of feedback.
AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR IN ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION1
Authors: Kleinmann Howard H.
Published: October 2006

A study was designed to ascertain whether syntactic avoidance behavior could be demonstrated for two groups of ESL learners—native speakers of Arabic and native speakers of Spanish and Portuguese—in accordance with contrastive analysis (CA) difficulty predictions. The study also investigated the predictability of learners' avoiding the use of various structures. Subjects participated in tasks designed to elicit passive, present progressive, infinitive complement, and direct object pronoun structures. An avoidance pattern was found, in accordance with CA difficulty predictions, which could not be attributed to differences between the groups' comprehension of the target structures. Furthermore, when the frequency of use of the target structures was correlated with various affective measures, the following pattern emerged: for those structures which a particular group avoided, several of the affective variables correlated with use in the predicted direction; for those structures which a particular group did not avoid, the affective variables did not correlate significantly with use. The findings suggest that while CA is a fairly good predictor of avoidance there is an intersection of linguistic and psychological variables in determining learner behavior in a second language in that structures which otherwise would be avoided are likely to be produced depending on the affective state of the learner.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION INDEX OF DEVELOPMENT1
Authors: Larsen‐Freeman Diane , Strom Virginia
Published: October 2006

Second language (L2) acquisition researchers have acknowledged the need for an index of development (Hakuta 1975), comparable to the MLU (Mean Length of Utterance) of first language acquisition research, with which L2 researchers could compare populations with similar target language proficiencies. In an attempt to delineate a L2 index of development, 48 compositions written by non‐native speakers of English were examined. On an impressionistic basis two researchers independently assigned each composition to one of five levels of proficiency. The compositions at each proficiency level were then analyzed in order to identify the features that made each level unique. The features considered included: writing mechanics, clarity, organization, grammar, lexical choice, number of words, number of T‐units (Hunt 1965), average length of T‐units, number of error‐free T‐units, sentence construction, and content. The measures which seemed most suitable as a basis for an index of development were the average length of the T‐unit and the total number of error‐free T‐units per composition.

Results, though incomplete, are encouraging. If the successful identification of stages in L2 development can be accomplished, much of the controversy resulting from conflicting claims about learning could be resolved since researchers would be making claims about learners at comparable stages of acquisition of the target language.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF NEUROFUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION AND THEIR MANIFESTATION IN PRIMARY AND NONPRIMARY LANGUAGE ACQUISITION1
Authors: Lamendella John T.
Published: October 2006

In this paper an attempt is made to characterize and contrast aspects of the functional organization of neuropsychological systems carrying out primary language acquisition and two distinct types of nonprimary language acquisition: secondary language acquisition, and foreign language learning. It is noted that foreign language learning is quite different from primary language acquisition, but that between secondary language acquisition and primary language acquisition there seem to be more similarities than differences. One of the most significant differences is that secondary language acquisition is based on neurofunctional systems that are fully operational for children 6–13, but essentially mature for still older learners. While there is no critical period for secondary language acquisition such as exists for primary language acquisition, there is evidence that younger children are in fact better able to achieve communicative competence in a new language than teens or older adults. Several explanations have been proposed for the existence of what may be called a sensitive period for secondary language acquisition, and it is concluded here that in addition to a combination of personality variables, affective variables, social variables, cognitive style and environmental circumstances, there still remains an intrinsic neurofunctional basis for the greater facility with which young children achieve secondary language competence.
AN IMPLICATIONAL MODEL FOR SECOND LANGUAGE RESEARCH
Authors: Andersen Roger W.
Published: October 2006

This paper offers a model for dealing with individuals as well as groups, variability as well as systematicity in L2 research. This model consists of a revised version of the Ordering‐Theoretic Method (Bart and Krus 1973; Dulay and Burt 1974b) in conjunction with implicational analysis as used in sociolinguistics. After a brief introduction to implicational analysis, I describe and illustrate the model presented here with data on the use of 13 grammatical morphemes in English by 89 Spanish‐speaking learners. In the analysis of the data I follow Krashen and his colleagues in separating morphemes into V and NP; free and bound morphemes, as well as DeCamp's (1973:144) view that general implicational scales are ‘…surface composites resulting from simultaneous operation of simple grammatically‐relevant underlying scales.’ The conclusions of this study support Krashen's (1977)‘Natural Order’for the acquisition of grammatical morphemes, Larsen‐Freeman's (1976) work on frequency as an explanation for morpheme orders, and Rosansky's (1976) work on frequency as an explanation for morpheme orders, and Rosansky's (1976a,b) criticism of cross‐sectional methodology for failing to deal with individual variation in the data, but rejects Rosansky's claim that her cross‐sectional analysis of her data does not agree with the longitudinal analysis of one of her subjects and thus invalidates her strongest argument against cross‐sectional methodology.
AN EXPERIMENT IN TRILINGUAL EDUCATION: REPORT 4
Authors: Genesee F. , Lambert W. E. , Tucker G. R.
Published: October 2006

The study presents the results of the fourth evaluation of trilingual school programs in French, Hebrew and English being offered in a number of elementary schools in Montreal. The pupils, all of whom are native English‐speaking, receive all academic instruction during the primary grades in French; cultural and religious studies are taught via Hebrew. Instruction in English is not introduced until grade 3 in one experimental school and in grade 4 in the other experimental school.

The performance of grade 3 and 5 students in the experimental trilingual programs was compared to that of control students on tests of French, Hebrew and English language proficiency and mathematics achievement. In general, the results indicate superior proficiency in French and Hebrew among the experimental students with no loss to native language development or to mathematics achievement.
THE EFFECT OF AFFECT ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING: A REVIEW OF THE ANXIETY RESEARCH
Authors: Scovel Thomas
Published: October 2006

Although studies of the relationship between affective factors and language learning proficiency abound in the literature, the evidence to support such a relationship is difficult to interpret. Much of the problem resides in the fact that a wide range of variables are lumped together under the rubric “affect.” An attempt is made to ameliorate this situation by defining affective variables in terms of traditional psychological theory and classifying them as a subset of those variables intrinsic to the learner. The conflicting evidence dealing with one important affective variable, anxiety, is then examined, and it is shown that ambiguous experimental results can be resolved if the distinction between facilitating and debilitating anxiety is drawn. Further classificatory distinctions are discussed from the abundant experimentation undertaken by applied psychologists, and an attempt is made to consider the implications of some of this research for adult language learning–for some of the new methodologies in EFL as well as for future research opportunities.
DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE: AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO MORPHEME ORDER
Authors: Wode H. , Bahns J. , Bedey H. , Frank W.
Published: October 2006

This paper is a critical evaluation of the morpheme order approach and it is intended to complement recent criticism raised by Rosansky (1976a‐b) and Andersen (1977). They emphasize methodological shortcomings that derive from data collection procedures and from the application of statistics in studies by Dulay & Burt (1974a‐b). It seems that Rosansky and Andersen, though questioning the extrinsic methodology, do not challenge the notion of morpheme order itself as an adequate approach to describe language acquisition. We think the criticism should be extended to the notion itself, irrespective of the methodological problems. Data on the naturalistic, untutored acquistiion of the English plural inflections by four German children will be presented to illustrate that the morpheme order approach cannot capture numerous acquisitional regularities. Attention is drawn to the notion of developmental sequence as an alternative approach.
INTERLANGUAGE AS CHAMELEON1
Authors: Tarone Elaine
Published: October 2006

The clam is made that Labov's “Observor's Paradox” and the fire methodological axioms leading to this paradox apply to inter language Thus, we may mew interlanguage as a continuum of styles, which is defined by the amount of attention paid to speech; the most systematic second‐language learner speech is produced when the learner is paying the least attention to speech. Yet, when we do research, the presence of the researcher and the tasks presented to the learner, lead our subjects to pay attention to their speech. Therefore, we cannot claim that research can ever observe the most truly systematic form of a learner's interlanguage—unattended or “unmonitored” speech. The methodological implications of the claim are explored, and recommendations for research are made.
TOWARDS A THEORY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING ABILITY
Authors: Neufeld Gerald G.
Published: October 2006

In this paper, the problem of foreign or second language learning ability in adults is examined with special attention to the “critical period” hypothesis. Although data from several studies are reviewed, discussion centers around the appropriateness of traditional research methodology in the area.

The author begins with a summary of the four most frequently discussed positions on foreign or second language aptitude as they appear in the literature. He then turns to methodological issues where he argues for a shift in orientation from macrocorrelational studies to more carefully controlled micro research which embodies the developmental null hypothesis. In the third portion of the paper, he discusses three studies he has conducted on second language learning ability in adults. The author concludes by enumerating the issues he views most important for future research. He reaffirms his claim that the optimal way to study the nature of language learning ability is to focus narrowly upon specific problems in idealized contexts where extralinguistic variables are reduced to a minimum in tightly controlled designs.
THE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF LANGUAGE BY MINORITY CHILDREN1
Authors: Day Richard R.
Published: October 2006

Ninety‐eight children whose first language is Hawaii Creole English (HCE) were examined over a period of time for their proficiency in both HCE and English, the medium of instruction in the Hawaii public school system. The hypothesis that the children could acquire English without a formal language program, and that they would maintain their first language was confirmed. For these kindergarten and first‐grade children, learning the dominant variety of the language in a bicultural/bidialectal environment did not appear to affect adversely performance in their first language.
GAUGING THE BOUNDARIES OF SECOND LANGUAGE COMPETENCE: A STUDY OF LEARNER JUDGMENTS
Authors: Arthur Bradford
Published: October 2006

Second language learners can make judgments as to the acceptability of verbal sequences in a target language text. However, such judgments are often different from judgments of the same text by native speakers of the target language. These differences can be interpreted as a gauge of differences between the learners' transitional competence and the competence of native speakers. Similarly, changes in learner judgments may indicate changes in transitional competence. The latter part of this paper reports a study in which learner judgments are used to test a model of change in learner competence proposed by S. Pit Corder (1971) and an extension of that model proposed by Jacquelyn Schachter, Adele F. Tyson, and Frank J. Diffley (1976).
INTERLANGUAGE RESEARCH: INTERPRETATION OR EXPLANATION1
Authors: Jordens Peter
Published: October 2006

It has generally been accepted that L2 errors can give us information about the L2 acquisition process and its developmental stages. But dealing with interlanguage (IL) phenomena in terms of errors against target language norms can be regarded as problematic in several respects. Moreover, it does not seem adequate either to study rule‐governed IL utterances without explicitly formulating the rules in terms of the underlying psychological processes that characterize the learning. Without considering these processes, we are left merely interpreting our data, not being able to explain what causes them.

In order to avoid these shortcomings, empirical research should be done into the psychological reality of the rules that underlie IL behavior. These rules should be studied as part of the mechanisms and strategies of the IL production process. The proper procedure should be to formulate hypotheses about underlying rules and, subsequently, to test the predictions that can be derived from these hypotheses.

Hyltenstam's description (1977) of the developmental route of negative (NEG) placement in Swedish as an L2 will be used as an example of how empirical research on the acquisition of grammatical structures can be evaluated. Using Hyltenstam's data, I will propose an alternative that provides an adequate explanation of the route of acquisition of NEG placement in Swedish as a result of underlying principles which are located in the domain of a psychology of L2 learning.
PREDICTORS OF PRONUNCIATION ACCURACY: A REEXAMINATION
Authors: Purcell Edward T. , Suter Richard W.
Published: October 2006

Suter (1976) studied the correlations between English pronunciation accuracy scores and a battery of 20 variables for 61 normative speakers of English. Although he found that 12 of the 20 were significantly correlated with pronunciation accuracy, he did not attempt to assess the relative importance of the 12 in accounting for the criterion's variance. By limiting his analysis to a consideration of zero order correlations it was not possible to determine which of the significant predictors were true predictors of pronunciation accuracy in and of themselves and which were only significant predictors by virtue of their substantial correlations with other, more efficient predictors of pronunciation accuracy. In the present paper we apply more advanced techniques to the analysis of the predictors and conclude that only 4 variables, one of them a composite of 2 of Suter's predictors, are useful in accounting for the variability of subjects' pronunciation accuracy scores.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE ATTITUDES AND ENGLISH ATTAINMENT OF SECONDARY STUDENTS IN HONG KONG
Authors: Pierson Herbert D. , Fu Gail S. , Lee Sik‐yum
Published: October 2006

This study analyzes the relationship between English language attainment and attitudes towards English among Chinese‐speaking (Canton dialect) secondary school students in Hong Kong. The subjects were Form IV (10th grade) students from both English‐medium and Chinese‐medium schools. Attitude measures were obtained by use of both direct and indirect means. Attitudes towards English were measured directly by means of a series of statements concerning the study and use of English to which subjects were asked to respond on five‐point scales. Indirectly, attitudes were measured with a scale of stereotypes modelled on the work of Spolsky. English attainment was assessed by a cloze procedure as suggested by Oller. Results of factor analysis of the direct attitude questions regarding English show that several of these attitude factors are significantly related to English attainment as measured by the cloze test. In some cases, however, the correlations were contrary to the directions that one might expect. In general, the statistical results of this study indicate that, for the population under study, the direct measure of attitude was a better predictor of English attainment than an indirect measure. The indirect measures obtained by asking Ss to rate (1) themselves, (2) themselves as they would like to be, (3) Chinese people, and (4) Westerners did produce some significant results, but these were not as strong indicators of language attainment as the results obtained from the direct measures.
NATIVE SPEAKER REACTIONS TO LEARNERS' SPOKEN INTERLANGUAGE 1
Authors: Albrechtsen Dorte , Henriksen Birgit , Færch Claus
Published: October 2006

Previous studies of the communicative effect of learner language have mainly dealt with native speaker evaluations of the intelligibility of discrete items (typically error types) in learners' written performance. The present study is an attempt to assess a wider range of native speaker reactions to stretches of discourse, produced by Danish learners of English in interview situations. These data were evaluated by 150 native British informants on 14 five‐point scales labelled by bipolar adjectives. A factor analysis yielded four factors, which were interpreted as a personality factor, a content factor, a language factor, and a comprehension factor.

Results obtained on the language factor and on the comprehension factor were then compared with results obtained from an objective performance analysis of the learner texts. These comparisons indicated that whereas the correlation was highly significant between the language factor and most of the performance features analysed, only one of the performance features correlated significantly with the comprehension factor, viz. communication strategies. This lack of correlation between quantitative measures of learners' performance and evaluations of comprehension was further investigated by means of more qualitative analyses of specific aspects of the texts (errors in lexis, communication strategies, discourse structure).
COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES, FOREIGNER TALK, AND REPAIR IN INTERLANGUAGE 1
Authors: Tarone Elaine
Published: October 2006

A framework for the study of interlanguage strategies of communication, production, and learning is established, and rigorous criteria are proposed to define communication strategies within that framework. Research on communication strategies is related to research on foreigner talk (Hatch 1979, Hatch, Shapira, and Gough 1978), and repair in interlanguage (Schwartz 1977, Fathman 1980). The claim is made that much of this research focuses on the same kind of phenomenon in interlanguage communication, but that the conceptual frameworks used by researchers investigating communication strategies, foreigner talk, and repair have in the main been different, and hence caused researchers to “see” different things in the same data.
THE SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR THE ACQUISITION OF SYNTAX IN A SECOND LANGUAGE 1
Authors: Patkowski Mark S.
Published: October 2006

This research tested the hypothesis that learners whose exposure to a second language begins before the age of 15 years achieve higher syntactic proficiency in the target language than adult learners. Sixty‐seven immigrants who had come to the United States at various ages and who had resided in this country for various periods of time were tested for syntactic proficiency in English and were also administered a questionnaire to gather information concerning practice and instructional variables. Age at arrival was found to be a strong predictor of syntactic proficiency while other independent variables had very little effect. The results were interpreted as providing support for the hypothesis of an age related limitation on the ability to acquire full command of syntax in a second language.
DEVELOPING A MEASURE OF SOCIOCULTURAL COMPETENCE: THE CASE OF APOLOGY1
Authors: Cohen Andrew D. , Olshtain Elite
Published: October 2006

For a number of years, there has been interest in measuring sociocultural competence (Ervin‐Tripp 1972, Hymes 1974, Canale and Swain 1980). This study focuses on one important aspect of such competence: the ability to use the appropriate sociocultural rules of speaking, by reacting in a culturally acceptable way in context and by choosing stylistically appropriate forms for that context. We chose to look at productive performance in sociocultural aspects of speaking, focusing on the speech act of “apology.” The research question that prompted this study was, “Can a rating scale be developed for assessing sociocultural competence?”

The subjects were 32 native Hebrew speakers, 20 of whom served as informants for apologies in English LZ and 12 as informants in Hebrew LI, and 12 Americans who served as informants in English LI. These subjects were asked to role‐play their responses in eight situations in which an apology was expected.

The findings show that it is possible to identify culturally and stylistically inappropriate L2 utterances in apology situations. The authors feel, however, that the results so far provide at best a crude measure of sociocultural competence and that further work with this speech act and with others is called for.
MARKEDNESS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION1
Authors: Rutherford William E.
Published: October 2006

Second language acquisition research to date has applied markedness concepts largely to L1‐L2 transfer, and this work is briefly summarized. Yet there is a neglected potential for such application to ongoing L2 developmental research as well. As an illustration of this, the data from three different studies are reanalyzed in order to show that an otherwise unexplained order of acquisition can be accounted for from a markedness perspective. There is still a need, however, for looking beyond the distributional characteristics of the exponents of formal syntax if a greater understanding of the acquisition of more complex language is to be achieved. Of prime interest, therefore, is the extent to which we can apply markedness theory to discourse, and a framework for viewing discourse from a markedness perspective is suggested.
UNTANGLING REFERENT AND REFERENCE IN LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY STUDIES: A RESPONSE FROM CLARKE ET AL.
Authors: Clarke Mark A. , Losoff Ann , Rood David S.
Published: October 2006

We are pleased to have the opportunity to respond to Herold's critique of our recent paper, “Gender Perception in Arabic and English” (Clarke et al. 1981). The relationship between language and thought continues to attract interest and as Herold's letter illustrates, the complexity of the issues, coupled with the relatively clumsy methodology, permits a variety of interpretations of research results. In the following pages we will briefly review the methodology of “gender assignment” studies and reiterate our contention (Clarke et al. 1981, Clarke et al., forthcoming) that studies of this type address a superficial and unimportant aspect of the Sapir‐Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity. (The reader is referred to Whorf [1956] for the most authoritative treatment of linguistic relativity.) We will attempt to show, furthermore, that the very factors under investigation impinge on the development of research methods/instruments and the interpretation of results, a fact which renders all conclusions highly suspect.
THE ROLE OF CHILDREN IN ADULT SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING1
Authors: Chesterfield Kathleen Barrows
Published: October 2006

The study investigates the role of two native English speaking children in the second language acquisition and cultural understanding of an adult learner of English. The research combined the anthropological techniques of participant observation and informal interviews with discourse analysis of recorded material. Activity complexes encompassing the adult learner's typical verbal and behavioral interactions with the children were identified and systematically observed. The interactions were analyzed using a three‐step model of “instructional sequences” covering the manner of the learner's solicitation of information, the form and content of the children's instruction, and the learner's attention to the instruction. Results indicate that through a variety of means both children provided input which positively affected the acquisition of English by the adult learner. The nature and type of instruction, however, varied with the age of the instructor.
SELECTING SAMPLES FOR TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS OF DIVISIBLE VERSUS UNITARY COMPETENCE IN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
Authors: Powers Donald E.
Published: October 2006

Studies have been designed to test whether language proficiency is a single global trait or whether it is divisible into several distinct competencies. Recent studies are reviewed and compared with a recent factor analytic study of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in several language groups. The comparison suggests that the characteristics of the sample, especially its proficiency in English, can lead to results that tend to support either a unitary trait or several discrete language competencies.
VOWEL TENSENESS IN ENGLISH: ANOTHER LOOK
Authors: Nessly Larry
Published: October 2006

Dickerson (1980) proposes rules for assigning tense and lax qualities to stressed spelled vowels in English. I argue that more systematic word samples should be used, and that these samples should be based on word frequency data. I also suggest new rules, criticize Dickerson's analysis of lax vowels in verbs, propose needed rules of stress assignment, and suggest that laxing rules can be dispensed with.
SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING: AN INFORMATION‐PROCESSING PERSPECTIVE1
Authors: McLaughlin Barry , Rossman Tammi , McLeod Beverly
Published: October 2006

It is a byword in contemporary cognitive psychology that humans are limited‐capacity processors. This paper discusses ways in which children and adult learners manage to make the most of their limited processes in dealing with the complex input of a second language. An information‐processing approach to second language learning is proposed and evidence in support of this approach is presented. We also discuss the implications of an information‐processing perspective for second language pedagogy and research.
ORAL PROFICIENCY TESTING: COMPARATIVE VALIDITIES OF INTERVIEW, IMITATION, AND COMPLETION METHODS
Authors: Henning Grant
Published: October 2006

Employing an initial sample of 143 adult Egyptian learners of English as a foreign language, the three oral testing methodologies of imitation, completion, and interview were compared for reliability and validity. Similarly, five components under each method, namely, raw score, fluency, pronunciation, grammar, and combined fluency‐pronunciation‐grammar ratings, were analyzed separately and in tandem. Multicomponent‐multimethod convergent and discriminant validities were determined. Stepwise multiple regression was computed using FSI‐like interview scores as the dependent variable. And Rasch latent trait calibration and tests of fit validity were computed for imitation and completion tests.

Results indicated that the pronunciation component of the imitation method exhibited highest overall validity across all indexes. The FSI‐like component of the interview method ranked second and the fluency component of the imitation method ranked third. Comparison of the three oral testing methods across all components for all empirical validity indexes showed (1) imitation, (2) interview, and (3) completion methods to rank in that respective order in terms of available composite validity indexes. Regression analysis showed the FSI‐like interview to be primarily related to grammar skill from among 11 independent predictors examined.

Advantages of Rasch measurement were noted for management and analysis of item data.
NONNATIVE SPEAKERS' PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH “NONLEXICAL” INTONATION SIGNALS
Authors: Luthy Melvin J.
Published: October 2006

This paper reports the results of a study to determine how well nonnative English speakers understand 14 English intonation signals that generally do not have written correlates.

The 14 signals were recorded free of any verbal context, and played first to 25 native English speakers to determine if they understood them without the usual visual or verbal clues, and then to 42 foreign students to determine if there was a significant difference between them and the native speakers. The results indicated that our foreign students may be missing or misinterpreting much that native speakers communicate quite automatically with “nonlexical” signals.

The paper discusses the signals, their meanings, and the errors that foreign students made. Each of the signals is shown in an appropriate context with a narrow phonetic description to help anyone desiring to learn or teach the meanings conveyed by this part of English phonology. Related studies and possible avenues for future research are noted.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN THE ESL CLASSROOM OR SOME IMPERFECTIONS IN PRACTICE
Authors: Day Richard R.
Published: October 2006

This study explores the relationship between student participation in the ESL classroom and proficiency in English, use of the target language outside the classroom, and field sensitivity. The 58 subjects, mainly from Asia, were studying ESL in an intensive program in Honolulu. Their classroom participation, which, for the purposes of the study, was defined as responses to teachers’general solicits and self‐initiated turns, was coded during the beginning and end of an eight‐week term. The subjects were also asked to fill out a questionnaire on their use of English outside of the classroom. In the sixth and seventh weeks of the term, the subjects were given an English cloze test and a measure of field dependence/independence; in addition, 26 subjects were administered an oral interview.

The results indicate that there was no significant relationship between classroom participation and scores on either the oral interview or the cloze test, between classroom participation and use of the target language away from the classroom, and between classroom participation and field sensitivity. These findings are discussed with respect to the work of others who have conducted similar research.
PAIRING SCRIPT AND DIALOGUE: COMBINATIONS THAT SHOW PROMISE FOR SECOND OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Authors: Holobow N. E. , Lambert W. E. , Sayegh L.
Published: October 2006

With the aim of improving foreign or second language learning, this study tested various ways of combining visual and auditory inputs of messages, using subjects’L1 and/or L2. Subjects were English‐speaking (L1) elementary school pupils with advanced training in French (L2). Matched subgroups were assigned to particular treatment conditions that ran for a ten‐week period. From earlier research, certain combinations were expected to enhance L2 comprehension over control conditions. As predicted, it was found that reversed subtitling (a combination of dialogues in L1 and coordinated printed scripts in L2) and bimodal L2 input (a combination of coordinated dialogues and scripts both in L2) are both especially promising devices for second or foreign language learning and for enhancing comprehension of verbal information. Practical, theoretical, and pedagogical implications of the research are discussed.
THE ONE TO ONE PRINCIPLE OF INTERLANGUAGE CONSTRUCTION
Authors: Andersen Roger W.
Published: October 2006

Studies of pidginization have often characterized the minimal nonnative linguistic systems that result from the process of pidginization in negative terms, as the absence of morphosyntactic features of the native target language. Such negative definitions (1) fail to explain what pidgins are like and how they get that way and (2) fail to provide a means for describing and explaining continual linguistic development of nonnative interlanguage systems beyond the minimal skeletal systems characteristic of the earliest stage of interlanguage development.

This paper suggests that one important principle of interlanguage construction can account for both minimal "pidginized" interlanguage systems and more developed interlanguage systems. The One to One Principle of interlanguage construction specifies that an interlanguage system should be constructed in such a way that an intended underlying meaning is expressed with one clear invariant surface form or construction. Evidence for this principle is drawn from recent second language acquisition research on Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish, and Swedish as second languages.
TWO WAYS OF DEFINING COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
Authors: Færch Claus , Kasper Gabriele
Published: October 2006

Two recently formulated definitions of communication strategies are contrasted. According to Tarone's “interactional” definition, the central function of communication strategies is the negotiation of meaning. According to the “psycholinguistic” definition suggested by Færch and Kasper. communication strategies are related to individual language users' experience of communicative problems and the solutions (cooperative or noncooperative) they pursue. Within the latter framework, communication strategies are characterized in discourse terms, invoking the notion of “conditional relevance.” It is demonstrated that interactionally defined communication strategies constitute a subset of psycholinguistically defined strategies, and it is argued that although this subset in many respects represents an important area of strategy use. significant similarities to other types of strategy use are obscured by defining communication strategies in interactional terms exclusively.
SIGNED INPUT OF HEARING MOTHERS TO DEAF CHILDREN
Authors: Swisher M. Virginia
Published: October 2006

Hearing parents of deaf children are often encouraged to learn a signed code for English and to sign and speak simultaneously with them. The present study sought to determine how consistently a sample of mothers using simultaneous communication signed what they said. Though only one of the mothers had a spoken M LU of more than four morphemes, there were deletions of a mean 69 morphemes per 100‐utterance sample.*A mean 40.5 utterances per sample were signed fully. The majority of elements deleted were functors, and a set of 13 of these was examined to investigate possible variability of deletion rates within the category. Prepositions and noncontracted forms of the verbto bewere signed most consistently, and bound morphemes as a group were signed about 50% of the time. Suggested factors affecting deletion rates are categorized as characteristics of (1) the sign codes, (2) the mothers, (3) the linguistic and communicative situation, and (4) the child. The results are discussed with respect to simplification and foreigner talk.
EVIDENCE OF A FORMAL SCHEMA IN SECOND LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION
Authors: Carrell Patricia L.
Published: October 2006

Research on discourse comprehension has shown that comprehension is determined not only by the local effects (sentences or paragraphs), but also by the overall organization of a text. Each type of text—e.g., stories, fables, expository and scientific texts—has its own conventional structure; knowledge of these conventions aids listeners or readers in comprehending the text as well as in recalling it later (Kintsch and van Dijk 1975; Meyer 1975; Thorndyke 1977). Following Bartlett (1932), this knowledge has been called a schema, or more specifically, following Carrell (1983a), a formal schema.

Recent empirical research has shown the powerful effects of formal schemata in first language comprehension for both adults and children (Mandler and Johnson 1977; Johnson and Mandler 1980). Findings for first language acquirers, children, show that at least by first grade children have acquired story schemata and use them to organize comprehension and recall of stories (Mandler 1978a). Yet, no comparable research has been done to empirically investigate the role of story schemata in second language comprehension.

This paper reports an empirical study of the effects of story structure on second language comprehension, specifically reading comprehension in English as a second language. Results indicate that the quantity and temporal sequence of story recall are affected by differences in story structure.

The findings are discussed in terms of schema‐theoretic approaches to reading and the effects of formal, rhetorical schemata on ESL reading comprehension. The paper concludes with a call for further ESL research in this area.
A REVIEW OF INTERLANGUAGE SYNTAX: LANGUAGE TRANSFER AND LANGUAGE UNIVERSALS
Authors: Gass Susan
Published: October 2006

In attempting to come to an understanding of the processes involved in acquiring the syntax of a second language, it has become evident that we must consider generalizations and approximations of target language (TL) structures.1 However, it is also clear that an explanatory account of L2 acquisition cannot be given on the basis of the TL alone. There are additional factors that shape the progress of development. Two major ones have been suggested: language transfer and language universals. The former has a long history and tradition (cf. Gass and Selinker 1983 for a discussion), while the second has only recently begun to attract attention. In this paper I will review the separate literature of each of these areas and show that both are important not only as single shaping factors, but also as interacting ones.
DETERMINING THE RELIABILITY, VALIDITY, AND SCALABILITY OF THE GRADUATED DICTATION TEST
Authors: Fouly Kamal A. , Cziko Gary A.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, validity, and scalability of a new technique for constructing, administering, and scoring dictation tests to measure second language proficiency. The “graduated” dictation test used in this study involved the auditory presentation of progressively longer text segments to be written down by the examinees. A total of 624 students learning English as a second language at an American university took the dictation test and several other measures of English‐language proficiency. The results of this study demonstrate that the graduated dictation task is a reliable and valid language testing technique. Using Mokken's criteria of scalability, the test was also shown to constitute a valid cumulative scale with no non‐scale items. These findings and the advantages of this technique over commonly used dictation tests are discussed.
LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: A MULTIVARIATE STUDY OF ADULT IMMIGRANTS AND SOME THOUGHTS ON METHODOLOGY
Authors: d'Anglejan Alison , Renaud Claude
Published: October 2006

The study examined the relationship between learner characteristics and achievement in French as a second language in a sample of 391 adult immigrants completing a 900‐hour course of classroom instruction in Montreal. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to assess the relative contribution of nine learner variables to individual differences in performance on an FSL achievement test. Teachers' evaluations of subjects as “good learners” or “poor learners” served as the dependent variable in a multivariate ANOVA comparing the two groups. Results of the various analyses indicated that subjects who have more schooling, a higher degree of nonverbal reasoning ability, make greater use of French outside the classroom, are more competent in English, and display a greater degree of field independence are more likely to benefit from formal language instruction. Higher levels of illiteracy and classroom anxiety, coupled with greater age, were related to learning difficulties. The paper underlines the importance of multivariate data analysis techniques and proposes the use of graphical data analysis techniques for researchers exploring multivariate data sets with small groups of subjects.