The lack of citations of previous research is the result of serious problems all readers of scholarly publications have: (1) articles are unnecessarily long; (2) they are written in unnecessarily complex prose; and (3) journal subscriptions and books are very expensive. The solution: Short, clearly written scholarly papers, published in…

Lindseth (2016) reported that direct instruction and practice using the German verb-inversion rule resulted in higher accuracy in an oral test for college students, supporting the hypothesis that explicit linguistic knowledge can become implicit linguistic knowledge. It is quite likely, however, that the conditions for the use of conscious…

This author contends that there never has been a need for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and there is no evidence that it will do students any good. The Common Core ignores the real problem in American education: poverty. The Common Core movement will be a disaster for libraries and will have a negative impact on nearly every aspect of…

In previous reviews of studies comparing explicit and implicit instruction (Krashen, 1981, 1982, 1999, 2003), the author argued that explicit instruction will show a positive effect only when the following conditions for the use of the conscious Monitor are met: (1) the acquirer consciously knows the rule or the meaning of the item--that is, has…

In this article, the author talks about academic jibberish. Alfie Kohn states that a great deal of academic writing is incomprehensible even to others in the same area of scholarship. Academic Jibberish may score points for the writer but does not help research or practice. The author discusses jibberish as a career strategy that impresses those…

File and Adams (2010) conclude that their data confirm the superiority of form-focused vocabulary instruction over incidental acquisition. The authors of this response argue that File and Adams's data actually confirm the reality, robustness, and possible superiority of incidental acquisition. Their subjects heard two passages read to them that…

Cobb (2007) argues that free reading cannot provide L2 readers with sufficient opportunities for acquiring vocabulary in order to reach an adequate level of reading comprehension of English texts. In this paper, the authors argue that (1) Cobb severely underestimates the amount of reading even a very modest reading habit would afford L2 readers,…

Contrary to the claims of members of the National Reading Panel, there is strong evidence supporting the practice of in-school free reading. Many studies show "no difference" between in-school free reading and traditional instruction, but there are very few negative studies, and many positive studies. (The author's scorecard has 24 positive and…

It is well-established that the effects of poverty are devastating for children in school. More generally, scholars have documented that low "socio-economic status" (SES), whether measured by family income, parent education, or parent occupation, is usually the most powerful predictor of achievement and test score performance, sometimes swamping…

This article presents the authors' reply to Beniko Mason and Stephen Krashen's comments on their recent article published in "TESOL Quarterly." Mason and Krashen have provided an interesting reinterpretation of the authors' results and have also brought up several valid points regarding the efficiency of vocabulary learning from instruction,…

Critics of bilingual education have cited the high Hispanic dropout rate as evidence against bilingual education. Since most bilingual education programs are Spanish-English, it is concluded that bilingual education must be responsible. Research shows some factors predicting dropout rates, including low English language ability, poverty, length of…

Responds to Richard Innes's criticism of his June 2002 "Kappan" article. (PKP)

Suggests that reading is a powerful source in acquiring language competence. The author argues that children do not enjoy grammar instruction, but love to hear stories and read books that they select on their own. Given the lack of clear evidence for focusing on form, it is concluded that free reading should be an option for immersion children.…

Notes the California's Reading Task Force's heavy emphasis on phonemic awareness (PA) evaluation and training. Argues that although evidence shows that phonemic awareness will emerge by simply reading, California's school libraries--ranked near last in the nation--would require a massive commitment to rise to the task. Argues (in an ironic tone)…

Addresses issue of whether free voluntary reading (FVR) is appropriate for programs whose primary goal is development of academic second-language competence, such as university-level programs for international students. Argues that FVR does have a place in these programs, even though FVR often means reading light fiction; competence gained via FVR…