Argues that accuracy orders in morpheme acquisition by adult second language learners can be predicted by a model of morpheme classification, the 4-M model. The model identifies four types of morphemes; content morphemes, early system morphemes, and two types of late system morphemes. (Author/VWL)

Reviews the developing commitment in U.K. educational policymaking to evidence-based practice and its implications for applied linguistics research. Examines the particular history of grammar pedagogy in U.K. foreign language education, documenting its decline and recent revival. International literature on form-focused instruction is examined to…

Examines the second stage of natural second language attrition in the first language environment observed in a Japanese male returnee child. The subject spent 7 years in the United States, was 8-years-old when he returned, and was highly proficient in English. The second stage is characterized by a period of change in syntax and morphology,…

Addresses the fate of languages acquired during childhood that have not been used in a long time to find out if they are lost, overridden by other languages acquired later, or maintained despite a lack of use. German subjects were tested for their knowledge of Dutch, which they acquired as a second language during childhood. (Author/VWL)

The analysis of spoken language requires a principled way of dividing transcribed data into units in order to assess features such as accuracy and complexity. This article discusses a reliable and comprehensibly defined unit to assist with the analysis of a variety of recordings of native and nonnative speakers of English. (Author/VWL)

Drawing on episodes of teacher-whole-class interaction collected during a collaborative action research project, shows that the same basic IRF structure can take a variety of forms and be recruited by teachers for a wide variety of functions, depending on the goal of the activity that the discourse serves to mediate and on the use that is made of…

Discusses the study of second language learning motivation, and suggests that social and psychological aspects of language learning and use are a source of fruitful exploration. Calls for a triangulation of methodology, using hard sociolinguistic data and personal statements from second language learners. Provides examples from studies of…

Findings are reported from a series of literacy assessments in which four classes of bilingual Grade 3 and Grade 5 students from an indigenous community in Central Mexico participated. Subjects who completed the battery of tests of reading and writing in Spanish and Nahuatl range from balanced bilinguals to Spanish-dominant speakers with at least…

Elaborates on the locus of other-initiated repair, and reports on a number of environments in which others initiate repair turns later than the one directly following the trouble-source turn. Describes several ways that other initiation of repair, which occurs in next-turn position, may be delayed within that position. (Author/VWL)

Examines a form of other-initiated conversational repair that is delayed within next turn position, a form that is produced by non-native speakers of English whose native language is Mandarin. Using the framework of conversational analysis, shows that in native/non-native conversation, other-initiated repair is not always done as early as possible…

Following a review of the language teaching practices of the past 50 years, reassess ten second language acquisition (SLA) research generalizations in light of the considerable amount of classroom-based SLA research that has been carried out since 1985, especially that which has addressed pedagogical concerns in primary and secondary school…

Examines the assumptions behind three attempts to introduce formulaic language into second language teaching. Contextualizes the discussion by briefly outlining the nature of formulaic language as a phenomenon. (Author/VWL)

General aspects of vocabulary testing are briefly discussed, and a new type of test that aims at testing very high levels of second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge is analyzed and investigated. (Author/VWL)

Investigates the systematic modification to discourse completion test (DCT) situational prompts used to elicit requests on the responses of native and non-native speakers of English. Modification included enhancing the situational prompts by adding information on a number of social and contextual variables considered relevant to the study.…

Reports three English-as-a-foreign-language experiments that indicate that a lexical organization along metaphoric themes or source domains can facilitate retention of unfamiliar figurative expressions. Proposes classroom activities aimed at enhancing language learners' metaphor awareness and at turning this into an additional channel for…