The vocabulary research of the 1980s and 1990s brought a breath of fresh air into the language classroom. Teachers in many remote EFL locations had long suspected that vocabulary was their learners' main challenge, but there was little research evidence to confirm this or say what to do about it. Then, suddenly, work by Nation, Laufer, Meara,…

Tracey Derwing and Ron Thomson reflect on the growth of Canadian L2 pronunciation research from the early 1990s onward. Although many phoneticians and language educators called for pronunciation instruction (PI) for decades, in the early 1980s little empirical research existed to inform pronunciation pedagogy, despite an influx of Vietnamese…

Language revitalization work at one First Nation in eastern Canada has been ongoing for over two decades. Several approaches have been put in place: core teaching of Mi'gmaq as a primary school subject, language documentation and the creation of an online dictionary, and an Elders' focus group on language, as well other shorter-term projects. In…

British Columbia (BC), Canada, is home to 34 Indigenous languages, all of them classified as endangered. Considerable work is underway by First Nation communities to revitalize their languages. Linguists classify many of the languages of BC as polysynthetic, meaning that words are composed of many morphemes, or units of meaning. While strong…

This article argues that "triadic dialogue" (Lemke, 1990), much criticized in the past, has an important role to play in L2 learning and that its effectiveness should be judged in accordance with the particular pedagogical goals that it is made to serve. Drawing on three recent studies of L2 classrooms in a variety of instructional settings, the…

A description of four research strategies which are different from the commonly used between-groups design: the sub-group method, the regression or correlation method, the case study method and the ethnography method. Two studies carried out in Montreal using the regression method are discussed. (AMH)

A core of courses is proposed for the training of French teachers and for the development of postgraduate studies in bilingual education: the nature of language, theories of language acquisition, and effective teaching methods. Collaborative research involving practitioners, researchers, and students will be increasingly important.(MSE)

Combines studies in cognitive psychology and language acquisition with observations of pedagogical materials and student performance to analyze foreign-language teaching from the perspective of what students and teachers need to understand about language learning and language before meaningful debate over methodology can be undertaken. (Author/MES)

Discusses various experiments involving the teaching of vocabulary through the use of mnemonics, and describes an experiment which sought to test the effectiveness of the mnemonic method in acquiring writing skills in the foreign vocabulary. (AM)

A summary is given of a research conference held in Montreal in November 1975. Six themes of the conference are outlined and discussed: identification of program goals for evaluation; program structure and evaluation; program product and evaluation; process of second language acquisition, dissemination of information; responsibilities of the…

A discussion of past and future research on immersion instruction focuses on the following areas: product variables, teaching and learning processes, and teacher education. It is found that the "product" emphasis of research in the 1980s has shifted to encompass administrative, instructional, testing, and program design issues. (91 references)…

It is argued that the demise of traditional language teaching methods is due to their incompatibility with the dual nature of the brain's organization. The concept of neural "bimodality," with brain hemispheres receiving incoming stimuli in tandem, not separately, is described as a basis for discussion of brain-compatible language teaching. 63…

The annotated bibliography of articles from five years of the journal contains 182 citations, with abstracts in both English and French, in 10 categories: psychology of language learning, applied linguistics, methodology, equipment and media, curriculum, testing and evaluation, teacher education, materials development, culture, and general…

Some views on and implications of "the output hypothesis," which proposes that the process of producing written or spoken language results in language acquisition/learning, for immersion pedagogy and second-language learning are discussed. The role of collaborative learning is considered. (Contains 14 references.) (LB)

Terrell's Natural Approach to second-language learning is examined in terms of the degree of acceptance or rejection of his pedagogic views since they were first presented in 1977. Among the issues discussed are his attitudes toward grammar, error correction, and the evolution of educational materials and classroom practices. (205 references)…