This study investigated whether a word-learning method in which learners infer the meaning of unknown words from the context, subsequently verify the meaning with the aid of a word list, and finally memorize the meaning (“meaning-inferred method”) leads to better retention than one in which the meaning of unknown words is given in the form of a translation so that learners can immediately start memorizing (“meaning-given method”). Additionally, the learning effect of the various stages of the meaning-inferred method (inferring, verifying, and memorizing) was investigated. In all cases the amount of time invested was recorded. The most important findings were: (a) The meaning-inferred method leads to a similar level of retention as the meaning-given method, but the former is considerably more time-consuming and therefore less efficient; and (b) each separate stage of the meaning-inferred method leads to retention, but the learning effect of memorizing is the greatest, and the learning effect of verifying is about the same as that of inferring.

To contribute to a better understanding of second language (L2) sentence processing, the present study examines how L2 learners parse temporarily ambiguous sentences containing relative clauses. Results are reported from both off-line and on-line experiments with three groups of advanced learners of Greek whose native languages (L1s) were Spanish, German, or Russian as well as from corresponding experiments with a control group of adult native speakers of Greek. We found that, despite their nativelike mastery of the construction under investigation, the L2 learners showed relative-clause attachment preferences that were different from those of the native speakers. Moreover, the L2 learners did not exhibit L1-based preferences in their L2 Greek, as might be expected if they were directly influenced by L1 attachment preferences. We suggest that L2 learners integrate information relevant for parsing differently from native speakers, with the L2 learners relying more on lexical cues than the native speakers and less on purely structurally based parsing strategies.

This study investigates whether proficient second language (L2) speakers of Spanish and English use the same parsing strategies as monolinguals when reading temporarily ambiguous sentences containing a complex noun phrase followed by a relative clause, such as Peter fell in love with the daughter of the psychologist who studied in California. Research with monolingual Spanish and English speakers (e.g., Cuetos & Mitchell, 1988) has suggested that, whereas English speakers show a bias to interpret the relative clause locally (i.e., to attach the relative clause to the noun immediately preceding it), Spanish speakers reading Spanish equivalents of English sentences attach the relative clause to the first noun in the complex noun phrase (i.e., nonlocal attachment). In this study, I assess whether speakers whose native language (L1) and L2 differ with respect to processing strategies were able to employ each strategy in the correct context. To this end, L1 Spanish–L2 English and L1 English–L2 Spanish speakers read ambiguous sentences in their L1 and L2. Data collection was carried out using a pencil-and-paper questionnaire and a self-paced reading task. Analyses of both sets of data revealed that both groups of speakers favored local over nonlocal attachment when reading in their L1 and L2. The results are discussed in the context of models that assume the existence of a fixed, universal set of parsing strategies. The implications of L2 parsing research for the field of SLA are also discussed.

This paper reErlamviews studies that have contrasted the effectiveness of structured-input instruction with output-based instruction. It then presents results from a study comparing the relative effects of structured-input and output-based instruction on students' ability to comprehend and produce direct object pronouns in second language French. Three classes of students (N = 70) were assigned to three groups: structured-input instruction, output-based instruction, and control. Students were assessed on listening comprehension, reading comprehension, written production, and oral production tasks. All but one of these language measures required a pressured response. Overall, the results showed greater gains for the output-based instruction group.

This textbook, the second volume in the Language, culture, and teaching series, is a summary of the current issues of multicultural education in schools. As the demography of schools is rapidly changing, Nieto offers skills and tools necessary to face the challenges that these changes bring to current and future teachers regardless of their ethnic background. The book investigates the connection of language and culture, their sociocultural and sociopolitical framework, and the consequences of diversity to school reforms. The introductory chapter gives the reader a general overview of problems related to language, literacy, and culture as they have been seen through historic shifts and arrives at the realization that in education these ideas are inseparable. We need to learn how they influence individual students' learning to teach them successfully.

This edited volume contains the proceedings of a conference on the role of individual differences in instructed SLA held at Aoyama Gakuin University in 1999. It includes 11 studies as well as an introductory chapter written by the editors. The first two papers, by Yamashiro and McLaughlin and by Hiser, Croker, Kenudson, and Stribling, present multivariate statistical analyses to examine the interrelationship between motivation, second language (L2) proficiency, and other learner characteristics in Japanese student samples. Although both studies offer unique insights into the characteristics of their target population, the authors also call for methodological improvements that would go beyond the use of self-report questionnaires. Sharing a similar interest in improving motivation research methodology, another study by Hsiao explicitly sets out to test the construct validity of the most well known motivation test—Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery—in Taiwan, which is a very different learning environment from Canada, where the test was originally developed. Özek and Williams's paper is also of interest in this respect because in their study a questionnaire survey conducted in Turkey was complemented with qualitative interviews, thereby resulting in a particularly rich database.

This volume's study of academic literacy practices in higher education is about the writing games we play in the academy. This is not a cynical exploration of such games that assumes the giving up of one's voice to join a discourse community; Casanave's metaphor suggests negotiation in writing games that shapes us, for better or for worse. From Casanave's opening chapter discussing the book's framework to her conclusion, the book is rich in insights about the nature of literacy practices among undergraduate students, Master's students, doctoral students, and faculty.

This volume, focusing on Japanese as a second language (JSL), is part of the Language acquisition and language disorders series by Benjamins. As the editor points out in the introductory chapter, there is a pressing need to investigate the acquisition of languages other than English and other European languages if SLA claims to be a discipline broad enough to encompass acquisition of any second language (L2). In particular, given the importance of Japanese as one of the most commonly studied languages in Asia and the fact that Japanese has many linguistic features not found in European languages, research on the acquisition of JSL should have important implications for both practical applications in language teaching and theoretical investigation of language universals, innate principles, and the like.

This brief volume is a contribution to the Oxford introductions to language study series, a set of nontechnical guides to various aspects of the study of language, intended for the general reader with no formal background in linguistics. This book, like the others in the series, is not intended to be a systematic introduction to its subject but rather is designed to give readers a general sense of historical linguistics and to steer them in the direction of further readings. The book is divided into four parts. The first and largest part comprises eight brief essays that treat: (a) the fact that languages evolve over time and attitudes toward them change, (b) data and evidence for reconstructing linguistic history, (c) lexical change, (d) grammatical change, (e) phonological change, (f) language contact, (g) explanations for language change, and (h) recent developments in historical linguistics. The remaining parts of the book contain brief excerpts from readings, further readings, bibliographic references, and a glossary.

This volume is a selection of 15 papers from approximately 125 papers presented at three consecutive meetings of the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics (San Diego in January 1996, Chicago in January 1997, and London in June 1997). The collection represents a good variety of contributions in terms of theoretical concerns and languages discussed. Two of the chapters present a survey of particular phenomena in a number of pidgins and creoles: stativity and time reference (Holm) and wh-words and question formation (Clements & Mahboob). Another chapter revisits the prototypical creole tense-mood-aspect system with an examination of a larger database of Sranan speech than has been previously seen in the literature (Winford). The remainder of the chapters address historical linguistic concerns, discussing issues of Indo-European development (Goyette) as well as creole genesis. The articles on genesis represent an integration of recent developments from outside the creolist world—for example, using insights from Chaos Theory (Lang) and Optimality Theory (Singler) and expanding on previous discussions of nativization (Roberts). Two chapters represent more quantitative approaches from sociolinguistics applied to creole settings (Naro & Scherre; Tagliamonte). There are four articles that address diachronic issues that would potentially address issues of SLA; however, they do not explicitly address their orientation as to how processes of creole genesis are separate from those of SLA.

Virtually all American English teachers who have taught outside of the United States have been confronted by student questions about the differences between American and British English, often with the implication that British English is somehow superior. Despite such implications, the economic and political importance of the United States, as well as the attractiveness of American universities to international students, has created a strong demand for more knowledge about American varieties of English. An introduction to American English goes a long way toward meeting that demand.

Verdonk has written an engaging and highly accessible introduction to the field of stylistics. The book is organized along the lines of the Oxford introductions to language study series. Like the other volumes in the Oxford series, it contains four sections: a survey of the field, short readings extracted from the literature with study questions that address the issues presented in the survey section, a selection of annotated references, and a glossary of terms.