This study compared younger and older adult monolingual English speakers and bilingual (English/Spanish) speakers on aspects of language learning aptitude, specifically, measures of auditory perception and memory span, in English and Spanish. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed no age difference in auditory memory span in English; however, both older and younger bilinguals performed better than monolinguals on these tasks. Younger subjects performed better than older subjects on measures of auditory perception in English. Older and younger monolinguals performed similarly on a measure of auditory memory span in Spanish, whereas younger monolinguals demonstrated more accuracy on Spanish perception tasks. The Spanish proficiency of the younger bilinguals far exceeded that of the older bilinguals, and their performance was better on measures of auditory memory and perception in Spanish even when differences in proficiency were statistically controlled. However, a comparison of subgroups of older and younger bilinguals showing a similar level of Spanish proficiency revealed that the performance of the older bilinguals approached fairly closely the performance of the younger subjects on the Spanish auditory memory and perception tasks.

The role of conversational interactions in the development of a second language has been central in the recent second language acquisition literature. While a great deal is now known about the way in which nonnative speakers interact with native speakers and other nonnative speakers, little is known about the lasting effects of these interactions on a nonnative's linguistic development. This paper specifically investigates the relationship among input, interaction, and second language production. Through data from native–nonnative speaker interactions in a direction-giving task, we show that both modified input and interaction affect task performance. However, only interaction has an effect on subsequent task performance.

This study attempts to test aspects of the input hypothesis (Krashen, 1980, 1983, 1985) and Long's modification of it (Long, 1980, 1983a, 1985). Specifically, it experimentally tests the hypothesis that both input and interactional modifications facilitate second language acquisition, using Japanese as the target language. Three experimental groups were differentiated in terms of input and interaction conditions: (1) unmodified input with no interaction, (2) premodified input with no interaction, and (3) unmodified input with the chance for negotiated interaction. The groups were compared in terms of (a) their degree of comprehension of the input and (b) their subsequent retention of vocabulary items and acquisition of two Japanese locative structures. The results indicated that moment-to-moment comprehension was highest for the negotiated interaction group, whereas there was no significant difference between the two noninteraction groups. Furthermore, there was no correlation found between differences in moment-to-moment comprehension and gains in vocabulary recognition and acquisition of structures, though significant gains on both measures were found for all three groups. Discussion of these findings centers on the relationship between comprehension and acquisition.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to draw attention to the research on speech perception and, second, to use the results for a reassessment of the contribution of innate capacities versus external stimulation in conjunction with age in first and second language acquisition. The theoretical framework is the universal theory of language acquisition. The focus is on the functional potential of the biological substrate rather than its anatomy.

Neonates are innately capable of two major modes of auditory perception, namely, categorical and continuous perception. The interaction of these two modes allows infants to develop the perceptual categories of their ambient language(s). The continuous mode functions as a monitoring device in shaping the categories of the target(s). Various kinds of evidence are reviewed that suggest that these original sensory abilities remain unchanged throughout an individual's lifespan, but they become difficult to access during later stages of life, such as in adult L2 acquisition, because of the way perceptual-phonological information is stored in memory and/or activated in language processing. There are no biologically based restrictions as to the number of languages that can be learned, or the age ranges during which this can happen.

I would like to apologize to Robin Scarcella and Rebecca Oxford for an erroneous statement I made in my review of their book, The Tapestry of Language Learning. In the review I accused the authors of not referencing Vygotsky's seminal work, Thought and Language. Upon rereading the review, I suddenly realized that the authors do indeed cite the first volume of Vygotsky's collected works which includes his Thought and Language.