This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Peter Strevens, Barbara Burnaby, Else Hamayan, Susan Zimin, Stephen D. Krashen, Nancy Backman, Lynne Hansen-Bede, Ellen Bialystok, Henning Wode, and Merrill Swain.
(1976). Personality Characteristics and Second Language Learning in Young Children: A Pilot Study. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 11. This study explores: (1) on the theoretical level, the relationship of certain personality characteristics to second language learning among young children; and (2) on the practical level, if the bases parents use for deciding whether to enroll their child in a second language program are well-founded. In their kindergarten year, 63 French immersion pupils and 68 pupils in the English program with French as a second language were rated by their teachers on nine personality characteristics. These scores were correlated with the children's French language achievement scores in kindergarten, grade one and grade two. The results indicate that two personality characteristics dominated the significant correlations for the French immersion group. The English program data showed a similar pattern but with fewer significant correlations. A t-test indicated that the immersion children were rated significantly higher than the other group on three personality characteristics. Only one of these, however, correlated highly with French achievement and another appeared to have some negative effects. [More] Descriptors: French, Immersion Programs, Individual Characteristics, Language Instruction
(1976). A Theoretical Model of the Language Learning/Teaching Process. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 11. The aim of this paper is to outline one approach to the study of language teaching by proposing a theory of its minimum elements. This model takes as its focus all of the circumstances in which a learner learns and a professional teacher teaches. The language teaching profession deals with many types of learners, teaching/learning conditions, aims, etc. Yet in another sense the language learning/language teaching process (LL/LT) is concerned with a single individual teacher, and with a particular set of surrounding circumstances. A theoretical study must attempt to provide a comprehensive way of understanding both the complete range of features which at once address and distinguish all learners and teachers and the particular features possessed by any specific learner and teacher. The twelve essential elements of the LL/LT process which are discussed are: policy and aims; administration and organization; relevant professional disciplines; choice of LL/LT types; teacher training; approach; pedagogy, methodology, instruction, and teaching; syllabus design; materials construction; constraints on LL/LT achievement; the learner; and evaluation. Descriptors: Administration, Curriculum Guides, Educational Theories, Evaluation
(1975). Two Measures of Affective Factors as They Relate to Progress in Adult Second-Language Learning. Working Papers in Bilingualism, No. 10. The attitude and motivation of twenty-one Venezuelan students learning English at Boston University was assessed using two means: a controlled interview and a bilingual adaptation of the Gardner et al. 1974 Attitude Scales. Neither measure showed statistically significant correlations between positive attitude or strong motivation and progress in second-language learning over a three or six month period. However, interview scores for motivation and culture shock differentiated between the two best and two worst students, suggesting that further exploration of the interview technique would be of value in the assessment of affective factors. [More] Descriptors: Affective Behavior, Attitude Measures, English (Second Language), Interviews
(1976). Developmental Sequences in Naturalistic L2 Acquisition. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 11. Naturalistic second language (L2) acquisition (i.e., L2 acquisition without classroom instruction) does follow ordered developmental sequences. These L2 developmental sequences need not be completely identical to the respective first language (L1) sequences. The L2 sequences involve some utterances which on the surface match certain phenomena familiar from L1 developmental sequences. Other L2 structures have no surface parallel to L1 and seem to be based on prior L1 knowledge. Therefore, the view that there is one universal developmental sequence for the acquisition of a language irrespective of whether it is acquired as L1 or L2 is inaccurate. These developmental sequences differ according to the child's prior L1 knowledge. The major part of the data for this study derives from systematic longitudinal observations of children with German as L1 acquiring English as their L2, as well as children with English as L1 acquiring German as their L2. Descriptors: Bilingualism, Child Language, English, English (Second Language)
(1976). Some Influences on Interlanguage Phonology. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 8. This paper describes a preliminary study which focuses on the syllable structure of interlanguage and begins to identify some of the processes which shape that interlanguage. Adults learning English as a second language in a formal classroom situation were recorded as they described a series of pictures in English. Two subjects were native speakers of Cantonese, two were native speakers of Portuguese and two were native speakers of Korean. Their speech was transcribed and analyzed for syllable structure. The data support the following findings: (1) the syllable structure of the interlanguages examined was markedly different from that of the target language; (2) in the syllable structure of the interlanguages examined, both epenthesis and consonant deletion seemed to be used as strategies for syllable simplification, with the first-language background of the learner seeming to be related to a preference for one strategy over the other; (3) the dominant process influencing the syllable structure of the interlanguage phonologies appeared to be language transfer; (4) a preference for the open (consonant-vowel) syllable seemed to operate as a process independent of language transfer in influencing the syllable structure of the interlanguage phonologies; and (5) glottal stop insertion appeared only between words, possibly as a result of an attempt to produce lexical items as separate units in the speech stream. [More] Descriptors: English (Second Language), Interference (Language), Interlanguage, Language Patterns
(1978). Discourse-Completion as a Technique for Studying Lexical Features of Interlanguage. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 15. After a survey of current methods of studying lexical acquisition, none of which are really suitable for studying how specific words are acquired and used by adult learners and how such usage differs from that of native speakers, a method is proposed for the study of such qualitative aspects of second language lexical acquisition. Learners are required to fill in the blanks in short texts, or "discourses," which as far as possible are so constructed that there is only one lexical item that would be judged an appropriate filler by native speakers. This technique can be tested by means of a questionnaire administered to native speakers. The main advantages of this technique are that it can be used to test specific hypotheses about learners' interlanguage and to compare different populations, including both learners and native speakers. Certain difficulties that arise in item construction and data analysis are also discussed in detail, particularly the problem of limiting both syntactic and situational possibilities, the significance of inappropriate responses, and the wording of questionnaire instructions. Descriptors: Data Analysis, Educational Research, Grammar, Interlanguage
(1977). The Effect of Bilingualism in Children from Spanish-English Low Economic Neighborhoods on Cognitive Development and Cognitive Strategy. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 14. A previous study found that middle-class Hebrew-English bilingual children were characterized by distinctive perceptual strategies and more advanced processing in certain verbal tasks, as compared to similar monolinguals. The present study tested whether similar strategies and response patterns will appear when the children involved are from different language groups and from relatively disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods. The results showed that Spanish-English bilingual children manifest similar strategies to those found in the previous study, although with some attenuation. The strategies apply to nonverbal as well as verbal material. These results appeared in spite of deficiencies in vocabulary and syntax usage for the Spanish-English bilinguals relative to their control group of similar ethnic and social background. Descriptors: Association (Psychology), Bilingual Students, Bilingualism, Child Language
(1975). A Child's Creation of a Second Language. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 6. Three stages of the developing second language of a 3;9-3;11 year-old English-speaking child in an Urdu speech milieu were examined and compared with findings that have been accumulated about the order and process of first language acquisition. The study showed that in the development of many syntactic and morphological features the child used strategies characteristic of mother-tongue learners; an exception, the development of the negative, was interpreted as evidence that knowledge already available to a second language learner from learning a first may contribute to an acceleration of progress in some details of acquisition. [More] Descriptors: Bilingualism, Child Language, Creativity, Generalization
(1975). An Analysis of Spanish and German Learners' Errors. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 7. This study analyzes Spanish and German errors committed by adult native speakers of English enrolled in elementary and intermediate levels. Four written samples were collected for each target language, over a period of five months. Errors were categorized according to their possible source. Types of errors were ordered according to their frequency. The hierarchies of relative difficulty thus obtained varied for the target languages. The production of some errors seemed to be based on proposed universals of language acquisition; other errors appeared to be directly related to the languages involved. [More] Descriptors: Adult Education, Adult Learning, Adult Students, Error Analysis (Language)
(1975). An Error Analysis of an Advanced Learner of ESL: The Importance of the Monitor. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 7. This study focuses on a native speaker of Chinese, in her 40's, who began to learn English in her late 20's when she emigrated to the United States. It was discovered that the subject was able to self-correct nearly every error she made in casual speech when the errors were pointed out to her after their commission. Furthermore, in nearly every case she was able to describe the grammatical principle involved. It is speculated that if second language users are able to apply such conscious rules when sufficient processing time is available, perhaps conscious knowledge is applied only when sufficient processing time is available. There is at least suggestive evidence that subconscious "acquired" linguistic knowledge (that is, internalized before puberty) is involved in ordinary unmonitored speech, while consciously "learned" rules are available to the second-language speaker only as a monitor. [More] Descriptors: Adult Learning, Cognitive Processes, English (Second Language), Error Analysis (Language)
(1975). Social Studies, Book II: A Bilingual Multicultural Guide, English-Spanish. This is the second of two social science guides designed for the bilingual, multicultural, upper elementary classroom. The guide may be used independently or as a supplement to other social studies programs. Activities may be done in writing or orally, in English or Spanish, with the entire class, in small groups, or individually. Eight curriculum lessons are presented: (1) the three human racial stocks: some facial physical traits; (2) cultural traits: differences and similarities; (3) has our culture changed?; (4) one individual: numerous groups; (5) we have wants and needs; (6) the law of supply and demand; (7) your government and mine; and (8) settlements without violence. The lessons give: title, concept, behavioral objective, vocabulary, recommended materials and ways to use them, activities, evaluation, and optional activities. A bibliography and answer key for worksheets are also provided. Descriptors: Behavioral Objectives, Consumer Education, Cultural Education, Cultural Traits
(1977). Aspects of Second Language Learning in Classroom Settings. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 13. The present study offers a model of second language learning and examines aspects of the model in two experiments with high school students learning French. The model describes learning in terms of three parameters – learning processes, learning strategies, and learner characteristics. These three parameters together may be used to explain both the general process of second language learning as well as discrepancies in the competence achieved by particular language learners. In the first experiment, the relationship between individual learner characteristics and achievement is examined. Attitude and the use of certain learning strategies prove to be the most important predictors of proficiency. The second experiment investigates more precisely the role of inferencing, one of the learning strategies hypothesized in the model, in language learning. The opportunity to inference was found to improve reading comprehension scores. The results of both experiments are interpreted in terms of the model and suggestions for further research are discussed. Descriptors: Achievement Tests, French, High School Students, Individual Characteristics
(1976). A Comparison of Three Methods for the Collection of L2 Data: Free Composition, Translation, and Picture Description. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 8. Three methods for second language data collection are compared: free composition, picture description and translation. The comparison is based on percentage of errors in a grammatical category and in a source category. Most results obtained from the free compositions and picture descriptions tended to be similar. Greater variation was found for some error categories between these two tasks and the translation task. Analysis of the errors suggests that differences in results could be reduced through slight adjustments in the method of data analysis, and a variation of the translation task. Results obtained from the three methods should then be very similar. [More] Descriptors: Data Collection, Educational Testing, Error Analysis (Language), Error Patterns
(1975). Elicited Imitation in Second Language Learners. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 6. Three groups of subjects were tested in an elicited imitation study. These were 8-year-old, 11-year-old and adult native speakers of Arabic who were learning English as a second language. The subjects were asked to repeat sentences of seven different grammatical structure types. Previous research with 4-year-old native speakers of English (Smith, 1973) has found that three of the structures were easy to repeat (Type A structures) while four were difficult to repeat (Type B structures). In the present study, a similar difference in the repeatability of A and B structures was found for the youngest subjects, but there was no such difference for the adults and only a moderate difference for the intermediate group. The pattern of results suggested that this was not a function of differences in the subjects' English-language backgrounds, but represents a developmental difference in the ability of second-language learners to repeat certain grammatical structures. The theoretical reasons for the variability in repetition difficulty for the different structure types were considered. [More] Descriptors: Adults, Children, English (Second Language), Imitation
(1975). Is There Any Meaning in Language Acquisition? Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 6. In this paper two questions are raised: (1) Is there any meaning to current research? (2) Is meaning important to the language acquisition process? It is necessary to explore the nature of research in general to evaluate what kind of research we are doing. This leads us to consider next the content of research on human learning and on the acquisition of language in particular. Meaning is felt to be essential to any explanation of the process of language acquisition. [More] Descriptors: Cognitive Development, Language Acquisition, Language Instruction, Language Research