Examines the concept of consciousness in second-language research. After defining theoretical assumptions and reviewing a number of controversies in the psycholinguistic and second-language literature, it is argued that the terms conscious and unconscious have acquired too much surplus meaning and should be abandoned in favor of clearly defined…

Discusses a serious problem that has existed for years in language research with regard to the use of the inferential statistic known as the t test. (12 references) (JL)

Documents 20 years of second-language acquisition research, highlighting two subthemes involving the alternate broadening and narrowing of research perspectives and predicting that the next phase of research will unite the historically distinct research foci on learning and the learner. (209 references) (CB)

Reviews the role of statistical hypothesis testing in research, discusses the problems with multiple t tests, indicates when they are a problem, and suggests a compromise solution. (one reference) (JL)

Aims to provide an overview of some of the most salient social identity research by discussing various theoretical stances and methodologies and to critique the theories and methodologies employed in social identity research. It is concluded that language and social identity is an important issue, a holistic and dynamic understanding of which will…

Two articles discuss recent trends in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) research, focusing on the conflict between research that examines the social contexts in which English is used and micro-level ethnographic research, and research that more directly involves teachers and students in the study of classroom discourse. (contains 20 references)…

Argues that it is time to begin integrating models of second-language (L2) research, to test and develop integrated models for L2 data, and to develop integrated explanatory theories to explain these data. (22 references) (JL)

Explores the state of the art in communicative language teaching from an international perspective, focusing on its multidisciplinary perspective that includes linguistics, psychology, philosophy, sociology, and educational research, and detailing current implications and promising trends. (32 references) (CB)

Reviews research on appropriate methodologies to use in studying native or second language acquisition and points out that both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used in different ways of study in the field. (CB)

Reviews the conceptual, curricular, and empirical bases of task-based language teaching and suggests future trends, concluding that the conceptual and empirical bases need to be extended both substantively and methodologically. (38 references) (CB)

Proposes a discourse analysis model of student-computer interaction, which, by viewing the student and the computer as two participants in a dialogue, provides the necessary elements and structures to describe computer-assisted language learning (CALL) discourse, analyze data from student-computer interaction, and compare CALL activities with…

If language research is to arrive at valid analyses of speech behavior, both observation and elicitation methods of data collection will have to be used as necessary complements to one another. The advantages and disadvantages of different research methods are discussed. (CB)

Origins and problems of classroom-centered research on language learning and teaching are surveyed, tracing the development of both the concerns and the research tools used. The development of a productive controversy over objective versus subjective methods is described. (MSE)

Selected studies in three areas of second-language classroom process research are reviewed: the linguistic environment of instruction, patterns of participation, and error treatment. Also reviewed are recent applications of introspective or mentalistic research to the problem of describing the second-language classroom experience. (MSE)

Discusses new directions in contrastive rhetoric. Reviews research on contrastive rhetoric over the past 30 years and examines how contrastive rhetoric has been pursued with varying aims and methods in a variety of English-as-a-Foreign-language (EFL) situations involving academic and professional writing. (Author/VWL)