Experimentally manipulated differences in mental state can systematically alter the linguistic intuitions which speakers render about acceptability of sentences. The processes underlying intuitions must be taken into consideration when they are used as empirical data to test grammatical theories. A theory of introspection must be part of the…

Reports on an experiment in native speaker judgement of acceptability, designed to test the acceptability of variations on the time-manner-place order in German adverbs. Implications for teaching German are drawn. (AM)

Argues that Firth and Wagner are justified in arguing that a broader, context-sensitive, participant-sensitive, generally sociolinguistic orientation might prove beneficial for second language acquisition research. Demonstrates a skepticism as to whether greater insights into second language learning will necessarily influence the process. (13…

Drawing on the narratives of four East European couples, this article offers a discourse-centered analysis of their gendered experiences in the second language (L2). The analysis of the data integrates critical feminist perspectives with a Bakhtinian lens to language and the self. Espousing Bakhtin's concepts of dialogue, answerability, and…

Argues for a reconceptualization of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research in order to enlarge the ontological and empirical parameters of the field. Claims that methodologies, theories, and foci within SLA reflect an imbalance between cognitive and mentalistic orientations, and social and contextual orientations to language, the former…

Reports on the findings of a study that examined the persuasive written texts of 60 university first-year composition students, half of whom were native speakers of English and half of whom were nonnative English speakers. Considers 33 variables between the 2 subgroups. Finds clear differences. Discusses results and implications for…

Describes Latin America's bilingual intercultural education (BIE) programs. Explains that BIE attempts to provide education in both Spanish and native languages. Finds that future BIE teachers speak but do not write the indigenous language or have insufficient schooling. Urges inservice training programs, basic teacher training, and training of…

A study investigated the importance of sentence topic in written discourse. Training second language writers to identify sentence topics in drafts of their written work has been proposed as a central means of helping writers achieve greater coherence. The study explored the notion that "topic" is a psychological rather than linguistic concept, and…

Examines teacher-student exchanges in three content-based language classrooms. Data reveal persistent archetypal patterns of classroom interaction; teachers speak most of the time, and they initiate the majority of the exchanges by asking display questions, whereas student-initiated requests are referential. (30 references) (Author/CK)