This article examines the language and cognitive skills of bidialectal and bilingual children, focusing on African American English bidialectal speakers and Spanish-English bilingual speakers. It contributes to the discussion by considering two themes in the extant literature: (1) linguistic and cognitive strengths can be found in speaking two…

Research has described the key role of formulaic language use in both written and spoken communication (Schmitt, 2004; Wray, 2002), as well as in relation to L2 learning (Ellis, Simpson--Vlach, & Maynard, 2008). Relatively few studies have examined related fixed and semi-fixed multi-word units (MWUs), which comprise fixed parts with the potential…

This paper focuses on the dearth of language-processing research addressing Spanish heritage speakers in assimilationist communities. First, we review key offline work on this population, and we then summarize the few psycholinguistic (online) studies that have already been carried out. In an attempt to encourage more such research, in the next…

This study investigates transfer at the third-language (L3) initial state, testing between the following possibilities: (1) the first language (L1) transfer hypothesis (an L1 effect for all adult acquisition), (2) the second language (L2) transfer hypothesis, where the L2 blocks L1 transfer (often referred to in the recent literature as the "L2…

The present study revisited the issue of simultaneous attention to form and meaning from a methodological perspective that addressed several potential methodological issues of previous research in this strand of inquiry. Seventy-two second-semester-level participants were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups, including a control,…

Speech conditions of emission can result in influences on the speaker, leading to dramatic changes in the speaker's speech production. However, most studies performed on the "speaking styles" restrict their observations to very contrasted situations and compare so-called "spontaneous" speech to the "laboratory"…

THE PHONETIC FEATURES NECESSARY FOR GOOD PRONUNCIATION AND EFFECTIVE USE OF LANGUAGES WERE STUDIED. A FOUR-WAY RESEARCH TECHNIQUE WAS DEVELOPED FOR COMPARISON AMONG LANGUAGES (1) INVOLVING SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS, (2) SPECTROGRAPHIC SYNTHESIS, (3) MOTION PICTURE ANALYSIS, AND (4) STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. THE ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTATION CONSTRUCTED FOR…

Notes that the employment of databases to the study of the history of a language is a method that allows for substantial improvement in investigative quality. Illustrates this with the example of the application of this method to two studies of the history of Spanish developed in the Language and Information Seminary of the Independent University…

Research supported by the Committee on Scholarly Activities of the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio. (DS)

Liliana Sanchez' paper is a welcome contribution to the growing body of literature on Andean Spanish (cf. a recent survey in Muysken, 2004a), welcome both because a well-motivated and clearly described methodology is used and because it is embedded in an explicit theoretical framework. I do not have reservations about the overall conclusions of…

An experiment is described in which learners listened to two radio broadcasts in Spanish, then reported on their strategies, comprehension, learning, level of confidence, and affective response to the input. Elements that the learners had in common are cited, as well as some that seem idiosyncratic. (24 references) (Author/LB)

Recently attention has been focused on the language problems of the Mexican American child. In order not to duplicate work done by other investigators in the field, it is necessary to study previous published material dealing with the language of these children. "A Brief Study of Spanish/English Bilingualism: Final Report" (D.M. Lance, Texas A&M…

A discussion of issues concerning the feasibility of conducting a Spanish version of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) is presented. The discussion is based on a 1992 seminar to address linguistic, political, and logistic concerns in such an undertaking. While the experience with the NALS guided discussion, the primary focus was on special…

Investigates how early a developing bilingual who is exposed simultaneously to English and Spanish can make appropriate language choices. Kept detailed records of the child's cumulative vocabulary from the first word at 10 months and on weekly audiovideo recording in both Spanish and English contexts from age 1-3. (Author/VWL)

Recently, several studies in SLA (e.g., for discourse, Alanen, 1995; Leow, 2001b; Rott, 1999; for problem-solving tasks, Leow, 1998a, 1998b, 2000, 2001a; Rosa & Leow, in press a, in press b; Rosa & O'Neill, 1999) have addressed the operationalization and measurement of attention (and awareness) in their research methodology. Studies have employed…