In recent years, there has been considerable interest in how to maximize learners' retention of multiword expressions. One technique that has been shown to be highly effective is the use of exercises such as those found in mainstream English as a second language textbooks. In the present study, we investigated how the execution of a gap-fill…

In this study, neural representation of adult second language (L2) speakers' implicit grammatical knowledge was investigated. Advanced L2 speakers of Japanese living in Japan, as well as L1 Japanese speakers, performed a word-monitoring task (proposed as an implicit knowledge test) in the MRI scanner. Behavioral measures were obtained from…

The aim of this study was twofold: first, to develop an experimental technique as a tool to investigate learning outcomes of spontaneous, naturalistic second language (L2) learning under controlled laboratory conditions; and second, to explore how this technique can be used to understand the basic conditions and limits of this learning. Two…

English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) textbooks and internet resources exhibit various formats and implementations of exercises on phrasal verbs. The experimental study reported here examines whether some of these might be more effective than others. EFL learners at a university in Japan were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups. Two groups were…

The current study longitudinally examined the influence of aptitude on second language (L2) pronunciation development when 40 first-year Japanese university students engaged in practice activities inside and outside English-as-a-Foreign-Language classrooms over one academic year. Spontaneous speech samples were elicited at the beginning, middle,…

This article presents a study performed to investigate the role of simulation in second language learning while using a virtual environment. Participants were asked to explore a virtual park while learning 15 new Czech verbs (action verbs that describe movements performed with either the hand or the foot, and abstract verbs). This learning…

This study assessed, in a sample of 98 adult native speakers of Dutch, how their lexical skills and their speaking proficiency varied as a function of their age and level of education and profession (EP). Participants, categorized in terms of their age (18-35, 36-50, and 51-76 years old) and the level of their EP (low versus high), were tested on…

We examined the performance of sequential bilingual children with and without Specific Language Impairment (SLI), who had Spanish as an L1 and English as their L2, on an auditory non-word repetition task using Spanish phonotactic patterns. We also analyzed the accuracy with which this task distinguished these children (according to children's and…

This study represents an attempt to describe the second-language competence of English-speaking children who are learning French as a second language. The performance of fourth- and sixth-grade children taking part in a French immersion program was compared to that of French-speaking children of the same age using an elicited imitation task. The…

A study investigated the role of pragmatics, the factors that govern choice of language in social interaction, on interpretation of elliptical verb phrases (VPs) in spoken English by learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Ellipsis requires the listener to recall the surface form of a presupposed element and to integrate it into the…

The experiments discussed in this report are designed to explore the relationship between language and thought and implications for foreign language learning. Three basic issues are considered: whether or not thought and language are sufficiently distinct to require separate attention and planning as distinct factors in language teaching; the role…