To the extent that language universals represent internal properties of human beings, one would expect them to manifest themselves in first language (L1) acquisition. Whether they should also manifest themselves in second language (L2) acquisition depends on whether or not language universals remain accessible to adults. The relation between L2 acquisition and language universals research is examined with respect to three phenomena: extraction, where the subset principle makes interesting predictions, although the second language data are far from clear; structure dependence, where there is evidence for the continuation beyond puberty of a general formal property of language; and the distribution of overt reflexives, which has a functional basis and therefore poses the interesting question whether or not this functional basis is accessible to language learners.

Eubank and Gregg (1995) claim that “Jacobs and Schumann wish to deny the existence of UG” (p. 42). This statement presupposes the existence of Universal Grammar (UG). However, Jacobs, Schumann, and Pulvermuller see the existence of UG and its possible neural substrate as an empirical issue and, therefore, are free to explore it, examine it, and question it. If it were demonstrated that there were, in fact, no UG, it would do great violence to Eubank and Gregg's theory. However, if it were demonstrated that UG did exist, Jacobs, Schumann, and Pulvermüller could easily accommodate this fact in their positions. Jacobs (1988) and Jacobs and Schumann (1992) point out some neural arguments against UG; Pulvermuller and Schumann (1994) actually argue for a neural specialization for grammar but not specifically a UG, and Schumann (1993, 1994) examines differential success in second language acquisition by assuming a highly canalized, neural basis for grammar.

This study investigates L2 comprehension of focus-to-accentuation mapping in English sentences with focus particle only by advanced learners of English whose L1 was either Cantonese or Dutch. Two experiments were conducted to examine (a) whether L2 learners could map accentuation to focus; and (b) whether they could perceive accentuation in English sentences. Results show that accentuation played little role in Cantonese learners’ comprehension of focus, whereas it affected how accurately and quickly Dutch learners and native controls comprehended focus. Dutch learners were even more efficient than native controls in comprehending focus-to-accentuation mapping. Furthermore, both L2 groups could successfully perceive accentuation in English sentences. These findings suggest that multiple interfaces might not be equally problematic for L2 learners with different L1s, and convergence at multiple interfaces in L2 is possible. The comprehension difficulty observed in Cantonese learners can be attributed to their less detailed representation of focus-to-accentuation mapping in L2.

In two visual priming experiments, we investigated the relation of form-identical word forms with different grammatical functions in L1 and L2 German. Four different grammatical types (inflected verbs, infinitives, deverbal conversion forms, and countable nouns) were used as primes and their influence on the processing of form-identical inflected verbs as targets was compared. Results revealed full priming of inflected verbs, but only partial priming for conversion forms and infinitives. No priming was observed for semantically related countable nouns suggesting that they have a separate lexical entry. The findings bring first psycholinguistic evidence for typological claims that deverbal conversion nouns and infinitives fall into the category of nonfinites. They also support accounts assuming representations with a basic lexical entry and word-category specific subentries. The same priming pattern was observed in L1 and L2 suggesting that representation and processing of the studied complex forms is not fundamentally different in the two populations.

This study examines the role of language proficiency and other individual factors (attitudes, input) in the acquisition of language-specific [ð] and dialect-specific [∅] allophones of Spanish intervocalic /d/ in the /ado/ context by L2 and heritage Spanish speakers during a short-term study abroad in Sevilla, Spain. Twenty L2-intermediate, 10 L2-advanced, and 10 Heritage-advanced Spanish speakers completed a reading task at the beginning and the end of the program. Based on an acoustic analysis, a mixed-effects linear regression model found that only L2-advanced and Heritage-advanced groups demonstrated more approximant-like [ð] over time. However, proficiency level interacted with attitudes and input. There were a few [∅] realizations, mostly produced by an L2-advanced speaker who also demonstrated metalinguistic awareness of the dialect-specific allophone. The findings imply that advanced (L2 and heritage) speakers with favorable attitudes toward the local variety are most likely to demonstrate gradient language-specific allophonic changes during a short-term SA program.

This study investigates the extent to which (a) Spanish heritage (HL) and second language (L2) writers’ linguistic complexity differs across register contexts and (b) Spanish proficiency and writing motivational beliefs differentially affect HL and L2 writers’ performance. Participants were 58 HL and 54 L2 Spanish learners who completed two persuasive writing tasks—the Email to Friend and Letter to Dean tasks—designed to be topically similar while eliciting different registers. Proficiency measures included an elicited imitation task (EIT) and a cloze test. Mixed-effects models indicated that both HL and L2 writers evidenced greater lexico-syntactic complexity in the Letter to Dean task; nonetheless, HL writers demonstrated more robust cross-register distinctions in syntactic complexity. The EIT and cloze test positively predicted syntactic and lexical complexity, respectively, although differential patterns were also observed by group. Intrinsic/interest and cognitive/linguistic value beliefs about Spanish writing emerged as positive and negative predictors of linguistic complexity, respectively.

This paper examines how research in second language acquisition has approached the study of cognitive individual differences in the process and product of L2 writing from a theoretical and empirical perspective, paying special attention to the three empirical studies included in this special issue. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section examines the cognitive abilities that have been investigated in L2 writing research, among which working memory stands out as the most widely studied. The second section synthesizes the findings reported by the empirical studies in this issue in relation to the role of working memory in L2 writing behaviors and outcomes. The last section suggests future lines of research that can broaden the current scope of research on writing and cognitive individual differences, mostly centered on the components of the working memory system. This research has important theoretical implications, as little is known about how different cognitive individual differences are implicated in writing, as well as pedagogical implications, as the findings can inform about optimal performance and learning conditions for learners with diverse cognitive ability profiles.

The description of second language acquisition by adult immigrants in a natural setting raises specific methodological questions. This paper attempts to clarify some of these problems using the European Project data (Perdue, 1982) in three different areas: (1) the acquisition and use of the over-generalized marker <se> (c'est in target French); (2) the acquisition of reference to time; and (3) the acquisition of reference to space by adult Spanish speakers in France.

It has been observed that learners of French as a second language at different stages of the acquisition process tend to use forms and rules that are comparable to those of French-based creoles or pid-ginized French. The more advanced learners employ rules and forms akin to dialectal variants of French or to French as spoken in isolated areas such as Old Mines, Missouri. The learners produce non-standard forms considered unacceptable by the purist tradition of French grammarians. It has been noted that the observed similarities between interlanguage, regional dialects, etc., occur in given “sensitive” zones of French morphology and syntax such as the use of verbs and auxiliaries, morphology and placement of clitic pronouns, over-generalization of given prepositions, those very areas which are problematic in the acquisition of French as L1. Since the 17th century, these have been the object of a strict codification by purist grammarians who disregard actual usage in various dialects. It is hypothesized that such similarities between the interlanguage forms at various stages of development, French regional dialects, and areas of conflict over the elaboration of norms in standard French can be partly accounted for if one considers the dynamics of the target language. To explain the functioning of this process, we posit a “system” comprising the learner-speaker, the specific linguistic system itself (including pressure to conform to the norm), and the interactions with native speakers. Through self-regulation, this system devises solutions which perforce pertain to that common area which in any language is at the crossroads of variation, language change, and acquisition. This hypothetical zone (called français zéro by Chaudenson, 1984) is the point of convergence of the self-regulating processes which are responsible for the formal and functional similarities between French-based interlanguages, language change, norm conflicts in the standardization of French, and the creolization process.

TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY: BRINGING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE. Elfrieda H. Hiebert and Michael L. Kamil (Eds.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005. Pp. x + 273. $89.95 cloth, $39.95 paper.

This volume is an anthology of papers originally presented at a conference convened in response to the influential report by the National Reading Panel in the United States in 2000, which highlighted the need for renewed research into vocabulary teaching and learning in American schools as one key component of a national strategy to boost literacy levels. The authors of the 12 chapters are some of the relatively small group of researchers who continued to undertake research on vocabulary during the past 20 years, when it has been strictly a minority activity within the first language (L1) reading research community in North America.

Since Gisela Granena’s influential work, LLAMA D v2, a sound recognition subtest of LLAMA aptitude tests, has been used as a measure of implicit learning aptitude in second language acquisition research. The validity of this test, however, is little known and the results of studies with this instrument have been somewhat inconsistent. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that researchers’ variable test instructions are the source of the inconsistent results. One hundred fourteen English monolinguals were randomly assigned to take LLAMA D v2 under one of three test instruction conditions. They also completed two implicit aptitude tests, three explicit aptitude tests, and a sound discrimination test. The results showed that, regardless of the type of test instructions, LLAMA D scores did not align with implicit aptitude test scores, indicating no clear evidence of the test being implicit. On the contrary, LLAMA D scores were negatively associated with scores on one implicit aptitude test, the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task, but only in the condition where the instructions drew participants’ focal attention to the stimuli. This negative association was interpreted as focal attention working against learning in the SRT task. Implicit learning aptitude may be the degree to which one is able to process input without focal attention.

The present study examined the relative effectiveness of bilingual subtitles for L2 viewing comprehension, compared to other subtitling types. Learners’ allocation of attention to the image and subtitles/captions in different viewing conditions, as well as the relationship between attention and comprehension, were also investigated. A total of 112 Chinese learners of English watched an English documentary clip in one of four conditions (bilingual subtitles, captions, L1 subtitles, no subtitles) while their eye movements were recorded. The results revealed that bilingual subtitles were as beneficial as L1 subtitles for comprehension, which both outscored captions and no subtitles. Participants using bilingual subtitles spent significantly more time processing L1 than L2 lines. L1 lines in bilingual subtitles were processed significantly longer than in L1 subtitles, but L2 lines were processed significantly shorter than in captions. No significant relationship was found between the processing time and comprehension for either the L1 or L2 lines of bilingual subtitles.

The congruency effect—that is, faster and more accurate processing of congruent multiword units, has been demonstrated in multiple studies. It is still unclear, however, what its underlying mechanism is, and how congruency may interact with other factors. Using an acceptability judgement task, this study examined the congruency effect in immersive (Experiment 1) and nonimmersive (Experiment 2) L2 learners’ collocational processing while taking into account L2 collocation frequency, immersive learners’ L2 use, their length and starting age of immersion, nonimmersive learners’ length of instruction, and their L2 proficiency. The study also tested whether L1 counterparts of words in L2 collocations were activated. Nonmmersive learners showed a congruency effect in both processing speed and accuracy. In contrast, immersive learners were affected by congruency only in processing accuracy. Higher L2 collocation frequency, greater length of instruction, and higher L2 proficiency did not reduce the congruency effect, whereas longer duration of immersion improved the processing of incongruent items. An effect of L1 lexical frequency was found, an indication of L1 activation. Results were discussed in light of how L2 proficiency and experiences changed the amount of L1 influence in L2 collocational processing.

This paper is based on a study by Chaudron and Parker (1990) on the effect of discourse markedness and structural markedness on the development of noun phrase use. In the previous study, it was found that zero anaphora, the least marked form on the two counts, did not fulfill the general predictions drawn from the two markedness scales, and no explanation was offered for that phenomenon. The research presented here partially replicates that study but focuses on the use of zero anaphora in written text, distinguishing between pragmatically constrained and syntactically constrained zero anaphora. Our findings are discussed in light of this distinction, and an explanation lying in the interaction among markedness, the L1, and the L2 is proposed.

The present paper isolates certain domain-general cognitive processes involved in decision making and examines their instantiations in adult second language acquisition (SLA). After reviewing important differences between mature and immature cognition, I discuss the epistemological categories and concepts that underlie decision making. I then address decision making from the point of view of fallibility—for example, maladaptive biases that mediate learners' decisions—and I suggest that some impediments to success in SLA may be the result of mature domain-general decision making. The heuristic value of research in the area of decision making is emphasized.

This paper argues for an integration of the notion of communicative competence in the elaboration of syllabuses and the preparation of teaching materials for beginning and intermediate general foreign language courses. A distinction is made between such courses and the teaching of English as a medium of wider communication on an international basis. In FL instruction, as opposed to the teaching of a MWC, metalinguistic, epilinguistic, or cultural objectives may be more highly valued than the use of language for daily communication. In addition, the general context of FL instruction precludes the authentic use of the target language in the classroom, a prerequisite for the attainment of communicative competence. The integration of the notion of communive competence in FL instruction, including the inclusion of notions and functions, involves the grafting of these last mentioned considerations onto a structural-situational-functional base. That base would be modified by moving in five directions: (1) adopting a functional orientation, i.e., providing learners with linguistic means to express notions and functions rather than the teaching of structures for their own sake; (2) focus on semantic notions; (3) cyclical progression; (4) aiming for discursive authenticity by identifying rhetorical devices) providing stylistic manoeuver by the recognition of the role of variants.

The present paper addresses the argument that access to UG in SLA implies an asymmetrical knowledge of ungrammaticality, which is evidenced in superior accuracy and uniformity in learners' judgments of ungrammatical structures versus grammatical structures (Felix, 1988; Zobl, 1992). I attempt to show that the asymmetry position is conceptually defective, that the evidence for it is inconclusive and inappropriate, and that the evidence adduced is contradicted by other data.