Locative inversion is a non-canonical structure in Chinese and English. According to the Contrastive Analysis theory (Lado, 1957), a structure in L2 is easier to learn if it has the same meaning and distribution as an “equivalent” in L1. Previous studies suggest that English-speaking Chinese L2 learners would have no difficulty in acquiring the unmarked construction (Jin, 2008). The present stu...

Most speakers in today’s societies are bilingual or multilingual and linguistic research has shown that the grammatical systems of two or more languages interact in speech production and perception [11,13]. The confrontation of two or more competing phonological systems and their phonetic realization leads to what we generally understand as a “foreign accent”. The interference appears on the se...

Unlike Lexical Projections, Functional Projections (Extended Projections) are more of an ‘abstract’ in nature. Therefore, Functional Projections seem to be acquired later than Lexical Projections by the L2 learners. The present study investigates Iranian L2 learners’ acquisition of English Extended Projections taking into account their level of grammatical proficiency. Specifically, the aim is ...

Framed under a cognitive approach to task-based L2 learning, this study used a pedagogical approach to investigate the effects of three vocabulary lessons (one traditional and two task-based) on acquisition of basic meanings, forms and morphological aspects of Spanish words. Quantitative analysis performed on the data suggests that the type of pedagogical approach had no impact on immediate ret...

Although cross-sectional research designs have been widely used in the evaluation of L2 phonetic learning, longitudinal studies of L2 speech production are rare. As a result, it is difficult to draw strong conclusions about the effects of language experience on L2 phonetic acquisition. This investigation of adult Slavic (Russian and Ukrainian) and Mandarin speakers tracks their English high vow...

Although explicit and implicit knowledge of language learners are essential to theoretical and pedagogical debates in second language acquisition (SLA), little research has addressed the effects of instructional interventions on the two knowledge types (R. Ellis, 2005).This study examined the relative effectiveness of explicit and implicit types of form-focused instruction (FFI) on the acquisit...

It is undoubtedly true that some factors influence students' learning of the English language. This research examines Saudi learning, studying in second language acquisition (ENG 466) course, at and Translation Department, Qasim University qualitative study included 13 EFL learners using an open-ended three feedback questions to collect data explored linguistics, social, psychological their L2 ...

The authors have developed the Internet browser application Gymn@zilla for L2-learning. In this paper they present a dynamical image annotation: Gymn@zilla automatically provides explanatory images drawn from Internet for words in L2. The Internet-images are often photos of daily events. The authors discuss the psycholinguistic implications of images in L2 learning in general and specifically t...

The present contribution represents an extension of David Singleton’s (2005) IRAL chapter, ‘‘The Critical Period Hypothesis: A coat of many colours’’. I suggest that the CPH in its application to L2 acquisition could benefit from methodological and theoretical tailoring with respect to: the shape of the function that relates age of acquisition to proficiency, the use of nativelikeness for falsi...

This study explores the interpretation of null and overt object pronouns by Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and European Portuguese (EP) bidialectal bilinguals. Object pronouns are a particularly good domain to examine, given that, particularly with respect to null objects, the underlying syntax as well as the semantic and discourse constraints that regulate their distributions in the two varieties a...