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AUTHOR Galbraith, Vicki; Gardner, R. C.TITLE Individual Difference Correlates of Second-Language

Achievement: An Annotated Bibliography. ResearchBulletin No. 667.

INSTITUTION University of Western Ontario, London. Dept. ofPsychology.

SPONS AGENCY Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada, Ottawa (Ontario).

PUB DATE Apr 88GRANT 410-85-0190NOTE 28p.

PUB TYPE Reference Materials - Bibliographies (131)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Annotated Bibliographies; Educational Research;

*Individual Differences; Language Aptitude; *LanguageProficiency; *Language Research; Learning Motivation;Learning Strategies; Personality Traits; *SecondLanguage Learning; Student Attitudes

ABSTRACTThe bibliography contains 64 annotated references to

journal articles and other sources of information about individualdifference correlates of second language achievement. The journalarticles appeared between 1984 and 1987. Where available, abstractscontained in the original articles are used; these are marked withasterisks. Entries are coded according to the individual differencecorrelates addressed, including aptitude and intelligence, attitudesand motivation, language learning and teaching strategies, andpersonality traits. (MSE)

MMMMMM*MMMMMMXMMMMMMMMMMMMMMXMMXMMXMMMXMMMXMMXXMMXXMMXMMXXMXXXXAMMMXXXM* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

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Individual Difference Correlates of

Second-Language Achievement:An Annotated Bibliography

Vicki Galbraith and R. C. Gardner

Research Bulletin No. 667 April 1988

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (EPIC)."

U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educations. Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERICI

kje/This document has been reproduced asr ec e v ad from the person Or otonizationOnginat ng ,t

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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGYTHE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO LONDON, CANADA

Individual Difference Correlates of Second-Language

Achievement: An Annotated Bibliography1

Vicki Galbraith and R. C. Gardner

Department of Psychology

The University of Western Ontario

This annotated bibliography contains 64 references which relate tothe topic of individual difference correlates of second-languageachievement. They resulted from a search through issues dating from1984 to 1987 of 22 relevant journals available in the library system ofthe University of Western Ontario. Some appropriate material from othersources in the second author's possession was also included.

Abstracts contained in the original articles are marked withasterisks. Where these were not available, abstracts were prepared bythe authors of this bibliography.

Entries are coded according to the individual difference variablesdealt with, as follows:

A/I aptitude and intelligenceA/M attitudes and motivationLLS language learning/teaching strategiesP personality (anxiety, introversion/extraversion,

sociability, field dependence/independence, ambiguitytolerance, risktaking, etc.)

1 Preparation of this bibliography was supported by Grant No. 410 -85-0190 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada.

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So.

Bahrick, H. P. (1984)

Implications for progrJournal, 68, 105-118. Al

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Fifty years of second language attrition:aromatic research. The Modern Language

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The purpose of this paper was to summarize the results of a large-scale investigation of second language attrition covering fifty years,and to relate the results of this investigation to a research programwhich would yield benefits to teachers and students of foreignlanguages. A total of 773 Ss participated, of whom 146 were currentlyenrolled in a high school or college-level Spanish course, 598 had hadSpanish instruction between one and 50 years prior to being tested, and40 had had no instruction in Spanish and served as controls. Theparticipants took a test of knowledge of Spanish assessing performanceon ten subtests of reading comprehension, Spanish-English recallvocabulary, Spanish-English recognition vocabulary, English-Spanishrecall vocabulary, English-Spanish recognition vocabulary, grammarrecall, grammar recognition, idiom recall, idiom recognition and wordorder. They also answered a questionnaire about conditions of originaltraining and rehearsal during the retention period. Ss were assigned toone of 8 groups in accordance with the time elapsed since their lastSpanish course. The most noteworthy finding was that a large amount cfinformation survived with permastore longevity under conditions ofminimal rehearsal. Multiple regression analysis indicated that level ofSpanish training, mean grade received and level of training in otherRomance languages were the only predictors of the criteria. No measuresof rehearsal during the retention period predicted retention, but therewas little variability on these measures.

Bausenhart, W. A. (1984). Attitudes and motivation of Anglophone andFrancophone university students of German. The Canadian ModernLanguage Review, 40, 208-217. A/M

The purpose of this study was to learn the attitudes toward Germanand the Germans (Austrians, Swiss) of Anglophone and Francophoneuniversity students taking elementary German. A total of 48 Ss answereda 13-item questionnaire. The majority indicated integrative reasons forstudying German. Ethnic stereotypes of the "typical German" weresimilar for both the Anglophone and Francophone students. The twogroups differed in that a greater number of Anglophones thanFrancophones indicated visits to German-speaking countries, andrelatively more Francophones than Anglophones found the German languagedifficult to learn.

Block, E. (1986). The comprehension strategies of second languagereaders. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 463-494. A/I, LLS

Think-aloud protocols, a version of verbal report in whichparticipants state their thoughts and behaviors, have becomeincreasingly popular as a means of studying the comprehension processesof native English speakers. The study reported in this article usedthink-alouds to examine the comprehension strategies used bycollege-level students -- both native speakers of English and nonnative

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speakers -- enrolled in remedial reading classes as they read materialfrom a college textbook. "Poor" readers (those who had failed thecollege's reading proficiency test) were chosen for study because theyare the ones at whom college remedial reading programs are aimed.Furthermore, their use of comprehension strategies has not attained thedegree of automaticity found in fluent readers. Thus, they may be moreaware of how they solve the problems they encounter as they read. Someof the strategies used by the ESL and native-speaking readers in thestudy are described. Strategy use is related to measures of memory andcomprehension and to academic performance, and implications for teachingare discussed.

Boyle, J. P. (1987). Intelligence, reasoning, and languageproficiency. The Modern Language Journal, 71, 277-288. A/I

This article first briefly reviewed different opinions on theconnection between intelligence and language proficiency. An experimentwas described investigating whether inductive reasoning, and henceintelligence, can justifiably be distinguished from general languageproficiency. In the experiment, 205 first-year students at a commercialcollege in Hong Kong completed a battery of 12 tests (6 vocabulary, 2cloze, 2 dictation, and 2 TOEFL-type listening comprehension) aimed atmeasuring language proficiency. Reasoning was tested by seriescompletion tests, one using letters, the other using numbers, andselected items from the Otis-Lennon and the Differential Aptitude Test(DAT). A factor analysis identified five orthogonal factors defined asGeneral Language Proficiency, Vocabulary Knowledge, Span Memory, RoteMemory and Reasoning Ability.

Boyle, J. P. (1987). Is listening comprehension a separate factor inlanguage ability? International Review of Applied Linguistics inLanguage Teaching, 25, 238-256. A/I

The article addresses first the question whether any breakdown oflanguage skills is theoretically acceptable. The case for and againstthe Unitary Competence Hypothesis/General Language Proficiency theory ispresented. The focus is then narrowed, and the case for and against theexistence of a separate listening comprehension factor in languageability is reviewed. The second part of the article considers thetechnique of factor analysis and examines its usefulness in languageresearch. The third part presents the results of a study using factoranalytic techniques to test the question whether listening comprehensioncan be considered as a separate factor in language ability, or whetherthe general verbal comprehension factor is sufficient to explainindividual differences in listening ability.

Boyle, J. P. (1987). Sex differences in listening vocabulary.Language Learning, 37, 273-284. A/I

Not enough attention has been paid in the past to the variable ofsex differences in language-learning research. This may be because it

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is taken as proven that girls are superior to boys in language ability.Although the majority of evidence does favor this conclusion, there isone area of language ability in which boys seem to be superior to girls,even in view of overall female superiority in language proficiency.This area is the comprehension of heard vocabulary.

Evidence from first-language studies prompted an experiment withsecond-language subjects: two sets of Chinese college students (n = 285and 205). Ten tests were used to establish general languageproficiency, and two tests of listening vocabulary were included in thebattery. With both sets of subjects, the females were superior ingeneral language proficiency, but the males had higher mean sc,_ ; inboth tests of listening vocabulary.

The difficulties of conducting such an experiment are discussed,notably the problem of constructing satisfactory listening vocabularytests. Reasons for the phenomenon of male superiority in this selectarea of language ability are suggested, and similar experiments areencouraged.

Brutten, S. R., Angelis, P. J., & Perkins, K. (1985). Music andmemory: Predictors for attained ESL oral proficiency. LanguageLearning, 35, 299-313. A/I

This article presents the results of an empirical concurrentvalidation study in which measures of musical ability (pitch, loudness,and rhythm), auditory discrimination, and memory were used to accountfor variance in attained ESL oral proficiency. Memory was asignificant, though tenuous, predictor of variance in the dependentvariable. In addition, significant differences were noted for thedifferent language groups and for the different tests. The articleconcludes with a proposed research program to determine whether trainingin musical abilities might be a profitable adjunct to ESL instruction.

Celce-Murcia, M. (1985). Making informed decisions about the role ofgrammar in language teaching. TESOL Newsletter, 19, 1-5. LLS

The author recommends that ESL teachers consider all the relevantvariables in order to make informed decisions about the role of grammarfor each distinct teaching situation. Learner variables includelearning style, age, proficiency level and educational background.Instructional variables include whether one is teaching receptive skills(listening, reading) or production skills (speaking, writing), register,medium, and learner's need. When it is necessary to focus on form, sixdifferent dimensions are offered to guide preparation of classroomactivities. Five dimension are given to guide teachers when correctingESL students' formal errors. The author suggests that grammar is butone of many important aspects of language teaching. The ESL teachermust have a good knowledge of English grammar along with the pedagogicalskills to apply that knowledge effectively.

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Chapelle, C., & Jamieson, J. (1986). Computer-assisted languagelearning as a predictor of success in acquiring English as a secondlanguage. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 27-46. A/M, P

This article reports the results of a study of the effectiveness ofcomputer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the acquisition of Englishas a second language by Arabic- and Spanish-speaking students in anintensive program. The study also examined two student variables --time spent using and attitude toward the CALL lessons -- as well as fourcognitive/affective characteristics -- field independence, ambiguitytolerance, motivational intensity, and English-class anxiety. Englishproficiency was measured by the TOEFL and an oral test of communicativecompetence. Results indicated that the use of CALL lessons predicted novariance on the criterion measures beyond what could be predicted by thecognitive/affective variables. In addition, it was found that timespent using and attitude toward CALL were significantly related to fieldindependence and motivational intensity. These results indicated that(a) certain types of learners may be better suited to some CALLmaterials than other students and (b) it is necessary to consider manylearner variables when researching the effectiveness of CALL.

Chapelle, C., & Roberts, C. (1986). Ambiguity tolerance and fieldindependence as predictors of proficiency in English as a secondlanguage. Language Learning, 36, 27-45. A/M, P

The fact that some adults are more successful at acquiring an L2than others has led to investigations of individual characteristics aspredictors of successful L2 acquisition. This paper reports tha resultsof an investigation of the relationship between two learnercharacteristics, Ambiguity Tolerance (AT) and Field Independence (F1),and adult learners' acquisition of English as a Second Language in theUnited States. A Multiple Regression Analysis revealed that AT and FIaccounted for a significant amount of variance on several end-of-semester language measures beyond that which could be accounted for bybeginning-of-semester performance or other varWiles. The implicationsof these findings for further research are outlined.

Clment, R. (1987). Second language proficiency and acculturation: Aninvestigation of the effects of language status and individualcharacteristics. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 5,271-290. A/M, P

The present study investigates the relationship between languagestatus and individual differences in attitudes and motivation as theyrelate to proficiency and acculturation in a second language. Allrespondents were Francophone university students with either a minority(n = 110) or a majority background (n = 183). They were requested tofill out a questionnaire including measures of ethnolinguistic vitality,attitudes and motivation as well as to participate in an interview aimedat assessing their oral proficiency in English as a second language.Analyses of the data show that minority group members evidence moreself-confidence in their ability to use the second language and greaterproficiency in the second language than majority group members. Level

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of acculturation was a function of proficiency in th-, second languageand an interactive function of language status and frequency of contact.Correlational analyses revealed that proficiency and acculturation weremost strongly associated with self-confidence. Attitudes and motivationneither had an important influence on language outcome nor were theyinfluenced by language status. These results are discussed for theirtheoretical implications and with reference to second language educationprogrammes.

Clement, R., & Kruidenier, B. G. (1985). Aptitude, attitude andmotivation in second language proficiency: A test of Cl4ment'smodel. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 4, 21-37.A/I, A/M, P

This article presents a test of Clment's model of second languageproficiency using the causal modelling technique. Data pertaining toattitudes, aptitude, motivation and second language proficiency werecollected from 1,180 francophone students enrolled in grades 7, 9 and 11in Schools of eastern Quebec (Canada). The results of the analysisusing the LISREL V computer package support the hypothetical constructsand '-ausal sequence posited by Clgment. Furthermore, the generality ofthe model is support& by the cross-grade replicability of the obtainedstatistical solution. Finally, additional causal links and correlationsobtained through refinement of the model suggest avenues for futurestudy. These results are discussed within the context of current socialpsychological models of second language proficiency.

Cook, V. J. (1985). Language functions, social factors, and secondlanguage learning and teaching. International Review of AppliedLinguistics in Language Teaching, 23, 177-198. LLS

The concept of language functions -- the purposes for which peopleuse language, such as requesting and greeting -- has been highlyinfluential in language teaching since the early nineteen seventies notonly in the design of syllabuses but also in teaching materials. Yet sofar it has been supported with surprisingly little empirical evidence.From the point of view of linguistic description, there have been fewstudies of language functions actually in use among native speakers,though this is starting to be remedied (Wolfson, 1981). From the pointof view of language teaching there has been little research to show thesuperiority of functional approaches other than impressionistic teachersreports. Finally from the point of view of language learning, althoughthere has been on the one hand a number of accounts of first languagelearning written in broadly 'functional' terms (Dore, 1978; Wood,McMahon, & Cranstoun, 1980; Wells, 1981), and on the other an upsurge indescriptions of discourse type phenomena in conversations betweennatives and non-natives (Hatch, 1978; Edmondson, 1980; Faerch & Kasper,1983), these have not connected directly with the language teacher's useof the term 'function' and have mostly not been related to the use of'functions' in the classroom. The present paper starts by looking atsome of the issues in general, goes on to two smallscale experiments toprovide some actual data, and then considers what this means for secondlanguage learning and for language teaching in terms of syllabus designand teaching techniques.

Currall, S. C., & Kirk, R. E. (1986). Predicting success in intensiveforeign language courses. The Modern Language Journal, 70,107-113. A/I, A/M

The purpose of this investigatio% was to determine whether gradesin an intensive French course could be predicted by combininginformation obtained in a brief interview conducted by the teacher withinformation from academic records. Subjects were 46 college studentsenrolled in eight-week summer immersion courses. The best individualpredictors of course grade were the estimated and actual overall gradepoint averages and the interviewer's rating of potential success. Thepresence of previous French courses also predicted grades in theintensive courses. The use of these readily available predictors wasseen as an alternative to the use of standardized aptitude tests thatare more difficult to obtain and administer.

d'Anglejan, A., & Renaud, C. (1985). Learner characteristics andsecond language acquisition: A multivariate study of adultimmigrants and some thoughts on methodology. Language Learning,35, 1-19. A/I, A/M, P

This study examined the relationship between learnercharacteristics and achievement in French as a second language in asample of 391 adult immigrants combleting a 900-hour course of classroominstruction in Montreal. A multivariate analysis of variance was usedto assess the relative contribution of nine learner variables toindividual differences in performance on an FSL achievement test.Teachers' evaluations of subjects as "good learners" or "poor learners"served as the dependent variable in a multivariate ANOVA comparing thetwo groups. Results of the various analyses indicated that subjects whohave more .;chooling, a higher degree of nonverbal reasoning ability,make greater use of French outside the classroom, are more competent inEnglish, and display a greater degree of field independence are morelikely to benefit from formal language instruction. Higher levels ofilliteracy and classroom anxiety, coupled with greater age, were relatedto learning difficulties. The paper underlines the importance ofmultivariate data analysis techniques and proposes the use of graphicaldata analysis techniques for researchers exploring multivariate datasets with small groups of subjects.

Eardley, M. (1984). Language study in the sixth form: an attitudesurvey. The British Journal of Language Teaching, 22, 3-14. A/M

The purpose of this study was to determine attitudes towardsforeign language study of 388 Welsh students 16 years of age and older.An attitude survey was conducted to ascertain the reasons pupils decidedto continue or discontinue language studies. Only a minority ofstudents (29.4%) intended to continue studying a language, and girlsgreatly outnumbered boys 6 to 1. Results received in this surveyindicated that languages were not seen as attractive for future career

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prospects. A general disillusionment with languages emerged as theprincipal disincentive, although the difficulty of the subject was alsoa major reason. Boys had a much greater disillusionment with languagestudy in general than did girls.

Ellis, R. (1985). A variable competence model of second languageacquisition. International Review of Applied Linguistics inLanguage Teaching, 23, 47-59. LLS

The purpose of this article is to propose a model of secondlanguage acquisition (SLA) which takes full account of the variabilityof interlanguage output. The model is a process model. It describesthree inter-related sets of processes invo]red in SLA; (1) the processesby which the language user's output helps to form 'input' for thelanguage learning mechanisms, (2) the processes of internalising newknowledge from the input and (3) the processes of production andreception. This model will be called the Variable Competence Model.

The discussion of the Model is in two main sections. In the firstsection the components of the Model are described and a summary of itsmain hypotheses provided. In the second section a number of centralissues in SLA research will be reconsidered in the light of the Model.In this way it is hoped to demonstrate the explanatory power of theModel.

Ely, C. M. (1986). An analysis of discomfort, risktaking, sociability,and motivation in the L2 classroom. Language Learning, 36, 1-25.A/I, A/M, P

This study investigated a causal model of second language learning.Particular attention was given to three situation-specific constructs:Language Class Discomfort, Language Class Risktaking, and Language ClassSociability. It was theorized that voluntary Classroom Participationmediates the effecc of Language Class Discomfort, Language ClassRisktaking, Language Class Sociability, and Strength of Motivation onsuccess in classroom L2 learning. The subjects were students enrolledin first year (first and second quarter) university Spanish classes.

Data on Classroom Participation were gathered by means of classroomobservation and audio recording. Proficiency was measured bycorrectness and fluency on a story-retelling task and correctness on awritten final examination. The results of the causal analysis includedfindi-gs that: Language Class Discomfort negatively predicted LanguageClass Risktaking and Language Class Sociability; Language ClassRisktaking positively predicted Classroom Participation; and ClassroomParticipation positively predicted Oral Correctness for the firstquarter students.

Ely, C. M. (1986). Language learning motivation: a descriptive andcausal analysis. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 28-35. A/M

The first purpose of this study was to discover the types ofmotivation present among a group of university students of Spanish in

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northern California. Second-year Spanish students were asked toindicate all of their reasons for studying the second language, and fromthe responses a Likert scale was developed consisting of the most usefulitems. This questionnaire was administered to a second group of 75students who were in first year university. The second aim of thisresearch was to investigate the relationship between type and Strengthof motivation. The findings indicated the existence of two types ofmotivation clusters that bear a resemblance to integrative andinstrumental orientations. Several specific instructional implicationswere drawn from these results.

Fitzgerald, M. J. (1985). Teaching English as a second language tobilingual adults in Britain. The British Journal of LanguageTeaching, 23, 42-51. A/M

finis article discusses organizational developments in the teachingof English as a second language to adults in Great Britain, and detailsthe different factors operating on students in a foreign language vs.second language environment. One iszme that seems particularly germaneis the great heterogeneity among adults in ESL programs in terms ofbackgrounds and language needs. The article also addresses factors tobe considered in designing ESL courses, with particular emphasis onteaching for communicative competence. New procedures for assessingcommunicative competence are discussed.

Canguly, S. R. (1985). Ego-attitudes in second language. learning. Asocio-economic analysis. Journal of Multilingual and MulticulturalDevelopment, 6, 117-133. A/I, A/M, P

The socio-economic variable was introduced in a multivariateresearch study to explore its impact cn the dimensions of ego-attitudesin second language learning of an Asian sample (N = 463) at their secondstage of learning English in England. The experimental groupsignificantly differed at the two major universal social class levels ofprofessional and manual, in IQ, vocabulary, but not in the inferentialcomprehension, suggesting the need for an examination of the nature oflanguage dependence of bilinguals in their cognitive functioning.Contrary to expectations, the indigenous social groups did notsignificantly differ in the same cognitive me sures. Furtherinvestigation is required into issues, albeit tenuous, which tie in withthe findings to focus attention on the implications of social class onthe culturally differentiated groups in the process of acculturation.

Gardner, R. C., Lalonde, R. N., & MacPherson, J. (1985). Socialfactors in second language attrition. Language Learning, 35,519-540. A/M

A retrospective design was used to study the effects of attitudes,motivation and reported language use on second language attrition.Students who had been registered in an intensive six-week course inFrench in the province of Quebec were mailed questionnaires which asked

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them to rate their perceived second language skills upon completion ofthe course as well as their present skill levels (six months later).Attitudinal/motivational variables were also assessed, along withmeasures of second language use during the six month period. Results,based on a sample of 79 students, indicated attrition on themedium-level language skills of speaking and understanding. Noattrition was evidenced for reading skills. A factor analysis revealedthat subjects residing in areas where French was available spent moretime using their second language skills. Analyses of variancedemonstrated a loss of speaking and understanding skills as a functionof attitudes as students with less favourable attitudes and motivationevidenced significant language loci on these skills. In terms oflanguage use, a significant loss was found in speaking skills for thelow use group but not he high use group. Contrary to expectations,language use was found to be independent of attitudes. Issues areraised for researchers interested in the unexplored area of secondlanguage attrition.

Gardner, R. C., Lalonde, R. N., & Mourcroft, R. (1985). The role ofattitudes and motivation in second language learning:Correlational and experimental considerations. Language Learning,35, 207-227. A/I, A/M, P

This study investigated the multitrait-multimethod validity of theAttitude/Motivation Test Battery and in addition made use of laboratoryprocedures to examine the role of language aptitude and attitudinal/motivational attributes on the rate of learning French vocabulary.Subjects were 170 volunteers from an Introductory psychology course.The results indicated that all but two measures adapted from theAttitude/Motivation Test Battery evidenced acceptable convergent anddiscriminant validity and that they were largely independent of socialdesirability. Indices of language aptitude and integrative motivationwere independent ,nrrelates of indices of French achievement.

The effects of language aptitude, Integrative motivation, and modeof presentation on the rate of learning 25 French/English vocabularypairs were investigated using a paired associate learning paradigm. Theresults demonstrated that all three factors influenced rate of learning.Subjects high in language aptitude learned faster than those who were'ow, those high on integrative motivation learned faster than those whowere low, and the rate of learning was more rapid under visual/writtenconditions as compared with aural/oral ones. Other results indicatedthat subjects' perceptions of their effort and interest on each trialwere influenced by their level o:c integrative motivation but not bylanguage aptitude, suggesting the different roles those two factors playin second language learning.

Gardner, R. C., Lalonde, R. N., Moorcroft, R., & Evers, F. T. (1987).Second language attrition: The role of motivation and use.Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 6, 29-"7. A/M, P

This study investigated the nature of second language (Fr.anch)skills lost by grade 12 students over the course of the summer vacation,

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and the role played by attitudes and motivation in promoting languageachievement and language maintenance. Ths results demonstrated thatstudents rated many of their skills somewhat weaker after the summervacation. but these effects were more general for items dealing withunderstanding skills than for speaking skills, and somewhat intermediatefor reading and writing skills. Comparisons on objective assessmentsar -.eared to indicate improvement over the summer months on some skills,except fIr grammatical accuracy, that decreased, but these wereinterpreted as quite probably reflecting measurement artifacts.Although the attitude and motivation measures correlated quitemeaningfully with the various measures of Frerch proficiency, they didnot correlate with loss of :Ain as indexed b, simple change scores. Acausal modelling analysis indicated nonetheless that attitudes andmotivation were implicated in second languag/I acquisition and retention,the latter primarily because motivational variables determine the extentto which individuals will make use of the second language during thesummer period.

Genesee, F. (1984). Beyond bilingualism: Social psychological studiesof French immersion programs in Canada. Canadian Journal ofBehavioural Science, 16, 338-352. A/M, P

A review of social psychological studies of immersion programs inCanada is presented. The research findings are discussed with referenceto two issues: (1) bilingualism, ethnic identity and intergroupperc..ptions, and (2) attitudinal and motivational factors and secondlanguage use in bilingual settings. It is concluded that secondlanguage learning in immersion programs is associated with socialpsychologically significant outcomes that are related to fairly specificaspects of the immersion experience. More specifically, it has Leenfound that immersion students are not likely to experience a loss ofethnic identity with respect to their home culture and at the same timethey develop a greater sense of similarity to French Canadians.Immersion students express more positive attitudes toward the use ofFrench than do non-immersion students, and in fact they report usingFrench more often in a number of situations. The social psychologicaloutcomes of immersion are discussed in terms of possible intergroup andmotivational factors.

Giacobbe, J., & Cammarota, M-A. (1986). Learners' hypotheses for theacquisition of lexis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 8,327-342. LLS

In this article the relationship between the source language(Spanish) and the target language (French) in the construction of lexisduring the first phases-of target language acquisition is examined froma psycholinguistic perspective. After an analysis of two case studies,it is hypothesized that there are two types of approaches to theconstruction of lexis used by Hispanophones learning French: systematicand non-systematic.

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Grcebel, L. (1985). Ambiguity and second language learning.International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching,23, 149-158. A/I

The ability tc perceive ambiguity and the relationship of thisability to second language learning was the focus of this study. In

order to determine whether there is a correlation with second languageproficiency and/or with intelligence, 100 native speakers of Hebrew inIsrael and 24 native speakers of English in Arizona were studied. Bothgroups were given a test of reading proficiency in English and a secondtest to assess the ability to perceive ambiguity. Mental ability scoreswere also obtained for the Israeli sample. In both groups there was asignificant correlation (Israeli, p < .0001; American, p < .05) betweenthe scores on the reading test and the scores on the test ofambiguities. For the Israeli sample there was a significant correlation

< .01) between the test of ambiguities and that section of the mentalability test which measured abstract thinking. The data were alsoconsidered with regard to other variables.

Hall, B. J., & Gudykrmst, W. B. (1987). The intergroup theory ofsecond language ability. Journal of Language and SocialPsychology, 5, 293-301. A/M

Giles and Byrne's (1982) intergroup model of second languageacquisition focuses on the social context in which language learningoccurs. The present research was designed to examine the intergroupmodel in isolation and then compare it with alternative models whichincorporate integrativeness, one of the major factors influencing secondlanguage learning. Six path models were created and tested using LISRELcausal modeling to evaluate Giles and Byrne's theory, Beebe and Giles'(1984) reformulation, and a plausible alternative to these models. Allmodels were acceptable fits to the data; however, Giles and Byrne'sbasic model appeared to be the best fit to the data.

Hansen, L. (1984). Field dependence-independence and language testing:Evidence from six Pacific island cultures. TESOL Quarterly, 18,311-324. A/I P

This study analyzes the relationship between field sensitivity andcloze test performance for 286 subjects between the ages of 15 and 19 insix Pacific island cultures. Hawaiian students were found to besignificantly more field independent than Samoan, Tongan, Fijian,Indian-Fijian, and Tahitian students. In the South Pacific samples,males were significantly more field independent than females, whereas inHawaii there was no statistically significant relationship between sexand cognitive style. When the sample was taken as a whole, asignificant relationship was found between field dependence/independence and cloze scores. Sizable group differences for subgroupswithin the sample, however, indicate that the relationship may not besignificant for all cultures. Within cultures, the subgroups havinglower scholastic achievement showed a significant relationship betweencognitive style and cloze test score, while the high achiever; did not.

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Ho, D. Y. F. (1986). Two contrasting positions on second-languageacquisition: A proposed solution. International Review of AppliedLinguistics in Language Teaching, 24, 35-47. LLS

Theorists of L2 acquisition are divided on how crucial theinfluences are of the learner's experience in the first language. Twocontrasting positions are found in the contemporary literature. Oneposition states that there is a difference in kind between Ll and L2acquisition. The other position states that Ll and L2 acquisition arebasically similar. The author focuses on an examination of the evidencefor or against either position from three areas of investigation: (a)

achievement of native-speaker competence, (b) error analysis, and (c)contrastive analysis. He then proposes d solution which would help toresolve the controversy regarding the nature of L2 learning.

Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary evidence for the reliability andvalidity of a foreign language anxiety scale. TESOL Quarterly, 20,559-562.

This study reports preliminary data concerning the reliability andvalidity of a 33-item Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS).An internal consistency reliability coefficient of .93, and aneight-week test/retest reliability coefficient of .83 were obtained on asample of 78 students. In addition, evidence concerning validity isreported on other samples. Scores of FLCAS correlate .29 (N=108) withthe Spielberger Trait Anxiety Scale, .28 (N=44) with the Personal Reportof Communicative Apprehension, etc., and -.49 (N=35) and -.54 (N=32)with grades in Spanish and French respectively.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign languageclassroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125-132.

This paper identified foreign language anxiety as a conceptuallydistinct variable in foreign language learning and interpreted it withinthe context of existing t'leoretical and empirical work on specificanxiety reactions. Seventy-five university students from four intactintroductory Spanish classes completed the Foreign Language ClassroomAnxiety Scale (FLCAS). A majority of the statements reflective offoreign language anxiety (19 of 33 items) were supported by a third ormore of the students surveyed, and 7 statements were supported by halfthe students. The findings suggested that significant foreign languageanxiety is experienced by many students in response to at least someaspects of foreign language learning. Implications for teaching foreignlanguages were discussed.

K8nigs, F. G., & Hopkins, E. A. (1986). Observations on observinglearner language: A contribution to the discussion about therelationship between second language acquisition research andforeign language teaching and learning. International Review ofApplied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 24, 89-121. LLS

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In this article, the .authors compared research in foreign languageteaching (FLT) and second language acquisition (SLA). The two takeplace in different settings, the linguistic phenomena under discussionare mostly not the same, and the notions of learning are often quite theopposite. The authors concluded that FLT and SLA research are notcomparable and do not share the same epistemological interests (althoughthey can and should cooperate). They state, "On the foregoing pages wehave tried to show that SLA works with linguistic data as a product ofoutput, while FLT in addition tries to interpret classroom data bytaking into account the multifarious variables which influence it. Thusone should not expect to find the same data or sequences in FLT as inSLA; instead one could try to make use of SLA results for thedevelopment of FLT materials and then look at the results (and not thereverse!). Thin might result in additional insights into FLT. In anycase, we would then be able to prove that any higher rate of success inFLT would be due to the use of SLA-based materials. We would, however,not be able to prove whether similar results in SLA and FLT (if theyreally were similar!) were the result of the same underlying principlesand processes."

Labarca, A., & Khanji, R. (1986). On communication strategies: Focuson interaction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 8, 68-79.LLS

Although previous work has analyzed the communication strategies(CS) of L2 learners (e.g., Faerch & Kasper, 1983; Tarone, 1980, 1977),this research is an attempt at studying CS used by both L2 speakers andtheir interviewers during a videotaped interview. Fifty-three beginningFrench learners were interviewed and the videotape was analyzed for CSused by both interactants; learners' performance was also rated (ACTFL,1982). Subjects were instructed either by Total Physical Response(Asher, 1977, 1969) or Strategic Interaction (SI)(Di Pietro, 1982,1979) .

Data sftre subjected to correlational and MANOVA analyses.Significant differences were detected between groups. In general, thehigher the proficiency rating, the lower was the use of CS. The methodof instruction appeared to have an important bearing on amount and kindof CS used and on proficiency ratings received. SI students and theirinterviewers used fewer CS; SI learners also received higher ratings.

It a-nears that SI facilitated students' development of at leasttwo underlying competencies, linguistic and interactional (Palmer, 1979;Canale & Swain, 1980). It is also posited that SI students' diminisheduse of CS indicates a higher degree of control over the activity, asproposed by the Vygotskian paradigm (Vygotsky, 1962).

Labrie, N., & Clement, R. (1986). Ethnolinguistic vitality, self-confidence and second language proficiency: An investigation.Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 7, 269-282.A/M, P

Past studies of the social-psychological factors involved in secondlanguage acquisition have primarily been focussed on individualdeterminants of second language competence. Rent theoretical attempts

15

at integrating contextual or environmental determinants have underlinedthe possible role of ethnolinguistic vitality. The present study wasconducted to assess the influence of ethnolinguistic vitality ondifferent constructs of Clgment's model of second language usage. Thesubjects were 95 grade nine Francophone students living in a biculturalmilieu. They responded to a battery of tests which included scales ofethnolinguistic vitality, attitudes, motivation, self-confidence as wellas indices of second language competence and usage. Analyses of thedata show that contact with Anglophones and self-confidence with Englishas a second language are related to motivation and motivation is relatedto linguistic and non-linguistic aspects of second language competence.Hypotheses related to relationships between ethnolinguistic vitality andattitudes were, however, not supported. These results are discussedwith respect to the importance of ethnolinguistic vitality as adeterminant of second language proficiency within the context of currentmodels of second language competence.

Lalonde, R. N., & Gardner, R. C. (1984). Investigating a causal modelof second language acquisition: Where does personality fit?Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 16, 224-237. A/I, A/M, P

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of personalityvariables in second language acquisition and then to integrate suchvariables into an adapted version of Gardner's socio-educational modelwhich was tested using LISREL causal modeling. A total of 88 first-year university students of French were assessed on measures of languageaptitude, attitudes, motivation, Frelch achievement, self-perceptions ofproficiency in French, and personality traits. The latent variables inthe model included Language Aptitude, Self-Confidence with the secondlanguage, Integrativeness, Attitude towards the Learning Situation,Motivation, Situational Anxiety, and two personality constructs labelledAnalytic Orientation and Seriousness. The final model is discussed inlight of previous models of second language acquisition.

Lalonde, R. N., & Gardner, R. C. (1985). On the predictive validity ofthe Attitude/Motivation Test Battery. Journal of Multilingual andMulticultural Development, 6, 403-412. A/M

Evidence of the predictive validity of composite measures of the'Attitude/Motivation Test Battery' is provided. The composite measuresof Motivation, Integrativeness and Attitude Towards the LearningSituation were correlated with three criterion measures, 'BehaviouralIntention' to pursue French study, final French grade, and a globalmeasure of French achievement. The data were collected in six differentareas of Canada over a two-year period. The composite measure ofMotivation was found to be a better predictor of all three criteria,whereas no difference was found between the two attitudinal compositesin the prediction of the Behavioural Intention measure and FrenchGrades, Integrativeness was found to be superior to Attitude Towards theLearning Situation for the measure of French achievement. The findingssupport Gardner's socio-educational model of second language acquisitionwhich proposes that Motivation is a direct determinant of languageacquisition and should thus be the most relevant "ariable of the three.

Lucas, J. (1984). Communication apprehension in thGetting our students to talk. Foreign Language593-598.

16

e ESL classroom:Annals, 17,

Communication apprehension, or the fear of oral cbe a problem in every classroom. In foreign languages,English as a Second Language (ESL), it can be catastroparticle defines the problem of communication apprehensioeffects on teaching ESL. The second half of the paper fospecific problem of Japanese ESL students and their commuapprehension. Finally, a number of classroom techniques dalleviate the fear of communication and to promote and pracommunication are given and explained. Teachers of other flanguages will see parallels between student anxiety, conficultural awareness in the ESL classroom and those found in tclasses. Many exercises for ESL students are also appropriaforeign language students.

ommunication,especiallyhic. Thisn and itscuses onnicationesigned

cticeoreigndence,

heir owne for other

can

the

to

and

Madrid, D., & Torres, I. (1986). An experimental approach totraining in second language acquisition: Focus on negationJournal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19, 203-208. A/I

language

The effect of negation training in a second language on theexpression of negation in the native language was investigated.year-old children from bilingual (Spanish/Lnglish) homes who showeexpressive or receptive ability in Spanish negation and were eitheproficient or nonproficient in English negation received Spanishnegation training. Children who were proficient in English negatiomaintained correct responses in English and showed increased correctresponses in Spanish following simultaneous training in both languagor in Spanish alone. Children who were nonproficient in Englishnegation demonstrated a decrease in correct English responses followitraining in Spanish alone; however, children who received training inEnglish and Spanish simultaneously showed increases in correct responsin both languages. These findings suggest that language trainingprograms with children learning a second language should consider therelationship of the two language training conditions (simultaneous vs.independent) with the child's level of native language proficiency.

Four -

d nor

es

Massey, D. A. (1986). Variations in attitudes and motivation ofadolescent learners of French as a second language. The CanadianModern Language Review, 42, 607-618. A/M

g

es

The oLjective of this article was to examine the extent and natureof variations from one school year to the next in adolescents' attitudestoward and motivation for learning French as a second language in abasic program. It was presumed that these attitudes and motivationwould become negative over time, and attitude to the L2 learningsituation would be the factor to be most changed as a result of studentperceptions of classroom phenomena that occur in the first few weeks ofthe school year. One hundred and sixty-nine grade 6 and 7 students ofurban and suburban schools completed the Attitude/Motivation Test

Is

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Battery twice -- once at the end of the school year, and again after 4weeks of the following school year. The results indicated that, whilestudents' attitudes and motivation decreased slightly over time, theprincipal factor for change in the rural and suburban schools was thestudents' attitude toward what happened day by day in class. In theurban school, the principal factor influencing an overall reduction inattitudes and motivation was a slight drop in the students' interest inlearning French and desire to integrate with French-speaking people.Comparison with norms for grades 7 and 8 provided by the authors of theAMTB showed that the scores of the subjects in the study wereconsistently about the middle of the range. These findings werecompared with and generally supported those of previous studies.

Nation, R., & McLaughlin, B. (1986). Novices and experts: Aninformation processing approach to the "good language learner"problem. Applied Psycholinguistics, 7, 41-55. LLS

It is hypothesized that strategies and techniques employed by"expert" language learners differ from those of "novice" learners. Inthis study, the performance of multilingual subjects was contrasted tothat of bilingual and monolingual subjects on two tasks that involvedlearning a miniature linguistic system. Under "implicit" learningconditions, multilingual subjects showed superior performance to that ofthe other two groups, but under "explicit" conditions, there were nodifferences. The results were interpreted in information processingterms as indicating that multilingual subjects have strategies that helpthem allocate processing resources more efficiently than our othersubjects in formulating informal rules of limited scope under implicitconditions.

O'Malley, J. M., Chamot, A. U., Stewner-Manzanares, G., Russo, R. P., &Kupper, L. (1985). Learning strategy applications with studentsof English as a second language. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 557-584. LLS

Recent research on cognition has indicated the importance oflearning strategies in gaining command over second language skills.Despite these recent advancements, important research questions relatedto learning strategies remain to be answered. These questions concern1) the range and frequency of learning strategy used by studentslearning English as a second language (ESL) and 2) the effects oftraining in learning strategies on English language skills. This study,which was conducted with high school ESL students, was carried out intwo phases corresponding to the two research questions. In Phase I, ESLstudents and their teachers were interviewed to identify strategiesassociated with a range of tasks typically found in ESL classrooms andother settings. Results indicated that students used a variety oflearning strategies but typically used more familiar strategies andapplied them to discrete-point rather than integrative tasks. In PhaseII, ESL students were randomly assigned to receive learning strategiestraining on vocabulary, listening, and speaking tasks. Results varieddepending on the task but generally indicated that strategy training canbe effective for integrative language tasks. Results are discussed interms of implications for teaching and future research.

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O'Malley, J. M., Chamot, A. U., & Walker, C. (1987). Some applicationsof cognitive theory to second language acquisition. Studies inSecond Language Acquisition, 9, 287-306. A/I, LLS

This paper describes recent theoretical developments in cognitivepsychology that can be applied to second language acquisition and usesthe theory to analyze phenomena discussed regularly in the secondlanguage literature. Some limitations of linguistic theories inaddressing the role of mental processes in second language acquisitionare identified, and current cognitive learning theory in general isoutlined. The paper then examines the theoretical model developed byJohn Anderson (1983, 1985) as it applies to memory representation,learning, and language skill acquisition. The remainder of the paperdescribes possible applications of this model to issues in secondlanguage acquisition and suggests that the theory is useful both inexplaining second language acquisition processes and in identifyingareas in which research is needed.

Pak, A. W-P., Dion, K. L., & Dion, K. K. (1985). Correlates of self-confidence with English among Chinese students in Toronto.Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 17, 369-378. A/M, P

The relation between Chinese students' self-ratings of confidencewith English, and indicators of assimilation and psychologicaladjustment, respectively, were examined. Factor analysis revealed thatconfidence with English was positively associated with linguisticassimilation into English-Canadian society and with several componentsof psychological adjustment (e.g., sense of personal control, self-esteem). Indicators of cultural assimilation (e.g., social distancetoward anglophone groups) and involvement in the Chinese community werenot, however, related to confidence with English. This pattern offindings suggests that for some ethnolinguistic minorities in Canada,self-rated confidence with the language of the majority group is notnecessarily indicative of the loss of ethno-cultural identity by itsmembers.

Pang, L. Y. (1984). Is there a global factor of language proficiency?A critique of 011er and Hinofotis 1980. International Review ofApplied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 23, 203-212. A/I

The claim that a Spearman type g-factor exists in all languagetests has been made in recent years by a number of scholars. This paperis an attempt to examine both strong and weak versions of the basicargument for such a position. The conclusion is that the argument forthe existence of a g-factor in language tests is not tenable onstatistical grounds.

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Politzer, R. L., & M. McGroarty (1985). An exploratory study oflearning behaviors and their relationship to gains in linguisticand communicative competence. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 103-123. LLS

A questionnaire relating to presumed good learning behaviors wasadministered to 37 students enrolled in an eight-week intensive coursein English as a second language in preparation for graduate study in theUnited States. The answers to the self-report questionnaire wereclassified according to the students' cultural background (Asian versusHispanic) and field of specialization (professional engineering/scienceversus social science/humanities) and related to gains on four Englishlanguage proficiency measures: linguistic competence; auditorycomprehension; overall oral proficiency; and communicative competence,conceptualized here primarily as the ability to convey information.Analyses indicated that while the Asian subjects engaged in fewer of theassumed "good" learning behaviors than the Hispanics, they tended tomake greater gains in linguistic competence and communicativecompetence. On the other hand, the Hispanic students made more progressin overall oral proficiency and in auditory comprehension. Examinationof the relationships between specific behaviors and second languagelearning gains revealed an interesting split: Some behaviors wereassociated with conscious learning, while others were related toacquisition and gains in general communicative competence. Resultsindicate that caution in prescribing good learning behaviors iswarranted. Considerable further research is needed to explain whichbehaviors are helpful for learners at various levels and to relate theirbehaviors to current second language learning theories.

Ramirez, A. G. (1986). Language learning strategies used byadolescents studying French in New York schools. Foreign LanguageAnnals, 19, 131-141. LLS

Students studying French at Levels I, II, and III in a rural andurban school setting indicated on a questionnaire their use of learningstrategies associated with classroom behaviors, individual studytactics, and social interactional behaviors. Successful learningbehaviors related to communicative abilities, reading performance, andachievement on a standardized test were found to vary due to the natureof the task. Years of language study also influenced the use/need ofdifferent sets of strategies. Eight strategies contributeddifferentially to the overall success of these learners: (1) asking forclarification/verification, (2) using inferencing skills or deductivereasoning, (3) creating opportunities for practice, (4) memorizing,(5) using vocabulary learning techniques, (6) employing availablelinguistic knowledge and contextual cues, (7) being able to self-monitor performance, and (8) practicing.

Reid, J. M. (1987). The learning style preferences of ESL students.TESOL Quarterly, 21, 87-111. LLS

Following a review of the literature on learning styles andcognitive styles for both native speakers (NSs) and nonnative speakers

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(NNSs) of English, this article presents the results of a questionnairethat asked 1,388 students to identify their perceptual learning stylepreferences. Statistical analyses of the questionnaires indicated thatNNS learning style preferences often differ significantly from those ofNSs; that ESL students from different language backgrounds sometimesdiffer from one another in their learning style preferences; that othervariables such as sex, length of time in the United States, length oftime studying English in the U.S., field of study, level of education,TOEFL score, and age are related to differences in learning styles; andthat modifications and extensions of ESL student learning styles mayoccur with changes in academic environment and experience.

Reiss, M-A. (1985). The good language learner: another look. TheCanadian Modern Language Review, 41, 511-523. A/M, LLS, P

In this study, the author tested empirically second languagelearning strategies which were proposed by Stern (1975) and Rubin(1975). In discussing their suggested strategies, the author notes thatsome of them are actually personality variables such as introversion/extroversion, and low/high tolerance of ambiguity, etc. It was proposedthat the term strategy be used to refer to "a conscious approach used byan individual to facilitate learning." Ninety-eight college-levelstudents completed a 27-item multiple choice questionnaire, a shortquestionnaire, and an oral interview. The long questionnaired usedthree items each to assess the two personality variables, introversion/extroversion, tolerance for ambiguity, and the seven strategies,guessing, motivation to communicate, attending to form, practicing,monitoring, attending to meaning and using mnemonics. The shortquestionnaire had students rate their use of 19 strategies. Thirty-eight of the students who were singled out as good language learners bytheir professors were also interviewed. The author concluded thatRubin's strategies were reaffirmed with the exception of the personalityvariable of extroversion/introversion, which rated much lower than otheraspects. The strategies of monitoring and attending to form were thestrongest. Contrary to the writer's expectation, the use of mnemonicdevices was of little importance.

Schumann, J. H. (1986). Research on the acculturation model for secondlanguage acquisition. Journal of Multilingual and MulticulturalDevelopment, 7, 379-392. A/M

This paper presents a model of second language acquisition based onthe social-psychology of acculturation. The model maintains thatcertain social and psychological variables cluster into a singlevariable, acculturation. The model predicts that learners will accuirethe target language to the degree they acculturate to the targetlanguage group. Six studies that, in various ways, seek to test theAcculturation Model are reviewed and evaluated. Technical problems thataffect such research are discussed, and the current status of the modelis assessed.

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Seright, L. (1985). Age and aural comprehension achievement inFrancophone adults learning English. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 455-473.A/I

The study reported in this article examined the relationshipbetween age and second language (L2) achievement of adults in aninstructional setting. Older (aged 25 to 41) and younger (aged 17 to24) learners were compared with respect to short-term development inaural comprehension. The adult subjects, native speakers of QuebecFrench with limited L2 proficiency, were military personnel learningEnglish in an intensive program. A pretest/post-test procedure was usedto assess gains made by subjects in listening and to compare groups. Inanalyzing gains, two matched-pair samples were used, each comprised of18 pairs of older and younger subjects matched on five variables:informal exposure, pretest score, nonverbal IQ, education, and previousESL instruction. Zn both samples, the mean gain was significantlygreater for younger subjects than for older subjects. In addition,stepwise regression analysis showed age, along with pretest score, to bean important predictor of post-test (achievement) score; other variableswere not significant. The study suggests that in adult L2 learners,rate of achievement in aural comprehension decreases with increasingage. Implications of this finding for adult L2 instruction arediscussed.

Smith, H. A.,.& Massey, D. A. (1987). Student attitudes toward Frenchas a second language: Their stability and relationship toclassroom behaviours. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 43,314-336. A/M

Three main questions were addressed in this study: how stable overtime were students attitudes toward aid motivation for learning Frenchas a second language (FSL); what was the nature and direction of anysignificant changes which occurred in these attitudes; and what was therelationship between the students' expressed attitudes toward FSLlearning and their behaviour in the French classroom. Subjects were 169students from grades 6 and 7 enrolled in a basic FSL program in easternOntario. They completed the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) inJune and again in October. All classes except one were videotaped inthe interim, and students' and teachers' classroom behaviours wererated. In addition, 24 Ss with the highest and lowest Attitude/Motivation Index scores were audiotaped during an oral interview guidedby the Content Analysis System of Student Interactive Thoughts (CASSIT).The relation of student grades to student attitude and classroombehaviour measures was investigated.

Stability of student attitudes was reflected by the highlysignificant test-retest correlations for the total group of students ateach grade level. However, when the students were divided into High,Medium or Low attitude groups, the stability of student attitudes inseveral subpopulations became questionable. For every group, teacherswere rated more highly than courses despite significant differences inteaching effectiveness among the teachers. Nevertheless, the morehighly positive the group's attitude was toward FSL, the higher itsratings tended to be for both teacher and course. No consistentdifferences in behaviour patterns existed among the three groups in theFrench classroom.

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Snow, M. A., Padilla, A. M., & Campbell, R. (1984). Factorsinfluencing language retention of graduates of a Spanish immersionprogram (Report #19). Los Alamitos, Ca.: National Center forBilingual Research. A/M

This study examined the relationship between attitudinal factors,language use, self-assessment, and second language retention. Subjectswere 38 graduates of an elementary Spanish Immersion Program (SIP), and20 currently enrolled sixth grade SIP students. The Modern LanguageAssociation (MLA) Cooperative Test of Spanish and a 63-itemquestionnaire designed to obtain information about opportunities to useSpanish, interest in foreign languages, parental encouragement, andethnocentrism were administered to all subjects. Results indicated thatsome language loss had occurred as soon as the formal learning situationwas terminated. Significant differences between MLA scores of studentswith continued formal exposure to Spanish and those who had discontinuedSpanish did not develop until high school. At this level significantdifferences across all four skills (writing, speaking, reading, andlistening) were found with the greatest losses occurring in theproductive skills. Factor analysis of the questionnaire data resultedin four factors: interest in a foreign language, encouragement andpride in work, integrative orientation, and parental/integrativeorientation. Chi Square analyses resulted in significant )(2 valuesbetween three of the factors and the productive skills. All of thefactors, except integrative orientation, were also significantly relatedto language use opportunities. Findings suggest that the attitudinalpredisposition underlying the four factors influences the extent towhich students retain their Spanish skills in writing and speaking.These factors appear, however, to be unrelated to retention of Spanishreceptive skills.

Spada, N. (1986). The interaction between type of contact and type ofinstruction: Some effects on the L2 proficiency of adult learners.Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 8, 181-199. A/M

This paper reports the results of a study which investigated (a)

the separate effects that differences in learners' contact can have onvarious aspects of proficiency, and (b) the combined effects thatdifferences in informal contact and instructional variation can have onimprovement in proficiency. Forty-eight adult learners from threeintermediate-level ESL classes participated in the study.

To measure differences in learners' informal contact, a languagecontact questionnaire was administered. The results revealed bothquantitative and qualitative differences in learners' out-of-classcontact with the second language. When these differences were examinedin relation to learners' performance on seven proficiency measures,correlational analysis revealed that while learners' performance on somemeasures was related to differences in amount of contact, it was relatedon other measures to differences in type of contact.

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To determine whether differences in contact interacted withinstructional variation to produce differences in improvement inproficiency, learners' pre- and post-test scores were examined inrelation to contact and class in an analysis of co-variance. Theresults indicated that learners' informal contact interacted withdifferences in instruction to produce variation in improvement on twoproficiency measures.

The findings are discussed in relation to the need for moreclassroom-centered research to investigate both the separate andcombined effects of learner and instructional variables on secondlanguage proficiency.

Spolsky, B. (1985). Formulating a theory of second language learning.Studies in Second Language Acquistion, 7, 269-288. A/I, A/M, LLS, P

This article is intended to establish a framework for theformulation of a comprehensive theory of second language learning inwhich theories of first and second language learning may combine to forma unified theory. It proceeds through a critical assessment ofcurrentli, one of the foremost theories, the monitor model (Krashen,1982). Each of Krashen's five hypotheses is considered, and counter-opinions, fortified with the results of research, are presented. Thearticle concludes with a call for a more comprehensive theory thataccounts for the diverse ways in which people develop their ability touse a second language.

Spurling, S., & Ilyin, D. (1985). The impact of learner variables onlanguage test performance. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 283-301. A/I, A/M

Research has shown that learner variables such as age, languagebackground, field of study, and educational background have an impact onnon-native speakers' scores on language tests. However, does thisimpact reflect a natural advantage of one group over another, or is itindicative of test favoritism or test bias? This article looks at howthe learner variables of age, sex, language background, high schoolgraduation status, and length of stay in the United States affectperformance on six language tests: two cloze tests, a reading test, astructure test, and two listening tests. A multiple regression approachto the problem, posed by analysis of variance, was taken to determine1) the amount of variance accounted for by each of the learner variableson all tests combined and on each test individually and 2) theinteraction of variables with test type. Such an interaction would beevidence of either test favoritism or test bias. It was found that age,language background, and high school graduation status accounted forsmall but significant amounts of variance on the tests. Furthermore,there was an interaction between the test and learner variables.Therefore, both test advantage and test favoritism/bias were founa.

Steinberg, F. S., & Horwitz, E. K. (1986). The effect of inducedanxiety on the denotative and interpretive content of secondlanguage speech. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 131-136. P

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This study was concerned with the effects of induced anxiety on theuse of interpretation in the oral description of TAT pictures bystudents of a second language. Ss were 20 Spanish speaking ESL studentswho were randomly assigned to either an Anxious or non-Anxiouscondition. The results indicated that Ss in the Anxious condition usedless interpretation and more denotation in their TAT output. Amanipulation check confirmed that the treatments produced the desiredeffects.

Strong, M. (1984). Integrative motivation: Cause or result ofsuccessful second language acquisition? Language Learning, 34(3),1-14. A/M

This study examines the relationship between integrative motivationand acquired second language proficiency among a group of Spanish-speaking kindergartners in an American classroom. Integrativemotivation was measured by finding out the children's preferences forfriends and playmates and workmates and scoring them according to theirtendencies to nominate members of the target language group.Communicative English proficiency was assessed by analyzing spontaneouslanguage and deriving measures of structural knowledge, vocabularybrea.4th, and pronunciation skill. A Kendall's tau test showed nopositive association between integrative motivation and acquired Englishproficiency. A further comparison of beginners and advanced levelEnglish speakers found that the advanced children showed significantlymore integrative orientation to the target language group than thebeginners, lending support to the notion that integrative attitudesfollow second language acquisition skills rather than promoting them.

Trylong, V. L. (1987). Aptitude, attitudes, and anxiety: A study oftheir relationships to achievement in the foreign languageclassroom. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue University.A/I, A/M, P

In recent years, much attention has been given to the impact ofattitudes and anxiety on student achievement in the foreign languageclassroom, and teaching 4-_zhniques and methodologies have even beendeveloped for the purpose of alleviating anxiety in order to maximizelearning. Although numerous studies have indicated that positiveattitudes tend to facilitate language learning, there have been very fewquantitative research studies on the role of anxiety in achievement.

The present study, then, gathered data on student aptitude,attitudes, and anxiety in order to investigate the relationships ofthese variables to achievement on written tests, oral quizzes, andsemester grades as well as their interrelationships with one another.

Two hundred sixteen students in the first course in French at amidwestern, state university were included in this study. Testinstruments measuring aptitude, positive attitudes, and anxiety in thelanguage classroom were administered, and student scores on writtenexams and oral quizzes and overall course grades were reported by thedepartmental teaching assistants.

Correlational analyses of the data indicated that anxiety had anegative relationship to achievement while strong positive attitudes had

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a positive relationship to achievement. T-test comparisons of the meanscores of students demonstrating high versus low levels of anxietyindicated that those who were very anxious tended to get lower grades.A similar comparison of students demonstrating strong versus weakpositive attitudes showed that those with strong positive attitudes weremore successful in learning French. In addition, there was a .tegativerelationship between anxiety and attitudes so that students who werevery anxious tended to have lower scores on the attitudes measure.Finally, in multiple correlations, aptitude, attitudes, and anxietyaccounted for more of the total variance in all areas of achievementthan aptitude and attitudes without the anxiety variable.

Walker, C. L. (1985). Learning English: the Southeast Asian refugeeexperience. Topics in Language Disorders, 5, 53-65. A/M, P

This article discussed unique problems encountered in theresettlement of southeast Asian refugees in the U.S. since the 1970s andimplications for English language acquisition. Cultural, linguistic andpersonality variables were considered. Factors that helped in theacquisition of English included prior bilingualism, education in thehomeland, early exposure to English, youth, risk-taking, positiveattitudes toward the L2, motivation to learn the 12, willingness to makemistakes, absence of shyness, self confidence and feelings of security.Time spent in the U.S., although significant, did not seem to be a majorfactor influencing proficiency in English. Implications for teachingand intervention we discussed.

Weinstein, G. (1984). Literacy and second language acquisition:Issues and perspectives. TESOL Quarterly, 18, 471-484. A/I

This article is a theoretical exploration of the relationshipbetween literacy and second language acquisition (SL)). First, a studywhich investigated this relationship and which was conducted in a Thairefugee camp is reviewed. Next, major findings in current secondlanguage research are presented, and these are then discussed both interms of the findings of the study as well as in the light ofconflicting approaches to contemporary issues in literacy.Specifically, it is suggested that a functional approach toinvestigating literacy is more useful for community problem solving thana developmental 'pproach. Finally, it is argued that for a morecomprehensive ar.f.g.erstanding of language learning, trends in literacyresearch might have a great deal to offer SLA researchers. It isfurther proposed that ethnographic investigations of literacy andlanguage are the best means for understanding the roles of each in theintricate web of human relationships.

Weltens, B. (1987). The attrition of foreign-:1-iguage skills: Aliterature review. Applied Linguistics, 8, 22-38. A/I, A/M, LLS

The subject of attrition or loss of foreign language skills hasrecently attracted some serious attention. In this review paper, the

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author first discusses the relation between language and memory, thenidentifies a number of types of attrition research, briefly considersfirst language attrition, and finally discusses in more detail studiesthat have investigated second language/foreign language attrition. Thislatter review focuses on three categories of variables, characteristicsof the acquisition process, characteristics of the attrition period, andlearner characteristics. The article ends with a discussion of thenature of the attrition process, and some critical remarks about theresearch in this general area.

Wenden, A. L. (1985). Learner strategies -ESOL Newsletter, 19(5),1-7. LLS

This article defined and illustrated th. four kinds of languagelearning strategies - cognitive, communication, global practice, andmetacognitive. Excerpts from second language learners' verbal reportswere used to explain why these people used strategies. The significanceof learner strategies for teachers was also discussed.

Yorio, C. A. (1986). Consumerism in second language learning andteaching. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 42, 668-687. LLS

This paper reported the results of a survey done from 1980 to 1982in which 711 ESL students at the University of Toronto answeredquestionnaires asking for their opinions on second language learningclassroom techniques. A commercial listening test (CELT) and teachers'evaluations determined Ss English proficiency level. The relationshipbetween certain variables (age, native language, and L2 proficiencylevel) and students' opinions were examined. General frequency analysisand cross-tabulations were done. The questionnaire items were groupedinto four categories: language skills, homework assignments, teachingmaterials, and various teaching techniques. The four major languagegroups in the survey were French, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.

Language background was the factor that most often appeared to result inmarked differences. With only one exception (the language laboratory),the Chinese and Japanese students patterned differently from the Frenchand Spanish. Furthermore, the Chinese were often in a group bythemselves, and in general appeared to be the least "positive" of thefour groups. Proficiency level was also an important factor.Elementary level students consistently showed a preference for thosetechniques that are supportive and safe: homework, textbooks,grammatical explanations, the language laboratory, vocabulary lists, andtranslation exercises.