Second Language Acquisition/Bilingualism

An Annotated Bibliography

Collected and compiled by Sally Rehorick

Courchêne, R. S. Gurger, C. Cornaire, R. LeBlanc, S. Paritbakht, H. Séguin. (eds) 1996.
Twenty-five years of second language teaching at the University of Ottawa / Vingt-cinq ans d'enseignement des langues secondes à l'Université d'Ottawa. Ottawa: University of Ottawa. A series of articles written under the following sections: Research and Practice; Innovative teaching programs; test development and research; Self-directed learning.

MacFarlane, Alina. 1997. Brief interethnic exchanges and classroom language learning. Ottawa: University of Ottawa. This document summarizes a recent doctoral dissertation which examined the effects of short exchange programs for students learning French as a second language in Canada. Focus groups, observation and interviews complemented a questionnaire to develop an understanding of the exchange experience from the perspective of the participants to indicate how the exchange process affects the development of second language skills, motivation for language learning and contact with native speakers, and attitudes towards the other language group. This study could inform MIC's investigation of the effects of our Study Abroad program.

Swaffar, Janet K. 1991. Language learning is more than learning language: Rethinking reading and writing tasks in textbooks for beginning language study. In Barbara F. Freed, (ed.) pp. 252-279 Foreign language acquisition research and the classroom. Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company. Swaffar examines how the following 2 extralinguistic factors, revealed in recent research challenges current classroom practice to develop a more cognitively based approach to teaching reading and writing: 1) "... regardless of the learners' language level, more successful learning outcomes result when assessment measures of reading and writing acknowledge the learners' metacognitive processes." and 2) "... regardless of the learners' language level, prior knowledge impacts heavily on how well a text is comprehended or presented in a student composition." She makes concrete suggestions for augmenting current instructional strategies for reading and writing particularly with regards to using authentic texts with multiple strategies, and designing learning sequences to enhance critical thinking and conceptual skills. She notes that both reading and writing tasks need to go beyond the sentence-level processing and production in order for students to tap into their cognitive abilities because "... sophisticated language can only develop from sophisticated thought."

Swaffar, Janet K., K Ahrens, and Heidi Byrnes. 1991. "The Practical differences between language learning and reading." In Reading for Meaning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. This chapter presents the view that "development of reading facility can complement beginning instruction if the differences between reading and speaking tasks are acknowledged in course development.

Swain, Merrill. 1996. "Integrating language and content in immersion classrooms: Research perspectives." Canadian Modern Language Review 52,4:529-548. Observations in immersion classrooms suggest that there is considerable content teaching that occurs where little or no attention is paid to students' target language use. Similarly, much language teaching in immersion is done in the absence of meaningful context. This article focuses on research that addresses ways of integrating content and language teaching [...]. A review of several relevant classroom-based studies suggests that teachers should plan structure activities where a focus on form is incorporated into content teaching through both teacher-led instruction and collaborative task with peers.

Wesche, Marjorie Bingham. 1994. "Input and interaction in second language acquisition." In Gallaway, Claire and Brian J. Richards (eds) Input and interaction in language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This is a state-of-the-art article about the role of the "linguistic environment of the language learner with relation to outcomes in second language acquisition. Wesche surveys research on language addressed to second/foreign learners in naturalistic and classroom contexts, characterizing input varieties in terms of linguistic and interactional modifications." She then presents theoretical perspectives on SLA. She concludes with "an overview of current research which includes: 1) the socialization of L2 learners through language and to use the new language: 2) how ambient linguistic data are selected, processed and may lead to restructuring of the L2 learner's internal grammar, and 3) experiments with 'input enhancement' (fine-tuning of input, increasing salience of input features and relations, and Task manipulation or feedback to require in in-depth learner processing of the data)." There is an extensive bibliography on second language acquisition attached to the article.

Wong-Fillmore, Lily. 1985. "When does teacher talk work as input?" in Gass and Madden (eds). Input in second language acquisition: Series on Issues in second language research. pp. 17-50. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House. A qualitative study to investigate how teachers in influence language learning by the way they use language with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students learning content matter. In included are descriptions of structural characteristics of classrooms/lessons that work for language learning as well as descriptions of the kind of language used by teachers. Effective instructional practices are contrasted with ineffective practices. There is a particularly informative section on how teachers of successful classes clearly separated the L1 from L2. There has been a lot of discussion at MIC concerning if, when and how to use Japanese in the classrooms to help students to understand; this article helps to shed light on this question.

Wong-Fillmore, Lily. 1989. "Teachability and second language acquisition." In Rice. M. L. and Schiefelbusch, R. L. (eds) The Teachability of language. pp. 311-331. Baltimore: Brookes. The author compares first language learning with second language learning. She notes that there is a great deal of variability in second language learning and her research has focused on identifying the sources of that variability. The research reveals "a richly connected learning process where variation stems not only from differences in learners, but from differences in those who provide learners with linguistic input, that is, in the speakers of the target language and from differences in the social setting in which the language is learned." The author focuses in particular on the critical role of the teacher in facilitating language learning. She stresses that "because learners are likely to be at a great many different points in the development of the new language, it does not make sense for the teacher to worry about teaching only those aspects of the grammar that the students are ready to learn. [...] Teachers have to provide students with a rich and varied exposure to the language so individuals are able to find, in that input, help for learning whatever they are ready to learn." This article can inform MIC faculty about the ongoing issues of common curriculum.

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