Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

Issues and patterns in second language learning are discussed, drawing on a 1985 study with learners of English as a second language in Australia. Discussion begins with an analysis of the process of learning one form of verb marking, the ending "-ing." The inherent complexity of this form in English is examined, and ways in which learners at beginning and more advanced levels and from different native language backgrounds approach this complex form are explored. The second chapter looks at a variety of principles and subprocesses in language learning: learning as elaboration of previously-known patterns; acquisition of English pronouns; acquisition of vocabulary; acquisition of the indefinite article; form-function constraints; lexical opposites; learning as decomposition of elements (as contrasted with elaboration); and learning as analysis. Chapter three addresses the teachability hypothesis, which makes claims about developmental stages in language learning and the learning of variation in language patterns. In chapter four, ways to apply theory in classroom research to improve language teaching practice are discussed. Contains 30 references. (MSE)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert