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This chapter presents a bilingual version of dual coding theory. It reviews the implications of the theory for some current issues in the psychology of bilingualism, including semantic memory, episodic memory, second language learning. The theory leads to a strong emphasis on the role of situational contexts and imagery in second language learning. In particular, the theory suggests that language-learning strategies based on the systematic use of referent objects, pictures, activities, and mental imagery would be especially effective in promoting learning.

This chapter reports on a study that investigates the phenomenon of “sign accent,” or systematic phonological errors made by nonsigners attempting to mimic isolated ASL signs. The study has implications for sign language teaching, where people are learning an unfamiliar language in a modality new to them. The study finds two factors relevant to how well nonsigners produce the target handshape. One is markedness; anatomical features of the hand affect dexterity in making a sign, although with qualifications. This general finding is no surprise — studies of acquisition repeatedly show the relevance of phonetic markedness. The other factor, however, is surprising: transfer of phonological features from gestures hearing people make (with or without accompanying speech) affects the ability to mimic signs.

This chapter illustrates the various models of first language (L1) and second language (L2) learning, and the relationship between language learning and achievement, which is particularly relevant for understanding the debate over the medium of instruction and student achievement.

This chapter considers the nomadic Eastern Penan, the most socio-economically disadvantaged ethnic group in Borneo, and their endangered language. It provides a brief outline of the sociocultural circumstances of the Eastern Penan and discusses challenges of language maintenance. A modest lexicographic project for the language aims to complement the development of first language literacy among lower primary school Eastern Penan children, as well as foster the maintenance of Eastern Penan and facilitate second and foreign language learning.

Many studies of second language learning regarding sign languages are phonetic, where the modality difference between spoken and sign languages is most apparent. However, studies of phonological, syntactic, and semantic phenomena allow a broader view of language differences. For signers whose first language is spoken, the modality difference can affect acquisition of morphology based not on concatenation but on processes (such as changing dynamics or size of a sign). It can also affect non-linear syntax, since this kind of syntax cannot occur in speech given a single speech track. On the other hand, for signers whose first language is sign, differences in the interface between modality and sign in the two languages will be important.

This chapter argues for the establishment of an assessment culture that recognises the development of learner autonomy as a primary goal in second language learning and teaching, and in which the learner plays a role in evaluating learning outcomes. Describing an institution-wide language programme at Trinity College, Dublin, the chapter explores the implications of the use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the European Language Portfolio for both learning and assessment.

This chapter explores the development of academic language proficiency, with an emphasis on children’s writing ability particularly children’s correction, revision, and editing of their own compositions. Drawing on the results of a study in Mexico, it discusses metalinguistic development and its relation to bilingualism, along with metalinguistic awareness in literacy and second language learning, children’s perceptions of focus on form and their development of a reflective posture toward writing, metalinguistic awareness as a component of literacy ability, and borrowing or codeswitching.

This chapter traces the dynamics of learning Yiddish and of its role as a language of instruction, beginning with its traditional role in the study of sacred texts in Hebrew and Aramaic. Formal instruction in Yiddish begins among Christian humanists in the seventeenth century, who wrote the first textbooks for learning the language. The establishment of secular Yiddish-language schools for Jewish children is largely a twentieth-century phenomenon. This development reflects major shifts in Jews’ social and political circumstances as well as their cultural and linguistic literacy. This period also witnessed the advent of academic research on Yiddish language, literature, and culture.

In 1982–83, the author and his family spent a sabbatical year in French-speaking Switzerland, and observed their English-speaking children become bilingual. The author describes how this took place, and how each boy developed a different strategy to do so. The older one emphasized communication, even if it was in broken French, whereas the younger one took his time, and when he finally started speaking, it was error free. The author also describes how every member of the family had to get used to living in a very different culture. When they returned to the US, the parents used a number of approaches to maintain French in the family. They were successful and both boys, now adults, are multilingual.

This chapter opens part 3, within which the focus is a new understanding of why communication is challenging in the dementia context and how improvements could be made to practice. The Communicative Impact model is used to shed light on how the various ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ causes of dementia interact with the generation of messages, and why failing to achieve the intended change in one’s world negatively affects one’s confidence and self-esteem. Attention is paid to the high risk of a mismatch of contextual information between people living with a dementia and their interlocutors (communication partners). The many ways in which either party can attempt to fix communication problems is then considered, noting that such solutions can create additional problems, one of which is awkward pragmatic gaps, where the speaker is not sure why an issue has arisen and, thus, how to respond. Finally, brief consideration is given to similarities between communicating with people living with a dementia and people using a second language in which they are not fully proficient.