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It is widely accepted that general intelligence and phonological awareness contribute to children's acquisition of reading and spelling skills. A further candidate in this regard is orthographic knowledge (i.e., the knowledge about permissible letter patterns). It consists of two components, word-specific (i.e., the knowledge of the spelling of specific words) and general orthographic knowledge (i.e., the knowledge about legal letter patterns of a writing system). Among German students, previous studies have shown that word-specific orthographic knowledge contributes to both reading and spelling. The results regarding general orthographic knowledge and its contribution to reading and spelling are inconsistent. The major goal of the present study was to determine the incremental predictive value of orthographic knowledge for reading and spelling skills among German elementary-school children (N= 66), over and above the contribution of general intelligence and phonological awareness. The second goal was to examine whether there is a difference between the two subtypes of orthographic knowledge in the amount of their respective contribution to reading and spelling performance. The results show that word-specific as well as general orthographic knowledge con- tribute to both reading and spelling performance, over and above intelligence and phonological awareness. Furthermore, it reveals that both word-specific and general orthographic knowledge explain more variance of spelling compared to reading. Possible explanations for these results, limitations, and implications of the study are being discussed. (DIPF/Orig.).

Although claims about explicit and implicit language knowledge are central to many debates in SLA, little research has been dedicated to measuring the two knowledge types (R. Ellis, 2004, 2005). The purpose of the reported study was to validate the use of the battery of tests reported in Ellis (2005) to measure implicit and explicit language knowledge. Whereas Ellis (2005) tested only second-language (L2) learners (of English), this study tested both L2 and heritage language (HL) learners (of Spanish). Results showed that test scores loaded on a two-factor model, as in Ellis (2005), thereby providing construct validity for the tests, on a population of HL learners who have little explicit knowledge by virtue of the environment in which they acquired Spanish. (Verlag, adapt.).

Oral argumentative competence is highly relevant for responsible [mündige] participation in social negotiation processes. Thus, promoting argumentative competence is central to civic education. However, there is a lack of theoretical concepts and empirical findings which can guide action in the civic education classroom. Since argumentative competence is a linguistic skill, the concept of language-aware civic education offers itself as a plausible framework. In this article, the two terms oral argumentative competence and language-aware subject teaching are clarified within the context of civic education. It is shown how subject-specific oral argumentative competence can be fostered through language-aware civic education.

The paper suggests that a dynamic systems theory (DST) provides an adequate conceptual metaphor for discussing multilingual development. Multilingual acquisition is a nonlinear and complex dynamic process depending on a number of interacting factors. Variability plays a crucial role in the multilingual system as it changes over time (Herdina & Jessner, 2002). A number of studies on multilingualism have shown that there are qualitative differences between second and third language learning and that these can be related to an increased level of metalinguistic awareness. From a DST-perspective, metalinguistic knowledge and awareness of this knowledge play a crucial role in the development of individual multilingualism. (Verlag, adapt.).

This article focuses on the use of conversation analysis (CA) to help teaching interactional competence in English to adult second language learners from lower to intermediate levels. To set the context, this article gives a brief overview on the use of CA in second language research as well as considering the construct of interactional competence in second language teaching. Based on classroom research, the article demonstrates how CA applied in the second language classroom was effective initially in raising students' awareness of both the mechanisms and norms of spoken interaction, and also eventually in helping them to become analysts of conversation and more effective conversationalists. To better understand what CA concepts needed to be taught a conversation analysis of the students' undirected conversations was undertaken revealing interactional problems not noticed through traditional methods of investigation. It is therefore suggested that a CA-informed pedagogical approach can help to teach interactional competence or competencies, by using materials designed for that purpose. (Verlag).

The goal of text-procedure-oriented writing instruction models is to foster metalinguistic awareness, but they lack a sound theoretical foundation for the concept of metalinguistic awareness. In response to this, this paper discusses theories from the field of metalinguistic awareness research, which are then used to develop a text-procedure-orientated writing instruction model. Using a mixed methods approach which combines inferential statistics, corpus analysis and the in-depth analysis of individual cases, the writing instruction model was evaluated, and the texts produced by the students were analyzed in conjunction with their collaborative writing dialogues (since these document the genesis of the texts) to examine the relationship between metalinguistic awareness and academic writing competence.

Following on from my state-of-the-art article on Language Awareness and language learning (Svalberg 2007), in this paper I will discuss specific research tasks which are centrally concerned with different aspects of language awareness (LA): ‘explicit knowledge about language, and conscious perception and sensitivity in language learning, language teaching and language use’. The overall argument is that research is needed into how LA is constructed by language learners and teachers through engagement with language (Svalberg 2007; 2009). I will sometimes refer specifically to awareness of grammar (form-meaning) but hope the paper will stimulate ideas for research into other LA aspects of language learning and teaching. The absence of other issues and areas (such as LA and multilingualism, intercultural LA, critical LA, LA and language policy) is a function of the personal nature of the paper and the limitations of space.

Rhyming is one of the basic skills associated with phonological awareness. This paper aims to introduce theoretical starting points and the results of research into children's rhyming in the context of phonological awareness. The text explains theoretical circumstances pertaining to the theme and defines key concepts. The main part of the paper includes the results of the research of pre-school children in Slovakia. There were 866 respondents (children) of 4 to 7 years of age. The subject of the research was the rhyming skills of children, which was tested in three independent areas: completing the rhyme in a nursery-rhyme, awareness of rhymes, and the production of rhymes. (DIPF/Orig.).

This article reviews Language Awareness (LA) as a field of research and practice. It deals with the period from 1990 to the present, asking what LA is, how it has been collectively constructed during this time, what the theoretical underpinnings might be and what it means in practical, methodological terms in the classroom and for society. It is recognized that its multidisciplinary nature and wide scope could lead to fragmentation, but it is argued that the holistic view evident in LA research and practice is a strength, and that its different sub-fields have certain core notions in common which give LA coherence. The paper begins with a brief background sketch and outline, and goes on to discuss the literature on cognitive aspects of LA, such as awareness, attention and noticing. The review then enquires into the characteristics of LA teaching methodology, and what LA is needed for teachers to implement it. Social and political perspectives are then explored in brief reviews of Critical Language Awareness, Inter-/Cross-cultural Awareness, and multilingualism. The paper closes by drawing conclusions and making suggestions for further research.

Recent research has shown that certain learners' responses to feedback, specifically repair and modified output, are predictive of subsequent second language (L2) development. Yet, little is understood about why these responses are associated with second language acquisition (SLA). The reported study investigated this question by exploring the cognitive processes underlying learner responses. Learners of Japanese (n = 24) engaged in task-based interactions during which they received recasts of their errors. Each learner then watched video clips of the recast episodes and commented on them. The learners' stimulated recall reports were analyzed in relation to their responses to the recasts: uptake, repair, and modified output. In recast episodes where they produced uptake, their reports indicated that they perceived the recasts as corrective feedback significantly more frequently compared to cases where they did not produce uptake. In episodes where learners correctly repaired their errors, they were significantly more likely to report not only recognizing corrective recasts but also noticing the interlanguage-L2 mismatch. Modified output was also significantly related both to learners' recognition of corrective recasts and to their noticing of the gap (Schmidt & Frota, 1986). Given the developmental benefits commonly associated with noticing the gap, these findings may partly explain why repair and modified output have been found to be predictive of SLA. (Verlag, adapt.).