LITERATURE REVIEW Bonjour Tansi

Although direction was given to the researchers to establish parameters for the task, the content of this document reflects the writers’ perspectives on topics and subjects reviewed and does not necessarily reflect the position of the Second Languages and Intercultural Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association or the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers. [...] The current review builds on A Review of the Literature on Second Language Learning carried out by a team of researchers from the Language Research Centre at the University of Calgary in 2004 and revised in 2006.1 As such, the research summarized in this review was published after 2006. [...] The following definitions will prove useful for a reading of this section: • Long-term memory: the vast storage of general knowledge and events that a person has experienced in the past and that can be retrieved • Metalinguistic awareness: knowledge of the rules of language and the ability to use them • Short-term memory: storage of a limited amount of information that is only temporarily accessib. [...] INTRODUCTION A review of the recent literature demonstrates that the benefits of second-language learning extend beyond proficiency in a second language, namely, that learning a second language enhances learners’ reading and writing abilities, mathematical skills and performance in other school-related subjects. [...] The researchers administered language tests (focusing on reading and writing) to assess different aspects of the children’s first-language (English) reading and spelling skills, and to identify whether and to what extent second-language instruction was both effective and interesting for the children.