How Much L1 Is Too Much? Teachers' Language Use in Response to Students' Abilities and Classroom Interaction in Content and Language Integrated Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Yuen Yi

2015-01-01

In Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classrooms where students' L2 proficiency has not reached the threshold level, teachers have been observed to use L1 to assist students in grasping specific technical terms and abstract concepts. It is argued to be a 'realistic' approach to the learning problems caused by students' limited L2…

Contradictory "Others" and the "Habitus" of Languages: Surveying the L2 Motivation Landscape in the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lanvers, Ursula

2017-01-01

Britain's already poor record for language learning might be exacerbated by the Global English phenomenon, in that utilitarian reasons for learning languages other than English are increasingly undermined (Lanvers, 2014; Lo Bianco, 2014). This article offers a state-of-the-art review of UK research on second language (L2) learning motivation and…

Second Language Developmental Dynamics: How Dynamic Systems Theory Accounts for Issues in Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosmawati

2014-01-01

Dynamic systems theory (DST) is presented in this article as a suitable approach to research the acquisition of second language (L2) because of its close alignment with the process of second language learning. Through a process of identifying and comparing the characteristics of a dynamic system with the process of L2 learning, this article…

Empowering L2 Tutoring: A Case Study of a Second Language Writer's Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Severino, Carol; Deifell, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Writing center tutors play a key role in advancing L2 writers' language learning because the tutorial interaction involves the introduction of new language and vocabulary at the point of need or interest. This tutor-research case study presents a detailed, complex portrait of how a second language writer in a US writing center learned and used…

Native language change during early stages of second language learning.

PubMed

Bice, Kinsey; Kroll, Judith F

2015-11-11

Research on proficient bilinguals has demonstrated that both languages are always active, even when only one is required. The coactivation of the two languages creates both competition and convergence, facilitating the processing of cognate words, but slowing lexical access when there is a requirement to engage control mechanisms to select the target language. Critically, these consequences are evident in the native language (L1) as well as in the second language (L2). The present study questioned whether L1 changes can be detected at early stages of L2 learning and how they are modulated by L2 proficiency. Native English speakers learning Spanish performed an English (L1) lexical decision task that included cognates while event-related potentials were recorded. They also performed verbal fluency, working memory, and inhibitory control tasks. A group of matched monolinguals performed the same tasks in English only. The results revealed that intermediate learners demonstrate a reduced N400 for cognates compared with noncognates in English (L1), and an emerging effect is visually present in beginning learners as well; however, no behavioral cognate effect was present for either group. In addition, slower reaction times in English (L1) are related to a larger cognate N400 magnitude in English (L1) and Spanish (L2), and to better inhibitory control for learners but not for monolinguals. The results suggest that contrary to the claim that L2 affects L1 only when L2 speakers are highly proficient, L2 learning begins to impact L1 early in the development of the L2 skill.

The Inseparability of Cognition and Emotion in Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swain, Merrill

2013-01-01

The scholarly literature about the process of second language (L2) learning has focused to a considerable extent on cognitive processes. Left aside are questions about how emotions fit into an understanding of L2 learning. One goal of this plenary is to demonstrate that we have limited our understanding of L2 learning by failing to take into…

Is Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Really Useful? An Examination of Recall Automatization and Learner Autonomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Takeshi; Murase, Fumiko; Burden, Tyler

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the advantages of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL), especially vocabulary learning of English as a foreign or second language (L2) in terms of the two strands: automatization and learner autonomy. Previous studies articulate that technology-enhanced L2 learning could bring about some positive effects.…

Improving Pronunciation Instruction in the Second Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Counselman, David

2010-01-01

Researchers in second language acquisition (SLA) have increasingly discussed the role that attention plays in the learning of a second language (L2). This discussion has led to research on proposed pedagogical strategies aimed at directing L2 learners' attention to aspects of the L2 grammar that are difficult to learn or acquire. Research on one…

Learning L2 Vocabulary with American TV Drama "From the Learner's Perspective"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yu-Chia

2012-01-01

Following the trend of computer assisted language learning (CALL), in Taiwan, most language classes now have equivalent media support for language teachers and learners. Implementing videos into classroom activities is one of the choices. The current study explores the process of implementing American TV drama in L2 vocabulary learning from…

Learning to perceive and recognize a second language: the L2LP model revised.

PubMed

van Leussen, Jan-Willem; Escudero, Paola

2015-01-01

We present a test of a revised version of the Second Language Linguistic Perception (L2LP) model, a computational model of the acquisition of second language (L2) speech perception and recognition. The model draws on phonetic, phonological, and psycholinguistic constructs to explain a number of L2 learning scenarios. However, a recent computational implementation failed to validate a theoretical proposal for a learning scenario where the L2 has less phonemic categories than the native language (L1) along a given acoustic continuum. According to the L2LP, learners faced with this learning scenario must not only shift their old L1 phoneme boundaries but also reduce the number of categories employed in perception. Our proposed revision to L2LP successfully accounts for this updating in the number of perceptual categories as a process driven by the meaning of lexical items, rather than by the learners' awareness of the number and type of phonemes that are relevant in their new language, as the previous version of L2LP assumed. Results of our simulations show that meaning-driven learning correctly predicts the developmental path of L2 phoneme perception seen in empirical studies. Additionally, and to contribute to a long-standing debate in psycholinguistics, we test two versions of the model, with the stages of phonemic perception and lexical recognition being either sequential or interactive. Both versions succeed in learning to recognize minimal pairs in the new L2, but make diverging predictions on learners' resulting phonological representations. In sum, the proposed revision to the L2LP model contributes to our understanding of L2 acquisition, with implications for speech processing in general.

Effects of learning context on the acquisition and processing of emotional words in bilinguals.

PubMed

Brase, Julia; Mani, Nivedita

2017-06-01

Although bilinguals respond differently to emotionally valenced words in their first language (L1) relative to emotionally neutral words, similar effects of emotional valence are hard to come by in second language (L2) processing. We examine the extent to which these differences in first and second language processing are due to the context in which the 2 languages are acquired: L1 is typically acquired in more naturalistic settings (e.g., family) than L2 (e.g., at school). Fifty German-English bilinguals learned unfamiliar German and English negative and neutral words in 2 different learning conditions: One group (emotion video context) watched videos of a person providing definitions of the words with facial and gestural cues, whereas another group (neutral video context) received the same definitions without gestural and emotional cues. Subsequently, participants carried out an emotional Stroop task, a sentence completion task, and a recall task on the words they had just learned. We found that the effect of learning context on the influence of emotional valence on responding was modulated by a) language status, L1 versus L2, and b) task requirement. We suggest that a more nuanced approach is required to capture the differences in emotion effects in the speed versus accuracy of access to words across different learning contexts and different languages, in particular with regard to our finding that bilinguals respond to L2 words in a similar manner as L1 words provided that the learning context is naturalistic and incorporates emotional and prosodic cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Anatomical Substrates of Visual and Auditory Miniature Second-language Learning

PubMed Central

Newman-Norlund, Roger D.; Frey, Scott H.; Petitto, Laura-Ann; Grafton, Scott T.

2007-01-01

Longitudinal changes in brain activity during second language (L2) acquisition of a miniature finite-state grammar, named Wernickese, were identified with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants learned either a visual sign language form or an auditory-verbal form to equivalent proficiency levels. Brain activity during sentence comprehension while hearing/viewing stimuli was assessed at low, medium, and high levels of proficiency in three separate fMRI sessions. Activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca’s area) correlated positively with improving L2 proficiency, whereas activity in the right-hemisphere (RH) homologue was negatively correlated for both auditory and visual forms of the language. Activity in sequence learning areas including the premotor cortex and putamen also correlated with L2 proficiency. Modality-specific differences in the blood oxygenation level-dependent signal accompanying L2 acquisition were localized to the planum temporale (PT). Participants learning the auditory form exhibited decreasing reliance on bilateral PT sites across sessions. In the visual form, bilateral PT sites increased in activity between Session 1 and Session 2, then decreased in left PT activity from Session 2 to Session 3. Comparison of L2 laterality (as compared to L1 laterality) in auditory and visual groups failed to demonstrate greater RH lateralization for the visual versus auditory L2. These data establish a common role for Broca’s area in language acquisition irrespective of the perceptual form of the language and suggest that L2s are processed similar to first languages even when learned after the ‘‘critical period.’’ The right frontal cortex was not preferentially recruited by visual language after accounting for phonetic/structural complexity and performance. PMID:17129186

L1 and L2 Distance Effects in Learning L3 Dutch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schepens, Job J.; der Slik, Frans; Hout, Roeland

2016-01-01

Many people speak more than two languages. How do languages acquired earlier affect the learnability of additional languages? We show that linguistic distances between speakers' first (L1) and second (L2) languages and their third (L3) language play a role. Larger distances from the L1 to the L3 and from the L2 to the L3 correlate with lower…

The Cross-linguistic Development of Address Form Use in Telecollaborative Language Learning: Two Case Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belz, Julie A.; Kinginger, Celeste

2002-01-01

Explores the influences of the telecollaborative learning environment on the development of second language (L2) pragmatic competence in foreign language learning from a sociocultural perspective. Focuses on "microgenesis," or development of the T/V distinction in pronouns of address as a test case representative of broader L2 pragmatic…

Cross-Linguistic Differences in Prosodic Cues to Syntactic Disambiguation in German and English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Mary Grantham; Jackson, Carrie N.; Gardner, Christine E.

2014-01-01

This study examined whether late-learning English-German second language (L2) learners and late-learning German-English L2 learners use prosodic cues to disambiguate temporarily ambiguous first language and L2 sentences during speech production. Experiments 1a and 1b showed that English-German L2 learners and German-English L2 learners used a…

Difficulty in learning similar-sounding words: a developmental stage or a general property of learning?

PubMed Central

Pajak, Bozena; Creel, Sarah C.; Levy, Roger

2016-01-01

How are languages learned, and to what extent are learning mechanisms similar in infant native-language (L1) and adult second-language (L2) acquisition? In terms of vocabulary acquisition, we know from the infant literature that the ability to discriminate similar-sounding words at a particular age does not guarantee successful word-meaning mapping at that age (Stager & Werker, 1997). However, it is unclear whether this difficulty arises from developmental limitations of young infants (e.g., poorer working memory) or whether it is an intrinsic part of the initial word learning, L1 and L2 alike. Here we show that adults of particular L1 backgrounds—just like young infants—have difficulty learning similar-sounding L2 words that they can nevertheless discriminate perceptually. This suggests that the early stages of word learning, whether L1 or L2, intrinsically involve difficulty in mapping similar-sounding words onto referents. We argue that this is due to an interaction between two main factors: (1) memory limitations that pose particular challenges for highly similar-sounding words, and (2) uncertainty regarding the language's phonetic categories, as these are being learned concurrently with words. Overall, our results show that vocabulary acquisition in infancy and in adulthood share more similarities than previously thought, thus supporting the existence of common learning mechanisms that operate throughout the lifespan. PMID:26962959

The Effect of Number and Presentation Order of High-Constraint Sentences on Second Language Word Learning.

PubMed

Ma, Tengfei; Chen, Ran; Dunlap, Susan; Chen, Baoguo

2016-01-01

This paper presents the results of an experiment that investigated the effects of number and presentation order of high-constraint sentences on semantic processing of unknown second language (L2) words (pseudowords) through reading. All participants were Chinese native speakers who learned English as a foreign language. In the experiment, sentence constraint and order of different constraint sentences were manipulated in English sentences, as well as L2 proficiency level of participants. We found that the number of high-constraint sentences was supportive for L2 word learning except in the condition in which high-constraint exposure was presented first. Moreover, when the number of high-constraint sentences was the same, learning was significantly better when the first exposure was a high-constraint exposure. And no proficiency level effects were found. Our results provided direct evidence that L2 word learning benefited from high quality language input and first presentations of high quality language input.

Supporting Orthographic Learning at the Beginning Stage of Learning to Read Chinese as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Li-Yun; Xu, Yi; Perfetti, Charles A.; Zhang, Juan; Chen, Hsueh-Chih

2014-01-01

Learning to read a second language (L2) is especially challenging when a target L2 requires learning new graphic forms. Learning Chinese, which consists of thousands of characters composed of hundreds of basic writing units, presents such a challenge of orthographic learning for adult English speakers at the beginning stages of learning. In this…

Second Language Word Learning through Repetition and Imitation: Functional Networks as a Function of Learning Phase and Language Distance.

PubMed

Ghazi-Saidi, Ladan; Ansaldo, Ana Ines

2017-01-01

Introduction and Aim : Repetition and imitation are among the oldest second language (L2) teaching approaches and are frequently used in the context of L2 learning and language therapy, despite some heavy criticism. Current neuroimaging techniques allow the neural mechanisms underlying repetition and imitation to be examined. This fMRI study examines the influence of verbal repetition and imitation on network configuration. Integration changes within and between the cognitive control and language networks were studied, in a pair of linguistically close languages (Spanish and French), and compared to our previous work on a distant language pair (Ghazi-Saidi et al., 2013). Methods : Twelve healthy native Spanish-speaking (L1) adults, and 12 healthy native Persian-speaking adults learned 130 new French (L2) words, through a computerized audiovisual repetition and imitation program. The program presented colored photos of objects. Participants were instructed to look at each photo and pronounce its name as closely as possible to the native template (imitate). Repetition was encouraged as many times as necessary to learn the object's name; phonological cues were provided if necessary. Participants practiced for 15 min, over 30 days, and were tested while naming the same items during fMRI scanning, at week 1 (shallow learning phase) and week 4 (consolidation phase) of training. To compare this set of data with our previous work on Persian speakers, a similar data analysis plan including accuracy rates (AR), response times (RT), and functional integration values for the language and cognitive control network at each measure point was included, with further L1-L2 direct comparisons across the two populations. Results and Discussion : The evidence shows that learning L2 words through repetition induces neuroplasticity at the network level. Specifically, L2 word learners showed increased network integration after 3 weeks of training, with both close and distant language pairs. Moreover, higher network integration was observed in the learners with the close language pair, suggesting that repetition effects on network configuration vary as a function of task complexity.

Learning second language vocabulary: neural dissociation of situation-based learning and text-based learning.

PubMed

Jeong, Hyeonjeong; Sugiura, Motoaki; Sassa, Yuko; Wakusawa, Keisuke; Horie, Kaoru; Sato, Shigeru; Kawashima, Ryuta

2010-04-01

Second language (L2) acquisition necessitates learning and retrieving new words in different modes. In this study, we attempted to investigate the cortical representation of an L2 vocabulary acquired in different learning modes and in cross-modal transfer between learning and retrieval. Healthy participants learned new L2 words either by written translations (text-based learning) or in real-life situations (situation-based learning). Brain activity was then measured during subsequent retrieval of these words. The right supramarginal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus were involved in situation-based learning and text-based learning, respectively, whereas the left inferior frontal gyrus was activated when learners used L2 knowledge in a mode different from the learning mode. Our findings indicate that the brain regions that mediate L2 memory differ according to how L2 words are learned and used. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Interrelationship among First Language Writing Skills, Second Language Writing Skills, and Second Language Proficiency of EFL University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ito, Fumihiko

2004-01-01

Background: Over the past twenty years, many investigations have been carried out to identify factors influencing second language (L2) learning. Specifically, investigations of the relationship among first language (L1) reading skills, L2 reading skills, and L2 proficiency have been variously conducted, to contribute to the overall growth of L1-L2…

Learning Words and Definitions in Two Languages: What Promotes Cross-Language Transfer?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pham, Giang; Donovan, Danaee; Dam, Quynh; Contant, Amy

2018-01-01

This study used a brief vocabulary training paradigm to examine two factors for cross-language transfer: how similar the first language (L1) is to the second language (L2) and L1-L2 proficiency levels. Fifty-four sequential bilingual children (aged 6-8) with similar L2 English proficiency levels were assigned to three equal groups: a…

Language Interference and Language Learning Techniques Transfer in L2 and L3 Immersion Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aronin, Larissa; Toubkin, Lynne

2002-01-01

Examines the relationships between the first (L1), second (L2), and third (L3) language in immersion programs for Russian-speaking students in Israel. Two parallel and similar immersion programs, which were carried out for the same population, but with different target languages (L2 Hebrew and L3 English), are described. Presents tentative…

English Majors' Self-Regulatory Control Strategy Use in Academic Writing and Its Relation to L2 Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Csizér, Kata; Tankó, Gyula

2017-01-01

Apart from L2 motivation, self-regulation is also increasingly seen as a key variable in L2 learning in many foreign language learning contexts because classroom-centered instructive language teaching might not be able to provide sufficient input for students. Therefore, taking responsibility and regulating the learning processes and positive…

Online Dutch L2 Learning in Adult Education: Educators' and Providers' Viewpoints on Needs, Advantages and Disadvantages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Paepe, Liesbeth; Zhu, Chang; Depryck, Koen

2018-01-01

This study critically addresses the assumptions made by educators and providers in the field of Dutch second language (L2) acquisition about the online learning of Dutch L2. These include assumptions about advantages and disadvantages of online language learning, such as flexibility, learner autonomy, enhanced opportunities for remediation and…

The Impact of an Online Learning Community Project on University Chinese as a Foreign Language Students' Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cai, Shengrong; Zhu, Wei

2012-01-01

This study investigated the impact of an online learning community project on university students' motivation in learning Chinese as a foreign language. A newly proposed second language (L2) motivation theory--the L2 motivational self system (Dornyei, 2005, 2009)--guided this study. A concurrent transformative mixed-methods design was employed to…

Semantic and phonological schema influence spoken word learning and overnight consolidation.

PubMed

Havas, Viktória; Taylor, Jsh; Vaquero, Lucía; de Diego-Balaguer, Ruth; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Davis, Matthew H

2018-06-01

We studied the initial acquisition and overnight consolidation of new spoken words that resemble words in the native language (L1) or in an unfamiliar, non-native language (L2). Spanish-speaking participants learned the spoken forms of novel words in their native language (Spanish) or in a different language (Hungarian), which were paired with pictures of familiar or unfamiliar objects, or no picture. We thereby assessed, in a factorial way, the impact of existing knowledge (schema) on word learning by manipulating both semantic (familiar vs unfamiliar objects) and phonological (L1- vs L2-like novel words) familiarity. Participants were trained and tested with a 12-hr intervening period that included overnight sleep or daytime awake. Our results showed (1) benefits of sleep to recognition memory that were greater for words with L2-like phonology and (2) that learned associations with familiar but not unfamiliar pictures enhanced recognition memory for novel words. Implications for complementary systems accounts of word learning are discussed.

Influence of First Language Orthographic Experience on Second Language Decoding and Word Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamada, Megumi; Koda, Keiko

2008-01-01

This study examined the influence of first language (L1) orthographic experiences on decoding and semantic information retention of new words in a second language (L2). Hypotheses were that congruity in L1 and L2 orthographic experiences determines L2 decoding efficiency, which, in turn, affects semantic information encoding and retention.…

The Beneficial Role of L1 Spoken Language Skills on Initial L2 Sign Language Learning: Cognitive and Linguistic Predictors of M2L2 Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Joshua T.; Darcy, Isabelle; Newman, Sharlene D.

2017-01-01

Understanding how language modality (i.e., signed vs. spoken) affects second language outcomes in hearing adults is important both theoretically and pedagogically, as it can determine the specificity of second language (L2) theory and inform how best to teach a language that uses a new modality. The present study investigated which…

Second Language Learning; Investigating the Classroom Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Rosamond

1989-01-01

Reviews a number of second-language (L2) classroom-based research projects undertaken at the University of Stirling in Scotland. It is argued that a full understanding of classroom-based L2 learning requires the integration of sociolinguistic studies of the classroom context with psycholinguistic studies of second language acquisition. (Author/VWL)

A Task-Based Language Teaching Approach to Developing Metacognitive Strategies for Listening Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Mu-Hsuan

2017-01-01

In second (L2) or foreign language (FL) learning, learning strategies help learners perform tasks, solve specific problems, and compensate for learning deficits. Of the strategy types, metacognitive strategies manage and regulate the construction of L2 or FL knowledge. Although learning strategies are frequently taught via teacher demonstration,…

The Role of Statistical Learning and Working Memory in L2 Speakers' Pattern Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonough, Kim; Trofimovich, Pavel

2016-01-01

This study investigated whether second language (L2) speakers' morphosyntactic pattern learning was predicted by their statistical learning and working memory abilities. Across three experiments, Thai English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students (N = 140) were exposed to either the transitive construction in Esperanto (e.g., "tauro…

Electrophysiological Correlates of Error Monitoring and Feedback Processing in Second Language Learning.

PubMed

Bultena, Sybrine; Danielmeier, Claudia; Bekkering, Harold; Lemhöfer, Kristin

2017-01-01

Humans monitor their behavior to optimize performance, which presumably relies on stable representations of correct responses. During second language (L2) learning, however, stable representations have yet to be formed while knowledge of the first language (L1) can interfere with learning, which in some cases results in persistent errors. In order to examine how correct L2 representations are stabilized, this study examined performance monitoring in the learning process of second language learners for a feature that conflicts with their first language. Using EEG, we investigated if L2 learners in a feedback-guided word gender assignment task showed signs of error detection in the form of an error-related negativity (ERN) before and after receiving feedback, and how feedback is processed. The results indicated that initially, response-locked negativities for correct (CRN) and incorrect (ERN) responses were of similar size, showing a lack of internal error detection when L2 representations are unstable. As behavioral performance improved following feedback, the ERN became larger than the CRN, pointing to the first signs of successful error detection. Additionally, we observed a second negativity following the ERN/CRN components, the amplitude of which followed a similar pattern as the previous negativities. Feedback-locked data indicated robust FRN and P300 effects in response to negative feedback across different rounds, demonstrating that feedback remained important in order to update memory representations during learning. We thus show that initially, L2 representations may often not be stable enough to warrant successful error monitoring, but can be stabilized through repeated feedback, which means that the brain is able to overcome L1 interference, and can learn to detect errors internally after a short training session. The results contribute a different perspective to the discussion on changes in ERN and FRN components in relation to learning, by extending the investigation of these effects to the language learning domain. Furthermore, these findings provide a further characterization of the online learning process of L2 learners.

A Glimpse into the Effectiveness of L2-Content Cross-Curricular Collaboration in Content-Based Instruction Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lo, Yuen Yi

2015-01-01

In content-based instruction (CBI) programmes, students learn content subjects through a second language (L2), so that they can incidentally learn the language. To further facilitate students' L2 development, the collaboration between L2 and content subject teachers has been strongly advocated. Previous research on such kind of collaboration…

A Growth Curve Analysis of Novel Word Learning by Sequential Bilingual Preschool Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kan, Pui Fong; Kohnert, Kathryn

2012-01-01

Longitudinal word learning studies which control for experience can advance understanding of language learning and potential intra- and inter-language relationships in developing bilinguals. We examined novel word learning in both the first (L1) and the second (L2) languages of bilingual children. The rate and shape of change as well as the role…

Difficulty in Learning Similar-Sounding Words: A Developmental Stage or a General Property of Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pajak, Bozena; Creel, Sarah C.; Levy, Roger

2016-01-01

How are languages learned, and to what extent are learning mechanisms similar in infant native-language (L1) and adult second-language (L2) acquisition? In terms of vocabulary acquisition, we know from the infant literature that the ability to discriminate similar-sounding words at a particular age does not guarantee successful word-meaning…

The Storage and Composition of Inflected Forms in Adult-Learned Second Language: A Study of the Influence of Length of Residence, Age of Arrival, Sex, and Other Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babcock, Laura; Stowe, John C.; Maloof, Christopher J.; Brovetto, Claudia; Ullman, Michael T.

2012-01-01

It remains unclear whether adult-learned second language (L2) depends on similar or different neurocognitive mechanisms as those involved in first language (L1). We examined whether English past tense forms are computed similarly or differently by L1 and L2 English speakers, and what factors might affect this: regularity (regular vs. irregular…

Intrinsic Functional Connectivity in the Adult Brain and Success in Second-Language Learning.

PubMed

Chai, Xiaoqian J; Berken, Jonathan A; Barbeau, Elise B; Soles, Jennika; Callahan, Megan; Chen, Jen-Kai; Klein, Denise

2016-01-20

There is considerable variability in an individual's ability to acquire a second language (L2) during adulthood. Using resting-state fMRI data acquired before training in English speakers who underwent a 12 week intensive French immersion training course, we investigated whether individual differences in intrinsic resting-state functional connectivity relate to a person's ability to acquire an L2. We focused on two key aspects of language processing--lexical retrieval in spontaneous speech and reading speed--and computed whole-brain functional connectivity from two regions of interest in the language network, namely the left anterior insula/frontal operculum (AI/FO) and the visual word form area (VWFA). Connectivity between the left AI/FO and left posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG) and between the left AI/FO and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex correlated positively with improvement in L2 lexical retrieval in spontaneous speech. Connectivity between the VWFA and left mid-STG correlated positively with improvement in L2 reading speed. These findings are consistent with the different language functions subserved by subcomponents of the language network and suggest that the human capacity to learn an L2 can be predicted by an individual's intrinsic functional connectivity within the language network. Significance statement: There is considerable variability in second-language learning abilities during adulthood. We investigated whether individual differences in intrinsic functional connectivity in the adult brain relate to success in second-language learning, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in English speakers who underwent a 12 week intensive French immersion training course. We found that pretraining functional connectivity within two different language subnetworks correlated strongly with learning outcome in two different language skills: lexical retrieval in spontaneous speech and reading speed. Our results suggest that the human capacity to learn a second language can be predicted by an individual's intrinsic functional connectivity within the language network. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/360755-07$15.00/0.

Native-likeness in second language lexical categorization reflects individual language history and linguistic community norms.

PubMed

Zinszer, Benjamin D; Malt, Barbara C; Ameel, Eef; Li, Ping

2014-01-01

SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS FACE A DUAL CHALLENGE IN VOCABULARY LEARNING: First, they must learn new names for the 100s of common objects that they encounter every day. Second, after some time, they discover that these names do not generalize according to the same rules used in their first language. Lexical categories frequently differ between languages (Malt et al., 1999), and successful language learning requires that bilinguals learn not just new words but new patterns for labeling objects. In the present study, Chinese learners of English with varying language histories and resident in two different language settings (Beijing, China and State College, PA, USA) named 67 photographs of common serving dishes (e.g., cups, plates, and bowls) in both Chinese and English. Participants' response patterns were quantified in terms of similarity to the responses of functionally monolingual native speakers of Chinese and English and showed the cross-language convergence previously observed in simultaneous bilinguals (Ameel et al., 2005). For English, bilinguals' names for each individual stimulus were also compared to the dominant name generated by the native speakers for the object. Using two statistical models, we disentangle the effects of several highly interactive variables from bilinguals' language histories and the naming norms of the native speaker community to predict inter-personal and inter-item variation in L2 (English) native-likeness. We find only a modest age of earliest exposure effect on L2 category native-likeness, but importantly, we find that classroom instruction in L2 negatively impacts L2 category native-likeness, even after significant immersion experience. We also identify a significant role of both L1 and L2 norms in bilinguals' L2 picture naming responses.

Native-likeness in second language lexical categorization reflects individual language history and linguistic community norms

PubMed Central

Zinszer, Benjamin D.; Malt, Barbara C.; Ameel, Eef; Li, Ping

2014-01-01

Second language learners face a dual challenge in vocabulary learning: First, they must learn new names for the 100s of common objects that they encounter every day. Second, after some time, they discover that these names do not generalize according to the same rules used in their first language. Lexical categories frequently differ between languages (Malt et al., 1999), and successful language learning requires that bilinguals learn not just new words but new patterns for labeling objects. In the present study, Chinese learners of English with varying language histories and resident in two different language settings (Beijing, China and State College, PA, USA) named 67 photographs of common serving dishes (e.g., cups, plates, and bowls) in both Chinese and English. Participants’ response patterns were quantified in terms of similarity to the responses of functionally monolingual native speakers of Chinese and English and showed the cross-language convergence previously observed in simultaneous bilinguals (Ameel et al., 2005). For English, bilinguals’ names for each individual stimulus were also compared to the dominant name generated by the native speakers for the object. Using two statistical models, we disentangle the effects of several highly interactive variables from bilinguals’ language histories and the naming norms of the native speaker community to predict inter-personal and inter-item variation in L2 (English) native-likeness. We find only a modest age of earliest exposure effect on L2 category native-likeness, but importantly, we find that classroom instruction in L2 negatively impacts L2 category native-likeness, even after significant immersion experience. We also identify a significant role of both L1 and L2 norms in bilinguals’ L2 picture naming responses. PMID:25386149

Phonological awareness and oral language proficiency in learning to read English among Chinese kindergarten children in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Yeung, Susanna S; Chan, Carol K K

2013-12-01

Learning to read is very challenging for Hong Kong children who learn English as a second language (ESL), as they must acquire two very different writing systems, beginning at the age of three. Few studies have examined the role of phonological awareness at the subsyllabic levels, oral language proficiency, and L1 tone awareness in L2 English reading among Hong Kong ESL kindergarteners. This study aims to investigate L1 and L2 phonological awareness and oral language proficiency as predictors of English reading among children with Chinese as L1. One hundred and sixty-one typically developing children with a mean age of 5.16 (SD=.35) selected from seven preschools in Hong Kong. Participants were assessed for English reading, English and Chinese phonological awareness at different levels, English oral language skills, and letter naming ability. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both oral language proficiency and phonological awareness measures significantly predicted L2 word reading, when statistically controlled for age and general intelligence. Among various phonological awareness units, L2 phonemic awareness was the best predictor of L2 word reading. Cross-language transfer was shown with L1 phonological awareness at the tone level, uniquely predicting L2 word reading. The present findings show the important role of phonological awareness at the subsyllabic levels (rime and phoneme) and oral language proficiency in the course of L2 reading development in Chinese ESL learners. The significant contribution of L1 tone awareness to L2 reading suggests that phonological sensitivity is a general competence that ESL children need to acquire in early years. The findings have significant implications for understanding L2 reading development and curriculum development. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

Relationship of L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude to L2 Anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparks, Richard L.; Patton, Jon

2013-01-01

The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) has been challenged on the grounds that it may also assess language learning skills. In this study, 128 students who had been administered measures of first language (L1) skills in elementary school were followed from 1st to 10th grade. Fifty-three students had completed second language (L2)…

Developmental Comparisons of Implicit and Explicit Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lichtman, Karen

2013-01-01

Conventional wisdom holds that children learn languages implicitly whereas older learners learn languages explicitly, and some have claimed that after puberty only explicit language learning is possible. However, older learners often receive more explicit instruction than child L2 learners, which may affect their learning strategies. This study…

Willingness To Communicate, Social Support, and Language Learning Orientations of Immersion Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacIntyre, Peter D.; Baker, Susan C.; Clement, Richard; Conrod, Sarah

2001-01-01

Hypothesized that orientations toward language learning (L2) as well as social support would influence students willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language. Grade 9 L2 students of French immersion participated in the study. Results showed endorsement of all five orientations (travel, job related, friendship with Francophones, personal…

The role of the left inferior parietal lobule in second language learning: An intensive language training fMRI study.

PubMed

Barbeau, Elise B; Chai, Xiaoqian J; Chen, Jen-Kai; Soles, Jennika; Berken, Jonathan; Baum, Shari; Watkins, Kate E; Klein, Denise

2017-04-01

Research to date suggests that second language acquisition results in functional and structural changes in the bilingual brain, however, in what way and how quickly these changes occur remains unclear. To address these questions, we studied fourteen English-speaking monolingual adults enrolled in a 12-week intensive French language-training program in Montreal. Using functional MRI, we investigated the neural changes associated with new language acquisition. The participants were scanned before the start of the immersion program and at the end of the 12 weeks. The fMRI scan aimed to investigate the brain regions recruited in a sentence reading task both in English, their first language (L1), and in French, their second language (L2). For the L1, fMRI patterns did not change from Time 1 to Time 2, while for the L2, the brain response changed between Time 1 and Time 2 in language-related areas. Of note, for the L2, there was higher activation at Time 2 compared to Time 1 in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) including the supramarginal gyrus. At Time 2 this higher activation in the IPL correlated with faster L2 reading speed. Moreover, higher activation in the left IPL at Time 1 predicted improvement in L2 reading speed from Time 1 to Time 2. Our results suggest that learning-induced plasticity occurred as early as 12 weeks into immersive second-language training, and that the IPL appears to play a special role in language learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Task Repetition Effects on L1 Use in EFL Child Task-Based Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Azkarai, Agurtzane; García Mayo, María del Pilar

2017-01-01

Research has shown that tasks provide second language (L2) learners with many opportunities to learn the L2. Task repetition has been claimed to benefit L2 learning since familiarity with procedure and/or content gives learners the chance to focus on more specific aspects of language. Most research on task repetition has focused on adult…

A Frequency-Based Approach to L2 Phonological Learning: Teacher Input and Student Output in an Intensive ESL Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trofimovich, Pavel; Collins, Laura; Cardoso, Walcir; White, Joanna; Horst, Marlise

2012-01-01

Most second language (L2) researchers and teachers would agree that input, often defined as the language a learner hears or reads, plays an important role in L2 learning. There is a great deal of research investigating which types of input are most beneficial for learning, how learners process and internalize input (e.g., Schmidt, 2001), and how…

Acoustic Salience and Input Frequency in L2 Lexical Tone Learning: Evidence from a Zapotec Revitalization Program in San Pablo Macuiltianguis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riestenberg, Katherine J.

2017-01-01

Second language (L2) learners of tone languages do not perceive and produce the different tones of the target language with equal ease. The most common explanation for these asymmetries is that acoustically salient tones are the easiest to learn. An alternative explanation is that tones are easiest to learn when they are highly frequent in the…

Age of language learning shapes brain structure: a cortical thickness study of bilingual and monolingual individuals.

PubMed

Klein, Denise; Mok, Kelvin; Chen, Jen-Kai; Watkins, Kate E

2014-04-01

We examined the effects of learning a second language (L2) on brain structure. Cortical thickness was measured in the MRI datasets of 22 monolinguals and 66 bilinguals. Some bilingual subjects had learned both languages simultaneously (0-3 years) while some had learned their L2 after achieving proficiency in their first language during either early (4-7 years) or late childhood (8-13 years). Later acquisition of L2 was associated with significantly thicker cortex in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and thinner cortex in the right IFG. These effects were seen in the group comparisons of monolinguals, simultaneous bilinguals and early and late bilinguals. Within the bilingual group, significant correlations between age of acquisition of L2 and cortical thickness were seen in the same regions: cortical thickness correlated with age of acquisition positively in the left IFG and negatively in the right IFG. Interestingly, the monolinguals and simultaneous bilinguals did not differ in cortical thickness in any region. Our results show that learning a second language after gaining proficiency in the first language modifies brain structure in an age-dependent manner whereas simultaneous acquisition of two languages has no additional effect on brain development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Novel Word Retention in Sequential Bilingual Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kan, Pui Fong

2014-01-01

Children's ability to learn and retain new words is fundamental to their vocabulary development. This study examined word retention in children learning a home language (L1) from birth and a second language (L2) in preschool settings. Participants were presented with sixteen novel words in L1 and in L2 and were tested for retention after…

Learning and the Immediate Use(Fulness) of a New Vocabulary Item

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauser, Eric

2017-01-01

Within the framework of Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition (CA-SLA), this study uses learning behavior tracking (LBT) (Markee, 2008) with longitudinal data to investigate word learning by one adult second language (L2) user of English. The adult is a first language (L1) user of Japanese with limited proficiency in English. Data…

A real-time articulatory visual feedback approach with target presentation for second language pronunciation learning.

PubMed

Suemitsu, Atsuo; Dang, Jianwu; Ito, Takayuki; Tiede, Mark

2015-10-01

Articulatory information can support learning or remediating pronunciation of a second language (L2). This paper describes an electromagnetic articulometer-based visual-feedback approach using an articulatory target presented in real-time to facilitate L2 pronunciation learning. This approach trains learners to adjust articulatory positions to match targets for a L2 vowel estimated from productions of vowels that overlap in both L1 and L2. Training of Japanese learners for the American English vowel /æ/ that included visual training improved its pronunciation regardless of whether audio training was also included. Articulatory visual feedback is shown to be an effective method for facilitating L2 pronunciation learning.

Using "Reading to Learn" (R2L) Pedagogy to Teach Discussion Genre to Non-Chinese-Speaking Students in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shum, Mark Shiu-kee; Tai, Chung Pui; Shi, Dan

2018-01-01

Non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) South Asian students, as ethnic minority group in Hong Kong, are the main disadvantaged social cohort in Chinese language learning. It has been a challenge for L1 Chinese teachers to conduct L2 Chinese teaching to NCS students with diversified native languages and socio-cultural backgrounds. "Reading to Learn,…

An Investigation of Motivation to Transfer Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Mark Andrew

2012-01-01

Research on motivation in second language (L2) education has tended to focus on learning; this study took an alternative perspective, examining students' motivation to transfer L2 learning. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 40 students who were enrolled in several sections of a university English-for-academic-purposes…

The Fluctuating Development of Cross-Linguistic Semantic Awareness: A Longitudinal Multiple-Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Yongyan

2014-01-01

Second language (L2) learners' awareness of first language-second language (L1-L2) semantic differences plays a critical role in L2 vocabulary learning. This study investigates the long-term development of eight university-level Chinese English as a foreign language learners' cross-linguistic semantic awareness over the course of 10 months. A…

The Relationship between Text Comprehension and Second Language Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition: A Matter of Topic Familiarity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pulido, Diana

2007-01-01

The study reported in this article describes second language (L2) vocabulary learning outcomes associated with adult L2 reading comprehension processes, thus connecting L2 learning with the complex cognitive and linguistic processing involved in reading. The study aimed to determine whether background knowledge moderated the relationship between…

Using Gamification to Enhance Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Figueroa Flores, Jorge Francisco

2015-01-01

One major competence for learners in the 21st century is acquiring a second language (L2). Based on this, L2 instruction has integrated new concepts to motivate learners in their pursue of achieving fluency. A concept that is adaptable to digital natives and digital immigrants that are learning a L2 is Gamification. As a pedagogical strategy,…

The Use of Metalanguage among Second Language Learners to Mediate L2 Grammar Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harun, Haliza; Abdullah, Norhana; Wahab, Nur Syuhada' Ab.; Zainuddin, Nurkhamimi

2017-01-01

Purpose: This study investigated the use of metalanguage as a mediational tool in understanding targeted grammatical concepts from the perspective of the Sociocultural approach (SCT) in learning a second language (L2). Methodology: The participants involved in this study were Malay undergraduates with low to intermediate proficiency in L2 English.…

Comments on Anthony Bruton, Miguel Garcia Lopez, and Raquel Esquiliche Mesa's "Incidental L2 Vocabulary Learning: An Impracticable Term?"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Barry Lee

2012-01-01

Anthony Bruton, Miguel Garcia Lopez, and Raquel Esquiliche Mesa's "Incidental L2 Vocabulary Learning: An Impracticable Term?" (2011) offers some constructive criticism regarding the conventional terminology used in second language (L2) acquisition research and language pedagogy. Although the author finds much of their evidence reasonable and is…

Learning and Teaching L2 Collocations: Insights from Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szudarski, Pawel

2017-01-01

The aim of this article is to present and summarize the main research findings in the area of learning and teaching second language (L2) collocations. Being a large part of naturally occurring language, collocations and other types of multiword units (e.g., idioms, phrasal verbs, lexical bundles) have been identified as important aspects of L2…

Formulas in First and Second Language Acquisition. Papers and Reports on Child Language Development, No. 18.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vihman, Marilyn May

The use of formulaic speech is seen as a learning strategy in children's first language (L1) acquisition to a limited extent, and to an even greater extent in their second language (L2) acquisition. While the first utterances of the child learning L1 are mostly one-word constructions, many of them are routine words or phrases that the child learns…

Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning: What Does the Research Tell Us?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Shenggao; Vasquez, Camilla

2012-01-01

This article reviews current research on the use of Web 2.0 technologies in second language (L2) learning. Its purpose is to investigate the theoretical perspectives framing it, to identify some of the benefits of using Web 2.0 technologies in L2 learning, and to discuss some of the limitations. The review reveals that blogs and wikis have been…

Learner Beliefs about Sociolinguistic Competence: A Qualitative Case Study of Four University Second Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Jinsuk; Rehner, Katherine

2015-01-01

This article explores the beliefs about second language (L2) sociolinguistic competence of four university-level advanced L2 learners. It places particular emphasis on 1) how these university learners conceptualized L2 sociolinguistic competence; 2) how they thought about two different language learning contexts (viz., the L2 classroom versus…

Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Down Syndrome: Insights From a Case Study.

PubMed

Burgoyne, Kelly; Duff, Fiona J; Nielsen, Dea; Ulicheva, Anastasia; Snowling, Margaret J

2016-12-01

We present the case study of MB-a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for reading in English, her language of formal instruction. MB's L1 abilities were compared with those of 11 Russian-speaking typically developing monolinguals and her L2 abilities to those of 15 English-speaking typically developing monolinguals and six monolingual English-speaking children with DS; each group achieving the same level of word reading ability as MB. We conclude that learning two languages in the presence of a learning difficulty need have no detrimental effect on either a child's language or literacy development.

Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Down Syndrome: Insights From a Case Study

PubMed Central

Burgoyne, Kelly; Duff, Fiona J.; Nielsen, Dea; Ulicheva, Anastasia

2016-01-01

We present the case study of MB—a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for reading in English, her language of formal instruction. MB's L1 abilities were compared with those of 11 Russian‐speaking typically developing monolinguals and her L2 abilities to those of 15 English‐speaking typically developing monolinguals and six monolingual English‐speaking children with DS; each group achieving the same level of word reading ability as MB. We conclude that learning two languages in the presence of a learning difficulty need have no detrimental effect on either a child's language or literacy development. PMID:27917003

The impact of early bilingualism on controlling a language learned late: an ERP study

PubMed Central

Martin, Clara D.; Strijkers, Kristof; Santesteban, Mikel; Escera, Carles; Hartsuiker, Robert J.; Costa, Albert

2013-01-01

This study asks whether early bilingual speakers who have already developed a language control mechanism to handle two languages control a dominant and a late acquired language in the same way as late bilingual speakers. We therefore, compared event-related potentials in a language switching task in two groups of participants switching between a dominant (L1) and a weak late acquired language (L3). Early bilingual late learners of an L3 showed a different ERP pattern (larger N2 mean amplitude) as late bilingual late learners of an L3. Even though the relative strength of languages was similar in both groups (a dominant and a weak late acquired language), they controlled their language output in a different manner. Moreover, the N2 was similar in two groups of early bilinguals tested in languages of different strength. We conclude that early bilingual learners of an L3 do not control languages in the same way as late bilingual L3 learners –who have not achieved native-like proficiency in their L2– do. This difference might explain some of the advantages early bilinguals have when learning new languages. PMID:24204355

Transfer Effects in Learning a Second Language Grammatical Gender System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sabourin, Laura; Stowe, Laurie A.; de Haan, Ger J.

2006-01-01

In this article second language (L2) knowledge of Dutch grammatical gender is investigated. Adult speakers of German, English and a Romance language (French, Italian or Spanish) were investigated to explore the role of transfer in learning the Dutch grammatical gender system. In the first language (L1) systems, German is the most similar to Dutch…

An ERP study of second language learning after childhood: effects of proficiency.

PubMed

Ojima, Shiro; Nakata, Hiroki; Kakigi, Ryusuke

2005-08-01

Whether there is an absolute critical period for acquiring language is a matter of continuous debate. One approach to address this issue is to compare the processes of second language (L2) learning after childhood and those of first language (L1) learning during childhood. To study the cortical process of postchildhood L2 learning, we compared event-related brain potentials recorded from two groups of adult Japanese speakers who attained either high or intermediate proficiency in English after childhood (J-High and J-Low), and adult native English speakers (ENG). Semantic anomalies embedded in English sentences evoked a clear N400 component in all three groups, with only the time course of the brain activation varying among the groups. Syntactic violations elicited a left-lateralized negativity similar to the left anterior negativity in ENG and J-High, but not in J-Low. In ENG, a P600 component was additionally found. These results suggest that semantic processing is robust from early on in L2 learning, whereas the development of syntactic processing is more dependent on proficiency as evidenced by the lack of the left-lateralized negativity in J-Low. Because early maturation and stability of semantic processing as opposed to syntactic processing are also a feature of L1 processing, postchildhood L2 learning may be governed by the same brain properties as those which govern childhood L1 learning. We argue that these processes are qualitatively similar in many respects, with only restricted domains of language processing being subject to absolute critical period effects.

Are Alphabetic Language-Derived Models of L2 Reading Relevant to L1 Logographic Background Readers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrich, John Fitzgerald; Zhang, Lawrence Jun; Mu, Jon Congjun; Ehrich, Lisa Catherine

2013-01-01

In this paper, we argue that second language (L2) reading research, which has been informed by studies involving first language (L1) alphabetic English reading, may be less relevant to L2 readers with non-alphabetic reading backgrounds, such as Chinese readers with an L1 logographic (Chinese character) learning history. We provide both…

Reading and Learning from L2 Text: Effects of Reading Goal, Topic Familiarity, and Language Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horiba, Yukie; Fukaya, Keiko

2015-01-01

This study examined the effect of reading goal, topic-familiarity, and language proficiency on text comprehension and learning. English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students with high and low topic-familiarity read and recalled a text. Some were told in advance to expect a recall task in a particular language--the first language (L1) or second…

Bridging the Gap: Cognitive and Social Approaches to Research in Second Language Learning and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hulstijn, Jan H.; Young, Richard F.; Ortega, Lourdes; Bigelow, Martha; DeKeyser, Robert; Ellis, Nick C.; Lantolf, James P.; Mackey, Alison; Talmy, Steven

2014-01-01

For some, research in learning and teaching of a second language (L2) runs the risk of disintegrating into irreconcilable approaches to L2 learning and use. On the one side, we find researchers investigating linguistic-cognitive issues, often using quantitative research methods including inferential statistics; on the other side, we find…

Multicultural and Problematic Social Contexts and Their Contribution to L2 Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abu-Rabia, Salim

1995-01-01

Studies the relationship of attitudes and cultural background to reading comprehension in a second language (L2) of students in three different social contexts: Israeli-Arab students learning Hebrew as their L2, Israeli-Jewish students learning English as their L2, and Canadian-Arab students learning English as their L2. Results showed that the…

ESL for Non-Academic Adults: Parallels in L1 and L2. CATESOL Occasional Papers, Number 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bassano, Sharron

English as a second language for the non-academically oriented adult can be facilitated bY structuring their early linguistic input in a way similar to the way a parent structures input for a child learning a first language. The four components through which children learn their native language and which also concern adult learning are: (1)…

Learner's Use of First Language in EFL Collaborative Learning: A Sociocultural View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yaghobian, Farideh; Samuel, Moses; Mahmoudi, Marzieh

2017-01-01

This study investigates the functions served by learners' first language (L1) in classroom interaction among Iranian learners of English (L2). The study aims to determine how learners' L1 serves them in their L2 learning. It adopts a qualitative approach. The study involved the participation of eleven Grade 9 learners in one Iranian high school in…

A Case Study on the Effects of an L2 Writing Instructional Model for Blended Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

So, Lee; Lee, Chung Hyun

2013-01-01

This case study explores EFL (English as a foreign language) students' perceptions toward a prototype of an instructional model for second language (L2) writing in blended learning and the effects of the model on the development of L2 writing skills in higher education. This model is primarily founded on the process-oriented writing approach…

Student Perceptions of a Mobile Augmented Reality Game and Willingness to Communicate in Japanese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shea, Andrea Misao

2014-01-01

Communication is a key component in learning a second language (L2). As important as the "ability" to communicate in the L2 is the willingness to use the L2 or, what has been identified in the literature as "Willingness to Communicate" (WTC). Language is best learned when situated in, and based on, real-life experiences.…

Cultural Conceptualisations in Learning English as an L2: Examples from Persian-Speaking Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharifian, Farzad

2013-01-01

Traditionally, many studies of second language acquisition (SLA) were based on the assumption that learning a new language mainly involves learning a set of grammatical rules, lexical items, and certain new sounds and sound combinations. However, for many second language learners, learning a second language may involve contact and interactions…

Language Learning and Its Impact on the Brain: Connecting Language Learning with the Mind through Content-Based Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Teresa J.

2006-01-01

Cognitive sciences are discovering many things that educators have always intuitively known about language learning. However, the important point is actively using this new information to improve both students learning and current teaching practices. The implications of neuroscience for educational reform regarding second language (L2) learning…

Researching Vocabulary Development: A Conversation Analytic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reichert, Tetyana

2016-01-01

This paper contributes to the much debated yet still largely unanswered question of how second language (L2) learning is anchored and configured in and through social interaction. Using a sociointeractional approach to second language (L2) learning (e.g., Hellermann, 2008; Mondada & Pekarek Doehler, 2004; Pekarek Doehler, 2010), I examine…

Declarative and Procedural Memory as Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Brill-Schuetz, Katherine A.; Carpenter, Helen; Wong, Patrick C. M.

2014-01-01

This study examined how individual differences in cognitive abilities account for variance in the attainment level of adult second language (L2) syntactic development. Participants completed assessments of declarative and procedural learning abilities. They subsequently learned an artificial L2 under implicit training conditions and received…

Incidental Focus on Form and Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loewen, Shawn

2005-01-01

Incidental focus on form overtly draws learners' attention to linguistic items as they arise spontaneously--without prior planning--in meaning-focused interaction. This study examined the effectiveness of incidental focus on form in promoting second language (L2) learning. Seventeen hours of naturally occurring, meaning-focused L2 lessons were…

Using Collaborative Tasks to Elicit Auditory and Structural Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trofimovich, Pavel; McDonough, Kim; Neumann, Heike

2013-01-01

Interaction between second language (L2) learners in which the primary goal is the communication of meaning rather than the manipulation of language forms is widely regarded as beneficial for L2 learning from a variety of theoretical and pedagogical perspectives. Besides learning opportunities created through interactional feedback, modified…

Transferred L1 Strategies and L2 Syntactic Structure in L2 Sentence Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koda, Keiko

1993-01-01

The application of language processing skills between 2 languages with dissimilar morphosyntactic features was investigated with 72 American university students learning Japanese. Results suggest that learners' first- and second-language knowledge both play a significant role and that the linguistic knowledge and coding capability for text…

A Resource-Oriented Functional Approach to English Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jia

2018-01-01

This article reports on a case study that investigates the learning preferences and strategies of Chinese students learning English as a second language (ESL) in Canadian school settings. It focuses on the interaction between second language (L2) learning methods that the students have adopted from their previous learning experience in China and…

From Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) to Mobile Assisted Language Use (MALU)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvis, Huw; Achilleos, Marianna

2013-01-01

This article begins by critiquing the long-established acronym CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning). We then go on to report on a small-scale study which examines how student non-native speakers of English use a range of digital devices beyond the classroom in both their first (L1) and second (L2) languages. We look also at the extent to…

Distributional Effects and Individual Differences in L2 Morphology Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Patricia J.; Kwoka, Nicole; Kempe, Vera

2017-01-01

Second language (L2) learning outcomes may depend on the structure of the input and learners' cognitive abilities. This study tested whether less predictable input might facilitate learning and generalization of L2 morphology while evaluating contributions of statistical learning ability, nonverbal intelligence, phonological short-term memory, and…

Assessing the Impact of Short-Term Study Abroad on L2 Learners' Attitudes towards Spanish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Artamonova, Tatiana

2017-01-01

Language attitudes, a multifaceted construct, can be broadly defined as evaluative views of a language and other relevant entities, including its speakers and associated cultures. Language attitudes are influential in second language (L2) acquisition as they relate to language learning motivation and achievement, perseverance in language study,…

High School Teacher Perspectives and Practices: Second Language Writing and Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilliland, Betsy

2015-01-01

Teachers' understandings of second language learning influence their practices in the classroom. This paper analyzes interview and classroom data collected during a year-long ethnographic study of two high school English language development classes to identify (1) what the teachers understood about second language (L2) development and L2 academic…

Mastering the Pressures of Variation: A Cognitive Linguistic Examination of Advanced Hearing ASL L2 Signers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nadolske, Marie Anne

2009-01-01

Despite the fact that American Sign Language (ASL) courses at the college-level have been increasing in frequency, little is understood about the capabilities of hearing individuals learning a sign language as a second language. This study aims to begin assessing the language skills of advanced L2 learners of ASL by comparing L2 signer productions…

Learning and Development of Second and Foreign Language Pragmatics as a Higher-Order Language Skill: A Brief Overview of Relevant Theories. Research Report. ETS RR-16-35

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timpe-Laughlin, Veronika

2016-01-01

The development of effective second and foreign (L2) language learning materials needs to be grounded in two types of theories: (a) a theory of language and language use and (b) a theory of language learning. Both are equally important, insofar as an effective learning environment requires an understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities…

Design and Empirical Validation of Effectiveness of LANGA, an Online Game-Based Platform for Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Usai, Francesco; O'Neil, Kiera G. R.; Newman, Aaron J.

2018-01-01

Computer and smartphone-based applications for second language (L2) learning have become popular tools, being integrated in many classroom-based courses and adopted by the public at large. Yet, despite a significant body of research that suggests that individuals differ in their ability to learn L2, it is still unclear what factors predict…

Attitudes and Cultural Background and Their Relationship to Reading Comprehension in a Second Language: A Comparison of Three Different Social Contexts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abu-Rabia, Salim

1996-01-01

Investigates the relationship of attitudes and cultural background to reading comprehension in the second language (L2) of Israeli Arab students learning Hebrew and Israeli Jewish and Canadian Arab students learning English. Results showed that the motivation of students to learning their L2 was instrumental rather than integrative, regardless of…

Service-Learning as a Means of Vocabulary Learning for Second Language and Heritage Language Learners of Spanish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. Cecilia; Walls, Laura C.

2016-01-01

Service-Learning (SL) has been defined as an experiential teaching methodology. Through SL, students participate in activities that benefit their community and enhance their learning experience. In the current study, Spanish as a second language (L2) and heritage language learners (HLLs) engaged in a SL project in which they translated English…

The Role of Fathers in Language Maintenance and Language Attrition: The Case of Korean-English Late Bilinguals in New Zealand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Sun Hee Ok; Starks, Donna

2010-01-01

The father's role in children's L1 maintenance and L2 learning is a relatively unexplored area. This study considers the L1 and L2 proficiency of 30 Korean-English late bilinguals who immigrated to New Zealand during their adolescence and how their L1 and L2 proficiency is influenced by the language use of family members. Data were collected…

On the Role of Cognitive Abilities in Second Language Vowel Learning.

PubMed

Ghaffarvand Mokari, Payam; Werner, Stefan

2018-03-01

This study investigated the role of different cognitive abilities-inhibitory control, attention control, phonological short-term memory (PSTM), and acoustic short-term memory (AM)-in second language (L2) vowel learning. The participants were 40 Azerbaijani learners of Standard Southern British English. Their perception of L2 vowels was tested through a perceptual discrimination task before and after five sessions of high-variability phonetic training. Inhibitory control was significantly correlated with gains from training in the discrimination of L2 vowel pairs. However, there were no significant correlations between attention control, AM, PSTM, and gains from training. These findings suggest the potential role of inhibitory control in L2 phonological learning. We suggest that inhibitory control facilitates the processing of L2 sounds by allowing learners to ignore the interfering information from L1 during training, leading to better L2 segmental learning.

Using Multimedia Vocabulary Annotations in L2 Reading and Listening Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jing Xu

2010-01-01

This paper reviews the role of multimedia vocabulary annotation (MVA) in facilitating second language (L2) reading and listening activities. It examines the multimedia learning and multimedia language learning theories that underlie the MVA research, synthesizes the findings on MVA in the last decade, and identifies three underresearched areas on…

Community Service Learning as Critical Curriculum: Promoting International Students' Second Language Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chao, Xia

2016-01-01

Grounded in the whole person perspective of language learners and the concepts of investment and L2 socialization, this qualitative study explores how community service learning (CSL) contributes to international students' L2 practices and identity development. This study finds that CSL creates "a pedagogical contact zone" outside the…

Contexts and Pragmatics Learning: Problems and Opportunities of the Study Abroad Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taguchi, Naoko

2018-01-01

Despite different epistemologies and assumptions, all theories in second language (L2) acquisition emphasize the centrality of context in understanding L2 acquisition. Under the assumption that language emerges from use in context, the cognitivist approach focuses on distributions and properties of input to infer both learning objects and process…

What Counts as a Developmental Sequence? Exemplar-Based L2 Learning of English Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eskildsen, Søren W.

2015-01-01

Drawing on usage-based linguistics and its exemplar-based path of language learning, from recurring multiword expressions to increasingly abstract, schematized constructions, this article examines evidence for the exemplar-based developmental sequences for yes/no interrogatives and WH interrogatives in English as a second language (L2). The…

Iranian EFL Learners' Emotional Intelligence, Learning Styles, Strategy Use, and Their L2 Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afshar, Hassan Soodmand; Tofighi, Somayyeh; Hamazavi, Raouf

2016-01-01

The idea that language learning is facilitated or inhibited by a multitude of factors has prompted scholars in the field to investigate variables considered to be crucial in the process of second or foreign language learning. This study investigated relationships between emotional intelligence, learning style, language learning strategy use, and…

Naming abilities in low-proficiency second language learners.

PubMed

Borodkin, Katy; Faust, Miriam

2014-01-01

Difficulties in second language (L2) learning are often associated with recognizable learning difficulties in native language (L1), such as in dyslexia. However, some individuals have low L2 proficiency but intact L1 reading skills. These L2 learners experience frequent tip-of-the-tongue states while naming in L1, which indicates that they have a weakness in retrieval of phonological codes of words. The authors hypothesized that if naming ability is shared across languages, this difficulty would reemerge in L2 naming, which was tested using the tip-of-the-tongue experimental paradigm. Consistent with this hypothesis, low-proficiency L2 learners (n = 15) reported more tip-of-the-tongue states, more frequently mispronounced correctly retrieved words, and benefited less from phonological cuing compared to high-proficiency L2 learners (n = 23). It is notable that low-proficiency L2 learners performed worse than individuals with dyslexia (n = 16) on some of these measures, despite the same level of L2 proficiency. These results indicate that L2 naming difficulties of low-proficiency L2 learners are a manifestation not merely of their low L2 proficiency but rather of a general weakness in phonological word form retrieval, which is shared across languages. More broadly, the study provides further evidence for the existence of a distinct profile of cognitive weaknesses characteristic of the behavioral phenotype of low-proficiency L2 learners.

Age and Learning Environment: Are Children Implicit Second Language Learners?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lichtman, Karen

2016-01-01

Children are thought to learn second languages (L2s) using primarily implicit mechanisms, in contrast to adults, who primarily rely on explicit language learning. This difference is usually attributed to cognitive maturation, but adults also receive more explicit instruction than children, which may influence their learning strategies. This study…

Developing Critical L2 Digital Literacy through the Use of Computer-Based Internet-Hosted Learning Management Systems such as Moodle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meurant, Robert C.

Second Language (L2) Digital Literacy is of emerging importance within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Korea, and will evolve to become regarded as the most critical component of overall L2 English Literacy. Computer-based Internet-hosted Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as the popular open-source Moodle, are rapidly being adopted worldwide for distance education, and are also being applied to blended (hybrid) education. In EFL Education, they have a special potential: by setting the LMS to force English to be used exclusively throughout a course website, the meta-language can be made the target L2 language. Of necessity, students develop the ability to use English to navigate the Internet, access and contribute to online resources, and engage in computer-mediated communication. Through such pragmatic engagement with English, students significantly develop their L2 Digital Literacy.

Foreign and Second Language Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horwitz, Elaine K.

2010-01-01

The possibility that anxiety interferes with language learning has long interested scholars, language teachers, and language learners themselves. It is intuitive that anxiety would inhibit the learning and/or production of a second language (L2). The important term in the last sentence is "anxiety". The concept of anxiety is itself multi-faceted,…

Computer-Assisted Second Language Vocabulary Instruction: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiu, Yi-Hui

2013-01-01

There is growing attention to incorporating computer-mediated instruction for language learning and teaching. Specifically, vocabulary is arguably the foundation of mastering a language, as the mastery of vocabulary is the fundamental step of learning a language. Second language (L2) vocabulary is important in the development of cognitive systems…

Il fattore "eta'" nell'acquisizione linguistica (L1 e L2): dimensioni di un "meta-problema" (The "Age" Factor in Language Acquisition [L1 and L2]: The Dimensions of a "Meta-Problem").

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Titone, Renzo

1991-01-01

Summarizes and comments on two recent books, one by Birgit Harley and the other by David Singleton, that review the language research carried out to determine the importance of age in learning a second language. (CFM)

The Influence of Social Cues and Cognitive Processes in Computer Mediated Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murakami, Janel Rachel Goodman

2017-01-01

This dissertation investigated the effects of technological mediation on second language (L2) learning, focusing, as a case study, on gains in listening perception of the subtle but important feature of pitch placement in Japanese. Pitch accent can be difficult to perceive for non-native speakers whose first language (L1) does not rely on pitch or…

Language Learning Motivation through a Small Lens: A Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ushioda, Ema

2016-01-01

In this paper I propose an agenda for researching language learning motivation "through a small lens", to counteract our tendency in the second language (L2) motivation field to engage with language learning and teaching processes at a rather general level. I argue that by adopting a more sharply focused or contextualized angle of…

Learning Additional Languages as Hierarchical Probabilistic Inference: Insights from First Language Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pajak, Bozena; Fine, Alex B.; Kleinschmidt, Dave F.; Jaeger, T. Florian

2016-01-01

We present a framework of second and additional language (L2/L"n") acquisition motivated by recent work on socio-indexical knowledge in first language (L1) processing. The distribution of linguistic categories covaries with socio-indexical variables (e.g., talker identity, gender, dialects). We summarize evidence that implicit…

Evaluating Bilingual and Monolingual Dictionaries for L2 Learners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Alan

1997-01-01

A discussion of dictionaries and their use for second language (L2) learning suggests that lack of computerized modern language corpora can adversely affect bilingual dictionaries, commonly used by L2 learners, and shows how use of such corpora has benefitted two contemporary monolingual L2 learner dictionaries (1995 editions of the Longman…

Second and foreign language listening: unraveling the construct.

PubMed

Tafaghodtari, Marzieh H; Vandergrift, Larry

2008-08-01

Identifying the variables which contribute to second and foreign language (L2) listening ability can provide a better understanding of the listening construct. This study explored the degree to which first language (L1) listening ability, L2 proficiency, motivation and metacognition contribute to L2 listening comprehension. 115 Persian-speaking English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students completed a motivation questionnaire, the Language Learning Motivation Orientation Scale, a listening questionnaire, the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire, and an English-language proficiency measure, as well as listening tests in English and Persian. Scores from all measures were subjected to descriptive, inferential, and correlational analyses. The results support the hypothesis that variability in L2 listening cannot be explained by either L2 proficiency or L1 listening ability; rather, a cluster of variables including L2 proficiency, L1 listening ability, metacognitive knowledge and motivation orientations can better explain variability in L2 listening ability.

Pitch Ability as an Aptitude for Tone Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowles, Anita R.; Chang, Charles B.; Karuzis, Valerie P.

2016-01-01

Tone languages such as Mandarin use voice pitch to signal lexical contrasts, presenting a challenge for second/foreign language (L2) learners whose native languages do not use pitch in this manner. The present study examined components of an aptitude for mastering L2 lexical tone. Native English speakers with no previous tone language experience…

A Reflection on "The Language Learning Potential" of Written CF

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bitchener, John

2012-01-01

For more than 30 years, different opinions about whether written corrective feedback (CF) is a worthwhile pedagogical practice for L2 learning and acquisition have been voiced. Despite the arguments for and against its potential to help L2 learners acquire the target language and the inconclusive findings across studies that have sought answers to…

Negotiating Multiple Identities through eTandem Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Se Jeong; Yi, Youngjoo

2017-01-01

Much of eTandem research has investigated either linguistic or cross-cultural aspects of second language (L2) learning, but relatively little is known about issues of identity construction in an eTandem context. Situating the study within theories and research of language learner identity, we examined ways in which two adult L2 learners (a Korean…

Analyzing Istruction and Learning of Derivational Morhology in the Spanish Foreign Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miguel, Nausica Marcos

2013-01-01

Morphological awareness can help learners of a second language (L2) infer and learn the meaning of unknown words. It is, however, unclear how morphological awareness evolves in adult English-speaking learners of instructed L2 Spanish and how this development relates to vocabulary knowledge. Moreover, the manner in which derivational morphology is…

Posters, Self-Directed Learning, and L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cetin, Yakup; Flamand, Lee

2013-01-01

Posters, either as promotions by various ELT publishing houses or prepared by ELT teachers and students, are widely used on the walls of many foreign language classrooms. Many of them consist of colourful pictures along with L2 vocabulary, grammar, and texts in order to contribute to the foreign language learning process. However, many ELT…

Learning to Do Concept-Based Pragmatics Instruction: Teacher Development and L2 Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Compernolle, Rémi A.; Henery, Ashlie

2015-01-01

This article explores the development of pedagogical content knowledge in relation to one teacher's experience in learning to engage in a Vygotskian approach to teaching second language (L2) pragmatics known as "concept-based pragmatics instruction" (CBPI). The teacher, Mrs. Hanks, was a PhD candidate in second language acquisition at…

Teacher Perspectives on the Integration of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimshaw, Jennica; Cardoso, Walcir; Collins, Laura

2017-01-01

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) provides second language (L2) learners and teachers with resources to enhance the learning experience, including its anytime, anywhere accessibility (Traxler, 2007). However, factors such as lack of confidence with technology (Son, 2014) and time limitations (Godwin-Jones, 2015) may prevent teachers from…

Language aptitude for pronunciation in advanced second language (L2) learners: behavioural predictors and neural substrates.

PubMed

Hu, Xiaochen; Ackermann, Hermann; Martin, Jason A; Erb, Michael; Winkler, Susanne; Reiterer, Susanne M

2013-12-01

Individual differences in second language (L2) aptitude have been assumed to depend upon a variety of cognitive and personality factors. Especially, the cognitive factor phonological working memory has been conceptualised as language learning device. However, strong associations between phonological working memory and L2 aptitude have been previously found in early-stage learners only, not in advanced learners. The current study aimed at investigating the behavioural and neurobiological predictors of advanced L2 learning. Our behavioural results showed that phonetic coding ability and empathy, but not phonological working memory, predict L2 pronunciation aptitude in advanced learners. Second, functional neuroimaging revealed this behavioural trait to be correlated with hemodynamic responses of the cerebral network of speech motor control and auditory-perceptual areas. We suggest that the acquisition of L2 pronunciation aptitude is a dynamic process, requiring a variety of neural resources at different processing stages over time. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Motivation and Persistence of Learning among L2 Learners in Self-Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takahashi, Chika

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationship between learners' motivation to learn a second language (L2) and persistence in their learning using self-instructional radio (SIR) materials with a sample of Japanese high school students learning English. L2 self-instruction remains under-researched, in spite of the importance of out-of-class learning…

Directing Attention to Pronunciation in the Second Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Counselman, David

2015-01-01

Motivated by predictions of the theory of Input Processing, this study adds to previous research on second language (L2) Spanish pronunciation learning by investigating the impact of two distinct types of pronunciation assignments on first language (L1) English L2 Spanish students' improvement in pronunciation of the vowels /e, o/. Two sections of…

Examining the Concept of Subordination in Spoken L1 and L2 English: The Case of "If"-Clauses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basterrechea, María; Weinert, Regina

2017-01-01

This article explores the applications of research on native spoken language into second language learning in the concept of subordination. Second language (L2) learners' ability to integrate subordinate clauses is considered an indication of higher proficiency (e.g., Ellis & Barkhuizen, 2005; Tarone & Swierzbin, 2009). However, the notion…

Attitudes toward Task-Based Language Learning: A Study of College Korean Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pyun, Danielle Ooyoung

2013-01-01

This study explores second/foreign language (L2) learners' attitudes toward task-based language learning (TBLL) and how these attitudes relate to selected learner variables, namely anxiety, integrated motivation, instrumental motivation, and self-efficacy. Ninety-one college students of Korean as a foreign language, who received task-based…

Automatic Selection of Suitable Sentences for Language Learning Exercises

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilán, Ildikó; Volodina, Elena; Johansson, Richard

2013-01-01

In our study we investigated second and foreign language (L2) sentence readability, an area little explored so far in the case of several languages, including Swedish. The outcome of our research consists of two methods for sentence selection from native language corpora based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML)…

The Impact of Resilience on L2 Learners' Motivated Behaviour and Proficiency in L2 Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Tae-Young; Kim, Yoon-Kyoung

2017-01-01

This exploratory study focused on the factors that constitute second language (L2) learners' resilience, and how these factors are related to L2 learning by investigating what relation resilience may have to motivated behaviour and proficiency in English learning. A total of 1620 secondary school learners of English participated in a questionnaire…

The Impact of Text Structure Reading Strategy Instruction in a Second Language: Benefits across Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Ana Isabel; Mendoza, Laura; Meyer, Bonnie

2017-01-01

The goal of the present study was to examine the efficacy of learning a text structure strategy (TSS) for improving reading comprehension and recall for second language (L2) learners, as well as to test for transfer of the strategy to the native language (L1). University L2 learners of English completed a five-session course on using the TSS to…

The Motivational Effects of Crosslinguistic Awareness: Developing Third Language Pedagogies to Address the Negative Impact of the L2 on the L3 Self-Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henry, Alastair

2014-01-01

Learning a third language (TL) brings with it particular pedagogical demands. In the pedagogy of TL learning now emerging, the development of students' metalinguistic and crosslinguistic awareness is of central importance. In particular, emphasis is placed on the benefits of cross-referencing with supporter languages. While comparisons with…

Action Control, L2 Motivational Self System, and Motivated Learning Behavior in a Foreign Language Learning Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khany, Reza; Amiri, Majid

2018-01-01

Theoretical developments in second or foreign language motivation research have led to a better understanding of the convoluted nature of motivation in the process of language acquisition. Among these theories, action control theory has recently shown a good deal of explanatory power in second language learning contexts and in the presence of…

Second Language Reading and Vocabulary Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huckin, Thomas, Ed.; And Others

This book contains 14 essays on reading and vocabulary learning in second language acquisition. Chapters include: "Research on ESL/EFL Vocabulary Acquisition: Putting It in Context" (James Coady); "Implications for L2 Vocabulary Acquisition and Instruction From L1 Vocabulary Research" (Fredricka Stoller and William Grabe); "Patterns and Perils of…

How do verbal short-term memory and working memory relate to the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar? A comparison between first and second language learners.

PubMed

Verhagen, Josje; Leseman, Paul

2016-01-01

Previous studies show that verbal short-term memory (VSTM) is related to vocabulary learning, whereas verbal working memory (VWM) is related to grammar learning in children learning a second language (L2) in the classroom. In this study, we investigated whether the same relationships apply to children learning an L2 in a naturalistic setting and to monolingual children. We also investigated whether relationships with verbal memory differ depending on the type of grammar skill investigated (i.e., morphology vs. syntax). Participants were 63 Turkish children who learned Dutch as an L2 and 45 Dutch monolingual children (mean age = 5 years). Children completed a series of VSTM and VWM tasks, a Dutch vocabulary task, and a Dutch grammar task. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that VSTM and VWM represented two separate latent factors in both groups. Structural equation modeling showed that VSTM, treated as a latent factor, significantly predicted vocabulary and grammar. VWM, treated as a latent factor, predicted only grammar. Both memory factors were significantly related to the acquisition of morphology and syntax. There were no differences between the two groups. These results show that (a) VSTM and VWM are differentially associated with language learning and (b) the same memory mechanisms are employed for learning vocabulary and grammar in L1 children and in L2 children who learn their L2 naturalistically. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A View of the Neural Representation of Second Language Syntax through Artificial Language Learning under Implicit Contexts of Exposure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan-Short, Kara; Deng, ZhiZhou; Brill-Schuetz, Katherine A.; Faretta- Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C. M.; Wong, Francis C. K.

2015-01-01

The current study aims to make an initial neuroimaging contribution to central implicit-explicit issues in second language (L2) acquisition by considering how implicit and explicit contexts mediate the neural representation of L2. Focusing on implicit contexts, the study employs a longitudinal design to examine the neural representation of L2…

Fostering Computer-Mediated L2 Interaction beyond the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrs, Keith

2012-01-01

In language learning contexts a primary concern is how to maximise target language interaction both inside and outside of the classroom. With the development of digital technologies, the proliferation of language learning applications, and an increased awareness of how technology can assist in language education, educators are being presented with…

Embodied L2 Construction Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eskildsen, Søren W.; Wagner, Johannes

2015-01-01

This study uses conversation analysis (CA) to investigate the coupling of specific linguistic items with specific gestures in second language (L2) learning over time. In particular, we are interested in how gestures accompany learning of new vocabulary. CA-informed studies of gesture have previously shown the importance of embodiment in L2 use and…

Building Corpus-Informed Word Lists for L2 Vocabulary Learning in Nine Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charalabopoulou, Frieda; Gavrilidou, Maria; Kokkinakis, Sofie Johansson; Volodina, Elena

2012-01-01

Lexical competence constitutes a crucial aspect in L2 learning, since building a rich repository of words is considered indispensable for successful communication. CALL practitioners have experimented with various kinds of computer-mediated glosses to facilitate L2 vocabulary building in the context of incidental vocabulary learning. Intentional…

Incidental Learning of Gender Agreement in L2.

PubMed

Denhovska, Nadiia; Serratrice, Ludovica

2017-10-01

Incidental learning of grammar has been an area of interest for many decades; nevertheless, existing research has primarily focused on artificial or semi-artificial languages. The present study examines the incidental acquisition of the grammar of a natural language by exposing adult speakers of an ungendered L1 (English) to the gender agreement patterns in Russian (a language that was novel to the learners). Both receptive and productive knowledge and the mediating role of working memory (WM) in learning were measured. Speakers of the ungendered language were able to successfully acquire receptive but not productive grammatical knowledge in a new language under incidental exposure. WM was engaged in production but not in a grammaticality judgment task in the incidental learning condition, indicating cognitive effort during knowledge retrieval.

Brain responses before and after intensive second language learning: proficiency based changes and first language background effects in adult learners.

PubMed

White, Erin Jacquelyn; Genesee, Fred; Steinhauer, Karsten

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study tracked the neuro-cognitive changes associated with second language (L2) grammar learning in adults in order to investigate how L2 processing is shaped by a learner's first language (L1) background and L2 proficiency. Previous studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) have argued that late L2 learners cannot elicit a P600 in response to L2 grammatical structures that do not exist in the L1 or that are different in the L1 and L2. We tested whether the neuro-cognitive processes underlying this component become available after intensive L2 instruction. Korean- and Chinese late-L2-learners of English were tested at the beginning and end of a 9-week intensive English-L2 course. ERPs were recorded while participants read English sentences containing violations of regular past tense (a grammatical structure that operates differently in Korean and does not exist in Chinese). Whereas no P600 effects were present at the start of instruction, by the end of instruction, significant P600s were observed for both L1 groups. Latency differences in the P600 exhibited by Chinese and Korean speakers may be attributed to differences in L1-L2 reading strategies. Across all participants, larger P600 effects at session 2 were associated with: 1) higher levels of behavioural performance on an online grammaticality judgment task; and 2) with correct, rather than incorrect, behavioural responses. These findings suggest that the neuro-cognitive processes underlying the P600 (e.g., "grammaticalization") are modulated by individual levels of L2 behavioural performance and learning.

Brain Responses before and after Intensive Second Language Learning: Proficiency Based Changes and First Language Background Effects in Adult Learners

PubMed Central

White, Erin Jacquelyn; Genesee, Fred; Steinhauer, Karsten

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study tracked the neuro-cognitive changes associated with second language (L2) grammar learning in adults in order to investigate how L2 processing is shaped by a learner’s first language (L1) background and L2 proficiency. Previous studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) have argued that late L2 learners cannot elicit a P600 in response to L2 grammatical structures that do not exist in the L1 or that are different in the L1 and L2. We tested whether the neuro-cognitive processes underlying this component become available after intensive L2 instruction. Korean- and Chinese late-L2-learners of English were tested at the beginning and end of a 9-week intensive English-L2 course. ERPs were recorded while participants read English sentences containing violations of regular past tense (a grammatical structure that operates differently in Korean and does not exist in Chinese). Whereas no P600 effects were present at the start of instruction, by the end of instruction, significant P600s were observed for both L1 groups. Latency differences in the P600 exhibited by Chinese and Korean speakers may be attributed to differences in L1–L2 reading strategies. Across all participants, larger P600 effects at session 2 were associated with: 1) higher levels of behavioural performance on an online grammaticality judgment task; and 2) with correct, rather than incorrect, behavioural responses. These findings suggest that the neuro-cognitive processes underlying the P600 (e.g., “grammaticalization”) are modulated by individual levels of L2 behavioural performance and learning. PMID:23300641

Teachers' and Students' Amount and Purpose of L1 Use: English as Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms in Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bozorgian, Hossein; Fallahpour, Sediqe

2015-01-01

A surge of interest in using First Language (L1) in English as Second/Foreign Language (L2/EFL) learning has recently been developed. Despite this upsurge, the concern about using L1 by teachers and students in L2/EFL classrooms is still important for researchers to consider in the field. The focus of this study is to investigate the amount and…

L2 Learners' Assessments of Accentedness, Fluency, and Comprehensibility of Native and Nonnative German Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Mary Grantham

2014-01-01

In early stages of classroom language learning, many adult second language (L2) learners communicate primarily with one another, yet we know little about which speech stream characteristics learners tune into or the extent to which they understand this lingua franca communication. In the current study, 25 native English speakers learning German as…

Learning English as an L2 in the Global Context: Changing English, Changing Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Chit Cheung Matthew

2013-01-01

As the English language has become a global lingua franca today, it is not surprising that changes in attitudes and perceptions towards learning English in the international context have taken place at the same time. In this paper, I critically examine the notion of "integrative motivation" in the literature of second language (L2)…

Non-Native Student's Communication Is Affected Due to the Lack of Pragmatic Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latha, V. G.; Rajan, Premalatha

2012-01-01

This paper aims at focusing how the lack of pragmatic competence affects student's communication in L2 (Second language) at tertiary level. The city based Indian students learn English which is their second language from 3 years onwards whereas the rural based students learn English only from 6 years onwards. This exposure of the L2 shows the…

Studying Language Learning Opportunities Afforded by a Collaborative CALL Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leahy, Christine

2016-01-01

This research study explores the learning potential of a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) activity. Research suggests that the dual emphasis on content development and language accuracy, as well as the complexity of L2 production in natural settings, can potentially create cognitive overload. This study poses the question whether, and…

L2 (IM)Politeness in the Synchronous Chat of Elementary School Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Craig D.; Do, Jaewoo

2017-01-01

Participation in interactive games, especially those in immersive environments, is often employed in learning contexts to stochastically develop L2 learners' language ability. However, typical measures of language ability often do not reflect pragmatic competencies. This study juxtaposes two elementary school ESL learners' language ability, and…

Vigilance, Expectancy, and Noise: Attention in Second Language Lexical Learning and Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Robert, Jr.

2011-01-01

Talamas et al. (1999), Ferre et al. (2006) and Sunderman and Kroll (2006) exposed participants to first-language/second-language (L1/L2) pairs of words and asked them to decide whether the second word was the correct translation of the first. In the critical condition, the L2 word was either the translation of the L1 word ("man" [right arrow]…

Individual Differences in the Acquisition of a Complex L2 Phonology: A Training Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanulikova, Adriana; Dediu, Dan; Fang, Zhou; Basnakova, Jana; Huettig, Falk

2012-01-01

Many learners of a foreign language (L2) struggle to correctly pronounce newly learned speech sounds, yet many others achieve this with apparent ease. Here we explored how a training study of learning complex consonant clusters at the very onset of L2 acquisition can inform us about L2 learning in general and individual differences in particular.…

When Swedes Begin to Learn German: From V2 to V2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohnacker, Ute

2006-01-01

This article investigates verb placement, especially Verb second (V2), in post-puberty second language (L2) learners of two closely related Germanic V2 languages: Swedish and German. Hakansson, "et al." (2002) have adduced data from first language (L1) Swedish-speaking learners of German in support of the claim that the syntactic property of V2…

Creating the Third Self: Pragmatic Transfer in Third Language Acquisition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fouser, Robert J.

1995-01-01

A prospective study investigating pragmatic transfer in the learning of Japanese as a third language (L3) is described. The study will test the hypothesis that the learner's perception of linguistic and cultural distance between the first/second languages (L1/L2) and L3 will determine conscious and unconscious decisions about which linguistic and…

Adult Learning Strategies in an Onsite Training Program in Tunisia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayachi, Zeineb

2015-01-01

The new market place has dictated on adults the use of English as it is the first international language used in business. However, learning a foreign language becomes more and more complicated as the learner gets older, is in a mature command of L1 and L2, and does not have enough time to learn due to professional responsibilities. Contrary to…

Sampling over Nonuniform Distributions: A Neural Efficiency Account of the Primacy Effect in Statistical Learning.

PubMed

Karuza, Elisabeth A; Li, Ping; Weiss, Daniel J; Bulgarelli, Federica; Zinszer, Benjamin D; Aslin, Richard N

2016-10-01

Successful knowledge acquisition requires a cognitive system that is both sensitive to statistical information and able to distinguish among multiple structures (i.e., to detect pattern shifts and form distinct representations). Extensive behavioral evidence has highlighted the importance of cues to structural change, demonstrating how, without them, learners fail to detect pattern shifts and are biased in favor of early experience. Here, we seek a neural account of the mechanism underpinning this primacy effect in learning. During fMRI scanning, adult participants were presented with two artificial languages: a familiar language (L1) on which they had been pretrained followed by a novel language (L2). The languages were composed of the same syllable inventory organized according to unique statistical structures. In the absence of cues to the transition between languages, posttest familiarity judgments revealed that learners on average more accurately segmented words from the familiar language compared with the novel one. Univariate activation and functional connectivity analyses showed that participants with the strongest learning of L1 had decreased recruitment of fronto-subcortical and posterior parietal regions, in addition to a dissociation between downstream regions and early auditory cortex. Participants with a strong new language learning capacity (i.e., higher L2 scores) showed the opposite trend. Thus, we suggest that a bias toward neural efficiency, particularly as manifested by decreased sampling from the environment, accounts for the primacy effect in learning. Potential implications of this hypothesis are discussed, including the possibility that "inefficient" learning systems may be more sensitive to structural changes in a dynamic environment.

Language Policies and Sociolinguistic Domains in the Context of Minority Groups in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feng, Anwei; Adamson, Bob

2018-01-01

In mainland China, most ethnic minority students today face the challenge of learning three languages in schools, namely, their home language (L1), Mandarin Chinese (L2) and a foreign language, usually English (L3). Research into trilingual education for minority groups has been most active since the turn of the twenty-first century. This paper…

Task Preference, Affective Response, and Engagement in L2 Use in a US University Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phung, Linh

2017-01-01

While learners' engagement has been recognized as important for second language (L2) learning in task-based language teaching (TBLT), how engagement is manifest in learners' L2 use during task performance and how tasks can be designed to facilitate better engagement have not received enough attention in the L2 research. This study investigates the…

Language Learning Motivation in the United States: An Examination of Language Choice and Multilingualism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Amy S.

2017-01-01

With the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) as a framework, this study is an investigation of the relationships among motivation, language choice, and multilingualism using data from 195 undergraduate learners of languages other than English (LOTEs) in the context of the United States. Motivation is operationalized by the three aspects of self…

Language Play in a Second Language: Social Media as Contexts for Emerging Sociopragmatic Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lantz-Andersson, Annika

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to gain insights into students' language use on social media as part of the specific linguistic activities of second language (L2) learning, including development of sociopragmatic competence. Two Facebook groups were introduced in different English-as-L2 classes that were part of an international collaborative project…

An Exploration of Language Anxiety in L2 Academic Context for Chinese International Students in U.S. Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Qing

2013-01-01

This mix-methods study examined the language anxiety levels that the Chinese international students perceived in second language (L2) academic context at four universities in the northeastern region of the United States of America; it explored the impact of language anxiety that these students perceived on their academic learning; it also…

Incidental Learning of Gender Agreement in L2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denhovska, Nadiia; Serratrice, Ludovica

2017-01-01

Incidental learning of grammar has been an area of interest for many decades; nevertheless, existing research has primarily focused on artificial or semi-artificial languages. The present study examines the incidental acquisition of the grammar of a natural language by exposing adult speakers of an ungendered L1 (English) to the gender agreement…

Critical Geragogy and Foreign Language Learning: An Exploratory Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramírez Gómez, Danya

2016-01-01

This article proposes an exploratory application of the principles of critical geragogy (Formosa, 2002, 2011, 2012) to foreign language (FL) education (i.e., L2 learning in the L1 community). Critical geragogy is an educational, practical framework intended to empower older adults and lead them to emancipate from age strictures (Glendenning &…

Effects of Synonym Generation on Incidental and Intentional L2 Vocabulary Learning during Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barcroft, Joe

2009-01-01

This study examined effects of synonym generation on second language (L2) vocabulary learning during reading in both incidental and intentional vocabulary learning contexts. Spanish-speaking adult learners of L2 English (N = 114) at low- and high-intermediate proficiency levels read an English passage containing 10 target words translated in the…

Metaphor and Second Language Learning: The State of the Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoang, Ha

2014-01-01

Once considered a stylistic issue, metaphor is now considered a critical component of everyday and specialized language and most importantly, a fundamental mechanism of human conceptualizations of the world. The use of metaphor in language, thought and communication has been examined in second language (L2) learning. The body of literature that…

Second Language Acquisition of Gender Agreement in Explicit and Implicit Training Conditions: An Event-Related Potential Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan-Short, Kara; Sanz, Cristina; Steinhauer, Karsten; Ullman, Michael T.

2010-01-01

This study employed an artificial language learning paradigm together with a combined behavioral/event-related potential (ERP) approach to examine the neurocognition of the processing of gender agreement, an aspect of inflectional morphology that is problematic in adult second language (L2) learning. Subjects learned to speak and comprehend an…

First Language Grapheme-Phoneme Transparency Effects in Adult Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ijalba, Elizabeth; Obler, Loraine K.

2015-01-01

The Spanish writing system has consistent grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPC), rendering it more transparent than English. We compared first-language (L1) orthographic transparency on how monolingual English- and Spanish-readers learned a novel writing system with a 1:1 (LT) and a 1:2 (LO) GPC. Our dependent variables were learning time,…

Second Language Socialization through Team Interaction among Electrical and Computer Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vickers, Caroline H.

2007-01-01

This article, based on a longitudinal, ethnographic study among engineering students, examines the interactional processes surrounding second language (L2) socialization. L2 socialization perspectives argue that the cognitive and the social are interconnected, and that learning an L2 is a process of coming to understand socially constructed…

Language Use in a Spanish-English Dual Immersion Classroom: A Sociolinguistic Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potowski, Kimberly

Dual immersion classrooms combine students who speak a non-English language (in this case Spanish) with English speaking students learning the native language of the nonnative English speaking students. This case study recorded the output of Spanish first language (L1) and second language (L2) fifth graders over 5 months of Spanish language…

Leveling L2 Texts through Readability: Combining Multilevel Linguistic Features with the CEFR

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Yao-Ting; Lin, Wei-Chun; Dyson, Scott Benjamin; Chang, Kuo-En; Chen, Yu-Chia

2015-01-01

Selecting appropriate texts for L2 (second/foreign language) learners is an important approach to enhancing motivation and, by extension, learning. There is currently no tool for classifying foreign language texts according to a language proficiency framework, which makes it difficult for students and educators to determine the precise…

Gender Differences in Identity and Acculturation Patterns and L2 Accent Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polat, Nihat; Mahalingappa, Laura J.

2010-01-01

Addressing the influence of sociocultural theory, current views of second language acquisition situate language learning in a much broader context than the isolated box of the classroom. There is need to consider second language (L2) acquisition practices more broadly. This study addresses differences between girls and boys of Kurdish ethnic…

Are Listening Skills Best Enhanced through the Use of Multimedia Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sejdiu, Sejdi

2017-01-01

Listening comprehension is essential to L2 learning. Pupils who are able to demonstrate L2 listening skills are able to demonstrate proficiency in other language skills. Due to the relatively unappreciated role of listening in language development, educators and language experts have been actively promoting the equal or emphasized enhancement of…

Language Activation and Lexical Processing by Polish Learners of English and Chinese--The Role of Learning Experience in TLA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kujalowicz, Agnieszka; Zajdler, Ewa

2009-01-01

Many offline studies on third language acquisition suggest strong connections between speakers' L3 and L2 rather than between their L3 and L1, especially if the foreign languages are typologically related (Cenoz, Hufeisen, & Jessner, 2001; Singleton, 2001). However, a recent online study investigating trilingual processing did not provide evidence…

Effects of Sound, Vocabulary, and Grammar Learning Aptitude on Adult Second Language Speech Attainment in Foreign Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saito, Kazuya

2017-01-01

This study examines the relationship between different types of language learning aptitude (measured via the LLAMA test) and adult second language (L2) learners' attainment in speech production in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classrooms. Picture descriptions elicited from 50 Japanese EFL learners from varied proficiency levels were analyzed…

Making Room for Second Language Phonotactics: Effects of L2 Learning and Environment on First Language Speech Perception.

PubMed

Carlson, Matthew T

2018-04-01

Language-specific restrictions on sound sequences in words can lead to automatic perceptual repair of illicit sound sequences. As an example, no Spanish words begin with /s/-consonant sequences ([#sC]), and where necessary (e.g., foreign loanwords) [#sC] is repaired by inserting an initial [e], (e.g. foreign loanwords, cf., esnob, from English snob). As a result, Spanish speakers tend to perceive an illusory [e] before [#sC] sequences. Interestingly, this perceptual illusion is weaker in early Spanish-English bilinguals, whose other language, English, allows [#sC]. The present study explored whether this apparent influence of the English language on Spanish is restricted to early bilinguals, whose early language experience includes a mixture of both languages, or whether later learning of second language (L2) English can also induce a weakening of the first language (L1) perceptual illusion. Two groups of late Spanish-English bilinguals, immersed in Spanish or English, were tested on the same Spanish AX (same-different) discrimination task used in a study by Carlson et al., (2016) and their results compared with the Spanish monolinguals from Carlson et al.'s study. Like early bilinguals, late bilinguals exhibited a reduced impact of perceptual prothesis on discrimination accuracy. Additionally, late bilinguals, particularly in English immersion, were slowest when responding against the Spanish perceptual illusion. Robust L1 perceptual illusions thus appear to be malleable in the face of later L2 learning. It is argued that these results are consonant with the need for late bilinguals to navigate alternative, conflicting representations of the same acoustic material, even in unilingual L1 speech perception tasks.

The Role of Diminutives in the Acquisition of Russian Gender: Can Elements of Child-Directed Speech Aid in Learning Morphology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kempe, Vera; Brooks, Patricia J.

2005-01-01

This study investigated second-language (L2) learning to gain a better understanding of learning mechanisms that also operate in child first-language L1 learners. The research was inspired by research on the beneficial effects of child-directed speech CDS. We tried to examine whether such benefits can be observed in the domain of inflectional…

The Development of English Grammar and Reading Comprehension by Majority and Minority Language Children in a Bilingual Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinlen, Anja K.

2017-01-01

Both for the first language (L1) and for all additional languages (L2 or L3), grammatical knowledge plays a vital role in understanding texts (e.g., Grabe, 2005). However, little is known about the development and interaction of grammar and reading comprehension in beginning foreign language learning, especially with respect to children with a…

Language Mediation in an L3 Classroom: The Role of Task Modalities and Task Types

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payant, Caroline; Kim, YouJin

2015-01-01

Pedagogical tasks in language learning settings promote learner-learner interaction and provide second language (L2) learners with opportunities to process authentic input and produce output (Philp, Adams, & Iwashita, 2014). During these interactions, learners use their language repertoire to mediate their output (Swain & Lapkin, 2000).…

Listeners Retune Phoneme Categories across Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinisch, Eva; Weber, Andrea; Mitterer, Holger

2013-01-01

Native listeners adapt to noncanonically produced speech by retuning phoneme boundaries by means of lexical knowledge. We asked whether a second language lexicon can also guide category retuning and whether perceptual learning transfers from a second language (L2) to the native language (L1). During a Dutch lexical-decision task, German and Dutch…

Cross-Language Priming of Word Meaning during Second Language Sentence Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Yanli; Woltz, Dan; Zheng, Robert

2010-01-01

The experiment investigated the benefit to second language (L2) sentence comprehension of priming word meanings with brief visual exposure to first language (L1) translation equivalents. Native English speakers learning Mandarin evaluated the validity of aurally presented Mandarin sentences. For selected words in half of the sentences there was…

Interplay of Languaging and Gameplay: Player-Game Interactions as Ecologies for Languaging and Situated L2 Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibrahim, Karim Hesham Shaker

2016-01-01

The field of game-mediated L2 learning has grown exponentially, and much has been discovered about the potentials of game-mediated interactions for L2 development, yet the fine-grained dynamics of player-game interactions and how they come to facilitate and afford L2 development are still largely underexplored. To address this gap in the…

A Teacher's First Language Use in Form-Focused Episodes in Spanish as a Foreign Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakatsukasa, Kimi; Loewen, Shawn

2015-01-01

This study investigates a teacher's L1 use during focus-on-form episodes (FFEs). FFEs assist L2 learning by bringing learners' attention to language. We studied the language used in FFEs in a Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) classroom to better understand the pedagogical purposes of L1 use in the classroom. We video-recorded 12 hours…

The Secret Is in the Processing: A Study of Levels of Explicit Computerized Feedback in Heritage and L2 Learners of Spanish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamora, Celia Chomon

2017-01-01

The field of Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA) has expressed interest in pursuing a research agenda that expands the current heritage language (HL) strand of research to investigate how this heterogeneous population re-learns their family language, and how this experience differs from that of second language (L2) learners. This…

Les mecanismes psychologiques sous-jacents a l'apprentissage d'une langue seconde (The Psychological Mechanisms Related to the Learning of a Second Language). Publication B-99.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gendron, Jean-Denis, Ed.; Vigneault, Richard, Ed.

Articles include: (1) "Variables psychologiques et sociales reliees a l'apprentissage d'une langue seconde par l'immigrant adulte en situation scolaire" (Psychological and Social Variables Related to the Learning of a Second Language by the Adult Immigrant in the Academic Situation) by A. d'Anglejan and C. Renaud, (2) "Les contacts…

Using L1 to Enhance the Grammar Learning and Having Only English Policy in EFL Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uyar, Yusuf

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the differences of grammar learning, if any, between the EFL classes in which native language (L1) is sometimes used and only target language (L2) is used. Participants were 42 prep year students from one of the universities in Turkey. They have been studying English for 9 months, and now they are in level…

The longitudinal development of fine phonetic detail in late learners of Spanish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casillas, Joseph Vincent

The present investigation analyzed early second language (L2) learning in adults. A common finding regarding L2 acquisition is that early learning appears to be necessary in order to perform on the same level as a native speaker. Surprisingly, many current theoretical models posit that the human ability to learn novel speech sounds remains active throughout the lifespan. In light of this fact, this project examines L2 acquisition in late learners with a special focus on L1/L2 use, input, and context of learning. Research regarding L1/L2 use has tended to be observational, and throughout the previous six decades of L2 research the role of input has been minimized and left largely unexplained. This study includes two production experiments and two perception experiments and focuses on the role of L1/L2 use and input in L2 acquisition in late learners in order to add to current research regarding their role in accurately and efficiently acquiring a novel speech sound. Moreover, this research is concerned with shedding light on when, if at all, during the acquisition process late learners begin to acquire a new, language-specific phonetic system, and the amount of exposure necessary in order to acquire L2 fine-phonetic detail. The experimental design presented in the present study also aims to shed light on the temporal relationship between production and perception with regard to category formation. To begin to fully understand these issues, the present study proposes a battery of tasks which were administered throughout the course of a domestic immersion program. Domestic immersion provides an understudied linguistic context in which L1 use is minimized, target language use is maximized, and L2 input is abundant. The results suggest that L2 phonetic category formation occurs at an early stage of development, and is perceptually driven. Moreover, early L2 representations are fragile, and especially susceptible to cross-language interference. Together, the studies undertaken for this work add to our understanding of the initial stages of the acquisition of L2 phonology in adult learners.

Motivation, Comprehensibility, and Accentedness in L2 Spanish: Investigating Motivation as a Time-Varying Predictor of Pronunciation Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagle, Charles

2018-01-01

This study examined relationships between language learning motivation and the longitudinal development of second language (L2) pronunciation. Twenty-six English-speaking learners of Spanish recorded a simplified picture description task 5 times over a year-long period spanning their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters of Spanish language instruction.…

Interdisciplinary Research at the Intersection of CALL, NLP, and SLA: Methodological Implications from an Input Enhancement Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ziegler, Nicole; Meurers, Detmar; Rebuschat, Patrick; Ruiz, Simón; Moreno-Vega, José L.; Chinkina, Maria; Li, Wenjing; Grey, Sarah

2017-01-01

Despite the promise of research conducted at the intersection of computer-assisted language learning (CALL), natural language processing, and second language acquisition, few studies have explored the potential benefits of using intelligent CALL systems to deepen our understanding of the process and products of second language (L2) learning. The…

Early and Late Language Start at Private Schools in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cepik, Saban; Sarandi, Hedayat

2012-01-01

This study examines the interaction effect of age in L2 attainment. It explores whether success in foreign language learning at early childhood grades varies depending on age. It also addresses the beliefs of foreign language teachers regarding the variables under review. Eighty-three 11 year-old language learners who started learning English at…

The effects of bilingualism on the white matter structure of the brain

PubMed Central

Pliatsikas, Christos; Moschopoulou, Elisavet; Saddy, James Douglas

2015-01-01

Recent studies suggest that learning and using a second language (L2) can affect brain structure, including the structure of white matter (WM) tracts. This observation comes from research looking at early and older bilingual individuals who have been using both their first and second languages on an everyday basis for many years. This study investigated whether young, highly immersed late bilinguals would also show structural effects in the WM that can be attributed to everyday L2 use, irrespective of critical periods or the length of L2 learning. Our Tract-Based Spatial Statistics analysis revealed higher fractional anisotropy values for bilinguals vs. monolinguals in several WM tracts that have been linked to language processing and in a pattern closely resembling the results reported for older and early bilinguals. We propose that learning and actively using an L2 after childhood can have rapid dynamic effects on WM structure, which in turn may assist in preserving WM integrity in older age. PMID:25583505

Advancing Research in Second Language Writing through Computational Tools and Machine Learning Techniques: A Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crossley, Scott A.

2013-01-01

This paper provides an agenda for replication studies focusing on second language (L2) writing and the use of natural language processing (NLP) tools and machine learning algorithms. Specifically, it introduces a range of the available NLP tools and machine learning algorithms and demonstrates how these could be used to replicate seminal studies…

Learning L2 Collocations Incidentally from Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pellicer-Sánchez, Ana

2017-01-01

Previous studies have shown that intentional learning through explicit instruction is effective for the acquisition of collocations in a second language (L2) (e.g. Peters, 2014, 2015), but relatively little is known about the effectiveness of incidental approaches for the acquisition of L2 collocations. The present study examined the incidental…

Enhancing Foreign Language Learning through Listening Strategies Delivered in L1: An Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bozorgian, Hossein; Pillay, Hitendra

2013-01-01

Listening used in language teaching refers to a complex process that allows us to understand spoken language. The current study, conducted in Iran with an experimental design, investigated the effectiveness of teaching listening strategies delivered in L1 (Persian) and its effect on listening comprehension in L2. Five listening strategies:…

The Receptive-Expressive Gap in the Vocabulary of Young Second-Language Learners: Robustness and Possible Mechanisms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Todd A.; Oller, D. Kimbrough; Jarmulowicz, Linda; Ethington, Corinna A.

2012-01-01

Adults and children learning a second language show difficulty accessing expressive vocabulary that appears accessible receptively in their first language (L1). We call this discrepancy the receptive-expressive gap. Kindergarten Spanish (L1)-English (L2) sequential bilinguals were given standardized tests of receptive and expressive vocabulary in…

Orthography Affects Second Language Speech: Double Letters and Geminate Production in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bassetti, Bene

2017-01-01

Second languages (L2s) are often learned through spoken and written input, and L2 orthographic forms (spellings) can lead to non-native-like pronunciation. The present study investigated whether orthography can lead experienced learners of English[subscript L2] to make a phonological contrast in their speech production that does not exist in…

Hi-LAB: A New Measure of Aptitude for High-Level Language Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linck, Jared A.; Hughes, Meredith M.; Campbell, Susan G.; Silbert, Noah H.; Tare, Medha; Jackson, Scott R.; Smith, Benjamin K.; Bunting, Michael F.; Doughty, Catherine J.

2013-01-01

Few adult second language (L2) learners successfully attain high-level proficiency. Although decades of research on beginning to intermediate stages of L2 learning have identified a number of predictors of the rate of acquisition, little research has examined factors relevant to predicting very high levels of L2 proficiency. The current study,…

Assessing Second-Language Oral Proficiency for Research: The Spanish Elicited Imitation Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowden, Harriet Wood

2016-01-01

Proficiency is a key variable in late second language (L2) learning, but one that is undermeasured in current research. This study investigates whether L2 oral proficiency can be quickly and reliably assessed via the Spanish "elicited imitation task" (EIT; Ortega, Iwashita, Rabie, & Norris, 1999). Thirty-seven L2 learners of Spanish…

Nonverbal Behavior and Corrective Feedback in Nine ESL University-Level Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Weiqing; Loewen, Shawn

2016-01-01

Nonverbal behavior is an area of recent interest in second language acquisition (SLA). Some researchers have found that teachers' nonverbal behavior plays a role in second language (L2) learners' learning. Furthermore, corrective feedback during L2 interaction can also be facilitative of L2 development; however, little is known about how nonverbal…

Advanced Foreign Language Learning: A Challenge to College Programs. Issues in Language Program Direction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrnes, Heidi, Ed.; Maxim, Hiram H., Ed.

This book includes the following chapters: "Literacy and Advanced Foreign Language Learning: Rethinking he Curriculum" (Richard G. Kern); "A Template for Advanced Learner Tasks: Staging Genre Reading and Cultural Literacy Through the Precis" (Janet Swaffar); "Fostering Advanced L2 Literacy: A Genre-Based, Cognitive…

Providing Graduated Corrective Feedback in an Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ai, Haiyang

2017-01-01

Corrective feedback (CF), a response to linguistic errors made by second language (L2) learners, has received extensive scholarly attention in second language acquisition. While much of the previous research in the field has focused on whether CF facilitates or impedes L2 development, few studies have examined the efficacy of gradually modifying…

The Development of L2 Fluency during Study Abroad: A Cross-Language Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Silvio, Francesca; Diao, Wenhao; Donovan, Anne

2016-01-01

Examining speech samples from 75 American university students learning 1 of 3 languages (Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish), this article reports on a study of second language (L2) learners' oral fluency development and its relationship with their gains in holistic proficiency ratings during a semester abroad. In study abroad research, there is a…

The Effects of Focused and Unfocused Written Corrective Feedback in an English as a Foreign Language Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Rod; Sheen, Younghee; Murakami, Mihoko; Takashima, Hide

2008-01-01

Truscott [Truscott, J., 1996. "The case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes.' "Language Learning" 46, 327-369; Truscott, J., 1999. "The case for "the case for grammar correction in L2 writing classes": a response to Ferris." "Journal of Second Language Writing" 8, 111-122] laid down the…

Gender Differences in Motivation to Learn French

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kissau, Scott

2006-01-01

There is concern among second language educators in Canada that male students are losing interest in studying French as a second language (FSL). In response, in the fall of 2003, a study was conducted to investigate gender differences in second language (L2) motivation among Grade 9 core French students. Building upon the traditional model of L2…

The Relationship between SLA Research and Language Pedagogy: Teachers' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nassaji, Hossein

2012-01-01

There is currently a substantial body of research on second language (L2) learning and this body of knowledge is constantly growing. There are also many attempts in most teacher education programs around the world to inform practicing and prospective L2 teachers about second language acquisition (SLA) research and its findings. However, an…

Study Quality in SLA: An Assessment of Designs, Analyses, and Reporting Practices in Quantitative L2 Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plonsky, Luke

2013-01-01

This study assesses research and reporting practices in quantitative second language (L2) research. A sample of 606 primary studies, published from 1990 to 2010 in "Language Learning and Studies in Second Language Acquisition," was collected and coded for designs, statistical analyses, reporting practices, and outcomes (i.e., effect…

Effects of Enhancement Techniques on L2 Incidental Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duan, Shiping

2018-01-01

Enhancement Techniques are conducive to incidental vocabulary learning. This study investigated the effects of two types of enhancement techniques-multiple-choice glosses (MC) and L1 single-gloss (SG) on L2 incidental learning of new words and retention of them. A total of 89 university learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) were asked to…

Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure

PubMed Central

Morgan-Short, Kara; Finger, Ingrid; Grey, Sarah; Ullman, Michael T.

2012-01-01

Although learning a second language (L2) as an adult is notoriously difficult, research has shown that adults can indeed attain native language-like brain processing and high proficiency levels. However, it is important to then retain what has been attained, even in the absence of continued exposure to the L2—particularly since periods of minimal or no L2 exposure are common. This event-related potential (ERP) study of an artificial language tested performance and neural processing following a substantial period of no exposure. Adults learned to speak and comprehend the artificial language to high proficiency with either explicit, classroom-like, or implicit, immersion-like training, and then underwent several months of no exposure to the language. Surprisingly, proficiency did not decrease during this delay. Instead, it remained unchanged, and there was an increase in native-like neural processing of syntax, as evidenced by several ERP changes—including earlier, more reliable, and more left-lateralized anterior negativities, and more robust P600s, in response to word-order violations. Moreover, both the explicitly and implicitly trained groups showed increased native-like ERP patterns over the delay, indicating that such changes can hold independently of L2 training type. The results demonstrate that substantial periods with no L2 exposure are not necessarily detrimental. Rather, benefits may ensue from such periods of time even when there is no L2 exposure. Interestingly, both before and after the delay the implicitly trained group showed more native-like processing than the explicitly trained group, indicating that type of training also affects the attainment of native-like processing in the brain. Overall, the findings may be largely explained by a combination of forgetting and consolidation in declarative and procedural memory, on which L2 grammar learning appears to depend. The study has a range of implications, and suggests a research program with potentially important consequences for second language acquisition and related fields. PMID:22470434

Systematic Asymmetries in Perception and Production of L2 Inflections in Mandarin L2 Learners of English: The Effects of Phonotactics, Salience, and Processing Pressure on Inflectional Variability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonner, Timothy E.

2013-01-01

The study of language production by adults who are learning a second language (L2) has received a good deal of attention especially when it comes to omission of inflectional morphemes within L2 utterances. Several explanations have been proposed for these inflectional errors. One explanation is that the L2 learner simply does not have the L2…

ERPs recorded during early second language exposure predict syntactic learning.

PubMed

Batterink, Laura; Neville, Helen J

2014-09-01

Millions of adults worldwide are faced with the task of learning a second language (L2). Understanding the neural mechanisms that support this learning process is an important area of scientific inquiry. However, most previous studies on the neural mechanisms underlying L2 acquisition have focused on characterizing the results of learning, relying upon end-state outcome measures in which learning is assessed after it has occurred, rather than on the learning process itself. In this study, we adopted a novel and more direct approach to investigate neural mechanisms engaged during L2 learning, in which we recorded ERPs from beginning adult learners as they were exposed to an unfamiliar L2 for the first time. Learners' proficiency in the L2 was then assessed behaviorally using a grammaticality judgment task, and ERP data acquired during initial L2 exposure were sorted as a function of performance on this task. High-proficiency learners showed a larger N100 effect to open-class content words compared with closed-class function words, whereas low-proficiency learners did not show a significant N100 difference between open- and closed-class words. In contrast, amplitude of the N400 word category effect correlated with learners' L2 comprehension, rather than predicting syntactic learning. Taken together, these results indicate that learners who spontaneously direct greater attention to open- rather than closed-class words when processing L2 input show better syntactic learning, suggesting a link between selective attention to open-class content words and acquisition of basic morphosyntactic rules. These findings highlight the importance of selective attention mechanisms for L2 acquisition.

Second language social networks and communication-related acculturative stress: the role of interconnectedness

PubMed Central

Doucerain, Marina M.; Varnaamkhaasti, Raheleh S.; Segalowitz, Norman; Ryder, Andrew G.

2015-01-01

Although a substantial amount of cross-cultural psychology research has investigated acculturative stress in general, little attention has been devoted specifically to communication-related acculturative stress (CRAS). In line with the view that cross-cultural adaptation and second language (L2) learning are social and interpersonal phenomena, the present study examines the hypothesis that migrants’ L2 social network size and interconnectedness predict CRAS. The main idea underlying this hypothesis is that L2 social networks play an important role in fostering social and cultural aspects of communicative competence. Specifically, higher interconnectedness may reflect greater access to unmodified natural cultural representations and L2 communication practices, thus fostering communicative competence through observational learning. As such, structural aspects of migrants’ L2 social networks may be protective against acculturative stress arising from chronic communication difficulties. Results from a study of first generation migrant students (N = 100) support this idea by showing that both inclusiveness and density of the participants’ L2 network account for unique variance in CRAS but not in general acculturative stress. These results support the idea that research on cross-cultural adaptation would benefit from disentangling the various facets of acculturative stress and that the structure of migrants’ L2 network matters for language related outcomes. Finally, this study contributes to an emerging body of work that attempts to integrate cultural/cross-cultural research on acculturation and research on intercultural communication and second language learning. PMID:26300809

Second language social networks and communication-related acculturative stress: the role of interconnectedness.

PubMed

Doucerain, Marina M; Varnaamkhaasti, Raheleh S; Segalowitz, Norman; Ryder, Andrew G

2015-01-01

Although a substantial amount of cross-cultural psychology research has investigated acculturative stress in general, little attention has been devoted specifically to communication-related acculturative stress (CRAS). In line with the view that cross-cultural adaptation and second language (L2) learning are social and interpersonal phenomena, the present study examines the hypothesis that migrants' L2 social network size and interconnectedness predict CRAS. The main idea underlying this hypothesis is that L2 social networks play an important role in fostering social and cultural aspects of communicative competence. Specifically, higher interconnectedness may reflect greater access to unmodified natural cultural representations and L2 communication practices, thus fostering communicative competence through observational learning. As such, structural aspects of migrants' L2 social networks may be protective against acculturative stress arising from chronic communication difficulties. Results from a study of first generation migrant students (N = 100) support this idea by showing that both inclusiveness and density of the participants' L2 network account for unique variance in CRAS but not in general acculturative stress. These results support the idea that research on cross-cultural adaptation would benefit from disentangling the various facets of acculturative stress and that the structure of migrants' L2 network matters for language related outcomes. Finally, this study contributes to an emerging body of work that attempts to integrate cultural/cross-cultural research on acculturation and research on intercultural communication and second language learning.

Explicit Performance in Girls and Implicit Processing in Boys: A Simultaneous fNIRS–ERP Study on Second Language Syntactic Learning in Young Adolescents

PubMed Central

Sugiura, Lisa; Hata, Masahiro; Matsuba-Kurita, Hiroko; Uga, Minako; Tsuzuki, Daisuke; Dan, Ippeita; Hagiwara, Hiroko; Homae, Fumitaka

2018-01-01

Learning a second language (L2) proceeds with individual approaches to proficiency in the language. Individual differences including sex, as well as working memory (WM) function appear to have strong effects on behavioral performance and cortical responses in L2 processing. Thus, by considering sex and WM capacity, we examined neural responses during L2 sentence processing as a function of L2 proficiency in young adolescents. In behavioral tests, girls significantly outperformed boys in L2 tests assessing proficiency and grammatical knowledge, and in a reading span test (RST) assessing WM capacity. Girls, but not boys, showed significant correlations between L2 tests and RST scores. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and event-related potential (ERP) simultaneously, we measured cortical responses while participants listened to syntactically correct and incorrect sentences. ERP data revealed a grammaticality effect only in boys in the early time window (100–300 ms), implicated in phrase structure processing. In fNIRS data, while boys had significantly increased activation in the left prefrontal region implicated in syntactic processing, girls had increased activation in the posterior language-related region involved in phonology, semantics, and sentence processing with proficiency. Presumably, boys implicitly focused on rule-based syntactic processing, whereas girls made full use of linguistic knowledge and WM function. The present results provide important fundamental data for learning and teaching in L2 education. PMID:29568265

Examining the Relationship between Interaction and Linguistic Outcomes: Is the Online Learning Environment a Viable Alternative to Traditional Classroom Instruction for Beginning Language Learners?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flesvig Bruland, Nicole

2013-01-01

Many in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) agree that interaction is a critical component in the process of second language acquisition (Hatch 1978; Long, 1996; Pica 1994). According to Long (1996), second language (L2) learners have the best chance of successful L2 acquisition when placed in an environment in which conversational…

The Impact of Verb Form, Sentence Position, Home Language, and Second Language Proficiency on Subject-Verb Agreement in Child Second Language Dutch

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blom, Elma; Baayen, Harald R.

2013-01-01

It has been argued that children learning a second language (L2) omit agreement inflection because of communication demands. The conclusion of these studies is that L2 children know the morphological and syntactic properties of agreement inflection, but sometimes insert an inflectional default form (i.e., the bare verb) in production. The present…

Implicit and explicit second language training recruit common neural mechanisms for syntactic processing.

PubMed

Batterink, Laura; Neville, Helen

2013-06-01

In contrast to native language acquisition, adult second-language (L2) acquisition occurs under highly variable learning conditions. Although most adults acquire their L2 at least partially through explicit instruction, as in a classroom setting, many others acquire their L2 primarily through implicit exposure, as is typical of an immersion environment. Whether these differences in acquisition environment play a role in determining the neural mechanisms that are ultimately recruited to process L2 grammar has not been well characterized. This study investigated this issue by comparing the ERP response to novel L2 syntactic rules acquired under conditions of implicit exposure and explicit instruction, using a novel laboratory language-learning paradigm. Native speakers tested on these stimuli showed a biphasic response to syntactic violations, consisting of an earlier negativity followed by a later P600 effect. After merely an hour of training, both implicitly and explicitly trained learners who were capable of detecting grammatical violations also elicited P600 effects. In contrast, learners who were unable to discriminate between grammatically correct and incorrect sentences did not show significant P600 effects. The magnitude of the P600 effect was found to correlate with learners' behavioral proficiency. Behavioral measures revealed that successful learners from both the implicit and explicit groups gained explicit, verbalizable knowledge about the L2 grammar rules. Taken together, these results indicate that late, controlled mechanisms indexed by the P600 play a crucial role in processing a late-learned L2 grammar, regardless of training condition. These findings underscore the remarkable plasticity of later, attention-dependent processes and their importance in lifelong learning.

English L3 Learning in a Multilingual Context: The Role of Parental Education and L2 Exposure within the Living Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Angelis, Gessica

2015-01-01

The present study examines two factors in relation to English L3 proficiency development and school performance in a third language: (a) parental education and (b) second language exposure within the living community. Participants (n?=?50) are Italian L1 students with German L2 and English L3. All students (eighth grade, 14 years of age) were…

Effects of Word and Fragment Writing during L2 Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barcroft, Joe

2007-01-01

This study examined how writing (copying) target words and word fragments affects intentional second language (L2) vocabulary learning. English-speaking first-semester learners of Spanish attempted to learn 24 Spanish nouns via word-picture repetition in three conditions: (1) word writing, (2) fragment writing, and (3) no writing. After the…

Learn Locally, Act Globally: Learning Language from Variation Set Cues

PubMed Central

Onnis, Luca; Waterfall, Heidi R.; Edelman, Shimon

2011-01-01

Variation set structure — partial overlap of successive utterances in child-directed speech — has been shown to correlate with progress in children’s acquisition of syntax. We demonstrate the benefits of variation set structure directly: in miniature artificial languages, arranging a certain proportion of utterances in a training corpus in variation sets facilitated word and phrase constituent learning in adults. Our findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms of L1 acquisition by children, and for the development of more efficient algorithms for automatic language acquisition, as well as better methods for L2 instruction. PMID:19019350

Language Acquisitional Universals: L1, L2, Pidgins, and FLT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wode, Henning

Human capacity for language acquisition is not strictly compartmentalized, with one acquisitional mechanism for the native language and others totally unrelated to it; rather, it consists of a unified mechanism flexible enough to handle various differences in external settings. This learning system operates on the formal properties of the…

Investigating the Explicit Instruction of Apology Speech Act on Pragmatic Development of Iranian EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rajabi, Shima; Azizifar, Akbar; Gowhary, Habib

2015-01-01

Learning a foreign language requires students to acquire both grammatical knowledge and socio-pragmatic rules of a language. Pragmatic competence as one of the most difficult aspects of language provides several challenges to L2 learners in the process of learning a foreign language. To overcome this problem, EFL teachers should find the most…

Effects of Referent Token Variability on L2 Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sommers, Mitchell S.; Barcroft, Joe

2013-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated substantially improved second language (L2) vocabulary learning when spoken word forms are varied using multiple talkers, speaking styles, or speaking rates. In contrast, the present study varied visual representations of referents for target vocabulary. English speakers learned Spanish words in formats of no…

Explicit and Implicit Learning: Exploring Their Simultaneity and Immediate Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Philippa K.

2017-01-01

Do adults learn the same syntactic second language (L2) form explicitly and implicitly simultaneously during meaning-based exposure, and does the type of learning (explicit and/or implicit) affect subsequent performance. In this study, 81 anglophones completed comprehension tasks providing incidental exposure to a semi-artificial language (English…

Perceptual Learning Style Matching and L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tight, Daniel G.

2010-01-01

This study explored learning and retention of concrete nouns in second language Spanish by first language English undergraduates (N = 128). Each completed a learning style (visual, auditory, tactile/kinesthetic, mixed) assessment, took a vocabulary pretest, and then studied 12 words each through three conditions (matching, mismatching, mixed…

Achieving Academic Control in Two Languages: Drawing on the Psychology of Language Learning in Considering the Past, the Present, and Prospects for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Andrew D.

2015-01-01

This paper first considers what it means to become truly proficient in a language other than the native one. It then looks briefly at the evolution of dual language programs. Next, it focuses on the issue of whether the first language (L1) or the second language (L2) serves as the language of mediation. Other dual language program issues are then…

The Effect of Sociolinguistic Factors and English Language Proficiency on the Development of French as a Third Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bérubé, Daniel; Marinova-Todd, Stefka H.

2014-01-01

The classroom demographics in French immersion (FI) programs across Canada are changing: There are a growing number of multilingual students who are learning English as a second language (L2) and French as a third language (L3). However, little is known about the development of French language proficiency and reading skills of multilingual…

Using Mixed-Modality Learning Strategies via e-Learning for Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Fang-Chuan Ou; Wu, Wen-Chi Vivian

2015-01-01

This study demonstrated an e-learning system, MyEVA, based on a mixed-modality vocabulary strategy in assisting learners of English as a second language (L2 learners) to improve their vocabulary. To explore the learning effectiveness of MyEVA, the study compared four vocabulary-learning techniques, MyEVA in preference mode, MyEVA in basic mode, an…

Can Higher-Proficiency L2 Learners Benefit from Working with Lower-Proficiency Partners in Peer Feedback?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Shulin; Hu, Guangwei

2017-01-01

Informed by Vygotsky's conceptualization of the Zone of Proximal Development, this case study investigated the benefits of peer feedback on second language (L2) writing for students with high L2 proficiency and the factors that may influence their learning in peer feedback in the Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language context. Specifically, the…

Variability and Variation of L2 Grammar: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of German Learners' Performance on Two Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrams, Zsuzsanna; Rott, Susanne

2017-01-01

Research on second language (L2) grammar in task-based language learning has yielded inconsistent results regarding the effects of task-complexity, prompting calls for more nuanced analyses of L2 development and task performance. The present cross-sectional study contributes to this discussion by comparing the performance of 245 learners of German…

Learner Characteristics, Learner Achievement and Time Investment in Online Courses for Dutch L2 in Adult Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Paepe, Liesbeth; Zhu, Chang; Depryck, Koen

2018-01-01

For the growing group of adult migrants, flexible solutions for second language (L2) acquisition are increasingly important, while concerns about the efficacy of online language learning abound. This study on the L2 situation in Flanders has 4 key aims: analyzing adult learner profiles in fully online Dutch beginners' courses; comparing learner…

Teaching Culture and Language through the Multiple Intelligences Film Teaching Model in the ESL/EFL Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeh, Ellen

2014-01-01

This paper will demonstrate how to enhance second language (L2) learners' linguistic and cultural competencies through the use of the Multiple Intelligences Film Teaching (MIFT) model. The paper will introduce two ideas to teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL). First, the paper shows how L2 learners learn linguistic and…

The Effect of Focus on Form and Task Complexity on L2 Learners' Oral Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salimi, Asghar

2015-01-01

Second Language learners' oral task performance has been one of interesting and research generating areas of investigations in the field of second language acquisition specially, task-based language teaching and learning. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of focus on form and task complexity on L2 learners' oral…

A Longitudinal Study of Lexical Development in Children Learning Vietnamese and English

PubMed Central

Pham, Giang; Kohnert, Kathryn

2013-01-01

This longitudinal study modeled lexical development among children who spoke Vietnamese as a first language (L1) and English as a second language (L2). Participants (n=33, initial mean age of 7.3 years) completed a total of eight tasks (four in each language) that measured vocabulary knowledge and lexical processing at four yearly time points. Multivariate hierarchical linear modeling was used to calculate L1 and L2 trajectories within the same model for each task. Main findings included (a) positive growth in each language, (b) greater gains in English resulting in shifts toward L2 dominance, and (c) different patterns for receptive and expressive domains. Timing of shifts to L2 dominance underscored L1 skills that are resilient and vulnerable to increases in L2 proficiency. PMID:23869741

Technology-Mediated Second Language Vocabulary Development: A Review of Trends in Research Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elgort, Irina

2018-01-01

Technology-mediated vocabulary development (TMVD) in a second language (L2) covers a wide range of instructional and learning treatments, contexts, and technologies and is situated in a broader field of second language vocabulary learning. Vocabulary knowledge is a complex, multidimensional construct that has been interpreted and categorized in…

Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 14

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen, Ed.; Félix-Brasdefer, J. César, Ed.

2016-01-01

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the 2014 International Conference of Pragmatics and Language Learning at Indiana University. It includes fourteen papers on a variety of topics, with a diversity of first and second languages, and a wide range of methods used to collect pragmatic data in L2 and FL settings. This volume is…

Social and Individual Frame Factors in L2 Learning: Comparative Aspects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ekstrand, Lars H.

A large number of factors are considered in their role in second language learning. Individual factors include language aptitude, personality, attitudes and motivation, and the role of the speaker's native language. Teacher factors involve the method of instruction, the sex of the teacher, and a teacher's training and competence, while…

Identity, Investment and Language Learning Strategies of Two Syrian Students in Syria and Britain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hajar, Anas

2017-01-01

This paper reports on a longitudinal phenomenographic inquiry into understanding how two postgraduate Syrian students' ways of approaching English language learning in their homelands influenced the shape of their personal study abroad goals, language strategy use and L2 identity. It is guided by Norton's [(2013). "Identity and language…

Evidence and Interpretation in Language Learning Research: Opportunities for Collaboration with Computational Linguistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meurers, Detmar; Dickinson, Markus

2017-01-01

This article discusses two types of opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration between computational linguistics (CL) and language learning research. We target the connection between data and theory in second language (L2) research and highlight opportunities to (a) enrich the options for obtaining data and (b) support the identification…

Sex Differences in L2 Vocabulary Learning Strategies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catalan, Rosa Maria Jimenez

2003-01-01

Reports the results of a descriptive study on sex differences in the use of a second language. A questionnaire was administered to 581 Spanish-speaking students learning Basque and English as second language to answer the following question: Do male and female second language learners differ in the number and the range of vocabulary strategies…

The Effects of Large-Group Instruction, Modeling, or See the Sound/Visual Phonics on Undergraduate Students Learning to Read Italian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cihon, Traci M.; Morford, Zachary, Stephens, Christopher J.; Morrison, Dorothy; Shrontz, Rachael; Kelly, Kimberly L.

2013-01-01

Reading in the second language (L2) allows learners access to new vocabulary and opportunities to translate from the L2 to the first language (L1) and vice versa. In this paper, we describe three studies that explored strategies for developing L2 Italian decoding repertoires. Participants were undergraduate students preparing for a short-term…

The Effects of L1 and L2 e-Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Learning of Junior High-School English Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Si-Min; Vongpumivitch, Viphavee; Chang, Jason S.; Liou, Hsien-Chin

2014-01-01

While researchers have examined the effectiveness of various online gloss types on incidental L2 vocabulary learning, little research on online gloss languages has been conducted. Previous attempts which compared the effects of L1 and L2 glosses have reported mixed results. To fill the gaps, this study examined the effectiveness of Chinese and…

Impact of Timed Reading on Comprehension and Speed: A Study on Turkish EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Armagan, Kiymet Selin; Genc, Zubeyde Sinem

2017-01-01

Reading process has always been one of the most significant and debatable topics in the area of learning and teaching languages. Reading process in mother tongue (L1) and in a foreign language (L2), the association of these processes, variables affecting reading and the qualities of good and poor readers in L1 and L2 have been investigated…

The Development of Second Language Critical Thinking in a Virtual Language Learning Environment: A Process-Oriented Mixed-Method Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mroz, Aurore

2015-01-01

This article presents a process-oriented mixed-method study, focusing on the emergence of second language (L2) critical thinking (CT) skills in the collaborative discourse produced by a focal group of five college-level students of French working in a virtual language learning environment (the VLLE Cinet Second Life). Levels of CT ability were…

Content and Language Symbiosis in a Maieutic, Translanguaging Pattern (CLSL): An Exploratory Practice in Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agolli, Renata

2015-01-01

This paper aims to introduce pre-CLIL through the CLSL (content & languages [L1/L2] shared learning) model, which operates as a bridge for a full CLIL immersion. It analyses the characteristics of this new learning model that springs up from immanent needs of Italian educational reality by reporting results on the way content and language…

Conversation Analysis of Computer-Mediated Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez-Lloret, Marta

2011-01-01

The potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC) for language learning resides mainly in the possibility that learners have to engage with other speakers of the language, including L1 speakers. The inclusion of CMC in the L2 classroom provides an opportunity for students to utilize authentic language in real interaction, rather than the more…

Learning (Not) to Predict: Grammatical Gender Processing in Second Language Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopp, Holger

2016-01-01

In two experiments, this article investigates the predictive processing of gender agreement in adult second language (L2) acquisition. We test (1) whether instruction on lexical gender can lead to target predictive agreement processing and (2) how variability in lexical gender representations moderates L2 gender agreement processing. In a…

The Relationship Between Artificial and Second Language Learning.

PubMed

Ettlinger, Marc; Morgan-Short, Kara; Faretta-Stutenberg, Mandy; Wong, Patrick C M

2016-05-01

Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we considered these questions by examining the relationship between performance in an ALL task and second language learning ability. Participants enrolled in a Spanish language class were evaluated using a number of different measures of Spanish ability and classroom performance, which was compared to IQ and a number of different measures of ALL performance. The results show that success in ALL experiments, particularly more complex artificial languages, correlates positively with indices of L2 learning even after controlling for IQ. These findings provide a key link between studies involving ALL and our understanding of second language learning in the classroom. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Explicit Instruction, Bilingualism, and the Older Adult Learner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Jessica G.

2017-01-01

Little is known about older adult language learners and effects of aging on L2 learning. This study investigated learning in older age through interactions of learner-internal and -external variables; specifically, late-learned L2 (bilingualism) and provision of grammar explanation (explicit instruction, EI). Forty-three older adults (age 60+) who…

Learning English with "The Sims": Exploiting Authentic Computer Simulation Games for L2 Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ranalli, Jim

2008-01-01

With their realistic animation, complex scenarios and impressive interactivity, computer simulation games might be able to provide context-rich, cognitively engaging virtual environments for language learning. However, simulation games designed for L2 learners are in short supply. As an alternative, could games designed for the mass-market be…

Remapping Nominal Features in the Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Ji-Hyeon Jacee

2012-01-01

This dissertation investigates second language (L2) development in the domains of morphosyntax and semantics. Specifically, it examines the acquisition of definiteness and specificity in Russian within the Feature Re-assembly framework (Lardiere, 2009), according to which the hardest L2 learning task is not to reset parameters but to reconfigure,…

Second Language Writing Classification System Based on Word-Alignment Distribution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotani, Katsunori; Yoshimi, Takehiko

2010-01-01

The present paper introduces an automatic classification system for assisting second language (L2) writing evaluation. This system, which classifies sentences written by L2 learners as either native speaker-like or learner-like sentences, is constructed by machine learning algorithms using word-alignment distributions as classification features…

The Motivation of Learners of English as a Foreign Language Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Hsuan-Yau Tony

2013-01-01

This study investigates Taiwanese university students' English learning orientation from the perspective of various important L2 motivation concepts (from Gardner's integrativeness/instrumentality to Dörnyei's L2 motivational self system) and the notion of English as an international language. The uniqueness also lies in its comparison and…

Structural Equation Modeling: Possibilities for Language Learning Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hancock, Gregory R.; Schoonen, Rob

2015-01-01

Although classical statistical techniques have been a valuable tool in second language (L2) research, L2 research questions have started to grow beyond those techniques' capabilities, and indeed are often limited by them. Questions about how complex constructs relate to each other or to constituent subskills, about longitudinal development in…

Possibilities and Challenges of Learning German in a Multimodal Environment: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrams, Zsuzsanna Ittzes

2016-01-01

Despite a growing body of research on task-based language learning (TBLT) (Samuda & Bygate, 2008; Ellis, 2003), there is still little information available regarding the pedagogical design behind tasks and how they are implemented (Samuda & Bygate, 2008). Scholars in computer-mediated second language (L2) learning have called for research…

Contact, Attitude and Motivation in the Learning of Catalan at Advanced Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Colleen; Serrano, Raquel

2015-01-01

The theoretical complexity of current understandings of second language (L2) identity has brought the study of language learning motivations from basic concepts of intrinsic, integrative and instrumental motives to a more dynamic construct that interacts with background factors, learning contexts and proficiency levels. This cross-sectional study…

The Tablet for Second Language Vocabulary Learning: Keyboard, Stylus or Multiple Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hove, Stephanie; Vanderhoven, Ellen; Cornillie, Frederik

2017-01-01

Mobile technologies are increasingly finding their way into classroom practice. While these technologies can create opportunities that may facilitate learning, including the learning of a second or foreign language (L2), the full potential of these new media often remains underexploited. A case in point concerns tablet applications for language…

An Alternative to Language Learner Dependence on L2 Caption-Reading Input for Comprehension of Sitcoms in a Multimedia Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, C.-H.

2014-01-01

Most second/foreign language (L2) learners have difficulty understanding listening input because of its implicit and ephemeral nature, and they typically have better reading comprehension than listening comprehension skills. This study examines the effects of using an interactive advance-organizer activity on the DVD video comprehension of L2…

An Interview Study of Inter-Cultural Contact and Its Role in Language Learning in a Foreign Language Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kormos, Judit; Csizer, Kata

2007-01-01

The research reported in this paper investigates what types of inter-cultural contact Hungarian schoolchildren have, what kind of language-related attitudes they can give account of and how they see the role of contact situations in affecting their attitudinal and motivational dispositions towards the L2, the L2 speaking communities and the…

Students' Preferences on the Use of Mother Tongue in English as a Foreign Language Classrooms: Is It the Time to Re-Examine English-Only Policies?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Debreli, Emre; Oyman, Nadire

2016-01-01

In literature on bilingual teaching, different perspectives exist for and against the use of first language (L1) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. There is a continuing matter of debate on whether L1 contributes to or precludes the learning of a second language (L2). Numerous studies have been conducted on this topic, but no clear…

Listening Strategy Use and Influential Factors in Web-Based Computer Assisted Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, L.; Zhang, R.; Liu, C.

2014-01-01

This study investigates second and foreign language (L2) learners' listening strategy use and factors that influence their strategy use in a Web-based computer assisted language learning (CALL) system. A strategy inventory, a factor questionnaire and a standardized listening test were used to collect data from a group of 82 Chinese students…

Promoting International Posture through History as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the Japanese Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockley, Thomas

2015-01-01

This article uses the conceptual framework of second language willingness to communicate (L2 WTC), and in particular the contributory construct of international posture (IP; Yashima, 2002), to report on a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) course taught in the Japanese university context. The research follows up an exploratory,…

Digital Gaming and Language Learning: Autonomy and Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chik, Alice

2014-01-01

The relationship between digital game play and second language (L2) learning is a particularly tricky issue in East Asia. Though there is an emerging presence of Chinese online games, many more young people are playing the English- or Japanese-language versions of the most popular commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) video games. In other words, most…

Language Play, a Collaborative Resource in Children's L2 learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cekaite, Asta; Aronsson, Karin

2005-01-01

Within '"communicative language teaching," "natural" language has had a privileged position, and a focus on form has been seen as something inauthentic or as something that is inconsequential for learning (for a critique, see Kramsch and Sullivan 1996; Cook 1997). Yet in the present study of an immersion classroom, it was found that children with…

The Effectiveness of Social Media Activities on Taiwanese Undergraduates' EFL Grammar Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singman, Cooper

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of social media language learning activities with traditional language learning activities on the development of L2 grammatical competence in two English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes at a Taiwanese university. The study was grounded in four bodies of knowledge: (a) the…

Foreign Language Learning Motivation in the Japanese Context: Social and Political Influences on Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sugita McEown, Maya; Sawaki, Yasuyo; Harada, Tetsuo

2017-01-01

The study focuses on the role of different theories when considered together in a foreign language other than English (LOTE) context. Specifically, the study examines (a) to what extent influential second language (L2) motivational theories, when integrated, explain motivation to learn LOTEs, and (b) how the powerful status of English in Japan…

L2 Vocabulary Acquisition in Children: Effects of Learning Method and Cognate Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tonzar, Claudio; Lotto, Lorella; Job, Remo

2009-01-01

In this study we investigated the effects of two learning methods (picture- or word-mediated learning) and of word status (cognates vs. noncognates) on the vocabulary acquisition of two foreign languages: English and German. We examined children from fourth and eighth grades in a school setting. After a learning phase during which L2 words were…

A longitudinal study of lexical development in children learning Vietnamese and English.

PubMed

Pham, Giang; Kohnert, Kathryn

2014-01-01

This longitudinal study modeled lexical development among children who spoke Vietnamese as a first language (L1) and English as a second language (L2). Participants (n = 33, initial mean age of 7.3 years) completed a total of eight tasks (four in each language) that measured vocabulary knowledge and lexical processing at four yearly time points. Multivariate hierarchical linear modeling was used to calculate L1 and L2 trajectories within the same model for each task. Main findings included (a) positive growth in each language, (b) greater gains in English resulting in shifts toward L2 dominance, and (c) different patterns for receptive and expressive domains. Timing of shifts to L2 dominance underscored L1 skills that are resilient and vulnerable to increases in L2 proficiency. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

The Impact of Wikis and Discussion Boards on Learning English as a Second Language. A Mixed Methods Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sánchez-Gómez, Ma. Cruz; Pinto-Llorente, Ana Ma.; García-Peñalvo, Francisco José

2017-01-01

In the field of teaching a second language (L2), technology has always occupied a relevant position. The development of new technological tools has allowed the convergence of two learning environments, traditional face-to-face learning and virtual learning. This convergence has fostered the advantages of both types of instructions and the…

Learning, neural plasticity and sensitive periods: implications for language acquisition, music training and transfer across the lifespan

PubMed Central

White, Erin J.; Hutka, Stefanie A.; Williams, Lynne J.; Moreno, Sylvain

2013-01-01

Sensitive periods in human development have often been proposed to explain age-related differences in the attainment of a number of skills, such as a second language (L2) and musical expertise. It is difficult to reconcile the negative consequence this traditional view entails for learning after a sensitive period with our current understanding of the brain’s ability for experience-dependent plasticity across the lifespan. What is needed is a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying auditory learning and plasticity at different points in development. Drawing on research in language development and music training, this review examines not only what we learn and when we learn it, but also how learning occurs at different ages. First, we discuss differences in the mechanism of learning and plasticity during and after a sensitive period by examining how language exposure versus training forms language-specific phonetic representations in infants and adult L2 learners, respectively. Second, we examine the impact of musical training that begins at different ages on behavioral and neural indices of auditory and motor processing as well as sensorimotor integration. Third, we examine the extent to which childhood training in one auditory domain can enhance processing in another domain via the transfer of learning between shared neuro-cognitive systems. Specifically, we review evidence for a potential bi-directional transfer of skills between music and language by examining how speaking a tonal language may enhance music processing and, conversely, how early music training can enhance language processing. We conclude with a discussion of the role of attention in auditory learning for learning during and after sensitive periods and outline avenues of future research. PMID:24312022

The Influence of Explicit Cross-Linguistic Consciousness-Raising on the EL Writing of the Iranian English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosseininik, Seyyed Yavar; Sangani, Hamid Rahmani

2014-01-01

This study investigates the effects of cross-linguistic consciousness-raising through comparing and contrasting learners' L1 (Persian) and L2 (English) on their L2 written performance. To do this, sixty intermediate language learners, both male and female, learning English at two private institutes in Yasuj, Iran, were chosen as the participants…

Structural correlates of literacy difficulties in the second language: Evidence from Mandarin-speaking children learning English.

PubMed

Li, Hehui; Booth, James R; Bélanger, Nathalie N; Feng, Xiaoxia; Tian, Mengyu; Xie, Weiyi; Zhang, Manli; Gao, Yue; Ang, Chen; Yang, Xiujie; Liu, Li; Meng, Xiangzhi; Ding, Guosheng

2018-06-12

Several neuroimaging studies have explored the neural basis of literacy difficulties in the second language (L2). However, it remains unclear whether the associated neural alterations are related to literacy abilities in the first language (L1). Using magnetic resonance imaging, we explore this issue with two experiments in Mandarin-speaking children learning English as second language. In the first experiment, we investigated children with literacy difficulties in L2 and L1 (poor in both, PB) and children with literacy difficulties only in L2 (poor in English, PE). We compared the brain structure in these two groups to a control literacy (CL) group. The results showed that the CL group had significantly less gray matter volume in the left supramarginal gyrus compared to the PB group and moderately less gray matter volume compared to the PE group. In addition, the PB group had significant greater gray matter volume in the left medial fusiform gyrus compared to the PE group and had marginally greater gray matter volume compared to the CL group. In the second experiment, we explored the relationship between the two atypical regions and literacy abilities in the two languages in an independent sample consisting of children with typical literacy. Correlation analyses revealed that the left supramarginal gyrus was significantly associated with literacy performance only in the second language, English, whereas the left medial fusiform gyrus did not correlate with the performances in either L1 or L2. Taken together, these findings suggest that literacy difficulties in an alphabetic L2 are associated with a structural abnormality in the left supramarginal gyrus, a region implicated in phonological processing, which is independent of literacy abilities in the native language. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How Strategic Use of L1 in an L2-Medium Mathematics Classroom Facilitates L2 Interaction and Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tavares, Nicole Judith

2015-01-01

There has been an increasing interest in and hence a growing number of research studies on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) over the past two decades. One of the on-going debates in CLIL is on bilingualism versus monolingualism, or the role of the first language (L1) in subject teaching. So far, very few research projects have been…

Embodiment and Emotional Memory in First vs. Second Language

PubMed Central

Baumeister, Jenny C.; Foroni, Francesco; Conrad, Markus; Rumiati, Raffaella I.; Winkielman, Piotr

2017-01-01

Language and emotions are closely linked. However, previous research suggests that this link is stronger in a native language (L1) than in a second language (L2) that had been learned later in life. The present study investigates whether such reduced emotionality in L2 is reflected in changes in emotional memory and embodied responses to L2 in comparison to L1. Late Spanish/English bilinguals performed a memory task involving an encoding and a surprise retrieval phase. Facial motor resonance and skin conductance (SC) responses were recorded during encoding. The results give first indications that the enhanced memory for emotional vs. neutral content (EEM effect) is stronger in L1 and less present in L2. Furthermore, the results give partial support for decreased facial motor resonance and SC responses to emotional words in L2 as compared to L1. These findings suggest that embodied knowledge involved in emotional memory is associated to increased affective encoding and retrieval of L1 compared to L2. PMID:28386240

Learning for Life, a Structured and Motivational Process of Knowledge Construction in the Acquisition/Learning of English as a Foreign Language in Native Spanish Speakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mino-Garces, Fernando

2009-01-01

As language learning theory has shifted from a highly guided to a more open learning process, this paper presents the teaching/learning philosophy called Learning for Life (L for L) as a great way to motivate native Spanish speaker students learning English as a foreign language, and to help them be the constructors of their own knowledge. The…

The effects of phonological awareness of Zulu-speaking children learning to spell in English: a study of cross-language transfer.

PubMed

De Sousa, Diana Soares; Greenop, Kirston; Fry, Jessica

2010-12-01

Emergent bilingual Zulu-English speaking children in South Africa have spoken but no written proficiency in Zulu (L1), yet are required to learn to spell English (L2) via English-only literacy instruction. Little research exists on emergent bilingual's phonological awareness (PA) and spelling development, with no L1 formal literacy instruction. Thus, whether PA in a L1 impacts on literacy acquisition in the L2 remains unclear. Performance on monolingual PA, monolingual and emergent bilingual spelling was compared. In addition, PA and spelling in emergent bilingual Zulu-English speakers was explored to ascertain cross-language transfer relationships. Thirty emergent bilingual Zulu-English and thirty monolingual English children in grade 2 participated. Emergent bilinguals were assessed on Zulu PA, Zulu and English spelling skills. Monolinguals were assessed on English PA and English spelling skills. Emergent bilinguals had more Zulu PA levels related to spelling English tasks than to spelling Zulu tasks, and both Zulu PA and Zulu spelling were positively related to English spelling tasks. Significant differences were found between L1 Zulu and English phoneme and rime PA levels, and L1 English and L2 English spelling tasks. Findings support the language-universal hypothesis that L1 PA is related to spelling across languages in emergent bilinguals. In emergent bilinguals, both Zulu spoken proficiency and English-only literacy instruction influences the underlying repertoire of PA skills used to spell within the L1 and the L2. Rime and phoneme PA and spelling skills in Zulu/English rely on language-specific orthographic knowledge.

The Influence of Group Formation on Learner Participation, Language Complexity, and Corrective Behaviour in Synchronous Written Chat as Part of Academic German Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredriksson, Christine

2015-01-01

Synchronous written chat and instant messaging are tools which have been used and explored in online language learning settings for at least two decades. Research literature has shown that such tools give second language (L2) learners opportunities for language learning, e.g. , the interaction in real time with peers and native speakers, the…

A Cognitive Perspective on Singaporean Primary School Pupils' Use of Reading Strategies in Learning to Read in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Lawrence Jun; Gu, Peter Yongqi; Hu, Guangwei

2008-01-01

Background: This study is conducted in Singapore, where learning to read in English is regarded as essential because it is offered as a First Language (L1) subject in the curriculum and is stipulated as the medium of instruction in the education system, and the mother tongues are offered as Second Language (L2) subjects, although the majority…

Learning a New Language is "Like Swiss Cheese": Learning to Learn English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larrotta, Clarena; Moon, Ji Yoon Christine; Huang, Jiuhan

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study was to understand instructors' viewpoints on the relevance of learning to learn (L2L) in the settings where they teach. Twenty-four instructors answered an online qualitative survey about their experiences teaching English to adults. Data analysis was informed by narrative analysis procedures. Study findings include…

Primary Progressive Aphasia in a Bilingual Speaker: A Single-Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zanini, Sergio; Angeli, Valentina; Tavano, Alessandro

2011-01-01

We report on the case of an elderly bilingual woman presenting with a diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia. The participant's native language was Friulian (L1), a predominantly oral Romance language, and her second language was Italian (L2), formally learned at primary school in oral and written forms. We investigated her linguistic abilities…

Eye Gaze and Production Accuracy Predict English L2 Speakers' Morphosyntactic Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonough, Kim; Trofimovich, Pavel; Dao, Phung; Dio, Alexandre

2017-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between second language (L2) speakers' success in learning a new morphosyntactic pattern and characteristics of one-on-one learning activities, including opportunities to comprehend and produce the target pattern, receive feedback from an interlocutor, and attend to the meaning of the pattern through self-…

Students' Use of Evaluative Language in L2 English to Talk and Write about History in a Bilingual Education Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morton, Tom; Llinares, Ana

2018-01-01

This article reports on a four-year longitudinal study which investigates students' use of evaluative language in English as a second language (L2) to talk and write about history in a bilingual education programme. We focus on how four students use linguistic resources to adopt a stance to the content they are learning and develop an…

The Use of E-Mail as a Tool To Enhance Second Language Education Programs: An Example from a Core French Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Geoff

2002-01-01

Outlines reasons why electronic mail, and specifically e-mail exchanges, are valuable tools for promoting authentic target language interaction in the second language (L2) classroom. Research examining the use of e-mail exchanges on the L2 learning process is outlined, followed by one specific example of an e-mail exchange in a secondary core…

Affect and Willingness to Communicate in Digital Game-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinders, Hayo; Wattana, Sorada

2015-01-01

The possible benefits of digital games for language learning and teaching have received increasing interest in recent years. Games are said, amongst others, to be motivating, to lower affective barriers in learning, and to encourage foreign or second language (L2) interaction. But how do learners actually experience the use of games? What impact…

Finding the Key to Successful L2 Learning in Groups and Individuals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowie, Wander; van Dijk, Marijn; Chan, Huiping; Verspoor, Marjolijn

2017-01-01

A large body studies into individual differences in second language learning has shown that success in second language learning is strongly affected by a set of relevant learner characteristics ranging from the age of onset to motivation, aptitude, and personality. Most studies have concentrated on a limited number of learner characteristics and…

Why Should We Care about Sound Symbolism in EFL Learning?: Two Pilot Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roig-Marín, Amanda

2017-01-01

Given the importance of the phonological and lexical components of the language in L2 learning, this article discusses an innovative, holistic approach to learning these two components of the language based on the existence of "sound symbolism"--the interrelation between sound and meaning--in English. In particular, it describes how and…

Towards an Automatic Classification System for Supporting the Development of Critical Reflective Skills in L2 Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Gary

2017-01-01

This study aimed to develop an automatic classification system, namely ACTIVE, for generating immediate and individualised feedback on students' reflective entries about their second language (L2) learning experiences. It also aimed to explore students' attitudes towards using the system to support the development of their reflective skills in L2…

Chinese L1 Children's English L2 Verb Morphology over Time: Individual Variation in Longterm Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paradis, Joanne; Tulpar, Yasemin; Arppe, Antti

2016-01-01

This study examined accuracy in production and grammaticality judgements of verb morphology by eighteen Chinese-speaking children learning English as a second language (L2) followed longitudinally from four to six years of exposure to English, and who began to learn English at age 4;2. Children's growth in accuracy with verb morphology reached a…

L2 Reading Perceptions of Learners of Japanese: The Influence of the Reading Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabata-Sandom, Mitsue

2015-01-01

The nature of learning to read in a second and foreign language (L2) can be more challenging when compared to learning other subjects. Therefore, the influence of instruction given in L2 classrooms cannot be underestimated. A balanced instruction needs to be taken in order to develop learners' reading proficiency and their motivation to read. This…

Character Reading Fluency, Word Segmentation Accuracy, and Reading Comprehension in L2 Chinese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shen, Helen H.; Jiang, Xin

2013-01-01

This study investigated the relationships between lower-level processing and general reading comprehension among adult L2 (second-language) beginning learners of Chinese, in both target and non-target language learning environments. Lower-level processing in Chinese reading includes the factors of character-naming accuracy, character-naming speed,…

Talking It Through: Collaborative Dialogue and Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ammar, Ahlem; Hassan, Rania Mohamed

2018-01-01

This quasi-experimental study examined the potential benefits of zero-error dictation, a teaching technique based on dialogue-driven dictation, and the extent to which target linguistic features and proficiency levels mediated its effects on second language (L2) learners' accurate use of French grammatical morphology. Seventy-nine learners of L2…

The Effectiveness of Study-Abroad on Second Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Jin-Suk

2016-01-01

This study synthesizes the methods and findings of published research investigating second language (L2) learners' linguistic development in study-abroad (SA) contexts. Some studies have demonstrated that SA participation is beneficial to learners' L2 development, whereas others have not supported such a relationship. The first phase of this…

General Auditory Processing, Speech Perception and Phonological Awareness Skills in Chinese-English Biliteracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, Kevin K. H.; McBride-Chang, Catherine; Cheung, Him; Wong, Simpson W. L.

2013-01-01

This study focused on the associations of general auditory processing, speech perception, phonological awareness and word reading in Cantonese-speaking children from Hong Kong learning to read both Chinese (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]). Children in Grades 2--4 ("N" = 133) participated and were administered…

The Effects of Implicit Instruction on Implicit and Explicit Knowledge Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godfroid, Aline

2016-01-01

This study extends the evidence for implicit second language (L2) learning, which comes largely from (semi-)artificial language research, to German. Upper-intermediate L2 German learners were flooded with spoken exemplars of a difficult morphological structure, namely strong, vowel-changing verbs. Toward the end of exposure, the mandatory vowel…

A Sociocognitive Perspective on Second Language Classroom Willingness to Communicate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cao, Yiqian

2014-01-01

This article reports on a multiple case study that investigated the dynamic and situated nature of learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) in second language (L2) classrooms. Framed within a sociocognitive perspective on L2 learning which draws together social, environmental, and individual factors, this study traced WTC among six learners of…

Does the Medium Really Matter in L2 Development? The Validity of Call Research Designs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cerezo, Luis; Baralt, Melissa; Suh, Bo-Ram; Leow, Ronald P.

2014-01-01

Currently, an increasing number of educational institutions are redefining second/foreign language (L2) classrooms by enhancing--or even replacing--traditional face-to-face (FTF) instruction with computer-assisted language learning (CALL). However, are these curricular decisions supported by research? Overall, a cursory review of empirical studies…

Learner-Generated Content and Engagement in Second Language Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambert, Craig; Philp, Jenefer; Nakamura, Sachiko

2017-01-01

This study investigates the benefits of designing second language (L2) learning tasks to operate on learner-generated content (related to actual content in their lives and experiences) as opposed to teacher-generated content typical of current approaches to L2 task design (fictitious ideas and events created to provide an opportunity for…

Classroom Dynamic Assessment: A Critical Examination of Constructs and Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davin, Kristin J.

2016-01-01

This article explores the implementation of dynamic assessment (DA) in an elementary school foreign language classroom by considering its theoretical basis and its applicability to second language (L2) teaching, learning, and development. In existing applications of L2 classroom DA, errors serve as a window into learners' instructional needs and…

Task-Induced Development of Hinting Behaviors in Online Task-Oriented L2 Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balaman, Ufuk

2018-01-01

Technology-mediated task settings are rich interactional domains in which second language (L2) learners manage a multitude of interactional resources for task accomplishment. The affordances of these settings have been repeatedly addressed in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) literature mainly based on theory-informed task design…

Language Learner Motivational Types: A Cluster Analysis Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papi, Mostafa; Teimouri, Yasser

2014-01-01

The study aimed to identify different second language (L2) learner motivational types drawing on the framework of the L2 motivational self system. A total of 1,278 secondary school students learning English in Iran completed a questionnaire survey. Cluster analysis yielded five different groups based on the strength of different variables within…

Unaccusativity and Neurocognitive Indices of Second Language Acquisition: An ERP Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purdy, John David

2010-01-01

Increased second-language (L2) proficiency is associated with a shift from explicit to implicit processing; however, the neural underpinnings are of this shift are not well understood. Furthermore, it is known that unaccusative verbs cause persistent difficulties in L2 learning. In this study, behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) responses…

Invited Colloquium: Inclusivity in French Second Language Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Sara

2015-01-01

The aim of this bilingual (French/English) symposium was to inform researchers and teacher educators about the specific challenges faced by second language (L2) students and teachers in creating an inclusive L2 classroom in order to encourage plurilingual, non-English-dominant students and students with learning difficulties to succeed. In the…

Implicit Learning in the Crowd: Investigating the Role of Awareness in the Acquisition of L2 Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerz, Elma; Wiechmann, Daniel; Riedel, Florian B.

2017-01-01

A growing field of research has made use of a semiartificial language paradigm to investigate the role of awareness in L2 acquisition. A central and empirically still unresolved issue in this field concerns the possibility of learning implicitly, that is, without intention to learn and without awareness of what has been learned. Up until now,…

Going Covert: Inner and Private Speech in Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Guerrero, María C. M.

2018-01-01

Roughly 30 years ago researchers in the second language acquisition (SLA) field started to take a focused interest in the study of inner speech (IS) and private speech (PS) processes in second language (L2) learning and use. The purpose of this review is to assess the status of current research and the progress made during the last ten years on…

Becoming an L2 Learner (Again): How a Brief Language Learning Experience Sparked Connections with SLA Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forman, Ross

2015-01-01

A brief "language learning experience" (LLE) in Thai was integrated into a second language development course as part of postgraduate TESOL study at an Australian university. Sixty primary and secondary teachers from a range of schools evaluated the impact of the LLE by means of a questionnaire; the teachers proved highly affirming of…

Taking L3 Learning by the Horns: Benefits of Computer-Mediated Intervention for Dyslexic School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfenninger, Simone E.

2016-01-01

This study investigates the interrelation of motivation, autonomy, metacognition, and L3 gains made as a function of three months of intervention with computer software specifically designed for the private use of dyslexic Swiss German learners of Standard German as a second language (L2) and English as a third language (L3). Based on…

English Orthographic Learning in Chinese-L1 Young EFL Beginners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Yu-Lin

2017-01-01

English orthographic learning, among Chinese-L1 children who were beginning to learn English as a foreign language, was documented when: (1) "only" visual memory was at their disposal, (2) visual memory and either "some" letter-sound knowledge or "some" semantic information was available, and (3) visual memory,…

Second language as a compensatory resource for maintaining verbal fluency in bilingual immigrants with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Smirnova, D; Walters, J; Fine, J; Muchnik-Rozanov, Y; Paz, M; Lerner, V; Belmaker, R H; Bersudsky, Y

2015-08-01

Due to the large migrations over the past three decades, large numbers of individuals with schizophrenia are learning a second language and being seen in clinics in that second language. We conducted within-subject comparisons to clarify the contribution of clinical, linguistic and bilingual features in the first and second languages of bilinguals with schizophrenia. Ten bilingual Russian(L1) and Hebrew(L2) proficient patients, who developed clinical schizophrenia after achieving proficiency in both languages, were selected from 60 candidates referred for the study; they were resident in Israel 7-32 years with 3-10 years from immigration to diagnosis. Clinical, linguistic and fluency markers were coded in transcripts of clinical interviews. There was a trend toward more verbal productivity in the first language (L1) than the second language (L2). Clinical speech markers associated with thought disorder and cognitive impairment (blocking and topic shift) were similar in both languages. Among linguistic markers of schizophrenia, Incomplete syntax and Speech role reference were significantly more frequent in L2 than L1; Lexical repetition and Unclear reference demonstrated a trend in the same direction. For fluency phenomena, Discourse markers were more prevalent in L1 than L2, and Codeswitching was similar across languages, showing that the patients were attuned to the socio-pragmatics of language use. More frequent linguistic markers of schizophrenia in L2 show more impairment in the syntactic/semantic components of language, reflecting greater thought and cognitive dysfunction. Patients are well able to acquire a second language. Nevertheless, schizophrenia finds expression in that language. Finally, more frequent fluency markers in L1 suggests motivation to maintain fluency, evidenced in particular by codeswitched L2 lexical items, a compensatory resource. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Suggestions for Vocabulary Focused Reading Lessons for Mainstream Classrooms Addressing Both L1 and L2 Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seifert, Susanne; Kulmhofer, Andrea; Paleczek, Lisa; Schwab, Susanne; Gasteiger-Klicpera, Barbara

2017-01-01

The increasing number of second language learners in classrooms all around the world has required teachers to adapt their teaching methods and materials to the various learners' needs. Second language learners in particular need specific learning strategies, which not only aim at helping them understand the linguistic structure of the language of…

Learning the Lexical Aspects of a Second Language at Different Proficiencies: A Neural Computational Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuppini, Cristiano; Magosso, Elisa; Ursino, Mauro

2013-01-01

We present an original model designed to study how a second language (L2) is acquired in bilinguals at different proficiencies starting from an existing L1. The model assumes that the conceptual and lexical aspects of languages are stored separately: conceptual aspects in distinct topologically organized Feature Areas, and lexical aspects in a…

The Pathway to English Word Reading in Chinese ESL Children: The Role of Spelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Dan; Liu, Yingyi; Sun, Huilin; Wong, Richard Kwok; Yeung, Susanna Siu-sze

2017-01-01

The present longitudinal study investigated the role of spelling as a bridge between various reading-related predictors and English word reading in Chinese children learning English as a Second Language (ESL). One hundred and forty-one 5-year-old kindergarten children from Hong Kong, whose first language (L1) was Cantonese and second language (L2)…

Grammar Teaching and Learning in L2: Necessary, but Boring?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jean, Gladys; Simard, Daphnee

2011-01-01

This descriptive inquiry-based study targeted second language (L2) high school students' (n = 2321) and teachers' (n = 45) beliefs and perceptions about grammar instruction, specifically about grammatical accuracy, corrective feedback, and diverse forms of grammar teaching and learning. Results showed only slight discrepancies between students'…

Le montage d'une grammaire seconde (The Construction of a Second Grammar)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamczewski, Henri

1975-01-01

Discusses the influence of modern linguistic research on foreign language instruction. Shows the role of grammar 1 in the acquisition of grammar 2, and specifically when French is 1 and English is 2. Considers that conscious, systematic knowledge of L2, learned through L1, is positive for second language acquisition. (Text is in French.) (TL)

Corpora in Language Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boulton, Alex

2017-01-01

This timeline looks at explicit uses of corpora in foreign or second language (L2) teaching and learning, i.e. what happens when end-users explore corpus data, whether directly via concordancers or integrated into CALL programs, or indirectly with prepared printed materials. The underlying rationale is that such contact provides the massive…

Task-Based Learning and Content and Language Integrated Learning Materials Design: Process and Product

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Pat; Lorenzo, Francisco

2015-01-01

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) represents an increasingly popular approach to bilingual education in Europe. In this article, we describe and discuss a project which, in response to teachers' pleas for materials, led to the production of a significant bank of task-based primary and secondary CLIL units for three L2s (English,…

A Multi-Case Study of University Students' Language-Learning Experience Mediated by Mobile Technologies: A Socio-Cultural Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Qing

2017-01-01

Emerging mobile technologies can be considered a new form of social and cultural artefact that mediates people's language learning. This multi-case study investigates how mobile technologies mediate a group of Hong Kong university students' L2 learning, which serves as a lens with which to capture the personalised, unique, contextual and…

Heritage Passions, Heritage Convictions, and the Rooted L2 Self: Music and Gaelic Language Learning in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacIntyre, Peter D.; Baker, Susan C.; Sparling, Heather

2017-01-01

The present research examines the role of music and dance in motivating Gaelic language learning on Cape Breton Island (Canada). The Gaelic language, once thriving in this context, has declined in use but flourishes in both music and dance. This article presents the results of in-depth interviews (60-90 minutes) with 10 accomplished adult…

Empowering the Language Learner: Language Learning Strategy Training and Self-Regulation in an EFL Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres, Gabriella

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how an understanding of the Good Language Learner models described in the SLA literature can be used to tailor and implement a program of learning strategy training and self-regulatory practices in the classroom to empower L2 learners in an EFL context. The paper begins by reviewing the various…

Underspecification-Based Grammatical Feedback Generation Tailored to the Learner's Current Acquisition Level in an e-Learning System for German as Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harbusch, Karin; Cameran, Christel-Joy; Härtel, Johannes

2014-01-01

We present a new feedback strategy implemented in a natural language generation-based e-learning system for German as a second language (L2). Although the system recognizes a large proportion of the grammar errors in learner-produced written sentences, its automatically generated feedback only addresses errors against rules that are relevant at…

Help Options for L2 Listening in CALL: A Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cross, Jeremy

2017-01-01

In this article, I present an agenda for researching help options for second language (L2) listening in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environments. I outline several theories which researchers in the area draw on, then present common points of concern identified from a review of related literature. This serves as a means to…

Frequency Effects or Context Effects in Second Language Word Learning: What Predicts Early Lexical Production?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crossley, Scott A.; Subtirelu, Nicholas; Salsbury, Tom

2013-01-01

This study examines frequency, contextual diversity, and contextual distinctiveness effects in predicting produced versus not-produced frequent nouns and verbs by early second language (L2) learners of English. The study analyzes whether word frequency is the strongest predictor of early L2 word production independent of contextual diversity and…

"L2 Assessment and Testing" Teacher Education: An Exploration of Alternative Assessment Approaches Using New Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papadima-Sophocleous, Salomi

2017-01-01

Most Second Language (L2) Teacher Training Assessment and Testing courses focus on testing. Through the development of a Master of Arts (MA) in a computer assisted language learning module (based on a constructivist and "practise what you preach" approach, entailing that the teachers experience firsthand the assessment types they were…

Vocabulary Breadth in French L2 Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Annabelle

2008-01-01

Vocabulary is one of the building blocks of language and is a necessary component of learners' development. This paper aims to describe the development of the L2 lexicon from the first year of learning French as a foreign language at school to the last year of undergraduate studies at university by setting out what learners know and how this…

Perceptual Training of Second-Language Vowels: Does Musical Ability Play a Role?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghaffarvand Mokari, Payam; Werner, Stefan

2018-01-01

The present study attempts to extend the research on the effects of phonetic training on the production and perception of second-language (L2) vowels. We also examined whether success in learning L2 vowels through high-variability intensive phonetic training is related to the learners' general musical abilities. Forty Azerbaijani learners of…

"I Want to Speak Like the Other People": Second Language Learning as a Virtuous Spiral for Migrant Women?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ennser-Kananen, Johanna; Pettitt, Nicole

2017-01-01

This article contributes to scholarship on migrant women's second language (L2) education in North America and Europe. Questioning reductionist understandings of the relationship between female migrants, their receiving communities and L2 education, the authors consider existing literature as well as their own qualitative work to investigate the…

Instructors' Attitudes towards CALL and MALL in L2 Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagel, James W.; Lambacher, Stephen; Reedy, David W.

2015-01-01

As part of an ongoing study on learners' and instructors' attitudes toward the use of computers and mobile devices in second-language (L2) learning situations, our purpose here is to identify how language instructors value the use of computers and mobile devices in their teaching. We compare the responses of a survey administered during the past…

Short-Term Study Abroad: Perspectives on Speaking Gains and Language Contact

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hernández, Todd A.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have shown that study abroad has a positive effect on second language (L2) learning outcomes for students who spend at least a semester abroad. It is unclear, however, whether a short-term experience also has a measurable impact on L2 development. The present study examines the relationship between speaking proficiency gains made…

A Longitudinal Study on Children's Music Training Experience and Academic Development

PubMed Central

Yang, Hua; Ma, Weiyi; Gong, Diankun; Hu, Jiehui; Yao, Dezhong

2014-01-01

This study examined the relation between long-term music training and child development based on 250 Chinese elementary school students' academic development of first language (L1), second language (L2), and mathematics. We found that musician children outperformed non-musician children only on musical achievement and second language development. Additionally, although music training appeared to be correlated with children's final academic development of L1, L2, and mathematics, it did not independently contribute to the development of L1 or mathematical skills. Our findings suggest caution in interpreting the positive findings on the non-musical cognitive benefits of music learning. PMID:25068398

A longitudinal study on children's music training experience and academic development.

PubMed

Yang, Hua; Ma, Weiyi; Gong, Diankun; Hu, Jiehui; Yao, Dezhong

2014-07-28

This study examined the relation between long-term music training and child development based on 250 Chinese elementary school students' academic development of first language (L1), second language (L2), and mathematics. We found that musician children outperformed non-musician children only on musical achievement and second language development. Additionally, although music training appeared to be correlated with children's final academic development of L1, L2, and mathematics, it did not independently contribute to the development of L1 or mathematical skills. Our findings suggest caution in interpreting the positive findings on the non-musical cognitive benefits of music learning.

The Inhibitory Mechanism in Learning Ambiguous Words in a Second Language

PubMed Central

Lu, Yao; Wu, Junjie; Dunlap, Susan; Chen, Baoguo

2017-01-01

Ambiguous words are hard to learn, yet little is known about what causes this difficulty. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between the representations of new and prior meanings of ambiguous words in second language (L2) learning, and to explore the function of inhibitory control on L2 ambiguous word learning at the initial stage of learning. During a 4-day learning phase, Chinese–English bilinguals learned 30 novel English words for 30 min per day using bilingual flashcards. Half of the words to be learned were unambiguous (had one meaning) and half were ambiguous (had two semantically unrelated meanings learned in sequence). Inhibitory control was introduced as a subject variable measured by a Stroop task. The semantic representations established for the studied items were probed using a cross-language semantic relatedness judgment task, in which the learned English words served as the prime, and the targets were either semantically related or unrelated to the prime. Results showed that response latencies for the second meaning of ambiguous words were slower than for the first meaning and for unambiguous words, and that performance on only the second meaning of ambiguous words was predicted by inhibitory control ability. These results suggest that, at the initial stage of L2 ambiguous word learning, the representation of the second meaning is weak, probably interfered with by the representation of the prior learned meaning. Moreover, inhibitory control may modulate learning of the new meanings, such that individuals with better inhibitory control may more effectively suppress interference from the first meaning, and thus learn the new meaning more quickly. PMID:28496423

The Inhibitory Mechanism in Learning Ambiguous Words in a Second Language.

PubMed

Lu, Yao; Wu, Junjie; Dunlap, Susan; Chen, Baoguo

2017-01-01

Ambiguous words are hard to learn, yet little is known about what causes this difficulty. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between the representations of new and prior meanings of ambiguous words in second language (L2) learning, and to explore the function of inhibitory control on L2 ambiguous word learning at the initial stage of learning. During a 4-day learning phase, Chinese-English bilinguals learned 30 novel English words for 30 min per day using bilingual flashcards. Half of the words to be learned were unambiguous (had one meaning) and half were ambiguous (had two semantically unrelated meanings learned in sequence). Inhibitory control was introduced as a subject variable measured by a Stroop task. The semantic representations established for the studied items were probed using a cross-language semantic relatedness judgment task, in which the learned English words served as the prime, and the targets were either semantically related or unrelated to the prime. Results showed that response latencies for the second meaning of ambiguous words were slower than for the first meaning and for unambiguous words, and that performance on only the second meaning of ambiguous words was predicted by inhibitory control ability. These results suggest that, at the initial stage of L2 ambiguous word learning, the representation of the second meaning is weak, probably interfered with by the representation of the prior learned meaning. Moreover, inhibitory control may modulate learning of the new meanings, such that individuals with better inhibitory control may more effectively suppress interference from the first meaning, and thus learn the new meaning more quickly.

Review of Recent Research (2002-2009) on Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching with Specific Reference to L2 German (Part 2)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckerth, Johannes; Tschirner, Erwin

2010-01-01

This review of research on the learning, teaching, and assessment of L2 German may be particularly timely due to developments from within the profession as well as recent political changes which continue to have a strong bearing on the way L2 German is promoted, learned, taught and assessed. Far from representing an isolated field of research…

The Development of English as a Second Language With and Without Specific Language Impairment: Clinical Implications.

PubMed

Paradis, Johanne

2016-02-01

The purpose of this research forum article is to provide an overview of typical and atypical development of English as a second language (L2) and to present strategies for clinical assessment with English language learners (ELLs). A review of studies examining the lexical, morphological, narrative, and verbal memory abilities of ELLs is organized around 3 topics: timeframe and characteristics of typical English L2 development, comparison of the English L2 development of children with and without specific language impairment (SLI), and strategies for more effective assessment with ELLs. ELLs take longer than 3 years to converge on monolingual norms and approach monolingual norms asynchronously across linguistic subdomains. Individual variation is predicted by age, first language, language learning aptitude, length of exposure to English in school, maternal education, and richness of the English environment outside school. ELLs with SLI acquire English more slowly than ELLs with typical development; their morphological and nonword repetition abilities differentiate them the most. Use of strategies such as parent questionnaires on first language development and ELL norm referencing can result in accurate discrimination of ELLs with SLI. Variability in the language abilities of ELLs presents challenges for clinical practice. Increased knowledge of English language learning development with and without SLI together with evidence-based alternative assessment strategies can assist in overcoming these challenges.

Workpapers in Teaching English as a Second Language. Vol. 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Povey, John, Ed.

This is the tenth annual issue of the UCLA TESL (teaching English as a second language) workpapers. It includes the following papers: (1) "An Attempt to Model the Role of Cognitions in Language Learning," by R.L. Allwright; (2) "A Comparison of Language Proficiency Tests," by J. Donald Bowen; (3) "Language Study Through…

Metanotes (Written Languaging) in a Translation Task: Do L2 Proficiency and Task Outcome Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishikawa, Masako

2015-01-01

Languaging has been identified as a contributor to language learning. Yet, compared to oral languaging, such as collaborative dialogs in contextualized settings, little seems to be known about written languaging. In order to fill this gap, this study investigates languaging in the form of "metanotes," that is, metatalk in a written…

Contributions of Language and Memory Demands to Verbal Memory Performance in Language-Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isaki, Emi; Spaulding, Tammie J.; Plante, Elena

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of adults with language-based learning disorders (L/LD) and normal language controls on verbal short-term and verbal working memory tasks. Eighteen adults with L/LD and 18 normal language controls were compared on verbal short-term memory and verbal working memory tasks under low,…

Language effects in second-language learners: A longitudinal electrophysiological study of spanish classroom learning.

PubMed

Soskey, Laura; Holcomb, Phillip J; Midgley, Katherine J

2016-09-01

How do the neural mechanisms involved in word recognition evolve over the course of word learning in adult learners of a new second language? The current study sought to closely track language effects, which are differences in electrophysiological indices of word processing between one's native and second languages, in beginning university learners over the course of a single semester of learning. Monolingual L1 English-speakers enrolled in introductory Spanish were first trained on a list of 228 Spanish words chosen from the vocabulary to be learned in class. Behavioral data from the training session and the following experimental sessions spaced over the course of the semester showed expected learning effects. In the three laboratory sessions participants read words in three lists (English, Spanish and mixed) while performing a go/no-go lexical decision task in which event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. As observed in previous studies there were ERP language effects with larger N400s to native than second language words. Importantly, this difference declined over the course of L2 learning with N400 amplitude increasing for new second language words. These results suggest that even over a single semester of learning that new second language words are rapidly incorporated into the word recognition system and begin to take on lexical and semantic properties similar to native language words. Moreover, the results suggest that electrophysiological measures can be used as sensitive measures for tracking the acquisition of new linguistic knowledge. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Iranian EFL and Indian ESL College Students' Beliefs about Reading Strategies in L2 (Creencias de estudiantes universitarios iraníes EFL e hindúes ESL acerca de las estrategias de lectura en L2)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karbalaei, Alireza

2010-01-01

The notion of "learner beliefs" has garnered much attention in the field of second language acquisition. Although different studies have been conducted to study learners' beliefs about language learning, little research has looked into the issue of L2 readers' beliefs and their relations to reading strategies. This study investigated…

Foreign Language Aptitude Theory: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wen, Zhisheng; Biedron, Adriana; Skehan, Peter

2017-01-01

Foreign language (FL) aptitude generally refers to a specific talent for learning a foreign or second language (L2). After experiencing a long period of marginalized interest, FL aptitude research in recent years has witnessed renewed enthusiasm across the disciplines of educational psychology, second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive…

Investigation of Technological University Students' Use of Metacognitive Reading Strategies in First and Second Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jou, Yi-Jiun

2015-01-01

Reading, whether the reader's First language, L1 or Second language, L2, is a cognitive enterprise, and it can be treated as a result of the interaction among the reader, the text, and the context. Metacognitive strategies refer to the behaviours applied by learners to plan, arrange, and evaluate their learning. This study aimed to investigate…

Bilingualism and Biliteracy in Down Syndrome: Insights from a Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgoyne, Kelly; Duff, Fiona J.; Nielsen, Dea; Ulicheva, Anastasia; Snowling, Margaret J.

2016-01-01

We present the case study of MB--a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for…

Second language learning in a family nurse practitioner and nurse midwifery diversity education project.

PubMed

Kelley, Frances J; Klopf, Maria Ignacia

2008-10-01

To describe the Clinical Communication Program developed to integrate second language learning (L2), multimedia, Web-based technologies, and the Internet in an advanced practice nursing education program. Electronic recording devices as well as audio, video editing, Web design, and programming software were used as tools for developing L2 scenarios for practice in clinical settings. The Clinical Communication Program offers opportunities to support both students and faculty members to develop their linguistic and cultural competence skills to serve better their patients, in general, and their students who speak a language other than English, in particular. The program provided 24 h on-demand access for using audio, video, and text exercises via the Internet. L2 education for healthcare providers includes linguistic (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) experiences as well as cultural competence and practices inside and outside the classroom environment as well as online and offline the Internet realm.

Increasing Second Language Learners' Production and Comprehension of Developmentally Advanced Syntactic Forms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gámez, Perla B.; Vasilyeva, Marina

2015-01-01

This investigation extended the use of the priming methodology to 5- and 6-year-olds at the beginning stages of learning English as a second language (L2). In Study 1, 14 L2 children described transitive scenes without an experimenter's input. They produced no passives and minimal actives; most of their utterances were incomplete. In Study 2, 56…

An Application of the L2 Motivational Self System to Motivate Elementary School English Learners in Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magid, Michael

2014-01-01

I will describe a program that I developed to motivate grade five elementary school learners of English in Singapore to put more time and effort into learning English by enhancing their vision of their Ideal second language (L2) self and making their goals for learning English more clear and specific. The Ideal L2 self is the representation of the…

Assisting Your Child's Learning in L2 Is Like Teaching Them to Ride a Bike: A Study on Parental Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Rigoberto; Camelo Gámez, Linda Catherine

2013-01-01

This article deals with parental involvement as a strategy to assist young learners in their efforts to learn an L2. It discusses an 18-month experience involving ten young learners, their parents, and teachers, in the development of another language (L2). The parents had expressed that they were unable to support their children's development in…

The Role of Age of Acquisition on Past Tense Generation in Spanish-English Bilinguals: An fMRI Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldron, Eric J.; Hernandez, Arturo E.

2013-01-01

At its most basic sense, the sensorimotor/emergentist (S/E) model suggests that early second language (L2) learning is preferentially reliant upon sensory and motor processes, while later L2 learning is accomplished by greater reliance on executive abilities. To investigate the S/E model using fMRI, neural correlates of L2 age of acquisition were…

Pronunciation Training Facilitates the Learning and Retention of L2 Grammatical Structures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Ines A.; Jackson, Carrie N.

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the impact of pronunciation training on the learning and retention of second language (L2) grammatical structures. By drawing on the phonological saliency of stress placement in German separable- and inseparable-prefix verbs, the study explored whether enhancing explicit instruction through pronunciation training can…

Process-Driven Culture Learning in American KFL Classroom Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byon, Andrew Sangpil

2007-01-01

Teaching second language (L2) culture can be either content- or process-driven. The content-driven approach refers to explicit instruction of L2 cultural information. On the other hand, the process-driven approach focuses on students' active participation in cultural learning processes. In this approach, teachers are not only information…

What We Can Learn about Strategies, Language Learning, and Life from Two Extreme Cases: The Role of Well-Being Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oxford, Rebecca L.

2014-01-01

This article presents two foreign or second language (L2) learner histories representing the extreme ends of the spectrum of learner well-being. One story reflects the very positive learning experiences of a highly strategic learner, while the other story focuses on a less strategic learner's negative, long-lasting responses to a single traumatic…

Chaotic Conversation: A Foray into the Complex World of Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonilla, Carlos A., Ed.; Lauderdale, Katherine, Ed.; Roberson, Jerry L., Ed.

This book presents articles regarding communication in a variety of contexts. Articles are: (1) "Musings on Language and Communication" (C. A. Bonilla); (2) "How Do Infants Learn to Speak?" (K. Lauderdale and J. L. Roberson); (3) "Language, Learning, and the Brain, Any Questions?" (K. Lauderdale, B. J. Somera Mace; T.…

The Influence of Learning Context and Age on the Use of L2 Communication Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montero, Lidia; Serrano, Raquel; Llanes, Àngels

2017-01-01

This study examines the effects of foreign language learning context (three-month study-abroad; versus "at-home" instruction) and age (10-11-year-old children versus university students) on the development of effective foreign language communication strategies (CS) in monologue production. Participants (N = 95) were all Spanish/Catalan…

Classroom Noise and Children Learning through a Second Language: Double Jeopardy?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Peggy; Kohnert, Kathryn; Sabur, Sabina; Shaw, Daniel

2005-01-01

Purpose: Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of classroom noise on attention and speech perception in native Spanish-speaking second graders learning English as their second language (L2) as compared to English-only-speaking (EO) peers. Method: Study 1 measured children's on-task behavior during instructional activities with and…

Enhancement of Automatization through Vocabulary Learning Using CALL: Can Prompt Language Processing Lead to Better Comprehension in L2 Reading?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Takeshi; Matsunuma, Mitsuyasu; Suzuki, Akio

2013-01-01

Our study aims to optimize a multimedia application for vocabulary learning for English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Our study is based on the concept that difficulty in reading a text in a second language is due to the need for more working memory for word decoding skills, although the working memory must also be used for text comprehension…

Knowledge Representations Underlying Covert Metalinguistic Activity: A Working Hypothesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, Xavier

2011-01-01

Covert metalinguistic activity has received little attention in the field of second language (L2) education, even though the few studies that have examined this type of attention to language note that it plays a role in L2 learning and use. However, little is known about this phenomenon. The study reported in this article focuses on the knowledge…

Repeated Reading for Japanese Language Learners: Effects on Reading Speed, Comprehension, and Comprehension Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gorsuch, Greta; Taguchi, Etsuo; Umehara, Hiroaki

2015-01-01

A perennial challenge to second language educators and learners is getting sufficient input in settings where the L2 is not widely used, in this case beginning-level American university students learning Japanese. Reading is a significant means of getting L2 input, with recent calls for attention to reading and authentic texts as curriculum…

The Optimal Distribution of Practice for the Acquisition of L2 Morphology: A Conceptual Replication and Extension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suzuki, Yuichi

2017-01-01

This study examined optimal learning schedules for second language (L2) acquisition of a morphological structure. Sixty participants studied the simple and complex morphological rules of a novel miniature language system so as to use them for oral production. They engaged in four training sessions in either shorter spaced (3.3-day interval) or…

Effects of Three Forms of Reading-Based Output Activity on L2 Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rassaei, Ehsan

2017-01-01

The current study investigated the effects of three forms of output activity on EFL learners' recognition and recall of second language (L2) vocabulary. To this end, three groups of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were instructed to employ the following three output activities after reading two narrative texts: (1) summarizing the…

The Effects of Age on Second Language Grammar and Speech Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Becky H.

2014-01-01

The current study examined the age of learning effect on second language (L2) acquisition. The research goals of the study were twofold: to test whether there is an independent age effect controlling for other potentially confounding variables, and to clarify the age effect across L2 grammar and speech production domains. The study included 118…

Pronunciation-Specific Adjustment Strategies for Intelligibility in L2 Teacher Talk: Results and Implications of a Questionnaire Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saito, Kazuya; van Poeteren, Kim

2012-01-01

A questionnaire study was conducted to examine how 120 highly experienced EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers in Japan adjust their pronunciation in order to facilitate and refine their students' learning skills to approach mutual intelligibility in second language (L2) classrooms (i.e. "pronunciation-specific teacher talk").…

System. A Newsletter for Educational Technology and Language Learning Systems. Vol. 2, No. 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Norman F., Ed.; Allen, John R., Ed.

This issue begins with an editorial comment on the journal's areas of interest. The articles are concerned with the following topics: (1) English composition and the use of the computer (Peter Zoller); (2) the teacher and the language laboratory (L. Ross and B. D. Sadler); (3) language aptitude tests in the language laboratory (in German, Peter…

L1 and L2 Strategy Use in Reading Comprehension of Chinese EFL Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Yea-Ru; Ernst, Cheryl; Talley, Paul C.

2010-01-01

This study revealed the relationship between L1 (Mandarin Chinese) and L2 (English) strategy use in L2 reading comprehension by focusing on the correlation of L1 reading ability, L2 proficiency and employed reading strategies. The participants, 222 undergraduates learning English as a foreign language (EFL), were classified into skilled and…

Community Language Learning and Counseling-Learning. TEAL Occasional Papers, Vol. l, 1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soga, Lillian

Community Language Learning (CLL) is a humanistic approach to learning which emphasizes the learner and learning rather than the teacher and teaching. In some situations where the teacher is not fluent in the various languages spoken by the students, such as in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, advanced students may serve as…

Computer-Based Internet-Hosted Assessment of L2 Literacy: Computerizing and Administering of the Oxford Quick Placement Test in ExamView and Moodle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meurant, Robert C.

Sorting of Korean English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) university students by Second Language (L2) aptitude allocates students to classes of compatible ability level, and was here used to screen candidates for interview. Paper-and-pen versions of the Oxford Quick Placement Test were adapted to computer-based testing via online hosting using FSCreations ExamView. Problems with their online hosting site led to conversion to the popular computer-based learning management system Moodle, hosted on www.ninehub.com. 317 sophomores were tested online to encourage L2 digital literacy. Strategies for effective hybrid implementation of Learning Management Systems in L2 tertiary education include computer-based Internet-hosted L2 aptitude tests. These potentially provide a convenient measure of student progress in developing L2 fluency, and offer a more objective and relevant means of teacher- and course-assessment than student evaluations, which tend to confuse entertainment value and teacher popularity with academic credibility and pedagogical effectiveness.

The Enhanced Musical Rhythmic Perception in Second Language Learners

PubMed Central

Roncaglia-Denissen, M. Paula; Roor, Drikus A.; Chen, Ao; Sadakata, Makiko

2016-01-01

Previous research suggests that mastering languages with distinct rather than similar rhythmic properties enhances musical rhythmic perception. This study investigates whether learning a second language (L2) contributes to enhanced musical rhythmic perception in general, regardless of first and second languages rhythmic properties. Additionally, we investigated whether this perceptual enhancement could be alternatively explained by exposure to musical rhythmic complexity, such as the use of compound meter in Turkish music. Finally, it investigates if an enhancement of musical rhythmic perception could be observed among L2 learners whose first language relies heavily on pitch information, as is the case with tonal languages. Therefore, we tested Turkish, Dutch and Mandarin L2 learners of English and Turkish monolinguals on their musical rhythmic perception. Participants’ phonological and working memory capacities, melodic aptitude, years of formal musical training and daily exposure to music were assessed to account for cultural and individual differences which could impact their rhythmic ability. Our results suggest that mastering a L2 rather than exposure to musical rhythmic complexity could explain individuals’ enhanced musical rhythmic perception. An even stronger enhancement of musical rhythmic perception was observed for L2 learners whose first and second languages differ regarding their rhythmic properties, as enhanced performance of Turkish in comparison with Dutch L2 learners of English seem to suggest. Such a stronger enhancement of rhythmic perception seems to be found even among L2 learners whose first language relies heavily on pitch information, as the performance of Mandarin L2 learners of English indicates. Our findings provide further support for a cognitive transfer between the language and music domain. PMID:27375469

The Case of Chichewa and English in Malawi: The Impact of First Language Reading and Writing on Learning English as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shin, Jaran; Sailors, Misty; McClung, Nicola; Pearson, P. David; Hoffman, James V.; Chilimanjira, Margaret

2015-01-01

We investigated the relationship between Chichewa (L1) and English (L2) literacies in Malawi. Through our use of hierarchical linear modeling, we found that cross-language literacy transfer between Chichewa and English did occur, but that the pattern and the strength of the relationships varied depending on the literacy domain (i.e., reading or…

Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. The Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coady, James, Ed.; Huckin, Thomas, Ed.

A collection of essays on second language vocabulary learning includes: "Historical Trends in Second Language Vocabulary Instruction" (Cheryl Boyd Zimmerman); "The Lexical Plight in Second Language Reading: Words You Don't Know, Words You Think You Know, and Words You Can't Guess" (Batia Laufer); "Orthographic Knowledge in L2 Lexical Processing: A…

Authenticity and Authorship in the Computer-Mediated Acquisition of L2 Literacy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramsch, Claire

2000-01-01

Examines two tenets of communicative language teaching--authenticity of the input and authorship of the language user--in an electronic environment. Reviews research in textually-mediated second language acquisition and analyzes two cases of computer-mediated language learning: the construction of a multimedia CD-ROM by American college learners…

Foreign Language Methodology Conference Workshop Reports, 1976.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carranza, Jose M., Ed.; Whitmer, Robert L., Ed.

This collection resulting from a workshop on language teaching methodology contains the following papers: (1) "The Role of Culture in Foreign Language Learning," by N. Brooks; (2) "Guidelines and Ideas to Boost the Enrollment in Foreign Language Courses," by L.F. Gonzalez-Cruz; "Cooking in the Classroom," by K. Boykin; (4) "Performance Based…

The OMLTA Yearbook: 1982.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Barbara, Ed.

The first issue of the Yearbook of the Ohio Modern Language Teachers Association presents the following articles and features: (1) "PR and the Language Program," by Nancy Humbach; (2) "Creative Play in Language Learning," by Carolann DeSelms; (3) "Foreign Language Projects for the Gifted Student," by Carol L. McKay and Martin D. McKay; (4) "A…

How relevant is social interaction in second language learning?

PubMed Central

Verga, Laura; Kotz, Sonja A.

2013-01-01

Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthened by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicates that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language (L2) learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints, especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor. PMID:24027521

How relevant is social interaction in second language learning?

PubMed

Verga, Laura; Kotz, Sonja A

2013-09-03

Verbal language is the most widespread mode of human communication, and an intrinsically social activity. This claim is strengthened by evidence emerging from different fields, which clearly indicates that social interaction influences human communication, and more specifically, language learning. Indeed, research conducted with infants and children shows that interaction with a caregiver is necessary to acquire language. Further evidence on the influence of sociality on language comes from social and linguistic pathologies, in which deficits in social and linguistic abilities are tightly intertwined, as is the case for Autism, for example. However, studies on adult second language (L2) learning have been mostly focused on individualistic approaches, partly because of methodological constraints, especially of imaging methods. The question as to whether social interaction should be considered as a critical factor impacting upon adult language learning still remains underspecified. Here, we review evidence in support of the view that sociality plays a significant role in communication and language learning, in an attempt to emphasize factors that could facilitate this process in adult language learning. We suggest that sociality should be considered as a potentially influential factor in adult language learning and that future studies in this domain should explicitly target this factor.

Review of Recent Research (2002-2008) on Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching with Specific Reference to L2 German (Part 1)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckerth, Johannes; Schramm, Karen; Tschirner, Erwin

2009-01-01

This review of research on the learning, teaching, and assessment of L2 German published or completed between 2002 and 2008 may be particularly timely due to developments from within the profession as well as recent political changes which continue to have a strong bearing on the way L2 German is promoted, learned, taught and assessed. Far from…

Coping with the Demands of Academic Literacy: Generation 1.5 ESL Community College Students and the Challenge of Reading to Learn While Still Learning to Read

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flowers, George A., Jr.

2013-01-01

This quantitative study conducted in the ESL program at a large community college investigated the symbiotic relationship between reading and second-language learning from the perspective of the class of post-secondary functional bilinguals sometimes referred to as Generation 1.5. These students are long-term, resident second-language (L2) English…

Age of acquisition and allophony in Spanish-English bilinguals.

PubMed

Barlow, Jessica A

2014-01-01

This study examines age of acquisition (AoA) in Spanish-English bilinguals' phonetic and phonological knowledge of /l/ in English and Spanish. In English, the lateral approximant /l/ varies in darkness by context [based on the second formant (F2) and the difference between F2 and the first formant (F1)], but the Spanish /l/ does not. Further, English /l/ is overall darker than Spanish /l/. Thirty-eight college-aged adults participated: 11 Early Spanish-English bilinguals who learned English before the age of 5 years, 14 Late Spanish-English bilinguals who learned English after the age of 6 years, and 13 English monolinguals. Participants' /l/ productions were acoustically analyzed by language and context. The results revealed a Spanish-to-English phonetic influence on /l/ productions for both Early and Late bilinguals, as well as an English-to-Spanish phonological influence on the patterning of /l/ for the Late Bilinguals. These findings are discussed in terms of the Speech Learning Model and the effect of AoA on the interaction between a bilingual speaker's two languages.

Age of acquisition and allophony in Spanish-English bilinguals

PubMed Central

Barlow, Jessica A.

2014-01-01

This study examines age of acquisition (AoA) in Spanish-English bilinguals’ phonetic and phonological knowledge of /l/ in English and Spanish. In English, the lateral approximant /l/ varies in darkness by context [based on the second formant (F2) and the difference between F2 and the first formant (F1)], but the Spanish /l/ does not. Further, English /l/ is overall darker than Spanish /l/. Thirty-eight college-aged adults participated: 11 Early Spanish-English bilinguals who learned English before the age of 5 years, 14 Late Spanish-English bilinguals who learned English after the age of 6 years, and 13 English monolinguals. Participants’ /l/ productions were acoustically analyzed by language and context. The results revealed a Spanish-to-English phonetic influence on /l/ productions for both Early and Late bilinguals, as well as an English-to-Spanish phonological influence on the patterning of /l/ for the Late Bilinguals. These findings are discussed in terms of the Speech Learning Model and the effect of AoA on the interaction between a bilingual speaker’s two languages. PMID:24795664

English Orthographic Learning in Chinese-L1 Young EFL Beginners.

PubMed

Cheng, Yu-Lin

2017-12-01

English orthographic learning, among Chinese-L1 children who were beginning to learn English as a foreign language, was documented when: (1) only visual memory was at their disposal, (2) visual memory and either some letter-sound knowledge or some semantic information was available, and (3) visual memory, some letter-sound knowledge and some semantic information were all available. When only visual memory was available, orthographic learning (measured via an orthographic choice test) was meagre. Orthographic learning was significant when either semantic information or letter-sound knowledge supplemented visual memory, with letter-sound knowledge generating greater significance. Although the results suggest that letter-sound knowledge plays a more important role than semantic information, letter-sound knowledge alone does not suffice to achieve perfect orthographic learning, as orthographic learning was greatest when letter-sound knowledge and semantic information were both available. The present findings are congruent with a view that the orthography of a foreign language drives its orthographic learning more than L1 orthographic learning experience, thus extending Share's (Cognition 55:151-218, 1995) self-teaching hypothesis to include non-alphabetic L1 children's orthographic learning of an alphabetic foreign language. The little letter-sound knowledge development observed in the experiment-I control group indicates that very little letter-sound knowledge develops in the absence of dedicated letter-sound training. Given the important role of letter-sound knowledge in English orthographic learning, dedicated letter-sound instruction is highly recommended.

Individual versus Interactive Task-Based Performance through Voice-Based Computer-Mediated Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granena, Gisela

2016-01-01

Interaction is a necessary condition for second language (L2) learning (Long, 1980, 1996). Research in computer-mediated communication has shown that interaction opportunities make learners pay attention to form in a variety of ways that promote L2 learning. This research has mostly investigated text-based rather than voice-based interaction. The…

Lessons Learned in Designing and Implementing a Computer-Adaptive Test for English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burston, Jack; Neophytou, Maro

2014-01-01

This paper describes the lessons learned in designing and implementing a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for English. The early identification of students with weak L2 English proficiency is of critical importance in university settings that have compulsory English language course graduation requirements. The most efficient means of diagnosing the L2…

The Effects of Captions in Teenagers' Multimedia L2 Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lwo, Laurence; Lin, Michelle Chia-Tzu

2012-01-01

This study aims to explore the impact of different captions on second language (L2) learning in a computer-assisted multimedia context. A quasi-experimental design was adopted, and a total of thirty-two eighth graders selected from a junior high school joined the study. They were systematically assigned into four groups based on their proficiency…

Concept-Based Approach to Second Language Teaching and Learning: Cognitive Lingusitics-Inspired Instruction of English Phrasal Verbs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hyewon

2012-01-01

In recent years, L2 researchers from the sociocultural and cognitive linguistic perspectives have emphasized the importance of properly organized explicit and in-depth grammar instruction for second or foreign language learning. Such instruction is believed to lead learners to systematic understanding of the target features faster and more…

Exploring Taiwanese Students' Perceptions of Active Explicit Vocabulary Instruction: A Case Study in an English Medium Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, I-Chia

2018-01-01

Vocabulary knowledge is considered important in second and foreign language learning because learners' insufficient vocabulary has been consistently reported as a significant problem in their achievement of second-language (L2) learning. Despite of numerous vocabulary studies, few of them have implemented a learner-centered and interactive…

Input and SLA: Adults' Sensitivity to Different Sorts of Cues to French Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, Susanne E.

2005-01-01

All second language (L2) learning theories presuppose that learners learn the target language from the speech signal (or written material, when learners are reading), so an understanding of learners' ability to detect and represent novel patterns in linguistic stimuli will constitute a major building block in an adequate theory of second language…

Retesting the Limits of Data-Driven Learning: Feedback and Error Correction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crosthwaite, Peter

2017-01-01

An increasing number of studies have looked at the value of corpus-based data-driven learning (DDL) for second language (L2) written error correction, with generally positive results. However, a potential conundrum for language teachers involved in the process is how to provide feedback on students' written production for DDL. The study looks at…

The Dynamic Nature of Motivation in Language Learning: A Classroom Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pawlak, Miroslaw

2012-01-01

When we examine the empirical investigations of motivation in second and foreign language learning, even those drawing upon the latest theoretical paradigms, such as the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2009), it becomes clear that many of them still fail to take account of its dynamic character and temporal variation. This may be surprising…

Supporting Teachers in Designing CSCL Activities: A Case Study of Principle-Based Pedagogical Patterns in Networked Second Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wen, Yun; Looi, Chee-Kit; Chen, Wenli

2012-01-01

This paper proposes the identification and use of principle-based pedagogical patterns to help teachers to translate design principles into actionable teaching activities, and to scaffold student learning with sufficient flexibility and creativity. A set of pedagogical patterns for networked Second language (L2) learning, categorized and…

What Data for Data-Driven Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boulton, Alex

2012-01-01

Corpora have multiple affordances, not least for use by teachers and learners of a foreign language (L2) in what has come to be known as "data-driven learning" or DDL. The corpus and concordance interface were originally conceived by and for linguists, so other users need to adopt the role of "language researcher" to make the most of them. Despite…

L2 Motivation, Anxiety and Self-Efficacy: The Interrelationship of Individual Variables in the Secondary School Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piniel, Katalin; Csizér, Kata

2013-01-01

Our study describes the relationship of second language learning motivation, self-efficacy, and anxiety; that is, how motivation, cognition, and affect might interact during the process of second language learning. Questionnaire data were collected from 236 Hungarian students studying at various secondary schools. Structural equation modeling was…

Vocabulary Learning in Collaborative Tasks: A Comparison of Pair and Small Group Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobao, Ana Fernández

2014-01-01

This study examined the opportunities that pair and small group interaction offer for collaborative dialogue and second language (L2) vocabulary learning. It compared the performance of the same collaborative writing task by learners working in groups of four (n = 60) and in pairs (n = 50), focusing on the occurrence of lexical language-related…

Grammatical Error Diagnosis in Fluid Construction Grammar: A Case Study in L2 Spanish Verb Morphology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beuls, Katrien

2014-01-01

Construction grammar (CG) has been proposed as an adequate grammatical formalism for building intelligent language tutoring systems because it is highly compatible with the learning strategies observed in second language learning. Unfortunately, the lack of computational CG implementations has made it impossible in the past to corroborate these…

The Use of L1 in English as a Foreign Language Classes: Insights from Iraqi Tertiary Level Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galali, Atta; Cinkara, Emrah

2017-01-01

Two main opposing approaches exist regarding the impact of first-language (L1) use in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language: the monolingual and bilingual approaches. Some linguists assume that students' L1 should be banished from their English classes, whereas others assert that it facilitates the process of learning a target…

Saudi Female Teachers' Perceptions of the Use of L1 in EFL Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Amir, Bayan Al-Hashemi

2017-01-01

In the literature of second language teaching and learning, the use of students' first language (L1) has been an issue of debate for many years. Despite the changing state of teaching and learning aspects over the years, the belief that L1 should not be used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms has stood the test of time.…

Gender Differences in Second Language Motivation: An Investigation of Micro- and Macro-Level Influences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kissau, Scott

2006-01-01

The present article is part of a large-scale study conducted in Ontario that investigated gender differences in motivation to learn French. However, for this particular article second language (L2) motivation theory is the primary focus. Over the past 30 years of research, the study of L2 motivation has evolved. There appears to be a definite…

Unpacking the Discrepancy between Learner and Teacher Beliefs: What Should Be the Role of Grammar in Language Classes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hos, Rabia; Kekec, Mustafa

2015-01-01

Learner and teacher beliefs play an important role in second language (L2) learning. Furthermore, the role of grammar instruction and error correction in the L2 classroom is a topic that is still debated in the literature. This study explored the beliefs of EFL learners and teachers regarding the controversial role of grammar instruction and error…

The Role of Multiword Building Blocks in Explaining L1-L2 Differences.

PubMed

Arnon, Inbal; Christiansen, Morten H

2017-07-01

Why are children better language learners than adults despite being worse at a range of other cognitive tasks? Here, we explore the role of multiword sequences in explaining L1-L2 differences in learning. In particular, we propose that children and adults differ in their reliance on such multiword units (MWUs) in learning, and that this difference affects learning strategies and outcomes, and leads to difficulty in learning certain grammatical relations. In the first part, we review recent findings that suggest that MWUs play a facilitative role in learning. We then discuss the implications of these findings for L1-L2 differences: We hypothesize that adults are both less likely to extract MWUs and less capable of benefiting from them in the process of learning. In the next section, we draw on psycholinguistic, developmental, and computational findings to support these predictions. We end with a discussion of the relation between this proposal and other accounts of L1-L2 difficulty. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Some Questions Answered About "Right Brain" Language Learning and Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawlor, Michael

1987-01-01

Centers on the opinions of Michael Lawlor of the Society for Effective Affective Learning (S.E.A.L.) about "right brain" language learning and includes suggestions (with examples presented about learning Greek) for developing one's power of suggestion and applying it to foreign language learning. (CB)

Assimilation of L2 vowels to L1 phonemes governs L2 learning in adulthood: a behavioral and ERP study

PubMed Central

Grimaldi, Mirko; Sisinni, Bianca; Gili Fivela, Barbara; Invitto, Sara; Resta, Donatella; Alku, Paavo; Brattico, Elvira

2014-01-01

According to the Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM), articulatory similarity/dissimilarity between sounds of the second language (L2) and the native language (L1) governs L2 learnability in adulthood and predicts L2 sound perception by naïve listeners. We performed behavioral and neurophysiological experiments on two groups of university students at the first and fifth years of the English language curriculum and on a group of naïve listeners. Categorization and discrimination tests, as well as the mismatch negativity (MMN) brain response to L2 sound changes, showed that the discriminatory capabilities of the students did not significantly differ from those of the naïve subjects. In line with the PAM model, we extend the findings of previous behavioral studies showing that, at the neural level, classroom instruction in adulthood relies on assimilation of L2 vowels to L1 phoneme categories and does not trigger improvement in L2 phonetic discrimination. Implications for L2 classroom teaching practices are discussed. PMID:24860470

A Conceptual Review of Age Effect on L2 Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sang, Yuan

2017-01-01

The importance of age effect on an additional language (L2) acquisition has long been recognized in the field of L2 education. Research was conducted to reveal the influence of age to the rate and ultimate attainment of L2 teaching and learning, yet controversial results were discovered. Consequently, stereotypes and misunderstanding exist among…

CALL--Enhanced L2 Listening Skills--Aiming for Automatization in a Multimedia Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayor, Maria Jesus Blasco

2009-01-01

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and L2 listening comprehension skill training are bound together for good. A neglected macroskill for decades, developing listening comprehension skill is now considered crucial for L2 acquisition. Thus this paper makes an attempt to offer latest information on processing theories and L2 listening…

Investigating an Innovative Computer Application to Improve L2 Word Recognition from Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Joshua; O'Toole, John Mitchell

2015-01-01

The ability to recognise words from the aural modality is a critical aspect of successful second language (L2) listening comprehension. However, little research has been reported on computer-mediated development of L2 word recognition from speech in L2 learning contexts. This report describes the development of an innovative computer application…

Developmental Interdependence Hypothesis Revisited in the Brunei Classroom [and] A Response.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liew, Elizabeth M.; Saravanan, Vanithamani

1996-01-01

Focuses on the importance of developing the native language (L1), i.e., "Bahasa Melayu," as a firm foundation for the learning of a second language (L2) in Brunei and analyzes problems facing learners of "Bahasa Melayu" and English in Brunei classrooms. Saravanan's response focuses on the structure of the Brunesian bilingual…

Second Language Acquisition of Gender Agreement in Explicit and Implicit Training Conditions: An Event-Related Potential Study

PubMed Central

Morgan-Short, Kara; Sanz, Cristina; Steinhauer, Karsten; Ullman, Michael T.

2011-01-01

This study employed an artificial language learning paradigm together with a combined behavioral/event-related potential (ERP) approach to examine the neurocognition of the processing of gender agreement, an aspect of inflectional morphology that is problematic in adult second language (L2) learning. Subjects learned to speak and comprehend an artificial language under either explicit (classroomlike) or implicit (immersionlike) training conditions. In each group, both noun-article and noun-adjective gender agreement processing were examined behaviorally and with ERPs at both low and higher levels of proficiency. Results showed that the two groups learned the language to similar levels of proficiency but showed somewhat different ERP patterns. At low proficiency, both types of agreement violations (adjective, article) yielded N400s, but only for the group with implicit training. Additionally, noun-adjective agreement elicited a late N400 in the explicit group at low proficiency. At higher levels of proficiency, noun-adjective agreement violations elicited N400s for both the explicit and implicit groups, whereas noun-article agreement violations elicited P600s for both groups. The results suggest that interactions among linguistic structure, proficiency level, and type of training need to be considered when examining the development of aspects of inflectional morphology in L2 acquisition. PMID:21359123

Songs as an aid for language acquisition.

PubMed

Schön, Daniele; Boyer, Maud; Moreno, Sylvain; Besson, Mireille; Peretz, Isabelle; Kolinsky, Régine

2008-02-01

In previous research, Saffran and colleagues [Saffran, J. R., Aslin, R. N., & Newport, E. L. (1996). Statistical learning by 8-month-old infants. Science, 274, 1926-1928; Saffran, J. R., Newport, E. L., & Aslin, R. N. (1996). Word segmentation: The role of distributional cues. Journal of Memory and Language, 35, 606-621.] have shown that adults and infants can use the statistical properties of syllable sequences to extract words from continuous speech. They also showed that a similar learning mechanism operates with musical stimuli [Saffran, J. R., Johnson, R. E. K., Aslin, N., & Newport, E. L. (1999). Abstract Statistical learning of tone sequences by human infants and adults. Cognition, 70, 27-52.]. In this work we combined linguistic and musical information and we compared language learning based on speech sequences to language learning based on sung sequences. We hypothesized that, compared to speech sequences, a consistent mapping of linguistic and musical information would enhance learning. Results confirmed the hypothesis showing a strong learning facilitation of song compared to speech. Most importantly, the present results show that learning a new language, especially in the first learning phase wherein one needs to segment new words, may largely benefit of the motivational and structuring properties of music in song.

The effects of late acquisition of L2 and the consequences of immigration on L1 for semantic and morpho-syntactic language aspects.

PubMed

Scherag, André; Demuth, Lisa; Rösler, Frank; Neville, Helen J; Röder, Brigitte

2004-10-01

It has been hypothesized that some aspects of a second language (L2) might be learned easier than others if a language is learned late. On the other hand, non-use might result in a loss of language skills in one's native, i.e. one's first language (L1) (language attrition). To study which, if any, aspects of language are affected by either late acquisition or non-use, long-term German immigrants to the US and English native speakers who are long-term immigrants to Germany as well as two additional control groups of native German speakers were tested with an auditory semantic and morpho-syntactic priming paradigm. German adjectives correctly or incorrectly inflected for gender and semantically associated or not associated with the target noun served as primes. Participants made a lexical decision on the target word. All groups of native German speakers gained from semantically and morpho-syntactically congruent primes. Evidence for language attrition was neither found for semantic nor morpho-syntactic priming effects in the German immigrants. In contrast, English native speakers did not gain from a morpho-syntactic congruent prime, whereas semantic priming effects were similar as for the remaining groups. The present data suggest that the full acquisition of at least some syntactic functions may be restricted to limited periods in life while semantic and morpho-syntactic functions seem to be relatively inured to loss due to non-use.

Does the Owl Fly out of the Tree or Does the Owl Exit the Tree Flying? How L2 Learners Overcome Their L1 Lexicalization Biases

PubMed Central

Song, Lulu; Pulverman, Rachel; Pepe, Christina; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy

2016-01-01

Learning a language is more than learning its vocabulary and grammar. For example, compared to English, Spanish uses many more path verbs such as ascender (‘to move upward’) and salir (‘to go out’), and expresses manner of motion optionally. English, in contrast, has many manner verbs (e.g., run, jog) and expresses path in prepositional phrases (e.g., out of the barn). The way in which a language encodes an event is known as its lexicalization pattern or bias. Using a written sentence elicitation task, we asked whether adult Spanish learners whose L1 was English adopted Spanish lexicalization biases, and what types of L2 exposure facilitated the learning of lexicalization biases. Results showed that advanced, but not intermediate, adult Spanish learners showed a path bias comparable to that found in native speakers of Spanish. Furthermore, study abroad experience is associated with better acquisition of L2 lexicalization biases when describing certain types of events. PMID:27103880

Explicit Instruction and Implicit Use of L2 Learning Strategies in Higher Secondary EFL Course Books

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bueno-Alastuey, M. Camino; Agulló, Gloria Luque

2015-01-01

Research has shown that teaching second language (L2) learning strategies explicitly promotes an increase in strategy use and in oral proficiency. Consequently, a checklist based on the six types of strategies from Oxford's taxonomy (1990) was created to analyze strategic instruction in the most common textbooks used in the last year of Higher…

The Relationship between Strategic Reading Instruction, Student Learning of L2-Based Reading Strategies and L2 Reading Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akkakoson, Songyut

2013-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between strategic reading instruction, the process of learning second language-based reading strategies and English reading achievement for Thai university students of science and technology. In a course in reading general English texts for 16?weeks, 82 students were taught using a strategies-based approach…

Perceived Learning Difficulty and Actual Performance: Explicit and Implicit Knowledge of L2 English Grammar Points among Instructed Adult Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silva, Luis Humberto Rodríguez; Roehr-Brackin, Karen

2016-01-01

This article draws on an approach that conceptualizes L2 learning difficulty in terms of implicit and explicit knowledge. In a study with first language Mexican Spanish university-level learners (n = 30), their teachers (n = 11), and applied linguistics experts (n = 3), we investigated the relationship between (a) these groups' difficulty…

Neural convergence for language comprehension and grammatical class production in highly proficient bilinguals is independent of age of acquisition.

PubMed

Consonni, Monica; Cafiero, Riccardo; Marin, Dario; Tettamanti, Marco; Iadanza, Antonella; Fabbro, Franco; Perani, Daniela

2013-05-01

In bilinguals, native (L1) and second (L2) languages are processed by the same neural resources that can be modulated by age of second language acquisition (AOA), proficiency level, and daily language exposure and usage. AOA seems to particularly affect grammar processing, where a complete neural convergence has been shown only in bilinguals with parallel language acquisition from birth. Despite the fact that proficiency-related neuroanatomical differences have been well documented in language comprehension (LC) and production, few reports have addressed the influence of language exposure. A still unanswered question pertains to the role of AOA, when proficiency is comparably high across languages, with respect to its modulator effects both on LC and production. Here, we evaluated with fMRI during sentence comprehension and verb and noun production tasks, two groups of highly proficient bilinguals only differing in AOA. One group learned Italian and Friulian in parallel from birth, whereas the second group learned Italian between 3 and 6 years. All participants were highly exposed to both languages, but more to Italian than Friulian. The results indicate a complete overlap of neural activations for the comprehension of both languages, not only in bilinguals from birth, but also in late bilinguals. A slightly extra activation in the left thalamus for the less-exposed language confirms that exposure may affect language processing. Noteworthy, we report for the first time that, when proficiency and exposure are kept high, noun and verb production recruit the same neural networks for L1 and L2, independently of AOA. These results support the neural convergence hypothesis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incidental Vocabulary Learning and Recall by Intermediate Foreign Language Students: The Influence of Marginal Glosses, Dictionary Use, and Summary Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghabanchi, Zargham; Ayoubi, Elham Sadat

2012-01-01

This study is an attempt to compare the effect of four reading conditions on incidental vocabulary learning and recall of intermediate EFL learners. A sample population of 120 Iranian intermediate students read two short passages in one of four reading conditions: 1) L1 Marginal Glosses (MG1--provision of L1 translations of unknown words), 2) L2…

Effects of Expanding and Equal Spacing on Second Language Vocabulary Learning: Does Gradually Increasing Spacing Increase Vocabulary Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakata, Tatsuya

2015-01-01

Although expanding spacing is often regarded as the most effective practice schedule, studies comparing equal and expanding spacing have yielded mixed results. The present study set out to examine whether the amount of spacing and the retention interval may influence the effects of expanding and equal spacing on second language (L2) vocabulary…

Using Intelligent Personal Assistants for Second Language Learning: A Case Study of Alexa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dizon, Gilbert

2017-01-01

The proliferation of smartphones has given rise to intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), software that helps users accomplish day-to-day tasks. However, little is known about IPAs in the context of second language (L2) learning. Therefore, the primary objectives of this case study were twofold: to assess the ability of Amazon's IPA, Alexa, to…

Effects of Variability in Fundamental Frequency on L2 Vocabulary Learning: A Comparison between Learners Who Do and Do Not Speak a Tone Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barcroft, Joe; Sommers, Mitchell S.

2014-01-01

Previous studies (Barcroft & Sommers, 2005; Sommers & Barcroft, 2007) have demonstrated that variability in talker, speaking style, and speaking rate positively affect second language vocabulary learning, whereas variability in overall amplitude and fundamental frequency (F0) do not, at least for native English speakers. Sommers and…

Developing and Evaluating SynctoLearn, a Fully Automatic Video and Transcript Synchronization Tool for EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hao-Jan Howard

2011-01-01

Authentic videos are always motivational for foreign language learners. According to the findings of many empirical studies, subtitled L2 videos are particularly useful for foreign language learning. Although there are many authentic English videos available on the Internet, most of these videos do not have subtitles. If subtitles can be added to…

Defining and Operationalizing the Construct of Pragmatic Competence: Review and Recommendations. Research Report. ETS RR-15-06

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timpe Laughlin, Veronika; Wain, Jennifer; Schmidgall, Jonathan

2015-01-01

This review paper constitutes the first step within a larger research effort to develop an interactive pragmatics learning tool for second and foreign language (L2) learners and users of English. The tool will primarily endeavor to support pragmatics learning within the language use domain "workplace." Given this superordinate objective,…

Learners' Anxiety in Audiographic Conferences: A Discursive Psychology Approach to Emotion Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de los Arcos, Beatriz; Coleman, James A.; Hampel, Regine

2009-01-01

Success and failure in language learning are partly determined by the learners' ability to regulate their emotions. Negative feelings are more likely to frustrate progress, while positive ones make the task of learning a second language (L2) a more effective experience. To date no significant body of research has been carried out into the role of…

The Effectiveness of the Continuation Task on Second Language Learning of English Articles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Lin

2015-01-01

This article aims to uncover how alignment in the continuation task affects second language (L2) learning of English articles. Two classes of 47 Chinese students participated in the study which employed a pretest-treatment-posttest research design and lasted for a period of 20 weeks. One class received the continuation task treatment, during which…

The irreversibility of sensitive period effects in language development: evidence from second language acquisition in international adoptees.

PubMed

Norrman, Gunnar; Bylund, Emanuel

2016-05-01

The question of a sensitive period in language acquisition has been subject to extensive research and debate for more than half a century. While it has been well established that the ability to learn new languages declines in early years, the extent to which this outcome depends on biological maturation in contrast to previously acquired knowledge remains disputed. In the present study, we addressed this question by examining phonetic discriminatory abilities in early second language (L2) speakers of Swedish, who had either maintained their first language (L1) (immigrants) or had lost it (international adoptees), using native speaker controls. Through this design, we sought to disentangle the effects of the maturational state of the learner on L2 development from the effects of L1 interference: if additional language development is indeed constrained by an interfering L1, then adoptees should outperform immigrant speakers. The results of an auditory lexical decision task, in which fine vowel distinctions in Swedish had been modified, showed, however, no difference between the L2 groups. Instead, both L2 groups scored significantly lower than the native speaker group. The three groups did not differ in their ability to discriminate non-modified words. These findings demonstrate that L1 loss is not a crucial condition for successfully acquiring an L2, which in turn is taken as support for a maturational constraints view on L2 acquisition. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/1J9X50aePeU. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Contribution of L1 Phonemic Awareness into L2 Reading: The Case of Arab EFL Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alshaboul, Yousef; Asassfeh, Sahail; Alshboul, Sabri; Alodwan, Talal

2014-01-01

Cross-language transfer is the extent, if any, to which phonological awareness in L1 facilitates learning to read in L2. This has been an area of investigation wherein researchers looked into the orthographic and phonological component processing skills L2 learners develop and utilize to facilitate word recognition. Given the difference between…

Iconicity and Sign Lexical Acquisition: A Review

PubMed Central

Ortega, Gerardo

2017-01-01

The study of iconicity, defined as the direct relationship between a linguistic form and its referent, has gained momentum in recent years across a wide range of disciplines. In the spoken modality, there is abundant evidence showing that iconicity is a key factor that facilitates language acquisition. However, when we look at sign languages, which excel in the prevalence of iconic structures, there is a more mixed picture, with some studies showing a positive effect and others showing a null or negative effect. In an attempt to reconcile the existing evidence the present review presents a critical overview of the literature on the acquisition of a sign language as first (L1) and second (L2) language and points at some factor that may be the source of disagreement. Regarding sign L1 acquisition, the contradicting findings may relate to iconicity being defined in a very broad sense when a more fine-grained operationalisation might reveal an effect in sign learning. Regarding sign L2 acquisition, evidence shows that there is a clear dissociation in the effect of iconicity in that it facilitates conceptual-semantic aspects of sign learning but hinders the acquisition of the exact phonological form of signs. It will be argued that when we consider the gradient nature of iconicity and that signs consist of a phonological form attached to a meaning we can discern how iconicity impacts sign learning in positive and negative ways. PMID:28824480

Bilingual Education and L3 Learning: Metalinguistic Advantage or Not?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutgers, Dieuwerke; Evans, Michael

2017-01-01

Metalinguistic skills are highlighted in the literature as providing bilinguals with an advantage in additional language (L3) learning. The extent to which this may apply to bilingual education and content-and-language-integrated-learning settings, however, is as yet little understood. This article reports on a study exploring and comparing the…

When the Second Language Takes the Lead: Neurocognitive Processing Changes in the First Language of Adult Attriters.

PubMed

Kasparian, Kristina; Steinhauer, Karsten

2017-01-01

Although research on multilingualism has revealed continued neuroplasticity for language-learning beyond what was previously expected, it remains controversial whether and to what extent a second language (L2) acquired in adulthood may induce changes in the neurocognitive processing of a first language (L1). First language (L1) attrition in adulthood offers new insight on neuroplasticity and the factors that modulate neurocognitive responses to language. To date, investigations of the neurocognitive correlates of L1 attrition and of factors influencing these mechanisms are still scarce. Moreover, most event-related-potential (ERP) studies of second language processing have focused on L1 influence on the L2, while cross-linguistic influence in the reverse direction has been underexplored. Using ERPs, we examined the real-time processing of Italian relative-clauses in 24 Italian-English adult migrants with predominant use of English since immigration and reporting attrition of their native-Italian (Attriters), compared to 30 non-attriting monolinguals in Italy (Controls). Our results showed that Attriters differed from Controls in their acceptability judgment ratings and ERP responses when relative clause constructions were ungrammatical in English, though grammatical in Italian. Controls' ERP responses to unpreferred sentence constructions were consistent with garden path effects typically observed in the literature for these complex sentences. In contrast, due to L2-English influence, Attriters were less sensitive to semantic cues than to word-order preferences, and processed permissible Italian sentences as outright morphosyntactic violations. Key factors modulating processing differences within Attriters were the degree of maintained L1 exposure, length of residence in the L2 environment and L2 proficiency - with higher levels of L2 immersion and proficiency associated with increased L2 influence on the L1. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that high levels of L2 proficiency and exposure may render a grammatical sentence in one's native language ungrammatical. These group differences strongly point to distinct processing strategies and provide evidence that even a "stabilized" L1 grammar is subject to change after a prolonged period of L2 immersion and reduced L1 use, especially in linguistic areas promoting cross-linguistic influence.

L2 and L3 Ultimate Attainment: An Investigation of Two Parameters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hermas, Abdelkader

2014-01-01

This study considers the upper limit of ultimate attainment in the L2 French and L3 English of trilingual learners. The learners are native speakers of Moroccan Arabic who started learning L2 French at eight and L3 English at 16. They are advanced in both languages. Four constructions representing the verb movement and null subject parameter were…

L2 English Intonation: Relations between Form-Meaning Associations, Access to Meaning, and L1 Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ortega-Llebaria, Marta; Colantoni, Laura

2014-01-01

Although there is consistent evidence that higher levels of processing, such as learning the form-meaning associations specific to the second language (L2), are a source of difficulty in acquiring L2 speech, no study has addressed how these levels interact in shaping L2 perception and production of intonation. We examine the hypothesis of whether…

A Computer Assisted Method to Track Listening Strategies in Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roussel, Stephanie

2011-01-01

Many studies about listening strategies are based on what learners report while listening to an oral message in the second language (Vandergrift, 2003; Graham, 2006). By recording a video of the computer screen while L2 learners (L1 French) were listening to an MP3-track in German, this study uses a novel approach and recent developments in…

Focus-on-Form and EFL Learners' Language Development in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication: Task-Based Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eslami, Zohreh R.; Kung, Wan-Tsai

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the occurrence of incidental focus-on-form and its effect on subsequent second language (L2) production of learners of different dyads in an online task-based language learning context. The participants included Taiwanese learners of English as a foreign language at different proficiency levels, and native…

A Comparison of L2 and L3 Learners' Strategy Use in School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haukås, Åsta

2015-01-01

Research on third-language learning (L3) has documented that plurilingualism is an asset in many respects. Particularly relevant for this study is research showing that L3 learners use more strategies more frequently and efficiently than L2 learners. However, previous studies have mainly concentrated on L3 learners' strategy use at the university…

The Effects of Phonological Awareness of Zulu-Speaking Children Learning to Spell in English: A Study of Cross-Language Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Sousa, Diana Soares; Greenop, Kirston; Fry, Jessica

2010-01-01

Background: Emergent bilingual Zulu-English speaking children in South Africa have spoken but no written proficiency in Zulu (L1), yet are required to learn to spell English (L2) via English-only literacy instruction. Little research exists on emergent bilingual's phonological awareness (PA) and spelling development, with no L1 formal literacy…

The Power of Story in the ESL Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholas, Bonnie J.; Rossiter, Marian J.; Abbott, Marilyn L.

2011-01-01

Although considerable research has examined the use of literature in the second language (L2) classroom, there has been less investigation into the integration of learners' personal stories in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom. Following Wajnryb's (2003) categorizations of story as language learning, genre, and the creation of what…

Pronunciation Teaching Practices in Communicative Second Language Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foote, Jennifer Ann; Trofimovich, Pavel; Collins, Laura; Urzúa, Fernanda Soler

2016-01-01

The objective of this research was to provide longitudinal, corpus-based evidence of actual teacher behaviour with respect to the teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation in a communicative language learning context. The data involved 40 hours of videotaped lessons from three experienced teachers recorded four times at 100-hour increments…

Evaluating the Motivational Impact of CALL Systems: Current Practices and Future Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bodnar, Stephen; Cucchiarini, Catia; Strik, Helmer; van Hout, Roeland

2016-01-01

A major aim of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is to create computer environments that facilitate students' second language (L2) acquisition. To achieve this aim, CALL employs technological innovations to create novel types of language practice. Evaluations of the new practice types serve the important role of distinguishing effective…

Observations in the Computer Room: L2 Output and Learner Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leahy, Christine

2004-01-01

This article draws on second language theory, particularly output theory as defined by Swain (1995), in order to conceptualise observations made in a computer-assisted language learning setting. It investigates second language output and learner behaviour within an electronic role-play setting, based on a subject-specific problem solving task and…

Interdisciplinary Co-operation (Part II of "Language Learning: Individual Needs, Interdisciplinary Co-operation, Bi- and Multilingualism").

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1978

The following papers on interdisciplinary cooperation in second language instruction are included: (1) "Language Teaching: Possibilities for Interdisciplinary Co-operation," by James E. Alatis; (2) "L'insegnamento della letteratura italiana (The Teaching of Italian Literature)," by Ezio Raimondi; (3) "Objective Evaluation and Transparency," by…

The Sociocognitive Imperative of L2 Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toth, Paul D.; Davin, Kristin J.

2016-01-01

As a new century begins for "The Modern Language Journal," we argue that highly effective pedagogy requires viewing language and language learning as both cognitive and social phenomena, and that teachers who seek to truly understand the nature of their responsibilities do not have the luxury of choosing one perspective over the other.…

Un Test contrastif oral pour l'evaluation des difficultes lexicales dans l'apprentissage de l'anglais L2 (An Oral Contrastive Test for the Evaluation of Lexical Difficulties in Learning English as a Second Language).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haeusser, Christiane

1978-01-01

The test described here is a particular type of diagnostic test; it is part of a series of tests designed to explore systematically areas of potential lexical difficulty in the English language for French-speaking students of English. The lexical units are considered under their formal, morphological, syntactic and semantic aspects. The test has…

Toward a Theory of Adaptive Transfer: Expanding Disciplinary Discussions of "Transfer" in Second-Language Writing and Composition Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DePalma, Michael-John; Ringer, Jeffrey M.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we argue that discussions of transfer in L2 writing and composition studies have focused primarily on the reuse of past learning and thus have not adequately accounted for the adaptation of learned writing knowledge in unfamiliar situations. In an effort to expand disciplinary discussions of transfer in L2 writing and composition…

Facilitating Teachers' Reuse of Mobile Assisted Language Learning Resources Using Educational Metadata

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zervas, Panagiotis; Sampson, Demetrios G.

2014-01-01

Mobile assisted language learning (MALL) and open access repositories for language learning resources are both topics that have attracted the interest of researchers and practitioners in technology enhanced learning (TeL). Yet, there is limited experimental evidence about possible factors that can influence and potentially enhance reuse of MALL…

Cross-Language Transfer of Orthographic Processing Skills: A Study of French Children Who Learn English at School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Commissaire, Eva; Duncan, Lynne G.; Casalis, Severine

2011-01-01

This study explores the nature of orthographic processing skills among French-speaking children in Grades 6 and 8 who are learning English at school as a second language (L2). Two aspects of orthographic processing skills are thought to form a convergent construct in monolingual beginning readers: word-specific knowledge (e.g. "rain-rane") and…

Successful Language Learning in a Corporate Setting: The Role of Attribution Theory and Its Relation to Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kálmán, Csaba; Eugenio, Esther Gutierrez

2015-01-01

Attribution theory (Weiner, 1985) and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) have been explored as contributors to L2 motivation (cf. Dörnyei, 2001) but have never been studied quantitatively in concert. In addition, students' attributions for success in learning a foreign language have never been measured through the use of a…

Data-Driven Learning and the Acquisition of Italian Collocations: From Design to Student Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forti, Luciana

2017-01-01

This paper looks at how corpus data was used to design an Italian as an L2 language learning programme and how it was evaluated by students. The study focuses on the acquisition of Italian verb-noun collocations by Chinese native students attending a ten month long Italian language course before enrolling at an Italian university. It describes how…

The Use of Persian in the EFL Classroom--The Case of English Teaching and Learning at Pre-University Level in Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahmoudi, Leila; Amirkhiz, Seyed Yasin Yazdi

2011-01-01

Inspired by the rise of Communicative Language Teaching, some scholars have vehemently rejected any use of L1 in L2 learning classes (e.g., Atkinson, 1987) while others have advocated the use of L1 as an efficient tool to facilitate communication (e.g., Nation, 2003). However, caution has been raised against the excessive use of L1 (Nation, 2001).…

The Psychometric Analysis of the Persian Version of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning of Rebecca L. Oxford

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fazeli, Seyed Hossein

2012-01-01

The current study aims to analyze the psychometric qualities of the Persian adapted version of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) developed by Rebecca L. Oxford (1990). Three instruments were used: Persian adapted version of SILL, a Background Questionnaire, and Test of English as a Foreign Language. Two hundred and thirteen Iranian…

Bilingual Children's Long-Term Outcomes in English as a Second Language: Language Environment Factors Shape Individual Differences in Catching up with Monolinguals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paradis, Johanne; Jia, Ruiting

2017-01-01

Bilingual children experience more variation in their language environment than monolingual children and this impacts their rate of language development with respect to monolinguals. How long it takes for bilingual children learning English as a second language (L2) to display similar abilities to monolingual age-peers has been estimated to be 4-6…

Second language attainment and first language attrition: The case of VOT in immersed Dutch–German late bilinguals

PubMed Central

Stoehr, Antje; Benders, Titia; van Hell, Janet G; Fikkert, Paula

2017-01-01

Speech of late bilinguals has frequently been described in terms of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) from the native language (L1) to the second language (L2), but CLI from the L2 to the L1 has received relatively little attention. This article addresses L2 attainment and L1 attrition in voicing systems through measures of voice onset time (VOT) in two groups of Dutch–German late bilinguals in the Netherlands. One group comprises native speakers of Dutch and the other group comprises native speakers of German, and the two groups further differ in their degree of L2 immersion. The L1-German–L2-Dutch bilinguals (N = 23) are exposed to their L2 at home and outside the home, and the L1-Dutch–L2-German bilinguals (N = 18) are only exposed to their L2 at home. We tested L2 attainment by comparing the bilinguals’ L2 to the other bilinguals’ L1, and L1 attrition by comparing the bilinguals’ L1 to Dutch monolinguals (N = 29) and German monolinguals (N = 27). Our findings indicate that complete L2 immersion may be advantageous in L2 acquisition, but at the same time it may cause L1 phonetic attrition. We discuss how the results match the predictions made by Flege’s Speech Learning Model and explore how far bilinguals’ success in acquiring L2 VOT and maintaining L1 VOT depends on the immersion context, articulatory constraints and the risk of sounding foreign accented. PMID:29081568

Second language attainment and first language attrition: The case of VOT in immersed Dutch-German late bilinguals.

PubMed

Stoehr, Antje; Benders, Titia; van Hell, Janet G; Fikkert, Paula

2017-10-01

Speech of late bilinguals has frequently been described in terms of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) from the native language (L1) to the second language (L2), but CLI from the L2 to the L1 has received relatively little attention. This article addresses L2 attainment and L1 attrition in voicing systems through measures of voice onset time (VOT) in two groups of Dutch-German late bilinguals in the Netherlands. One group comprises native speakers of Dutch and the other group comprises native speakers of German, and the two groups further differ in their degree of L2 immersion. The L1-German-L2-Dutch bilinguals ( N = 23) are exposed to their L2 at home and outside the home, and the L1-Dutch-L2-German bilinguals ( N = 18) are only exposed to their L2 at home. We tested L2 attainment by comparing the bilinguals' L2 to the other bilinguals' L1, and L1 attrition by comparing the bilinguals' L1 to Dutch monolinguals ( N = 29) and German monolinguals ( N = 27). Our findings indicate that complete L2 immersion may be advantageous in L2 acquisition, but at the same time it may cause L1 phonetic attrition. We discuss how the results match the predictions made by Flege's Speech Learning Model and explore how far bilinguals' success in acquiring L2 VOT and maintaining L1 VOT depends on the immersion context, articulatory constraints and the risk of sounding foreign accented.

EFL/ESL Textbook Selection in Korea and East Asia - Relevant Issues and Literature Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meurant, Robert C.

EFL/ESL departments periodically face the problem of textbook selection. Cogent issues are that non-native speakers will use L2 English mainly to communicate with other non-native English speakers, so an American accent is becoming less important. L2 English will mainly be used in computer-mediated communication, hence the importance of L2 Digital Literacy. The convergence of Information Communication Technologies is radically impacting Second Language Acquisition, which is integrating web-hosted Assessment and Learning Management Systems. EFL/ESL textbooks need to be compatible with blended learning, prepare students for a globalized world, and foster autonomous learning. I summarize five papers on EFL/ESL textbook evaluation and selection, and include relevant material for adaptation. Textbooks are major sources of contact with the target language, so selection is an important decision. Educators need to be systematic and objective in their approach, adopting a selection process that is open, transparent, accountable, participatory, informed and rigorous.

The Learning of Chinese Idiomatic Expressions as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Li; Yao, Jiayi

2017-01-01

Chinese idioms are mostly four-character phrases and are called Quadra-syllabic Idiomatic Expressions (QIEs). It has long been reported that learning of Chinese QIEs poses a great challenge for both young L1 speakers and adult L2 learners as the condensed form is often associated with complicated figurative meanings. The present study explored the…

Auditory Processing, Linguistic Prosody Awareness, and Word Reading in Mandarin-Speaking Children Learning English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, Wei-Lun; Jarmulowicz, Linda; Bidelman, Gavin M.

2017-01-01

This study examined language-specific links among auditory processing, linguistic prosody awareness, and Mandarin (L1) and English (L2) word reading in 61 Mandarin-speaking, English-learning children. Three auditory discrimination abilities were measured: pitch contour, pitch interval, and rise time (rate of intensity change at tone onset).…

The Relationship between Ideal L2 Self and Willingness to Communicate inside the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bursali, Nihan; Öz, Hüseyin

2017-01-01

Over the past decades there has been a dramatic increase in academic research on motivation to learn a second or foreign language (L2). The present study tried to investigate the relationship between the ideal L2 self as a motivational variable and willingness to communicate in English (L2 WTC) inside the classroom. Participants were 56 university…

Motivation, strategy, and English as a foreign language vocabulary learning: A structural equation modelling study.

PubMed

Zhang, Yining; Lin, Chin-Hsi; Zhang, Dongbo; Choi, Yunjeong

2017-03-01

In spite of considerable advancements in our understanding of the different factors involved in achieving vocabulary-learning success, the overall pattern and interrelationships of critical factors involved in L2 vocabulary learning - particularly, the mechanisms through which learners regulate their motivation and learning strategies - remain unclear. This study examined L2 vocabulary learning, focusing on the joint influence of different motivational factors and learning strategies on the vocabulary breadth of adolescent learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. The participants were 107 tenth graders (68 females, 39 males) in China. The data were collected via two questionnaires, one assessing students' motivation towards English-vocabulary learning and the other their English vocabulary-learning strategies, along with a test measuring vocabulary breadth. Structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that learning strategy partially mediated the relationship between motivation (i.e., a composite score of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and vocabulary learning. Separate SEM analyses for intrinsic (IM) and extrinsic motivation (EM) revealed that there were significant and positive direct and indirect effects of IM on vocabulary knowledge; and while EM's direct effect over and above that of learning strategies did not achieve significance, its indirect effect was significant and positive. The findings suggest that vocabulary-learning strategies mediate the relationship between motivation and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, IM may have a greater influence on vocabulary learning in foreign-language contexts. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Valutazione del libri di testo per le lingue straniere (Italiano L2) (Evaluation of Foreign Language Textbooks [Italian as a Second Language]).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sciarone, A. G.

1979-01-01

An approach to language textbooks evaluation based on objective criteria and relying on data easily obtained by means of computers, such as word frequency lists, is proposed. The importance of vocabulary acquisition in language learning is emphasized. Accordingly, word selection and rate of repetition are seen as central evaluation criteria. (MES)

MSL in the Digital Ages: Effects and Effectiveness of Computer-Mediated Intervention for FL Learners with Dyslexia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfenninger, Simone E.

2015-01-01

The longitudinal intervention study reported here is the first to investigate the efficiency of computer learning software specifically designed for dyslexic Swiss German learners of Standard German as a second language (L2) and English as a third language (L3). A total of 40 subjects (20 of them dyslexics and 20 of them nondyslexics; 10 students…

On the Relationship between Iranian L2 Teachers' Pedagogical Beliefs and L2 Learners' Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharajabian, Maryam; Hashemian, Mahmood

2015-01-01

The present study employed a descriptive survey design to investigate L2 learners' attitudes towards language learning, and the possible effects of teachers' beliefs on learners' attitudes. Participants were chosen from among 2 groups: Twenty EFL teachers were asked to take part in this study and 80 from a pool of 213 learners at 2 language…

Lexical and Grammatical Associations in Sequential Bilingual Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohnert, Kathryn; Kan, Pui Fong; Conboy, Barbara T.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The authors investigated potential relationships between traditional linguistic domains (words, grammar) in the first (L1) and second (L2) languages of young sequential bilingual preschool children. Method: Participants were 19 children, ages 2;11 (years;months) to 5;2 (M = 4;3) who began learning Hmong as the L1 from birth and English as…

Successful L3 Learning in a Study Abroad Context: A Personal Narrative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Róg, Tomasz

2017-01-01

Studying abroad may seem like an unparalleled opportunity to learn a foreign language. Massive exposure to the language, chances for interaction with native speakers, and cultural immersion appear to create excellent conditions for language learning. Yet, most available research indicates that study abroad (SA) participants rarely achieve…

Second-language learning effects on automaticity of speech processing of Japanese phonetic contrasts: An MEG study.

PubMed

Hisagi, Miwako; Shafer, Valerie L; Miyagawa, Shigeru; Kotek, Hadas; Sugawara, Ayaka; Pantazis, Dimitrios

2016-12-01

We examined discrimination of a second-language (L2) vowel duration contrast in English learners of Japanese (JP) with different amounts of experience using the magnetoencephalography mismatch field (MMF) component. Twelve L2 learners were tested before and after a second semester of college-level JP; half attended a regular rate course and half an accelerated course with more hours per week. Results showed no significant change in MMF for either the regular or accelerated learning group from beginning to end of the course. We also compared these groups against nine L2 learners who had completed four semesters of college-level JP. These 4-semester learners did not significantly differ from 2-semester learners, in that only a difference in hemisphere activation (interacting with time) between the two groups approached significance. These findings suggest that targeted training of L2 phonology may be necessary to allow for changes in processing of L2 speech contrasts at an early, automatic level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Overall Relationships between the Use of English Language Learning Strategies and Personality Traits among the Female University Level Learners of English Language as a University Major

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fazeli, Seyed Hossein

2012-01-01

The current study aims to explore the overall relationships between use of English language learning strategies and personality traits of the female university level learners of English language as a university major. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) of Rebecca L. Oxfords, A Background…

Developing Interactional Awareness in the Second Language Classroom through Teacher Self-Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Steve

2003-01-01

This paper proposes a process model of reflective practice for second language teachers, designed to facilitate a closer understanding of language use and interactive decision-making. The L2 classroom is portrayed as a dynamic and complex series of inter-related contexts, in which interaction is central to teaching and learning. An understanding…

Willingness to Communicate in English as a Second Language: A Case Study of Pakistani Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bukhari, Syeda Farzana; Cheng, Xiaoguang; Khan, Salman Ali

2015-01-01

Willingness to communicate (WTC) construct plays an important role in second language (L2) teaching and learning. Almost any second language learner is likely to respond to a direct question, but many will not continue or initiate communication. The present study investigates Pakistani undergraduate students' perception of their willingness to…

Variation in Second Language Learners' Strategies among Non-Native English Speakers from Three Language/Culture Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebsworth, Miriam Eisenstein; Tang, Frank Lixing; Razavi, Nikta; Aiello, Jacqueline

2014-01-01

This study explored the effects of cultural and linguistic background, L2 proficiency, and gender on language learning strategies for 263 college-level learners from Chinese, Russian, and Latino backgrounds. Data based on the SILL (Oxford, 2001) revealed that Russian students used significantly more strategies than the Chinese students in three…

CLIL and Non-CLIL Students' Beliefs about Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sylvén, Liss Kerstin

2015-01-01

This article presents the findings of an innovative qualitative study involving one CLIL (content and language integrated learning) student and one student in a parallel, non-CLIL strand at high school level in Sweden. The aim of the study was to investigate differences in students' beliefs about language. The success of second (L2) and foreign…

Language Awareness and Comprehension through Puns among ESL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucas, Teresa

2005-01-01

The focus in studies of language awareness in L2 learning generally has been on the efficacy of teacher-generated attention to discrete elements of the forms of language through the manipulation of texts or corrective feedback. The study reported in this paper engaged learners in a collaborative task that involved learner-generated attention to…

Lexical Language-Related Episodes in Pair and Small Group Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Maria Del Pilar Garcia; Zeitler, Nora

2017-01-01

The present study investigates whether learner set up in interaction, namely in pairs or small groups, influences the frequency and outcome of lexical language-related episodes (LREs) and L2 vocabulary learning. Thirty Spanish English as a foreign language (EFL) university learners took part in the study. They worked in four groups and seven pairs…

A Sociolinguistic and Sociocultural Approach to Attitudinal Dispositions of Graduated Students toward the Business Japanese Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Özsen, Tolga; Özbek, Aydin

2016-01-01

Effective usage of nonverbal and verbal communication in Japanese such as gestures, mimics, silence and employing grammatical or lexical honorifics plays a significant role in determining the success of foreign language learners in obtaining their intended employment. This study examines the second language (L2) learning of politeness and social…

Trans/Languaging and the Triadic Dialogue in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Angel M. Y.; Lo, Yuen Yi

2017-01-01

There has been a rich literature on the role of language in learning and on its role in knowledge (co-)construction in the science classroom. This literature, rooted in social semiotics theories and sociocultural theories, discussed research conducted largely in contexts where students are learning content in their first language (L1). In this…

Lexical and semantic representations in the acquisition of L2 cognate and non-cognate words: evidence from two learning methods in children.

PubMed

Comesaña, Montserrat; Soares, Ana Paula; Sánchez-Casas, Rosa; Lima, Cátia

2012-08-01

How bilinguals represent words in two languages and which mechanisms are responsible for second language acquisition are important questions in the bilingual and vocabulary acquisition literature. This study aims to analyse the effect of two learning methods (picture- vs. word-based method) and two types of words (cognates and non-cognates) in early stages of children's L2 acquisition. Forty-eight native speakers of European Portuguese, all sixth graders (mean age = 10.87 years; SD= 0.85), participated in the study. None of them had prior knowledge of Basque (the L2 in this study). After a learning phase in which L2 words were learned either by a picture- or a word-based method, children were tested in a backward-word translation recognition task at two times (immediately vs. one week later). Results showed that the participants made more errors when rejecting semantically related than semantically unrelated words as correct translations (semantic interference effect). The magnitude of this effect was higher in the delayed test condition regardless of the learning method. Moreover, the overall performance of participants from the word-based method was better than the performance of participants from the picture-word method. Results were discussed concerning the most significant bilingual lexical processing models. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

On the Accessibility of Phonological, Orthographic, and Semantic Aspects of Second Language Vocabulary Learning and Their Relationship with Spatial and Linguistic Intelligences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zarei, Abbas Ali; Aleali, Maryam

2015-01-01

The present study was an attempt to investigate the differences in the accessibility of phonological, semantic, and orthographic aspects of words in L2 vocabulary learning. For this purpose, a sample of 119 Iranian intermediate level EFL students in a private language institute in Karaj was selected. All of the participants received the same…

Pronunciation in Foreign Language: How to Train? Effects of Different Kinds of Training in Perception and Production of the Italian Consonant / ?/ by Adult German Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macedonia, Manuela

2014-01-01

This study investigates the role of perception and sensory motor learning on speech production in L2. Compared to natural language learning, acoustic input in formal adult instruction is deprived of multiple sensory motor cues and lacks the imitation component. Consequently, it is possible that inaccurate pronunciation results from training.…

Italian Children with Dyslexia Are Also Poor in Reading English Words, but Accurate in Reading English Pseudowords

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palladino, Paola; Bellagamba, Isabella; Ferrari, Marcella; Cornoldi, Cesare

2013-01-01

It has been argued that children with dyslexia (DC) are poor at learning a foreign language (L2) and, in particular, reading foreign words. This assumption is so general that an Italian law (law 170, October, 2010) has established that DC may be completely exempted from foreign language learning and, in any case, should not be engaged in tuition…

"I Thought That When I Was in Germany, I Would Speak Just German": Language Learning and Desire in Twenty-First Century Study Abroad

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGregor, Janice

2016-01-01

We live in a time of unmatched global mobility and correspondingly, the number of U.S.-American students studying abroad continues to increase. For years now, applied linguists have displayed an increased interest in study abroad students' perspectives and desires about second language (L2) learning and use while abroad. Yet few studies have…

Matching Vocabulary Learning Process with Learning Outcome in L2 Academic Writing: An Exploratory Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Qing

2013-01-01

This exploratory case study of two undergraduates links vocabulary learning approaches with lexical quality measured in academic writing. Employing an array of qualitative data, it is shown that in a "semi-language-rich" learning context, Chinese learners may dispense with rote learning and engage in a more natural learning approach in which…

Lexical representation of novel L2 contrasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayes-Harb, Rachel; Masuda, Kyoko

2005-04-01

There is much interest among psychologists and linguists in the influence of the native language sound system on the acquisition of second languages (Best, 1995; Flege, 1995). Most studies of second language (L2) speech focus on how learners perceive and produce L2 sounds, but we know of only two that have considered how novel sound contrasts are encoded in learners' lexical representations of L2 words (Pallier et al., 2001; Ota et al., 2002). In this study we investigated how native speakers of English encode Japanese consonant quantity contrasts in their developing Japanese lexicons at different stages of acquisition (Japanese contrasts singleton versus geminate consonants but English does not). Monolingual English speakers, native English speakers learning Japanese for one year, and native speakers of Japanese were taught a set of Japanese nonwords containing singleton and geminate consonants. Subjects then performed memory tasks eliciting perception and production data to determine whether they encoded the Japanese consonant quantity contrast lexically. Overall accuracy in these tasks was a function of Japanese language experience, and acoustic analysis of the production data revealed non-native-like patterns of differentiation of singleton and geminate consonants among the L2 learners of Japanese. Implications for theories of L2 speech are discussed.

A comparison of sensory-motor activity during speech in first and second languages.

PubMed

Simmonds, Anna J; Wise, Richard J S; Dhanjal, Novraj S; Leech, Robert

2011-07-01

A foreign language (L2) learned after childhood results in an accent. This functional neuroimaging study investigated speech in L2 as a sensory-motor skill. The hypothesis was that there would be an altered response in auditory and somatosensory association cortex, specifically the planum temporale and parietal operculum, respectively, when speaking in L2 relative to L1, independent of rate of speaking. These regions were selected for three reasons. First, an influential computational model proposes that these cortices integrate predictive feedforward and postarticulatory sensory feedback signals during articulation. Second, these adjacent regions (known as Spt) have been identified as a "sensory-motor interface" for speech production. Third, probabilistic anatomical atlases exist for these regions, to ensure the analyses are confined to sensory-motor differences between L2 and L1. The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and participants produced connected overt speech. The first hypothesis was that there would be greater activity in the planum temporale and the parietal operculum when subjects spoke in L2 compared with L1, one interpretation being that there is less efficient postarticulatory sensory monitoring when speaking in the less familiar L2. The second hypothesis was that this effect would be observed in both cerebral hemispheres. Although Spt is considered to be left-lateralized, this is based on studies of covert speech, whereas overt speech is accompanied by sensory feedback to bilateral auditory and somatosensory cortices. Both hypotheses were confirmed by the results. These findings provide the basis for future investigations of sensory-motor aspects of language learning using serial fMRI studies.

When EFL Teachers Perform L2 and L1 in the Classroom, What Happens to Their Sense of Self?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forman, Ross

2015-01-01

We often hear from speakers of L2 that they "feel different" when communicating through the medium of an additional language. While there has been much exploration of L2-­mediated identity development in naturalistic settings, there is very little conducted within the instructed learning environment of EFL. The present study explores how…

Blended Learning: An Evolving Praxis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fogal, Gary G.; Graham, Floyd H., III.; Lavigne, Anthony G.

2014-01-01

TED (Technology Entertainment Design), a collection of regularly updated talks, offers a web-based platform that is easily accessible. This platform affords language learners across multiple proficiency levels an opportunity to develop autonomy and critical thinking skills alongside their second language (L2) development. With an international…

Supporting Student Differences in Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary Learning with Multimedia Annotations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Linda C.

2009-01-01

This article describes how effectively multimedia learning environments can assist second language (L2) students of different spatial and verbal abilities with listening comprehension and vocabulary learning. In particular, it explores how written and pictorial annotations interacted with high/low spatial and verbal ability learners and thus…

When the Second Language Takes the Lead: Neurocognitive Processing Changes in the First Language of Adult Attriters

PubMed Central

Kasparian, Kristina; Steinhauer, Karsten

2017-01-01

Although research on multilingualism has revealed continued neuroplasticity for language-learning beyond what was previously expected, it remains controversial whether and to what extent a second language (L2) acquired in adulthood may induce changes in the neurocognitive processing of a first language (L1). First language (L1) attrition in adulthood offers new insight on neuroplasticity and the factors that modulate neurocognitive responses to language. To date, investigations of the neurocognitive correlates of L1 attrition and of factors influencing these mechanisms are still scarce. Moreover, most event-related-potential (ERP) studies of second language processing have focused on L1 influence on the L2, while cross-linguistic influence in the reverse direction has been underexplored. Using ERPs, we examined the real-time processing of Italian relative-clauses in 24 Italian-English adult migrants with predominant use of English since immigration and reporting attrition of their native-Italian (Attriters), compared to 30 non-attriting monolinguals in Italy (Controls). Our results showed that Attriters differed from Controls in their acceptability judgment ratings and ERP responses when relative clause constructions were ungrammatical in English, though grammatical in Italian. Controls’ ERP responses to unpreferred sentence constructions were consistent with garden path effects typically observed in the literature for these complex sentences. In contrast, due to L2-English influence, Attriters were less sensitive to semantic cues than to word-order preferences, and processed permissible Italian sentences as outright morphosyntactic violations. Key factors modulating processing differences within Attriters were the degree of maintained L1 exposure, length of residence in the L2 environment and L2 proficiency – with higher levels of L2 immersion and proficiency associated with increased L2 influence on the L1. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that high levels of L2 proficiency and exposure may render a grammatical sentence in one’s native language ungrammatical. These group differences strongly point to distinct processing strategies and provide evidence that even a “stabilized” L1 grammar is subject to change after a prolonged period of L2 immersion and reduced L1 use, especially in linguistic areas promoting cross-linguistic influence. PMID:28424634

L1 and L2 Picture Naming in Mandarin-English Bilinguals: A Test of Bilingual Dual Coding Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jared, Debra; Poh, Rebecca Pei Yun; Paivio, Allan

2013-01-01

This study examined the nature of bilinguals' conceptual representations and the links from these representations to words in L1 and L2. Specifically, we tested an assumption of the Bilingual Dual Coding Theory that conceptual representations include image representations, and that learning two languages in separate contexts can result in…

L'acquisition d'une language seconde: Quelques developpements theoriques recents (Second Language Acquisition: Some Recent Theoretical Developments).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Py, Bernard, Ed.

1994-01-01

This collection of articles on second language learning includes: "Action, langage et discours. Les fondements d'une psychologie du langage" ("Action, Language, and Discourse. Foundations of a Psychology of Language") (Jean-Paul Bronckart); "Contextes socio-culturels et appropriation des languages secondes: l'apprentissage en milieu social et la…

Katimavik Participant's Manual, Book IV, Second Language Learning = Katimavik manuel du participant, cahier IV, l'apprentissage de la langue seconde. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crelinsten, Michael, Ed.

The second language (French or English) learning activity portion of Katimavik, a nine-month volunteer community service and experiential learning program for 17 to 21-year-old Canadians, provides an opportunity for living in a French language environment with other people who speak French, or, for participants whose native language is French, to…

The Contextual Motivational Conditions for L2 Pedagogy: A Case Study from the Arabian Gulf

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shah, Muhammad Athar

2017-01-01

This article reports on a mixed-method research study into situated motivational conditions available for the English language (L2) pedagogy at a university in Saudi Arabia. The current study evaluated the L2 Learning Experience of the students by focusing on the key contextual factors that included teachers' pedagogical practices, group dynamics…

The Effects of L2 Proficiency Differences in Pairs on Idea Units in a Collaborative Text Reconstruction Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shin, Sun-Young; Lidster, Ryan; Sabraw, Stacy; Yeager, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Collaborative text reconstruction tasks such as dictogloss have been suggested as effective second language (L2) learning tasks that promote meaningful interaction between learners and their awareness of L2 target grammatical structures. However, it should be noted that the effect of pair interaction on the final product may differ depending on…

Explicit Knowledge and Processes from a Usage-Based Perspective: The Developmental Trajectory of an Instructed L2 Learner

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roehr-Brackin, Karen

2014-01-01

This article considers explicit knowledge and processes in second language (L2) learning from a usage-based theoretical perspective. It reports on the long-term development of a single instructed adult learner's use of two L2 constructions, the German Perfekt of "gehen" ("go," "walk") and "fahren"…

Quantitative and qualitative differences in the lexical knowledge of monolingual and bilingual children on the LITMUS-CLT task.

PubMed

Altman, Carmit; Goldstein, Tamara; Armon-Lotem, Sharon

2017-01-01

While bilingual children follow the same milestones of language acquisition as monolingual children do in learning the syntactic patterns of their second language (L2), their vocabulary size in L2 often lags behind compared to monolinguals. The present study explores the comprehension and production of nouns and verbs in Hebrew, by two groups of 5- to 6-year olds with typical language development: monolingual Hebrew speakers (N = 26), and Russian-Hebrew bilinguals (N = 27). Analyses not only show quantitative gaps between comprehension and production and between nouns and verbs, with a bilingual effect in both, but also a qualitative difference between monolinguals and bilinguals in their production errors: monolinguals' errors reveal knowledge of the language rules despite temporary access difficulties, while bilinguals' errors reflect gaps in their knowledge of Hebrew (L2). The nature of Hebrew as a Semitic language allows one to explore this qualitative difference in the semantic and morphological level.

Ce que mon enfant apprend a l'ecole. Manuel a l'intention des parents, 2003-2004: Deuxieme annee (What My Child Learns in School. Curriculum Handbook for Parents, 2003-2004: Grade 2).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Learning, Edmonton.

Noting that parents are vital partners in the educational system, this French-language handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 2 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Learning "Programs of Study: Elementary Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are…

Investigating the Affective Learning in a 3D Virtual Learning Environment: The Case Study of the Chatterdale Mystery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molka-Danielsen, Judith; Hadjistassou, Stella; Messl-Egghart, Gerhilde

2016-01-01

This research is motivated by the emergence of virtual technologies and their potential as engaging pedagogical tools for facilitating comprehension, interactions and collaborations for learning; and in particular as applied to learning second languages (L2). This paper provides a descriptive analysis of a case study that examines affective…

Variation in Second Language Learners' Strategies among Non-Native English Speakers from Three Language/Culture Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebsworth, Miriam Eisenstein; Tang, Frank Lixing; Razavi, Nikta; Aiello, Jacqueline

2014-01-01

This study explored the effects of cultural and linguistic background, L2 proficiency, and gender on language learning strategies for 263 college-level learners from Chinese, Russian, and Latino backgrounds. Data based on the SILL (Oxford, 2001) revealed that Russian students used significantly more strategies than the Chinese students in three…

An Event-Related Potential (ERP) Investigation of Filler-Gap Processing in Native and Second Language Speakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dallas, Andrea; DeDe, Gayle; Nicol, Janet

2013-01-01

The current study employed a neuro-imaging technique, Event-Related Potentials (ERP), to investigate real-time processing of sentences containing filler-gap dependencies by late-learning speakers of English as a second language (L2) with a Chinese native language background. An individual differences approach was also taken to examine the role of…

Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency: Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA. Language Learning & Language Teaching. Volume 32

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Housen, Alex, Ed.; Kuiken, Folkert, Ed.; Vedder, Ineke, Ed.

2012-01-01

Research into complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) as basic dimensions of second language performance, proficiency and development has received increased attention in SLA. However, the larger picture in this field of research is often obscured by the breadth of scope, multiple objectives and lack of clarity as to how complexity, accuracy and…

Roles of Position, Stress, and Proficiency in L2 Children's Spelling: A Developmental Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Su Chin; Chen, Shu Hui

2011-01-01

This study investigated the roles of phoneme position, stress, and proficiency in L2 spelling development by Taiwanese students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL), an alphabetic writing system typologically different from the learners' L1 logographic system. Structured nonword spelling tests were administered to EFL sixth-graders with…