The Role of Individual Differences in the Development of Listening Comprehension in the Early Stages of Language Learning

2016 ◽  
pp. 263-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Bacsa ◽  
Csaba Csíkos
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Early Stages

scholarly journals Studying individual differences in the social environment to better understand language learning and processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
The Social

AbstractPeople learn language from their social environment. Therefore, individual differences in the input that their social environment provides could influence their linguistic performance. Nevertheless, investigation of the role of individual differences in input on performance has been mostly restricted to first and second language acquisition. In this paper I argue that individual differences in input can influence linguistic performance even in adult native speakers. Specifically, differences in input can affect performance by influencing people’s knowledgebase, by modulating their processing manner, and by shaping expectations. Therefore, studying the role that individual differences in input play can improve our understanding of how language is learned, processed and represented.

Long-term memory predictors of adult language learning at the interface between syntactic form and meaning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Pili-Moss
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Thematic Role ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Early Stages

Recent neurocognitive models of second language learning have posited specific roles for declarative and procedural memory in the processing of novel linguistic stimuli. Pursuing this line of investigation, the present study examined the role of declarative and procedural memory abilities in the early stages of adult comprehension of sentences in a miniature language with natural language characteristics (BrocantoJ). Thirty-six native Italian young adults were aurally exposed to BrocantoJ in the context of a computer game over three sessions on consecutive days. Following vocabulary training and passive exposure, participants were asked to perform game moves described by aural sentences in the language. Game trials differed with respect to the information the visual context offered. In part of the trials processing of relationships between grammatical properties of the language (word order and morphological case marking) and noun semantics (thematic role) was necessary in order reach an accurate outcome, whereas in others nongrammatical contextual cues were sufficient. Declarative and procedural learning abilities were respectively indexed by visual and verbal declarative memory measures and by a measure of visual implicit sequence learning. Overall, the results indicated a substantial role of declarative learning ability in the early stages of sentence comprehension, thus confirming theoretical predictions and the findings of previous similar studies in miniature artificial language paradigms. However, for trials that specifically probed the learning of relationships between morphosyntax and semantics, a positive interaction between declarative and procedural learning ability also emerged, indicating the cooperative engagement of both types of learning abilities in the processing of relationships between ruled-based grammar and interpretation in the early stages of exposure to a new language in adults.

FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL L2 LEARNING

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Vanessa De Wilde ◽  
Marc Brysbaert ◽  
June Eyckmans
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
And Gender ◽  
French Words ◽  
Out Of School

Abstract A second language can be learned inside and outside the classroom. In this study we investigated the English and French vocabulary knowledge of 110 Dutch-speaking children (age 10–12), who received 100 hours of instruction in French, whereas their contact with English came from out-of-school exposure only. We examined the role of individual differences (out-of-school exposure and gender) and word-related variables (cognateness, frequency, and language). The children completed a receptive vocabulary test in English and French and filled in a questionnaire. The results showed that the children had a larger vocabulary knowledge in English than in French, illustrating the power of contextual language learning. Word learning was influenced by the amount of exposure, word frequency, and cognateness. Additionally, English words were easier to learn than French words for the participants we tested. Our results point to the need for out-of-school exposure to supplement language learning in the classroom.

scholarly journals Polish Listening SPAN: A new tool for measuring verbal working memory

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Zychowicz ◽  
Adriana Biedroń ◽  
Mirosław Pawlak
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Factors Influencing

Individual differences in second language acquisition (SLA) encompass differences in working memory capacity, which is believed to be one of the most crucial factors influencing language learning. However, in Poland research on the role of working memory in SLA is scarce due to a lack of proper Polish instruments for measuring this construct. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the process of construction and validation of the Polish Listening Span (PLSPAN) as a tool intended to measure verbal working memory of adults. The article presents the requisite theoretical background as well as the information about the PLSPAN, that is, the structure of the test, the scoring procedures and the steps taken with the aim of validating it.

scholarly journals A longitudinal study on language learning vocabulary in L2 Spanish

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Pardo-Ballester
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Hybrid Courses ◽  
Input Modality ◽  
Blended Courses ◽  
Test Formats ◽  
Listening Tests ◽  
Video Format

Some learners perform better on listening tests that include visual input instead of only audio (Wagner, 2008) while others have found no difference in the performance of participants in the two test formats (Batty, 2015). These mixed results make it necessary to examine the role of using audio and video in listening comprehension (LC). This study examines the effect of input modality on the learning of new vocabulary with intermediate L2 learners. The study gave four versions of the same text: a baseline in audio format, a baseline in video format, a redundancy-enhanced version in audio format and a redundancy-enhanced version in video format. Three hundred sixty two intermediate learners of Spanish participated in this study over a period of three consecutive semesters. Results about input modality indicated audio or video does not seem to matter in responding correctly to the vocabulary items. However, the redundancy-enhanced version in audio and video formats helped learners to respond correctly to vocabulary items when enrolled in face2face-blended courses compared to online-hybrid courses.

scholarly journals Properties of vocalization- and gesture-combinations in the transition to first words

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 890-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVA MURILLO ◽  
ALMUDENA CAPILLA
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Acoustic Parameters ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
First Words ◽  
Structured Play

ABSTRACTGestures and vocal elements interact from the early stages of language development, but the role of this interaction in the language learning process is not yet completely understood. The aim of this study is to explore gestural accompaniment's influence on the acoustic properties of vocalizations in the transition to first words. Eleven Spanish children aged 0;9 to 1;3 were observed longitudinally in a semi-structured play situation with an adult. Vocalizations were analyzed using several acoustic parameters based on those described by Olleret al.(2010). Results indicate that declarative vocalizations have fewer protosyllables than imperative ones, but only when they are produced with a gesture. Protosyllables duration andf(0) are more similar to those of mature speech when produced with pointing and declarative function than when produced with reaching gestures and imperative purposes. The proportion of canonical syllables produced increases with age, but only when combined with a gesture.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING: EFFECTS OF APTITUDE, INTELLIGENCE, AND MOTIVATION.Steve Cornwell and Peter Robinson (Eds.). Tokyo: Aoyama Gakuin University, 2000. Pp. ii + 199. $29.00 paper.

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-585
Author(s):  
Zoltán Dörnyei
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Japanese Student

This edited volume contains the proceedings of a conference on the role of individual differences in instructed SLA held at Aoyama Gakuin University in 1999. It includes 11 studies as well as an introductory chapter written by the editors. The first two papers, by Yamashiro and McLaughlin and by Hiser, Croker, Kenudson, and Stribling, present multivariate statistical analyses to examine the interrelationship between motivation, second language (L2) proficiency, and other learner characteristics in Japanese student samples. Although both studies offer unique insights into the characteristics of their target population, the authors also call for methodological improvements that would go beyond the use of self-report questionnaires. Sharing a similar interest in improving motivation research methodology, another study by Hsiao explicitly sets out to test the construct validity of the most well known motivation test—Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery—in Taiwan, which is a very different learning environment from Canada, where the test was originally developed. Özek and Williams's paper is also of interest in this respect because in their study a questionnaire survey conducted in Turkey was complemented with qualitative interviews, thereby resulting in a particularly rich database.

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