scholarly journals ‘The moustache’ returns: referential metonymy acquisition in adult learners of English as an additional language (EAL)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
JOSEPHINE BOWERMAN ◽  
INGRID LOSSIUS FALKUM ◽  
NAUSICAA POUSCOULOUS
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Japanese Adult ◽  
L1 Acquisition

abstract Referential metonymy, e.g. ‘the moustache (= man with a moustache) sits down first’, appears early in L1 acquisition (Falkum, Recasens & Clark, 2017). Yet how does it emerge in pragmatically mature but linguistically developing adult L2 learners? We used one comprehension and two production tasks, based on Falkum and colleagues (2017), to investigate metonymy abilities in 34 Japanese adult learners of English as an additional language (EAL) and a control group of 31 native English speakers. We also examined how time constraints and exposure to examples of referential metonymy affected production. In the comprehension task, both EAL-learner and native-speaker participants chose metonymic readings at above chance levels. In both production tasks, all participants produced innovative metonyms. Additionally, the findings indicate that, in L2, exposure to examples dramatically increases metonymy production, while time pressure decreases it. The results suggest that participants can both comprehend and produce novel metonyms in L2, with a possible explicitness vs. production costs trade-off.

F0 patterns of tone versus non-tone languages: The case of Vietnamese speakers of English

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-121
Author(s):  
Anh-Thư T Nguyễn
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tone Language ◽  
Australian English ◽  
Vietnamese Speakers

This article reports a study that aimed to find out whether F0 patterns of L2 English produced by Vietnamese speakers are different to those of native English speakers, whether the non-native F0 patterns are transferred from Vietnamese, and to what extent English and Vietnamese F0 profiles differ. Ten native/L1 Australian English speakers, 20 Vietnamese speakers of English (10 beginners and 10 advanced speakers) and a control group of four native/L1 Vietnamese speakers were included. The F0 profiles (F0 maximum, F0 minimum, F0 range, F0 mean and F0 standard deviation at three levels: utterance, syllable and phoneme) were obtained from a set of 10 English sentences and 20 Vietnamese utterances. The results showed that F0 patterns of beginning-level L2 English are systematically different from those of native English speakers, which can be transferred from their native tone language. Nevertheless, the advanced speakers’ ability to produce native-like F0 patterns indicates the effect of language learning experience on prosodic acquisition. The data and results of this study contribute to the understanding of the process and nature of second language acquisition.

Second language learning of phonological alternations with and without orthographic input: Evidence from the acquisition of a German-like voicing alternation

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-545
Author(s):  
Shannon L. Barrios ◽  
Rachel Hayes-Harb
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Naming Test

AbstractWhile a growing body of research investigates the influence of orthographic input on the acquisition of second language (L2) segmental contrasts, few studies have examined its influence on the acquisition of L2 phonological processes. Hayes-Harb, Brown, and Smith (2018) showed that exposure to words’ written forms caused native English speakers to misremember the voicing of final obstruents in German-like words exemplifying voicing neutralization. However, they did not examine participants’ acquisition of the final devoicing process. To address this gap, we conducted two experiments wherein native English speakers (assigned to Orthography or No Orthography groups) learned German-like words in suffixed and unsuffixed forms, and later completed a picture naming test. Experiment 1 investigated learners’ knowledge of the surface voicing of obstruents in both final and nonfinal position, and revealed that while all participants produced underlyingly voiced obstruents as voiceless more often in final than nonfinal position, the difference was only significant for No Orthography participants. Experiment 2 investigated participants’ ability to apply the devoicing process to new words, and provided no evidence of generalization. Together these findings shed light on the acquisition of final devoicing by naïve adult learners, as well as the influence of orthographic input in the acquisition of a phonological alternation.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Morphological Knowledge on Lexical Acquisition and Processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Baraa A. Rajab
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Group I ◽  
The Impact

The mastery of morphological structure and vocabulary acquisition are significantly associated. However, the association between the abilities of L2 learners to manipulate morphological elements and develop vocabulary size with native Arabic speakers needs to be assessed. This study assesses the impact of morphological knowledge on lexical acquisition and processing among English-speaking learners of Arabic. The study focused on gender (masculine/feminine) and the complete number system (singular/dual/plural) by native English speakers. The error rates and error patterns were analysed carefully to provide insight into the learner’s interlanguage grammar through the experiment. The experimental study design was used. The study sample included 40 of L2 Arabic speakers from Arabic language courses at major universities in Northern Virginia and Maryland. These were native English speakers with no exposure to Arabic before their enrolment in the university. The sample was divided into three groups (Group I, individual in the second year of Arabic program, Group II, individual in 3rd or 4th year of the program, and Group III control group, five native speakers of Arabic). Different tasks were presented to the groups, where PsychoPy software was used for task presentation. Audacity Version 2.0 was audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded by the experimenter. The production and comprehension test revealed that morphological problems are prevalent at the advanced proficiency level. It showed the role of animacy for the morphological variability and higher agreement accuracy for human targets. It concluded that morphological variability in L2 Arabic remains a persistent problem even at advanced levels of proficiency, extending to comprehension.

The Production of New and Similar Vowels by Adult German Learners of English

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ocke-Schwen Bohn ◽  
James Emil Flege
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
L1 English ◽  
Positive Effect

The study reported in this paper examined the effect of second language (L2) experience on the production of L2 vowels for which acoustic counterparts are either present or absent in the first language (L1). The hypothesis being tested was that amount of L2 experience would not affect L1 German speakers' production of the “similar” English vowels /i, l, ∈/, whereas English language experience would enable L1 Germans to produce an English-like /æ/, which has no counterpart in German. The predictions were tested in two experiments that compared the production of English /i, l, ∈, æ/ by two groups of L1 German speakers differing in English language experience and an L1 English control group. An acoustic experiment compared the three groups for spectral and temporal characteristics of the English vowels produced in /bVt/ words. The same tokens were assessed for intelligibility in a labeling experiment. The results of both experiments were largely consistent with the hypothesis. The experienced L2 speakers did not produce the similar English vowels /i, l, ∈/ more intelligibly than the inexperienced L2 speakers, not did experience have a positive effect on approximating the English acoustic norms for these similar vowels. The intelligibility results for the new vowel /æ/ did not clearly support the model. However, the acoustic comparisons showed that the experienced but not the inexperienced L2 speakers produced the new vowel /æ/ in much the same way as the native English speakers.

Second language acquisition and Binding Principle B: child/adult differences

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia White
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Processing Capacity ◽  
Knowledge Processing ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge ◽  
Value Judgement

L1 acquirers experience considerable delays in mastering properties related to Binding Principle B, performing inaccurately with respect to possible antecedents for pronouns well after the age of 6. Most accounts attribute this delay to performance phenomena (lack of pragmatic knowledge, processing capacity, etc.). In this article, I show that adult learners do not exhibit the same kinds of problems with Principle B. Intermediate-level adult learners of English as a second language (French and Japanese speakers), as well as a native-speaker control group, were tested using a truth value judgement task to determine their interpretations of pronouns. The L2 learners performed like native speakers in disallowing local antecedents for pronouns, suggesting that Principle B is not problematic in adult acquisition, in contrast to child acquisition.

Listening with an attitude: A model of native-speaker comprehension of non-native speakers in the United States

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHANIE LINDEMANN
Keyword(s):  
Direct Relationship ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
English Speaker ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Poor Comprehension ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates whether there is a relationship between negative attitudes toward non-native speakers and poor comprehension of those speakers. Twelve native English speakers whose attitudes toward Koreans had been assessed were asked to complete an interactional map task paired with native Korean speakers. In the task, some but not all of those who had been assessed as having negative attitudes toward Koreans were found to use either strategies that were described as problematizing their partners' utterances, or strategies that were described as avoidance. All participants completed the map task reasonably successfully except where the native English speaker used avoidance strategies, suggesting that the relationship between attitude and comprehension is mediated by the native speaker's choice of strategies. However, there appeared to be a direct relationship between attitude and perceived success of interactions, which may ultimately have the same consequences for interactants as if the relationship were between attitude and actual success.

scholarly journals Improving Speaker’s Use of Segmental and Suprasegmental Features of L2 Speech

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 203
Author(s):  
Azza A. M. Abdelrahim
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Collaborative Reflection ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
L2 Phonology ◽  
Suprasegmental Features ◽  
L1 Acquisition ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Time Of Instruction

Unlike L1 acquisition, which is based on automatic acquisition, L2 adult learners’ acquisition of English phonology is based on mental reflection and processing of information. There is a limited investigation of L2 phonology research exploring the contribution of the cognitive/theoretical part of pronunciation training. The study reports on the use of online collaborative reflection for improving students’ use of English segmental and suprasegmental features of L2 speech. Ninety participants at the tertiary level at Tabuk university in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia were divided into two groups which used an online instruction. The only difference between the instruction of the experimental group and the control group is that the experimental group spent part of the time of instruction on collaborative reflection, while the control group spent this time on routine activities without using collaborative reflection (but all other activities were the same). The results showed that the online collaborative reflection improved the pronunciation of the experimental group. The learners learned the pronunciation of the major segmentals (e.g., vowels, consonants, diphthongs), minor segmentals (e.g., the way of articulation), and the suprasegmental features (e.g., intonation, stress). The results also showed that students perceived the online collaborative reflection as a helpful means in improving their use of L2 English phonology features. The findings have important implications and contribute to our theoretical knowledge of second language acquisition and L2 phonetics instruction research.

scholarly journals Intuition and Deliberation in the Stag Hunt Game

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Belloc ◽  
Ennio Bilancini ◽  
Leonardo Boncinelli ◽  
Simone D’Alessandro
Keyword(s):  
Time Pressure ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pressure Treatment ◽  
Stag Hunt ◽  
Social Conventions ◽  
Time Limits ◽  
Social Coordination ◽  
Stag Hunt Game

Abstract We present an incentivized laboratory experiment where a random sample of individuals playing a series of stag hunt games are forced to make their choices under time constraints, while the rest of the players have no time limits to decide. We find that individuals under the time pressure treatment are more likely to play stag (vs. hare) than individuals in the control group: under time constraints 62.85% of players are stag-hunters as opposed to 52.32% when no time limits are imposed. These results offer the first experimental evidence on the role of intuition and deliberation in strategic situations that entail social coordination. In interpreting our findings, we provide a discussion on ruling social conventions in daily-life interactions.

Clitic placement in L2 French: evidence from sentence matching

2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
NIGEL DUFFIELD ◽  
LYDIA WHITE ◽  
JOYCE BRUHN DE GARAVITO ◽  
SILVINA MONTRUL ◽  
PHILIPPE PRÉVOST
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Parameter Resetting ◽  
Sentence Matching ◽  
Feature Values ◽  
Clitic Placement

In this paper, we argue in favour of the NO IMPAIRMENT HYPOTHESIS, whereby L2 functional categories, features and feature values are attainable, and against the NO PARAMETER RESETTING HYPOTHESIS, according to which L2 learners are restricted to L1 categories and features, as well as against the LOCAL IMPAIRMENT HYPOTHESIS, which claims that the interlanguage grammar is characterized by inert feature values. An online experiment was conducted, investigating adult learners' knowledge of properties relating to clitic projections. Advanced learners of French (L1s English and Spanish), together with a native speaker control group, were tested on a variety of constructions involving clitics by means of the SENTENCE MATCHING procedure (Freedman & Forster 1985). L2 learners distinguished in their response times between certain kinds of grammatical and ungrammatical clitic placement, as did the native-speaker controls, suggesting the attainability of L2 properties distinct from the L1.

ON THE (UN)-AMBIGUITY OF ADJECTIVAL MODIFICATION IN SPANISH DETERMINER PHRASES

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Rothman ◽  
Tiffany Judy ◽  
Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes ◽  
Acrisio Pires
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Determiner Phrase ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Adjectival Modification ◽  
Syntactic Properties

This study contributes to a central debate within contemporary generative second language (L2) theorizing: the extent to which adult learners are (un)able to acquire new functional features that result in a L2 grammar that is mentally structured like the native target (see White, 2003). The adult acquisition of L2 nominal phi-features is explored, with focus on the syntactic and semantic reflexes in the related domain of adjective placement in two experimental groups: English-speaking intermediate (n= 21) and advanced (n= 24) learners of Spanish, as compared to a native-speaker control group (n= 15). Results show that, on some of the tasks, the intermediate L2 learners appear to have acquired the syntactic properties of the Spanish determiner phrase but, on other tasks, to show some delay with the semantic reflexes of prenominal and postnominal adjectives. Crucially, however, our data demonstrate full convergence by all advanced learners and thus provide evidence in contra the predictions of representational deficit accounts (e.g., Hawkins & Chan, 1997; Hawkins & Franceschina, 2004; Hawkins & Hattori, 2006).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document