The resolution of conflicts among competing systems: A bidirectional perspective

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Gass
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
The Other ◽  
Prototype Model ◽  
Organizational System

ABSTRACTThe present study investigates the interaction of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics from the perspective of functional constraints on sentence processing. The functionalist model of Bates and Mac-Whinney (1981a, 1987) is taken as a basis for investigating subjects' reactions to sentences in which word order, topic, and animacy are varied. Subjects were native speakers of Italian, a language which is sensitive to semantics for interpretation and English, a language which is sensitive to syntax for interpretation (Bates, McNew, MacWhinney, Devescovi, & Smith, 1982). The two native speaker groups were further subdivided in terms of second versus foreign language learners. This study focusses on the question of how learners move from one organizational system to another. It is argued that the ways in which L2 learners are able to determine the strength of dominant factors provides insights not only into the processes involved in L2 acquisition but also into the relative strength of components crosslinguistically and the strength of boundaries between linguistic and extra-linguistic information. The results suggest that in moving from a semantic-dominant language to a syntactic-dominant one, learners first become aware of the importance of the concept of word order in a second language before being able to determine the specifics of word order in that language. On the other hand, moving in the other direction (from syntactic to semantic dominance) seems to come about with greater ease. To account for these results, a prototype model of acquisition is introduced. Finally, differences between second language and foreign language-learning environments are discussed.

scholarly journals Honorifics: A sociocultural verb agreement cue in Japanese sentence processing

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUKI YOSHIMURA ◽  
BRIAN MACWHINNEY
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Role Assignment ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Case Marking ◽  
New Type

ABSTRACTCase marking is the major cue to sentence interpretation in Japanese, whereas animacy and word order are much weaker. However, when subjects and their cases markers are omitted, Japanese honorific and humble verbs can provide information that compensates for the missing case role markers. This study examined the usage of honorific and humble verbs as cues to case role assignment by Japanese native speakers and second-language learners of Japanese. The results for native speakers replicated earlier findings regarding the predominant strength of case marking. However, when case marking was missing, native speakers relied more on honorific marking than word order. In these sentences, the processing that relied on the honorific cue was delayed by about 100 ms in comparison to processing that relied on the case-marking cue. Learners made extensive use of the honorific agreement cue, but their use of the cue was much less accurate than that of native speakers. In particular, they failed to systematically invoke the agreement cue when case marking was missing. Overall, the findings support the predictions of the model and extend its coverage to a new type of culturally determined cue.

scholarly journals Christopher Brumfit Award 2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-433
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Quality Of Presentation

The Editor and Board of Language Teaching are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2014 Christopher Brumfit thesis award is Dr Hilde van Zeeland. The thesis was selected by an external panel of judges based on its significance to the field of second language acquisition, second or foreign language learning and teaching, originality and creativity and quality of presentation.

scholarly journals Investigation into the efficacy of text modification: What type of text do learners of Japanese authenticate?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mitsue Sandom
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Reading Pedagogy ◽  
Reading Materials

<p>The dissertation is a study of the efficacy of reading materials for learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). It discusses the merits of 'authentic' materials written primarily for native speaker-readers compared to 'modified' texts adapted in some way for learners. Further, it compares various sorts of modifications: simplification, elaboration, marginal glosses and the use of onscreen computer pop-ups. More broadly, it locates the study within the wider discourse of pedagogy concerning reading materials for second language learners, especially JFL learners.  Reading in Japanese as a second language is generally thought to be more demanding than reading in some other second languages. The study therefore argues that the authenticity debate and efficacy of text modification must be addressed specifically in the JFL reading pedagogy.  In the context of the authenticity debate, there are, broadly, two opposing views. One favours the predominant use of unmodified texts while the other promotes the efficacy of modified texts. While there have been numerous theoretical discussions and empirical findings in the reading pedagogy of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL), the JFL reading pedagogy is currently lacking such academic endeavours. Hence, the present study seeks to fill the gap.  The study is mixed methods research, consisting of three projects in which both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. This approach investigates equally the effects of text modification on participating learners' cognitive changes (reading comprehension) and affective changes (motivation and perception).  The results indicate that learners of Japanese comprehend modified texts statistically significantly better than they do unmodified texts. Findings include that modified texts for Japanese are more efficacious than they are in the ESL/EFL context. However, modified texts that are insufficiently challenging fail to enhance learners' motivation. Advanced learners especially were found to have a negative attitude toward reading modified Japanese texts.</p>

Adult And Child Learning Second Language Differences

2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 38-44
Author(s):  
Dilrabo Babakulova ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Differences ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Child Learning

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is one of the debatable topics regarding to speed and effectiveness in adults or children foreign language learning. There have been several researches to solve the issue; however, the results are different and contradicting. In this research two volunteers participated in three staged survey which showed children’s priority in acquiring foreign language in a short period of time.

scholarly journals Christopher Brumfit Ph.D./Ed.D. Thesis Award 2011

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-408
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Quality Of Presentation

The Editor and Board of Language Teaching are pleased to announce that there were two tied winners of the 2011 Christopher Brumfit thesis award: Dr Cecilia Guanfang Zhao and Dr Catherine van Beuningen. Both theses were selected by an external panel of judges on the basis of their significance to the field of second language acquisition, second or foreign language learning and teaching, as well as their originality, creativity and quality of presentation.

The Business of Pragmatics. The Case of Discourse Markers in The Speech of Students of Business English and English Linguistics

2011 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 10-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieven Buysse
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Business English ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Native Speech

Abstract This paper investigates how foreign language learners use discourse markers (such as so, well, you know, I mean) in English speech. These small words that do not contribute much, if anything at all, to the propositional content of a message but modify it in subtle ways, are often considered among the last elements acquired in a foreign language. This contribution reports on close scrutiny of a corpus of English-spoken interviews with Belgian native speakers of Dutch, half of whom are undergraduates majoring in Commercial Sciences and half of whom are majoring in English Linguistics, and sets it off against a comparable native speaker corpus. The investigation shows that the language learners exhibit a clear preference for “operative discourse markers” and neglect or avoid “involvement discourse markers”. It is argued that in learner speech the former take on functions typically fulfilled by the latter to a greater extent than in native speech, and that in some cases the learners revert to a code-switching strategy to cater for their pragmatic needs, bringing markers from Dutch into their English speech. Finally, questions are raised as to the place of such pragmatic devices in foreign language learning.

scholarly journals Plausibility and recovery from garden paths in second language sentence processing

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEAH ROBERTS ◽  
CLAUDIA FELSER
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Real Time Processing ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
On Line

ABSTRACTIn this study, the influence of plausibility information on the real-time processing of locally ambiguous (“garden path”) sentences in a nonnative language is investigated. Using self-paced reading, we examined how advanced Greek-speaking learners of English and native speaker controls read sentences containing temporary subject–object ambiguities, with the ambiguous noun phrase being either semantically plausible or implausible as the direct object of the immediately preceding verb. Besides providing evidence for incremental interpretation in second language processing, our results indicate that the learners were more strongly influenced by plausibility information than the native speaker controls in their on-line processing of the experimental items. For the second language learners an initially plausible direct object interpretation lead to increased reanalysis difficulty in “weak” garden-path sentences where the required reanalysis did not interrupt the current thematic processing domain. No such evidence of on-line recovery was observed, in contrast, for “strong” garden-path sentences that required more substantial revisions of the representation built thus far, suggesting that comprehension breakdown was more likely here.

To postpone or not to postpone? Examining access policy on early foreign language learning from second language acquisition and language planning and policy perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mochamad Subhan Zein
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Language Planning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Planning And Policy ◽  
Policy Interpretation

AbstractThis paper examines the suggestion to postpone instruction on early foreign language learning, from both second language acquisition (SLA) and language planning and policy (LPP) perspectives. Contrary to the widely held belief that SLA research on age effects can inform policymakers as to when to start instruction, this paper demonstrates that such research may not offer much to language policymaking. The paper argues that the use of a more pragmatic approach in the transdisciplinarity of SLA and LPP emphasizing research into the benefits of instruction for children should be the underpinning SLA-based rationale for early foreign language learning policies. The paper contends that collaborative work between policymakers and researchers working in LPP and/or SLA domains in an SLA-LPP consortium could help address the problems occurring in the micro-context of policy interpretation and enactment with a primary focus on input enhancement rather than postponement.

scholarly journals Investigation into the efficacy of text modification: What type of text do learners of Japanese authenticate?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mitsue Sandom
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Reading Pedagogy ◽  
Reading Materials

<p>The dissertation is a study of the efficacy of reading materials for learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). It discusses the merits of 'authentic' materials written primarily for native speaker-readers compared to 'modified' texts adapted in some way for learners. Further, it compares various sorts of modifications: simplification, elaboration, marginal glosses and the use of onscreen computer pop-ups. More broadly, it locates the study within the wider discourse of pedagogy concerning reading materials for second language learners, especially JFL learners.  Reading in Japanese as a second language is generally thought to be more demanding than reading in some other second languages. The study therefore argues that the authenticity debate and efficacy of text modification must be addressed specifically in the JFL reading pedagogy.  In the context of the authenticity debate, there are, broadly, two opposing views. One favours the predominant use of unmodified texts while the other promotes the efficacy of modified texts. While there have been numerous theoretical discussions and empirical findings in the reading pedagogy of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL), the JFL reading pedagogy is currently lacking such academic endeavours. Hence, the present study seeks to fill the gap.  The study is mixed methods research, consisting of three projects in which both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. This approach investigates equally the effects of text modification on participating learners' cognitive changes (reading comprehension) and affective changes (motivation and perception).  The results indicate that learners of Japanese comprehend modified texts statistically significantly better than they do unmodified texts. Findings include that modified texts for Japanese are more efficacious than they are in the ESL/EFL context. However, modified texts that are insufficiently challenging fail to enhance learners' motivation. Advanced learners especially were found to have a negative attitude toward reading modified Japanese texts.</p>

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