Effects of word class differences on L2 pronunciation accuracy

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRACE H. YENI-KOMSHIAN ◽  
MEDINA ROBBINS ◽  
JAMES E. FLEGE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Word Class ◽  
Linguistic Structure ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Adult Immigrants ◽  
L2 Pronunciation ◽  
Learning English

This study examined the effect of word class (nouns vs. verbs) on L2 pronunciation accuracy of Korean–English bilinguals. The participants were 192 adult immigrants whose age of arrival (AOA) in the United States ranged from 6 to 23 years. Transcriptions of their productions of English sentences indicated that they were more accurate in pronouncing verbs than nouns. Similarly, the results of a grammaticality judgment test revealed that they were more accurate in detecting incorrect formulations of verbs than nouns. These effects were significant in late L2 learners (AOA 12–23). The results were interpreted to reflect the influence of the linguistic structure of Korean (where the verb is more prominent than the noun) on learning English as an L2.

THE EFFECT OF EXPERIENCE ON ADULTS' ACQUISITION OF A SECOND LANGUAGE

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Emil Flege ◽  
Serena Liu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Sampling Error ◽  
The United States ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Test Experiment ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Adult Immigrants

Previous research has suggested that child but not adult immigrants to the United States and Canada make regular progress learning English as their length of residence (LOR) increases. If children and adults received the same kind of second language (L2) input, such evidence would support the existence of a critical period for L2 acquisition. The present study compared groups of Chinese adults living in the United States who differed in LOR in order to assess the role of input in adults' naturalistic acquisition of an L2. We assessed the Chinese participants' identification of word-final English consonants (experiment 1), their scores on a 144-item grammaticality judgment test (experiment 2), and their scores on a 45-item listening comprehension test (experiment 3). The Chinese participants were assigned to one of four groups (n = 15 each) based on LOR in the United States and their primary occupation (students vs. nonstudents). Significantly higher scores were obtained for the students with relatively long LORs than for the students with relatively short LORs in all three experiments. However, the difference between the nonstudents differing in LOR was nonsignificant in each instance. The results suggested that the lack of an effect of LOR in some previous studies may have been due to sampling error. It appears that adults' performance in an L2 will improve measurably over time, but only if they receive a substantial amount of native speaker input.

scholarly journals Healthy Eating among Mexican Immigrants: Migration in Childhood and Time in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Van Hook ◽  
Susana Quirós ◽  
Molly Dondero ◽  
Claire E. Altman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Mexican Immigrants ◽  
Past Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Duration Of Residence ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
Adult Immigrants ◽  
The Life Course

Past research on immigrant health frequently finds that the duration of time lived in the United States is associated with the erosion of immigrants’ health advantages. However, the timing of U.S. migration during the life course is rarely explored. We draw from developmental and sociological perspectives to theorize how migration during childhood may be related to healthy eating among adult immigrants from Mexico. We test these ideas with a mechanism-based age-period-cohort model to disentangle age, age at arrival, and duration of residence. Results show that immigrants who arrived during preschool ages (2–5 years) and school ages (6–11 years) have less healthy diets than adult arrivals (25+ years). After accounting for age at arrival, duration of residence is positively related to healthy eating. Overall, the findings highlight the need to focus more research and policy interventions on child immigrants, who may be particularly susceptible to adopting unhealthy American behaviors during sensitive periods of childhood.

Public Opinion on Nonwhite Underrepresentation and Racial Identity Politics in Brazil

2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 69-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley R. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
African Origin ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Political Preferences

AbstractBrazil has an “African-origin” population that is proportionally more than four times larger that of African Americans in the United States, but white Brazilians mostly dominate electoral politics. How do ordinary citizens explain this phenomenon? Drawing on a large-sample survey of public opinion in the state of Rio de Janeiro, this article explores perceived explanations for nonwhite underrepresentation in the political arena. It also examines attitudes toward a particular black candidate, Benedita da Silva, to discern the state ofnegroidentity politics. Most Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro cite racial prejudice to explain nonwhite exclusion, although whites do this less than nonwhites. Indicators of a racial undercurrent in political preferences suggest the importance of allegiances based on perceived common racial origins. Class is robustly associated with voting preferences, suggesting that, in contrast to the United States, class differences among nonwhites in Brazil could attenuate the success ofnegroidentity politics.

Aging, Vulnerability and Managing Type 2 Diabetes During a Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 106-111
Author(s):  
Jasmin Tahmaseb McConatha
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Immigrant Woman ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Class Differences

Older men and women have been found to be more vulnerable to negative outcomes should they contract Covid19, particularly if they also have comorbid conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Cultural, racial, ethnic, and social class differences exist in vulnerability to Covid19 and in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. In the United States, for example, diabetes rates for minority and immigrant populations are higher than for non-Hispanic whites. During the a social health crisis, it is helpful to explore the ways that illness management and associated vulnerability influences the ways that minority elders attempt to maintain and promote their well-being. This paper presents a case study example of an older immigrant woman, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and her struggle to manage her illness during a pandemic. The risk of developing diabetes in the United States is 3 to 1 and risks increase with age (American Diabetes Association, 2020).  Almost 50 % of black women as well as Hispanic men and women will develop diabetes in their lifetime (CDC, 2019). Disparities such as these have their origin in intersecting risk factors such as health care and lifestyle factors such as tress, poverty, weight, diet, and exercise patterns. Being a member of an ethnic minority and being overweight are the two significant factors associated with the onset of type 2 diabetes. During the coronavirus epidemic, these same factors also increase the risk for infection and for greater complications, even death as a result of infection (Society for Women’s Health Research, 2020). This essay illustrates the increased vulnerability and challenges including loneliness facing older women with type 2 diabetes during pandemic isolation.    

scholarly journals International Students in American Pathway Programs: Learning English and Culture through Service-Learning

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-352
Author(s):  
Julie Miller ◽  
Becca Berkey ◽  
Francis Griffin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Students ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Body ◽  
Demographic Shifts ◽  
Practical Factors ◽  
Learning English

As the number of international students studying in the United States continues to grow, the body of literature about service-learning in English Language Learning (ELL) curricula is growing in tandem. The primary goal of this paper is to explore how service-learning impacts the development and transition of pathway program students in the United States. Authors present recent demographic shifts in ELL student education, a concise introduction to pathway programs, an overview of literature about service-learning with international students, and theoretical and practical factors to consider for facilitators of Learning English and Culture through Service-Learning (LECSL) based on data from 250 students at Northeastern University.

scholarly journals Prebasic Molt and Molt-Related Movements in Ash-Throated Flycatchers

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 647-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke K. Butler ◽  
Sievert Rohwer ◽  
Michelle Rogers
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
The United States ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Monsoon Region ◽  
Daily Growth ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Migrant Populations ◽  
Breeding Grounds

AbstractWe describe the timing and location of the prebasic molt in the Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens), a hawking insectivore with resident populations in Mexico and migrant populations that breed in the western United States. The timing of fall molt with respect to migration is of particular interest for Ash-throated Flycatchers from the United States because they breed in arid lowland habitats that are probably unproductive in late summer, and because time constraints on molt might force northern populations to leave their breeding grounds before molting. Adults and juveniles depart their breeding grounds to arrive and molt in the region of the Mexican monsoon shortly after the monsoon rains begin. Diminishing food on the breeding grounds and increasing food in the monsoon region seem more important than time constraints for explaining molt-related movements by northern populations, because more southerly breeding birds east and west of the monsoon region also move to the monsoon region to molt. We found age class differences in the timing and duration of molt. In adults the primary molt starts approximately 14 July and requires 76 days to complete, whereas in juveniles, primary molt starts approximately 1 August (18 days after adults) but requires only 50 days to complete. We found no evidence that juveniles molt more primaries simultaneously than adults, so we conclude that the daily growth rate of individual feathers must be higher in juveniles than adults.

Building Cultural Capital and Workforce Skills for Immigrants Through Adult Education in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 76-97
Author(s):  
Tracy Poon Tambascia ◽  
Emma Diaz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Language Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Job Skills ◽  
College Degrees ◽  
Basic Language ◽  
Workforce Skills ◽  
Adult Immigrants

In the United States, adult education has provided an avenue for immigrants needing basic language acquisition and skills for employment. Immigrants contribute to a diverse landscape by bringing their cultures, language, education, and skill. This chapter focuses on the role of adult education programs in the United States and the ways in which accessible, low-cost language and job skills courses enable adult immigrants to establish social and community networks and prepare for new career pathways. Findings from a small qualitative study on immigrants with college degrees are also discussed to provide context on the value of adult education for establishing communities of support. The chapter ends with recommendations on ways in which communities and governments can support the success of immigrants.

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