scholarly journals Effects of orthographic forms on pronunciation in experienced instructed second language learners

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
BENE BASSETTI ◽  
NATHAN ATKINSON
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Writing System ◽  
The Past ◽  
Word Repetition ◽  
Repetition Task

ABSTRACTIn spite of burgeoning evidence that the orthographic forms (“spellings”) of second language (L2) words affect L2 learners’ pronunciation, little is known about the pronunciation of known words in experienced learners. In a series of four studies, we investigated various orthographic effects on the pronunciation of L2 English words in instructed learners with 10 years’ experience of learning English. Participants were native users of the phonologically transparent Italian writing system. Study 1 investigated the pronunciation of “silent letters,” using a word-reading task and a word-repetition task. Study 2 examined the effects of vowel spelling on vowel duration, namely, whether L2 speakers produce the same target vowel as longer when it is spelled with a vowel digraph than with a singleton letter. Study 3 explored the effects of the morphemic spelling of the past tense marker <ed> using a verb paradigm-production task. Study 4 tested whether L2 speakers produce homophonic words differently when they are spelled differently. Results confirmed that orthographic forms affect experienced instructed learners’ pronunciation of known words, albeit less so in immediate word repetition than in reading-aloud tasks.

Vowel learning in diglossic settings: Evidence from Arabic-Greek learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 136700692094539
Author(s):  
Georgios P Georgiou ◽  
Charalambos Themistocleous
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Variety Versus ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Egyptian Arabic ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Language Variety ◽  
The Impact

Aim and questions: Second language learners are often acquiring a second language (L2) in multilingual and bidialectal sociolinguistic environments. The competing pronunciations can be challenging to language learners. This study aims to determine the effects of language variety—standard variety versus local variety—on L2 vowel learning. Methodology: Vowel productions from 55 speakers were analyzed in the study; 10 speakers of Egyptian Arabic were recorded in a reading task producing Greek vowels and their vowel productions were compared to L1 vowel productions produced by 20 Standard Modern Greek and 25 Cypriot Greek speakers from a study by Themistocleous. Data and analysis: We conducted linear mixed effects models and tested the effects of language variety, vowel, and stress on the first and second formant frequency and on vowel duration. Findings: Egyptian Arabic speakers merge the middle Greek vowels /e/ and /o/ and the high /i/ and /u/ vowels. Also, they did not differentiate phonetically between L2 stressed and unstressed vowels. These findings are arguably an effect of the L1 vowel structure on L2 vowels. The two varieties exercised competing effects on learners’ vowel productions, which suggests that both varieties are influencing vowel learning. Originality: There has been substantial research on L2 vowel learning in monolingual environments but not in diglossic environments; this study fills this gap by offering evidence about vowel learning in diglossic environments. Implications: In modern societies, communication takes place in multilingual environments. The findings highlight the impact of diglossia on L2 vowel learning and, ultimately, they demonstrate the importance of sociolinguistic factors on L2 learning.

The functional roles of lexical devices in second language learners’ encoding of temporality: A study of Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Ma ◽  
Gita Martohardjono ◽  
William McClure
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Past Time ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Esl Learners

AbstractThe present study investigates the functional roles of two lexical devices, past-time temporal adverbials and frequency adverbs, in Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners’ encoding of temporality in their English interlanguage. The results of the present study indicate that past-time temporal adverbials are facilitative in Mandarin Chinese-speaking ESL learners’ encoding of past time. Meanwhile, the existence/absence of the matrix agreement, which is a linguistic device that has not been discussed in previous studies, may also lead to learners’ different reactions. The results of the present study also show that the introduction of frequency adverbs is associated with a higher usage rate of the present tense and causes more difficulty in a past tense context. This association is found to exist not only in learners’ data, but also in English native speakers’ data. The present study contributes to our understanding of the development of second language learners’ expression of temporal locations and relations.

Gender and number processing in second language Swahili

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-476
Author(s):  
Patti Spinner ◽  
Rebecca Foote ◽  
Rose Acen Upor
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Word Repetition ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
English Speaking

Abstract For native speakers, congruent gender marking on determiners and adjectives facilitates recognition of subsequent nouns, while incongruent marking inhibits recognition (e.g., Bates et al., 1996). However, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether second language learners demonstrate this effect. We investigated this issue in Swahili. Native speakers and English-speaking L2 learners of Swahili in their 3rd-5th semester completed two word repetition tasks, one examining gender and one number. Participants heard verb-noun phrases in Swahili with verbal marking that was congruent, incongruent or neutral with respect to gender or number. The time to repeat each noun was recorded. Both language groups appeared sensitive to number marking; however, only native speakers appeared sensitive to gender marking. The findings suggest the lack of a feature in the L1 may impede online processing in the L2, while the presence of a feature may mean that native-like processing is possible, even at early levels of proficiency.

scholarly journals A Case Study of How Visually Impaired Learners Acquire Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thi Minh Phuong Tran ◽  
Phuong Dzung Pho
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
The Past ◽  
Depth Interviews

The field of second language acquisition has grown enormously in the past decades. Many studies have been done on how learners acquire English as a second language; however, research on how visually impaired learners acquire English as a second or foreign language has been relatively scarce. It is even more difficult to find such studies in Vietnam. Based mainly on in-depth interviews with two visually impaired Vietnamese adults who have been successful in acquiring English, the present study seeks to answer two main questions: (1) How Vietnamese visually impaired learners acquire English as a second language; (2) What difficulties they have in learning English, and how they overcome their difficulties. The findings of the present study can contribute to the theory of second language acquisition and language teaching. The study can also provide strategies for practicing and learning a language not only for visually impaired learners but also for second language learners in general.

scholarly journals Can the Dimensions of Identity, Investment and Empowerment Increase Social Inclusion for Second-language Learners? – Moving Towards the Creation of a Conceptual Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Gaston Bacquet
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Impact

Much of social research in language learning in the past twenty years has been devoted to explore issues of identity construction and its sociological implications in terms of mobility and inclusiveness. There are a large number of studies on the areas of culture and identity, and how they relate to the investment and empowerment of language learners (Dörnyei, 2005; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011; Norton, 1997, 2000, 2013, 2015; Norton & Davin, 2015; Ushioda, 2011). Some of these have been pivotal in the development of identity research for the past two decades and have laid the foundation upon which further research has been done: Norton (1995) proposed her Classroom-Based Social Research, in which learners become ethnographers of sorts under the encouragement of teachers; Brunton and Jeffrey (2014) examined some of the factors that might lead to empowerment with foreign students in New Zealand (2013), Diaz, Cochran, and Karlin (2016) conducted a study in American classrooms to investigate the impact of teachers’ behavior and communication strategies on students’ achievement and feeling of empowerment, and more recently Howard (2018) investigated the impact of teachers’ attitudes in the construction of socio-cultural identities in African-American students. Such research has provided a wealth of insight and suggested practices, but in this researcher’s opinion they have come short in providing any definite answers as to how to implement them or the outcomes they might yield. The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on how the aforementioned dimensions of identity construction, empowerment and investment can result in greater social inclusion for second-language learners. The paper analyzes each dimension separately, provides a theoretical background that links them to language learning, and then discusses some possible implications for teachers and researchers on how to further recruit students’ investment and enhance their sense of empowerment and inclusion.

Foreign accent, comprehensibility and intelligibility, redux

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-309
Author(s):  
Murray J. Munro ◽  
Tracey M. Derwing
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Original Text ◽  
The Past ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
Assessment Techniques

Abstract We revisit Munro and Derwing (1995a), providing retrospective commentary on our original methods and findings. Using what are now well-established assessment techniques, the study examined the interrelationships among accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility in the speech of second-language learners. The key finding was that the dimensions at issue are related, but partially independent. Of particular note was our observation that speech can be heavily accented but highly intelligible. To provide a fresh perspective on the original data we report a few new analyses, including more up-to-date statistical modeling. Throughout the original text we intersperse insights we have gained over the past 25 years. We conclude with retrospective interpretations, including thoughts on the relevance of the study to contemporary second language teaching and especially pronunciation instruction.

scholarly journals Processing of regular and irregular past tense morphology in highly proficient second language learners of English: A self-paced reading study

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 943-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOS PLIATSIKAS ◽  
THEODOROS MARINIS
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Rule Application ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Irregular Verbs ◽  
Reading Study

ABSTRACTDual-system models suggest that English past tense morphology involves two processing routes: rule application for regular verbs and memory retrieval for irregular verbs. In second language (L2) processing research, Ullman suggested that both verb types are retrieved from memory, but more recently Clahsen and Felser and Ullman argued that past tense rule application can be automatized with experience by L2 learners. To address this controversy, we tested highly proficient Greek–English learners with naturalistic or classroom L2 exposure compared to native English speakers in a self-paced reading task involving past tense forms embedded in plausible sentences. Our results suggest that, irrespective to the type of exposure, proficient L2 learners of extended L2 exposure apply rule-based processing.

Parsing Effects in Second Language Sentence Processing

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Juffs ◽  
Michael Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Subject Extraction

This paper reexamines claims that second language learners are more accurate at judging long-distance object extraction than subject extraction and that the difference in accuracy is due to processing factors rather than differences in underlying competence. Although previous studies have reported robust effects for the subject/object asymmetry, the global nature of the response measures leaves open the question of whether the subject gap is in fact the locus of difficulty for second language learners. Using many of the same stimuli sentences from original research in combination with a theory of principle-based parsing, this study employs the moving window display technique to collect on-line measures of processing long-distancewh-extraction. Twenty-five advanced Chinese-speaking ESL learners provided grammaticality judgments in two presentation conditions: full-sentence, where judgment reaction times are measured from sentence onset to the learner's judgment; and word-by-word reading, where word-by-word latencies are collected in addition to judgments. The accuracy and reaction time results from the full-sentence condition replicated previous findings. The word-by-word results confirm that it is the subject gap that is the source of difficulty for the learners. Claims in the literature that principles of Universal Grammar are not available to adult learners are not supported by these results, which show that parsing, and not grammatical competence, is the source of difficulty on performance with subject extraction sentences.

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