scholarly journals Orthographic knowledge and lexical form influence vocabulary learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES BARTOLOTTI ◽  
VIORICA MARIAN
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Orthographic Knowledge ◽  
Bigram Frequency ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Repeated Testing ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Word Acquisition

ABSTRACTMany adults struggle with second language acquisition but learn new native-language words relatively easily. We investigated the role of sublexical native-language patterns on novel word acquisition. Twenty English monolinguals learned 48 novel written words in five repeated testing blocks. Half were orthographically wordlike (e.g., nish, high neighborhood density and high segment/bigram frequency), while half were not (e.g., gofp, low neighborhood density and low segment/bigram frequency). Participants were faster and more accurate at recognizing and producing wordlike items, indicating a native-language similarity benefit. Individual differences in memory and vocabulary size influenced learning, and error analyses indicated that participants extracted probabilistic information from the novel vocabulary. Results suggest that language learners benefit from both native-language overlap and regularities within the novel language.

Mimicry of Non-distinctive Phonetic Differences Between Language Varieties

1982 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Emil Flege ◽  
Robert M. Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Tentative Evidence ◽  
Accented English ◽  
Final Syllable

A delayed mimicry paradigm was used to assess speakers′ awareness of non-distinctive phonetic differences which in part distinguish languages. The notion of “phonological filtering” implies that second language learners may not be able to perceive phonetic differences between their native language and a foreign language unless the phonetic differences are linguistically relevant in the native language. If cross-language phonetic differences are in fact perceived poorly, it is unlikely that phonetic modification will occur in the course of naturalistic second language acquisition. In this study native English speakers familiar with Spanish-accented English attempted to read sentences with a Spanish accent. Acoustic measurements showed that two phonetic characteristics of English—the long VOT values associated with /p, t, k/ and final-syllable lengthening—were altered in the direction of Spanish and Spanish-accented English. These results provide tentative evidence that non-distinctive phonetic differences between languages are detectable by language learners and thus donotpresent an insuperable barrier to phonetic learning in second language acquisition.

Markedness and Second Language Acquisition

1987 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia White
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Double Object Construction ◽  
Object Construction ◽  
Preposition Stranding ◽  
The Difference

In this paper, various definitions of markedness are discussed, including the difference in the assumptions underlying psychological and linguistic approaches to markedness. It is proposed that if one adopts a definition derived from theories of language learnability, then the second language learner's prior linguistic experience may predispose him or her towards transferring marked structures from the first language to the second, contrary to usual assumptions in the literature that suggest that second language learners will avoid marked forms. To test this hypothesis, adult and child learners of French as a second language were tested using grammaticality judgment tasks on two marked structures, preposition stranding and the double object construction, which are grammatical in English but ungrammatical in French, to see if they would accept French versions of these structures. It was found that the second language learners did not accept preposition stranding in French but did accept the double object construction, suggesting that transfer takes place only with one of the two marked structures. In addition, the children took tests on these structures in their native language to see if they perceived them as in any sense psycholinguistically marked. Results show that they do not treat marked and unmarked structures differently in the native language. It is suggested that the concept of markedness may cover a range of phenomena that need to be further clarified and investigated.

The Fourth Month

2019 ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
Vanessa LoBue
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Speech Stream ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
First Time ◽  
First Words

This chapter describes the development of the infant in the fourth month of life. As her baby begins to coo and communicate for the first time, the author discusses the development of language, from these first sounds to an infant’s first words. She provides an in-depth discussion of how babies break through the speech stream, identifying words in their native language for the first time. She goes on to describe why children might be particularly adept language-learners when compared to adults, including the topics of second-language acquisition and bilingualism.

A Multivariate Approach to Lexical Diversity in Constrained Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-194
Author(s):  
Marta Kajzer-Wietrzny ◽  
Ilmari Ivaska
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Multivariate Approach ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Word Repetition

Empirical Translation Studies have recently extended the scope of research to other forms of constrained and mediated communication, including bilingual communication, editing, and intralingual translation. Despite the diversity of factors accounted for so far, this new strand of research is yet to take the leap into intermodal comparisons. In this paper we look at Lexical Diversity (LD), which under different guises, has been studied both within Translation Studies (TS) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). LD refers to the rate of word repetition, and vocabulary size and depth, and previous research indicates that translated and non-native language tends to be less lexically diverse. There is, however, no study that would investigate both varieties within a unified methodological framework. The study reported here looks at LD in spoken and written modes of constrained and non-constrained language. In a two-step analysis involving Exploratory Factor Analysis and linear mixed-effects regression models we find interpretations to be least lexically diverse and written non-constrained texts to be most diverse. Speeches delivered impromptu are less diverse than those read out loud and the non-constrained texts are more sensitive to such delivery-related differences than the constrained ones.

scholarly journals The relevance of first language attrition to theories of bilingual development

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 637-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika S. Schmid ◽  
Barbara Köpke
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
Bilingual Development

Abstract Research on second language acquisition and bilingual development strongly suggests that when a previously monolingual speaker becomes multilingual, the different languages do not exist in isolation: they are closely linked, dependent on each other, and there is constant interaction between these different knowledge systems. Theoretical frameworks of bilingual development acknowledge this insofar as they usually draw heavily on evidence of how the native language influences subsequent languages, and how and to what degree this influence can eventually be overcome. The fact that such crosslinguistic transfer is not a one-way street, and that the native language is similarly influenced by later learned languages, on the other hand, is often disregarded. We review the evidence on how later learned languages can re-shape the L1 in the immediate and the longer term and demonstrate how such phenomena may be used to inform, challenge and validate theoretical approaches of bilingual development.

Improving Communicative Competence Levels of Pre-Service Teachers Through Spoken-Based Reflection Instruction

2021 ◽  
pp. 002205742110445
Author(s):  
Chinaza Solomon Ironsi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Listening And Speaking ◽  
Speaking Skills

This study investigated the use of spoken-reflection instruction to improve the communicative competence level of English as Foreign Language learners in a second language acquisition classroom. A listening and speaking test was administered before and after the study to determine the participants’ level of speaking competence. A quantitative research design was adopted for the study. A 3-credit unit language course was designed and implemented for the study. The course was built on the core principles of reflective practice. Participants were taught using the normal language teaching method and spoken-based reflection instruction. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 65 English as Foreign Language learners who willingly participated in the study. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was used to obtain information from the participants about their perceptions of using spoken-based reflection instruction to improve their speaking skills. In addition, participants were administered a Reflection-Listening, and Speaking Skills Test before and after each experimental phase to determine whether their listening and speaking skills had improved. Most learners found the use of spoken reflections to be a fun way to learn. However, they expressed anxiety about doing teacher-student reflection because they felt intimidated by the presence of their language teacher, although sending recordings of their reflections to their teachers was more convenient than interacting with them on a one-to-one basis.

scholarly journals Different speakers, different grammars

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Dąbrowska
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
General Rules ◽  
Widespread Belief ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

This article reviews several recent studies suggesting that — contrary to a widespread belief — adult monolingual native speakers of the same language do not share the same mental grammar. The studies examined various aspects of linguistic knowledge, including inflectional morphology, passives, quantifiers, and more complex constructions with subordinate clauses. The findings suggest that, in some cases, language learners attend to different cues in the input and end up with different grammars; in others, some speakers extract only fairly specific, ‘local’ generalizations which apply to particular subclasses of items while others acquire more abstract rules which apply ‘across the board’. At least some of these differences are education-related: more educated speakers appear to acquire more general rules, possibly as a result of more varied linguistic experience. These findings have interesting consequences for research on bilingualism, particularly for research on ultimate attainment in second language acquisition, as well as important methodological implications for all language sciences.

scholarly journals Hedging in English texts written by lower secondary pupils attending Norwegian schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Jacob Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Level ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
9Th Grade ◽  
Written Texts ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk

This study analyses the use of hedges in English texts written by year nine[1] pupils attending Norwegian lower secondary schools. Hedges are quantified in a corpus of 82 pupil texts using a taxonomy consisting of five hedging categories: Adaptors, Rounders, Plausibility Shields, Explicit Markers of Author Involvement and Verbal Fillers (Prince et al., 1980; Salager-Meyer, 1994; Holmes, 1986). As the pupils are school-level second language learners of English, each device is also deemed to be either accurately or inaccurately used based on grammar, well-formedness and appropriateness (Fetzer, 2004). The analyses are compared across topic, holistic ratings and formality. Texts in the corpus are written about two topics: sports and literary analyses of the novel Holes (Sachar, 1998). Texts about sports contain significantly more hedges than texts about Holes. Comparing accurate and inaccurate categories across holistic ratings, different results were produced when considering topic. Informally written texts about sports contain higher frequencies of accurately used devices than formally written texts about sports. The results suggest that topic and formality are the most significant factors affecting hedging use in this corpus. While hedging frequency overall does not seem to correlate with holistic ratings, overuse and inaccurate use of hedges seems to affect quality. Based on the results, it is argued that pupils may benefit from exposure to a wide range of accurately used devices. [1] “Year 9” is a term usually used in the UK, synonymous with “9th grade” used in the United States, for pupils aged 13-14.

scholarly journals The second language acquisition: problems and challenges for Georgian Deaf community

2021 ◽  
Vol X (3) ◽  
pp. 95-100
Author(s):  
Tamar Makharoblidze ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Native Language ◽  
The State ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Deaf People ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
State Language

As stated in the title, the paper is devoted to the issue of second language acquisition by Deaf people in Georgia, describing the current situation and the challenges. There are about 2500 Deaf and hard of hearing residents in Georgia. Being the linguistic minority in the country, these people communicate with each-other in the Georgian Sign Language – GESL. The second native language for local Deaf and hard of hearing people is the Georgian spoken language – the State language. In many countries Deaf people are bilingual, while it is hard to consider the local Deaf and hard of hearing people bilingual, as the knowledge of spoken Georgian on the level of a native language among the Deaf residents is not observed. Unfortunately in Georgia there are no studies concerning the second language acquisition for Deaf and hard of hearing people. The main problems are the agrammatism in written communication on the state language and the ignorance of deferent hierarchical levels of spoken Georgian. This short paper offers the key issues for the plan of strategy of spoken Georgian acquisition for local Deaf and hard of hearing residents.

The Effect of Teachers’ Use of Reinforcement on Learners’ Performance in English Language

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-129
Author(s):  
Ndegwa Grace Konyu; Dr. Lucy Wathika; Dr Josephine Khaemba
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Verbatim Transcript

The intention of the study was to establish the effect of teachers’ use of reinforcement on learners’ performance in English language. It was done in selected secondary schools in Nakuru town and used descriptive research design. The study was guided by Gardner and Lambert’s Socio-Educational model of second language acquisition. Stratified random sampling was employed in selecting four schools while simple random sampling was used to choose one stream in form two, three and four in each school for observation. It resulted in eight observational schedules. The study sample of 60 students in form 2-4 and 8 teachers of English was purposively selected for interviews. A total number of 353 learners were observed. The study used interviews, audio recording and Structured Observational Schedules for data collection. The data was presented in form of tables, figures and verbatim transcript excerpts used for exemplification and illustration in a qualitative explication. The findings of the study revealed that second language learners’ performance in English is greatly influenced by teachers’ use of reinforcement. Moreover, it proved that teachers of English give unguarded praises, negative statements and criticisms to English second language learners. This study is a vital contribution to the field of Second Language Acquisition theory and practice with regard to offering information and insight into reinforcement, motivation and attitude in practical language acquisition and learning in the classroom situation. These findings are useful in the improvement of second language learners’ performance in English. Teachers of English will also acquaint themselves with effective use of positive verbal reinforcement which works as a motivational force on learners’ acquisition and use of the English language.

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