scholarly journals Interdependence between L1 and L2: The case of Syrian children with refugee backgrounds in Canada and the Netherlands

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Elma Blom ◽  
Adriana Soto-Corominas ◽  
Zahraa Attar ◽  
Evangelia Daskalaki ◽  
Johanne Paradis

Abstract Children who are refugees become bilingual in circumstances that are often challenging and that can vary across national contexts. We investigated the second language (L2) syntactic skills of Syrian children aged 6-12 living in Canada (n = 56) and the Netherlands (n = 47). Our goal was to establish the impact of the first language (L1 = Syrian Arabic) skills on L2 (English, Dutch) outcomes and whether L1–L2 interdependence is influenced by the length of L2 exposure. To measure L1 and L2 syntactic skills, cross-linguistic Litmus Sentence Repetition Tasks (Litmus-SRTs) were used. Results showed evidence of L1–L2 interdependence, but interdependence may only surface after sufficient L2 exposure. Maternal education level and refugee camp experiences differed between the two samples. Both variables impacted L2 outcomes in the Canadian but not in the Dutch sample, demonstrating the importance to examine refugee children’s bilingual language development in different national contexts.

Author(s):  
Ahmed Masrai

Considerable research has investigated the effect of preschool education on subsequent school success and proposed a positive link between the two. Less research, however, has directly investigated the influence of preschool education on children’s vocabulary development. This paper reports on a study that examines the impact of preschool education on children’s first language (L1) vocabulary development in early childhood settings and the potential impact this has on the successive acquisition of second language (L2) vocabulary in later school years. To conduct the study, data from 200 Arabic-English successive bilingual children were collected. The data are scores on receptive vocabulary knowledge in L1 and L2 of two groups of fourth grade schoolchildren (with and without preschool education). The results show that: (1) preschool education contributes largely to L1 vocabulary development and L2 vocabulary acquisition; (2) there is a strong link between L1 and L2 receptive vocabulary knowledge; and (3) bilingual mental lexicon size is predicted by preschool education. The present study provides further insights on the relation between preschool education and L1 vocabulary growth and the influence of this on sequential bilingualism. These findings will allow informed decisions on the support for preschool education by parents and educational policymakers.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika S. Schmid

This paper addresses the long-term effects of being exposed to a language early in life for a limited period of time, as is the case in international adoptees. Recent findings are divided as to whether such a situation will lead to sequential monolingualism or whether speakers do remain bilingual to some extent, although they cannot readily access their vestigial first language (L1) knowledge. Similarly, it has been debated whether a complete switch in language use will provide a qualitative advantage for second language (L2) learning. The present paper investigates L1 and L2 proficiency among German Jews who escaped from Germany at ages 9-15 years either on a Kindertransport, to be placed in English speaking foster families, or in the company of their family. The results suggest that age plays a more important role than context in both L1 retention and L2 development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 2179-2195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Zheng ◽  
Yukari Hirata ◽  
Spencer D. Kelly

PurposeThis study investigated the impact of metaphoric actions—head nods and hand gestures—in producing Mandarin tones for first language (L1) and second language (L2) speakers.MethodIn 2 experiments, participants imitated videos of Mandarin tones produced under 3 conditions: (a) speech alone, (b) speech + head nods, and (c) speech + hand gestures. Fundamental frequency was recorded for both L1 (Experiment 1) and L2 (Experiment 2a) speakers, and the output of the L2 speakers was rated for tonal accuracy by 7 native Mandarin judges (Experiment 2b).ResultsExperiment 1 showed that 12 L1 speakers' fundamental frequency spectral data did not differ among the 3 conditions. In Experiment 2a, the conditions did not affect the production of 24 English speakers for the most part, but there was some evidence that hand gestures helped Tone 4. In Experiment 2b, native Mandarin judges found limited conditional differences in L2 productions, with Tone 3 showing a slight head nods benefit in a subset of “correct” L2 tokens.ConclusionResults suggest that metaphoric bodily actions do not influence the lowest levels of L1 speech production in a tonal language and may play a very modest role during preliminary L2 learning.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 402-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
JANNICKE KARLSEN ◽  
SOLVEIG-ALMA HALAAS LYSTER ◽  
ARNE LERVÅG

AbstractThis study examined the vocabulary development of Norwegian second language (L2) learners with Urdu/Punjabi as their first language (L1) at two time-points from kindergarten to primary school, and compared it to the vocabulary development of monolingual Norwegian children. Using path models, the associations between number of picture books in the home, maternal education, and previous L1 and L2 vocabulary on the development of L2 vocabulary breadth and depth were investigated. The results indicate that despite the weaker vocabulary skills of the L2 sample, the growth trajectories of the L2 learners and the monolingual comparison group did not differ. For the L2 learners, we identified both concurrent and longitudinal predictors of vocabulary: the number of books in the home and the time of introduction of the L2 predicted concurrent vocabulary. L1 vocabulary, number of books in the home, and the time of introduction of the L2 predicted vocabulary growth.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Brice ◽  
Stephen Frost ◽  
Atira S. Bick ◽  
Peter J. Molfese ◽  
Jay G. Rueckl ◽  
...  

AbstractBrice et al. (2019) presented data from the first epoch of a longitudinal study of the neurobiological underpinnings of first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) processing. Results showed a similar network of activation for reading across L1 and L2, as well as significant convergence of print and speech processing across a network of left-hemisphere regions in both L1 and L2 with greater activation and convergence for L2 in anterior regions, and greater activation and convergence for L1 in posterior regions of the reading network. Here, we present the first look at longitudinal changes in these effects. L2 showed relatively few changes in activation, with some shifts in the weighting between ventral and dorsal processing. L1, however, showed more widespread differences in processing, suggesting that the neurobiological footprint of reading is dynamic, with both L1 and L2 impacting each other. Print/speech convergence showed very little longitudinal change, suggesting that it is a stable marker of the differences in L1 and L2 processing.


2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882091784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Aubrey ◽  
Craig Lambert ◽  
Paul Leeming

Research on pre-task planning to date has mainly focused on task performance. However, the effects of planning are contingent on what learners actually do during planning time. One important factor that may determine the quality and usefulness of planning is whether it is done in the first language (L1) or the second language (L2). This research addresses this issue by investigating the relative benefits of collaborative planning in the L1 and L2 in terms of ideas generated and transferred to an oral problem-solving task. Seventy-two Japanese university EFL learners were randomly assigned to one of two planning conditions: L1P (L1 planning, Japanese) and L2P (L2 planning, English). Dyads in each group were given 10 minutes to plan the content of a problem-solving task in the respective languages before individually performing the timed 2.5-minute oral task. Data took the form of transcribed planning discussions and transcribed task performances. All data were coded for idea units and sorted into categories of problem–solution discourse structure (situation, problem, response, evaluation). A qualitative comparison of L1 and L2 planners’ generation of idea units during planning, transfer and performance was conducted to supplement the quantitative analysis. Findings indicate the L1P condition has significant advantages over the L2P condition in terms of idea conceptualization, but this advantage had a limited impact on subsequent L2 task performance. Pedagogical implications are discussed in terms of possibilities for productively incorporating L1 planning during task implementation in foreign language contexts where learners share a common first language.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Masrai ◽  
James Milton

AbstractThis paper presents an empirical study investigating the relationship between first language (L1) lexical organisation and second language (L2) vocabulary development. The participants consisted of 191 native Arabic learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) within higher secondary education in Saudi Arabia. To conduct the study, two receptive vocabulary size tests (L1 Arabic-Lex and L2 English X-Lex) were used with an L1 lexical organisation test (ALOT) which was designed for the purpose of the study. Learners' L1 lexical organisation scores were found to be associated with their L1 and L2 receptive vocabulary scores. However, the strong correlation found between lexical organisation and the size of the lexicon in learners’ L1 might well suggest that lexical networks and the size of the lexicon are one unified system. Nevertheless, to find any potential interaction between L1 lexical organisation and size on L2 vocabulary acquisition, ‘moderation’ analyses were performed. Moderation results revealed three levels of interaction; low, average and high. The low level shows that a low level of lexical organisation leads to low levels of L1 and L2 vocabulary size. The same relationship trend was logged for average and high levels. These results thus emphasise the importance of a well-structured L1 mental lexicon on L2 vocabulary acquisition


2017 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 540-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Collins ◽  
Lauren Breithaupt ◽  
Jennifer E. McDowell ◽  
L. Stephen Miller ◽  
James Thompson ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Katherine Kirk ◽  
Ellen Bal

AbstractThis paper explores the relationship between migration and integration policies in the Netherlands, diaspora policies in India, and the transnational practices of Indian highly skilled migrants to the Netherlands. We employ anthropological transnational migration theories (e.g., Ong 1999; Levitt and Jaworsky 2007) to frame the dynamic interaction between a sending and a receiving country on the lives of migrants. This paper makes a unique contribution to migration literature by exploring the policies of both sending and receiving country in relation to ethnographic data on migrants. The international battle for brains has motivated states like the Netherlands and India to design flexible migration and citizenship policies for socially and economically desirable migrants. Flexible citizenship policies in the Netherlands are primarily concerned with individual and corporate rights and privileges, whereas Indian diaspora policies have been established around the premise of national identity.


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