Teaching the use of context to infer meaning: a longitudinal survey of L1 and L2 vocabulary research

2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
JoDee Walters
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Future Research ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Unknown Words ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
L1 And L2

This article examines research in the area of instruction in the use of context to infer the meanings of unknown words. This issue is addressed initially from a first language perspective, in which approaches to teaching the use of context fall into three broad categories: general strategy instruction, context clue instruction, and the use of cloze exercises to increase awareness of context. Studies in second language vocabulary acquisition and the instruction of context are then examined, and the conclusion is drawn that, while the existing research demonstrates that students benefit from having their attention drawn to the use of context, the question of how, if at all, they should be taught to deal with context is still unanswered. The article concludes with suggestions for the direction and aims of future research in this area.

scholarly journals Dynamic Transfer and Relations between First Language (L1) Proficiency and Second Language (L2) Writing Skills Performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulelah Alkhateeb
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
L1 And L2

This study investigates the transfer relationship between first language (L1) (Arabic) proficiency and second language (L2) (English) performance in writing skills of a Saudi bilingual graduate student. Several studies have discussed the transfer issues in language learning, yet a few of them focus on the transfer relationships between Arabic and English language writing skills. Regardless of the huge linguistic distinction between the English language and Arabic language, it is presumed that Arabic and English writing skills positively, negatively, and neutrally transferred in a dynamic relationship. The researcher has conducted observations and interviews with Fatimah, the participant of this study, and analyzed her texts in both languages to illustrate how dynamic relationships between L1 and L2 in the composition skills is and what the effects of language transfer in the composition skills between L1 and L2 are. The data were collected and analyzed in January 2018. The results demonstrate effects of L2 on L1 as the following; first, a reverse or backward transfer implemented in three ways; positive, negative, and neutral transfer. Second, they indicate that there is a dynamic relationship between second language performance and first language proficiency in composition particularly. It is hoped that this knowledge will assist students in being aware of the effects of L2 on L1 specifically in composition and taking the advantages to accelerate the rate of language learning. It is recommended for future research to conduct studies in bilingual writings to investigate how L1 could be a resource and advocate of language development.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Developments in Bilingual Second Language Acquisition and First Language Attrition of Speech: The Case of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Lisa Kornder ◽  
Ineke Mennen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Speech Development ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
L1 And L2

The purpose of this investigation was to trace first (L1) and second language (L2) segmental speech development in the Austrian German–English late bilingual Arnold Schwarzenegger over a period of 40 years, which makes it the first study to examine a bilingual’s speech development over several decades in both their languages. To this end, acoustic measurements of voice onset time (VOT) durations of word-initial plosives (Study 1) and formant frequencies of the first and second formant of Austrian German and English monophthongs (Study 2) were conducted using speech samples collected from broadcast interviews. The results of Study 1 showed a merging of Schwarzenegger’s German and English voiceless plosives in his late productions as manifested in a significant lengthening of VOT duration in his German plosives, and a shortening of VOT duration in his English plosives, closer to L1 production norms. Similar findings were evidenced in Study 2, revealing that some of Schwarzenegger’s L1 and L2 vowel categories had moved closer together in the course of L2 immersion. These findings suggest that both a bilingual’s first and second language accent is likely to develop and reorganize over time due to dynamic interactions between the first and second language system.

scholarly journals Lexicalized structural priming in second language online sentence comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang Wei ◽  
Julie E. Boland ◽  
Jonathan Brennan ◽  
Fang Yuan ◽  
Min Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
First Language ◽  
Structural Priming ◽  
Chinese Adult ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
L1 And L2

Prior work has shown intriguing differences between first language (L1) and second language (L2) comprehension priming of relative clauses. We investigated English reduced relative clause priming in Chinese adult learners of English. Participants of different education levels read sentences in a self-paced, moving window paradigm. Critical sentences had a temporarily ambiguous reduced relative clause. Across lists, critical sentences were rotated, so that they occurred either as prime or as target, and had either the same or different verb as the critical sentence with which they were paired. Prime/target pairs were separated by several filler sentences, which never contained a relative clause. Mean reading times for the disambiguating region in the target sentences were faster than in the prime sentences, but only in the same-verb condition, not in the different-verb condition. This pattern of results is consistent with L1 comprehension priming research, suggesting that similar lexically specific mechanisms are involved in L1 and L2 comprehension priming of reduced relative clauses. These findings are in line with lexicalist accounts of sentence comprehension (e.g. MacDonald et al., 1994), according to which syntactic information is bound to specific words. In addition, these findings argue against theories that postulate fundamental differences in processing of L1 and L2 (e.g. Clahsen and Felser, 2006a, 2006b).

“Identical” vowels in L1 and L2? Criteria and implications for L2 phonetics teaching and learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 144-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikola Maurova Paillereau
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
First Language ◽  
Positive Transfer ◽  
Phonetic Similarity ◽  
Perceptual Characteristics ◽  
L1 And L2

Researchers in the field of the teaching and learning of phonetics agree that learners of a foreign/second language (L2) acquire identical vowels by positive transfer from their first language (L1). This statement prompted us to examine whether the French and Czech languages, differing in the size of their vowel inventories, possess any identical vowels that could thus be omitted from French as a Foreign Language (FFL) phonetic curricula intended for Czech learners. The quantification of the vowels’ phonetic similarity is based on the comparison of their (1) phonetic symbols, (2) formant values (F-patterns), and (3) perceptual characteristics. The combined results show that strictly identical vowels between the two languages do not exist, but some French vowels can be defined as highly similar to some Czech vowels. Different coarticulatory effects of vowels produced in isolation and in labial, dental and palato-velar symmetrical environments point to a very strong influence of phonetic contexts on vowel similarity. Indeed, no French vowel is highly similar to any Czech vowel in all of the contexts studied. The findings suggest that phonetic exercises designed for Czech learners should focus on allophonic variations of all French vowels.

The Effectiveness of Multiple Media Tools in L2 Listening

2019 ◽  
pp. 585-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Kang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
First Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Moderator Analysis ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Multiple Media ◽  
L2 Listening

Due to the nature of listening, multiple media tools (e.g., audiocassette players, radio, video, multimedia, and language laboratory) have been utilized in second language (L2) listening instruction for a long time. This chapter recruited the most recently published empirical studies and meta-analyzed available evidence on the effects of different multiple media tools on L2 listening comprehension. The results revealed a medium-to-large effect of multiple media tools on listening comprehension in between-group designs (Cohen's d = .69). The effects of individual multiple media tools have also been statistically synthesized. Further, moderator analysis could help L2 educators and test developers make decisions on applying different multiple media tools in the fields of L2 instruction and assessment. Specifically, subtitles (in the first language/L1) /captions (in the source language/L2), as well as self-regulated listening and slow speed, are recommended to teachers and test developers as a means to improve learners' listening comprehension. In the end, this chapter concludes by identifying potential areas for future research.

The role of L1 and L2 reading comprehension in solving mathematical word problems

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emine Erktin ◽  
Ayse Akyel
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Private School ◽  
Word Problems ◽  
First Language ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Mathematical Word Problems ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
L1 And L2

Abstract Mathematics educators are concerned about students’ lack of ability to translate mathematical word problems into computable forms. Researchers argue that linguistic problems lie at the root of students’ difficulties with mathematical word problems. The issue becomes more complicated for bilingual students. It is argued that if students study mathematics in a second language they cannot be as successful as when they study in their first language. This study investigates the relationship between reading comprehension and performance on mathematics word problems in L1 and L2 for students learning English as a second language in a delayed partial immersion program. Data were collected from 250 Turkish students from Grade 8 of a private school in Istanbul through reading comprehension tests in L1 and L2 and an algebra word problems test prepared in L1 and L2. The results indicate a positive relationship between reading comprehension and mathematics performance. They also show that the students who participated in this study were not disadvantaged when they studied mathematics in English.

Orthographic activation in spoken word recognition of L2 phonological variants

2020 ◽  
pp. 026765832096825
Author(s):  
Jeong-Im Han ◽  
Song Yi Kim
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Spoken Word Recognition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Spoken Words ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Prime Target

The present study investigated the influence of orthographic input on the recognition of second language (L2) spoken words with phonological variants, when first language (L1) and L2 have different orthographic structures. Lexical encoding for intermediate-to-advanced level Mandarin learners of Korean was assessed using masked cross-modal and within-modal priming tasks. Given that Korean has obstruent nasalization in the syllable coda, prime target pairs were created with and without such phonological variants, but spellings that were provided in the cross-modal task reflected their unaltered, nonnasalized forms. The results indicate that when L2 learners are exposed to transparent alphabetic orthography, they do not show a particular cost for spoken word recognition of L2 phonological variants as long as the variation is regular and rule-governed.

The influence of first language polysemy and first language and second language lexical frequencies on second language learners’ use of false cognates

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 530-541
Author(s):  
Carl Cañizares-Álvarez ◽  
Virginia C Mueller Gathercole
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Complex Interaction ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Relative Transparency ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
L1 English

Aims and objectives: This study examines second language (L2) bilinguals’ use of words that have the same or similar forms in their two languages but whose meaning extensions differ – that is, false cognates. We examine the conditions under which L2 speakers inappropriately use false cognates in the L2. How do frequency of the relevant words in each language and polysemy of the word in the first language (L1) affect L2 learners’ use of such words? Design: Fifty Spanish L1–English L2 adults translated 80 words in context from Spanish (S) to English (E). The words involved polysemous Spanish words that had several translations in English, one of which was a cognate form. Words were strictly balanced for L1 polysemy (high versus low), frequency of the S word, frequency of the E cognate form, and frequency of the E non-cognate translation. The words were presented in unambiguous contextual frames that pushed for the non-cognate translation in English. Data and analysis: Analyses of variance were used to analyze participants’ translations relative to the variables of Spanish polysemy and the frequencies of the forms in question. Findings: The findings show that the relative transparency or opacity of the mapping between the L1 and L2 influences word choice: the use of a false cognate instead of a competing correct lexical item depends on the complex interaction of L1 polysemy and the lexical frequencies of the L1 and L2 forms in the bilingual’s two languages. Originality: This study strictly controls for several factors crucial to L2 users’ choice of a word in the L2: polysemy in the L1, frequency of the L1 word, and frequencies of the L2 words involved. Significance: When these variables are viewed together, the data reveal a complex interaction showing factors that contribute to the transparency or opacity of the L1–L2 lexical semantic linkages.

Introduction to L2 attrition

2019 ◽  
pp. 329-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodora H. Mehotcheva ◽  
Barbara Köpke
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
First Language ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Short Overview ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Subject

As the introduction to the section on second language (L2) attrition, this chapter provides a broad presentation to research on attrition of L2 and foreign languages (FL). We will first discuss the terminology used in the field, focusing on some important differences in the terminology used in first language (L1) attrition studies. It provides a short overview of the development of the field, outlining major challenges and obstacles that research on the topic has to deal with. Next, it briefly describes the major findings and knowledge amassed on the subject before reviewing in more detail the findings of some of the most significant and large-scale projects carried out on L2/FL attrition. A final presentation of several theoretical frameworks of interest for L2/FL attrition research will allow us to show how L2/FL attrition is commonly explained but also to provide some ideas for future research directions.

scholarly journals Chunk use and development in advanced Chinese L2 learners of English

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junping Hou ◽  
Hanneke Loerts ◽  
Marjolijn H. Verspoor
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Complexity Measures ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
English Classes ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Proficiency Scores ◽  
Over Time

The use of ‘chunks’ is not only a common and characteristic feature of first language use, but may also be a distinguishing factor between less and more proficient second language users. The present study aimed at investigating potential correlations between chunk use and holistically rated proficiency scores and development over time in advanced Chinese learners of English as a second language (L2) over the course of 18 months of English classes. Neither holistically rated proficiency scores nor common complexity measures had shown any progress in these learners, but a few lexically based measures did. Therefore, the development of chunks in these learners was examined as chunks are mostly lexical in nature and might show more subtle progress over time. The use of chunks was examined in the first and last two texts of the learners and, in line with previous research, it was found that more proficient writers use relatively more chunks, specifically collocations. Chunk coverage, the total number of chunk words divided by the total number of words, also correlated with some holistic proficiency scores, and increased significantly over time. Average chunk length did not show any correlation with proficiency scores nor did it increase over time. Increased proficiency in written texts is thus specifically related to the use of more chunks. This study shows that development in advanced Chinese L2 learners of English appears to be subtle, which might be due to the fact that at this advanced level mainly lexical changes take place. Future research into development over time in advanced learners may thus have to zoom in on lexical measures especially. Implications of this study point to the importance of promoting the use of target language chunks to advanced learners of English.

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