SLEEP-DEPENDENT CONSOLIDATION OF SECOND LANGUAGE GRAMMAR KNOWLEDGE

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1107-1120
Author(s):  
Kathy MinHye Kim ◽  
Kimberly M. Fenn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Verbal Reports ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Grammar Rules ◽  
Grammar Knowledge

AbstractSleep plays a role in the consolidation of various aspects of language learning. In this study, we investigated the extent to which sleep-dependent memory consolidation contributes to second language (L2) rule generalization and enhancement of L2 explicit knowledge. One hundred native English speakers were engaged in a meaning-focused training of two German grammar rules. Participants were trained either in the morning or in the evening and tested after a retention interval that was either filled with wakefulness or sleep. During the test, we used a grammaticality judgment test to measure grammatical learning and retrospective verbal reports and source attributions to measure awareness. We found that sleep consolidated learning only for learners who reported awareness of syntactic rules prior to sleep. However, performance based on explicit sources did not differ after a period of sleep and after a period of wakefulness. These findings suggest that sleep may benefit L2 rule generalization only for learners who are aware of the L2 rules before sleep but may not consolidate L2 explicit knowledge.

scholarly journals Lexical constraints in second language learning: Evidence on grammatical gender in German*

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 502-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSAN C. BOBB ◽  
JUDITH F. KROLL ◽  
CARRIE N. JACKSON
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Lexical Constraints ◽  
Correct Translation

The present study asked whether or not the apparent insensitivity of second language (L2) learners to grammatical gender violations reflects an inability to use grammatical information during L2 lexical processing. Native German speakers and English speakers with intermediate to advanced L2 proficiency in German performed a translation-recognition task. On critical trials, an incorrect translation was presented that either matched or mismatched the grammatical gender of the correct translation. Results show interference for native German speakers in conditions in which the incorrect translation matched the gender of the correct translation. Native English speakers, regardless of German proficiency, were insensitive to the gender mismatch. In contrast, these same participants were correctly able to assign gender to critical items. These findings suggest a dissociation between explicit knowledge and the ability to use that information under speeded processing conditions and demonstrate the difficulty of L2 gender processing at the lexical level.

scholarly journals Helping Second Language Student Writers Improve Their Revision

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Wenzhe Kang ◽  
Ruiyi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Language Students

Writing ability is a comprehensive evaluation of language learning level. Nowadays, most universities offer writing-related courses to help students lay a good foundation for writing and contribute to their subsequent studies. Compared with native English speakers, second language learners need to do more revision, which is a great challenge for second language learners. Therefore, in this paper, the aim is to make the second language students understand and apply the revision correctly.    

Second language learning of phonological alternations with and without orthographic input: Evidence from the acquisition of a German-like voicing alternation

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-545
Author(s):  
Shannon L. Barrios ◽  
Rachel Hayes-Harb
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Naming Test

AbstractWhile a growing body of research investigates the influence of orthographic input on the acquisition of second language (L2) segmental contrasts, few studies have examined its influence on the acquisition of L2 phonological processes. Hayes-Harb, Brown, and Smith (2018) showed that exposure to words’ written forms caused native English speakers to misremember the voicing of final obstruents in German-like words exemplifying voicing neutralization. However, they did not examine participants’ acquisition of the final devoicing process. To address this gap, we conducted two experiments wherein native English speakers (assigned to Orthography or No Orthography groups) learned German-like words in suffixed and unsuffixed forms, and later completed a picture naming test. Experiment 1 investigated learners’ knowledge of the surface voicing of obstruents in both final and nonfinal position, and revealed that while all participants produced underlyingly voiced obstruents as voiceless more often in final than nonfinal position, the difference was only significant for No Orthography participants. Experiment 2 investigated participants’ ability to apply the devoicing process to new words, and provided no evidence of generalization. Together these findings shed light on the acquisition of final devoicing by naïve adult learners, as well as the influence of orthographic input in the acquisition of a phonological alternation.

Educational failure or success

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Students First ◽  
Use Of Assessment

Within the Australian education system, Aboriginal students’ use of non-standard English features is often viewed simplistically as evidence of non-attainment of literacy and oral-English milestones. One reason for this is the widespread use of assessment tools which fail to differentiate between native- English speakers and students who are learning English as a second language. In these assessments, non-standard English features are framed as ‘mistakes’ and low scores taken as evidence of ‘poor’ performance. This paper will contrast a mistake-oriented analysis with one that incorporates knowledge of the students’ first language. It will clearly show that when consideration is given to the first language, a more nuanced picture of English proficiency emerges: one that is attuned to the specific second language learning pathway and thus far better placed to inform both assessment and classroom instruction.i

The effects of age of second language learning on the production of English vowels

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray J. Munro ◽  
James Emil Flege ◽  
Ian R. A. Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Percent Correct ◽  
English Vowels

ABSTRACTThis study examined the English vowel productions of 240 native speakers of Italian who had arrived in Canada at ages ranging from 2 to 23 years and 24 native English speakers from the same community. The productions of 11 vowels were rated for degree of foreign accent by 10 listeners. An increase in perceived accentedness as a function of increasing age of arrival was observed on every vowel. Not one of the vowels was observed to be produced in a consistently native-like manner by the latest-arriving learners, even though they had been living in Canada for an average of 32 years. However, high intelligibility (percent correct identification) scores were obtained for the same set of productions. This was true even for English vowels that have no counterpart in Italian.

scholarly journals VARIABILITY IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn M. Tagarelli ◽  
Simón Ruiz ◽  
José Luis Moreno Vega ◽  
Patrick Rebuschat
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Exposure Condition ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Incidental Group

Second language learning outcomes are highly variable, due to a variety of factors, including individual differences, exposure conditions, and linguistic complexity. However, exactly how these factors interact to influence language learning is unknown. This article examines the relationship between these three variables in language learners.Native English speakers were exposed to an artificial language containing three sentence patterns of varying linguistic complexity. They were randomly assigned to two groups—incidental and instructed—designed to promote the acquisition of implicit and explicit knowledge, respectively. Learning was assessed with a grammaticality judgment task, and subjective measures of awareness were used to measure whether exposure had resulted in implicit or explicit knowledge. Participants also completed cognitive tests.Awareness measures demonstrated that learners in the incidental group relied more on implicit knowledge, whereas learners in the instructed group relied more on explicit knowledge. Overall, exposure condition was the most significant predictor of performance on the grammaticality judgment task, with learners in the instructed group outperforming those in the incidental group. Performance on a procedural learning task accounted for additional variance. When outcomes were analyzed according to linguistic complexity, exposure condition was the most significant predictor for two syntactic patterns, but it was not a predictor for the most complex sentence group; instead, procedural learning ability was.

Implicit and explicit knowledge of inflectional morphology

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 781-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN ROGERS ◽  
ANDREA RÉVÉSZ ◽  
PATRICK REBUSCHAT
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Incidental Learning ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Verbal Reports ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Rule Knowledge ◽  
Learning Conditions ◽  
Incidental Exposure ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

ABSTRACTThis study set out to test the degree to which second language inflectional morphology can be acquired as a result of incidental exposure and whether the resulting knowledge is implicit (unconscious) or explicit (conscious) in nature. Participants were exposed to an artificial language system based on Czech morphology under incidental learning conditions. In the testing phase, a grammaticality judgment test was utilized to assess learning. In addition, subjective measures of awareness and retrospective verbal reports were used to measure whether the acquired knowledge was conscious or not. The results of the experiment indicate that participants can rapidly develop knowledge of second language inflectional morphology under incidental learning conditions in the absence of verbalizable rule knowledge.

scholarly journals The role of modality and awareness in language learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Chuqi Zhao ◽  
Judit Kormos ◽  
Patrick Rebuschat ◽  
Shungo Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Bayesian Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Learning Effects ◽  
Verbal Reports ◽  
Moderate Evidence

Abstract There is conflicting empirical evidence regarding the role of awareness in second language learning. Possible explanations for the contradictory results include the modality in the exposure and assessment phases of previous experiments. Our study investigated the acquisition of a novel determiner system under incidental exposure conditions and examined the effect of modality in both exposure and assessment phases. Animacy served as a hidden regularity in the determiners, which were embedded in sentences and presented to Chinese speakers of English either in auditory or in visual mode. Learning was assessed by a two-alternative forced-choice test either auditorily or in writing. Implicit and explicit knowledge were measured using retrospective verbal reports and source judgements. Bayesian analysis provided moderate evidence for above chance level learning. Significant learning effects were observed regardless of whether participants based their accuracy judgements on explicit or implicit knowledge. Bayesian analysis showed moderate evidence for above chance learning effects for aware participants. Generalized linear mixed-effects modeling revealed a small-size significant benefit of the auditory exposure modality over the written modality but indicated no significant effect of the modality of assessment or awareness. Our research underscores the importance of considering the role of modality of exposure in incidental second language learning contexts.

scholarly journals Second Language Learners’ Coping Strategy in Conversations with Native Speakers

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-183
Author(s):  
Sachiko Terui
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
The Many ◽  
Communicative Strategy

One of the many strategies that many international students employ to cope with their lack of English proficiency is to pretend to understand or not to understand the conversational content exchanged with native English speakers. Combining autoethnography and iterative interviews this research explores the pretending behavior profoundly from non-native speakers’ perspectives. During the iterative interviews, six students shared their personal experience specified in pretending behaviors. This study aims at informing the second language learning experience and promoting mutual understanding between native and non-native speakers in multi-lingual and multi-cultural societies. As a result, under the metatheme (Tesch, 1987) of pretending in conversation, pretending as a Communicative Strategy, eleven themes emerged. 

Does learning Spanish grammatical gender change English-speaking adults' categorization of inanimate objects?

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELENA KURINSKI ◽  
MARIA D. SERA
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
The Body ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
English Speaking

Second language acquisition studies can contribute to the body of research on the influence of language on thought by examining cognitive change as a result of second language learning. We conducted a longitudinal study that examined how the acquisition of Spanish grammatical gender influences categorization in native English-speaking adults. We asked whether learning the grammatical gender of Spanish affects adult native English speakers' attribution of gender to inanimate objects. College students enrolled in beginning Spanish participated in two tasks repeatedly (four times) throughout one academic year. One task examined their acquisition of grammatical gender. The other examined their categorization of inanimate objects. We began to observe changes in participants' grammatical gender acquisition and in categorization after ten weeks of Spanish instruction. Results indicate that learning a second language as an adult can change the way one categorizes objects. However, the effect of Spanish grammatical gender was more limited in Spanish learners than in native Spanish speakers; it was not observed for all kinds of objects nor did it increase with learners' proficiency, suggesting that adults learning Spanish reach a plateau beyond which changes in categorization do not occur.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document