PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING OF STRESS BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS LEARNING SPANISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Abstract One feature of Spanish that presents some difficulties to second language (L2) learners whose first language (L1) is English concerns lexical stress. This study explores one aspect of the obstacle these learners face, weak phonological processing routines concerning stress inherited from their native language. Participants were L1 English L2 learners of Spanish. The experiment was a sequence-recall task with auditory stimuli minimally contrasting in stress (target) or segmental composition (baseline). The results suggest that learners are more likely to accurately recall sequences with stimuli contrasting in segmental composition than stress, suggesting reduced phonological processing of stress relative to a processing baseline. Furthermore, an increase in proficiency—assessed by means of grammatical and lexical tests—was found to be modestly associated with an increase in the accuracy of processing stress. We conclude that the processing routines of native English speakers lead to an acquisitional obstacle when learning Spanish as a L2.

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The Production of New and Similar Vowels by Adult German Learners of English

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263100010792 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 131-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 123

Author(s):

Ocke-Schwen Bohn ◽

James Emil Flege

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

English Language ◽

First Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

English Speakers ◽

Control Group ◽

Language Experience ◽

English Vowels ◽

L1 English ◽

Positive Effect

The study reported in this paper examined the effect of second language (L2) experience on the production of L2 vowels for which acoustic counterparts are either present or absent in the first language (L1). The hypothesis being tested was that amount of L2 experience would not affect L1 German speakers' production of the “similar” English vowels /i, l, ∈/, whereas English language experience would enable L1 Germans to produce an English-like /æ/, which has no counterpart in German. The predictions were tested in two experiments that compared the production of English /i, l, ∈, æ/ by two groups of L1 German speakers differing in English language experience and an L1 English control group. An acoustic experiment compared the three groups for spectral and temporal characteristics of the English vowels produced in /bVt/ words. The same tokens were assessed for intelligibility in a labeling experiment. The results of both experiments were largely consistent with the hypothesis. The experienced L2 speakers did not produce the similar English vowels /i, l, ∈/ more intelligibly than the inexperienced L2 speakers, not did experience have a positive effect on approximating the English acoustic norms for these similar vowels. The intelligibility results for the new vowel /æ/ did not clearly support the model. However, the acoustic comparisons showed that the experienced but not the inexperienced L2 speakers produced the new vowel /æ/ in much the same way as the native English speakers.

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English Speakers’ Implicit Gender Concepts Influence Their Processing of French Grammatical Gender: Evidence for Semantically Mediated Cross-Linguistic Influence

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740920 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Elena Nicoladis ◽

Chris Westbury ◽

Cassandra Foursha-Stevenson

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Response Time ◽

Response Times ◽

First Language ◽

Grammatical Gender ◽

Word Embedding ◽

English Speakers ◽

French Words ◽

L1 English ◽

French Gender

Second language (L2) learners often show influence from their first language (L1) in all domains of language. This cross-linguistic influence could, in some cases, be mediated by semantics. The purpose of the present study was to test whether implicit English gender connotations affect L1 English speakers’ judgments of the L2 French gender of objects. We hypothesized that gender estimates derived from word embedding models that measure similarity of word contexts in English would affect accuracy and response time on grammatical gender (GG) decision in L2 French. L2 French learners were asked to identify the GG of French words estimated to be either congruent or incongruent with the implicit gender in English. The results showed that they were more accurate with words that were congruent with English gender connotations than words that were incongruent, suggesting that English gender connotations can influence grammatical judgments in French. Response times showed the same pattern. The results are consistent with semantics-mediated cross-linguistic influence.

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Educational failure or success

Australian Review of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.1075/aral.36.3.05dix ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 302-315 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

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

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Variability and consistency in late bilinguals’ morphology

The Mental Lexicon ◽

10.1075/ml.18002.jes ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 186-214

Author(s):

Anna Jessen ◽

João Veríssimo ◽

Harald Clahsen

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

First Language ◽

English Speakers ◽

Control Group ◽

Brain Potentials ◽

Grammatical Morphology ◽

Frontal Negativity ◽

Complex Words ◽

L1 English ◽

Late Bilinguals

Abstract Speaking a late-learned second language (L2) is supposed to yield more variable and less consistent output than speaking one’s first language (L1), particularly with respect to reliably adhering to grammatical morphology. The current study investigates both internal processes involved in encoding morphologically complex words – by recording event-related brain potentials (ERPs) during participants’ silent productions – and the corresponding overt output. We specifically examined compounds with plural or singular modifiers in English. Thirty-one advanced L2 speakers of English (L1: German) were compared to a control group of 20 L1 English speakers from an earlier study. We found an enhanced (right-frontal) negativity during (silent) morphological encoding for compounds produced from regular plural forms relative to compounds formed from irregular plurals, replicating the ERP effect obtained for the L1 group. The L2 speakers’ overt productions, however, were significantly less consistent than those of the L1 speakers on the same task. We suggest that L2 speakers employ the same mechanisms for morphological encoding as L1 speakers, but with less reliance on grammatical constraints than L1 speakers.

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English Nasalance Values of Chinese Learners of English

Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica ◽

10.1159/000510940 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Yilan Liu ◽

Sue Ann S. Lee

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Language Production ◽

First Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Potential Effect ◽

English Speakers ◽

Chinese Speakers ◽

Chinese Learners ◽

Chinese Learners Of English

Introduction: Although a number of studies have been conducted to investigate nasalance scores of speakers of different languages, little research has examined the nasalance characteristics of second language learners. Objective: The goal of the current study was to examine whether English nasalance values of Mandarin Chinese speakers are similar to those of native English speakers, examining the potential effect of the first language on the nasalance scores of the second language production. Methods: Thirty-two adults (16 Mandarin Chinese speakers and 16 native English speakers) with a normal velopharyngeal anatomy participated. Nasalance scores of various speech stimuli were obtained using a nasometer and compared between the 2 groups. Results and Conclusions: Chinese learners of English produced higher nasalance scores than native English speakers on prolonged vowel /i/ and /a/, the syllable “nin,” and non-nasal sentences and passages. The first language effect on nasalance of the second language found in the current study suggests the importance of linguistic consideration in the clinical evaluation of resonance.

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Priming and adaptation in native speakers and second-language learners

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728916001231 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 228-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

EDITH KAAN ◽

EUNJIN CHUN

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learners ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Prepositional Phrase ◽

English Speakers ◽

Double Object ◽

Processing Strategies ◽

L2 Learners

Native speakers show rapid adjustment of their processing strategies and preferences on the basis of the structures they have recently encountered. The present study investigated the nature of priming and adaptation in second-language (L2) speakers and, more specifically, whether similar mechanisms underlie L2 and native language adaptation. Native English speakers and Korean L2 learners of English completed a written priming study probing the use of double object and prepositional phrase datives. Both groups showed cumulative adaptation effects for both types of dative, which was stronger for the structure that was initially less frequent to them (prepositional phrase datives for the native English speakers, and double object datives for the L2 learners). This supports models of priming that incorporate frequency-based modulation of long-lasting activation of structures. L2 learners and native speakers use similar processing mechanisms; differences in adaptation can be accounted for by differences in the relative frequency of structures.

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Effects of contrastive accents in memory for L2 discourse

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728916000638 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 1063-1079 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

EUN-KYUNG LEE ◽

SCOTT FRAUNDORF

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

English Speakers ◽

Discourse Representation ◽

Depth Of Processing ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Pitch Accents

Contrastive pitch accents benefit native English speakers’ memory for discourse by enhancing a representation of a specific relevant contrast item (Fraundorf et al., 2010). This study examines whether and how second language (L2) listeners differ in how contrastive accents affect their encoding and representation of a discourse, as compared to native speakers. Using the same materials as Fraundorf et al. (2010), we found that low and mid proficiency L2 learners showed no memory benefit from contrastive accents. High proficiency L2 learners revealed some sensitivity to contrastive accents, but failed to fully integrate information conveyed by contrastive accents into their discourse representation. The results suggest that L2 listeners’ non-native performance in processing contrastive accents, observed in this and other prior studies, may be attributed at least in part to a difference in the depth of processing of the information conveyed by contrastive accents.

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Impact of Cyrillic on Native English Speakers’ Phono-lexical Acquisition of Russian

Language and Speech ◽

10.1177/0023830918761489 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 565-576 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Catherine E. Showalter

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Word Learning ◽

Native Language ◽

First Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Lexical Acquisition ◽

English Speakers ◽

Pictures And Words ◽

Lexical Learning

We investigated the influence of grapheme familiarity and native language grapheme–phoneme correspondences during second language lexical learning. Native English speakers learned Russian-like words via auditory presentations containing only familiar first language phones, pictured meanings, and exposure to either Cyrillic orthographic forms (Orthography condition) or the sequence <XXX> (No Orthography condition). Orthography participants saw three types of written forms: familiar-congruent (e.g., <KOM>-[kom]), familiar-incongruent (e.g., <PAT>-[rɑt]), and unfamiliar (e.g., <ФИЛ>-[fil]). At test, participants determined whether pictures and words matched according to what they saw during word learning. All participants performed near ceiling in all stimulus conditions, except for Orthography participants on words containing incongruent grapheme–phoneme correspondences. These results suggest that first language grapheme–phoneme correspondences can cause interference during second language phono-lexical acquisition. In addition, these results suggest that orthographic input effects are robust enough to interfere even when the input does not contain novel phones.

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THE DATIVE ALTERNATION IN GERMAN-ENGLISH INTERLANGUAGE

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263115000261 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 485-521 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Katja Jäschke ◽

Ingo Plag

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

First Language ◽

Probabilistic Constraints ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Dative Alternation ◽

L2 Learners ◽

L1 English

This study investigates the role of probabilistic grammatical constraints on the dative alternation in English as a second language (ESL). It presents the results of an experiment in which the different factors that are influential in first language (L1) English are tested with advanced learners of English whose L1 is German. Second language (L2) learners are influenced by the same determinants as L1 speakers but to a lesser degree. Together with the results of previous studies, the present results suggest that, initially, the learners do not make use of probabilistic constraints in spite of the constraints being influential in the L1 and only gradually acquire a sensitivity toward the constraints that govern the choice between the two dative constructions.

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The development of lexical fluency in a second language

Second language Research ◽

10.1191/0267658302sr201oa ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 137-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 137

Author(s):

Judith F. Kroll ◽

Erica Michael ◽

Natasha Tokowicz ◽

Robert Dufour

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

First Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

English Speakers ◽

Reading Span ◽

Psycholinguistic Research ◽

Forward Translation ◽

L2 Learning ◽

Stages Of Learning

A goal of second language (L2) learning is to enable learners to understand and speak L2 words without mediation through the first language (L1). However, psycholinguistic research suggests that lexical candidates are routinely activated in L1 when words in L2 are processed. In this article we describe two experiments that examined the acquisition of L2 lexical fluency. In Experiment 1, two groups of native English speakers, one more and one less fluent in French as their L2, performed word naming and translation tasks. Learners were slower and more error prone to name and to translate words into L2 than more fluent bilinguals. However, there was also an asymmetry in translation performance such that forward translation was slower than backward translation. Learners were also slower than fluent bilinguals to name words in English, the L1 of both groups. In Experiment 2, we compared the performance of native English speakers at early stages of learning French or Spanish to the performance of fluent bilinguals on the same tasks. The goal was to determine whether the apparent cost to L1 reading was a consequence of L2 learning or a reflection of differences in cognitive abilities between learners and bilinguals. Experiment 2 replicated the main features of Experiment 1 and showed that bilinguals scored higher than learners on a measure of L1 reading span, but that this difference did not account for the apparent cost to L1 naming.We consider the implications of these results for models of the developing lexicon.

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