The variable development of English word-final stops by Brazilian Portuguese speakers: A stochastic optimality theoretic account

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walcir Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Optimality Theory ◽  
English Word ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Stochastic Version

AbstractOne of the core problems in second language acquisition theory is how to describe and explain the highly variable (yet rule-governed) speech of second language learners. Is such variation simply random and most likely due to the first language's interference, or is it governed (at least in part) by general rules that reflect language universals? Within a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of variability in second language acquisition, this article addresses these questions in the context of a cross-sectional study involving the acquisition of word-final stops by Brazilian Portuguese speakers learning English in a classroom environment. The study follows a sociolinguistic approach for data collection and the analysis is couched within a stochastic version of Optimality Theory.

Neurological Bimodality and Theories of Language Teaching

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Danesi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Second Language Teaching ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Perceptual Modalities

The failure of the method notion in second language teaching has been attributed to a series of valid pedagogical and socioeducational factors. The concept of neurological bimodality, which posits that effective language learning in a classroom environment requires the utilization of the perceptual modalities associated with each cerebral hemisphere, offers a more fundamental, neurologically related diagnosis of this failure. This paper looks at the historiography of language teaching theories from the perspective of bimodality, and then concludes with specific suggestions vis-à-vis the kinds of research directions that might empirically substantiate the usefulness of this concept for second language acquisition in a classroom environment.

The development of lexical complexity in second language acquisition

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 69-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastien De Clercq
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
French And English ◽  
Multilingual Corpus ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency

The development of lexical complexity in second language acquisition has received a considerable amount of attention in applied linguistics research. Many studies have examined the role of lexical diversity, sophistication and density as indicators of L2 proficiency. Few studies, though, have considered the development of lexical complexity from an explicitly cross-linguistic perspective. This article reports on an explorative, cross-linguistic study on the development of lexical diversity, sophistication and density in L2 French and English at four levels of linguistic proficiency. Additionally, the study proposes a number of alternative measures tapping into collocational knowledge and lexical sophistication. The analyses were carried out on a cross-sectional, multilingual corpus of L2 French and English consisting of oral narrative data. The results show a similar development of lexical diversity in L2 French and English, but considerably different developmental tendencies in terms of sophistication and density. The concluding sections discuss possible explanations for these differences and consequences for the measurement of linguistic proficiency.

The effect of extraversion on oral L2 proficiency

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 213-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siska van Daele ◽  
Alex Housen ◽  
Michel Pierrard ◽  
Luc De Bruyn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
School Students ◽  
Personality Variable ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
L2 Production ◽  
Target Languages

This study investigates the commonly-held belief in the SLA community that second language acquisition is somehow influenced by the learner’s personality. It builds on previous research on the relation between one personality variable, extraversion, and second language acquisition but is innovative in three ways. First, it examines L2 learners’ speech production in two rather than one L2 and thus puts to the test the hypothesis that the effect of extraversion is stable across different target languages (Dewaele and Furnham 2000). Secondly, whereas most previous studies have investigated the effect of extraversion on fluency (e.g. Rossier 1976, Tapasak, Roodin and Vaught 1978, Busch 1982, Dewaele 1998) this study also looks at the potential effect of this variable on the linguistic accuracy and complexity of learners’ L2 speech production. Thirdly, whereas previous studies were mostly cross-sectional in design, this study adds a longitudinal perspective by considering to what extent the effect of the extraversion–introversion dimension on the fluency, complexity and accuracy of learners’ L2 production remains stable over time. Participants were 25 Dutch-speaking secondary school students learning both English and French as foreign languages in Flanders, Belgium.

scholarly journals O parâmetro do sujeito nulo na Aquisição do Português L2 (Null subject parameter in L2 Portuguese Acquisition)

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Gildete Rocha Xavier
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Null Subject Parameter ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar como se dá a aquisição do sujeito nulo do Português Brasileiro L2 por falantes nativos de Inglês e Italiano em situação de imersão. A pesquisa desenvolve-se no âmbito da gramática gerativa, (CHOMSKY, 1981, 1986, 1993, 1995, 2000). As questões da pesquisa estão relacionadas à questão do acesso à Gramática Universal.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Gramática gerativa. Princípios e parâmetros. Aquisição de segunda língua. Sujeito nulo. ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to investigate the acquisition of the null subject in Brazilian Portuguese as a second language by native speakers of English and Italian. The research was developed within the framework of Generative Grammar (CHOMSKY, 1981, 1986, 1993, 1995, 2000). This research attempted to investigate whether the L2 learners have access to the Universal Grammar.KEYWORDS: Generative grammar. Principles and parameters. Second language acquisition. Null subject.

scholarly journals How to study second language acquisition: a cross-sectional method

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Jogilė Teresa Ramonaitė
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Conducting Research

This paper describes a cross-sectional method, which is employed when conducting research on acquisition of Lithuanian as a second language. This is one of the most optimal methods to study the process of language acquisition in adults, since it does not demand a long-term commitment on the part of the studied subjects. On the basis of the method, a specific research protocol has been designed in the framework of various second language acquisition research projects conducted in Europe. One of its advantages is that language data can be collected in a fairly small group (10-30 people) of learners of different acquisition levels. The data collected in this way is later analysed and compared between learners in order to determine the acquisitional sequence and other aspects of interest. The main corpus for this study is constituted by language data collected during a semi- structured (socio)linguistic interview, which is a free talk with a participant, who is encouraged to talk. The talk includes some specific questions. During the interview, not only the language data but also some important information about other relevant sociolinguistic factors is collected, such as age, period of stay in the country, language attitudes and motivation. To be able to better compare the participants and to study specific linguistic aspects that might fail to appear in spontaneous speech, all the participants are given the same additional tasks. The tasks described in this paper are of different types: film retelling, storytelling according to a sequence of pictures, describing two similar pictures and indicating differences between them, giving a recipe and repeating sentences. Different competences are required in these tasks but most attention is given to language production. The paper also offers some practical advice and observations based on the study. The specific study where the method was applied for Lithuanian aims at researching the development of acquisition of Lithuanian with the focus on the development of the verb system. The data collected in this manner could be used to study other aspects of language acquisition as well.

scholarly journals Second Language Acquisition through Task Based Language Teaching

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 7472-7474
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Task Design ◽  
New Method ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Real Value

The classroom environment plays a major part in learning. The atmosphere is more essential for a student. The Students have a different psychological stimulus when performing the activities inside the classroom. The classroom atmosphere helps the students in learning the foreign language.TBLT is being applied inside the language classroom. With the new method, the teachers try to correlate the contents and the task design of teaching closer to their profession, because student participants can find it out easy for communicating via different stages tocarryout the tasksin all aspects of capabilitiesin second language acquisition. This paper is focused from all perspectivesof Task Based Language Teaching particularly in terms of meaning and concept, certain issues of conventional language teaching andexplaining the real value of execution of Tasks in language classroom .

FOCUS ON PHONOLOGICAL ACQUISITION.S. J. Hannahs and Martha Young-Scholten (Eds.). Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1997. Pp. 198. $82.00 cloth.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-131
Author(s):  
Jenifer Larson-Hall
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Optimality Theory ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Feature Geometry ◽  
Lexical Phonology

This volume is a collection of articles that explore language acquisition through the lens of current phonological theories, such as Optimality Theory, Lexical Phonology, and Feature Geometry. It is divided into one section on first language acquisition (L1) and another on second language acquisition (L2). There is an introduction by the editors.

Introduction: Combining learner psychology and ISLA research: Intersections in the classroom

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110442
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Sato ◽  
Kata Csizér
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
The Impact

This article explores intersections between two subfields of second language acquisition research: learner psychology (LP) and instructed second language acquisition (ISLA). Despite the common goal of discovering second language (L2) learning processes and products, the two inquiries have taken distinct paths. We argue that it is necessary to unite the knowledge and methods in the two inquiries, in order to answer theoretical and practical questions pertaining to classroom L2 teaching and learning. We make the case that the L2 classroom may be an ideal venue to explore the intersections of the two fields. Three intersections will be discussed. First, research can address the relationship between LP and interactional behaviors during classroom activities that have been investigated in ISLA research. Second, the roles of teachers, the classroom environment, and instruction – the primary variables in ISLA research – can be examined in relation to LP in the classroom. Third, research can target LP as a dependent variable in experimental designs that ISLA research often employs. LP is a primary concern of L2 teachers who face a range of LP (unmotivated students, silent students, anxious students, etc.). Some teachers are also concerned about the potential negative impact of a certain instructional technique on LP. Thus, combining LP and ISLA perspectives helps answer various pedagogical concerns, whether these are related to particular LP issues, or the impact of instructional techniques on LP. Throughout the article, we propose future research topics and make pedagogical recommendations addressing LP in the classroom.

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