Re-examining the effect of phonological similarity between the native- and second-language intonational systems in second-language speech segmentation

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Annie Tremblay ◽  
Sahyang Kim ◽  
Seulgi Shin ◽  
Taehong Cho
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Phonological Similarity ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
Learning Interference ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Interference Hypothesis

Abstract This study investigates how phonological and phonetic aspects of the native-language (L1) intonation modulate the use of tonal cues in second-language (L2) speech segmentation. Previous research suggested that prosodic learning is more difficult if the L1 and L2 intonations are phonologically similar but phonetically different (French–Korean) than if they are phonologically different (English–French/Korean) (Prosodic-Learning Interference Hypothesis; Tremblay, Broersma, Coughlin & Choi, 2016). This study provides another test of this hypothesis. Korean listeners and French-speaking and English-speaking L2 learners of Korean in Korea completed an eye-tracking experiment investigating the effects of phrase tones in Korean. All groups patterned similarly with the phrase-final tone, but, unlike Korean and French listeners, English listeners showed early benefits from the phrase-initial tone (signaling word-initial boundaries in English). Importantly, French listeners patterned like Korean listeners with both tones. The Prosodic-Learning Interference Hypothesis is refined to suggest that prosodic learning difficulties may not be persistent for immersed L2 learners.

scholarly journals How L2 learners of French and English express modality using verbal means: A crosslinguistic and developmental study

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Leclercq ◽  
Amanda Edmonds
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Short Film ◽  
Developmental Study ◽  
Second Language Proficiency ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
French And English ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
English Speaking

AbstractThis study describes and analyzes how native and non-native speakers express modality using verbal means during oral retellings. Participants included native speakers of French and English, as well as English-speaking learners of French and French-speaking learners of English at three levels of language proficiency. All participants performed the same short film retelling, which was then transcribed and analyzed in terms of modalization. Results show that all groups use verbal modal means, although rates, meanings and types of modal forms used vary across the two languages, and especially as a function of second language proficiency.

scholarly journals Investigating the acquisition of the Split-IP parameter and the V2 parameter in second language Afrikaans

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Conradie
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Parameter Resetting ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Parameter Values

Researchers who assume that Universal Grammar (UG) plays a role in second language (L2) acquisition are still debating whether L2 learners have access to UG in its entirety (the Full Access hypothesis; e.g. Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994; 1996; White, 1989; 2003) or only to those aspects of UG that are instantiated in their first language (L1) grammar (the No Parameter Resetting hypothesis; e.g. Hawkins and Chan, 1997). The Full Access hypothesis predicts that parameter resetting will be possible where the L1 and L2 differ in parameter values, whereas the No Parameter Resetting hypothesis predicts that parameter resetting will not be possible. These hypotheses are tested in a study examining whether English-speaking learners of Afrikaans can reset the Split-IP parameter (SIP) (Thráinsson, 1996) and the V2 parameter from their L1 ([-SIP], [-V2]) to their L2 ([+SIP], [+V2]) values. 15 advanced English learners of Afrikaans and 10 native speakers of Afrikaans completed three tasks: a sentence manipulation task, a grammaticality judgement task and a truth-value judgement task. Results suggest that the interlanguage grammars of the L2 learners are [+SIP] and [+V2] (unlike the L1), providing evidence for the Full Access hypothesis.

The emergence of speech segmentation in adult L2 learners of French

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellenor M. Shoemaker ◽  
Sophie Wauquier
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
Classroom Setting ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Phonological Learning ◽  
Orthographic Representations ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 And L2

AbstractThe beginning stages of speech segmentation in a second language (L2) have received little attention to date. The literature on L2 phonological acquisition tends to focus on learner populations who have access to discrete (orthographic) forms through exposure to the L2 in a classroom setting. Specifically, the existing literature on L2 acquisition of French liaison holds that the processing of liaison is greatly influenced by orthographic representations and that L1 and L2 phonological learning subsequently follow distinctly different developmental paths. We present data suggesting that more naturalistic L2 learners, who have had little formal L2 instruction and whose exposure is primarily oral, process liaison employing strategies previously observed only in children learning L1 French, calling into question the assumption that L1 and L2 phonological acquisition differ fundamentally and suggesting rather that phonological development depends on both the quality and quantity of the input to which the L2 learner is exposed.

Neural deficits in auditory phonological processing in Chinese children with English reading impairment

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIANGZHI MENG ◽  
HANLIN YOU ◽  
MEIXIA SONG ◽  
AMY S. DESROCHES ◽  
ZHENGKE WANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Reading Impairment ◽  
English Reading ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Esl Learners

Auditory phonological processing skills are critical for successful reading development in English not only in native (L1) speakers but also in second language (L2) learners. However, the neural deficits of auditory phonological processing remain unknown in English-as-the-second-language (ESL) learners with reading difficulties. Here we investigated neural responses during spoken word rhyme judgments in typical and impaired ESL readers in China. The impaired readers showed comparable activation in the left superior temporal gyrus (LSTG), but reduced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and left fusiform and reduced connectivity between the LSTG and left fusiform when compared to typical readers. These findings suggest that impaired ESL readers have relative intact representations but impaired manipulation of phonology and reduced or absent automatic access to orthographic representations. This is consistent with previous findings in native English speakers and suggests a common neural mechanism underlying English impairment across the L1 and L2 learners.

Acquiring Pronouns in a Second Language: Evidence for Hypothesis Testing

1984 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanette K. Gundel ◽  
Nancy Stenson ◽  
Elaine Tarone
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Hypothesis Testing ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Direct Transfer ◽  
Language Pattern ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
L1 And L2

Gundel and Tarone (1981) studied the acquisition of pronouns by Chinese and Spanish speaking adults learning English. On the basis of this study it was proposed that when L1 and L2 differ in the relative order of object pronoun and verb, the acquisition of direct object pronouns proceeds in three stages: (1) direct transfer of the native language pattern; (2) zero anaphora, i.e. no overt form at all, in direct object position; (3) the correct L2 pattern. The present paper presents further evidence for this proposal, and hence for a hypothesis-testing view of second language acquisition, on the basis of longitudinal data from English speaking children learning French in the Toronto French Immersion Program.

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 emergence of tense and agreement in child L2 French

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanne Paradis ◽  
Mathieu Le Corre ◽  
Fred Genesee
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Acquisition Sequence ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Lexical Transfer ◽  
Grammatical Structures

The present study examined the acquisition of tense and agreement by L2 learners of French. We looked at whether the features and and the categories AGRP and TP emerged simultaneously or in sequence in the learners' grammars.We conducted interviews with English-speaking children acquiring French as a second language and with grade-matched native-speaker controls once a year for three years. The data were analysed for the productive use of morphosyntax encoding tense and agreement. Results revealed that items encoding agreement emerged before items encoding tense, suggesting that the abstract grammatical structures associated with these morphosyntax items emerge in sequence. The findings are interpreted with respect to three prevailing views on the acquisition of functional phrase structure in L2 acquisition: the Lexical Transfer/Minimal Trees hypothesis (Vainikka and Young-Scholten, 1994; 1996a; 1996b), the Weak Transfer/Valueless Features hypothesis (Eubank, 1993/94; 1994; 1996) and the Full Transfer/Full Access hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994;1996). Possible reasons for the existence of this acquisition sequence in French are also discussed.

Frequency effects and second language lexical acquisition

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Crossley ◽  
Tom Salsbury ◽  
Ashley Titak ◽  
Danielle McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Absolute Frequency ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
L1 And L2

Frequency effects in an L1 and L2 longitudinal corpus were investigated using Zipfian distribution analyses and linear curve estimations. The results demonstrated that the NS lexical input exhibited Zipfian distributions, but that the L2 lexical output did not match the NS Zipfian patterns. Word frequency analyses indicated that NS interlocutors modify their lexicon such that frequency scores decrease as a function of time that L2 learners have studied English. In contrast, the word frequency scores for the L2 output increased as a function of time. Post-hoc analyses indicated that differences in frequency scores between NS input and L2 output were best explained by the repetition of infrequent words, but not frequent words by L2 learners in the early stages of language acquisition. The results question absolute frequency interpretations of lexical acquisition for L2 learners and provide evidence for usage-based approaches for language learning.

scholarly journals The Effect of Planning on Complexity, and Accuracy in Second Language Production: A Case Study in Learner’s Writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-474
Author(s):  
Komara Suhendar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Slight Improvement ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Subject ◽  
First Time ◽  
And Task

This case study investigates the effect of planning on complexity, and accuracy in second language (L2) learners’ writing. The subject of the research is a twenty-four-year-old-Indonesian student named Della. She is selected due to her most current IELTS score, and her first-time residence in English speaking country. The participant is asked to write two writing tasks which was taken from IELTS topics. While the duration of time is set for the first task, the second task is not limited by time. After that, the results are compared and analyzed by means of T-unit as in Hunt (1965). The result of the research shows that planning may lead to slight improvement in learner’s writing. In terms of accuracy, there is 69.23% of error-free T-unit in task 1, and 72.22% in task 2. Similarly, in connection with complexity, the average length of T-unit and clauses in task 1 and task 2 is 12.92 and 15 respectively.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document