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.

The relative effects of L1 and L2 glosses on L2 learning: A meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882098139
Author(s):  
Hyun Soo Kim ◽  
Jang Ho Lee ◽  
Hansol Lee
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
First Language ◽  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
L1 And L2

Glossing is a widely used and examined vocabulary learning tool, and one of the major branches of glossing research has compared the relative effects of first language (L1) and second language (L2) glosses on reading comprehension and vocabulary learning. However, the findings in this literature have not been consistent, calling for a comprehensive and systematic review. To this end, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the relative effects of L1 and L2 glossing on L2 reading comprehension and L2 vocabulary learning. Based on 78 effect sizes gathered from 26 studies representing 30 independent samples ( N = 2,189), we found that L1 glossing was more effective than L2 glossing in general (Hedge’s g = .33, SE = .09, p < .001), but the effect size may vary depending on the target outcome measure. The relative effectiveness of L1 glossing was particularly supported by the results of immediate posttests of vocabulary, rather than delayed posttests of vocabulary and reading comprehension tests. Further, among a few selected moderator variables, the results of meta-regression revealed that learners’ L2 proficiency level significantly influenced the average effectiveness, such that L1 glossing is particularly effective for beginner learners compared to those with intermediate or higher L2 proficiency levels.

Second language reading research: Problems and possibilities

1994 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Koda
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Major Purpose ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Significant Research ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
L1 And L2

ABSTRACTA major purpose of this article is to examine first language (L1) reading theories from second language (L2) perspectives and, in so doing, to uncover significant research voids related to L2 problems. The article first considers the unique aspects of L2 reading in order to identify dimensions in which its theory must differ from accepted L1 constructs. It then discusses three fundamental distinctions that separate L1 and L2 reading: (a) the consequences of prior reading experience; (b) the effects of crosslinguistic processing; and (c) the compensatory devices stemming from the efforts of learners with limited linguistic knowledge to solve comprehension problems. Finally, several pedagogically oriented research themes which may be helpful in evaluating the instructional utility of current L2 reading theories are delineated.

scholarly journals Using Rational Cloze for Diagnostic Testing in L1 and L2 Reading

1984 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret MacLean
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
L1 And L2

Although both first and second language reading have been frequently explored, much of the research has tended to be product oriented and comparative in nature. That is, researchers have tended to focus on quantitative differences in reading comprehension test scores between groups of native and non-native speakers. Very few studies have examined how readers understand text in both their first and second languages. This paper presents results from a case study of a bilingual reader (French Ll/English L2) who read both easy and hard texts in her first and second language. Rational doze and introspection tasks were used to examine quantitative and qualitative differences in comprehension across languages. Results indicated that there were differences in the extent to which this reader successfully manipulated meaning especially at the whole text level. Implications of the rational doze procedure for diagnostic testing and teaching are discussed.

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.

scholarly journals Effects of Electronic Reading Environments’ Structure on L2 Reading Comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Khalid Al-Seghayer
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Program ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Electronic Text ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Electronic Texts ◽  
Electronic Reading ◽  
L2 Reading Comprehension

This study examines the effects of an electronic reading environment’s structure on second language (L2) reading comprehension. In particular, this study explores whether clarifying the underlying structure of an electronic text, along with the ways in which its units or nodes are organized and interrelated results in better comprehension as well as whether L2 reading proficiency affects the comprehension of electronic text. In this study, 40 English as a second language (ESL) learners, grouped into proficient and less-proficient groups based on their scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language’s (TOEFL’s) Reading section, were asked to read two electronic texts using computerized programs classified as either “well structured” or “less structured.” To assess the efficacy of each type of reading environment, two tests—a multiple-choice test and a mapping of main ideas and details (MOMID) test—were developed and administered to the participants after they read each text. The results of these tests were analyzed using a paired-samples t-test and a two-way (proficiency level by computerized reading program) mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed that well-structured electronic texts can aid ESL readers in developing a more coherent mental representation of the electronic texts’ content, thereby increasing their reading comprehension. Furthermore, well-structured electronic texts are more helpful for less-proficient readers than for more-proficient readers. These findings have significant pedagogical and technological implications for L2 reading instructors and instructional designers.

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