How explicit instruction improves phonological awareness and perception of L2 sound contrasts in younger and older adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Felker ◽  
Esther Janse ◽  
Mirjam Ernestus ◽  
Mirjam Broersma
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Phonetic Instruction

Abstract Despite the importance of conscious awareness in second language acquisition theories, little is known about how L2 speech perception can be improved by explicit phonetic instruction. This study examined the relationship between phonological awareness and perception in Dutch younger and older adult L2 listeners, focusing on English contrasts of two types: a familiar contrast in an unfamiliar position (word-final /t/-/d/) and an unfamiliar contrast (/æ/-/ε/). Awareness was assessed with a task in which written minimal pairs and homophone pairs had to be judged as sounding the same or different. Perception was assessed with a two-alternative forced-choice identification task with auditorily presented words from minimal pairs. We investigated whether listeners’ awareness and perception improved after a video-based explicit instruction that oriented their attention to one of these contrasts, and we tested whether including information about the phonetic cue of vowel duration increased learning. Awareness and perception of each contrast were shown to be moderately correlated at the study’s outset. Furthermore, awareness and perception for each contrast generally improved more after the instruction drawing attention to that contrast. However, the effectiveness of explicit phonetic instruction varied depending on the combination of the contrast, cue information, and listener age group.

scholarly journals Frequency Effects in Second Language Acquisition: An Annotated Survey

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Galip Kartal ◽  
Ece Sarigul
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between frequency and language acquisition from many perspectives including implicit and explicit instruction, frequency effects on morpheme acquisition in L2, the relationship between frequency and multi-word constructions, frequency effects on phonetics, vocabulary, gerund and infinitive constructions, bitransitive constructions, and so on. In his impressive article on frequency, Ellis (2002a) asked this crucial question about the relationship between frequency and SLA: “How exactly does the frequency of patterns in the input affect acquisition?” Another fundamental question that needs to be answered is: “What purpose does frequency serve in language acquisition?” In addition, frequency and range are said to be the most salient criteria for determining the general usefulness of a word (Koprowski, 2005). Moreover, both corpus and experimental data suggest that frequency has significant effects on second language acquisition. These questions and arguments, which constitute the foundation of frequency studies in second language acquisition, led and guided this study. This annotated survey, summarizing the studies on frequency effects on L2 learning, shows that there are still lots of ways to go with research on the relationship between frequency and second language acquisition in the literature. Some pedagogical implications are discussed with recommendations for the stakeholders of foreign language contexts (i.e. curriculum designers, coursebook writers, language teachers and learners).

scholarly journals Explicit phonetic instruction vs. implicit attention to native exposure: phonological awareness of English schwa in CLIL

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-442
Author(s):  
Esther Gomez Lacabex ◽  
Francisco Gallardo-del-Puerto
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Intervention Period ◽  
Teacher Input ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Disyllabic Words ◽  
Phonetic Instruction

AbstractThe present study aims at determining whether instruction in the form of explicit phonetic training and of implicit exposure to native input impacted Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) students’ phonological awareness of the occurrence of English schwa in unstressed syllables of content words (bacon). Four intact CLIL groups were administered a perception task immediately before and after an intervention period of one month in which two groups underwent explicit instruction on the incidence of reduced vowels versus full vowels in English disyllabic words while another group was exposed to native input in their CLIL sessions. A fourth CLIL group with neither explicit intervention nor native teacher input served as control group. All four groups tended to judge both schwas and full vowels as correct in the pre-test, indicating that they were not knowledgeable of the general pattern of vowel reduction occurrence in unstressed syllables in English prior to intervention. In the post-test, the three experimental groups significantly improved their ability to identify full vowels as incorrect, the groups receiving explicit instruction exhibiting higher gains than the group which was implicitly exposed to native input.

scholarly journals Reliability and Validity of Facial Check Sheet (FCS): Checklist for Self-Satisfaction with Cosmetic Acupuncture

Medicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Kuge ◽  
Hidetoshi Mori ◽  
Tim Hideaki Tanaka ◽  
Ryouta Tsuji
Keyword(s):  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Facial Skin ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
Skin Rejuvenation ◽  
Facial Region ◽  
Practical Tool ◽  
Multiple Comparison Procedure ◽  
The Relationship

Background: In recent years, cosmetic acupuncture has gained popularity among individuals interested in improving their facial appearance. We have created an original facial check sheet (FCS) to obtain cosmetic acupuncture patients’ perspectives on treatment outcomes. This study examined the reliability and validity of FCS. Methods: We conducted an Internet survey on the appearance of the facial region among Japanese women. A reliability analysis was performed between each item of FCS. A multiple comparison procedure was used to determine the relationship between the age group, the FCS score, and the number of terms used in the open-ended question. Results: The most frequently stated concern was blotchiness and hyperpigmented spots (47.2%, n = 67). The FCS items showed reliability (Cronbach α = 0.871). The number of extracted terms and the FCS score showed a moderate correlation (r = 0.407; p < 0.001). There was a significant relationship between age and FCS score (p = 0.005, r2 = 0.255), which indicated that the FCS score increases with aging. Conclusions: The FCS can be used as a practical tool to evaluate facial appearances and assess satisfaction levels of patients who underwent cosmetic acupuncture or other facial skin rejuvenation procedures.

Depression and Health Behavior of Adolescents

1987 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. McDermott ◽  
Wesley E. Hawkins ◽  
David F. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Canonical Correlation ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Canonical Variates ◽  
The Relationship

This study examined the relationship between two sets of variables, symptoms of depression and health behaviors of adolescents. Analysis using canonical correlation produced two significant canonical variates. Results suggest that addressing symptoms of negative mental health in adolescents may be an important step toward facilitating positive health behaviors in this age group.

Research meets practice

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZhaoHong Han
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Instruction And Learning ◽  
The Relationship

At the recent CLTA-S2 conference, a spirited debate occurred between critics of second language acquisition (SLA) research and researchers who embraced it. Fascinating as it was, neither camp appeared to have convinced the other, but, more important, the debate left much of the audience flummoxed. In this paper, I intend to provide a follow-up, attempting to clarify a) the relationship between research and teaching in the context of Chinese as a second language (CSL), b) misunderstandings on the part of critics over research findings, and c) potential pitfalls in interpreting the SLA literature. My goal is to encourage, as well as contribute to, further communication between the two camps, for the ultimate good of CSL instruction and learning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document