Effects of corrective feedback on L2 acquisition of tense-aspect verbal morphology

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Mifka-Profozic
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Improving Accuracy ◽  
Passe Compose

In this study, the effectiveness of implicit corrective feedback was examined with a group of 30 sixteen-year-old English native speakers learning French, who received either recasts or clarification requests on errors they made with the passé composé and the imparfait. The control group did not receive any feedback. Overall, the results indicate that recasts were more effective in improving accuracy of form and use for both the passé composé and the imparfait. However, an examination of language development with reference to the Aspect Hypothesis and the inherent lexical aspect of verbs showed that no change occurred between the pretest and the posttests. The passé composé was associated exclusively with achievement verbs, whereas the imparfait was limited to several frequent irregular stative verbs and a few activity verbs.

scholarly journals L2 acquisition of Mandarin zai and -le

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiner Tong ◽  
Yasuhiro Shirai
Keyword(s):  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Progressive Aspect ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Grammatical Aspect ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Aspect Marker

AbstractAlthough the Aspect Hypothesis has been tested in many European languages, it has not been investigated extensively in Chinese. The present study tested the Aspect Hypothesis in relation to two predictions: the Association Prediction, which predicts that perfective aspect (in Chinese, –le) will be associated with telic verbs and progressive aspect (zai) with activity verbs, and the Developmental Prediction, which predicts that such associations will be stronger at early stages of development. The study employed a controlled experiment, which elicited learners’ judgments on perfective –le and progressive zai in obligatory, incorrect, and optional contexts. The results show that the Association Prediction is only partially supported and that the Developmental Prediction is not supported, in that higher-level learners associate lexical aspect more strongly with the grammatical aspect marker. The results are more consistent with the Default Past Tense Hypothesis (Salaberry 1999. The development of past tense verbal morphology in classroom L2 Spanish. Applied Linguistics 20. 151–178), which we propose to be extended to the Lexical Insensitivity Hypothesis.

Beyond the Aspect Hypothesis

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 77-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Labeau
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Advanced Stages ◽  
Basic Hypothesis ◽  
Verb Categories

The Aspect Hypothesis (AH) (Andersen 1986, 1991) suggests an eight-stage development of the Spanish tense–aspect system by English learners in which tenses progressively mark verb categories. The current paper, which presents some of the main findings from Labeau (2005), explores the relevance of the AH to an acquisitional setting other than that for which it was developed. Specifically, it tests the four tenets of the AH, as described by Shirai and Kurono (1998) against data from the acquisition of the French tense/aspect system by advanced learners of French in a tutored environment. It compares the use of French verbal morphology by advanced Anglophone learners with a control group of native speakers engaging in a variety of tasks: (1) oral and written narratives (2) a grammar cloze-test and (3) a written editing task. Having shown that the basic hypothesis is unable to account for the development of advanced French, the study tests an expanded version of the AH (Andersen 2002) and suggests further factors to take into account in the description of advanced stages of tense–aspect acquisition.

scholarly journals Isomorphism and language-specific devices in comprehension of Korean suffixal passive construction by Mandarin-speaking learners of Korean

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyu-Ho Shin ◽  
Sun Hee Park
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
The Other ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Passive Construction ◽  
Case Marking

Abstract Across languages, a passive construction is known to manifest a misalignment between the typical order of event composition (agent-before-theme) and the actual order of arguments in the constructions (theme-before-agent), dubbed non-isomorphic mapping. This study investigates comprehension of a suffixal passive construction in Korean by Mandarin-speaking learners of Korean, focusing on isomorphism and language-specific devices in the passive. We measured learners’ judgment of the acceptability of canonical and scrambled suffixal passives as well as their reaction times (relative to a canonical active transitive). Our analysis generated three major findings. First, learners uniformly preferred the canonical passive to the scrambled passive. Second, as proficiency increased, the judgment gap between the canonical active transitive and the canonical suffixal passive narrowed, but the gap between the canonical active transitive and the scrambled suffixal passive did not. Third, learners (and even native speakers) spent more time in judging the acceptability of the canonical suffixal passive than they did in the other two construction types. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the mapping nature involving a passive voice, indicated by language-specific devices (i.e., case-marking and verbal morphology dedicated to Korean passives), in L2 acquisition.

scholarly journals A ‘mixed methods’ approach for investigating aspect in a second language

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-66
Author(s):  
Laura Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Oral Production

Abstract A leading hypothesis in the study of the L2 acquisition of aspect-related verbal morphemes is the Lexical Aspect Hypothesis (LAH) (Andersen, 1989, 1991; Andersen & Shirai, 1994) which claims that learners’ use of these forms is determined by the lexical properties of events. Reviews of major studies reveal that data from one single task, usually an open-ended oral task, have often been used to support this hypothesis. I discuss copious evidence from the acquisition of Spanish to argue that when studies use a ‘mixed methods’ approach (e.g. combining oral production and experimentally elicited data) they are able to test existing hypotheses such as the LAH more reliably and can offer more valuable insights. Existing evidence from the SPLLOC project (Domínguez, Tracy-Ventura, Arche, Mitchell, & Myles, 2013; Mitchell, Domínguez, Arche, Myles, & Marsden, 2008) is used as supporting evidence for this approach and to raise questions about the appropriateness of some research methods widely used in our field.

scholarly journals Tracking Syntactic Conflict between Languages over the Course of L2 Acquisition: A Cross-sectional Event-related Potential Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 822-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Mickan ◽  
Kristin Lemhöfer
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sentence Reading ◽  
Conflict Condition ◽  
Beginning Learners ◽  
L1 And L2

One challenge of learning a foreign language (L2) in adulthood is the mastery of syntactic structures that are implemented differently in L2 and one's native language (L1). Here, we asked how L2 speakers learn to process syntactic constructions that are in direct conflict between L1 and L2, in comparison to structures without such a conflict. To do so, we measured EEG during sentence reading in three groups of German learners of Dutch with different degrees of L2 experience (from 3 to more than 18 months of L2 immersion) as well as a control group of Dutch native speakers. They read grammatical and ungrammatical Dutch sentences that, in the conflict condition, contained a structure with opposing word orders in Dutch and German (sentence-final double infinitives) and, in the no-conflict condition, a structure for which word order is identical in Dutch and German (subordinate clause inversion). Results showed, first, that beginning learners showed N400-like signatures instead of the expected P600 for both types of violations, suggesting that, in the very early stages of learning, different neurocognitive processes are employed compared with native speakers, regardless of L1–L2 similarity. In contrast, both advanced and intermediate learners already showed native-like P600 signatures for the no-conflict sentences. However, their P600 signatures were significantly delayed in processing the conflicting structure, even though behavioral performance was on a native level for both these groups and structures. These findings suggest that L1–L2 word order conflicts clearly remain an obstacle to native-like processing, even for advanced L2 learners.

scholarly journals EFFECTS OF FORM-FOCUSED PRACTICE AND FEEDBACK ON CHINESE EFL LEARNERS’ ACQUISITION OF REGULAR AND IRREGULAR PAST TENSE FORMS

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingli Yang ◽  
Roy Lyster
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Group A ◽  
Improving Accuracy ◽  
The University ◽  
Post Hoc

Conducted in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classrooms at the university level in China, this quasi-experimental study compared the effects of three different corrective feedback treatments on 72 Chinese learners’ use of regular and irregular English past tense. Three classes were randomly assigned to a prompt group, a recast group, or a control group and then participated in form-focused production activities that elicited the target forms. In the two feedback groups, teachers consistently provided one type of feedback (i.e., either recasts or prompts) in response to learners’ errors during the activities, whereas in the control group, the teacher provided feedback only on content. Pretests, immediate posttests, and delayed posttests administered 2 weeks after the treatment assessed participants’ acquisition of regular and irregular past tense forms in both oral and written production. Comparisons of group means across testing sessions using a repeated-measures ANOVA consistently revealed large effects for time. Post hoc within-group analyses of the eight immediate- and delayed-posttest measures revealed significant gains by the prompt group on all eight measures, the recast group on four, and the control group on three. The effects of prompts were larger than those of recasts for increasing accuracy in the use of regular past tense forms, whereas prompts and recasts had similar effects on improving accuracy in the use of irregular past tense forms.

scholarly journals The acquisition of English stress by Québec Francophones

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Duarte Garcia ◽  
Natália Brambatti Guzzo
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Control Data ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

In this chapter, we report the results of two production experiments, one in Canadian French (CF) and one in English, aimed at examining how advanced CF L2ers produce English stress. In other words, our focus is not on language development (i.e. whether learners actually acquire stress in English), but rather on ultimate attainment in L2 acquisition (i.e. how native speakers and advanced learners compare vis-à-vis stress production). In order to evaluate whether L2ers’ rhythmic patterns mirror native English patterns, we compare L2ers’ production with control data, focusing on three possi- ble acoustic correlates of prominence: duration, pitch (F0) and intensity. To verify whether L2ers transfer acoustic cues or rhythmic patterns from their first language (L1) into the L2, we also analyse how prominence is produced by L2ers in their L1.

scholarly journals Emerging ASL Distinctions in Sign-Speech Bilinguals' Signs and Co-speech Gestures in Placement Descriptions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Therese Frederiksen
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Group Placement

Previous work on placement expressions (e.g., “she put the cup on the table”) has demonstrated cross-linguistic differences in the specificity of placement expressions in the native language (L1), with some languages preferring more general, widely applicable expressions and others preferring more specific expressions based on more fine-grained distinctions. Research on second language (L2) acquisition of an additional spoken language has shown that learning the appropriate L2 placement distinctions poses a challenge for adult learners whose L2 semantic representations can be non-target like and have fuzzy boundaries. Unknown is whether similar effects apply to learners acquiring a L2 in a different sensory-motor modality, e.g., hearing learners of a sign language. Placement verbs in signed languages tend to be highly iconic and to exhibit transparent semantic boundaries. This may facilitate acquisition of signed placement verbs. In addition, little is known about how exposure to different semantic boundaries in placement events in a typologically different language affects lexical semantic meaning in the L1. In this study, we examined placement event descriptions (in American Sign Language (ASL) and English) in hearing L2 learners of ASL who were native speakers of English. L2 signers' ASL placement descriptions looked similar to those of two Deaf, native ASL signer controls, suggesting that the iconicity and transparency of placement distinctions in the visual modality may facilitate L2 acquisition. Nevertheless, L2 signers used a wider range of handshapes in ASL and used them less appropriately, indicating that fuzzy semantic boundaries occur in cross-modal L2 acquisition as well. In addition, while the L2 signers' English verbal expressions were not different from those of a non-signing control group, placement distinctions expressed in co-speech gesture were marginally more ASL-like for L2 signers, suggesting that exposure to different semantic boundaries can cause changes to how placement is conceptualized in the L1 as well.

Expanding the Definition of Aspect in L2 Acquisition: Assessing Advanced Levels of Competence to Understand Aspectual Knowledge

2021 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
M. Rafael Salaberry
Keyword(s):  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Tense And Aspect ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Viewpoint Aspect ◽  
Advanced Stages ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

In part due to the significant influence of Andersen's Lexical Aspect Hypothesis, research on the L2 acquisition of tense and aspect has focused primarily on the construct of aspect representative of the beginning and intermediate stages of acquisition. In the present article, I review the significance of two recent developments in the study of aspectual knowledge: the expansive view of recent research proposals (e.g., shifted effect of lexical aspect toward intermediate and advanced stages), and the focus on specific sub-constructs that provide a more precise target to assess ultimate attainment (e.g., iterativity versus habituality). I argue that the relevance of advanced stages of development of aspect is central to the analysis of L2 aspectual knowledge. To that effect, the objective of future studies needs to incorporate the explicit description of the connection between lexical aspect and viewpoint aspect

Girl – lass or curl?

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 22.1-22.17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catrin Elisabeth Norrby ◽  
Gisela Håkansson
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Association Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Association Tests

One of the ways to investigate the mental lexicon is to use word association tests. Empirical studies comparing associations by children and adults have indicated a tendency for children to give syntagmatic responses, whereas adults give paradigmatic responses. In order to investigate lexical development in L2 acquisition of Swedish we collected data from two groups of students, one in MalmÖ, Sweden and one in Melbourne. Part of the Melbourne group also took the association test in their L1 six months later. Native speakers were used as a control group. The results demonstrate that learners in general tend to focus more on form than content compared to native speakers. This trend was particularly strong for the L2 group in Melbourne who also exhibited more variation in their responses compared to the L2 group in Sweden and the NS control group.

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