How subtle differences in orthography influence conceptual interpretation

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arina Banga ◽  
Esther Hanssen ◽  
Robert Schreuder ◽  
Anneke Neijt
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Linguistic Relativity ◽  
Noun Compounds ◽  
Linking Element

The present study investigates linguistic relativity. The units of writing investigated are e and en, which are used to represent units of language in Dutch, Frisian, and Afrikaans. Dutch has homographic forms in the plural suffix -en and the linking element of noun-noun compounds en. Frisian does not have homography of this kind, while Afrikaans has a different homography. This raises the question whether second language learners of Dutch consistently interpret the linking en in Dutch noun-noun compounds as plural in the way that native speakers do. Plurality ratings for Dutch modifiers obtained from native Dutch speakers are compared with ratings from Frisian-Dutch bilinguals and Afrikaaners learning Dutch as L2. Significant differences relating to orthography are observed. We therefore argue that differing orthographic conventions in one’s native language (L1) can lead to different interpretations for the same everyday words written in Dutch (L2). Orthography thus provides an example of linguistic relativity. Keywords: linguistic relativity; second language learning; morphology; compounding; linking element; plurality; homography; Dutch; Frisian; Afrikaans

Googleology for second language learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-469
Author(s):  
Patrizia Giampieri
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Advanced Search ◽  
The World ◽  
Google Search

Abstract The World Wide Web has often been considered too vast to be consulted for linguistic purposes or for language learning. This paper will explore whether second language learners can be taught how to navigate the web (i.e., how to perform Google linguistic research, or “Googleology”), in order to improve their language skills. To this aim, a 2 h trial lesson was organized. The trial lesson was delivered to 78 apprentices, divided into groups of 10–15, over a period of six months. During the lesson, the participants were taught how to work with Google Advanced Search syntax. At the end of the lesson, they applied the newly-acquired skills by completing a few tasks concerning term and/or collocational search. The paper findings will highlight that, despite initial hesitation or inaccuracies in completing the exercises, the tasks were performed well. The participants considered the lesson interesting, useful and enjoyable. They felt engaged irrespective of the level of their second language (L2) knowledge, and were more confident in approaching Google Search for linguistic purposes.

Reading strategy training in second language contexts

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Cotterall
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Reading Strategy ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Learning Context

Strategy training appears to be a promising means of assisting second language learners. However, strategy training operates within a context. If factors in that context are not considered, the training will not be successful. This paper discusses a number of insights highlighted by a reading strategy training study conducted in a second language (L2) setting. It cautions against the uncritical adoption of strategy training as a panacea for learning difficulties, and stresses the importance of recognising and taking account of factors in the second language learning context which may suggest modifications to procedures carried out successfully in first language (L1) settings.

Focus-on-Form and Corrective Feedback in Communicative Language Teaching

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patsy M. Lightbown ◽  
Nina Spada
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Focus On Form ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Grade 5

The developing oral English of approximately 100 second language learners (four intact classes) was examined in this study. The learners were native speakers of French (aged 10–12 years) who had received a 5-month intensive ESL course in either grade 5 or grade 6 in elementary schools in Quebec. A large corpus of classroom observation data was also analyzed.Substantial between-class differences were found in the accuracy with which students used such English structures as progressive -ing and adjective–noun order in noun phrases. There was some evidence that these differences (which were not correlated with performance on listening comprehension tests) were due to differences in teachers' form-focused instruction. These findings are discussed in terms of current competing views of the role of form-focused instruction in second language learning.

Translingual and Digital Ecologies

2016 ◽  
pp. 149-163
Author(s):  
Jialei Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Composition Classrooms ◽  
Ontological Shift ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

Scholarship in cloud pedagogy has provided intriguing lenses through which researchers enhance pedagogical approaches for digital composition classrooms. However, there is a lack of discussion on how cloud pedagogy could be employed to benefit second language learners of writing. Scholars in both digital and translingual areas of research have touched on conceptualizing their theories through multimodal, collaborative, and ecological perspectives of writing. Therefore, this article looks into the theories and practices of translingualism, and explore how translingual writing can be merged and integrated into the multimodal applications of cloud-based learning. Following and expanding the practices of digital composition, this paper aims to argue for an ontological shift to a translingual view of cloud-based writing and examine how it informs second language learning.

Translingual and Digital Ecologies

2020 ◽  
pp. 818-832
Author(s):  
Jialei Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Composition Classrooms ◽  
Ontological Shift ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

Scholarship in cloud pedagogy has provided intriguing lenses through which researchers enhance pedagogical approaches for digital composition classrooms. However, there is a lack of discussion on how cloud pedagogy could be employed to benefit second language learners of writing. Scholars in both digital and translingual areas of research have touched on conceptualizing their theories through multimodal, collaborative, and ecological perspectives of writing. Therefore, this article looks into the theories and practices of translingualism, and explore how translingual writing can be merged and integrated into the multimodal applications of cloud-based learning. Following and expanding the practices of digital composition, this paper aims to argue for an ontological shift to a translingual view of cloud-based writing and examine how it informs second language learning.

scholarly journals An Ear And Eye For Language: Mechanisms Underlying Second Language Word Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Marie-Josée Bisson ◽  
Anuenue Kukona ◽  
Angelos Lengeris
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Intentional Learning ◽  
Large Vocabulary ◽  
In The Wild

Abstract To become fluent in a second language, learners need to acquire a large vocabulary. However, the cognitive and affective mechanisms that support word learning, particularly among second language learners, are only beginning to be understood. Prior research has focused on intentional learning and small artificial lexicons. In the current study investigating the sources of individual variability in word learning and their underlying mechanisms, participants intentionally and incidentally learned a large vocabulary of Welsh words (i.e., emulating word learning in the wild) and completed a large battery of cognitive and affective measures. The results showed that, for both learning conditions, native language knowledge, auditory/phonological abilities and orthographic sensitivity all made unique contributions to word learning. Importantly, short-term/working memory played a significantly larger role in intentional learning. We discuss these results in the context of the mechanisms that support both native and non-native language learning.

scholarly journals Four Ways to Get Tangled Up in Russian

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Maria Nordrum
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Internal Argument ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Great Relevance

In this paper I will analyze the four Natural Perfectives of the simplex verb путатьipf ‘tangle up’, namely впутатьpf, спутатьpf, перепутатьpf and запутатьpf. According to Janda et al. (2013:103), “prefix variation” is a phenomenon that applies to 27% of all Russian verbs and is caused by the ability of prefixes to “focus the meanings of a simplex verb in different ways” (op. cit.:162). My question is: Is it possible to predict the choice of prefix when there is prefix variation? And, if yes: How? My hypothesis is that the choice of prefix largely depends on the construction in which the verb appears and the semantics of its internal argument. Thus, I consider two factors in my analysis: Factor 1 Constructions and Factor 2 Semantics of the Internal Argument. My findings indicate that both factors are vital and, more specifically, that the choice of prefix for this verb to a large extent can be predicted by six tendencies that I will discuss thoroughly.I will argue that these six tendencies are of great relevance to second language learners, like myself, who often find themselves confused at the number of prefixes and, more specifically, Natural Perfectives available for a given verb. The topic of this paper has been born from a desire to gain insight with practical value in second language learning.

scholarly journals Second Language Learners’ Coping Strategy in Conversations with Native Speakers

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-183
Author(s):  
Sachiko Terui
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
The Many ◽  
Communicative Strategy

One of the many strategies that many international students employ to cope with their lack of English proficiency is to pretend to understand or not to understand the conversational content exchanged with native English speakers. Combining autoethnography and iterative interviews this research explores the pretending behavior profoundly from non-native speakers’ perspectives. During the iterative interviews, six students shared their personal experience specified in pretending behaviors. This study aims at informing the second language learning experience and promoting mutual understanding between native and non-native speakers in multi-lingual and multi-cultural societies. As a result, under the metatheme (Tesch, 1987) of pretending in conversation, pretending as a Communicative Strategy, eleven themes emerged. 

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