The role of proficiency level in the speed of lexical activation

Spoken word recognition models incorporate the temporal unfolding of word information by assuming that positional match constrains lexical activation. Recent findings challenge the linearity constraint. In the visual world paradigm, Toscano, Anderson, and McMurray observed that listeners preferentially viewed a picture of a target word’s anadrome competitor (e.g., competitor bus for target sub) compared with phonologically unrelated distractors (e.g., well) or competitors sharing an overlapping vowel (e.g., sun). Toscano et al. concluded that spoken word recognition relies on coarse grain spectral similarity for mapping spoken input to a lexical representation. Our experiments aimed to replicate the anadrome effect and to test the coarse grain similarity account using competitors without vowel position overlap (e.g., competitor leaf for target flea). The results confirmed the original effect: anadrome competitor fixation curves diverged from unrelated distractors approximately 275 ms after the onset of the target word. In contrast, the no vowel position overlap competitor did not show an increase in fixations compared with the unrelated distractors. The contrasting results for the anadrome and no vowel position overlap items are discussed in terms of theoretical implications of sequential match versus coarse grain similarity accounts of spoken word recognition. We also discuss design issues (repetition of stimulus materials and display parameters) concerning the use of the visual world paradigm in making inferences about online spoken word recognition.

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The Role of Input and Scholastic Aptitude in Second Language Development

Toegepaste Taalwetenschap in Artikelen ◽

10.1075/ttwia.86.06ver ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 86 ◽

pp. 47-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marjolijn Verspoor ◽

Kees de Bot ◽

Xiaoyan Xu

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Language Development ◽

English Proficiency ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

First Grade ◽

Receptive Vocabulary ◽

Scholastic Aptitude ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Out Of School

This semi-longitudinal/cross-sectional study explores the role of two possible variables in the L2 development of Dutch high school students: scholastic aptitude (operationalized as CITO score) and the amount of input, both in school (two hours a week versus 15 hours a week) and out of school. First grade participants were followed for two years and third grade students for one year. At the beginning of the study, all students filled in an extensive questionnaire on motivation, attitude, and out-of-school contact and took a proficiency tests consisting of a receptive vocabulary and a productive writing task. At each subsequent measure point, the language proficiency test was repeated. The results show that out-of-school contact with English made a significant contribution to their English proficiency, even with the presence of predictors of CITO score, grade (1 or 3) , instructional group (2 versus 15 hours) and interaction between grade and group. The analysis also revealed a significant effect of aptitude (operationalized as CITO score) on the learners' general English proficiency, revealing that students in both conditions with a higher CITO score have a higher English proficiency level as well. We conclude that in-school input helps: the learners who receive 15 hours a week of English input score significantly higher on the writing scores than the two other groups during and at the end of the third year, even when we take other factors such as initial proficiency level, scholastic aptitude and out-of-school contact into consideration. The data also shows that the CITO score is a strong predictor of language development, even within the narrow bandwidth of about 540-550. However, we need to be careful in interpreting what this means. Perhaps general aptitude only affects the rate of acquisition rather than the ability to become very proficient.

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The Role of Transfer in the Use of English Articles by Moroccan Learners

International Journal of Linguistics ◽

10.5296/ijl.v8i5.9855 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 58

Author(s):

Naima Trimasse

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

First Year ◽

Grammaticality Judgment ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Class 1 ◽

The Difference ◽

Article Usage ◽

English Articles ◽

Made In

This study investigates the acquisition of the English article system by Moroccan EFL learners. More specifically, the focus is on transfer and the extent to which it accounts for errors in the use of these articles by Moroccan university students. The study purports to investigate: 1- the effect of proficiency level on transfer errors by Moroccan learners in the use of articles, 2- the difference between transfer errors made in comprehension and in production in using articles and 3- the difference in transfer errors according to the three English articles. In order to answer the aforementioned questions, data was collected from university students (40 in first year and 40 in third year) through their performance on a grammaticality judgment test and an essay. The findings of the study show that: 1- proficiency level has an effect on transfer errors made in article usage. This effect is clear in comprehension but not in production, 2- subjects made more transfer errors in comprehension than in production, 3- the effect of transfer differs according to the three English articles. The findings of the study have some important implications for the methodology of teaching articles.

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Predicting Third-Grade Mathematics Achievement: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Role of Early Numeracy Skills

Learning Disability Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0731948718823083 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 (3) ◽

pp. 161-174

Author(s):

Allyson J. Kiss ◽

Gena Nelson ◽

Theodore J. Christ

Keyword(s):

Mathematics Achievement ◽

Mathematics Learning ◽

First Grade ◽

Third Grade ◽

Early Numeracy ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Mathematics Skills ◽

Early Predictors ◽

State Test

Despite the vast research on the early predictors of mathematics achievement, little research has investigated the predictors of various domains of mathematics (e.g., geometry, statistics). The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive relation between first-grade early numeracy and computation skills and third-grade mathematics achievement as measured by a state test. Furthermore, we explored the relations between these measures for students who were Below Proficient and Proficient. Findings suggest that proficiency level matters when examining the relation between mathematics skills. Also, there are different patterns of significant predictors depending on the domain of later mathematics achievement and whether or not reading achievement was considered. Findings are discussed in the context of mathematics learning for students with mathematics difficulty.

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The Problem of Linguistic Self-Education in World Theory and Practice (Historical and Pedagogical Aspects)

Comparative Professional Pedagogy ◽

10.1515/rpp-2017-0010 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 68-74

Author(s):

Oleksandr Shumskyi

Keyword(s):

Practical Experience ◽

Strategic Thinking ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Foreign Languages ◽

Technological Advancement ◽

Highly Qualified ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Key Factor ◽

Self Instruction

AbstractIn the paper it has been grounded that under the conditions of forming postindustrial epoch, which is characterised by the processes of globalisation and informatisation, there exists a social demand for the specialists who have a formed preparedness for continuous self-education, including linguistic self-instruction. This presupposes developing innovative and strategic thinking as well as realising the objective necessity of continuous enhancing of their proficiency level, which is a key factor of interaction with dynamic and changeable professional environment with rapid obsolescence of knowledge, constant technological advancement, etc. It has been proved that nowadays the role of self-education, as the instrument of forming highly-qualified professionals with sufficient knowledge of foreign languages, is always growing in different countries. Therefore, educators are continually facing the task of improving the theoretical and methodological base of teaching students to be autonomous in their studies. It has been substantiated that, in view of the principle of continuity in science, introducing any innovations into the learning process in linguistic self-education should be preceded by the profound studying of the pedagogically valuable theoretical and practical experience, gained by the previous generations of researchers. Thus, the retrospective analysis of basic historical milestones of evolving the phenomenon “linguistic self-education” has been conducted and its results have been presented in this work.

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The Acquisition of Do-Support in Negation and Interrogatives by Adult Arab Learners of English: A preliminary study

10.31235/osf.io/d62u5 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Arab World English Journal ◽

Elham Salem AL-Makatrah ◽

Mohamad Subakir Mohd Yasin

Keyword(s):

Arabic Language ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Future Research ◽

Main Question ◽

Production Task ◽

L2 Proficiency ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Preliminary Study ◽

Arabic Speaking

This preliminary study investigates the acquisition of do-support in negation and interrogatives by adult Arab learners of English. The main question is to identify how Arabic language influences the acquisition of do-support. The influence of L2 proficiency level in the acquisition of do-support is also addressed. The study is conducted within the perspective of Full Transfer/Full Access Hypothesis and Differential Markedness Hypothesis. Do-support as a marked feature of English has received little or no attention in previous work on the acquisition of English as a second language by adult Arab learners. This study seeks to fill that gap by documenting the acquisition of do-support in negation and interrogatives. To address these aims, a written production task, a multiple-choice task and a semi-structured interview were administered to 10 adult Arab learners of low and advanced English proficiency levels. The findings indicate that the role of Arabic is noted. While not the source of errors, it acts as a strategy that adult Arab learners use to dealing with limited L2 knowledge and the markedness of do-support, which is the main source of difficulty shown by adult Arab learners. The role of learners’ L1 is selective according to the learners’ perception of what is difficult or not. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between L2 proficiency level and the mastery of do-support in that high- proficiency learners outperform low-proficiency learners. It is recommended that future research examine the acquisition and markedness of do-support in the interlanguage of Arabic-speaking children.

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Second Language Reading in Hypertext Environments

Handbook of Research on Computer-Enhanced Language Acquisition and Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-895-6.ch004 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 48-63

Author(s):

Robert Ariew ◽

Gulcan Erçetin ◽

Susan Cooledge

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Reading Comprehension ◽

Learning Environments ◽

Vocabulary Learning ◽

Second Language Reading ◽

Learning Theories ◽

L2 Reading ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

L2 Learners

This chapter introduces second language reading in hypertext/hypermedia environments. It discusses the development of a template to annotate reading texts with multiple types of media such as text, sound, graphics, and video so as to aid reading comprehension for L2 readers. The chapter also reports on a series of studies conducted using the template in a variety of L2 learning environments in order to explore L2 learners’ reading behavior and the effects of multimedia annotations on L2 reading and vocabulary learning. The chapter synthesizes the results according to multimedia learning theories and discusses the role of proficiency level and prior knowledge in relation to L2 learners’ reading comprehension in hypertext environments.

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The Effects of Context Richness and Different Task-demands on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention

Theory and Practice in Language Studies ◽

10.17507/tpls.0608.14 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (8) ◽

pp. 1618

Author(s):

He Bai

Keyword(s):

Vocabulary Acquisition ◽

Incidental Learning ◽

Task Demands ◽

Reading Processes ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Incidental Vocabulary ◽

One Way Anova ◽

And Task

Incidental learning in reading is an effective way to expand vocabulary acquisition and there are many factors influencing the effect of it. This proposed paper will make an attempt to explore how and to what extent different kinds of tasks based on reading and different contextual richness affect the recognition and retention of vocabulary encountered in reading. 50 sophomore English majors at the same English proficiency level from a university in Xi’an will be selected and be asked to complete different reading processes, which aim to investigate the role of context richness and task demands respectively in incidental learning. The data will be collected from the scores from every task and be analyzed with one-way ANOVA and multi-way ANOVA through SPSS.

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The Role of Traditional and Virtual Scaffolding in Developing Speaking Ability of Iranian EFL Learners

International Journal of English Linguistics ◽

10.5539/ijel.v6n2p43 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 43

Author(s):

Seyyed Hassan Mirahmadi ◽

Sayyed Mohammad Alavi

Keyword(s):

Language Learners ◽

Placement Test ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Efl Students ◽

Convenience Sampling ◽

Spss Software

The present study attempted to investigate the effect of the four scaffolding techniques, namely Hard, Soft (Saye & Brush, 2002), Reciprocal (Holton & Clarke, 2006), and Virtual (Yelland & Masters, 2007), on the speaking ability of the Iranian EFL language learners and their fluency, lexicon, grammar and pronunciation. To this end, the four scaffolding techniques were classified into the two groups of Traditional (Hard, Soft and Reciprocal) and technology-mediated (Virtual). 120 Maritime students at Kharg Azad University (IAU-Kharg) were selected as participants based on convenience sampling. At the onset, an Oxford Placement Test was given to the students to place them in the same proficiency level, Intermediate. 10 students were found as outliers who remained as intact members of the groups throughout the study. Eventually, the 110 homogeneous students were randomly assigned to the four scaffolding groups. A pretest of speaking ability was run to the students prior to the scaffolding treatments lasting for 8 weeks (16 sessions). After the treatments, the students completed a posttest of speaking. Having analyzed the data through SPSS software, it was found that under the influence of the four scaffoldings, not only did the Iranian EFL students outperformed in the posttest of speaking, but they also showed a significant improvement in their fluency, grammar, lexicon, and pronunciation. Thus, the findings of this current study extended earlier understandings of scaffolding in an EFL environment and will contribute to the advancement of future courses in terms of their scaffolding pedagogical aspects.

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The use of English as a lingua franca in the Japanese second language classroom

Journal of English as a Lingua Franca ◽

10.1515/jelf-2018-0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 131-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Blake Turnbull

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Learning Environments ◽

First Language ◽

Lingua Franca ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Language Classroom ◽

English Speaking

AbstractDespite the growing interest surrounding the use and role of the first language in the second language classroom, the vast majority of research in the field has been conducted in classrooms where English is taught as a second language in English-speaking countries. Very little research has investigated the role of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in other language learning environments, such as those in which Japanese is learnt as a second language (JSL) in Japan. This paper investigates the purposes for which ELF is employed, and the perspectives of learners from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds on the use of ELF, in the JSL classroom. The findings show that English is employed to varying degrees in relation to proficiency level, and that learners themselves are generally welcoming of this use. The author suggests that learners seek security and comfort in what they already know, with ELF easing the gap between their L1 and their developing Japanese skills.

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