scholarly journals The Effect of L2 Proficiency Level on Composing Processes of EFL Learners: Data from Keystroke Loggings, Think Alouds and Questionnaires

2019 ◽  
pp. 212-235
Keyword(s):  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Think Alouds ◽  
Composing Processes

scholarly journals The Effect of English Passive Voice Learning on the Use of “Bei” Structure: An Empirical Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Min Cao
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
First Language ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
L1 And L2

<p>This paper conducts an empirical investigation among English foreign language (EFL) learners at a university in China, mainly on their understanding of the passive voice in their native language to verify the existence of backward transfer in their first language (L1) environment and how backward transfer may relate to the learners’ proficiency of second language (L2) English and L1 Chinese in the sentence translation task (STT) and discourse task (DT) of Chinese paragraph writing. The study shows that backward transfer does exist at STT or sentence level in L1 environment. Additionally, the Chinese participants at intermediate English proficiency level are likely to experience backward transfer from L2 English to L1 Chinese. Moreover, for EFL learners at the lower and top English proficiency level no obvious signs of backward transfer shown at the sentence level. And all of the EFL participants have not been influenced by L2 English in the Chinese discourse task. The results of this study convey the complexity of backward transfer and its interactions with L1 and L2 proficiency and different tasks.</p>

scholarly journals ‘Almost people’: A Learner Corpus Account of L2 Use and Misuse of Non-numerical Quantification

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Crosthwaite ◽  
Lavigne L.Y. Choy ◽  
Yeonsuk Bae
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Closed Class ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Noun Number ◽  
L1 English

AbstractWe present an Integrated Contrastive Model of non-numerical quantificational NPs (NNQs, i.e. ‘some people’) produced by L1 English speakers and Mandarin and Korean L2 English learners. Learner corpus data was sourced from the ICNALE (Ishikawa, 2011, 2013) across four L2 proficiency levels. An average 10% of L2 NNQs were specific to L2 varieties, including noun number mismatches (*‘many child’), omitting obligatory quantifiers after adverbs (*‘almost people’), adding unnecessary particles (*‘all of people’) and non-L1 English-like quantifier/noun agreement (*‘many water’). Significantly fewer ‘openclass’ NNQs (e.g a number of people) are produced by L2 learners, preferring ‘closed-class’ single lexical quantifiers (following L1-like use). While such production is predictable via L1 transfer, Korean L2 English learners produced significantly more L2-like NNQs at each proficiency level, which was not entirely predictable under a transfer account. We thus consider whether positive transfer of other linguistic forms (i.e. definiteness marking) aids the learnability of other L2 forms (i.e. expression of quantification).

scholarly journals Vocabulary usage among Asian EFL learners during speech: a corpus-based quantitative analysis of the effects of L1 type, L2 proficiency and task type

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin'ichiro Ishikawa
Keyword(s):  
Native Speaker ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Novice Learners ◽  
Type D ◽  
Task Types

PurposeUsing a newly compiled corpus module consisting of utterances from Asian learners during L2 English interviews, this study examined how Asian EFL learners' L1s (Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Thai), their L2 proficiency levels (A2, B1 low, B1 upper and B2+) and speech task types (picture descriptions, roleplays and QA-based conversations) affected four aspects of vocabulary usage (number of tokens, standardized type/token ratio, mean word length and mean sentence length).Design/methodology/approachFour aspects concern speech fluency, lexical richness, lexical complexity and structural complexity, respectively.FindingsSubsequent corpus-based quantitative data analyses revealed that (1) learner/native speaker differences existed during the conversation and roleplay tasks in terms of the number of tokens, type/token ratio and sentence length; (2) an L1 group effect existed in all three task types in terms of the number of tokens and sentence length; (3) an L2 proficiency effect existed in all three task types in terms of the number of tokens, type-token ratio and sentence length; and (4) the usage of high-frequency vocabulary was influenced more strongly by the task type and it was classified into four types: Type A vocabulary for grammar control, Type B vocabulary for speech maintenance, Type C vocabulary for negotiation and persuasion and Type D vocabulary for novice learners.Originality/valueThese findings provide clues for better understanding L2 English vocabulary usage among Asian learners during speech.

scholarly journals Cross-Sectional Study of Refusal Speech Act Used by Iraqi Undergraduate Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-173
Author(s):  
Hutheifa Y. Turki ◽  
Juma’a Q. Hussein ◽  
Ahmed A. Al-Kubaisy
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Refusal Strategies

This paper is conducted to investigate how Iraqi EFL learners refuse different speech acts across different proficiency levels. It aims to examine the most appropriate strategies used by 2nd year students of English as compared to those of 4th year when refusing their interlocutors' invitation, suggestion, and offer. WDCT questionnaire was used to collect data from 40 Iraqi undergraduate students of English: 20 2nd year and 20 4th year. Adopting Beebe et al.'s (1990) theory of refusal, data collected was analyzed quantitatively using statistical analysis. The findings revealed that the 2nd year students of English were more frequent in using direct refusals than their 4th year counterparts. This means the latter were more aware of using refusals politely than the former. On the other hand, the findings showed that 4th year students more frequent in their use of indirect refusal strategies that the 2nd year students. This indicates that the EFL learners of low proficiency level might not bridge the gap between the pragmalinguistic strategies and the grammatical form of the target language. This means that they were not pragmatically competent of the use of the appropriate pragmalinguistic strategies. This implies that the 2nd year students need to pay more attention to pragmatics and use their refusal strategies appropriately. Thus, the paper recommends conducting further research on the use of refusal speech act in Arabic and English.

Colour word Stroop test in Polish learners of English: No evidence that L2 proficiency matters

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-393
Author(s):  
Joanna Śmiecińska ◽  
Grzegorz Krynicki ◽  
Marta Sojkin
Keyword(s):  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Naming Speed ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
English Version ◽  
Word Test ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Colour Word ◽  
Linguistic Interference ◽  
L1 English

Abstract The aim of our study was to test whether and how the proficiency level in L2 affects the amount of within-language interference in Stroop colour word test (Polish as L1, English as L2); as well as to test whether and how the proficiency level in L2 affects colour naming speed in this L2, based on a study on 50 Polish students (age M = 20.8, SD = 1.6) at varying levels of English proficiency and age of acquisition > 7. The English version of Golden et al. (2002) Stroop Colour and Word Test and its Polish counterpart were used. The results show that in late unbalanced bilinguals the within-language interference was smaller in L2 than in L1 and its amount was not affected by L2 proficiency level; and that colour naming was slower in L2 than in L1, and the scores were not affected by L2 proficiency level. The implications of the study are discussed, concerning, among others, L2 processing in late unbalanced bilinguals. The popular claim that the pattern of the interplay between inter- and intra-linguistic interference in Stroop colour word test relates to proficiency level in L2 is challenged.

The interplay of oral corrective feedback and L2 willingness to communicate across proficiency levels

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882092896
Author(s):  
Mostafa Zare ◽  
Zohreh Gooniband Shooshtari ◽  
Alireza Jalilifar
Keyword(s):  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Feedback Type ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
High Preference ◽  
Oral Corrective Feedback ◽  
The Impact

This study aims to explore the impact of oral corrective feedback types on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ willingness to communicate across proficiency levels. It also investigates how EFL learners view different types of feedback in relation to their willingness to communicate. Sixty Iranian EFL learners were tracked in four proficiency levels. Initially, the participants filled in a questionnaire to measure their attitudes to oral CF and their willingness to communicate. Subsequent to the teachers’ employment of explicit correction, recasts, and prompts, the learners’ willingness to communicate was measured anew. A semi-structured interview was also conducted. The results revealed learners’ high preference for prompts. A two-way mixed between-within ANOVA demonstrated a significant effect for both oral corrective feedback and proficiency level on willingness to communicate. Furthermore, elicitative types of feedback were ranked as the most contributory feedback type to L2 willingness to communicate.

Arabic learners’ acquisition of English past tense morphology

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Zhao ◽  
Yasuhiro Shirai
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Learner Corpus

Abstract The current study investigates the roles of lexical aspect and phonological saliency in second language acquisition of English past tense morphology. It also explores whether the effects of these factors are affected by data elicitation tasks and learners’ L2 proficiency. We created a learner corpus consisting of data from oral personal narratives from twenty Arabic EFL learners from two proficiency groups (low vs. intermediate/advanced), which were transcribed in CHAT format, tagged, and included in the TalkBank corpora. We also administered a written cloze task. Despite task variations, we find strong evidence that supported the influence of lexical semantics in Arabic learners’ acquisition of past tense marking, confirming the predictions of the Aspect Hypothesis.

Chinese EFL Leamers’ Comprehension of English Idiom Variants: Effects of Variation Type and Proficiency Level

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Guo
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Structural Change ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Major

AbstractThe creative use of English idioms has led to heterogeneous idiom variants that are particularly problematic for L2 learners. Drawing on a cognitive linguistic perspective of idiom learning, this paper categorizes English idiom variants into four major types, and reports on an empirical study that investigated the effects of variation type and proficiency level on Chinese EFL learners’ comprehension of English idiom variants. Targeting non-English major college students of basic and intermediate English levels, the study confirmed the influence of proficiency level on learners’ comprehension and evaluation of the difficuIty of idiom variants. Structural change in idioms was found to be the easiest type and idioms modified in terms of literal imagery were the most difficult in comprehension. These findings suggest that the dominant “rote memorization” tends to limit learners’ choices of comprehension strategies to literal translation and L1 transfer. The learning environment unsupportive of cultivating L2 learners’ analytical ability is held accountable for the generally low success rates in comprehension of idiom variants.

Effects of Strategic Planning Time on L2 Paired Oral Test Performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haizhen Wang ◽  
Fangqi Song
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Task Condition ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Planning Time ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Oral Test ◽  
Verb Forms

AbstractPlanning, as a task condition, is hypothesized to influence L2 test performance and thus test scores (Skehan, 1998). This study investigates the effects of lengths of strategic planning time on L2 paired oral test performance, moderated by L2 proficiency. It aims to determine whether differences in performance result from 0, 1, 2 or 3 minutes of planning time, and whether planning time and proficiency interactively affect performance. The participants were 72 Chinese EFL learners, divided into four groups, each performing the same dialogic task with 1 or 2 or 3 minute planning time or none. All speech recordings were rated by two trained raters, and the transcripts of the speech samples subjected to a discourse analysis, measuring fluency features of Rate A and Rate B, complexity features of syntactic complexity, syntactic variety and lexical variety, and accuracy features of error-free clauses and correct verb forms. Findings show a stable accuracy, higher fluency in the planned condition, and greater syntactic complexity when learners are given 3 minutes’ planning time. No interaction is found between planning time and proficiency.

Guessing and risk attitude in L2 vocabulary tests

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 53-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Thoma
Keyword(s):  
Stepwise Regression ◽  
Risk Attitude ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Systematic Effect ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Unknown Words ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

Guessing the meaning of unknown words is an essential process in L2 comprehension. At the same time, guessing is considered a nuisance in L2 vocabulary tests. This raises the question of the nature and causes of guessing in L2 vocabulary tests. The traditional claims in language testing are that guessing is (1) a function of proficiency and (2) a function of the test taker’s risk attitude. To investigate these claims in the context of standardized vocabulary testing, 135 advanced EFL learners participated in a computer-based yes/no vocabulary test combined with a translation task and a risk test. Stepwise regression analyses suggest that about 60% of the variation in yes/no test guesses are attributable to inappropriate or lack of semantic word knowledge. However, there was no systematic effect of risk attitude and guessing was largely independent of general lexical proficiency level. Methodological and inferential consequences for L2 vocabulary testing are discussed.

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