Review article: Ethical issues in the study of second language acquisition: resources for researchers

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Review Article ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social

Two recent books provide varied resources for exploring ethical issues in the social sciences. Reflection on ethical issues aims to sensitize scholars to a range of consequences of their research, and to scholars’ responsibilities to their discipline, their colleagues, and the public. This review article assesses the utility of these texts (and of other materials available in print and online) to research on second language acquisition.

Informed consent in research on second language acquisition

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Thomas ◽  
Nicole Pettitt
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Review Article ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Low Profile

The practice of securing informed consent from research participants has a relatively low profile in second language (L2) acquisition research, despite its prominence in the biomedical and social sciences. This review article analyses the role that informed consent now typically plays in L2 research; discusses an example of an L2 study where complex issues of informed consent surfaced; and summarizes debates about informed consent that are underway in other disciplines, but which so far have been little recognized in scholarship on L2 acquisition.

scholarly journals Studying individual differences in the social environment to better understand language learning and processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
The Social

AbstractPeople learn language from their social environment. Therefore, individual differences in the input that their social environment provides could influence their linguistic performance. Nevertheless, investigation of the role of individual differences in input on performance has been mostly restricted to first and second language acquisition. In this paper I argue that individual differences in input can influence linguistic performance even in adult native speakers. Specifically, differences in input can affect performance by influencing people’s knowledgebase, by modulating their processing manner, and by shaping expectations. Therefore, studying the role that individual differences in input play can improve our understanding of how language is learned, processed and represented.

Recent research on the acquisition of aspect: an embarrassment of riches?

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roumyana Slabakova
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Future Aspect

This review article surveys recent research on the first and second language acquisition of temporal and aspectual properties of natural languages.Three recently published books are discussed in the context of the primacy or aspect hypothesis and the prototype, the connectionist and the discourse explanations for the attested acquisition sequences. A potentially misleading terminological issue is highlighted: Deictic tense, grammatical and lexical aspect are often conflated in acquisition studies. Recent research from the (innatist) generative perspective (e.g., Olsen and Weinberg, 1999) is also examined. An alternative explanation of the skewed acquisition sequences in terms of processing costs is proposed. Some important topics for future aspect research are identified.

Introduction: Supporting learners and educators in developing language learner autonomy

10.47908/8/i ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Michelle Tamala
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Autonomy Development ◽  
The Social

This introduction sets the scene for the volume that explores some of the theoretical, empirical, and practical considerations when supporting educators and learners in promoting language learner autonomy. The author gives an overview of the chapters and notes that the findings pay special attention to the ‘social turn’ in researching language learner autonomy development and second language acquisition, and focus on the social, interactive and co-dependent nature of the concept.

scholarly journals Age and Second Language Acquisition in Adulthood: The Learning Experiences and Perceptions of Women Immigrants

1999 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Wang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
The Social

Although considerable evidence indicates that age of onset for second language acquisition is related to second-language proficiency outcomes among adult learners Jew studies have actually looked at how adult learners of different ages experience and perceive second language acquisition. This study presents 30 women immigrant learners' accounts of their experiences and perceptions of learning English as a second language in the Canadian context. Findings from this study reveal the complexity of adult L2 acquisition, which involves factors pertaining not only to the learners themselves, but also to the social context in which the second language is learned. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the second language curriculum development and classroom practice.

The Development of Metropolitan Languages in Post-Colonial Contexts: Language Contact and Language Change and the Case of Portuguese in Maputo

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-213
Author(s):  
Christopher Stroud
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Contact Linguistics ◽  
The Social

This article explores briefly some phenomena of potential indigenization of the Portuguese spoken in Mozambique. Data for the study has been taken from work that is currently underway in Maputo, Mozambique, that was originally initiated to investigate contact varieties of Portuguese and to probe their educational implications. Speech samples comprise formal interviews and non-formal encounters from a socio-demographically representative sample of informants. The article first provides an inventory of some non-standard European Portuguese variants that are found in this data, and subsequently focusses upon a discussion of what contribution different linguistic processes make to indigenization, specifically the role played by processes of second language acquisition in a context of massive and diffuse language contact and change. Special attention is also paid to the social contexts in which different manifestations of language contact are found, and the importance of linguistic ideology for the form that language contact takes in particular cases is explored. The article concludes with the suggestion that the salient characteristics of types of non-native speech community such as Maputo require a reconceptualization of models and methods of contact linguistics and second language acquisition, and that this in turn carries implications for the terms of reference and analysis to which indigenization need be related.

The Social Context of “Special” Second Language Acquisition

1985 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-350
Author(s):  
John Rickford ◽  
Ian Hancock
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social

Although this is not standard SSLA practice, weare pleased to publish these two complementary reviews of a collective volume that, while it focuses on creolization and pidginization, addresses issues relevant to the social context of second language acquisition. Seldom dowe have the opportunity of having two leading specialists in a particular field apply to the same work different theoretical perspectives and varying familiarity with areas of the field.

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