scholarly journals Multiple approaches to complexity in second language research

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Housen ◽  
Bastien De Clercq ◽  
Folkert Kuiken ◽  
Ineke Vedder
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
Language Complexity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Interface Phenomena ◽  
Complexity Measurement ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Reductionist Approach

In the past decades, there has been a surge in interest in the study of language complexity in second language (L2) research. In this article we provide an overview of current theoretical and methodological practices in L2 complexity research, while simultaneously framing these within the broader scientific interest into the notion of complexity. In addition to focusing on the role of complexity in L2 research, we trace how language complexity has figured in formal theoretical and typological linguistics. It is argued that L2 complexity research has often adopted a reductionist approach to the construct, both in terms of its definition and its operationalization. As such, previous L2 research has often confused related but conceptually distinct and operationally separable notions, such as relative and absolute complexity, and it has overemphasized syntactic and lexical forms of complexity at the expense of complexity related to morphology or linguistic interface phenomena. We then discuss a collection of five empirical studies which react to several of these issues by highlighting hitherto underexplored forms of complexity, adopting an explicitly cross-linguistic perspective or by proposing novel forms of L2 complexity measurement.

A Review of Studies on Languaging and Second Language Learning (2006-2017)

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruiying Niu ◽  
Lijia Li
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
L2 Learning

Since Swain postulated the concept “languaging” in 2006 to capture the role of language production in second language (L2) learning, a growing body of empirical studies has been conducted on languaging. However, little research has reviewed these studies. The present paper reviews 15 empirical studies that were conducted over the past decade on languaging in L2 learning, followed Vygotsky’s socioculutral theory of mind, and directly took languaging as the treatment or part of the treatment. We distinguished task-prompted and teacher-imposed languaging in the paper. All studies reviewed focused on teacher-imposed languaging. On the basis of reviewing the foci and findings of the studies, we offer our critical comments and recommendations for future research.

scholarly journals Emotion Regulation Choice: Differences in U.S. and Indian Populations

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish Mehta ◽  
Gerald Young ◽  
Alyssa Wicker ◽  
Sarah Barber ◽  
Gaurav Suri
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Indian Philosophy ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
The Past ◽  
Intensity Images ◽  
Internal And External Factors ◽  
Effective Use

In the past two decades, researchers have conclusively demonstrated that various emotion regulation (ER) strategies give rise to differing consequences. Such findings have prompted an examination of the internal and external factors that contribute to emotion regulation choice. Previous empirical studies modeling ER choice have been limited to Western samples. Based on knowledge of the role of culture in other choice behavior, we sought to test whether culture was a driver of ER choice. For the present studies, we compared ER choices of participants from India, to ER choices of participants from the U.S.A. Research demonstrating a correlation between religiosity and effective use of cognitive reappraisal lead us to anticipate the more religious India showing higher rates of cognitive reappraisal. Based on the incorporation of acceptance themes in Indian philosophy, as well as higher rates of fatalistic outlooks in India, we also expected to see Indian participants more frequently using an acceptance ER strategy. We further expected that difference in choice strategies would be moderated by emotional intensity of the stimuli. To test these hypotheses, we presented high and low-intensity emotion-eliciting images to both samples and recorded ER choice selections. We discovered that as hypothesized, the Indian sample was significantly more likely to use cognitive reappraisal than the U.S. sample, specifically for high intensity images. Contrary to our hypothesis, the choice rate for acceptance was indistinguishable in the Indian and U.S. samples. This research indicates that culture bears considerably on which strategies people choose to employ when regulating emotion in response to negative stimuli.

DISCOVERING TRACES OF THE PAST: STUDIES OF BILINGUALISM AMONG SCHOOL PUPILS IN FINLAND AND IN SWEDEN. ACTA UNIVERSITATIS OULUENSIS, E 23.Olli Kuure. Oulu, Finland: Oulu University Press, 1997. Pp. 82 + 70.

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-157
Author(s):  
Carolyn Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Bilingual Students ◽  
The Past ◽  
Different Types

In this dissertation based on empirical studies conducted by the author and reprinted as a series of articles in the text, Kuure studies the development of different types of bilingualism. The primary purpose of the studies is to determine the significance of age in the acquisition of a second language. Evidence is also provided for describing the acquisition and use of languages in various multicultural and multilingual settings. Data for the studies were obtained from Finnish-Swedish bilingual students between the ages of 13 and 15 for whom Swedish was the second language.

Gendered Massacres: Examining the Effects of Cultural and Structural Gender Inequality on the Incidence of Mass Public Shootings

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 885-905
Author(s):  
Margaret Schmuhl ◽  
Joel A. Capellan
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Gender Hierarchy

With nearly 97% of incidents within the past 40 years committed by men, mass public shootings are a gendered social problem. Yet, empirical research on this phenomenon largely neglects gender hierarchy and cultural factors as predictors, in favor of individual- and event-level characteristics. Despite calls from scholars to place masculinity and threats to patriarchal hegemony at the center of analyses, no empirical studies to our knowledge have examined the role of gender inequality in mass public shootings. The findings indicate that gender inequality, structural and ideological, are important predictors of mass public shootings and that future research should continue to investigate such violence from a gendered lens.

scholarly journals The Role of Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition from the Perspective of Chinese Acquiring English Reflexives

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. p284
Author(s):  
Jing Song
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Chinese And English

In China, the second language learning has always played an important role in primary and higher education. The issue of how children acquire the second language has experienced a boom in China over the past decade as the proficiency of a person’s English level mainly depends on its acquisition in primary stage. The main focus of this paper is to examine the role of UG in the second language acquisition and to what extent it plays in the process. To illustrate this, the four access hypotheses were given firstly. In addition, the role of UG from the aspect of Chinese learners’ acquiring the English reflexives was discussed. In this section, the importance of analyzing the reflexives and the different features of them in Chinese and English were exhibited.

scholarly journals The Role of Theory in L2 Empirical Research on Language Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanina Tsupa
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Language Complexity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Lexical Complexity

This forum attempts to uncover the role played by theory in three empirical studies. To that end, in the sections that follow, I will begin with the review of literature on language complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Next, I will report on metric indices employed in the studies to measure the phenomenon of linguistic complexity and the results pertaining to grammatical and lexical complexity. Then I proceed with describing the status of theory in empirical research and the challenges research on CAF faces. The closing presents the discussion on how theory impacted the design of the empirical studies sampled for this paper.

The Influence of Employer Branding on Employer Attractiveness and Employee Engagement and Retention

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-69
Author(s):  
Nasser Fathi Easa ◽  
Ayman Mahmoud Bazzi
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Employee Retention ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Main Tool ◽  
Employer Branding ◽  
Topic Analysis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Employer Attractiveness

This paper aims to review the literature over the past 10 years related to employer branding by shedding light on its role of enhancing employer attractiveness, employee engagement, and retention. The paper offers a better understanding for the literature gap related to the employer branding field. A systematic review of 33 articles published between 2010 and 2019 was conducted in which the reviewed papers were classified depending on electronic databases, namely Emerald, Science Direct, and Business Source Complete. The research findings were analyzed based on two classifications: descriptive and main topic analysis. The majority of the reviewed articles were empirical studies published during the year 2018, revealing the importance of employer branding by creating employer attractiveness, employee engagement, and employee retention, in addition to focusing on employee retention as a main tool for achieving a competitive advantage.

The Role of Mobile Technologies in Impacting Learner Autonomy in an EFL Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 56-73
Author(s):  
Ali Abbas Falah Alzubi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Publication Type ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Use Of Technology

This article reviews previous research conducted on the role of mobile devices that support learner autonomy (LA) in English is a foreign/second language (EFL) context from 2010 to 2021 based on a number of criteria that included research design, publication type, period, field of study, and use of technology. Mainly, the review examined design features of the empirical studies on mobile technologies and learner autonomy (LA) in EFL contexts and the ways mobile technologies impact LA. A coding sheet was used to analyze the papers (N = 23) having met the selection criteria in terms of education form and level, instrumentation, location, context, gender, use of technology, English as a foreign/second language (EFL) skills, and learning impact. It was revealed that all of the examined studies were conducted in Asia and Europe. Also, most of the studies had male and female participants. In addition, most studies on utilizing mobile devices to impact LA were investigated in higher education informally. Moreover, literature has paid more attention to reading and writing skills, vocabulary/grammar skills, and EFL in general. Finally, the analysis showed that mobile devices played a vital role in impacting LA in EFL contexts in a positive sense. Future research gaps and recommendations are suggested based on the findings of this review.

scholarly journals On my mind: thoughts about salience, context and figurative language from a second language perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan Kecskes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Literal Meaning ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Language Research ◽  
The Way ◽  
Graded Salience

This article discusses three claims of the Graded Salience Hypothesis presented in Rachel Giora’s book On our mind. It is argued that these claims may give second language researchers the chance to revise the way they think about word meaning, the literal meaning-figurative meaning dichotomy and the role of context in language processing. Giora’s arguments are related to recent second language research and their relevance is explained through examples. There are also several suggestions made for further research.

scholarly journals Mediation in Germany and Other Western Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
HELMUT KURY ◽  
ANNETTE KUHLMANN
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The Past ◽  
Alternatives To Incarceration ◽  
Western European ◽  
Positive Results ◽  
Limited Usefulness

Empirical studies over the past decades have repeatedly shown the limited usefulness of harsh punishment in reducing crime. In response to these research results, historical approaches to crime reduction, such as mediation and restorative justice, have regained prominence, especially in Germany and other western European countries. The women’s movement and the growing role of victimology have contributed to the increased use of these methods as alternatives to incarceration. The debates across these countries vary depending on the historical background of the penal climate in these states, which particularly explains the differences between Eastern and Western European countries in this regard. Empirical studies show the positive impact of mediation on offenders as well as victims. Yet in spite of these results, in most countries, including Germany, the use of mediation remains limited, especially in regard to adult offenders. At the same time, the uses of mediation in non-criminal conflict settings, such as schools, family or work disputes have increased significantly with positive results.

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