scholarly journals Language-dependent cue weighting: An investigation of perception modes in L2 learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kakeru Yazawa ◽  
James Whang ◽  
Mariko Kondo ◽  
Paola Escudero
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
English Studies ◽  
Cue Weighting ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Spectral Cues ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
L2 Perception ◽  
Japanese Learners

This study examines relative weighting of two acoustic cues, vowel duration and spectra, in the perception of high front vowels by Japanese learners of English. Studies found that Japanese speakers rely heavily on duration to distinguish /iː/ and /ɪ/ in American English (AmE) as influenced by phonemic length in Japanese /ii/ and /i/, while spectral cues are more important for native AmE speakers. However, little is known as to whether and how this non-native perceptual weighting can change as a result of L2 learning. By employing computational and experimental methods, the present study shows that Japanese learners of English exhibit different cue weighting depending on which language they think they hear. The experiment shows that listeners use more spectral cues and less durational cues when they think they are listening to ‘English’ stimuli as opposed to ‘Japanese’ stimuli, despite the stimuli being identical. This result is generally in line with our computer simulation, which predicts distinct developmental paths in first language (L1) and second language (L2) perception. The Second Language Linguistic Perception (L2LP) model, which incorporates the language mode hypothesis, provides a comprehensive explanation for the current findings.

scholarly journals Acquisition of aspect in L2: The computation of event completion by Japanese learners of English

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-214
Author(s):  
Keiko Kaku-MacDonald ◽  
Juana M. Liceras ◽  
Nina Kazanina
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Missing Data ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Difficult Case ◽  
Value Judgment ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
L1 English

AbstractPrevious studies on the acquisition of semantics in the aspectual domain have suggested that a difficult case for achieving a targetlike representation in a second language arises when learners need to preempt a first language (L1) option (Gabriele, 2009). This study investigates this issue by focusing on a learning scenario where predicate-level variability exists in the L1 input. We investigate whether Japanese learners of English can learn to invalidate event cancellation readings (Tsujimura, 2003) in English and how such knowledge develops with increasing English proficiency. We address these questions by examining how Japanese learners of English interpret accomplishment predicates that allow an event cancellation reading in Japanese but not in English. A truth-value judgment task was administered to 60 beginner, 96 intermediate, and 40 advanced Japanese learners of English as well as 20 L1 English and 20 L1 Japanese speakers. Our results showed that Japanese learners of English progressed toward a targetlike representation of aspectual entailment. We argue that such progress follows two parallel routes: a grammatical route rooted in the learners’ growing awareness of the English determiner and number morphology combined with a statistical route rooted in the learners’ inferences based on missing data.

The differential substitution of English /θ ð/ in French

2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Picard
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Segment Sequence ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
L2 Phonology ◽  
Differential Substitution ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
Promising Avenue

Summary One of the most interesting problems in second-language (L2) phonology is how to account for differential substitution. This is the phenomenon by which speakers who lack a certain segment (sequence) in their first language (L1) may adopt alternative language-specific replacement strategies in the L2 they are attempting to acquire. It has recently been claimed by Weinberger (1997) that the reason why, for example, Japanese learners of English systematically replace English /θ ð/ by /s z/ while their Russian counterparts always substitute /t d/ is that fricatives are unspecified for the feature [continuant] in Japanese while in Russian, the stops constitute the default obstruents. What is argued here is that this analysis in terms of Underspecification Theory cannot possibly work in the case of European and Canadian French which evince an equally systematic differential substitution of /θ ð/ to /s z/ and /t d/ respectively even though they have an identical system of underlying obstuents. It is also suggested that a perception-based approach to the thorny problem of differential substitution would appear to be a much more promising avenue of research.

Deployment of I don’t know and wakannai in second language classroom peer discussions

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Hosoda ◽  
David Aline
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Epistemic Stance ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Peer Discussions ◽  
Japanese Learners

Abstract This conversation analytic study explicates the differential actions of the English phrase I don’t know (IDK) and its equivalent in Japanese, wakannai, as deployed by Japanese learners of English during peer discussions for language learning. By examining natural classroom interaction, we explore second language (L2) speakers’ use of these tokens for various pragmatic actions. The data consist of 47 h of discussions in English language classes in three Japanese universities. The discussions were carried out in the target language, English, for the most part, but occasionally the participants used their common first language (L1), Japanese. All cases of IDK and wakannai examined here occurred in first positions during production of opinions or first assessments. The analysis revealed that within a single discussion session, the participants marshalled IDK and wakannai to perform differential actions. Overwhelmingly, in our data, IDK was deployed to manage their epistemic stance, while wakannai was produced to make a public assertion of their insufficient knowledge.

Some remarks on the subset principle in second language acquisition

1988 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul van Buren
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Theoretical Context ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Subset Principle ◽  
Japanese Learners

In his stimulating paper, 'Configurationality and the subset principle: the acquisition of V' by Japanese Learners of English' (to appear) Zobl concludes on the basis of experimental evidence that, as currently defined, the so-called 'subset principle' - which has recently been proposed for first language acquisition (see Berwick, 1985; Wexler and Manzini, 1986; Manzini and Wexler, 1987) - is inapplicable to second language acquisition. He also concludes that, given certain adaptations, it may have a role to play in second language acquisition. This latter conclusion is potentially of considerable importance to the study of second language acquisition if only because 'principles' are rather thin on the ground in this field of research. However, in what follows I shall argue that the conclusion in question is unwarranted in the theoretical context in which it is drawn. For the sake of brevity I shall refer to Zobl's paper as CSP.

Deployment of the formulaic utterance “how about∼” in task-based second language classroom discussions

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-446
Author(s):  
David Aline ◽  
Yuri Hosoda
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Alternative Procedures ◽  
Japanese Learners

Abstract Formulaic speech has long been of interest in studies of second language learning and pragmatic use as production and comprehension of formulaic utterances requires less processing and production effort and, therefore, allows for greater fluency. This study scrutinizes the sequential positions and actions of one formulaic utterance “how about∼” from the participants’ perspective. This conversation analytic study offers a fine-grained microanalysis of student interaction during classroom peer discussion activities. The data consist of over 54 h of video-recorded classroom interaction. Analysis revealed several positions and actions of “how about∼” as it occurs during peer discussions by Japanese learners of English. Emerging from analysis was a focus on how learners deploy this formulaic utterance to achieve various actions within sequences of interaction. Analysis revealed that participants used “how about∼” for (a) explicitly selecting next speaker, (b) shifting topics, (c) proposing a solution, and (d) suggesting alternative procedures. Although the formula was deployed to perform these four different actions, consistent throughout all instances was the disclosure of learner orientation to the progressivity of the task interaction. The findings show how language learners deploy this formulaic utterance in discussion tasks designed for language learning and highlights the pragmatic functions of this phrase.

Learnability and the Acquistion of Extraction in Relative Clauses andWh-Questions

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Wolfe Quintero
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Learnability Theory ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
Learning Principles

Learnability theory is an investigation of the cognitive principles that determine developmental stages and eventual success in language acquistion. The focus of this study is on the learning principles within learnability theory that account for developmental stages in adult second language acquisition. Three learning principles, cumulative development, continuity, and conservatism, predict a complex sequence of development in the acquisition of relative clauses andwh-questions in English. They predict an early no-prep stage, gradual development through two additional stages of greater embeddedness of the extracted noun, stranded before nonstranded prepositional structures, and the likelihood of resumption at early stages. These predictions are confirmed by data from previous studies and are further investigated in this study by means of elicited production data collected from 35 Japanese learners of English and 17 native speakers of English. The data show the expected stages of development and confirm the relevance of learning principles to a comprehensive theory of learnability in second language acquisition (SLA).

The L2 perception of initial English /h/ and /ɹ/ by Brazilian Portuguese learners of English

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-180
Author(s):  
Denise Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Discrimination Test ◽  
Identification Test ◽  
L2 Perception ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Language Assimilation

This study investigates how speakers who speak Brazilian Portuguese as their first language and English as their second language perceive the English phonemes /h/ and /ɹ/, and how they and monolingual Brazilian Portuguese speakers map these phonemes onto Portuguese sound categories. Participants took part in three experiments: an AXB discrimination test, an identification test, and a cross-language assimilation test, which was also taken by monolinguals. Lower and higher proficiency groups were able to hear the distinction acoustically, but only the higher proficiency group used the distinction to identify English words. Monolingual Brazilian Portuguese speakers and the higher proficiency group assimilated English /h/ primarily to Portuguese /h/. However, the phonological environment had an effect for monolinguals, but not for the higher proficiency group. The lower proficiency group, which one might expect to fall in between these two groups, showed a failure to assimilate English sounds to the Portuguese categories.

Constraining second language word order optionality: scrambling in advanced English-German and Japanese-German interlanguage

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Hopp
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Remnant Movement ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Japanese Learners

This study documents knowledge of UG-mediated aspects of optionality in word order in the second language (L2) German of advanced English and Japanese speakers ( n = 39). A bimodal grammaticality judgement task, which controlled for context and intonation, was administered to probe judgements on a set of scrambling, topicalization and remnant movement constructions. Given first language (L1) differences and Poverty of the Stimulus, English and Japanese learners face distinct learnability challenges. Assuming Minimalist grammatical architecture (Chomsky, 1995), convergence on the target language would entail the unimpaired availability of Universal Grammar (UG), i.e., computational principles and functional features beyond their L1 instantiation. Irrespective of L1, the L2 groups are found to establish systematic native-like relative distinctions. In addition, L1 transfer effects are attested for judgements on scrambling. It is argued that these findings imply that interlanguage grammars are fully UG constrained, whilst initially informed by L1 properties.

scholarly journals Language Dominance Modulates the Perception of Spanish Approximants in Late Bilinguals

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Martha Black ◽  
Marc F. Joanisse ◽  
Yasaman Rafat
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Dominance ◽  
Language History ◽  
Dominance Score ◽  
Perceptual Difficulty ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
L2 Perception

The ability to discriminate phonetically similar first language (L1) and second language (L2) sounds has significant consequences for achieving target-like proficiency in second-language learners. This study examines the L2 perception of Spanish approximants [β, δ, ɣ] in comparison with their voiced stop counterparts [b, d, g] by adult English-Spanish bilinguals. Of interest is how perceptual effects are modulated by factors related to language dominance, including proficiency, language history, attitudes, and L1/L2 use, as measured by the Bilingual Language Profile questionnaire. Perception of target phones was assessed in adult native Spanish speakers (n = 10) and Spanish learners (n = 23) of varying proficiency levels, via (vowel-consonant-vowel) VCV sequences featuring both Spanish approximants and voiced stops during an AX discrimination task. Results indicate a significant positive correlation between perceptual accuracy and a language dominance score. Findings further demonstrate a significant hierarchy of increasing perceptual difficulty: β < δ < ɣ. Through an examination of bilingual language dominance, composed of the combined effects of language history, use, proficiency, and attitudes, the present study contributes a more nuanced and complete examination of individual variables that affect L2 perception, reaching beyond proficiency and experience alone.

Japanese EFL learners’ sentence processing of conceptual plurality: An analysis focusing on reciprocal verbs

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
YU TAMURA ◽  
JUNYA FUKUTA ◽  
YOSHITO NISHIMURA ◽  
YUI HARADA ◽  
KAZUHISA HARA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
First Language ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
Reading Experiment ◽  
Japanese Learners

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to investigate how Japanese learners of English as a foreign language, whose first language does not have obligatory morphological number marking, process conceptual plurality. The targeted structure was reciprocal verbs, which require conceptual plurality to interpret their meanings correctly. The results of a sentence completion task confirmed that participants could use reciprocal verbs reciprocally in English. In a self-paced reading experiment, participants read sentences with reciprocal verbs and those with optionally transitive verbs (e.g., while the king and the queen kissed/left the baby read the book in the bed). There was no reading time delay for reciprocal verbs but a delay for optionally transitive verbs. Therefore, the participants succeeded in processing second language conceptual plurality in the online sentence comprehension task.

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