scholarly journals Reviewing the potential of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) for capturing second language exposure and use

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832110200
Author(s):  
Henriette L Arndt ◽  
Jonas Granfeldt ◽  
Marianne Gullberg

Frequent language exposure and use are among the most important conditions for successful language learning, whether in classrooms, during study abroad, or in other informal contexts. Research probing exposure and usage often relies on one-off self-report questionnaires in which participants estimate their typical level of language exposure over extended periods of time, often long after it occurred. This may negatively affect the validity of the resulting data. This article instead explores the potential of methods used in medical and psychological research, variably known as the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), or diary methods. These methods are often combined with electronic and mobile survey applications to elicit self-report assessments at frequent, sometimes randomized intervals. We consider the possibilities of these methods for strengthening research into language exposure and use, second language acquisition more broadly, and study abroad research specifically. The methods have the potential to drastically reduce biases associated with summative recall. Additionally, they enable researchers to collect richer data about how individuals engage with language differently over time, and the contexts in which they do so, thus ultimately contributing to our understanding of individual differences in language acquisition.

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Mahdikhani

<p>The importance of the learner's attitudes and motivation plays a major role for most psycholinguists, either in a language learning situation or in a second language acquisition context. A quick look at the major theories of language acquisition can be helpful to establish this. Krashen's monitor model argues attitudes and motivation most influential in unconscious language acquisition. The learner's motivational level acts as an affective filter on language intake (Krashen 1981, p. 102). In another model language learning begins when the learner feels motivated to communicate something to someone (see Carroll's conscious reinforcement model, 1981). Reinforcement takes place when the desired end is obtained. Bialystok's strategy model (1978) demonstrates that it can be assumed that learners will seek language exposure only if they feel motivated. Therefore, using their explicit and/or implicit knowledge, communication will take place. This study investigates the challenges and the importance of motivation for second language learning or SL acquisition.</p>


Author(s):  
Norman Segalowitz ◽  
Barbara Freed ◽  
Joe Collentine ◽  
Barbara Lafford ◽  
Nicole Lazar ◽  
...  

In this paper, we report the results of a study that compared differences in the linguistic gains made by native English-speaking students from the United States who were studying Spanish in one of two different contexts of learning. One was a regular university classroom situation in Colorado; the other was a study abroad program in Alicante, Spain. We examined the gains students made on a number of linguistic dimensions: oral proficiency, oral fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and communication strategies. In addition, we investigated the relationships between these variables and a variety of background factors, including aspects of language learning readiness. As far as we know, this is the first study to examine such a comprehensive array of variables associated with linguistic performance as a function of context of learning. Each of the individual studies that contributed to the full report of this project can be found in a special issue of the journal Studies in Second Language Acquisition edited by Collentine and Freed (2004). When those studies are looked at as a whole, they lead to general interpretations that were not immediately apparent when considering each of the reports separately. In this paper, we review these results, discuss the larger picture that emerges, and speculate on future questions about the effects of the study abroad experience on second language acquisition (see also Freed, Segalowitz & Dewey, 2004, for a related study).


1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara F. Freed

The purpose of this chapter is to review what is currently known about second language acquisition (SLA) in a study abroad context and to identify some of the issues that confront those who wish to explore this topic in greater depth.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832110306
Author(s):  
Rosamond Mitchell

A major rationale for study abroad (SA) from the perspective of second language acquisition is the presumed opportunity available to sojourners for naturalistic second language (L2) “immersion”. However, such opportunities are affected by variations in the linguistic, institutional and social affordances of SA, in different settings. They are also affected by the varying agency and motivation of sojourners in seeking second language (L2) engagement. For example, many sojourners prioritize mastering informal L2 speech, while others prioritize academic and professional registers including writing. Most will operate multilingually, using their home language, a local language, and/or English as lingua franca for different purposes, and the types of input they seek out, and language practices they enter into, vary accordingly. Consequently, while researchers have developed varied approaches to documenting L2 engagement, and have tried to relate these to measures of L2 development, these efforts have so far seen somewhat mixed success. This article reviews different approaches to documenting SA input and interaction; first, that of participant self-report, using questionnaires, interviews, journals, or language logs. Particular attention is paid to the popular Language Contact Profile (LCP), and to approaches drawing on Social Network Analysis. The limitations of all forms of self-report are acknowledged. The article also examines the contribution of direct observation and recording of L2 input and interaction during SA. This is a significant alternative approach for the study of acquisition, but one which poses theoretical, ethical and practical challenges. Researchers have increasingly enlisted participants as research collaborators who create small corpora through self-recording with L2 interlocutors. Analyses in this tradition have so far prioritized interactional, pragmatic and sociocultural development, in learner corpora, over other dimensions of second language acquisition (SLA). The theoretical and practical challenges of corpus creation in SA settings and their wider use to promote understandings of informal L2 learning are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-133
Author(s):  
Lisda Nurjaleka

(Developing Interactional competence in A Japanese Study Abroad Context) is a book focusing on second language learning acquisition by Naoko Taguchi. It is a study describing the process of second language acquisition which focuses on the development of interactional competence in a Japanese ゛study abroad゛ context. The book contains nine chapters, which explain the introduction of the study, the method, speech style and style shift in language learning; how incomplete sentences in the Japanese language are produced; and the case histories in the study abroad experience. This book is a qualitative study of learners studying abroad in Japan and explains changes in their interactional competence, such as change in the use of speech styles, style shifting between the polite and plain forms, and the function of incomplete sentences. This function is one of the main characteristics of the Japanese language. The main goal of this book is to enable researchers such as postgraduate students to learn more about second language acquisition and to assist learners in becoming competent L2 speakers in the target community   Book review kali ini membahas buku yang berkaitan dengan Akuisisi pembelajar bahasa Kedua denga judul `Developing Interactional Competence in a Japanese Study Abroad Context` oleh Naoko taguchi. Di dalam buku ini membahas tentang proses akuisis bahasa kedua yang memfokuskan pada pembelajaran studi di luar negeri untuk membangun kompetensi interaksional bahasa Jepang. Buku ini terdiri dari Sembilan bab yang menjelaskan tentang pengantar mengenai penelitian kali ini, metode penelitian, speech style dan style shif dalam pembelajaran bahasa, bagaimana kalimat tidak lengkap terbentuk dalam bahasa Jepang dan deksriptif kualitatif mengenai studi kasus pengalaman studi di luar negeri. Buku ini termasuk kedalam penelitian kualitatif pembelajar bahasa Jepang di Jepang yang melakukan studi lanjut dan menjelaskan bagaimana perubahan dalam kompetensi interaksional mereka, seperti perubahan penggunaan dalam speech style dan style shifting antara bentuk polite dan bentuk normal. Dan bagaiman fungsi-fungsi dari kalimat-kalimat tidak utuh. Tujuan utama dari buku ini adalah memungkinkan bagi para peneliti seperti mahasiswa pasca sarjana dan peneliti pemula untuk belajar mengenai akuisisi bahasa kedua dan membantu para pembelajar menjadi kompeten sebagai Penutur bahasa kedua di komunitas target dalam hal ini di Jepang.


2008 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 95-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa McGarry

AbstractThe increasing recognition of the concept language ideology and the corresponding increasing use of the term have not yet been matched by applications in the field of second language acquisition. However, applications of the concept in analysis of actual classroom practices have shown it to have considerable explanatory power. Greater consideration of language ideology in SLA is necessary not only to achieve greater understanding of the role of ideology in various areas but also to show connections between these areas that may yield important generalizations and to impel the application of the concept in areas where it has been neglected by highlighting its uneven treatment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari

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.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 46-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Robinson

Recent second language acquisition (SLA) research into the cognitive abilities implicated in implicit, incidental, and explicit learning, and in learning and performance on tasks differing in their information processing demands has prompted new theoretical frameworks for conceptualizing L2 aptitude. This research is reviewed and related to measures of abilities operationalized in existing aptitude tests, as well as to measures of abilities that are the focus of more recent research in cognitive psychology. Finally, prospects for developing aptitude tests to serve the purposes of predicting both early and advanced level language learning success are discussed in the light of the SLA findings and aptitude frameworks reviewed.


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