The impact of first as opposed to second language pre-task planning on the content of problem-solving task performance

Research on pre-task planning to date has mainly focused on task performance. However, the effects of planning are contingent on what learners actually do during planning time. One important factor that may determine the quality and usefulness of planning is whether it is done in the first language (L1) or the second language (L2). This research addresses this issue by investigating the relative benefits of collaborative planning in the L1 and L2 in terms of ideas generated and transferred to an oral problem-solving task. Seventy-two Japanese university EFL learners were randomly assigned to one of two planning conditions: L1P (L1 planning, Japanese) and L2P (L2 planning, English). Dyads in each group were given 10 minutes to plan the content of a problem-solving task in the respective languages before individually performing the timed 2.5-minute oral task. Data took the form of transcribed planning discussions and transcribed task performances. All data were coded for idea units and sorted into categories of problem–solution discourse structure (situation, problem, response, evaluation). A qualitative comparison of L1 and L2 planners’ generation of idea units during planning, transfer and performance was conducted to supplement the quantitative analysis. Findings indicate the L1P condition has significant advantages over the L2P condition in terms of idea conceptualization, but this advantage had a limited impact on subsequent L2 task performance. Pedagogical implications are discussed in terms of possibilities for productively incorporating L1 planning during task implementation in foreign language contexts where learners share a common first language.

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Collaborative Pre-Task Planning Processes and Second-Language Task Performance

RELC Journal ◽

10.1177/0033688220953225 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 003368822095322

Author(s):

Paul Leeming ◽

Scott Aubrey ◽

Craig Lambert

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Task Performance ◽

First Language ◽

Task Planning ◽

Japanese University ◽

Stimulated Recall ◽

Planning Processes ◽

The Impact ◽

Subsequent Task

Task-based language teaching research has investigated the impact of planning on task performance, but little has been reported on the processes that take place while planning is undertaken. This study builds on previous planning research by providing a detailed analysis of four Japanese university learners’ collaborative pre-task planning (two dyads) and their performance on a subsequent second language (L2) oral monologue task that required them to express their opinions on a problem and propose a solution to it. Follow-up interviews incorporating stimulated recall were also conducted to gain insight into learners’ perceptions. Results suggest that the note-taking strategies employed, the interpersonal dynamics of the pairs, the L2 proficiency of the participants, and the language of planning (first language [L1] or L2) resulted in important differences in these learners’ planning processes and subsequent task performances. The results are discussed in terms of how pre-task planning processes might be optimized in teaching and research.

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The impact of second language immersion: Evidence from a bi-directional longitudinal cross-linguistic study

10.1101/2020.09.25.311944 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Henry Brice ◽

Stephen Frost ◽

Atira S. Bick ◽

Peter J. Molfese ◽

Jay G. Rueckl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Left Hemisphere ◽

Speech Processing ◽

First Language ◽

Language Immersion ◽

Longitudinal Change ◽

L2 Processing ◽

L1 And L2 ◽

The Impact

AbstractBrice et al. (2019) presented data from the first epoch of a longitudinal study of the neurobiological underpinnings of first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) processing. Results showed a similar network of activation for reading across L1 and L2, as well as significant convergence of print and speech processing across a network of left-hemisphere regions in both L1 and L2 with greater activation and convergence for L2 in anterior regions, and greater activation and convergence for L1 in posterior regions of the reading network. Here, we present the first look at longitudinal changes in these effects. L2 showed relatively few changes in activation, with some shifts in the weighting between ventral and dorsal processing. L1, however, showed more widespread differences in processing, suggesting that the neurobiological footprint of reading is dynamic, with both L1 and L2 impacting each other. Print/speech convergence showed very little longitudinal change, suggesting that it is a stable marker of the differences in L1 and L2 processing.

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Longitudinal Developments in Bilingual Second Language Acquisition and First Language Attrition of Speech: The Case of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Languages ◽

10.3390/languages6020061 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 61

Author(s):

Lisa Kornder ◽

Ineke Mennen

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Voice Onset Time ◽

First Language ◽

Onset Time ◽

Speech Development ◽

Dynamic Interactions ◽

First Language Attrition ◽

Second Formant ◽

L1 And L2

The purpose of this investigation was to trace first (L1) and second language (L2) segmental speech development in the Austrian German–English late bilingual Arnold Schwarzenegger over a period of 40 years, which makes it the first study to examine a bilingual’s speech development over several decades in both their languages. To this end, acoustic measurements of voice onset time (VOT) durations of word-initial plosives (Study 1) and formant frequencies of the first and second formant of Austrian German and English monophthongs (Study 2) were conducted using speech samples collected from broadcast interviews. The results of Study 1 showed a merging of Schwarzenegger’s German and English voiceless plosives in his late productions as manifested in a significant lengthening of VOT duration in his German plosives, and a shortening of VOT duration in his English plosives, closer to L1 production norms. Similar findings were evidenced in Study 2, revealing that some of Schwarzenegger’s L1 and L2 vowel categories had moved closer together in the course of L2 immersion. These findings suggest that both a bilingual’s first and second language accent is likely to develop and reorganize over time due to dynamic interactions between the first and second language system.

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Interdependence between L1 and L2: The case of Syrian children with refugee backgrounds in Canada and the Netherlands

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716421000229 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-36

Author(s):

Elma Blom ◽

Adriana Soto-Corominas ◽

Zahraa Attar ◽

Evangelia Daskalaki ◽

Johanne Paradis

Keyword(s):

The Netherlands ◽

Maternal Education ◽

First Language ◽

Refugee Camp ◽

Syntactic Skills ◽

Two Samples ◽

Bilingual Language Development ◽

Dutch Sample ◽

L1 And L2 ◽

The Impact

Abstract Children who are refugees become bilingual in circumstances that are often challenging and that can vary across national contexts. We investigated the second language (L2) syntactic skills of Syrian children aged 6-12 living in Canada (n = 56) and the Netherlands (n = 47). Our goal was to establish the impact of the first language (L1 = Syrian Arabic) skills on L2 (English, Dutch) outcomes and whether L1–L2 interdependence is influenced by the length of L2 exposure. To measure L1 and L2 syntactic skills, cross-linguistic Litmus Sentence Repetition Tasks (Litmus-SRTs) were used. Results showed evidence of L1–L2 interdependence, but interdependence may only surface after sufficient L2 exposure. Maternal education level and refugee camp experiences differed between the two samples. Both variables impacted L2 outcomes in the Canadian but not in the Dutch sample, demonstrating the importance to examine refugee children’s bilingual language development in different national contexts.

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Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism—ERRATUM

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716413000015 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 417-417 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

HOLGER HOPP ◽

MONIKA S. SCHMID

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Open Access ◽

First Language ◽

Age Of Acquisition ◽

Foreign Accent ◽

Language Attrition ◽

First Language Attrition ◽

The Impact

The open access copyright line contained within this page was not included in the original FirstView article or the print article contained within this issue. We sincerely regret these errors and any problems they may have caused.

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Lexicalized structural priming in second language online sentence comprehension

Second language Research ◽

10.1177/0267658317723684 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 395-416 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hang Wei ◽

Julie E. Boland ◽

Jonathan Brennan ◽

Fang Yuan ◽

Min Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Adult Learners ◽

Relative Clause ◽

Relative Clauses ◽

Sentence Comprehension ◽

First Language ◽

Structural Priming ◽

Chinese Adult ◽

Education Levels ◽

L1 And L2

Prior work has shown intriguing differences between first language (L1) and second language (L2) comprehension priming of relative clauses. We investigated English reduced relative clause priming in Chinese adult learners of English. Participants of different education levels read sentences in a self-paced, moving window paradigm. Critical sentences had a temporarily ambiguous reduced relative clause. Across lists, critical sentences were rotated, so that they occurred either as prime or as target, and had either the same or different verb as the critical sentence with which they were paired. Prime/target pairs were separated by several filler sentences, which never contained a relative clause. Mean reading times for the disambiguating region in the target sentences were faster than in the prime sentences, but only in the same-verb condition, not in the different-verb condition. This pattern of results is consistent with L1 comprehension priming research, suggesting that similar lexically specific mechanisms are involved in L1 and L2 comprehension priming of reduced relative clauses. These findings are in line with lexicalist accounts of sentence comprehension (e.g. MacDonald et al., 1994), according to which syntactic information is bound to specific words. In addition, these findings argue against theories that postulate fundamental differences in processing of L1 and L2 (e.g. Clahsen and Felser, 2006a, 2006b).

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“Identical” vowels in L1 and L2? Criteria and implications for L2 phonetics teaching and learning

EUROSLA Yearbook ◽

10.1075/eurosla.16.06pai ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 144-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nikola Maurova Paillereau

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Strong Influence ◽

First Language ◽

Positive Transfer ◽

Phonetic Similarity ◽

Perceptual Characteristics ◽

L1 And L2

Researchers in the field of the teaching and learning of phonetics agree that learners of a foreign/second language (L2) acquire identical vowels by positive transfer from their first language (L1). This statement prompted us to examine whether the French and Czech languages, differing in the size of their vowel inventories, possess any identical vowels that could thus be omitted from French as a Foreign Language (FFL) phonetic curricula intended for Czech learners. The quantification of the vowels’ phonetic similarity is based on the comparison of their (1) phonetic symbols, (2) formant values (F-patterns), and (3) perceptual characteristics. The combined results show that strictly identical vowels between the two languages do not exist, but some French vowels can be defined as highly similar to some Czech vowels. Different coarticulatory effects of vowels produced in isolation and in labial, dental and palato-velar symmetrical environments point to a very strong influence of phonetic contexts on vowel similarity. Indeed, no French vowel is highly similar to any Czech vowel in all of the contexts studied. The findings suggest that phonetic exercises designed for Czech learners should focus on allophonic variations of all French vowels.

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Dynamic Transfer and Relations between First Language (L1) Proficiency and Second Language (L2) Writing Skills Performance

10.31235/osf.io/2t6cf ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Abdulelah Alkhateeb

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

English Language ◽

First Language ◽

Writing Skills ◽

Arabic Language ◽

Future Research ◽

Dynamic Relationship ◽

Arabic And English ◽

L1 And L2

This study investigates the transfer relationship between first language (L1) (Arabic) proficiency and second language (L2) (English) performance in writing skills of a Saudi bilingual graduate student. Several studies have discussed the transfer issues in language learning, yet a few of them focus on the transfer relationships between Arabic and English language writing skills. Regardless of the huge linguistic distinction between the English language and Arabic language, it is presumed that Arabic and English writing skills positively, negatively, and neutrally transferred in a dynamic relationship. The researcher has conducted observations and interviews with Fatimah, the participant of this study, and analyzed her texts in both languages to illustrate how dynamic relationships between L1 and L2 in the composition skills is and what the effects of language transfer in the composition skills between L1 and L2 are. The data were collected and analyzed in January 2018. The results demonstrate effects of L2 on L1 as the following; first, a reverse or backward transfer implemented in three ways; positive, negative, and neutral transfer. Second, they indicate that there is a dynamic relationship between second language performance and first language proficiency in composition particularly. It is hoped that this knowledge will assist students in being aware of the effects of L2 on L1 specifically in composition and taking the advantages to accelerate the rate of language learning. It is recommended for future research to conduct studies in bilingual writings to investigate how L1 could be a resource and advocate of language development.

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Circadian rhythms and second language performance

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching ◽

10.14746/ssllt.2017.7.1.3 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 47-60

Author(s):

Kees De Bot ◽

Fang Fang

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Lexical Access ◽

Language Processing ◽

Language Performance ◽

Intraindividual Variation ◽

The Hours ◽

L1 And L2 ◽

The Impact ◽

Second Language Performance

Human behavior is not constant over the hours of the day, and there are considerable individual differences. Some people raise early and go to bed early and have their peek performance early in the day (“larks”) while others tend to go to bed late and get up late and have their best performance later in the day (“owls”). In this contribution we report on three projects on the role of chronotype (CT) in language processing and learning. The first study (de Bot, 2013) reports on the impact of CT on language learning aptitude and word learning. The second project was reported in Fang (2015) and looks at CT and executive functions, in particular inhibition as measured by variants of the Stroop test. The third project aimed at assessing lexical access in L1 and L2 at preferred and non-preferred times of the day. The data suggest that there are effects of CT on language learning and processing. There is a small effect of CT on language aptitude and a stronger effect of CT on lexical access in the first and second language. The lack of significance for other tasks is mainly caused by the large interindividual and intraindividual variation.

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Acquisition of attributive adjectives and noun adjuncts by L3 learners of French and German: further evidence for the typological primacy model (TPM)

IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching ◽

10.1515/iral-2020-0013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Maryam Jamali ◽

Ali Akbar Jabbari ◽

Mohammad Hasan Razmi

Keyword(s):

Task Performance ◽

First Language ◽

Facilitative Effect ◽

Third Language ◽

L3 Acquisition ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Attributive Adjective ◽

French Group ◽

The Impact ◽

Attributive Adjectives

Abstract This investigation explored the impact of prior acquired languages in the acquisition of third language (L3) at initial stages. The required data were gathered via two groups of L3 learners: 27 learners of L3 French and 26 learners of L3 German during a grammaticality judgement task (GJT) and an element rearrangement task (ERT) to test the placement of noun adjuncts and attributive adjectives. Both groups had acquired Persian as the first language and English as the second language. The participants were assigned to two L2 proficiency level groups (intermediate and advanced). The findings revealed that L3 German participants outperformed L3 French learners in the attributive adjective placement in both tasks as well as the noun adjunct in the GJT task. The L3 groups showed similar levels of performance in the ERT noun adjunct task. Additionally, the effect of L2 level of proficiency was not significant. The results also indicated that the typological similarity of L2 English to German rather than French rendered a facilitative effect on task performance in the L3 German group and a non-facilitative effect in the L3 French group. This study provides evidence for the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) of L3 acquisition suggesting that L3 learners are influenced by the typological similarities of the previous languages they have already acquired.

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