The role of phonemic awareness in second language reading

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Koda
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Phonemic Awareness ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
First Language ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Decoding Skills ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Esl Learners

This study investigates the effects of disparate L1 (first language) alphabetic experience on L2 (second language) phonemic awareness and decoding among ESL (English as a Second Language) readers with alphabetic and nonalphabetic L1 orthographic backgrounds. It was hypothesized that amount of L1 alphabetic experience is causally related to the development of L2 phonemic awareness and decoding skills. The specific objectives were threefold: to compare varying aspects of phonemic awareness among Chinese and Korean ESL learners; to explore the relationship between L2 phonemic awareness and decoding skills;and to examine the extent to which L2 text comprehension is facilitated by phonemic awareness and decoding skills. Data demonstrated that the two groups differed neither in their phonemic awareness nor in decoding;phonemic awareness was differentially related to decoding performance between the groups; and strong interconnections existed between reading comprehension, decoding and phonemic awareness among Korean participants, but no such direct relationships occurred among Chinese. Viewed collectively, these findings seem to suggest that, while differential L1 orthographic experience is not directly associated with L2 phonemic awareness, variations in prior processing experience may engender the use of diverse phonological processing procedures and, thus, account for qualitative differences in L2 processing behaviours.

scholarly journals First language polysemy affects second language meaning interpretation: evidence for activation of first language concepts during second language reading

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrie E. Elston-Güttler ◽  
John N. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Condition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Response Times ◽  
First Language ◽  
Word Type ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Meaning Interpretation

The present study investigates the influence of first language (L1) lexicalization patterns on the processing of second language (L2) words in sentential contexts by advanced German learners of English. The focus was on cases where a polysemous word in the L1 is realized by independent words in the L2, e.g. German Blase realized by English bubble and blister. An anomaly detection task was used in which participants had to indicate whether a target word formed an acceptable completion to a sentence. The critical condition was where the other sense ( blister) of the translation equivalent Blase was appropriate, but the word ( bubble) did not complete the sentence meaningfully, e.g. 'His shoes were uncomfortable due to a bubble.' This was compared to a control condition in which neither sense of the L1 translation made sense, e.g. 'She was very hungry because of a bubble.' Factors of word type (noun vs. verb) and degree of relatedness of L1 senses (high vs. moderate) were also manipulated. Relative to native speakers of English, advanced German learners made more errors and displayed longer correct response times in the critical condition compared to the control condition. An effect of meaning relatedness was obtained for nouns but not verbs. The results are discussed in terms of the role of lexical-level translation connections in activating L1 concepts from L2 words, even in highly proficient learners and in all-L2 tasks.

The processing of object–subject ambiguities in early second-language acquirers

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 963-992
Author(s):  
Robyn Berghoff
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
First Language ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Comprehension Question ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Ultimate Failure ◽  
Construction Type

AbstractStudies of the second language (L2) processing of object–subject ambiguities (OSA), where the parser must revise an initially incorrect analysis of the input, have yielded two findings that the present paper addresses. First, L2 speakers are guided more strongly by plausibility information than L1 speakers in OSA processing. Second, L2 speakers generally do not perform reanalysis in real time, and their comparably poor performance on subsequent comprehension questions suggests ultimate failure to derive a grammatical parse. Because previous studies have targeted later L2 acquirers living outside of an L2 context, the present study tested whether the above two findings hold for childhood L2 acquirers with extensive naturalistic L2 exposure, hypothesizing that these factors would engender more nativelike processing. A self-paced reading task involving two kinds of OSA construction was conducted. Sensitivity to plausibility information differed across the first language and L2 groups per construction type. Within the L2 group, there is evidence that the early childhood acquirers initiated online reanalysis. Comprehension question accuracy did not differ across participant groups, suggesting that all participants succeeded in reanalysis to the same extent. The role of age of onset in L2 processing is discussed, as is the findings’ relevance to current models of L2 processing.

THE ROLE OF THE FIRST LANGUAGE IN SECOND LANGUAGE READING

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Upton ◽  
Li-Chun Lee-Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Comprehension Process

Reading in a second language (L2) is not a monolingual event; L2 readers have access to their first language (L1) as they read, and many use it as a strategy to help comprehend an L2 text. Owing to difficulties in observing the comprehension process, little research has been conducted to determine what role the L1 plays in the reading strategies of L2 readers. Using think-aloud protocols and retrospective interviews with 20 native speakers of Chinese and Japanese at three levels of language proficiency studying in the United States, this study explores further the question of when L2 readers use their L1 cognitive resources and how this cognitive use of the L1 helps them comprehend an L2 text. We conclude by suggesting that the results support a sociocultural view of the L2 reading process.

Neural deficits in auditory phonological processing in Chinese children with English reading impairment

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIANGZHI MENG ◽  
HANLIN YOU ◽  
MEIXIA SONG ◽  
AMY S. DESROCHES ◽  
ZHENGKE WANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Reading Impairment ◽  
English Reading ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Esl Learners

Auditory phonological processing skills are critical for successful reading development in English not only in native (L1) speakers but also in second language (L2) learners. However, the neural deficits of auditory phonological processing remain unknown in English-as-the-second-language (ESL) learners with reading difficulties. Here we investigated neural responses during spoken word rhyme judgments in typical and impaired ESL readers in China. The impaired readers showed comparable activation in the left superior temporal gyrus (LSTG), but reduced activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and left fusiform and reduced connectivity between the LSTG and left fusiform when compared to typical readers. These findings suggest that impaired ESL readers have relative intact representations but impaired manipulation of phonology and reduced or absent automatic access to orthographic representations. This is consistent with previous findings in native English speakers and suggests a common neural mechanism underlying English impairment across the L1 and L2 learners.

The processing of case in near-native Spanish

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Jegerski
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Case Marker ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Case Markers ◽  
Ditransitive Constructions

This article reports a study that sought to determine whether non-native sentence comprehension can show sensitivity to two different types of Spanish case marking. Sensitivity to case violations was generally more robust with indirect objects in ditransitive constructions than with differential object marking of animate direct objects, even among native speakers of Spanish, which probably reflects linguistic differences in the two types of case. In addition, the overall outcome of two experiments shows that second language (L2) processing can integrate case information, but that, unlike with native processing, attention to a case marker may depend on the presence of a preverbal clitic as an additional cue to the types of postverbal arguments that might occur in a stimulus. Specifically, L2 readers showed no sensitivity to differential object marking with a in the absence of clitics in the first experiment, with stimuli such as Verónica visita al/el presidente todos los meses ‘Veronica visits the[ACC/NOM]president every month’, but the L2 readers in the second experiment showed native-like sensitivity to the same marker when the object it marked was doubled by the clitic lo, as in Verónica lo visita al/el presidente todos los meses. With indirect objects, on the other hand, sensitivity to case markers was native-like in both experiments, although indirect objects were also always doubled by the preverbal clitic le. The apparent first language / second language contrast suggests differences in processing strategy, whereby non-native processing of morphosyntax may rely more on the predictability of forms than does native processing.

scholarly journals PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING OF STRESS BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS LEARNING SPANISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Ramsés Ortín ◽  
Miquel Simonet
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Recall Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 English ◽  
Processing Stress

Abstract One feature of Spanish that presents some difficulties to second language (L2) learners whose first language (L1) is English concerns lexical stress. This study explores one aspect of the obstacle these learners face, weak phonological processing routines concerning stress inherited from their native language. Participants were L1 English L2 learners of Spanish. The experiment was a sequence-recall task with auditory stimuli minimally contrasting in stress (target) or segmental composition (baseline). The results suggest that learners are more likely to accurately recall sequences with stimuli contrasting in segmental composition than stress, suggesting reduced phonological processing of stress relative to a processing baseline. Furthermore, an increase in proficiency—assessed by means of grammatical and lexical tests—was found to be modestly associated with an increase in the accuracy of processing stress. We conclude that the processing routines of native English speakers lead to an acquisitional obstacle when learning Spanish as a L2.

Assessing the Role of Selective Fossilization Hypothesis in Determining Fossilizable Phonetic Errors in Tunisian EFL Learners’ Oral Output

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Aicha Rahal ◽  
Chokri Smaoui
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
First Language ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Phonetic Errors ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon

Fossilization is said to be a distinctive characteristic of second language (L2) learning (Selinker, 1972, 1996; Han, 2004). It is the most pervasive among adult L2 learners (Han and Odlin, 2006). This linguistic phenomenon has been characterized by cessation of learning, even though the learner is exposed to frequent input. Based on the findings of the MA dissertation of the first researcher which is about ‘phonetic fossilization’ and where she conducted a longitudinal study, Han’s Selective Fossilization Hypothesis (SFL) is used to analyze the obtained fossilized phonetic errors in relation to L1 markedness and L2 robustness with a particular focus on fossilized vowel sounds. This is an analytical model for identifying both acquisitional and fossilizable linguistic features based on learners’ first language (L1) markedness and second language (L2) robustness. The article first gives an overview of the theory of Interlanguage and the phenomenon of fossilization. Then, it introduces SFL. This is an attempt to study fossilization scientifically. In other words, it tests the predictive power of a developed L1 Markedness and L2 Robustness rating scale based on Han’s (2009) model. The present study has pedagogic implications; it is an opportunity to raise teachers’ awareness on this common linguistic phenomenon.

Second Language Sentence Processing

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-256
Author(s):  
Holger Hopp
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Utility Functions ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Grammar Acquisition ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Incomplete Form

Second language (L2) sentence processing research studies how adult L2 learners understand sentences in real time. I review how L2 sentence processing differs from monolingual first-language (L1) processing and outline major findings and approaches. Three interacting factors appear to mandate L1–L2 differences: ( a) capacity restrictions in the ability to integrate information in an L2; ( b) L1–L2 differences in the weighting of cues, the timing of their application, and the efficiency of their retrieval; and ( c) variation in the utility functions of predictive processing. Against this backdrop, I outline a novel paradigm of interlanguage processing, which examines bilingual features of L2 processing, such as bilingual language systems, nonselective access to all grammars, and processing to learn an L2. Interlanguage processing goes beyond the traditional framing of L2 sentence processing as an incomplete form of monolingual processing and reconnects the field with current approaches to grammar acquisition and the bilingual mental lexicon.

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