Learning analytics and second-language context: a digital instrument for measurement of real-time data regarding second language learners achievement

This paper is concerned with gender marking in adult French. Four groups of subjects are compared: German-French simultaneous bilinguals (2L1ers) who grew up in France, German-French 2L1ers who grew up in Germany, advanced second language learners (L2ers) who are resident either in France or in Germany at the time of testing. The major goal of the study is to investigate whether differences in input conditions (acquisition in a minority vs. a majority language context) and differences in age of onset affect gender assignment and gender agreement in the same way or differently. Furthermore, we investigate whether successful acquisition of gender is dependent on influence from German. Two experiments, an acceptability judgment task and an elicited production task, are carried out. Results show successful acquisition of agreement in all groups. By contrast, gender assignment may be mildly affected if French is acquired in a minority language context or as an L2.

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How learners of English learn best in a foreign language context? A glimpse of the debate over the written versus the spoken form

10.31235/osf.io/n6aeb ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Arab World English Journal ◽

Fatimah Almutrafi

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Learners ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Written Language ◽

Teaching Methodology ◽

Written Form ◽

Language Context

The primacy of speech in second language learning and the relative lack of importance of the written form have triggered a continuous debate in the field of language teaching methodology. The various approaches which have been developed throughout the years emphasise the importance of the spoken language. Therefore, the written form has been taken for granted in most teaching methodologies. This paper considers the question of whether second language learners learn best through spoken or written language. It reviews the literature with regard to how speaking and writing have been taught in the last two decades. In addition, it describes the differences between spoken and written forms of languages. The paper then presents some characteristics and features of both language forms and states the situation of teaching English in a foreign language context. The paper concludes that both spoken and written aspects of any language are important in language learning and they both complement one another. Second language learners need to learn both aspects in order to master the language. The degree of exposure to spoken or written language is yet determined by the learners’ purpose for learning the language.

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Acoustic Cues Used by Learners of English

Proceedings of the Annual Meetings on Phonology ◽

10.3765/amp.v7i0.4469 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Danica Reid

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Real Time ◽

Language Learners ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

First Language ◽

English Speakers ◽

Acoustic Cues ◽

Real Time Processing ◽

Time Processing ◽

Language Groups

Second language learners must acquire the ability to use word boundary cues to segment continuous speech into meaningful words. Previous studies have used two types of s+stop clusters to test second language English speakers on their ability to segment fluent English speech: cross-boundary clusters (this table) where allophonic aspiration is present and word-initial clusters (this stable) where allophonic aspiration is absent. These studies suggested that first language segmentation strategies influence second language segmentation. The goal of this study was to test real-time processing of these cluster types by second language learners from one language where cue adaptation was possible (Mandarin Chinese) and one where a new cue would have to be learned (French). Results did not support the idea that first language segmentation strategies influence second language segmentation, but found that both language groups had high accuracy of identification despite showing uncertainty in real-time processing.

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