Vocabulary complexity and reading and listening comprehension of various physics genres

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milica Vuković Stamatović
Keyword(s):  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Technical Vocabulary ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Magazine Articles ◽  
Ted Talks

AbstractThis study sheds light on the vocabulary complexity of various physics genres and how it affects reading and listening comprehension of the science of physics. We analysed the vocabulary frequency profile of seven physics genres: research articles, textbooks, lectures, magazines, popular books, TV documentaries and TED talks, to determine the presence of general-purpose, academic and technical vocabulary in them, as well as their vocabulary level and variation. The main research question was whether the vocabulary level of these genres could pose an impediment to typical native and non-native speakers of English in terms of their reading/listening comprehension, and, in general, how accessible these genres are vocabulary-wise. The results suggest that typical native speakers will struggle reading physics research and magazine articles, whereas typical non-native speakers will not read/listen to any of the genres at an optimal level, but will be able to read/listen to four of them at an acceptable level.

scholarly journals Measuring the vocabulary size of native speakers of English in New Zealand secondary schools

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Averil Coxhead ◽  
Paul Nation ◽  
D Sim
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Subject Specific ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Research In Education ◽  
Size Estimates

© 2015 New Zealand Association for Research in Education. The primary aim of this study was to examine the vocabulary size of native speakers of English in New Zealand secondary schools. Two equivalent forms of the 20,000 version of the vocabulary size test were used in this study. Two hundred and twenty-seven 13-18-year-old native speakers of English at secondary school took an individually administered version of the test. The data from this study fits with the vocabulary size estimates for younger native speakers of Biemiller and Slonim (J Educ Psychol 93:498-520, 2001). The results suggest that most native speakers at secondary school have enough general purpose vocabulary to cope with their reading at school, and any deliberate attention to vocabulary should focus on subject-specific vocabulary.

scholarly journals Measuring the vocabulary size of native speakers of English in New Zealand secondary schools

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Averil Coxhead ◽  
Paul Nation ◽  
D Sim
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Subject Specific ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Research In Education ◽  
Size Estimates

© 2015 New Zealand Association for Research in Education. The primary aim of this study was to examine the vocabulary size of native speakers of English in New Zealand secondary schools. Two equivalent forms of the 20,000 version of the vocabulary size test were used in this study. Two hundred and twenty-seven 13-18-year-old native speakers of English at secondary school took an individually administered version of the test. The data from this study fits with the vocabulary size estimates for younger native speakers of Biemiller and Slonim (J Educ Psychol 93:498-520, 2001). The results suggest that most native speakers at secondary school have enough general purpose vocabulary to cope with their reading at school, and any deliberate attention to vocabulary should focus on subject-specific vocabulary.

scholarly journals Lisboa, Lisbon, and the exception

Entrepalavras ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Francisco Miguel Valada
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Assimilation Process ◽  
Phonetic Realization ◽  
L1 English

The graphemic form <Lisbon> in the title refers to an underlying [ˈlɪzbən] with a voiced heterosyllabic /zb/ cluster. Chomsky and Halle (1968, p. 150, n. 105) indicate the example Lisbon as one of the exceptions to the devoicing of obstruent clusters in English. Corresponding orthographic <sb> clusters in Portuguese obey a rule according to which a [ʒ] occurs as the phonetic realization of an underlying and unspecified for voice and place of articulation /S/ that assimilates the voicing of the following consonant [b], as in Lisboa [liʒˈboɐ]. It should be borne in mind that not only are /zb/ clusters exceptional in English but that /zb/ and /sb/ may be equally licensed (as in asbestos), while the cooccurrence of voiced and voiceless segments within a cluster is not possible in Portuguese. This paper aims at obtaining answers to the following research question: do native speakers of English experience difficulties when producing Portuguese voiced sC heterosyllabic clusters, taking into account (a) the different syllable structures of these clusters in the L1 (English) and the L2 (Portuguese), and (b) the assimilation process in Portuguese, whereby if C is voiced in sC, then /S/ = [ʒ]? The main conclusions are that assimilation seems less problematic than palatalization for native speakers of English when producing heterosyllabic word-medial Portuguese sC clusters and that individual differences may play an important role. More research is needed, with a focus on instruction and with more informants, to confirm or dismiss these conclusions.

Learning strategies employed for learning words written in Kanji Versus Kana

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariko Kubota ◽  
Etsuko Toyoda
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Research Instrument ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Think Aloud Protocol ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Abstract The aims of this paper are: (1) to compare learning strategies employed to memorize the meaning of words written in kanji (logograph) and kana (syllablics); and (2) to identify effective learning strategies to memorize meanings of words in kanji. Eleven native speakers of English enrolled in Japanese at a university participated in this project. Twenty words were selected as the main research instrument. Participants were asked to memorize in 20 minutes the English meanings of the 20 Japanese words written in kanji while saying what they were thinking (a think-aloud protocol). Participants’ behavior was observed, and a test was given after the memorization. About one month later the same procedure was used for words written in kana. A questionnaire was used to find participants’ Japanese learning backgrounds. The findings were: (1) seven out of 11 participants employed different strategies for memorizing the meanings of words written in kanji from words written in kana; and (2) recognition of radicals and analysis of whole words were effective for memorizing the words written in kanji.

scholarly journals PERM STUDENTS’ IDEASOF THE LANGUAGE NORM AND SPEECH CULTURE: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Anastasiia S. Chernousova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Research Material ◽  
The One ◽  
Colloquial Speech

The article describes the results of a pilot sociolinguistic experiment the purpose of which was to study the ideas of modern youth about the language norm and speech culture. The main research question was how this social group assesses linguistic innovations / transformations and other facts of modern Russian speech. The research material was collected by means of a survey in which 80 informants took part. The task was to identify and analyze opinions on the concept of ‘speech culture’ and its features, ‘degradation’ / ‘non-degradation’ of the language, as well as the influence of the popular Russian TV series Real’nye patsany (Real Guys) on the creation of the image of Perm residents. The research results reveal the problems of speech culture essential from the point of view of young speakers, the most striking of which are the insufficient purity of speech, unjustified borrowing, and spelling mistakes. The presence of diametrically opposite ideas of the currently occurring processes (from the recognition of innovations to the idea of complete degradation) indicates that informants recognize the process of constant development of the language, which is, on the one hand, naturally-determined and, on the other, beyond the control of native speakers. The informants distinguish between the norm of the literary language and the norms of other language variants (for example, local variants of literary colloquial speech, various types of jargon), determine for each of the idioms their own sphere of functioning, socio-cultural environment, circle of speakers and, accordingly, their own evaluative characteristics of language variants, which do not always coincide with others.

scholarly journals What, When and How? Spanish Native and Nonnative Uses of Politeness

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
María J. Barros García ◽  
Marina Terkourafi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Face Threats ◽  
Politeness Strategies ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Peninsular Spanish

AbstractThe current study reports on three role-plays investigating the understanding and uses of politeness by native speakers of Spanish from Spain, native speakers of English from the United States, and nonnative speakers of Spanish from the United States. Motivated by the different characterization of Peninsular Spanish and U.S. American cultures as solidarity and distancing cultures, respectively (Hickey, 2005; Pinto, 2011), we expected that American English speakers would be more inclined towards the use of politeness strategies linked to the protection of face, while Spaniards would make more use of maneuvers to enhance face. The pertinent research question is whether learners transfer into L2 their L1 preference for face-saving, or, conversely, are able to adapt their behavior depending on the language of the interaction. Our results show that, overall, nonnative speakers still abide by the norms of their L1 to some extent, attaching more importance to the avoidance of face-threats when speaking in Spanish than native speakers do, although this preference tends to become less marked as their proficiency in the L2 increases.

scholarly journals Problems of Speech Perception Experienced by the EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Adi Sutrisno
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Research Result ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Secondary Research ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Most native speakers of English modify complicated sequences in connected speech in order to simplify the articulation process. This habit has created problems in the part of EFL learners as they are not trained enough to extract word sequences from the running speech. As a consequence, misperception occurs, which often leads to the failure in the listening comprehension. This article is intended to prove that such a problem is not solely triggered by the native speaker factor. Other factors might play pivotal roles, too and need to be carefully examined. In light of this interest, a secondary research aimed at revealing factors causing speech perception problems was carried out. The research result shows that problems of speech perceptions experienced by the EFL learners were mostly caused by their phonetic knowledge and phonological competence, besides lexical and syntax knowledge.

scholarly journals The Lecture Buddy Project: An Experiment in EAP Listening Comprehension

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mendelsohn
Keyword(s):  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
First Year ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Note Taking ◽  
American University ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Economics Majors ◽  
The University

This article describes a study of the listening comprehension of first-year, non-native speakers of English (NNSs) in a large North American university. The goal was to find out how the students, all economics majors, were coping with listening to economics lectures and to try an experiment in mentoring by linking them with a "lecture buddy": a native speaker in their course who would meet with them weekly and help them with note taking. The lecture buddies kept journals of their meetings, made copies of their lecture notes, and wrote a final report on their experience. In addition, the author interviewed the informants at the end of each semester, and these interviews were transcribed. The study confirms that these students were having substantial difficulty with their lectures, were taking poor notes, and were doing poorly in the courses as a result. The mentoring project was judged to be helpful to the informants, and the help that the lecture buddies gave went far beyond working on note taking. The article ends with a list of recommendations about what the university and the professors could do to make it easier of the NNS students and what the students themselves could do.

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