The cross-sectional development of verb–noun collocations as constructions in L2 writing

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Garner
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Writing Pedagogy ◽  
L2 Writing ◽  
Association Strength ◽  
Frequency Diversity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Part Of Speech

AbstractPrevious studies utilizing association measures for collocation analysis have demonstrated significant differences in second language (L2) collocation production across proficiency levels. However, the association strength measures utilized in these previous studies have neglected part of speech and grammatical information when calculating association strength between collocating words. The current study seeks to address these limitations by defining verb–noun collocations as constructions within the framework of Construction Grammar and analyzing their cross-sectional development in L2 writing. Texts from a corpus of L2 writing evenly divided into low, medium, and high proficiency levels were analyzed for verb–noun collocation frequency, diversity, and association strength using covarying collexeme analysis. Results showed that more proficient writers produced a more diverse range of verb–noun collocations that were less frequent and more positively and strongly associated. These results have clear implications for Usage-based Second Language Acquisition research, L2 collocation development research, and L2 writing pedagogy.

scholarly journals Beyond Length: Investigating Dependency Distance Across L2 Modalities and Proficiency Levels

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 601-614
Author(s):  
Hengbin Yan ◽  
Yinghui Li
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Production ◽  
L2 Writing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
L2 Speaking ◽  
Text Length ◽  
Positive Correlations

AbstractAs an important index of working memory burden and syntactic difficulty, Dependency Distance (DD) has been fruitfully applied in the context of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) to both native and non-native language production. Recent research has focused on DD as a predictor of writing performance across different proficiencies, while the other modality of second language (L2) performance – speaking – has been largely neglected. Moreover, while previous results reported significant positive correlations between DD and writing proficiency, a lack of control for important variables such as sentence/text length may have potentially inflated the outcomes of the analyses. In this study, we examine the effects of DD across the different modalities and proficiency levels, controlling for the effects of text and sentence lengths. Results from statistical analysis show that the mean DD of L2 writing is significantly shorter than L2 speech production, indicating that L2 writing may be a cognitively more demanding task than L2 speaking. Additionally, while significant statistical differences in DD were found across proficiency levels in both L2 writing and speech, the significance disappeared after controlling for sentence and text length. The implications of the present study for future research on DD in SLA are discussed.

Relativization strategies in SLA

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-476
Author(s):  
Eleonora Luzi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Functional Difference ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Restrictive Relative Clauses

This article examines the process of acquisition of relative clauses in second language (L2) Italian. Despite the fact that linguistic research clearly evidences a distinction between restrictive relative clauses and non-restrictive relative clauses, second language acquisition studies have so far investigated the acquisition of relative clauses disregarding this fundamental and functional difference. Based on the analysis of oral data of 96 L2 Italian students of two different Common European Framework of Reference proficiency levels (B1 and C2), this study examines occurrences of target language relative clauses and of other strategies of relativization (i.e. coordinated sentences), analysing proficiency and first language (L1) influence on distribution. The significant differences in the distribution of alternative relativization strategies between the two groups and the non-restrictive function of coordinated sentences lead to the hypothesis that there are two distinct patterns of acquisition: one for restrictive and another for non-restrictive relative clauses.

SLA developmental stages in the CEFR-related learner corpus MERLIN

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Katrin Wisniewski
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Proficiency Assessment ◽  
The Common ◽  
Assessment Research

Abstract Little is known about the link between Second Language Acquisition (SLA) developmental stages (Pienemann 1998) and the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) proficiency levels. Therefore, this study examines the inversion (INV) and verb-end (VEND) stages in L2 German MERLIN texts rated B1 (N = 104) or A2 (N = 32). Two acquisition criteria are applied to individual texts (emergence, Pienemann 1998; 75%-correct, Ellis 1989) and combined with analyses of texts grouped at CEFR levels. Results suggest links between developmental stages and CEFR levels: VEND was emerged in 44% of B1 texts, while most A2 texts did not contain VEND. Many B1 texts (61.5%), but only 37.5% of A2 texts showed emergence of INV. However, analyses also revealed persisting problems with INV accuracy at B1. More generally, the study points out shared challenges for Learner Corpus Research, SLA, and proficiency/assessment research related to the availability of linguistic evidence in learner texts.

Variation in Native Speaker Speech Modification to Non-Native Speakers

1985 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Gass ◽  
Evangeline Marlos Varonis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Data Bases ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Telephone Interviews

This study builds upon prior research dealing with the nature of discourse involving non-native speakers. In particular, we examine variables influencing native speaker foreigner talk and the form that speech modification takes. The data bases are (1) 80 taped telephone interviews between NNSs at two distinct proficiency levels, (interviewer) and NSs (interviewee), and (2) 20 NS-NS interviews. We consider five variables: 1) negotiation of meaning, 2) quantity of speech, 3) amount of repair (following a specific NNS request for repair), 4) elaborated responses, and 5) transparent responses. We find that the speech of NSs changes as a function of an NNS's ability to understand and be understood. We further suggest a general cognitive principle—transparency—underlying aspects of both foreigner talk and second language acquisition.

Child L2 English acquisition of subject properties in an immersion bilingual context

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabet Pladevall Ballester
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
First Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Developmental Effects ◽  
The Subject

Although thoroughly analysed in adult second language acquisition (L2A), the acquisition of subject properties in child L2A has not received so much attention and the majority of studies deal with longitudinal data or only with a single subject property. This study contributes new cross-sectional data from 5-year-old Spanish children acquiring second language (L2) English in an immersion bilingual context with age of onset three and analyses the acquisition of all the subject properties traditionally associated as a cluster in comparison to a monolingual control group of the same age. The data were obtained by means of an orally elicited judgement/correction experimental task and enabled us to explore the children’s awareness of grammaticality contrasts in their L2, the influence of their L1 after two years of exposure and the extent to which the cluster of subject properties traditionally associated and studied together develop similarly in acquisitional terms. Results suggest that 5-year-old children show sensitivity to grammaticality contrasts in their L2 English and indicate that even after two years of exposure and although the age of onset of acquisition was only three, their L2 is influenced by their first language (L1) subject properties, although developmental effects also need to be taken into account when explaining the results.

The development of lexical complexity in second language acquisition

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 69-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastien De Clercq
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
French And English ◽  
Multilingual Corpus ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency

The development of lexical complexity in second language acquisition has received a considerable amount of attention in applied linguistics research. Many studies have examined the role of lexical diversity, sophistication and density as indicators of L2 proficiency. Few studies, though, have considered the development of lexical complexity from an explicitly cross-linguistic perspective. This article reports on an explorative, cross-linguistic study on the development of lexical diversity, sophistication and density in L2 French and English at four levels of linguistic proficiency. Additionally, the study proposes a number of alternative measures tapping into collocational knowledge and lexical sophistication. The analyses were carried out on a cross-sectional, multilingual corpus of L2 French and English consisting of oral narrative data. The results show a similar development of lexical diversity in L2 French and English, but considerably different developmental tendencies in terms of sophistication and density. The concluding sections discuss possible explanations for these differences and consequences for the measurement of linguistic proficiency.

scholarly journals The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

2014 ◽  
Vol 165 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan H. Hulstijn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
The Common

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR, Council of Europe, 2001) currently functions as an instrument for educational policy and practice. The view of language proficiency on which it is based and the six proficiency levels it defines lack empirical support from language-use data. Several issues need to be investigated collaboratively by researchers working in the fields of first and second language acquisition, corpus linguistics and language assessment. These issues are concerned with (i) the CEFR’s failure to consistently distinguish between levels of language proficiency (static aspect) and language development (dynamic aspect), (ii) with the CEFR’s confounding of levels of language proficiency and intellectual abilities, and (iii) the potential problem of mismatches between second-language learners’ communicative and linguistic competences. Furthermore, from a more theoretical perspective, this paper proposes (iv) to investigate which CEFR proficiency levels are attainable by native speakers and (v) to empirically delineate the lexical, morpho-syntactic and pragmatic knowledge shared by all native speakers (called Basic Language Cognition).

The effect of extraversion on oral L2 proficiency

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 213-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siska van Daele ◽  
Alex Housen ◽  
Michel Pierrard ◽  
Luc De Bruyn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
School Students ◽  
Personality Variable ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
L2 Production ◽  
Target Languages

This study investigates the commonly-held belief in the SLA community that second language acquisition is somehow influenced by the learner’s personality. It builds on previous research on the relation between one personality variable, extraversion, and second language acquisition but is innovative in three ways. First, it examines L2 learners’ speech production in two rather than one L2 and thus puts to the test the hypothesis that the effect of extraversion is stable across different target languages (Dewaele and Furnham 2000). Secondly, whereas most previous studies have investigated the effect of extraversion on fluency (e.g. Rossier 1976, Tapasak, Roodin and Vaught 1978, Busch 1982, Dewaele 1998) this study also looks at the potential effect of this variable on the linguistic accuracy and complexity of learners’ L2 speech production. Thirdly, whereas previous studies were mostly cross-sectional in design, this study adds a longitudinal perspective by considering to what extent the effect of the extraversion–introversion dimension on the fluency, complexity and accuracy of learners’ L2 production remains stable over time. Participants were 25 Dutch-speaking secondary school students learning both English and French as foreign languages in Flanders, Belgium.

Second language acquisition of pragmatic inferences: Evidence from the Frenchc'est-cleft

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILIE DESTRUEL ◽  
BRYAN DONALDSON
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Empirical Adequacy ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Forced Choice Task

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the extent to which second language (L2) speakers of French acquire the semantic and pragmatic (or interpretive) properties associated with thec'est-cleft, specifically the exhaustive inference. This phenomenon is relevant to theories of language acquisition because it is situated at the interface of syntax and pragmatics. The results from a forced-choice task challenge the empirical adequacy of the interface hypothesis (Sorace, 2011, 2012; Sorace & Filiaci, 2006), which claims that external interfaces between a linguistic module and a cognitive module remain problematic even at the highest levels of L2 acquisition. The results from 40 L2 learners at three proficiency levels reveal development from nontargetlike to nativelike behavior. In particular, the high-proficiency group interprets thec'est-cleft, as well as canonical subject–verb–object sentences and sentences with exclusives (i.e.,seul(ement)“only”), in a statistically identical way to the French native speaker control group.

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