The acquisition of relative clauses by Spanish-Basque learners of L3 English: does dominance play a role?

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Ramos Feijoo ◽  
María del Pilar García Mayo
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Language Dominance ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Third Language Acquisition ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Abstract Several studies in the area of third language acquisition (L3A) have considered various factors influencing this process, but the effect of language dominance has not been thoroughly examined. The main goal of this study is to investigate whether the acquisition of relative clauses (RCs) in L3 English is influenced by language internal factors, such as the syntactic features of the target language, or by external factors in the form of cross-linguistic influence (CLI). A total of 90 participants (40 Spanish-dominant, 40 Basque-dominant, 10 L1 Spanish-L2 English) and 10 native speakers of English completed a production and a comprehension task. Findings show that the L3 learners’ production of RCs seems to be driven by language internal factors, whereas their comprehension appears to be influenced by their previously acquired languages, mainly by Spanish. It is concluded that neither language dominance nor other traditionally considered factors play a determinant role in the acquisition of RCs in L3 English by these participants.

scholarly journals On the Pedagogical Relevance of Strategic Competence

1986 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahereh Paribakht
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Strategic Competence ◽  
Adult Esl ◽  
Communication Situations ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Linguistic Material

This paper is a report on a study concerned with the identification of target language linguistic material essential for the learners' use of communication strategies (CS) in survival situations. Subjects were 40 adult ESL students and 20 native speakers of English. A concept-identification task was used to elicit these speakers' CS. Given that the taxonomy of CS developed in the study was based on the type of knowledge utilized by the speakers, it was possible to identify the semantic, as well as the typical syntactic patterns, required for their implementation. These linguistic manifestations of CS can serve as a basis for developing L2 teaching materials with the aim of preparing L2 learners to function successfully in problematic communication situations. An appropriate sequence for the presentation of such material is proposed based on the frequency of their application in the negotiation of meaning by the speakers in this study.

scholarly journals An investigation of accuracy and response time regarding processing mechanism of English relative clauses in EFL contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-140
Author(s):  
Navid Nasrollahi Shahri ◽  
Masoud Motamedynia ◽  
Mohammad Ghazanfari
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Reading Experiment ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Processing Mechanism ◽  
English Relative Clauses

Sentence comprehension in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) contexts is influenced by many factors. One of the most important ones is the processing mechanism of relative clauses which can be analyzed in different frameworks by researchers. So far, a wide range of research has been conducted on the processing mechanism of relative clauses in a number of languages. The results have shown a tendency toward two major categories which have been proven to be of significance, namely subject preference and object preference. Studies conducted on native speakers of English, for instance, have demonstrated subject preference by the participants. Consequently, in this study, the researchers conducted a self-paced reading experiment employing Linger software, and the data were analyzed by using the SPSS Statistics version 25. It aims to investigate the processing mechanism of English relative clauses by Iranian EFL learners. The participants were nine males and 21 females of advanced English learners majoring in the English literature, all being native speakers of Farsi. The results indicate that that the correctness percentage of subject relative clauses, and also subject modifying ones, are significantly higher than that of object ones. The results also indicated that subject relatives were processed swifter than object relatives. Finally, the researchers discussed the reasons behind such a tendency among the participants of the experiment in terms of a number of theories and principles. The findings of this study are expected to be employed in language syllabus designing as well as in grading or sequencing of materials by educators and teaching material developers.

Requests by Chinese EFL learners and native speakers of English

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Meng ◽  
Beatrice Szczepek Reed
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Interactional Competence ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Study Abroad Students ◽  
At Home

Language learners' requesting behaviour has been the focus of pragmatic research for some time, including that of Chinese EFL learners, who constitute a large proportion of English speakers globally. The present study replicates elements of Wang (2011), focusing on the use of formulaic expressions and exploring the differences between advanced Chinese EFL learners and native speakers of English with regard to the use of request formulae. The study also investigates whether significant exposure to the target language in country is connected to a more native-like use of request formulae. Wang's Discourse Completion Task was adopted to elicit request utterances from three groups of participants: advanced Chinese EFL learners studying in China (at home students) and in the UK (study abroad students), respectively, and native speakers of British English. The findings show that, although in some respects study abroad students in the UK employed request formulae in a more native-like manner compared to at home students in China, neither group showed close approximation to the request behaviour of the native speaker group. The findings are discussed in the context of current debates, including interlanguage variations, interactional competence, and native speaker norms and intelligibility.

Processing Chinese relative clauses in context by Italian L3 learners

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832110026
Author(s):  
Shenai Hu ◽  
Carlo Toneatto ◽  
Silvia Pozzi ◽  
Maria Teresa Guasti
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Head Noun ◽  
Chinese Subject ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Subject And Object ◽  
Structural Distance ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Object Relative

The present study investigates third language (L3) learners’ processing of Chinese subject and object relative clauses in a supportive context. Using a self-paced reading task, we tested native Italian L3 learners of Mandarin Chinese and native Chinese speakers. The results showed that the L3 learners read significantly more slowly than the native speakers in all the target regions. Also, in the head noun region, they read object relative clauses significantly more slowly compared to subject relative clauses, indicating a preference for the latter. By contrast, for the native speakers, no significant differences were observed between subject and object relative clauses in any of the target regions. The L3 learners’ performance offers support for the Structural Distance Hypothesis over the Dependency Locality Theory, and the contrast between the two populations indicates that context is at play in the processing of relative clauses.

scholarly journals Improving non-native English students' communicative competence and collaboration skills through Virtual Simulations

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Alisa Sadiku
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Virtual Simulations ◽  
Authentic Environment ◽  
Collaborative Skills ◽  
English Students

Knowing how to communicate in the target language is the main goal of most language learners. Furthermore, it is very challenging for teachers to bring real world communication experiences in classroom settings where English is not the native language. Hence, in this paper I explore the role of virtual simulations in promoting communicational and collaboration opportunities to non-native speakers of English. In my research, I describe how virtual worlds improve communicative and collaborative skills of non-native speakers of English. Moreover, I investigate how virtual worlds can create a learner centered environment where students take control of their own language production. And third, I explore how the affordances of virtual worlds can enhance non-native English students’ communication and collaboration by engaging them in contextual and authentic environment.

scholarly journals The Effect of Japanese Animation Series on Informal Third Language Acquisition among Arabic Native Speakers

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Sara S. Alsubaie ◽  
Abbad M. Alabbad
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Third Language Acquisition ◽  
Teenagers And Young Adults ◽  
The Impact

Recent studies on language acquisition and motivation have targeted Japanese language learners in a formal educational context, with less attention paid to learners who study Japanese informally. The current study aims to investigate the impact of Japanese animations in the context of informal third language acquisition. It targets the native speakers of Arabic who are interested in learning Japanese as a third language (L3), and investigates the motivations of Arab teenagers and young adults to learn Japanese. Further, the paper also focuses on examining aspects of Japanese language proficiency among teenagers and young adults, including vocabulary enhancement and grammar competence. The methodology used in the current study is twofold: an online survey questionnaire adopted from Armour and Iida (2016), followed by an engaging experiment in which participants were divided into two groups (reality anime group vs. action anime group) in order to examine the effectiveness of anime selection in boosting proficiency level. The findings of the online survey indicate that Arabic native speakers are highly motivated to learn Japanese, while the experiment results confirm that the type of anime and consistency of exposure do support the acquisition process. Further, the study concluded that consumption of anime series contributes to the learning process and facilitates learners' proficiency in general and vocabulary learning in particular. However, it remains unknown whether or not Arabic native speakers' motivations lead to their enrollment into formal Japanese foreign language education. Avenues for future research and implications are also presented toward the end of the paper.

scholarly journals An Interlanguage Study of Thai EFL Learners’ Apology

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Boonjeera Chiravate
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Target Language ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Pragmatic Development ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Low Exposure

Although a number of interlanguage studies on apologies have been conducted, there has been no study of apologies among Thai EFL learners that differentiates between learners with high and low levels of exposure to the target language. This study, differentiating between learners with high and low levels of exposure to the target language, addresses two research questions: (i) What are the similarities and differences between perception of offense context of Thai EFL learners and native speakers of English? (ii) What are the similarities and differences between apology strategies used by Thai EFL learners and native speakers of English? Data for the analysis came from a questionnaire consisting of 12 scenarios eliciting different offense contexts. The participants were divided into four groups: native speakers of English (NEs), native speakers of Thai (NTs), Thai EFL learners with high exposure to the target language (TEHs) and Thai EFL learners with low exposure to the target language (TELs). The results revealed that due to the influence of cultural background, the learners’ perception of offense context was dissimilar to the NEs in certain respects. However, the investigation of apology strategies showed that compared to the TELs, the TEHs’ apology strategies tended to be less influenced by their cultural background and more similar to the NEs’. Providing support for levels of exposure to the target language, as individual differences vary in L2 pragmatic development, the study sheds light on pedagogical intervention that may enhance learners’ pragmatic competence.

Verb morphology in second language versus third language acquisition

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 27-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-kit Ingrid Leung
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Verb Morphology ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Third Language Acquisition ◽  
Written Production ◽  
Morphological Representation

This paper reports an experimental study on L2 vs. L3 Spanish morphological representation. A total of 19 Spanish learners (10 Chinese native speakers who are upper intermediate to advanced L2 English users as well as 9 English native speakers who do not speak a prior language without overt morphology) participated in the study. A written production task using Spanish nonce verbs was used to elicit regular and irregular forms of Spanish past participles. The study revealed differences between native and non-native Spanish speakers but ones that are still compatible with an approach which posits a dual mechanism for morphological processing. In addition, no principal difference between the L2 and the L3 Spanish learners was identified. A follow-up experiment on L2 English was therefore carried out testing 26 native speakers of Chinese and 17 native speakers of English using a written production task eliciting English regular and irregular past tense forms for both real verbs and nonce verbs. The findings suggested that native and non-native English speakers’ performances pattern similarly. It seems that L2 English plays a crucial role in Chinese speakers’ L3 Spanish morphological representation and in their similar performance to the L1 English-L2 Spanish speakers.

Politeness Strategies and Second Language Acquisition

1982 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigenori Tanaka ◽  
Saiki Kawade
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
English Sentence ◽  
Politeness Strategies ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Nonnative Speakers Of English

The two studies reported here investigated the notion ofpolitenessas perceived by native speakers of English and advanced learners of English. The questions which concerned us included: (1) Are native speakers of English really aware of the varying degree of politeness conveyed by a given English sentence?; (2) Is there a high correlation between native speakers of English and advanced learners of English in their politeness judgements?; (3) Do native speakers of English really use different politeness strategies in different situations?; (4) Is there a high correlation between native and nonnative speakers of English in the use of politeness strategies? From a theoretical point of view, Study I was concerned with Lakoff's (1973b) claim that politeness increases with decreasing imposition; Study II was concerned with the distance-politeness hypothesis which predicts that one will use polite strategies in situations where he perceives himself as psychological and/or socially distant from his addresee. From a pedagogical point of view, the comparison of the two studies here suggested that the learner's ability ofjudgingpoliteness in the target language does not necessarily mean that he canusepoliteness strategies appropriately in actual communication situations.

scholarly journals Political Correctness – Maintaining a Balanced View

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-59
Author(s):  
Bisera Plančić ◽  
Željka Zanchi ◽  
Mirna Čudić
Keyword(s):  
Political Correctness ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Political Control ◽  
Cultural Setting ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

The paper deals with the concept of the so-called 'political correctness', primarily with regard to how it affects the language, particularly that of the non-native speakers of English, who may sometimes not be sufficiently aware of the sensitivity of the issue in the target language, frequently not nearly as pronounced in their own society and cultural setting. Not surprisingly, 'political correctness' has over the years caused a lot of heated argument and has divided people, not only linguists, into its ardent supporters and detractors. While the former defend it on the grounds that it can effectively combat intolerance, prejudice and injustice, the latter object to it as merely an instrument of political control and manipulation and an impediment to the freedom of speech. They base their argument on the fact that things are sometimes taken too far, many expressions already accepted or suggested as 'politically correct' sounding exaggerated, unnatural, and ridiculous. Furthermore, they argue that political correctness frequently obscures the meaning and is directed against clarity, thereby deteriorating the language. The authors therefore deem it necessary to highlight and explore the arguments of both sides, trying to propose the best ways of dealing with the issue, making all those concerned fully aware of the problem and its implications, at the same time striving to establish and maintain a balance.

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