‘I will not put this request at the very beginning’

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-58
Author(s):  
Qun Zheng ◽  
Ying Xu
Keyword(s):  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Language Pedagogy ◽  
Power Difference ◽  
Direct Form ◽  
L2 Learners

Pragmatic (in)felicity in requests refers to the (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of one's language use. It has been a great challenge to L2 learners, as they are likely to compose grammatically correct but pragmatically infelicitous requests. Such infelicity could be associated with pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic factors, yet whether L2 learners are aware of those factors has been underexplored. To understand the effects of power, imposition, and modifications on email perception, we designed a matched guise test for 224 Chinese L2 learners, who were instructed to rate from 1 (very inappropriate/impolite) to 5 (very appropriate/polite) on four email requests (Power±; Imposition±). We found that (1) learners are highly aware of pragmalinguistic factors because they perceive requests mitigated by internal and external modifications as more appropriate and polite (p < .05), (2) learners have limited awareness of power difference as they rank direct form as inappropriate in peer-to-peer interaction, and (3) learners cannot realise fully the sociopragmatic factors involved in high-imposition situations. The awareness of pragmatic (in)felicity among learners seems to be underdeveloped as regards degree of power and imposition. The findings could have some implications in language pedagogy.

You’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. Linguistic complexity and instruction in SLA

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick De Graaff
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Language Pedagogy ◽  
Instructed Second Language Acquisition ◽  
The One

In this epilogue, I take a teaching practice and teacher education perspective on complexity in Instructed Second Language Acquisition. I take the stance that it is essential to understand if and how linguistic complexity relates to learning challenges, what the implications are for language pedagogy, and how this challenges the role of the teacher. Research shows that differences in task complexity may lead to differences in linguistic complexity in language learners’ speech or writing. Different tasks (e.g. descriptive vs narrative) and different modes (oral vs written) may lead to different types and levels of complexity in language use. On the one hand, this is a challenge for language assessment, as complexity in language performance may be affected by task characteristics. On the other hand, it is an opportunity for language teaching: using a diversity of tasks, modes and text types may evoke and stretch lexically and syntactically complex language use. I maintain that it is essential for teachers to understand that it is at least as important to aim for development in complexity as it is to aim for development in accuracy. Namely, that ‘errors’ in language learning are part of the deal: complex tasks lead to complex language use, including lexical and syntactical errors, but they are a necessary prerequisite for language development.

scholarly journals Lexically specific vs. productive constructions in L2 Finnish

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-563
Author(s):  
SIRKKU LESONEN ◽  
RASMUS STEINKRAUSS ◽  
MINNA SUNI ◽  
MARJOLIJN VERSPOOR
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Free Response ◽  
Response Data ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Traditional Assumption ◽  
Learner Language ◽  
Default Assumption ◽  
Exemplar Learning

ABSTRACTIt is assumed from a usage-based perspective that learner language constructions emerge from natural language use in social interaction through exemplar learning. In L1, young learners have been shown to develop their constructions from lexically specific, formulaic expressions into more productive, abstract schemas. A similar developmental path has been shown for L2 development, with some exceptions. The aim of the current study is to explore to what extent the default assumption holds for L2 learning. The development of two constructions was traced in four adults learning L2 Finnish. Free-response data, collected weekly over a period of 9 months, were used to investigate the productivity of the constructions. The results show that, contrary to the traditional assumption, L2 learners do not start off with only lexically specific expressions, but that both lexically specific and more productive constructions are used from the beginning. Our results therefore suggest that, for educated adult L2 learners, the schema formation can happen rather quickly and even without the repetition of a specific lexical sequence.

scholarly journals Language Ideology and Its Manifestations: Exploring Implications for Japanese Language Teaching

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-316
Author(s):  
Mahua Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Language Ideology ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Language Pedagogy ◽  
It Impacts ◽  
Neutral Activity ◽  
Selection Of

Language teaching is often seen as an ideologically neutral activity. Linguists have traditionally believed that what people say about language use or structure does not represent ‘real’ linguistic data (Schieffelin, et al, 1998:11).  However, it is precisely this dismissal that modern linguistic anthropologists hope to dispel. This paper attempts to lay bare the workings of language ideology and how it impacts language teaching in general and Japanese language pedagogy in particular.The ideological orientation of what constitutes ‘standard’ Japanese language involves inclusion of certain components that are motivated by Nihonjinron discourses of ‘identity, aesthetics, morality and epistemology’ and processes of exclusion that ‘erase’ deviations from the ‘norm’ (Schieffelin, et al, 1998:3). Ideas about ‘native speaker’ understanding, selection of language materials, inclusion and exclusion of syntactical, lexical, and pragmatic forms in teaching manuals, etc., are all affected by these perspectives, some of which this paper will hope to enumerate. With concrete examples it will be demonstrated how flawed these processes are and how a critical pedagogical approach may help solve these issues. 

A change of setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo García-Amaya
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Immersion Program ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
L2 Learners

Abstract Though study abroad (SA) is becoming an increasingly popular educational avenue for second-language (L2) learners, there is little knowledge of what factors create a successful learning experience. One methodological approach is to consider the amount of time students use their L2 while abroad, and subsequently consider what factors (linguistic, personal, or social) might lead to increased or diminished L2 use. The current study examines data collected in 2010, in which 27 learners from an intensive overseas-immersion program in Spain completed the Language Contact Profile (LCP). Throughout the program, the learners were bound to a language commitment, pledging to speak, read, and write only in their L2. The results presented here, both quantitative and qualitative, suggest that the language pledge was largely followed, reflecting high levels of L2 use; the results also allude to some advantages and disadvantages of using the LCP to track language use.

Opportunistic Networks as an Enabling Technology for Mobile Word-of-Mouth Advertising

2010 ◽  
pp. 236-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Heinemann ◽  
Tobias Straub
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Opportunistic Networks ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Electronic Word Of Mouth ◽  
Enabling Technology ◽  
Point Model ◽  
Simulation Based

The growing share of people using mobile devices, that support wireless peer-to-peer interaction, offers the opportunity to build a ubiquitous infrastructure for electronic word-of-mouth messaging and advertising. This chapter introduces Opportunistic Networks as a layer for one-hop communication that opens up electronic word-of-mouth messaging for mobile devices. The reader will learn about adPASS (short for advertisement passing), a system build on top of Opportunistic Networks for digital advertisement distribution stimulated by an anonymous and tamper-resistant bonus point model. A simulation based on empirical movement patterns indicates the feasibility of our approach. This chapter concludes with a summary and provides an outlook on further research paths starting from our findings.

Opportunistic Networks as an Enabling Technology for Mobile Word-of-Mouth Advertising

2012 ◽  
pp. 1618-1636
Author(s):  
Andreas Heinemann ◽  
Tobias Straub
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Opportunistic Networks ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Electronic Word Of Mouth ◽  
Enabling Technology ◽  
Point Model ◽  
Simulation Based

The growing share of people using mobile devices, that support wireless peer-to-peer interaction, offers the opportunity to build a ubiquitous infrastructure for electronic word-of-mouth messaging and advertising. This chapter introduces Opportunistic Networks as a layer for one-hop communication that opens up electronic word-of-mouth messaging for mobile devices. The reader will learn about adPASS (short for advertisement passing), a system build on top of Opportunistic Networks for digital advertisement distribution stimulated by an anonymous and tamper-resistant bonus point model. A simulation based on empirical movement pat=terns indicates the feasibility of our approach. This chapter concludes with a summary and provides an outlook on further research paths starting from our findings.

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