scholarly journals Project-based Language Learning: Email Exchanges between Non-native English Speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 941
Author(s):  
Sue Wang
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Efl College Students ◽  
Efl Learning

his study presents the findings of an email exchange project between Chinese and Korean EFL college students. With the non-native speakers of English far outnumbered the native speakers, it is necessary to investigate the interactions between these non-native speakers whose communication is made possible only through English. 36 Chinese EFL college students participated in this e-pal project with a group of 28 Korean EFL college students. This paper reported the Chinese students’ perceptions and their attitudes towards interactions through email exchange with their non-native counterparts. Implications of using project as an approach in EFL learning and teaching is also discussed.

scholarly journals The use of discourse markers but and so by native English speakers and Chinese speakers of English

Pragmatics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binmei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Oral Discourse ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Abstract Previous studies have found that but and so occur frequently in native and non-native English speakers’ speech and that they are easy to acquire by non-native English speakers. The current study compared ideational and pragmatic functions of but and so by native and non-native speakers of English. Data for the study were gathered using individual sociolinguistic interviews with five native English speakers and ten L1 Chinese speakers. The results suggest that even though the Chinese speakers of English acquired the ideational functions of but and so as well as the native English speakers, they underused the pragmatic functions of them. The findings indicate that there is still a gap between native and non-native English speakers in communicative competence in the use of but and so. The present study also suggests that speakers’ L1 (Mandarin Chinese) and overall oral proficiency in oral discourse affect their use of but and so.

Complex Structures in the Child-Directed Speech of Native and Nonnative Speakers

2018 ◽  
pp. 127-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aslı Altan ◽  
Erika Hoff
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Complex Structures ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
Mother Child Interaction ◽  
Bilingual Communities

Children in bilingual communities are frequently exposed to speech from nonnative speakers, but little research has described how that input might differ from the input of native speakers. There is evidence that input from nonnative speakers might be less useful to language learning children, but little research has asked why. This chapter analyzes the frequency of complex structures in the child-directed speech of 30 native English speakers and 36 nonnative speakers who were late learners of English, all speaking English to their two-and-a-half-year-old children. All instances of nine categories of complex structures were coded in transcripts of mother-child interaction. The frequency of all but one category was greater in the speech of native speakers. These findings suggest that input provided by native speakers provides more frequent models of complex structures than nonnative input.

How native and non-native English speakers adapt to humor in intercultural interaction

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy D Bell
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
The Other ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Negative Message ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

AbstractHumor can often carry an implicit negative message and thus be potentially dangerous to use. In addition, it is culturally and linguistically complex and sophisticated. Because of these things, it poses a challenge for L2 (second language) speakers and we might expect to see attempts at humor failing and causing offense in intercultural interaction. This paper reports on a study that examined humor in interaction between native and non-native speakers of English and found that humor did not seem to be a cause of conflict because of adjustments speakers made to their speech and their situated interpretations of meaning. In general, taboo topics and potentially dangerous forms of humor were avoided and humor was carefully contextualized. Native speakers reported being careful about the vocabulary they used in creating humor and both sides appeared to approach humor in intercultural communication prepared to accommodate the other and with an attitude of leniency.

Direct (dis)agreement verbs

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-140
Author(s):  
Siaw-Fong Chung
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Semantic Approach ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract “*I am not agree with you” is an incorrect use of agree frequently seen in the writing of Taiwanese learners. Yet, not many studies have discussed the use of agree and disagree in the literature. Many studies are concerned more about the politeness of (dis)agreement, especially in detailing the relationship between speaker and hearer. We took a lexical semantic approach to compare the use of agree and disagree in essays written by native English speakers and Taiwanese learners in the ICNALE (International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English). The essays were based on two topics concerning societal issues collected in the corpus – (a) whether smoking should be completely banned in restaurants and (b) whether college students should take a part-time job or not – the writers were asked to respond to each issue by agreeing or disagreeing. Our results showed that when given clear instructions to agree or disagree, both native and learners tended to state (dis)agreement in the very first sentence in their essays, but Taiwanese learners relied more on the uses of agree and disagree more often than the native speakers did. The errors committed by learners on the use of agree (not for disagree) were between 25–35% in our data. The results will bring significant comparisons of the lexical semantics of related verbs (verbs of social interaction) in future studies.

The effects of age of second language learning on the production of English vowels

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray J. Munro ◽  
James Emil Flege ◽  
Ian R. A. Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Percent Correct ◽  
English Vowels

ABSTRACTThis study examined the English vowel productions of 240 native speakers of Italian who had arrived in Canada at ages ranging from 2 to 23 years and 24 native English speakers from the same community. The productions of 11 vowels were rated for degree of foreign accent by 10 listeners. An increase in perceived accentedness as a function of increasing age of arrival was observed on every vowel. Not one of the vowels was observed to be produced in a consistently native-like manner by the latest-arriving learners, even though they had been living in Canada for an average of 32 years. However, high intelligibility (percent correct identification) scores were obtained for the same set of productions. This was true even for English vowels that have no counterpart in Italian.

scholarly journals Supporting Non-Native English Speakers at the University

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-121
Author(s):  
Bethany Peters ◽  
Michael E. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Research University ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Public Research ◽  
Public Research University ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Faculty And Staff ◽  
The University

This study reports on a survey designed to understand the experiences of faculty and staff who work with non-native speakers of English (NNESs) at a U.S. public research university. Over 1,500 faculty and staff responded to the survey, and the findings highlight their perspectives on the benefits of having non-native English speakers on campus, as well as the challenges that they experience in teaching and advising this population of students. We conclude with a discussion about possible resources and strategies that may provide enhanced support for NNES and the faculty and staff who work with them.

Imitation of Suprasegmental Patterns by Non-Native Speakers of English

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Jeanne Haak ◽  
Rieko Marie Darling
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Application ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Short Sentence ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Potential Measure

Speakers with limited English proficiency (LEP) usually produce a combination of articulation errors and differences in the prosodic patterns of English. There are abundant measures of articulation, but few objective measures of prosodic performance. The Tennessee Test of Rhythm and Intonation Patterns (TRIP) was selected as a potential measure for distinguishing the prosodic patterns of native and non-native English. First, the TRIP was given to 12 native speakers of Asiatic languages and 12 native speakers of English. The performances of the two groups did not differ significantly, suggesting that the TRIP was not a definitive measure of prosodic differences in English. Second, a group of listeners was asked to identify native versus non-native English speakers based only on selected stimuli from the TRIP and a short sentence of comparable length. The listeners were significantly better able to identify native and non-native speakers when listening to the sentence than when listening to the TRIP items. Clinical application of this information in working with LEP clients is discussed.

A British response to some Indian English usages

English Today ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raja Ram Mehrotra
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Indian English ◽  
The World ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

English has been established in India for well over two centuries, and is now both its major lingua franca and ‘window on the world’. Some Indianisms are however little known beyond South Asia and are liable to be regarded by native speakers of English as ‘deviant’ in various ways. Here, a project is described in which a set of distinctive and representative Indian English expressions was shown to a group of native English speakers who were asked to comment on them. The list includes both distinctive words (such as face-cut, freeship, and weightage) and distinctive senses of universally used words (such as chaste, see, and tempo). The responses are discussed and a summarizing conclusion presented.

Analyzing Topical Structure in ESL Essays

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Schneider ◽  
Ulla Connor
Keyword(s):  
Structure Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Topic Progression

Topical structure analysis (TSA), a text-based approach to the study of topic in discourse, has been useful in identifying text-based features of coherence. It has also been used to distinguish between essays written by groups of native English speakers with varying degrees of writing proficiency (Witte, 1983a, 1983b). More recently, TSA has distinguished between higher and lower rated ESL essays, but with different results from those found with native speakers of English (Connor & Schneider, 1988). The present study replicated the previous ESL study of two groups of essays written for the TOEFL Test of Written English with three groups of essays. Findings indicate that two topical structure variables, proportions of sequential and parallel topics in the essays, differentiate the highest rated group from the two lower rated groups. We offer explanations for the results and propose that all occurrences of a particular type of topic progression do not contribute equally to the coherence of a text.

Orthographic Input and the Acquisition of German Final Devoicing by Native Speakers of English

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Hayes-Harb ◽  
Kelsey Brown ◽  
Bruce L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Separate Experiment ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

We present an artificial lexicon study designed to test the hypothesis that native English speakers experience interference from written input when acquiring surface voicing in German words. Native English speakers were exposed to German-like words (e.g., /ʃtɑit/ and /ʃtɑid/, both pronounced [ʃtɑit]) along with pictured meanings, and in some cases, their written forms (e.g., <Steit> and <Steid>). At test, participants whose input included the written forms were more likely to produce final voiced obstruents when naming the pictures, indicating that access to the written forms in the input interfered with their acquisition of target-like surface forms. In a separate experiment, we attempted to moderate this negative impact of the written input by explicitly telling participants about the misleading nature of the words’ written forms, with no beneficial effect on their pronunciation accuracy. Together these findings indicate a powerful influence of orthographic input on second language lexical–phonological development that is not readily overcome by a simple intervention.

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