scholarly journals Implementing Art and Music in Maltese Courses for Non-Native Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Żammit
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
New Words ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
The Impact

Malta has currently attracted numerous non-natives who consider the island conducive for business, investment and work. To enhance their working and living experience in Malta, several foreigners are learning Maltese as a second language (ML2), which could be challenging to learn, especially its grammar, if second language (L2) learners do not know Arabic. Furthermore, ML2 is a new subject with a lack of research in its pedagogical approaches. Second language acquisition (SLA) can be quite challenging for adults. Various evidence-based interventions including the use of art and music have been used to enhance SLA. Art and music play an important role in SLA, such as stimulating communication in L2, memorising new words and enhancing comprehension skills. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of using music and art to enhance adults’ success in ML2. A qualitative methodology with convenience sampling was used to select 37 adult learners of ML2 who took part in a one-on-one interview via Zoom. The interviews were analysed, and the study results revealed that the use of art and music could contribute significantly in enhancing an adult learner’s academic achievement in ML2, whereas according to the participants, art and music are not currently used in ML2 courses. Therefore, the study recommends the use of art and music in both traditional and online classes to enhance adult learners’ academic achievement in ML2.

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism—ERRATUM

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLGER HOPP ◽  
MONIKA S. SCHMID
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Open Access ◽  
First Language ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
The Impact

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scholarly journals A qualitative analysis of perceptions of fluency in second language French

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Préfontaine ◽  
Judit Kormos
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Cognitive Demand ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Speech Features

AbstractIn the field of second language (L2) fluency, there is a common adherence to quantitative methods to examine characteristics and features of speech. This study extends the field by reporting on an investigation that analyzed native-speaker listeners’ perceptions of L2 fluency in French from a qualitative perspective. Three untrained judges rated students’ performance on speech tasks varying in cognitive demand and provided justifications for their perceptions of fluency. The goal of the research was to examine the factors that affect raters’ evaluations of fluency in response to three oral performances from 40 adult learners of French of varying proficiency. Qualitative analysis revealed that the main speech features that influenced native listeners’ perceptions of L2 fluency were speed, rhythm, pause phenomena, self-correction and efficiency/effortlessness in word choice, but also in target-like rhythm and prosody. The results of using such qualitative methodology highlights the important role that rhythm plays in fluency judgements in syllable-timed languages such as French, a factor which has not always been given much prominence in previous L2 fluency quantitative research.

scholarly journals Engaging English Learners Through Literature, Fairy Tales, and Drama

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Alison Larkin Koushki
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Fairy Tale ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
The Impact

Use of literature in the English language classroom deepens student engagement, and fairy tales add magic to the mix. This article details the benefits of engaging English learners in literature and fairy tales, and explores how drama can be enlisted to further mine their riches. An educator’s case studies of language teaching through literature and drama projects are described, and the research question driving them highlighted: What is the impact of dramatizing literature on students’ engagement in novels and second language acquisition? Research on the effects of literature, drama, and the fairy tale genre on second language education is reviewed. Reading and acting out literature and fairy tales hones all four language skills while also enhancing the Seven Cs life skills: communication, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, commitment, compromise, and confidence. Adding the frame of project-based learning to the instructional strengths of literature and drama forms a strong pedagogical triangle for second language learning. Fairy tales are easily enacted. English educators and learners can download free fairy tale scripts and spice them with creative twists of their own creation or adapted from film and cartoon versions. Providing maximum student engagement, tales can be portrayed with minimum preparation. Using a few simple props and a short script, English learners can dramatize The Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, or Snow White in class with little practice. Engagement increases when teams act out tales on stage for an audience of family, friends, classmates, and educators. In fairy tale enactment projects, whether in class or on stage, students apply their multiple intelligences when choosing team roles: script-writing, acting, backstage, costumes, make-up, sound and lights, reporter, advertising, usher, writer’s corner, or stage managing. The article concludes with a list of engaging language activities for use with fairy tales, and a summary of the benefits of fairy tale enactments for English learners.

Second language learning of phonological alternations with and without orthographic input: Evidence from the acquisition of a German-like voicing alternation

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-545
Author(s):  
Shannon L. Barrios ◽  
Rachel Hayes-Harb
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Naming Test

AbstractWhile a growing body of research investigates the influence of orthographic input on the acquisition of second language (L2) segmental contrasts, few studies have examined its influence on the acquisition of L2 phonological processes. Hayes-Harb, Brown, and Smith (2018) showed that exposure to words’ written forms caused native English speakers to misremember the voicing of final obstruents in German-like words exemplifying voicing neutralization. However, they did not examine participants’ acquisition of the final devoicing process. To address this gap, we conducted two experiments wherein native English speakers (assigned to Orthography or No Orthography groups) learned German-like words in suffixed and unsuffixed forms, and later completed a picture naming test. Experiment 1 investigated learners’ knowledge of the surface voicing of obstruents in both final and nonfinal position, and revealed that while all participants produced underlyingly voiced obstruents as voiceless more often in final than nonfinal position, the difference was only significant for No Orthography participants. Experiment 2 investigated participants’ ability to apply the devoicing process to new words, and provided no evidence of generalization. Together these findings shed light on the acquisition of final devoicing by naïve adult learners, as well as the influence of orthographic input in the acquisition of a phonological alternation.

scholarly journals Age and Second Language Acquisition in Adulthood: The Learning Experiences and Perceptions of Women Immigrants

1999 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Wang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
The Social

Although considerable evidence indicates that age of onset for second language acquisition is related to second-language proficiency outcomes among adult learners Jew studies have actually looked at how adult learners of different ages experience and perceive second language acquisition. This study presents 30 women immigrant learners' accounts of their experiences and perceptions of learning English as a second language in the Canadian context. Findings from this study reveal the complexity of adult L2 acquisition, which involves factors pertaining not only to the learners themselves, but also to the social context in which the second language is learned. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the second language curriculum development and classroom practice.

Contemporary tutorial call

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-65
Author(s):  
Jarrad R. Merlo ◽  
Paul A. Gruba
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
University Students ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The State ◽  
Teaching Presence ◽  
Video Tutorials ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Impact

Despite an increased emphasis on form-focused instruction (FFI), the use of the computer as a grammar tutor has remained largelyunexamined for nearly two decades. With new technologies at hand, there is a need to take a fresh look at online grammar tutors andlink designs more strongly to contemporary second language acquisition (SLA) principles and the concept of a teaching presence. Theaim of this study, therefore, is to investigate the potential of using a purpose-built digital video series as a virtual grammartutor. To achieve this aim, we used a pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test to evaluate the impact of a purpose-built grammar video on 62 EFL university students. The results of the study demonstrate that purpose-built video has strong potential for use as a virtual grammar tutor. Consequently, it may be possible to improve the state of Tutorial CALL from a drill-based approach to one that is more substantive through the development of a series of step-based video tutorials that tutor, allow for the practice of and evaluate second language (L2) grammar skills.

Impact of an interaction-oriented Japanese course on learners

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 123-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyoko Ogawa
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Japanese People ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Active Interaction

Abstract Neustupny (1988, 1991) recommended an interactive competence approach for second language acquisition that places a greater emphasis on learners’ active interaction with native speakers in real communicative situations. In order to have the opportunity to interact with native speakers in the target language, a conscious effort by the learners as well as support from the teachers and the community is essential. The third-year Japanese course at Monash University was designed to encourage and support learners to establish and maintain relationships with Japanese people as well as to utilise various other resources of the target language and culture. This paper examines the impact of this interaction-oriented course on learners in their establishment and maintenance of relationships with Japanese people, and cultural and social understanding. It is based on data collected during 1996 and 1997.

Second language acquisition and Binding Principle B: child/adult differences

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia White
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Processing Capacity ◽  
Knowledge Processing ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge ◽  
Value Judgement

L1 acquirers experience considerable delays in mastering properties related to Binding Principle B, performing inaccurately with respect to possible antecedents for pronouns well after the age of 6. Most accounts attribute this delay to performance phenomena (lack of pragmatic knowledge, processing capacity, etc.). In this article, I show that adult learners do not exhibit the same kinds of problems with Principle B. Intermediate-level adult learners of English as a second language (French and Japanese speakers), as well as a native-speaker control group, were tested using a truth value judgement task to determine their interpretations of pronouns. The L2 learners performed like native speakers in disallowing local antecedents for pronouns, suggesting that Principle B is not problematic in adult acquisition, in contrast to child acquisition.

Null anaphora in Spanish second language acquisition: probabilistic versus generative approaches

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana T. Pérez-Leroux ◽  
William R. Glass
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
Optimal Domain ◽  
Null Pronoun ◽  
Discourse Topic

The acquisition of Spanish null pronouns is an optimal domain for comparing the predictions of generativist vs. probabilistic approaches to language acquisition. This paper presents two studies on the acquisition of null subjects by English adult learners of Spanish as a second language. The first investigates a low frequency construction in which the antecedent of the pronoun is a quantifier, and the distribution is regulated by a principle of UG. The second looks at a high frequency context,where the distribution of the null pronoun depends on whether it is interpreted as focus or as discourse topic. The data indicate early mastery, and no development in the case of the low frequency quantifier construction, and gradual acquisition for the distribution of pronouns in discourse. These findings lend support to grammatical as opposed to probabilistic approaches to language learning.

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