scholarly journals Polysemy: A Second Language Pedagogical Concern

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kevin Parent
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Lexical Priming ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Pedagogical Research ◽  
Semantic Process ◽  
General Service ◽  
As Effects

<p>This thesis is an examination of polysemy and its effects on second language learners, revealing it as a greater concern than it is normally accorded in pedagogical research. Arguing against a reliance on the dictionary to determine the number of senses a given word has, it begins with a thorough exploration of the concept, both from diachronic and synchronic perspectives, by contrasting it with the related concepts of homonymy and monosemy. A monosemic stance is argued for, which does not deny the existence of polysemy but argues for a framework in which contextual variations of a word are not considered discrete meanings. The British National Corpus is consulted for data demonstrating that instances of a word that may appear as discrete units of meanings actually form a single, unified usage. With monosemy redistributed to account for more than it normally does, and with polysemy relegated solely to semantics (factoring out syntax, pragmatics, etc.), polysemy becomes a considerably less sloppy concept, revealing that, at a top-down level, there are essentially only two varieties. The first of these is 'lexical metaphor,' in which there is a clear literalmetaphoric divide between uses, and the second is 'vicariant polysemy' in which senses are discrete but not synchronically explainable by metaphor. Using Hoey's notion of lexical priming, the factored-out elements of syntax, collocation, etc. are returned to, but strictly as effects of the semantic process of sense generation that should not be mistaken for the cause, though they frequently are. The second part of this thesis moves from the theoretical to the applied, reviewing the sparse literature on the subject. Techniques for raising awareness of the issue among students are discussed as are dictionary skills relevant to polysemy and homonymy. Attention is then turned toward homonymy, examining the problem it poses to word lists and providing the beginning of a solution by revealing which words on the General Service List are homonymic and giving the relative frequency of each meaning. A technique to assist learners in acquiring additional meanings of homonyms is examined, as is a technique for guessing new or novel meanings of polysemes in context.</p>

scholarly journals Polysemy: A Second Language Pedagogical Concern

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kevin Parent
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Lexical Priming ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Pedagogical Research ◽  
Semantic Process ◽  
General Service ◽  
As Effects

<p>This thesis is an examination of polysemy and its effects on second language learners, revealing it as a greater concern than it is normally accorded in pedagogical research. Arguing against a reliance on the dictionary to determine the number of senses a given word has, it begins with a thorough exploration of the concept, both from diachronic and synchronic perspectives, by contrasting it with the related concepts of homonymy and monosemy. A monosemic stance is argued for, which does not deny the existence of polysemy but argues for a framework in which contextual variations of a word are not considered discrete meanings. The British National Corpus is consulted for data demonstrating that instances of a word that may appear as discrete units of meanings actually form a single, unified usage. With monosemy redistributed to account for more than it normally does, and with polysemy relegated solely to semantics (factoring out syntax, pragmatics, etc.), polysemy becomes a considerably less sloppy concept, revealing that, at a top-down level, there are essentially only two varieties. The first of these is 'lexical metaphor,' in which there is a clear literalmetaphoric divide between uses, and the second is 'vicariant polysemy' in which senses are discrete but not synchronically explainable by metaphor. Using Hoey's notion of lexical priming, the factored-out elements of syntax, collocation, etc. are returned to, but strictly as effects of the semantic process of sense generation that should not be mistaken for the cause, though they frequently are. The second part of this thesis moves from the theoretical to the applied, reviewing the sparse literature on the subject. Techniques for raising awareness of the issue among students are discussed as are dictionary skills relevant to polysemy and homonymy. Attention is then turned toward homonymy, examining the problem it poses to word lists and providing the beginning of a solution by revealing which words on the General Service List are homonymic and giving the relative frequency of each meaning. A technique to assist learners in acquiring additional meanings of homonyms is examined, as is a technique for guessing new or novel meanings of polysemes in context.</p>

scholarly journals Agreement attraction in native and nonnative speakers of German

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOL LAGO ◽  
CLAUDIA FELSER
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Linear Distance ◽  
The Subject

ABSTRACTSecond language speakers often struggle to apply grammatical constraints such as subject–verb agreement. One hypothesis for this difficulty is that it results from problems suppressing syntactically unlicensed constituents in working memory. We investigated which properties of these constituents make them more likely to elicit errors: their grammatical distance to the subject head or their linear distance to the verb. We used double modifier constructions (e.g., the smell of the stables of the farmers), where the errors of native speakers are modulated by the linguistic relationships between the nouns in the subject phrase: second plural nouns, which are syntactically and semantically closer to the subject head, elicit more errors than third plural nouns, which are linearly closer to the verb (2nd-3rd-noun asymmetry). In order to dissociate between grammatical and linear distance, we compared embedded and coordinated modifiers, which were linearly identical but differed in grammatical distance. Using an attraction paradigm, we showed that German native speakers and proficient Russian speakers of German exhibited similar attraction rates and that their errors displayed a 2nd-3rd-noun asymmetry, which was more pronounced in embedded than in coordinated constructions. We suggest that both native and second language learners prioritize linguistic structure over linear distance in their agreement computations.

scholarly journals Math and English for Academic Purposes

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Melissa Stamer-Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Math Class

Even though math is thought to be mostly numbers, there is a significant amount of language involved. Students do not have to know only the discipline-specific vocabulary, or jargon, associated with math, but they also have to understand other forms of language in and out of the classroom. For example, instructors will work problems out on the board while discussing the steps orally to go from one part of the problem to the next which may not align with what the teacher is writing on the board, so there is potentially a loss of comprehension on the student’s part. Additionally, instructors will give instructions in class or give information on specific dates for exams, quizzes and homework which is sometimes given orally or written on the board. Asking questions during class and following transitions between activities can be another challenge for second language learners who struggle with language in a math class. Another aspect of language present in a math course is in the textbook. Students will often be assigned chapters or sections to read in order to prepare for an upcoming class. The textbook is written using the disciplinary language of math, which makes it difficult to follow especially because definitions of math words are often defined with other math jargon. With such rich language and classroom interaction, it is imperative to not overlook the subject of math when discussing English for Academic Purposes.

Literal salience in on-line processing of idiomatic expressions by second language learners

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Cieślicka
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Lexical Priming ◽  
Stimulus Sentence ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Idiomatic Phrase ◽  
On Line

This article addresses the question of how second language (L2) learners understand idiomatic expressions in their second/foreign language and advances the proposition that literal meanings of idiom constituents enjoy processing priority over their figurative interpretations. This suggestion forms the core of the literal-salience resonant model of L2 idiom comprehension, whose major assumptions are outlined in the article. On the literal salience view, understanding L2 idioms entails an obligatory computation of the literal meanings of idiom constituent words, even if these idioms are embedded in a figurative context and if their idiomatic interpretation is well-known to L2 learners. The literal salience assumption was put to the test in a cross-modal lexical priming experiment with advanced Polish learners of English. The experiment showed more priming for visual targets related to literal meanings of idiom constituent words than for targets related figuratively to the metaphoric interpretation of the idiomatic phrase. This effect held true irrespective of whether the stimulus sentence contained a literal or a non-literal idiom.

scholarly journals Improving English as a Second Language Learners’ Attitudes to Pronunciation through Motivation

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. p56
Author(s):  
Ameen Akeem ◽  
Noor Zainab Bt. Abdul Rasak
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Motivational Strategies ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
The Subject

Pronunciation is an important aspect of English learning. It is however one of the most abandoned or half taught. This is usually due to perceived difficulty in its teaching and learning. Hence, unfavorable attitudes set in, especially in English as a second language situation. In most cases, due to poor technique and methodology employed by the teachers of English, the students are not encouraged to learn pronunciation like other aspects of the subject. This attitude goes a very long way in determining their communicative competence as poor pronunciation could lead a breakdown in communication. It is thus the responsibility of the teachers to help the students learn. This paper thus advocates and presents some motivational strategies that could be employed by the teachers of English to improve the learners’ attitude to learning pronunciation in English as a second language classroom.

scholarly journals The influence of teaching media in learning English language

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3/S) ◽  
pp. 208-211
Author(s):  
Saodatkhan Khodjaeva
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teacher Needs ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Learning Language

This article is devoted to the study of the issue of teaching media in learning language. The use of mass media to teach language in authentic context represents a double challenge for language teachers. Teaching media is one of important part in delivering the subject. Especially for the students as second language learners. Teacher needs to have media as strategy to attract the students to learn English in order to reach the goal of teaching learning.

scholarly journals Math and English for Academic Purposes

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Melissa Stamer-Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Math Class

Even though math is thought to be mostly numbers, there is a significant amount of language involved. Students do not have to know only the discipline-specific vocabulary, or jargon, associated with math, but they also have to understand other forms of language in and out of the classroom. For example, instructors will work problems out on the board while discussing the steps orally to go from one part of the problem to the next which may not align with what the teacher is writing on the board, so there is potentially a loss of comprehension on the student’s part. Additionally, instructors will give instructions in class or give information on specific dates for exams, quizzes and homework which is sometimes given orally or written on the board. Asking questions during class and following transitions between activities can be another challenge for second language learners who struggle with language in a math class. Another aspect of language present in a math course is in the textbook. Students will often be assigned chapters or sections to read in order to prepare for an upcoming class. The textbook is written using the disciplinary language of math, which makes it difficult to follow especially because definitions of math words are often defined with other math jargon. With such rich language and classroom interaction, it is imperative to not overlook the subject of math when discussing English for Academic Purposes.

Parsing Effects in Second Language Sentence Processing

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Juffs ◽  
Michael Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Subject Extraction

This paper reexamines claims that second language learners are more accurate at judging long-distance object extraction than subject extraction and that the difference in accuracy is due to processing factors rather than differences in underlying competence. Although previous studies have reported robust effects for the subject/object asymmetry, the global nature of the response measures leaves open the question of whether the subject gap is in fact the locus of difficulty for second language learners. Using many of the same stimuli sentences from original research in combination with a theory of principle-based parsing, this study employs the moving window display technique to collect on-line measures of processing long-distancewh-extraction. Twenty-five advanced Chinese-speaking ESL learners provided grammaticality judgments in two presentation conditions: full-sentence, where judgment reaction times are measured from sentence onset to the learner's judgment; and word-by-word reading, where word-by-word latencies are collected in addition to judgments. The accuracy and reaction time results from the full-sentence condition replicated previous findings. The word-by-word results confirm that it is the subject gap that is the source of difficulty for the learners. Claims in the literature that principles of Universal Grammar are not available to adult learners are not supported by these results, which show that parsing, and not grammatical competence, is the source of difficulty on performance with subject extraction sentences.

The NGSL Project: Building Wordlists and Resources to help EFL Learners (and Teachers) to Succeed

2021 ◽  
Vol PCP2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Charles Browne
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Word Lists ◽  
General Service

During my JALTCALL 2020 Plenary Address, I explained about the importance of high frequency and special purpose (SP) vocabulary for second language learners of English, and then went on to introduce our New General Service List Project, a collection of 7 open-source, corpus-based word lists offering the highest coverage in each of their specific genres, as well as the large and growing number of free apps and online tools we have either developed or utilized to help learners, teachers, researchers and materials developers to better be able to utilize our lists. This chapter is a very brief summary of this project.

scholarly journals Improving The Students’ Writing Competence in a Second Language Acquisition through The Implementation of Lesson Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Syahfitri Purnama
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Writing Competence

Writing is the most difficult skill for second language learners. It can be seen, for example, they always make ageneralization, simplification, less of knowing vocabularies, punctuation, spelling,  and grammar. This paper will describe improving the students’ writing competence in second language acquisition through the implementation of lesson study in faculty of language education of Indraprasta PGRI University of Jakarta. This research uses qualitative approach and the data taken from the students who are studying writing in the class. In applying lesson study, lecturer model explains  about the materials based on the syllabus of the subject.  The students are also given tasks in their groups. The observers watch and write about the students and assist them. After doing this, the observers discuss about the class with the lecturer model.  By doing the implementation of  Lesson Study, the students can work in group together, the class is so inspiring, they feel satisfied with the explanation of the lecturer model and  havegood impact to improve the students’ writing competence.

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