scholarly journals L2 effects on L1 in foreign language learners: An exploratory study on object pronouns and verb placement in wh-questions in Polish

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Kamil Długosz
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Verb Placement ◽  
Group Object ◽  
Object Pronouns

This study investigates L2 effects on L1 grammar in foreign language learners. As partof a cross-sectional study, 25 Polish native speakers learning English and German, and16 Polish monolingual speakers participated in an acceptability judgment test in Polish The test involved two grammatical phenomena: anaphoric object pronouns which lie at thesyntax-pragmatics interface, and verb placement in wh-questions, which is a propertyof narrow syntax. The analysis shows that multilingual learners accepted overt anaphoricobject pronouns in a sentence-internal position significantly more frequently than monolingual speakers from the control group. Object pronouns in the native language seem to bean element open to the influence of a foreign language, in contrast to linguistic propertieswhich are solely syntactic. This study thus confirms that interface phenomena are moreprone to cross-linguistic influence than purely syntactic features, but it also extends thisthesis to include L2 effect on L1

The acquisition of differential object marking in Hindi as a foreign language

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaricia Ponnet ◽  
Kristof Baten ◽  
Saartje Verbeke
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Direct Objects ◽  
Object Marking

This article explores a grammatical structure — differential object marking (DOM) — that is particularly difficult for L2 learners to acquire. DOM is a phenomenon in which some direct objects are morphologically marked and others are not. In Hindi, animate direct objects are always marked with the objective case marker ko, whereas specific direct objects are only optionally marked with ko. Inanimate and non-specific direct objects are never marked with ko and take the unmarked nominative form. DOM in Hindi has been found to pose a problem to heritage speakers of Hindi. The present study investigates whether similar difficulties exist for foreign language learners. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 30 foreign language learners of Hindi completing an oral production task. The results suggest that the learners do not have difficulties with the concept of DOM in itself — they know that not every direct object needs to be marked —, but rather with the variable conditions under which DOM occurs. The study defines five developmental profiles, which reflect a gradual accumulation of contexts appropriately marked with the objective case.

Pragmatics in CLIL

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-494
Author(s):  
Nashwa Nashaat Sobhy
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Written Discourse ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Completion Test ◽  
Request Strategies

Abstract This study is a mixed-method, cross-sectional study that compares the acquisition of request modification in the productions of two secondary school groups (15–16 years old) in two school programs: content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and traditional mainstream (non-CLIL). A total of 192 requests were gathered from both groups by means of an elicitation instrument (a Written Discourse Completion Test – WDCT). The requestive pragmatic moves (external and internal modifiers and request strategies) were analysed according to their pragmatic functions (softeners and aggravators) and a data-driven taxonomy of request modification was elaborated in line with previously developed taxonomies (Blum-Kulka et al., 1989; Alcón Soler et al., 2005) for the data analysis. The results showed that both groups share similarities typical of foreign language learners. Nonetheless, significant statistical differences between them indicated that the CLIL group had a fuller repertoire of request modification strategies, yet their sociopragmatic knowledge is questioned.

scholarly journals Effect of Paper and E-Dictionaries on Iranian EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Shiva Grami ◽  
Mahmood Hashemian
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Treatment Design

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of paper and e-dictionaries on Iranian intermediate learners' reading comprehension. To this end, 90 female English Foreign language learners were randomly selected and assigned into 2 experimental groups (e-dictionaries and paper dictionaries groups) and 1 control group. All the groups took a pretest using no dictionaries. After 2 weeks of treatment design for the experimental groups, all the 3 groups took part in the posttest. The experimental groups did their task with their relevant dictionaries, whereas the control group did their task without using any kind of dictionary. Data were analyzed through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and paired samples t test. Results showed that the participants’ reading comprehension improved from the pretest to the posttest in both experimental groups. Results also indicated that the learners in the e-dictionaries group outperformed those in the paper dictionaries group. The outcome of study reveals that e-dictionaries could improve students’ reading comprehension by motivating them, shortening the time of searching words and reading a text, and increasing the number of look ups. 

scholarly journals Using Games to Promote English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Willingness to Communicate: Potential Effects and Teachers’ Attitude in Focus

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Liu ◽  
Balachandran Vadivel ◽  
Ehsan Rezvani ◽  
Ehsan Namaziandost
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
Students Attitudes

This study aims to find out the role of games in promoting students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their teachers’ attitude toward it. In order to collect the data, the researchers employed a 28-item questionnaire which was given to 60 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in an English institute. Then, the students were randomly divided into two groups of 30 learners functioning as control and experimental groups. The students in the experimental group received games in their language lessons and classes, while control group learners did not. At the end of the term, the same questionnaire was given to the students to know if playing games had a significant impact on their WTC. In addition, the teachers were asked to answer a 30-item questionnaire to investigate their attitudes toward playing games in language classes. The results showed that most of the teachers in this study believe that games have a positive influence on the students’ attitudes towards learning English and that using them in class serves many educational purposes. In addition, games played a significant role in improving the EFL leaners’ willingness to communicate. In the light of these findings, the researchers suggested using games as energizers and practical activities at the end of class not only to improve enthusiasm for learning, but also to improve the learners’ WTC.

Grammar and pragmatics

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 137-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Håkansson ◽  
Catrin Elisabeth Norrby
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pragmatic Development ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Syntactic Development ◽  
High Level

This paper compares grammatical and pragmatic development in foreign language learners of Swedish. For the analysis of grammatical proficiency, data from translation tasks and essays were tested against the stage model proposed in Processability Theory, which identifies five stages of morpho-syntactic development for Swedish (Pienemann 1998, Pienemann and Håkansson 1999). For the pragmatic analysis a gap-fill task was used, inspired by the discourse completion task (Blum-Kulka 1982, Kasper and Roever 2005), but taking into consideration sequential aspects of the interaction. All tasks were piloted with a control group of Swedish native speakers. The results indicate a relationship between native-like pragmatic command and a high level of morpho-syntactic processability. The findings suggest that students whose grammatical processing capacity is restricted to lower levels find it difficult to contextualise their utterances in a pragmatically appropriate way.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF VISUAL STIMULI ON THE CONTENT OF WRITING IN TAMIL LANGUAGE: A STUDY AMONG USM UNDERGRADUATES

2022 ◽  
pp. 36-45
Author(s):  
RONI KAE MERY PRANCHIS ◽  
AJUNTHA KUPPAN
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Graphics Software ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group

Visual images are increasingly appearing in learning and teaching resources, delivered across a range of media in a variety of formats: digitally Web-based material and multimedia as well as print and as transparencies. The proliferation of image-rich resources is due to the wide availability of digital images and access to the technology and graphics software that facilitates the creation and delivery of visual materials. The main aim of this research is to investigate the role of visual stimuli in enhancing writing skills among USM undergraduates who are taking Tamil as foreign language. Writing is an important skill often emphasized among foreign language learners. However, most foreign language learners face difficulties to pen down their thoughts. The respondents of this research are pursuing LAT 300 (Tamil Language III) course at the School of Languages, Literacies and Translation and are divide into two groups, experimental and control group. The methods used is written assignment; topic with visual stimuli for experimental group and topic without stimuli for control group. The written assignments were graded using the university’s grading rubric. In the questionnaire, the respondents were also asked to give feedback on the use of visual stimuli in writing. The findings of this study revealed that the experimental group performed better as they were given visuals. The experimental group respondents highlighted that they needed stimuli to motivate and trigger their background knowledge on the essay topics. It is hoped that this study will aid language teachers and practitioners to utilize visuals as a support in the teaching of Tamil Language as foreign language.

scholarly journals Phonemic awareness as fundamental listening skill: A cross-sectional, cohort study of elementary foreign language learners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaori Nakao ◽  
W. L. Quint Oga-Baldwin ◽  
Luke K. Fryer
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Phonemic Awareness ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Listening Skill

Phonemic awareness is a necessary but not sufficient skill for language development. Phonemic awareness is therefore a critical factor for initial foreign language learning leading to ultimate attainment of literacy in the new language. The current study presents a test of phonemic awareness applied to the Japanese elementary school EFL environment. Two-hundred and sixty-eight students enrolled in grades three through six in a public elementary school completed a fifteen item test of initial word sounds. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results comparing scores across the four cohorts indicated clear differences between the grades. Students' phonemic awareness increased in non-stepwise fashion, with clear increases across two year periods. Results indicate the potential for testing phonemic awareness in EFL settings with non-alphabetic L1 learners.

scholarly journals Attitudes and Motivation in Early Foreign Language Learning

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-74
Author(s):  
Jelena Mihaljević Djigunović
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Learner Characteristics ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Research Findings

This paper focuses on young foreign language learners’ attitudes and motivations. An overview is given of the main issues in this research area, based on key European studies. Approaches to studying these af-fective learner characteristics are described. Some attention is devoted to data elicitation techniques and the importance of triangulation. Research findings are presented through overviews of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies carried out in different European settings. The latter are presented in more detail, because their findings seem to be more revealing of the early foreign language learning process. The overall conclusion of this review paper is that young foreign language learners’ attitudes and motivations are not stable learner characteristics but change over time, creating layers of  complexity that warrant further research. Suggestions about possible future directions in researching young foreign language learner attitudes and motivations, and the application of its findings are also made.

scholarly journals Designing a digital pedagogical pattern for improving foreign language learners’ oral proficiency

Literator ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Grobler ◽  
Tom F.H. Smits
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Control Group ◽  
North West ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

South African undergraduate foreign language students need more opportunity to practise their oral language skills. Not only do appeals to focus more on oral productive skills feature in scholarly literature (Delena-le Roux 2010), it is also one of the main conclusions from a survey among beginner students of French at the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University (South Africa). It was therefore necessary to design a teaching and learning intervention, specifically aimed at improving beginner students’ oral communication skills in French. Laurillard’s (2012) Conversational Framework inspired the design of a digital pedagogical pattern (DPP), consisting of context and pedagogy descriptors for the development of foreign language learners’ oral communication skills. The Conversational Framework analyses formal learning and challenges the use of new technologies in learning. The implementation process of a DPP for the development of students’ (French) oral skills involved three cycles, each with specific outcomes and three groups of participants: the control group and two experimental groups. Field-testing the proposed DPP provided important insights which should be integrated in the design of subsequent digital pedagogical patterns in the specific context: limiting the participant groups to two; decreasing the number of interventions to be implemented in the limited teaching time of a semester; ensuring that each step adheres to the requirements of the Conversational Framework. Student results from the learning interventions in future studies should reveal which intervention better promotes oral communication skills.

DYSLIPIDEMIA IN THYROID DISORDERS

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kashish Narula ◽  
Narendra Kumar Dara ◽  
Shyam Lal Meena
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Thyroid Dysfunction ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Thyroid Disorders ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Carbohydrate And Lipid Metabolism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Thyroid Profile ◽  
Basal Energy Expenditure

Background: Thyroid hormones influence nearly all major metabolic pathways. Their most obvious and well-known action is the increase in basal energy expenditure obtained by acting on protein, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. The lipid metabolism is more influenced by the thyroid hormone. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients with suspicion of thyroid disorders were taken as cases. One hundred patients with normal thyroid profile and no history of other chronic diseases were taken as control group. Results: The serum TC, TG and LDL levels in hypothyroid individuals (both overt and subclinical) were significantly higher than euthyroid subjects but the levels were comparable between hyperthyroid and euthyroid group. Conclusion: Dyslipidemias are associated with thyroid disorders, so biochemical screening for thyroid dysfunction in all dyslipidemic patients. Therefore, patients presenting with dyslipidemia are recommended for investigation to explore thyroid dysfunction. Keywords: Thyroid profile, Total cholesterol, Triglycerides and LDL

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