scholarly journals Preliminary Results on the Development of the Perception of Spanish /e/ and /ei/ by Heritage Learners vs. L2 Learners of Spanish in the Classroom

Languages ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Ane Icardo Isasa
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Primary Language ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Perceptual Development ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Phonetic Instruction ◽  
Better Than

This exploratory study gives a first glance at the development of the perception of the Spanish /e/-/ei/ contrast by heritage learners in comparison to that of L2 learners in the classroom. To this end, two types of semester-long, explicit phonetic instruction training are compared: High Phonetic Variability Training (HPVT) with exposure to multiple sources of speech, and regular standalone phonetics courses with low variability of speech input (LPVT). Data from two identical pre-test and post-test ABX perceptual discrimination tasks were obtained from 27 students, as well as 7 control speakers whose primary language is Spanish. Results show that heritage learners perceive the contrast better than L2 learners, and that HPVT significantly improves the perception of the /e/-/ei/ contrast. Although heritage learners perform close to a native ceiling and do not significantly differ from native controls, the improvement from pre-test to post-test is larger in heritage learners enrolled in HPVT than LPVT training. These results suggest that, although the discrimination accuracy of Spanish /e/ and /ei/ is already high for heritage learners at the pre-test stage, High Phonetic Variability Training can be beneficial in the perceptual development of their heritage language, even matching their accuracy to that of native speakers.

Misplaced Heritage Language Learners of Japanese in Secondary Schools

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-221
Author(s):  
Susan Oguro ◽  
Robyn Moloney
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Distinct Group ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Formal Program

While heritage language learners are becoming visible in the research literature as a distinct group of language learners with specific needs, existing curriculum structures in secondary schools often focus on programs either for foreign language learners or for first language learners. The study reported here examines the experiences of heritage learners of Japanese who have been inappropriately placed in courses designed for native speakers and as a result, in some cases, have withdrawn from taking any formal program of Japanese language study. Focusing on the situation of Australian senior secondary Japanese students, this article reports the findings of questionnaire and interview data, featuring the voices of both teachers and heritage learners of Japanese. The data identify the issues that delineate heritage language learners from native speakers and highlight, through the experiences of misplaced learners, the need for appropriate placement, pedagogy and curriculum

Knowledge of Forms of Address in Polish Heritage Speakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-144
Author(s):  
Izolda Wolski-Moskoff
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Third Person

Limited knowledge of formal registers has been deemed one of the common characteristics of heritage speakers (Polinsky & Kagan, 2007). Because their exposure to the heritage language is generally limited to contact with immediate family, the language of heritage speakers may lack the elements normally acquired in formal settings. Polish formal forms of address, i.e., addressing all strangers and non-relative adults as pan “mister” or pani “madam,” as well as all the grammatical rules governing their use, such as third-person verbal morphology and the vocative case, are examples of such elements. The present study investigated receptive knowledge of formal forms of address in Polish heritage speakers in the United States. In this study, nine heritage speakers, four L2 learners, and six native speakers of Polish judged the acceptability of utterances addressed to various persons in various formal situations. The results indicate that heritage speakers exhibit limited knowledge of formal forms of address, both in terms of the grammar involved and the social contexts that call for them – with the latter divergence, in particular, potentially attributable to transfer from English. The responses of heritage speakers differ significantly not only from those of native speakers, but also of L2 learners of Polish, who outperformed heritage speakers in this task. Since the use of formal forms of address and the vocative case in contemporary Polish is limited to formal settings, the limited knowledge of these forms in heritage speakers may result from the insufficient input they receive.

scholarly journals Improving ASL fingerspelling comprehension in L2 learners with explicit phonetic instruction

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah C Geer ◽  
Jonathan Keane
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Short Exposure ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Implicit Training ◽  
Native Signers ◽  
Explicit Training ◽  
Phonetic Instruction

Students acquiring American Sign Language (ASL) as a second language (L2) struggle with fingerspelling comprehension more than skilled signers. These L2 learners might be attempting to perceive and comprehend fingerspelling in a way that is different from native signers, which could negatively impact their ability to comprehend fingerspelling. This could be related to improper weighting of cues that skilled signers use to identify fingerspelled utterances. Improper cue-weighting in spoken language learners has been ameliorated through explicit phonetic instruction, but this method of teaching has yet to be applied to learners of a language in a new modality (M2 learners). The present study assesses this prospect. Eighteen university students in their third-semester of ASL were divided into two groups; one received explicit phonetic training, and the other received implicit training on fingerspelling. Data from a fingerspelling comprehension test, with two experimental conditions and a control, were submitted to a mixed effects logistic regression. This revealed a significant improvement from the pre-test to post-test by students who received the explicit training. Results indicate that even short exposure to explicit phonetic instruction significantly improves participants’ ability to understand fingerspelling, suggesting that ASL curricula should include this type of instruction to improve students’ fingerspelling comprehension abilities.

Is Grammar Instruction Beneficial for Heritage Language Learners? Dative Case Marking in Spanish

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-73
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul ◽  
Melissa Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Dative Case ◽  
Psych Verbs ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Spanish Heritage Speakers

Spanish heritage speakers have been shown to have incomplete knowledge of dative case marking with both animate direct objects (also known as differential object marking (DOM) or a-personal) and dative experiencers with gustar-psych verbs in oral and written modes (Montrul, 2004; Montrul & Bowles, in press). In general, Spanish objects that are animate and specific are obligatorily marked with the preposition a (Juan conoce a tu hermana “Juan knows your sister”). Inanimate objects are unmarked (Juan compró un perro “Juan bought a dog”, Juan escuchó la radio “Juan listened to the radio”). Gustar-type psych verbs take dative experiencers obligatorily marked with the dative preposition a and a dative clitic (A Juan le gusta el rugby “Juan likes rugby”). This study investigated the effects of instruction on the acquisition of DOM and gustarverbs for heritage language learners. A total of 45 2nd generation Spanish heritage speakers participated in the study, completing a pre-test, instructional treatment, and a post-test. The instructional treatment consisted of an explicit grammatical explanation of the uses of a followed by three practice exercises, for which participants received immediate, explicit feedback, including negative evidence. Results of the heritage learners' pre-test confirmed that their recognition and production of a with animate direct objects and dative experiencers is probabilistic, compared with a baseline group of 12 native speakers of Spanish. Post-test results revealed highly significant gains by heritage learners in both intuitions and production, suggesting that instruction, including both positive and negative evidence, facilitates classroom heritage language acquisition, at least in the short term.

scholarly journals Syntactic and Discourse Features in Chinese Heritage Grammars: A Case of Acquiring Features in the Chinese Sentence-Final Particle ba

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Shanshan Yan
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Final Particle ◽  
Heritage Speaker ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Processing Resources ◽  
Better Than

This study investigates how syntactic and discourse features of Chinese sentence-final particles (the question particle ba and the suggestion particle ba) are reconfigured in Chinese heritage grammars. It has been argued that features of the Chinese particles ba are present in English but are configured differently. An acceptability judgment task, a discourse completion task, and a translation task were adopted in this study. In total, 35 Chinese heritage speakers and 18 Chinese native speakers took part in this study. The results show that none of the heritage speaker groups had any problem in configuring the discourse feature of the suggestion particle ba and the syntactic features of the question particle ba. However, none of them could successfully reconfigure the discourse feature of the question particle ba. It seems that the effects of dominant language transfer, reduced Chinese input, and limited processing resources play roles in the reconfiguration of discourse features in heritage grammars. As compared to previous L2 studies regarding the same phenomenon, heritage speakers with more and early Chinese input seem to have advantages over L2 learners in terms of syntactic features. L2 learners are found to be slightly better than heritage speakers in terms of reconfiguring some discourse properties.

Hyper-articulation effects in Korean glides by heritage language learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 136700692093551
Author(s):  
Seung-Eun Chang ◽  
Samuel Weiss-Cowie
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Heritage Learners ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Korean Language ◽  
Pitch Pattern ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Syllable Onset ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Casual Speech

Aims and objectives: Hyper-articulation effects in glide sounds and heritage production are unexplored areas. Thus, this study examines how the Korean glide /we/ is phonetically implemented in hyper-articulated speech by English-speaking heritage learners of Korean. Language-specific fundamental frequency (F0) patterns and methodological issues involving inconsistent data in heritage research are also addressed. Methodology: Korean-American students enrolled in an intermediate-low Korean language course for Korean heritage students at a university in the US read four isolated sentences, once in casual speech and once in hyper-articulated (or clear) speech. They repeated this sequence five times. Data and analysis: The syllable duration of the glide more than doubled and the upward transitional feature of /w/ was significantly expanded with a steeper slope in clear speech compared to casual speech. The expansion of vowel space of /e/ in clear speech was also attested for second formant (F2). Although pitch did not vary between the two speaking styles at syllable onset or vowel midpoint, it exhibited a significant increase at syllable offset in clear speech. The strong intra- and inter-speaker variations frequently observed in heritage language research were not found in this study. Conclusions: The results generally echo the hyper-articulated speech changes observed in native Korean speakers. The pitch pattern outcomes suggest that heritage learners’ enhancement corresponds more to that of their heritage language than their dominant language. Although the data generally supports the idea that heritage learners’ enhancement strategies emulate those of native speakers in terms of exaggerated acoustic features, the same is not true regarding absolute acoustic values; their acoustic values are more exaggerated than native speakers’ in clear speech. Originality and implications: The findings present new hyper-articulation effects regarding glide sounds and an additional enhancement strategy of end-of-syllable pitch raising in hyper-articulated speech. This study also suggests that controlling for confounding population variables mitigates the methodological challenges of heritage language research.

scholarly journals Variable Future-Time Expression in Spanish: A Comparison between Heritage and Second Language Learners

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 206
Author(s):  
Ana de Prada Pérez ◽  
Inmaculada Gómez Soler ◽  
Nick Feroce
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Temporal Distance ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Future Time ◽  
L2 Learners

This paper examines the expression of futurity in Spanish, specifically the periphrastic future (PF), the morphological future (MF), and the present indicative (PI) in heritage language learners (HLLs) and second language learners (L2 learners), a comparison that allowed us to explore whether linguistic experience provides HLLs an advantage over L2 learners in the domain of morphosyntax. These forms (PF, MF, and PI) are regulated by certainty, temporal distance, and the presence of temporal adverbials. Previous research showed that L2 learners acquire some of these linguistic constraints and that HLLs tend to reduce the MF to modal uses. Data from a contextualized acceptability judgment task completed by 46 HLLs and 42 L2ers manipulated for verb form, certainty, temporal distance, and adverb and revealed that (i) the PF and the MF were generally rated higher than the PI, (ii) HLLs were sensitive to the three linguistic factors examined, while the L2ers’ sensitivity was modulated by proficiency, and, relatedly, (iii) the two groups differed in the effect of proficiency. For the L2 learners, an increase in proficiency led to a closer pattern to that of monolingual native speakers (only for temporal distance). Differences in exposure to and instruction in Spanish are discussed as possible sources of these differences.

Toward an Understanding of Heritage Prosody

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Chang ◽  
Yao Yao
Keyword(s):  
Heritage Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Pitch Contour ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Mandarin Tones ◽  
Demographic Background

In previous work examining heritage language phonology, heritage speakers have often patterned differently from native speakers and late-onset second language (L2) learners with respect to overall accent and segmentals. The current study extended this line of inquiry to suprasegmentals, comparing the properties of lexical tones produced by heritage, native, and L2 speakers of Mandarin living in the U.S. We hypothesized that heritage speakers would approximate native norms for Mandarin tones more closely than L2 speakers, yet diverge from these norms in one or more ways. We further hypothesized that, due to their unique linguistic experience, heritage speakers would sound the most ambiguous in terms of demographic background. Acoustic data showed that heritage speakers approximated native-like production more closely than L2 speakers with respect to the pitch contour of Tone 3, durational shortening in connected speech, and rates of Tone 3 reduction in non-phrase-final contexts, while showing the highest levels of tonal variability among all groups. Perceptual data indicated that heritage speakers’ tones differed from native and L2 speakers’ in terms of both intelligibility and perceived goodness. Consistent with the variability results, heritage speakers were the most difficult group to classify demographically. Taken together, these findings suggest that, with respect to tone, early heritage language experience can, but does not necessarily, result in a phonological advantage over L2 learners. Further, they add support to the view that heritage speakers are language users distinct from both native and L2 speakers.

The Effect of Language Games with Audio Visual Aids on Students’ Speaking Competence at Fourth Graders of Tunas Daud Elementary School

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Susnawati. K ◽  
Marhaeni A.A.I.N ◽  
Ramendra D.P
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
Fourth Grade ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Games ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Fourth Grade Students ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Competence Test ◽  
Better Than

Study aimed to determine the effect of language games with audio visual aids on students' speaking competence at fourth grade students of Tunas Daud elementary school and to describe the implementation of language games with audio visual aids on students’ speaking competence. The design used in this research was a mixed method design. It was explanatory design since this research was started with quantitative design (experimental design with post test only control design) followed by qualitative design. The samples were 62 students; 31 students of the experimental group and 31 students of the control group of fourth grade Tunas Daud elementary students. The data were collected by using speaking competence test and analyzed by IBM SPSS 22 with independent t-test. The data were also collected through an observation sheet for observing the implementation of the language games with audio visual aids. The results showed there was a significant effect of the language games with audio visual aids on students' speaking competence in which the mean score of the students who were taught by using language games with audio visual aids is better than the students who were taught without language games with audio visual aids. For the implementation of the language games with audio visual aids, it can be seen that the implementation of the language games with audio visual aids were done in a very good way. The games was suitable for the students since it could give good impacts for the students. The students are active and confident to speak.

Second language processing of English past tense morphology: The role of working memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Filiz Rızaoğlu ◽  
Ayşe Gürel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
L2 Learners

AbstractThis study examines, via a masked priming task, the processing of English regular and irregular past tense morphology in proficient second language (L2) learners and native speakers in relation to working memory capacity (WMC), as measured by the Automated Reading Span (ARSPAN) and Operation Span (AOSPAN) tasks. The findings revealed quantitative group differences in the form of slower reaction times (RTs) in the L2-English group. While no correlation was found between the morphological processing patterns and WMC in either group, there was a negative relationship between English and Turkish ARSPAN scores and the speed of word recognition in the L2 group. Overall, comparable decompositional processing patterns found in both groups suggest that, like native speakers, high-proficiency L2 learners are sensitive to the morphological structure of the target language.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document