The Effect of Age on the Ultimate Attainment of English Lexis and Morphosyntax

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Jeberedar Ali Rizg-Allah ◽  
Salaheldin Adam Ahmed Eldouma

This study investigates the relationship between the age of onset of learning English and the ultimate attainment in that language. To this end, it tests the lexical and morphosyntactic competence of 62 intermediate school students who have different points of onset. They have to do a grammaticality judgment test and a vocabulary test. Using the methods of descriptive statistics, the result showed that late starters have outperformed early starters in all aspects of the language examined. The study also revealed that there is a relatively weak correlation between the age of headstart and the ultimate attainment in both levels of language tested. The correlations between the age of exposure and vocabulary attainment is (r = 0.2), whereas it is (r= 0.18) between the age of exposure and morphosyntactic knowledge. It is also found that there’s a strong positive correlation between ESs and LSs grammar and vocabulary (r= 0.75). This suggests that vocabulary and grammar are interdependent fields in that the abstract morphosyntactic rules would remain null and void without the lexical component at work, and the intrinsic meaning of a vocabulary item can’t be fully grasped without adequate knowledge of the morphosyntactic rules that assign meaning to each word in a sentence.

Author(s):  
Teresa Cadierno ◽  
Mikkel Hansen ◽  
Jørgen T. Lauridsen ◽  
Søren W. Eskildsen ◽  
Katalin Fenyvesi ◽  
...  

This paper reports the results of a semi-longitudinal study investigating the role of age of onset in early foreign language (English) learning. We compared two groups of Danish school children (N = 276) who, following an educational reform in 2014, started their first English classes the same year but at different ages. One group (the early starters) was introduced to English in the 1st grade (age 7-8) and the other group (the late starters) in the 3rd grade (age 9-10). Children’s receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, and phonetic discrimination skills were followed for three years, allowing comparisons across groups and time and tracking learning rate and shortterm proficiency (after one and two years of instruction). Results showed that the late starters outperformed the early starters in most tests. With respect to learning rate, the tests also revealed that the late starters had an advantage in the receptive grammar test, whereas the phonetic discrimination test showed a more diffuse picture with the late starters seemingly halting in development and the early starters advancing. The results also showed gender differences with boys achieving a higher level of proficiency and exhibiting a faster learning rate than girls. The pedagogical implications of the results are discussed.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Sahar Mohammed Yousef Ezzeldin

This study aimed for using flipped classroom to develop scientific communication and the attitude towards technology acceptance in science learning among intermediate school students. For this purpose, the quasi-experimental design with the experimental and the control group method was used. The sample involved (49) third intermediate stage students from two different schools in Wadi Al-Dawasir Governorate, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A list of written scientific communication levels suitable for intermediate school students and a procedural model for learning with flipped classes were presented. The study applied the scientific communication test and the technology acceptance in the science learning scale. The statistical analyses revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the means of the scores of the experimental and control group students in the scientific communication scale and the technology acceptance in the science learning scale in favor of the experimental group. Recommendations and suggestions were presented.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256844
Author(s):  
Danielle R. Davis ◽  
Meghan E. Morean ◽  
Krysten W. Bold ◽  
Deepa Camenga ◽  
Grace Kong ◽  
...  

Introduction E-liquid flavor is typically presented by flavor category (e.g. menthol, mint, fruit, dessert). Cooling sensations produced by flavor additives such as menthol enhance appeal of e-cigarettes among youth, but not all e-liquids that produce cooling sensations are labeled as menthol. Sensory experiences produced by flavors may allow for a new way to capture e-cigarette flavor use. This study aims to examine use of flavors that produce cooling sensations among youth and its association with e-cigarette use behaviors. Methods A 2019 survey of high school students (n = 4875) examined use of e-cigarette flavors that produced cooling sensations (cooling flavors) among past 30-day e-cigarette users. E-cigarette use behaviors (flavor use, nicotine use, frequency of use) were examined between those who did and did not use cooling flavors. A binary logistic regression was used to examine associations between vaping frequency, nicotine (vs. non-nicotine) use, and vaping cooling flavors while controlling for demographics, number of flavors vaped in the past month, and vaping age of onset. Results 51.6% (n = 473/916) of the analytic sample endorsed vaping cooling flavors. There were no demographic differences by vaping cooling flavors. Vaping cooling flavors was associated with vaping more frequently (AOR:1.04,95% CI:1.03,1.05) and vaping nicotine (AOR:2.37,95% CI:1.53,3.67). Conclusion Vaping cooling flavors was associated with greater nicotine vaping and frequency of e-cigarette use. Assessing sensory experience, such as cooling, in addition to flavor category may more fully capture e-cigarette flavor use and its impacts on youth e-cigarette use behaviors.


Author(s):  
Zaitul Akmal AZ ◽  
Salmah N ◽  
ND Ismail ◽  
Muhammad Akmal MN ◽  
Khairatul Nainey K

Introduction: In Malaysia, the rate of adolescents involved in sexual activities has increased and starts at an earlier age. Data from NHMS 2017 showed that 7.3% among surveyed 13 to 17 years-old adolescents have already had sex. The rate of teenage pregnancies is also increasing at 3.7-3.9% between the years 2009 until 2011. Therefore, an effective SRH Programme should be conducted in schools to equip them with adequate knowledge regarding this subject.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 145 randomly selected secondary school students aged 13 to 15 years old, attending the SRH Programme in a secondary school in Cheras, Selangor, Malaysia. The objective of this programme is to deliver knowledge and promote awareness among adolescents regarding SRH. The programme consists of intervention using adolescent-friendly module and games. A pre- and post-test were given to the participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme using the validated SRH questionnaire (Malay version). The questionnaire consists of fourteen and six items for knowledge and attitude, respectively.Results: The result showed an increase in the mean knowledge score (±SD) after the SRH Programme at the school from 7.25 ± 2.44 for pre-test to 9.70 ± 3.17 for post-test. The mean difference in pre- and post-test was 2.45 (95% CI: 2.02, 2.87) and was statistically significant (p<0.001). In terms of attitudes, the majority of the students felt that they have enough knowledge to make a gooddecision regarding sexual reproductive health issues after the SRH programme. However, there was only a small increment with regards to their attitudes on assertiveness.Conclusion: This study demonstrated an increase in the level of knowledge among adolescents in Cheras after the SRH programme using the adolescent-friendly module and games. However, there is no significant change in attitude among adolescents regarding SRH.Future SRH programmes need to be done regularly to instil positive attitudes among adolescents in dealing withsexual reproductive dilemmas.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2021 Page: S20


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-823
Author(s):  
Eun-Kyoung Rosa Lee

AbstractThe present study examined whether early immersive L2 exposure in a foreign language learning context can yield long-term advantages in L2 morpho-syntactic sensitivity. Participants were 40 Korean university students with high English proficiency, who had either attended an English kindergarten or begun learning English in a classroom, and a control group of native English speakers. All participants performed a speeded aural grammaticality judgment task that included the following features: articles, subcategorization, plural -s, third-person -s. Results showed that the English-kindergarten group outperformed the late-classroom group in terms of accuracy for ungrammatical sentences, while the two groups did not differ significantly on grammatical sentences and in reaction time measures. The learners altogether scored higher in plural -s and third-person -s compared to articles. While the native speakers showed near-perfect accuracy and fast reaction times, the highly proficient learners were at near-chance level in detecting morpho-syntactic errors during online L2 aural processing.


2005 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 35-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalila Ayoun

This study investigates the acquisition of English verb movement phenomena by two groups of adult French native speakers: a group of secondary school students and a group of university students. A group of English native speakers served as controls. Participants were administered a written questionnaire composed of a controlled production task, a grammaticality judgment task, and a preference/grammaticality judgment task, to test acquisition of the syntactic properties associated with the verb movement parameter (Pollock 1989, 1997). Instead of substantiating the anecdotal evidence that suggests that adverb placement errors persist into very advanced stages of English L2 acquisition, the present data support the successful acquisition of English adverb placement by French native speakers. It is argued that the advanced group has acquired the appropriate L2 parametric value as measured by the controlled production task; while results on the other two tasks are explained by performance effects.


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