Evaluating phrasal verb exercises: An investigation into the effectiveness of error-free and trial-and-error learning

<p>Although phrasal verbs are perhaps the most challenging type of verb phrase for L2 students to learn, only a handful of studies have looked into the effects of methods to enhance their acquisition, but these studies focused exclusively on the use of exemplary study input materials. The present thesis investigates this topic by examining and comparing learning procedures that consist of a study trial followed by a test trial (retrieval conditions) with learning procedures that include a test trial followed by a study trial (generation conditions). In the field of cognitive psychology, these two procedures have received considerable attention for the learning of single words but less so in the field of applied linguistics for the learning of phrases. In essence, the use of retrieval and generation conditions for the learning of phrasal verbs by non-native speakers of English was examined in three separate studies in this thesis. Additionally, it investigated the extent to which versions of these conditions occur in general ESL/EFL course textbooks. The studies were carried out in L2 classrooms and data were collected electronically from a group of L2 learners whose L1 system lacks phrasal verbs. In the first study, 199 students from five parallel classes were assigned to either a retrieval condition or a generation condition. In the retrieval condition, the study trial presented a phrasal verb and a paraphrase of its meaning, and then the test trial displayed the initial letter of the verb followed by the paraphrase of the phrasal verb’s meaning. The generation condition was comprised of the same two trials; however, the order of their presentation was reversed, so the test trial preceded the study trial. In the second study, 153 students from four parallel L2 classes were assigned to one of four conditions. All the conditions were comprised of the same study trial and test trial. The study trial presented a phrasal verb along with a paraphrase of its meaning. The test trial displayed the verb of the phrasal verb followed by the paraphrase of its definition. In the study-test condition, the study trial and the test trial occurred consecutively, while in the study-delay-test condition, they were separated by approximately 6.5 minutes. In the test-study condition, the study trial occurred immediately after the test trial, while in the test-delay-study condition, a 6.5-minute interval separated the two trials. The last study examined contextualized versions of the retrieval condition and the generation condition on 172 L2 students from six parallel L2 classes. This thesis produced the following main findings. First, a vast majority (72% to be exact) of phrase learning conditions in existing course textbooks are generation-oriented. Second, the experimental studies showed that retrieval learning conditions offer significantly better short-term learning of phrasal verbs than generation learning, although no such advantage was found in long-term learning retention. Third, contextualized learning (i.e., learning phrasal verbs with the contextual support of exemplars) yields more effective learning than decontextualized learning does. Fourth, errors produced in generation conditions are difficult to unlearn. Overall, these findings provide us with some new insights about the learning and teaching of phrasal verbs. These results also have direct, meaningful pedagogical implications for the teaching of phrasal verbs as they show specifically which teaching procedures are more effective and which ones are less effective or ineffective for the learning of these difficult English verb phrases.</p>

Evaluating phrasal verb exercises: An investigation into the effectiveness of error-free and trial-and-error learning

<p>Although phrasal verbs are perhaps the most challenging type of verb phrase for L2 students to learn, only a handful of studies have looked into the effects of methods to enhance their acquisition, but these studies focused exclusively on the use of exemplary study input materials. The present thesis investigates this topic by examining and comparing learning procedures that consist of a study trial followed by a test trial (retrieval conditions) with learning procedures that include a test trial followed by a study trial (generation conditions). In the field of cognitive psychology, these two procedures have received considerable attention for the learning of single words but less so in the field of applied linguistics for the learning of phrases. In essence, the use of retrieval and generation conditions for the learning of phrasal verbs by non-native speakers of English was examined in three separate studies in this thesis. Additionally, it investigated the extent to which versions of these conditions occur in general ESL/EFL course textbooks. The studies were carried out in L2 classrooms and data were collected electronically from a group of L2 learners whose L1 system lacks phrasal verbs. In the first study, 199 students from five parallel classes were assigned to either a retrieval condition or a generation condition. In the retrieval condition, the study trial presented a phrasal verb and a paraphrase of its meaning, and then the test trial displayed the initial letter of the verb followed by the paraphrase of the phrasal verb’s meaning. The generation condition was comprised of the same two trials; however, the order of their presentation was reversed, so the test trial preceded the study trial. In the second study, 153 students from four parallel L2 classes were assigned to one of four conditions. All the conditions were comprised of the same study trial and test trial. The study trial presented a phrasal verb along with a paraphrase of its meaning. The test trial displayed the verb of the phrasal verb followed by the paraphrase of its definition. In the study-test condition, the study trial and the test trial occurred consecutively, while in the study-delay-test condition, they were separated by approximately 6.5 minutes. In the test-study condition, the study trial occurred immediately after the test trial, while in the test-delay-study condition, a 6.5-minute interval separated the two trials. The last study examined contextualized versions of the retrieval condition and the generation condition on 172 L2 students from six parallel L2 classes. This thesis produced the following main findings. First, a vast majority (72% to be exact) of phrase learning conditions in existing course textbooks are generation-oriented. Second, the experimental studies showed that retrieval learning conditions offer significantly better short-term learning of phrasal verbs than generation learning, although no such advantage was found in long-term learning retention. Third, contextualized learning (i.e., learning phrasal verbs with the contextual support of exemplars) yields more effective learning than decontextualized learning does. Fourth, errors produced in generation conditions are difficult to unlearn. Overall, these findings provide us with some new insights about the learning and teaching of phrasal verbs. These results also have direct, meaningful pedagogical implications for the teaching of phrasal verbs as they show specifically which teaching procedures are more effective and which ones are less effective or ineffective for the learning of these difficult English verb phrases.</p>

Reading Text When Studying in a Second Language: An Eye-Tracking Study

We investigated how eye movements are influenced by different reading goals in participants' first (L1) and second language (L2). Participants read or studied the contents of texts while their eye movements were recorded. One group was asked to read L1 and L2 texts as they would read any expository text (informational reading). Another group was asked to study L1 and L2 texts for subsequent tests involving true/false questions (study condition). After reading, all participants, including those in the informational reading condition, completed the true/false tests without being able to further consult the texts, which allowed us to investigate the extent to which reading goal and text language affect recognition memory for texts. In general, more reading time was spent on studying than on informational reading, which also resulted in higher test scores in the study condition. The L2-processing cost was larger in the study condition than in the informational reading condition: Participants needed approximately 20% more time to study L2 texts. The results of various eye movement measures suggest that this is caused by slower word recognition processes and a smaller amount of information that can be processed simultaneously in L2. This was true not only for the first reading of the text but also for the rereadings in the study condition. Interestingly, the additional time for L2 studying seemed to compensate for the less efficient processing, as the recognition test scores were the same in L2 as in L1.

After Initial Retrieval Practice, More Retrieval Produces Better Retention Than More Study in the Word Learning of Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) often have difficulty with word learning. Recent studies have shown that incorporating retrieval practice provides a significant benefit to this learning. However, we have not yet discovered the best balance between the amount of retrieval and the amount of study (hearing the word in the presence of the referent) that is provided. In this investigation, we compared a word learning procedure using more retrieval and less study with a procedure that used more study and less retrieval. Method Participants were 13 children with DLD and 13 same-age peers with typical language development (TD). Both groups ranged in age from 4 to 6 years. The children learned two sets of novel words, with each set taught in two sessions. During an initial criterion period, the children had the opportunity to retrieve all of the words. Following this period, the words were either retrieved without further study or studied without additional retrieval. Recall and recognition testing immediately followed the second learning session and was repeated 1 week later. Testing assessed the children's retention of both the word forms and their meanings. Results Better recall both immediately after learning and after 1 week was seen for the more retrieval/less study condition. This was seen for both groups of children for word form recall and for children with DLD for meaning. Group differences were not found. Conclusion This study served as a stringent test of the benefits of retrieval to children's word learning. Continued retrieval after initial retrieval practice appeared to be helpful even when further study was discontinued and when the comparison study condition had also provided retrieval practice in the initial stages. Further refinement of retrieval procedures might lead to the development of useful clinical tools to promote word learning.

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF GROUP STATUS ON IN-GROUP IDENTIFICATION

The main goal of the present research was to investigate the effect that group status had on different types of identification with social groups. In addition, the study aimed to provide further support for the distinction between centrality, social, communal, and interdependent types of in-group identity. It experimentally manipulated the status of laboratory-based groups in order to examine whether membership in a low status group would be associated with an increase only in social identification and whether this effect would be moderated by culture. Consistent with predictions, the results from a series of 2x2 between-subjects ANOVAs (N=108) revealed that a significant main effect of study condition (group status) occurred in relation to social identification but not in relation to centrality, communal, and interdependent identification. Participants in the moderately positive status group scored significantly higher on social identification than participants in the extremely positive status group. As expected, this main effect was qualified by culture with only collectivistic individuals’ in-group identification differing significantly between the two conditions. The present work adds to the findings of previous research that has examined the link between group status and in-group identification and could be used to address new issues in the group identification research.

Treatment Fidelity Procedures for an Aphasia Intervention Within a Randomized Controlled Trial: Design, Feasibility, and Results

Purpose This study reports on the treatment fidelity procedures implemented during a 5-year randomized controlled trial comparing intensive and distributed comprehensive aphasia therapy. Specifically, the results of 1 treatment, verb network strengthening treatment (VNeST), are examined. Method Eight participants were recruited for each of 7 consecutive cohorts for a total of 56 participants. Participants completed 60 hr of aphasia therapy, including 15 hr of VNeST. Two experienced speech-language pathologists delivered the treatment. To promote treatment fidelity, the study team developed a detailed manual of procedures and fidelity checklists, completed role plays to standardize treatment administration, and video-recorded all treatment sessions for review. To assess protocol adherence during treatment delivery, trained research assistants not involved in the treatment reviewed video recordings of a subset of randomly selected VNeST treatment sessions and completed the fidelity checklists. This process was completed for 32 participants representing 2 early cohorts and 2 later cohorts, which allowed for measurement of protocol adherence over time. Percent accuracy of protocol adherence was calculated across clinicians, cohorts, and study condition (intensive vs. distributed therapy). Results The fidelity procedures were sufficient to promote and verify a high level of adherence to the treatment protocol across clinicians, cohorts, and study condition. Conclusion Treatment fidelity strategies and monitoring are feasible when incorporated into the study design. Treatment fidelity monitoring should be completed at regular intervals during the course of a study to ensure that high levels of protocol adherence are maintained over time and across conditions.

Recovery of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) from faeces of healthy Singapore adults after intake of fermented milk

To validate survival of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) during passage through the gastrointestinal tract of healthy Singaporean young adults, 21 participants (18-25 years old) were asked to consume a 100 ml of fermented milk drink containing 1.0×108 cfu/ml of LcS daily for 14 days, and to maintain their dietary habit and life style. During and at the end of the ingestion period, both culture method (identity confirmed by ELISA) and 16s rRNA sequencing results revealed that viable LcS (7.27 and 7.64 log10 cfu/g of faeces at the ingestion period Day 7 and Day 14, respectively) and Lactobacillus could be recovered from the faeces of all the subjects. The viable LcS count from male and female were comparable for each time point. Before consumption (baseline) and 14 days after cessation of consumption of the fermented milk, LcS was not detected in most of the subjects. In this study condition, the composition of the major gut microbiota (>0.1% in relative abundance of genus) and characteristics of defaecation such as stool consistency and frequency of defecation did not change throughout the study before and after ingestion of LcS. LcS was able to survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract of Singapore adults without sustainable colonisation, but the effect of LcS on microbiota modulation, stool consistency and frequency was not observed under this study condition.