Politeness and pragmatic transfer in L2 pronominal address usage

This study investigates how Chinese learners of Spanish, who have a T/V distinction in their first language (L1), use the T/V address forms in Spanish as a second language (L2). Findings show that the learners rely mainly on their L1 pragmatic knowledge to employ the T/V in the L2. Despite having relatively good grammatical control of T/V, the learners produced frequent T/V alternation due to negative pragmatic transfer. In Chinese using V normally conveys speaker’s perception of a high-power differential and in relationships that are borderline T or V usage, shifting from T to V can convey deference and tends to co-occur with face-threatening or face-enhancing acts. The learners transferred from Chinese their tendency to use V to express deference and overutilized this politeness strategy in Spanish regardless of their relationship with the addressee. This problematic usage may generate negative social consequences and calls for pedagogical intervention.

Les effets d'une posture plurilingue de l'écriture collaborative sur l'expérience émotionnelle d’apprenantes créolophones et la qualité de leurs productions écrites

The purpose of this research was to determine, first, how a plurilingual or monolingual posture adopted during a collaborative writing task influences the emotional experience of Creole learners of French as a second language (FL2), and second, how this emotional experience interacts with the quality of the written production. To this end, 39 FL2 Creole-speaking learners collaboratively wrote texts under two experimental conditions: one imposing the exclusive use of FL2 during the collaborative activity and the other allowing free choice as to the languages to be used. After each task, participants individually answered a self-evaluation questionnaire to measure their emotional state while doing the task. In order to establish a relationship between the emotions experienced by the learners and their writing performance, the texts from both conditions were evaluated using an analytical rubric. The results showed that the participants experienced more positive emotions when they were free to use all their linguistic resources, including their native language (L1). Thus, their emotional experience was significantly more positive in the condition without linguistic constraints. While having access to L1 use contributed to a more positive learning climate, obligatory second language (L2) use was primarily associated with tension and anxiety. Also, participants who experienced positive emotions, regardless of the task, wrote better texts and scored highest on overall quality.

Target Language Use in Communicative English Lessons: The Emotional Perspective

Lessons for developing students' communication skills have been recently introduced to university English education in Japan, and the lesson format has become student-centered. As lessons are given in English and students have more opportunities to practice speaking in English, there are likely to be controversies over the proper balance between the use of the target language (TL) and the first language (L1) in EFL classrooms. However, no clear consensus concerning the relationship between these has been reached yet. The present research investigated the factors that were related to TL/L1 use among Japanese university students. A questionnaire containing background information and a five–point Likert scale of anxiety was filled in by 252 students. Following this, individual interviews with five students were conducted. The results revealed that while the advantages of L1 use for the students were reported, the students had negative feelings about their use of the L1 due to decreasing the contact with the TL and/or increasing peer and self–pressure. Therefore, students should gradually become accustomed to English–only instruction in an unthreatening environment.  

Perspectives on written L1 in Swedish CLIL education

This article presents a longitudinal investigation of texts written by students in upper secondary schools in Sweden. The texts are collected at three different schools implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning, CLIL, where school subjects are taught in a second or foreign language, L2, in this case English. CLIL research with an L1 focus in the Swedish context is rare. The present study explores and compares vocabulary use in texts written in L1 Swedish by students attending schools where English is used as the medium of instruction to various degrees, thereby representing diverse CLIL models. One school uses English in practically all subjects except in language arts (subject area of Swedish and optional German/French/Spanish). The other two schools use L2 English in some lessons but not all, thus representing other CLIL models. The data comprises 306 pieces of texts that were analysed using quantitative and corpus linguistic methods to examine the vocabulary use including linguistic variables connected to academic writing. The texts were written at four different occasions during a period of three years, Results indicate that the L1 vocabulary use concerning specific word variables show no substantial diversifications between the three CLIL schools despite the dissimilar exposure to L2 English and L1 use. The impact of L2 on students’ L1 is sometimes raised as an apprehension against CLIL education in Sweden. The results regarding productive written academic vocabulary of the present study indicate that there are no grounds for such concerns.

Comparative Impact of PD-1 and PD-L1 Inhibitors on Advanced Esophageal or Gastric/Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Programmed death 1 (PD-1) and PD ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors have demonstrated varying effectiveness in treating esophageal or gastric/gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer. Hence, this systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment in patients with esophageal or G/GEJ cancer by analyzing the types of medications. Randomized controlled trials comparing anti-PD-1/PD-L1 to control therapy were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, and ClinicalTrials.gov. The outcomes included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) rates, and serious adverse events (SAEs), evaluating the differences in therapy types, including a comparison between PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. Eight studies were included in the analysis. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors affected the overall OS rate increment without influencing the PFS rate (HR, 0.837; 95% CI, 0.753–0.929; p = 0.001; HR 0.991; 95% CI, 0.778–1.263; p = 0.942, respectively). Anti-PD-1 was significantly more beneficial for increasing OS and PFS than PD-L1 inhibitors. Anti-PD-1 and PD-L1 use was not significantly associated with SAE development in esophageal or G/GEJ cancer patients. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor use was associated with improved OS and PFS rate increase among PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. Considering response variations to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 usage, more individualized treatments should be introduced in clinical practice.

Exploring the Influence of Teachers' Experience on the Responses about L1 use in L2 Teaching

The focus of the current research was to explore the influence of teachers' experience on the responses about L1 use in L2 teaching. To investigate an evident and contemplative comprehension of this topic or subject matter, the available research targeted the 156 teachers who were practising teaching English at graduation level in different public sector colleges and universities of the Southern Punjab, Pakistan. The data collection source applied for the study was a questionnaire. Data were examined using SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) 23 version. Data was examined with the help of different data analysis techniques such as descriptive analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), T-Test and Cronbach's alpha. The outcome of the immediate study showed that the teachers displayed a highly positive sense about the use of native language in the foreign language classroom. Most of the teachers adopted using L1 in certain occurrences for solid reasons, such as while teaching grammar and its usage in the target language classroom. Foreign language teachers were extremely inspired to use L1 while teaching short questions and summaries, letter writing and paraphrasing the text in different classes of graduation.

L1 Use and L2 Vocabulary Retention: Help or Hindrance?

Although exclusive use of the second language has long been considered as an important principle of second language teaching and the learners’ first language has been suggested to have very limited role to play, recent studies have shown a different view that the L1 should be used as a tool to facilitate learners’ second language learning. The present study investigated L1 use in the area of English vocabulary teaching by examining nine Chinese EFL learners who were at different proficiency levels. The findings showed that the use of Mandarin Chinese led to better immediate and lasting retention of the vocabulary they have learnt and that it benefited both lower-proficiency and higher-proficiency learners. The study also offers some implications for Chinese EFL teachers and suggests that the implementation of the English-only policy in the EFL classroom should be reexamined.

L2 Proficiency Pairing, Task Type and L1 Use: A Mixed-Methods Study on Optimal Pairing in Dyadic Task-Based Peer Interaction

While task-based peer interaction in dyads has been commonly practiced in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, how to pair learners in dyadic tasks has always been a concern of teachers and researchers. This study examined learner proficiency pairing, task type and L1 use by Chinese EFL learners in two dyadic speaking tasks. Thirty-six participants were paired according to their oral English proficiency levels into: same-level pairs (high-high; medium-medium; low-low), and mixed-level pairs (high-low). All pairs completed two types of speaking tasks—information-gap and opinion-exchange. Quantitative results showed a significant difference between low-low pairs and other pairs in the amount of L1 use. Low-level learners produced significantly more L1 words and turns when paired with other low-level peers (low-low) than with high-level peers (high-low) in both types of tasks. Qualitative analysis further indicated that the mixed-level (high-low) pairs produced more opportunities for negotiation of meaning than the same-level (low-low) pairs during the interactional episodes where the L1 served various functions. The study offers pedagogical implications for EFL teachers about how to optimally pair learners to maximize their language development.