Subject–Verb Number Agreement in Bilingual Processing: (Lack of) Age of Acquisition and Proficiency Effects

Children acquire language more easily than adults, though it is controversial whether this faculty declines as a result of a critical period or something else. To address this question, we investigate the role of age of acquisition and proficiency on morphosyntactic processing in adult monolinguals and bilinguals. Spanish monolinguals and intermediate and advanced early and late bilinguals of Spanish read sentences with adjacent subject–verb number agreements and violations and chose one of four pictures. Eye-tracking data revealed that all groups were sensitive to the violations and attended more to more salient plural and preterit verbs than less obvious singular and present verbs, regardless of AoA and proficiency level. We conclude that the processing of adjacent SV agreement depends on perceptual salience and language use, rather than AoA or proficiency. These findings support usage-based theories of language acquisition.

ONLINE GRAMMAR CHECKERS VERSUS SELF-EDITING: AN INVESTIGATION OF ERROR CORRECTION RATES AND WRITING QUALITY

Background and Purpose: In order to compete with native speakers, EFL and ESL students are under more pressure to produce native-like academic papers. This has led to more reliance on online grammar checkers, but these can be ineffective with regards to identifying and giving feedback on particular grammatical forms, phrasing and issues relating to style. Language learners may not be effectively correcting these errors. Hence, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of one online grammar checker, grammarly.com, with that of self-editing. Methodology: This case study employed a descriptive approach to data analysis. 199 essays were collected from undergraduates at four universities in Kyushu, dated from April, 2019 to January, 2020. 99 essays were proofed by an online grammar checker, while 100 essays were self-edited. The English proficiency level of the participants was at the lower to intermediate range (i.e., TOEIC 300 to a TOEIC 500). The online grammar checker Grammarly was utilized by all participants to minimize issues relating to feedback. In the analysis of data, the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of the essays was assessed in order to examine the significant changes between the first and other drafts, and the types of errors produced. Findings: Results showed that there were no significant differences found in terms of the methods of editing, although the participants who employed online grammar checkers had better results. It was also shown that there were no significant differences in terms of syntactical complexity with either method of editing. There were fewer errors committed by the participants who self-edited, but there were no significant differences in the edited drafts with regards to errors/100 ratios, error-free clauses, and error-free clause ratios. The study showed marginal differences between the two methods of proofing but indicated that online tools can be useful for identifying certain grammatical errors. Contributions: This paper argues that educators need to work more with EFL learners on the editorial and proofing process, but online grammar checkers may be a useful pedagogical tool to help low-proficient L2 learners. Keywords: Writing quality, editing, online grammar checkers, proofing, syntactical complexity. Cite as: Long, R. (2022). Online grammar checkers versus self-editing: An investigation of error correction rates and writing quality. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 441-458. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp441-458

The Effect of Chinese Proficiency on Determining Temporal Adverb Position by Native Japanese Speakers Learning Chinese

The present study aimed to investigate how native Japanese speakers learning Chinese choose preferred positions for temporal adverbs depending on their level of Chinese proficiency. A naturalness judgment task conducted on native Chinese speakers showed that the most natural position for Chinese temporal adverbs was before the subject and that placement after the locative prepositional phrase was incorrect. The same task applied to native Japanese speakers found the most natural position for Japanese temporal adverbs was also before the subject. Further, when they appear at the beginning of a sentence, they provide the time for the entire sentence. Accordingly, temporal topicalization appears to influence naturalness decisions by both native Chinese and Japanese speakers. A point of difference was that in Japanese, a temporal adverb placed after a locative prepositional phrase was judged to be acceptable. When the same task was given to native Japanese speakers learning Chinese divided into three Chinese proficiency level groups, placement before the subject was the most preferred by the higher Chinese proficiency group. In addition, placement after the locative prepositional phrase was unfavored by them while the same position was frequently selected by the lower level group. As Chinese proficiency increases it appears that the preferred temporal adverb position is before the subject and the placement after the locative prepositional is judged to be unnatural. Thus, a sense of suitable temporal adverb positions in Chinese is influenced by the level of Chinese proficiency of native Japanese speakers.

A meta-analysis of task-based differences in bilingual L1 and L2 language networks

The functional organization of first (L1) and second (L2) language processing in bilinguals remains a topic of great interest to the neurolinguistics community. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies report meaningful differences in the location and extent of hemodynamic changes between tasks performed in the L1 and L2, yet there is no consensus on whether these networks can be considered truly distinct. In part, this may be due to the multiplicity of task designs implemented in such studies, which complicates the interpretation of their findings. This paper compares the results of previous bilingual meta-analyses to a new ALE meta-analysis that categorizes neuroimaging studies by task design. Factors such as the age of L2 acquisition (AoA) and the L2 language proficiency level of participants are also considered. The findings support previous accounts of the effect of participant characteristics on linguistic processing, while at the same time revealing dissociable differences in fMRI activation for L1 and L2 networks within and across tasks that appear independent of these external factors.

The proficiency Level of Female Primary School Pupils in Reading Comprehension Skills from the Viewpoint of their Teachers: مستوى تمكن تلميذات المرحلة الابتدائية من مهارات فهم المقروء من وجهة نظر معلماتهن

The current research aims to identify the level of proficiency of upper-grade female primary school pupils in the elementary stage in reading comprehension skills from the viewpoint of their teachers, to detect the teachers, viewpoints about their pupils, level of proficiency in reading comprehension skills that are due to the difference in the grade, and to identify a list of reading comprehension skills that are necessary for upper grade’s students. The author used the descriptive survey method and applied the research tool (questionnaire) on a sample of (261) teachers out of (815) at a percentage of (32%), having verified their validity and reliability. She also used a set of statistical methods including: Alpha Cronbach, Pearson Correlation Coefficient, repetitions, percentages, arithmetic means, standard deviations, single analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, and Scheffe post hoc difference test. The author found that that the proficiency level of female primary school pupils in those skills is great in general as well as in the skills of direct, deductive, and creative comprehension, while it was moderate in the skills of appreciation and critical understanding. There are statistically significant differences at the level of (0.05) in direct comprehension skills due to the teaching grade variable, as it came in favor of the fourth and fifth grades. There are no statistically significant differences in the rest of the skills. Finally, in light of the research findings, a set of recommendations were made.

Scoring Spoken Second Language Assessment

Achieving scores that adequately reflect the test-takers’ proficiency level, as evidenced in spoken assessment tasks, has been the subject of a large body of research in second language assessment. In this chapter, the author outlines the work that has been undertaken in relation to the scoring of spoken assessments by human raters and automated scoring. The chapter focuses on research on rater effects, rater training and feedback, rater characteristics, interlocutor/interviewer effects, rating scales, and score resolution techniques. The section on automated scoring discusses research on the underlying construct and what limits this puts on the types of tasks that can be used in the assessment. The chapter concludes by setting out some future directions for the scoring of spoken responses.

Internationalization and english language in a public institution

Internationalization is defined as an integration process of international, intercultural or global dimensions with educational purpose and offers. There are many dimensions of educational institutions internationalization from research partnership to international mobility. Among the several requirements for students to participate in exchanging programs promoted by international universities and organizations is English language proficiency. On the other hand the proficiency level requirements can vary according to the mobility programs which set the minimum English level. One example is the SAKURA Science High School Program promoted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) which selected science and technology students to participate in an exchanging program in Japan. In order to be selected, applicants needed to have B1 (CEFRR) as minimum English proficiency level. Thus this study aims to investigate if Brazilian students of an educational institution have such required level to successfully take part in mobility programs. The qualitative methodology of this research includes documents analysis - internationalization documents and English course program - and questionnaires to students and English teacher. The results show that students are expected to achieve B1 level by the end of high school according to the English subject program. However students believe that they do not have such level in speaking skill which would be one of the main skill in JST program. Most of them classify their level in A2. Furthermore the English teacher claims that although some students have already achieved B1 or even higher level the majority is at A2.Thus in order to allow more students to participate in mobility programs the institution should invest in extra-curricular English courses to increase study hours and focus more on developing speaking skills.

Challenges in Implementing the CEFR in English Language Classrooms

The adoption of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in the English Language Education Roadmap 2015-2025 is a reform effort to enhance the standard of our students’ English language proficiency level. While it is a commendable initiative, its implementation in schools has received mixed reactions especially from teachers who are confronted with a number of challenges. Hence, this study was carried out to investigate the nature of challenges encountered by English language teachers in implementing the CEFR in their classrooms. Data for this study were collected from questionnaires gathered from 117 English language teachers in primary schools in Johor Bahru district. The findings revealed the challenges were related to teachers’ English language proficiency level, designing class activities, students’ participation in class, the textbooks used, teachers’ workload, and students’ proficiency level. The challenges were found to be inter-related and could be traced to lack of CEFR-related training, insufficient teaching and learning materials, constraint of time, and the policy which does not allow for students to be streamed based on their proficiency level. All this seemed to make it more difficult for the teachers to implement the CEFR successfully.

The Relationship Between Reciprocal School-to-School Collaboration and Student Academic Achievement

Despite the appeal of promoting and forming collaborative relationships between schools, empirical evidence for an association between school-to-school collaboration and school outcomes is still somewhat lacking. This study utilized data from 76 schools nested within 56 districts in the United States to examine the association between a school's reciprocal relationships and school outcomes by employing social network analysis and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). After controlling for school and district demographic characteristics, we found the indices of reciprocal collaboration are associated with the school's 2018 student proficiency level in both math and reading and the growth in proficiency level between 2017 and 2018. The implications and limitations were discussed.