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>

THE IMPACT OF ORTHOGRAPHY ON LEXICAL ACCESS

Previous research has shown that orthographic marking may have a function beyond identifying orthographic word forms. In two visual priming experiments with native speakers and advanced learners of German (Czech natives) we tested the hypothesis that orthography can convey word-class cues comparable to morphological marking. We examined the effect of initial letter capitalization of nouns (a specific property of German orthography) on the processing of five homonymous and grammatically ambiguous forms. Both populations showed the same pattern of results: deverbal nouns (conversions) patterned together with countable nouns while in a previous study (with eliminated orthographic word-class cues) they patterned together with infinitives. Together, findings suggest that orthographic cues can trigger word-class-specific lexical retrieval/access. They also suggest a lexical entry structure in which conversion nouns, infinitives, and inflected verbal forms share a category-neutral parent node and that specified subnodes are accessed only when specifying cues are available and/or necessary for processing.

The phonic method for improving students’ speaking ability

The study was underlain by the child's introduction to letters performed by memorization, in which the children find it difficult to know it in sequence. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to increase children's ability to know the letters through phonic methods. The study applied the Class Action Research (CAR) Method with a model of Kemmis and Taggart. The data collection technique used is observation and test. The result of the study showed that a child could recognize the vowel and consonants. However, no child can recognize the initial letter sounds of the images of objects contained on the card, and there was no child able to combine letters into syllables and words at the pretest stage. In cycle I, there are 12 children able to recognize the vowel and consonant letters, 13 children can recognize the initial letter sounds of the images of objects contained on the cards, and 12 children can combine letters into syllables and words. In cycle II, there are 17 children able to recognize vowel and consonant letters, 16 children can recognize the initial letter sounds of the images of objects contained on the cards, and 15 children can combine letters into syllables and words. Thus the application of the phonic method can improve child-speaking ability.

Class term as a part of the proper name or as an appellative identification of the onymic object and the consequences of its understanding on capitalization

According to the principles of standardization of anoikonyms (minor place-names) and following the rules of Slovak orthography, the appellative expressing the type of a certain object is written with a small initial letter if it is not part of the name and stands before the name. This rule generally applies to all proper names. However, in some cases this appellative is understood as part of the name and it therefore tends to be written also with a capital initial letter. The paper deals with explanation of differences between the appellative member, the appellative component of a proper name, which is part of a proper name, and the information about a proper name in the form of an appellative, which is part of the onymic content of a proper name, but which is not part of a proper name. The author explains this problem on the basis of V. Blanár’s theory, which is based on the content understanding (designation) of proper names and on the interrelatedness of linguistic and onomastic status of the proper name and on the using of proper names in communication. In Czech onomastics, R. Šrámek holds similar theoretical bases.

LETTER RIDDLES AND LEGENDS ABOUT ALPHABET

Object of the article: letter riddles based on splitting a word into parts by progressive removal of letters from it. Subject of the article: the structure of letter riddles. Purpose of research: to compare the structure of letter riddles with legends about the origin of alphabet. Research methods: structural and semantic. Results: the author argues that there is a structural similarity between letter riddles and legends about the origin of letters from parts of the dismembered human body. Field of application: literary and cultural studies. Conclusion: letter riddles based on breaking down the words into parts by progressive eliminations of the initial letter of each resultant word convey the motif of bodily fragmentation (“dismembered body”), which goes back to a sacrificial ritual. The author is indebted to Svetlana Gracheva, Dan Whitman and Oleg Zaslavsky for stimulating discussion and helpful advise.

“Emma Zunz” in the Mirror and the Labyrinth

“Emma Zunz” exemplifies Borges’s particular use of literary devices, including extra-literary references and motifs that refer to the author’s earlier stories. Among those motifs the most central to “Emma Zunz” is the mirror. The use of the verb “multiplicar” reiterates the phrasing from two earlier stories: “Tlön, Uqbar y Orbis Tertius” and “El tintorero enmascarado, Hakim de Merv.” At the same moment the author only proposes that the character sees her reflections on her way to the port of Buenos Aires but promptly offers another scenario, meaning that the reader’s perception of omniscience is authorial sleight of hand. As in “Tlon,” fiction invades reality, and some of the sources of fiction are identifiable in “Emma Zunz” as the Book of Exodus, a lost silent film called “The Yellow Ticket” and the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The convergence of Hebrew and Minoan legends are also implied in the title of the collection, El Aleph through the hieroglyphic origins of the initial letter of the Hebrew abjad.

Alūziju izmantojums žurnāla “Ir” virsrakstos

In the press language studies, relatively little attention is paid to the titles in the printed press. Therefore, titles in the magazine “Ir” were studied and analysed from the point of view of the use of allusions. The titles of the magazine “Ir” were excerpted during the period from August 9 to October 31, 2018. These include a more detailed analysis of the titles in which the use of allusions appears vividly. The titles of the magazine reflect the topics of 2018, such as the 100th anniversary of the state’s independence, the 13th elections of the Parliament, as well as the new theatre shows. The most vivid allusions are seen in the titles of the culture section and comment pages of the magazine “Ir”. It should be mentioned that Latvian orthography rules require capitalization of all first letters of words in the names of magazines and newspapers. However, the magazine itself does not comply with this rule by using a small initial letter in its name. In the article, the capital letter is used referring to the name of the magazine, following the spelling of the Latvian language. The name of the magazine “Ir” is short, accurate, and affirming. Titles of the articles are used as a technique that interests and attracts the reader. There is a trend that titles in the magazine are purposefully designed to attract the reader’s attention. The title initially has the emotional hue that the author uses to give direction to the reader and show his attitude to the described topic and the analysed problem. A purposefully used allusion in the title encourages the reading of an article published in the magazine. Reading long text requires motivation, so the title serves as an impulse and an incentive for the reader to read the text. The titles serve as an indication to the reader of the subject under consideration. With the title, the author shows his assessment of the issue affected by the article. Dite Liepa writes: “The author of the text goes to the reader in different ways: both as a dispassionate set of facts and as a personality who independently appreciates and describes the situation, demonstrates his position and tries to deviate from the clichés of the press with the individuality and stylistic freedom of language.” (Liepa 2011, 93) The titles in the magazine “Ir” show the tendency that the authors of the magazine are vivid personalities who are interested in readers with their own language-specific style. “The title is a special type of journalistic style text, which briefly and laconically refers to the most important information in the following text. The title is read by every reader of the press edition or Internet news portal first, and then the reader thinks about the information and the need to read this article.” (Kalnača 2011, 116) Titles do not appear as a separate subject in the printed press. The titles in the printed press and the Internet differ in terms of content and structure. “One of the goals for journalists is to attract the attention of newspaper readers, make the newspaper interesting to the possibly wider range of readers. This goal can be achieved by providing news in a comprehensive, binding, intriguing way because today, people want to do and get something new, unusual, different.” (Oļehnoviča 2016, 43) Publishing aims to inform, interest, persuade, and educate. (Lokmane 2005, 32) One of the ways of attracting readers’ attention is the use of allusions. The purpose of the media is to attract a reader, but the reader must be able to perceive and understand the text in the press. The journalist’s main goal is to hand out information in a way that is easily perceived by the reader. Journalism must consider the readers’ understanding of the text. “The understanding of the text forms from the following aspects: language knowledge, situation, linguistic context, the vision of the text’s (creator and) receiver.” (Fāters 2010, 275) So, the reader must be able to capture and understand the information provided in the press. The authors of the magazine “Ir” also count on readers’ understanding of the text while trying to attract their attention. Readers firstly see the title, so it must be intriguing enough for the reader to continue reading the article.