Showing papers in "Applied Linguistics in 2001"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make an attempt to stimulate theoretical thinking and empirical research in the domain of L2 vocabulary learning by introducing a construct of involvement with motivational and cognitive dimensions: Need, Search, and Evaluation.
Abstract: The paper makes an attempt to stimulate theoretical thinking and empirical research in the domain of L2 vocabulary learning by introducing a construct of involvement with motivational and cognitive dimensions: Need, Search, and Evaluation. Retention of hitherto unfamiliar words is claimed to be conditional upon the amount of involvement while processing these words. Involvement is operationalised by tasks designed to vary in the degree of need, search, and evaluation. The paper reviews a number of constructs that are currently debated and investigated in the literature on cognitive and motivational aspects of L2 learning. It also re-examines the existing empirical literature on task effect in the light of the proposed construct of task-induced involvement, stresses the need for deepening and broadening the construct, and discusses possibilities it offers for research on vocabulary learning.
1,074 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the effects of the cognitive complexity of tasks on language production and learner perceptions of task difficulty, and for motivating sequencing decisions in task-based syllabuses, and found that increasing the complexity of a direction-giving map task significantly affects speaker-information-giver production.
Abstract: This paper describes a framework for examining the effects of the cognitive complexity of tasks on language production and learner perceptions of task difficulty, and for motivating sequencing decisions in task-based syllabuses. Results of a study of the relationship between task complexity, difficulty, and production show that increasing the cognitive complexity of a direction-giving map task significantly affects speaker-information-giver production (more lexical variety on a complex version and greater fluency on a simple version) and hearer-information-receiver interaction (more confirmation checks on a complex version). Cognitive complexity also significantly affects learner perceptions of difficulty (e.g. a complex version is rated significantly more stressful than a simple version). Task role significantly affects ratings of difficulty, though task sequencing (simple to complex versus the reverse sequence) does not. However, sequencing does affect the accuracy and fluency of speaker production. Implications of the findings for task-based syllabus design and further research into task complexity, difficulty, and production interactions are discussed.
982 citations
TL;DR: This paper used the reader-in-the-text model to explore a central form of interactional resource: the inclusion in the text of a voice that is intended to be attributable to the reader.
Abstract: The view of written texts as embodying interaction between the writer and reader is now well established, and underlies many aspects that may be focused on in the training of novice writers of academic text. In this paper, I argue that interaction can draw on both interactive and interactional resources: interactive resources help to guide the reader through the text, while interactional resources involve the reader collaboratively in the development of the text. I use the concept of the 'reader-in-the-text' (Thompson and Thetela 1995) to explore a central form of interactional resource: the inclusion in the text of a voice that is intended to be attributable to the reader. I identify a particular set of discourse contexts in which this happens - where the writer brings in the reader's view in order to contradict it - and outline the lexico-grammatical features which signal the other voice in those contexts; and I place these in a broader perspective on written text as a stage-managed form of dialogue. The impetus for the study comes from working with novice writers; and I discuss a number of examples where written drafts were improved by exploiting the interactional resources described, and argue for the value of raising students' awareness of these resources.
446 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that uncertainties surrounding communicative purpose undermine its claimed role as a means of assigning genre membership, and suggest a procedure whereby "communicative purpose" can be retained as a viable and valuable concept.
Abstract: Since the early 1980s, in much of the work within a genre-analytic approach, communicative goal or purpose has been used as an important and often primary criterion for deciding whether a particular discourse falls within a particular generic category (book review, sales letter, cross-examination, etc.). However, as the number of genre studies has increased, and as genre theory has become more complex, the concept of 'communicative purpose' has also become more complex, multiple, variable and generally hard to get at. We believe that one consequence of these developments has gone largely unnoticed: that uncertainties surrounding communicative purpose undermine its claimed role as a means of assigning genre membership. In this paper we discuss this paradox, illustrate the difficulties that can arise, and then suggest a procedure whereby 'communicative purpose' can be retained as a viable and valuable concept.
386 citations
TL;DR: This paper conducted a study to discover the meanings the teachers gave to their classroom work in terms of the particular relationships they identified between practice and principle, and revealed both individual and group diversity in the practices they adopted and in their underlying principles.
Abstract: From observed lessons and subsequent interviews and elicitation procedures, 18 experienced teachers of ESL to adults and children in an Australian context described their classroom practices and explained these in relation to the underlying language teaching principles that they saw as guiding their work. The purpose of the study was to discover the meanings the teachers gave to their classroom work in terms of the particular relationships they identified between practice and principle. Despite being undertaken within a particular teaching situation, the study revealed both individual and group diversity in the practices they adopted and in their underlying principles. In addition, a practice widely adopted across the group appeared to be based upon diverse principles, just as a single principle that was commonly shared among the teachers was associated by them with a wide range of practices. Closer examination of the whole group data, however, revealed a particular pattern in the links that the teachers made between principles and practices. The complex relationships uncovered in the study between thinking and action in the work of experienced language teachers have implications for curriculum innovation, teacher education, and for language classroom research.
381 citations
TL;DR: The authors assess the contributions made by different approaches to interlanguage pragmatics as a subfield of Second Language Acquisition, with a particular view to the roles of attention, awareness, input, and metapragmatic knowledge.
Abstract: L2 learners' development of pragmatic ability has been studied from a variety of theoretical perspectives. This paper seeks to assess the contributions made by different approaches to interlanguage pragmatics as a subfield of Second Language Acquisition. A first approach locates the development of pragmatic ability within a comprehensive model of communicative competence, either examining pragmatics as an autonomous component or in its interaction with grammatical ability. The discussion focuses on the evidence for and against the interdependence of pragmatic and grammatical ability. A second perspective explores pragmatic learning as information processing, with a particular view to the roles of attention, awareness, input, and metapragmatic knowledge. One important question requiring further exploration is whether principles of grammar learning extend to the learning of pragmatics. A third approach investigates pragmatic learning in sociocultural perspective. A key observation has been that pragmatic knowledge emerges from assisted performance, both in student-teacher and peer interaction. The fourth approach is language socialization, investigating how cultural and pragmatic knowledge are jointly acquired through learners' participation in recurring situated activities. In a final section, the paper discusses whether the four perspectives are compatible or mutually exclusive.
285 citations
TL;DR: This article investigated learners' use of high frequency verbs, and in particular use of the verb MAKE, a major representative of this group, and found that learners tend to over- or underuse these verbs.
Abstract: This article investigates EFL learner use of high frequency verbs, and in particular use of the verb MAKE, a major representative of this group. The main questions addressed are: do learners tend to over- or underuse these verbs? Are high-frequency verbs error-prone or safe? What part does transfer play in misuse of these verbs? To answer these questions, authentic learner data has been compared with native speaker data using computerized corpora and linguistic software tools to speed up the initial stage of the linguistic analysis. The article focuses on what proves to be the two most distinctive uses of MAKE, viz. the delexical and causative uses. Results show that EFL learners, even at an advanced proficiency level, have great difficulty with a high frequency verb such as MAKE. They also demonstrate that some of these problems are shared by the two groups of learners under consideration (Swedish- and French-speaking learners) while others seem to be L1-related. In the conclusion, the pedagogical implications of the study are discussed and suggestions made for using concordance-based exercises as a way of raising learners' awareness of the complexity of high-frequency verbs.
264 citations
TL;DR: The authors report on an experiment in which two groups of ESL participants (native Mandarin listeners and a mixed group of speakers of other languages) used a 9-point scale ranging from "too slow" to "too fast" to assess the appropriateness of the speech rate of narratives read by native English speakers and Mandarin learners of English.
Abstract: In this study we report on an experiment in which two groups of ESL participants (native Mandarin listeners and a mixed group of speakers of other languages) used a 9-point scale ranging from 'too slow' to 'too fast' to assess the appropriateness of the speech rate of narratives read by native English speakers and Mandarin learners of English. The narratives were played to listeners at their unmodified rates and at three computer-manipulated rates: all passages were adjusted to the Mean Mandarin rate, the Mean English rate, and a Reduced Rate, 10 per cent slower than the Mean Mandarin rate. In general, the modifications did not result in improvements in the ratings. However, the listeners did tend to assign better ratings to accelerated (compared with natural rate) productions from the slowest Mandarin speakers. Regression analyses projected that the Mandarin-speaking listeners would prefer the same 'ideal' rate for Mandarin-accented speech that they did for native English speech, while the other ESL learners would prefer Mandarin-accented English to be spoken at a rate slower than native English speech but faster than the Mandarin speakers' natural rate. This result may reflect a difference in processing costs for familiar and unfamiliar accents. Taken together with the results of other studies, these findings suggest that the admonition to second language learners to 'slow down' is unlikely to be a broadly beneficial strategy.
133 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzed sixteen full-length language memoirs and seven essays within a theoretical framework, which combines socio-historic, sociocultural, and rhetorical analyses of the narratives in the corpus.
Abstract: The paper argues that while the analysis of cross-cultural lifewriting may provide important insights for the study of second language acquisition and socialization, researchers should approach language learning memoirs as a genre and not simply as ethnographic data, subject to content analysis. Using gender as a case in point, the paper analyses a corpus of sixteen full-length language memoirs and seven essays within a theoretical framework, which combines sociohistoric, sociocultural, and rhetorical analyses of the narratives in the corpus. The analysis of these texts demonstrates that social, cultural, and historic conventions shape stories that are told about language learning. It is argued that treating language memoirs as a genre has a great potential for future studies of second language learning. While this approach prevents the researchers from using the narratives simplistically as an objective 'source of ethnographic data', it allows for a complex, theoretically and sociohistorically informed, investigation of social contexts of language learning and of individual learners' trajectories, as well as an insight into which learners' stories are not yet being told.
129 citations
TL;DR: Widdowson as discussed by the authors criticizes two approaches to language description - corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis - which both concentrate on'real' (i attested) language, and focuses on work which combines these two approaches by attempting to use corpus data in order to remedy deficits in critical discourse analyses.
Abstract: Widdowson (2000) criticizes two approaches to language description - corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis - which both concentrate on 'real' (ie attested) language His main criticism focuses on work which combines these two approaches by attempting to use corpus data in order to remedy deficits in critical discourse analysis He raises important points about text interpretation, and therefore about the relation between corpus linguistics and social theory However, his argument is flawed by its misrepresentation of the data, methods and central concepts of corpus linguistics In particular, he ignores the logic involved in comparative analyses of variable and quantitative corpus data
117 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of the poetry-reading task for second language learning was evaluated and the most basic contribution of this study is the development of a coding system that describes the types of responses elicited during poetry reading.
Abstract: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the role of the poetry-reading task for second language learning. The study followed Skehan's (1998) methodological approach to task choice and theoretical position on the importance of focus-on-form for language learning. The paper first describes the way poetry is read and understood by advanced second language learners and then considers the interaction between this description and the language learning process. The research methodology chosen was qualitative and consisted of an in-depth analysis of the protocols of ten dyads of advanced English language learners reading a poem from a popular song. The most basic contribution of this study is the development of a coding system that describes the types of responses elicited during poetry reading. Poetry reading is described as a close reading, meaning construction task that involves high levels of close consideration, analysis and elaboration of textual meanings. This coding system reveals how non-native readers of poetry notice form and consider the gap between input and output, thus extending their understanding of the potential uses and meanings of an existing linguistic structure. In addition, it shows how non-native readers view the distance between the poem's content and their own knowledge of the target culture and thus find their cultural awareness enhanced.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a study which relates different communication strategy preferences to the holistic/analytic cognitive style dimension and find that individual differences in patterns of communication strategy usage can be attributed, at least in part, to cognitive style.
Abstract: Researchers into the use of communication strategies by second language learners are increasingly interested in relating their taxonomies to psychological processes. This article describes a study which does this by relating different communication strategy preferences to the holistic/analytic cognitive style dimension. Holistic students were found to use more communication strategies that were based on comparison, and analytic students were found to use more strategies that involved focusing on individual features of the target item. The statistical significance of these findings suggests that individual differences in patterns of communication strategy usage can be attributed, at least in part, to cognitive style.
TL;DR: This article investigated the acquisition of English syllable codas' by speakers of Mandarin Chinese and found that these learners employ different production strategies based on the length of the coda, with feature change favored for single codas, epenthesis for two-member codas and absence for three-members codas.
Abstract: This study investigates the acquisition of English syllable codas' by speakers of Mandarin Chinese. Three participants' naturalistic production of syllable codas were studied and analyzed through VARBRUL and descriptive statistics to determine accuracy orders and production modifications of codas by length (single, double, and triple codas) at two data collection times with a time span of six months. Data were categorized as accurately produced, produced with modifications (epenthesis or feature change), or absent, which meant that one or more of the consonants in the coda were not produced. Analysis of the codas also focused on which linguistic constraints operated on development of syllable codas, and how these linguistic constraints affected production modifications by length. Results indicate that these learners of English employ different production strategies based on the length of the coda, with feature change favoured for single codas, epenthesis for two-member codas, and absence for three-member codas. These modifications can be explained by several linguistic constraints, including L1 transfer, markedness, and sonority, as well as by natural phonological processes, the latter of which appear especially salient if the coda segments have been acquired. These findings illustrate that coda modification is reflective of acquisition processes, and requires further research .
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a more complex scenario involving disciplinary innovation through the introduction of a new genre and the experiences of graduates trained in the use of this genre as they ventured into the workplace.
Abstract: Although studies focusing on new employees' ability to appropriate work-related genres have tended to feature workplaces where the genres in use are well-established, the present study presents a more complex scenario involving disciplinary innovation through the introduction of a new genre and the experiences of graduates trained in the use of this genre as they ventured into the workplace. Specifically, the study involves francophone nurses, who were trained to write nursing care plans during their studies in francophone universities in the province of Quebec (Canada) and were then employed to work in an English-medium hospital in Montreal. Data for the study, which involved 11 nurses, were gathered using qualitative research procedures, including interviews, observation on the units, and the collection of documents, as well as a formal task. In contrast to previous studies, the care plans produced by the new nurses at the English hospital did not over time increasingly reflect criteria for 'good' care plan writing as identified by a more experienced employee. Drawing on Russell's (1997) synthesis of Engestrom's systems version of activity theory and genre theory, the study suggests how the divergences which emerged at the rhetorical level were related to differences in the appropriation of motive. The various positionings within discourse were further discussed in terms of how macro-level events mediate locally produced, micro-level events.
TL;DR: The authors assesses, and contests, the long tradition of attacks on the use of invented sentences in language teaching and argues that, while invented sentences have often been uninspiring in practice, there are are no valid reasons of principle against their use.
Abstract: This paper assesses, and contests, the long tradition of attacks on the use of invented sentences in language teaching. It seeks to separate arguments against them which rely on parody and ridicule, from more reasoned assertions. Four main serious arguments are identified: invented sentences are ‘meaningless’; they are not discourse; they are not ‘real’; and they are ‘bad’ for learners. Each of these claims is discussed in turn, and countered. It is argued that, while invented sentences have often been uninspiring in practice, there are are no valid reasons of principle against their use. On the contrary, sentences invented by a teacher for a specific context may have advantages which are less easily attained by the use of attested examples: as a means of making a lesson more personal and spontaneous; as illustration of a linguistic item; as a means of promoting noticing; and as mnemonics. The conclusion of the argument is that both invented and attested examples have a role to play in language teaching, and that the dogmatic outlawing of the former is misguided.
TL;DR: The authors discusses revisions to the New South Wales Police Code of Practice designed to encourage interpreter use, improve interviews, and enhance the intelligibility of scripted 'cautions' by framing these issues in terms of a model of applied linguistics.
Abstract: Poor communication between police and the public (particularly people who lack a full language proficiency) runs the risk of injustice and of inefficiencies in police procedures. This paper discusses revisions to the New South Wales Police Code of Practice designed to encourage interpreter use, improve interviews, and enhance the intelligibility of scripted 'cautions'. Each of these issues is framed in terms of a model of applied linguistics in which an issue or problem is defined (reflection), a solution is proposed and implemented (action), and the success of the solution is examined (evaluation). The changes to the Code of Practice have been implemented.
TL;DR: The authors presented a selective examination of the entries on the preposition on in five advanced learners' dictionaries published in the UK and concluded that all the entries show potential to obscure or conceal important information about the meaning of the headword.
Abstract: This paper presents a selective examination of the entries on the preposition on in five advanced learners' dictionaries published in the UK. The principal concern is the preposition on as a signifier of contact with a surface-especially an upper surface. The expressions Located Object (LO) and Landmark are glossed in accordance with their use in Cognitive Linguistics - e.g. the cat LO on the mat LANDMARK . With respect to 'contact' on, key functional roles of LOs and Landmarks in metaphorical expressions are informally characterized in terms of Cognitive Linguistics metaphor theory. There follows an analysis of the entries in light of these viewpoints. The general conclusion is that all the entries show potential to obscure or conceal important information about the meaning of the headword. Most significantly, (1) sense information is sometimes vague or misleading; (2) sense information is often mismatched to examples; (3) coverage of similar uses is often dispersed throughout an entry; and (4) paradigmatic semantic contrasts are ignored. The suggestions made for the improvement of entries for on may be relevant to entries on spatial prepositions generally.
TL;DR: The discourse of a recent position paper by H.G. Widdowson is subjected to analysis by three methods criticised in that very paper as mentioned in this paper, and the paper is converted into a miniature data corpus and analysed with the concepts of systemic functional linguistics, corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis.
Abstract: The discourse of a recent position paper by H.G. Widdowson is subjected to analysis by three methods criticised in that very paper. The paper was converted into a miniature data corpus and analysed with the concepts of systemic functional linguistics, corpus linguistics, and critical discourse analysis. These methods may well harbour a potential for more rigorous and disciplined intellectual debate thematising the rhetorical strategies that serve to construct or deconstruct academic ideas and positions.
TL;DR: In this paper, a methode d'analyse critique du discours utilisee par Beaugrande and appliquée a un precedant article de l'A. (Applied Linguistics 21/1).
Abstract: L'A. s'insurge contre une methode d'analyse critique du discours utilisee par Beaugrande et appliquee a un precedant article de l'A. (Applied Linguistics 21/1). Le programme de Beaugrande (WordPilot) consiste a analyser le texte par extraction d'un certain nombre de mots-clefs en calculant le nombre de leurs occurrences. Plus fondamentalement, l'A. rejette ici le type de procedures employees dans le cadre de l'analyse critique du discours
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