Showing papers in "Language Learning in 1979"

Language transfer and universal grammatical relations

Abstract: It is generally accepted by both theoreticians and language teachers that when attempting to communicate in a second language, learners often “transfer” elements of their native language onto the speech patterns of the target language. Despite the wide recognition of this phenomenon and the important role it has had in language learning and pedagogical search, true nature has not been adequately established. In owner to better determine the nature of language transfer, a study investigating the acquisition of relative clauses by adult second language learners was conducted. The purposes of this study were to determine what language transfer consists of, what language phenomena are and are not transferred, what constitutes evidence for the existence of transfer and what the role in language transfer of language universals is. It was found that an adequate description of language transfer cannot be given without a consideration of target language facts and language universals. On the basis of these results a model of language transfer is proposed that predicts under which conditions transfer is most likely to occur. The model suggested herein includes notions of language universals, language distance and surface language phenomena.

Reading in spanish and english: evidence from adult esl students

Abstract: The research discussed here attempted to determine if (a) pycholing-uistics could explain the reading behaviors of adult Spanish speakers reading in Spanish and in English, and (b) if theme readers transferred their skills to English. The results of two studies are presented. In the first study, twenty-one adult Spanish-speaking ESL students took cloze tests in Spanish and in English. In the second study, the Spanish and English reading performances of a good L1 reader and a poor L1 reader were analyzed according to established oral miscue procedures. The results of these studies confirm the psycholinguistic perspective of reading for Spanish speakers reading in Spanish. However, it appears that language competence exerta a powerful effect on the reader, thereby reducing the good reader's advantage over the poor reader when their performances in English are compared. It is concluded that a language competence ceiling effectively prohibits the complete transfer of L1 reading skills to the second language. It is suggested that limited command of the language produces a “short circuit” effect on good readers, forcing them to revert to “poor reader strategies.” Theoretical, pedagogical and methodological implications are discussed.

Interlanguage as chameleon1

Abstract: The clam is made that Labov's “Observor's Paradox” and the fire methodological axioms leading to this paradox apply to inter language Thus, we may mew interlanguage as a continuum of styles, which is defined by the amount of attention paid to speech; the most systematic second-language learner speech is produced when the learner is paying the least attention to speech. Yet, when we do research, the presence of the researcher and the tasks presented to the learner, lead our subjects to pay attention to their speech. Therefore, we cannot claim that research can ever observe the most truly systematic form of a learner's interlanguage—unattended or “unmonitored” speech. The methodological implications of the claim are explored, and recommendations for research are made.

Explicit and implicit judgements of l2 grammaticality

Abstract: The present study examines the differential use of formal explicit knowledge and intuitive implicit knowledge in a second-language grammatically judgement task. The hypothesis is that a set of conditions can be established which serve to identify the occasions in which each of these specialized types of knowledge will be used. These conditions are described as task-related factors (amount of detail required, response time allotted, specific structure tested) and learner-related factors (level of study in the L2, knowledge of other languages). The subjects for the study were 317 English-speaking high school students and adults learning. French as a second language French sentences were presented on tape and decisions about the grammatically of each were recorded by subjects on coding sheets. The results indicated that explicit knowledge intervenes for incorrect sentences requiring detailed responses and that knowledge of another language is beneficial for certain conditions. These findings lead to a discussion of the relationship between implicit and explicit linguistic knowledge in second language proficiency.

Intensive second language study in a bicultural milieu: an investigation of attitudes, motivation and language proficiency1

Abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the relation of a series of attitudinal/motivational variables to achievement in French of samples of Canadian and American adult students in an intensive French language program, and to assess the effects of the program on attitudes, motivation, and French proficiency. The results demonstrated an association between an attitudinal/motivational factor, referred to as an integrative motive, and French oral proficiency and reported satisfaction with the program for the sample of 89 Canadian students, but not for the 65 Americans, even though an integrative motive factor was obtained with both samples. Furthermore, both samples evidenced decreases in anxiety and attitudes toward bilingualism, and increases in French proficiency as a result of the program, while the American sample also demonstrated a decreased appreciation of the French Canadian community, and an increased desire to learn French. The results were interpreted as reflecting the role played by attitudes in the language learning situation, but attention was directed toward the significant influence the sociocultural background of the student can have on the nature of this role.

Towards a theory of language learning ability

Abstract: In this paper, the problem of foreign or second language learning ability in adults is examined with special attention to the “critical period” hypothesis. Although data from several studies are reviewed, discussion centers around the appropriateness of traditional research methodology in the area. The author begins with a summary of the four most frequently discussed positions on foreign or second language aptitude as they appear in the literature. He then turns to methodological issues where he argues for a shift in orientation from macrocorrelational studies to more carefully controlled micro research which embodies the developmental null hypothesis. In the third portion of the paper, he discusses three studies he has conducted on second language learning ability in adults. The author concludes by enumerating the issues he views most important for future research. He reaffirms his claim that the optimal way to study the nature of language learning ability is to focus narrowly upon specific problems in idealized contexts where extralinguistic variables are reduced to a minimum in tightly controlled designs.

The acquisition of complex english structures by adult native speakers of arabic and hebrew

Abstract: This investigation examined the acquisition of five complex English syntactic structures by Egyptian and Israeli adult learners at different levels of proficiency. Carol Chomsky's methodology, as adapted by d'anglejan and Tucker, served to assess comprehension of these structures. The responses of the Egyptians and Israelis, which were similar to one another as well as to those of the French Canadians previously studied by d'anglejan and Tucker, suggest that first and second language learners of English encounter some of the same difficulties. Their responses also suggest that the creative construction hypothesis can be applied to second as well as to first language acquisition.

The role of extrinsic feedback in interlanguage fossilization

Abstract: This paper, a discussion of the model presented in Vigil and Otler (1976), relates to one parameter of “fossilization” in inter-language (IL) learning: the role of “extrinsic feedback.” The notion of “extrinsic factors” in second language acquisition is defined, and permanent fossilization is carefully distinguished from temporary stabilization of IL forms and systems. Six tentative conclusions about the role of extrinsic feedback in IL fossilization are presented and discussed in light of the hypotheses made by Vigil and Oller.

Strategies for Requesting in Spanish and English: Structural Similarities and Pragmatic Differences.

Abstract: This paper reports on recent work in the acquisition of pragmatic competence in a second language. It centers on the speech act of requesting and the semantic strategies for conveying that speech act. First, a contrastive analysis of Spanish and English strategies is undertaken to show that basically the same strategies are available in both languages. The paper goes on to describe an experiment in which native speakers of each language were asked to judge the relative politeness of each strategy. It concludes with an examination of the frequency of use of the various strategies for conveying requests among a population of bilingual children. The findings show that, while basically the Same request strategies are available to speakers of Spanish and English, the use of those strategies differs markedly. More polite strategies are employed in speaking Spanish, while more neutral strategies are used in English.

Personality and language behavior: a restatement1

Abstract: This restatement of the theoretical framework underlying the research program of the University of Michigan Personality and Language Behavior Research Group addresses two theoretical issues that are at present particularly relevant to a theory of second language acquisition: the statue of constructs in the theory that have been transported or transposed from other fields, and the process (and criteria) of theory validation. Defining and assessing the value of “borrowed” constructs is of course serious concern of any interdisciplinary, applied science. Once that has been accomplished to satisfaction, however, the even more imposing task remains of testing the fit of those constructs within the larger context, in this case, a general theory of second language acquisition. Using as an example the development of the language ego paradigm (Guiora 1972). we first assess the moorings of its theoretical constructs in psychology and linguistics. We then examine the nature of the empirical evidence and argumentation that bears on its validity.

A Poetics of Second-Language Acquisition.

Abstract: Today there are many approaches to the study of second-language acquisition (SLA), but the variety is superficial and misleading, for it disguises an underlying research ideal the controlled experiment. We can, in other words, scientifically “know” facts about SLA only after a controlled experiment replicates and cross validates, these facts. This ideal method is part of the nomothetic tradition of science, tradition which subordinates and ultimately excludes a hermeneutic mode of inquiry. But these two approaches to science need not conflict. For our SLA research I propose this change: that we alternate between two equal kinds of research. A poetics of SLA teaches us that the thing observed—language—is also the motive inferred—why we speak. Where a nomothetic experimental method gets at the language object, another equally good method of research, a hermeneutic diary study for example, reveals the biases of our work. We should promote in our SLA research this “bilingual attitude.”

Rhetorical and communicative styles in the new varieties of english

Abstract: New varieties of English have developed in various parts of the world in recent years in countries where English functions as a second. rather than a foreign language. The processes by which distinctive varieties of English develop in such settings are described. The functional and linguistic characteristics of the processes of nativization and indigenization are discussed with reference to several nativized varieties of English. A distinction is made between two contrasting norms for speech events in these varieties of English, rhetorical and communicative norms Rhetorical norms are repertoires of English used for speech events which have the functional status of Public, Formal, High. Distant, Impersonal, etc., Communicative norms are speech repertoires used for speech events which have the contrasting functional status of Private, Informal, Low, Intimate etc., Five different linguistic processes commonly used to mark a shift from rhetorical to communicative norm in several new varieties of English are discussed in terms of the employment of variable linguistic rules. Acquisition of rhetorical norms is related to socialization. Implications are discussed for language teaching and for creative literary writing in, English.

Strategies, language transfer and the simulation of the second language learner's mental operations1

Abstract: The focus of this paper is on language transfer and a particular method of investigating it. Attempts to analyze the decision procedures underlying a learner's (or second language user's) attempts to structure utterances in a given target language in the light of some recent hypotheses about transfer should highlight the importance of the phenomenon and emphasise the dubiousness of a fairly standard view of transfer as a relatively simple mechanical procedure which the learner falls back on when more‘creative’ strategies fail.

A RESPONSE TO McLAUGWLIN, “THE MONITOR MODEL: SOME METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS”1

Abstract: McLaughlin (1978) examines the Monitor Model and presents “a methodological critique of the research on which the Model is based” (p. 309). This paper is a response to that critique, and discusses various misrepresentations and misinterpretations of the work on Monitor Theory.

Compartmentalized and integrated control: an assessment of some evidence for two kinds of competence and implications for the classroom1

Abstract: This paper provides some empirical support for the hypothesis that there are two types of language control: compartmentalized control in which performance on discrete point tests or achievement tests is relatively unrelated to performance on communication tests and intergrated control in which the two types of performance are more highly related. Data is presented from three studies: one, a study of individual differences; the other two, controlled experiments in foreign language instruction. The evidence tends, in general, to support the posited distinction, and three factors are suggested as accounting for the two types of competence. Next, the paper considers the hypothesis that integration indicates acquisition in Monitor Theory terms, and the data is interpreted in terms of this hypothesis. Finally, a method of teaching for integration is suggested which incorporates the three factors identified in the empirical studies.

Systematicity and variation in the nonynative child's acquisition of conversational skills1

Abstract: This research examines the development of one conversational subsystem. turn-allocatmn, in children acquiring English as a second language The purpose of the study was two-fold to describe the devices used for turn-allocation and to explore the role of prior experfence with language in learning a second language under naturalistic conditions Three female children, native speakers of Japanese!, Fimeh and Swsa German respectively; served as subjects for this &month lonstudinal study T6e children were found to be similar in &era1 ways including the presence of a limited number of turn-allocation devices from the start and a general increa significant differences between them seemed due to their identifying second language properties that were congruent with features of their respective native languages. The child's use of syntactic and prosodic contrasts from herefirst language in learning a second languege IS discud the use of such devices over the time period examined Some A:

Expanding schumann's pidginization hypothesis1

Abstract: Schumann (1978b), in addressing criticism of his Pidginization Hypothesis for second language acquisition, elaborates further on the relationship between pidginization-creoluation-decreolization and second language acquisition and revises and improves on his model. I propose a further revision and expansion of Schumann's model that distinguishes socio-cultural aspects of the pidginization cycle from the acquisitional processes of pidgmization, creolization and decrolization and that relates a wider range of language acquisition phenomena to each other. This expanded version of Schumann's model puts creolization back into the model and also adds depidgnization and first language acquisition to it Pidginization/depidginization, creolization/decreolization and first and second language acquisition are herein considered related acquisitional phenomena which develop under different circumstances as specific instances of the more general co-occuring but opposing processes of nativization and denativization.

The acquisition and maintenance of language by minority children1

Abstract: Ninety-eight children whose first language is Hawaii Creole English (HCE) were examined over a period of time for their proficiency in both HCE and English, the medium of instruction in the Hawaii public school system. The hypothesis that the children could acquire English without a formal language program, and that they would maintain their first language was confirmed. For these kindergarten and first-grade children, learning the dominant variety of the language in a bicultural/bidialectal environment did not appear to affect adversely performance in their first language.

The plattsburgh french language immersion ppogram: its influence on intelligence and self‐esteem

Abstract: This study reports the effects of one year's attendance in a French Language Immersion program (FLIP) on children's verbal and performance sections of the Wechsler. Intelligence Scale for Children and the self-esteem, measured by the Purdue Self Concept Scale (PSCS). Ten female and eight male 6-year-olds attended the FLIP program, and eight female and five male 6-year-olds constituted an English Control group who attended a regular classroom. Repeated measures analyses of covariance showed that differences between the FLIP and English Control pup at the end of the school year were not significant on Verbal IQ or PSCS. Significant differences were found between groups on overall Performance IQ, Picture Arrangement, and Object Assembly.

Linguistic complexity and the teaching of english structure

Abstract: Two linguistic considerations essential for the successful teaching of English grammatical structure to students of English as a Second Language are noted. The first of these – that grammatical instruction given to ESL students must be linguistically complete – is taken as a fact which is universally recognized and 7 accepted by ESL structure teachers. The second – that linguistic complexity commonly varies in different manifestations of a given grammatical structure and that such varying complexity must be purposefully controlled and manipulated by the teacher of English structure – provides the focus for the present discussion. This viewpoint concerning the role of linguistic complexity in the teaching of English structure is introduced using as an example the English present continuous verb structure. On the basis of this example, common shortcomings found in the instructional programs of those structure teachers who fail to take considerations of linguistic complexity into account in their instruction are then cited. Two further examples - one concerning the linguistic complexity of negation as it interacts with the some/any distinction in English, and one concerning the linguistic complexity found in English embedded sentences - are introduced to provide additional support for the central theme of the paper: that the conscious manipulation of parameters of linguistic complexity is required for the successful teaching of English grammatical structure.

The effects of labeling and perceptual training on perception and discrimination learning in young children1

Abstract: Ninety-six seven- and nine-year-olds were tested under four experimental conditions. A “distinctive label” group associated four different gender-cued labels with four infants’ faces. An “equivalent label” group associated only two of these labels. There were also two no-label groups: “differential perception” and “perception”. In the former, perceptual cues were provided; no cues were provided in the latter. The main measures were perception and discrimination learning tests. Nine-year-olds were not affected by the labels, seven-year-olds were, but more significantly during initial trials. A proposed explanation is that perception is affected by labels, perceptual learning and selective attention. These effects are determined developmentally. That is, as age increases the effects of verbal cues diminish and those of perceptual cues increase. The findings are related to cross-cultural data, indicating that Israeli toddlers classify according to gender earlier than their American counterparts. This is probably because Hebrew more than English contains distinctive linguistic cues related to gender.