Showing papers in "Language Learning in 2013"
TL;DR: This article investigated whether learner characteristics are related to sensory and imagery aspects with indices of the strength of the learners' future L2 self-guides (ideal and ought-to L2 selves) and how these variables are linked to learning achievement in two target languages, English and Mandarin, assessed both by self-report and objective measures.
Abstract: Recent theorizing on second language (L2) motivation has proposed viewing motivation as a function of the language learners’ vision of their desired future language selves. This would suggest that the intensity of motivation is partly dependent on the learners’ capability to generate mental imagery. In order to test this hypothesis, this study investigates whether learner characteristics are related to sensory and imagery aspects with indices of the strength of the learners’ future L2 self-guides (ideal and ought-to L2 selves) and how these variables are linked to learning achievement in two target languages, English and Mandarin, assessed both by self-report and objective measures. One hundred seventy-two Year 8 Chinese students (ages 13–15) completed a questionnaire survey, and the results reveal several significant associations between the future self-guides and intended effort and actual grades, including a consistently positive relationship between the ideal self and the criterion measures. The findings also confirm the multisensory dimension of future self-guides, suggesting the importance of a broad imagery capacity (including both visual and auditory components) in the development of individuals’ future self-identities. Finally, the ideal-self images associated with different languages were shown to form distinct L2-specific visions, which has various implications for future research with regard to the potential positive or negative interaction of these self images.
336 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the effects of repetition on the learning of collocations and found that collocations can be learned incidentally through reading while listening to a graded reader and that the number of encounters has a positive effect on learning.
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of repetition on the learning of collocation. Taiwanese university students learning English as a foreign language simultaneously read and listened to one of four versions of a modified graded reader that included different numbers of encounters (1, 5, 10, and 15 encounters) with a set of 18 target collocations. A surprise vocabulary test that was made up of four tests measuring receptive and productive knowledge of the form of the target collocations and receptive and productive knowledge of the form and meaning of these collocations was administered after the treatments. The results showed that (a) collocations can be learned incidentally through reading while listening to a graded reader and (b) the number of encounters has a positive effect on learning. If learners encounter collocations 15 times within a graded reader, sizeable learning gains may occur.
247 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess second language acquisition's disciplinary progress over the last 15 years and reflect on transdisciplinary relevance as the field has completed 40 years of existence and moves forward into the 21st century.
Abstract: The goals of this article are to appraise second language acquisition's (SLA) disciplinary progress over the last 15 years and to reflect on transdisciplinary relevance as the field has completed 40 years of existence and moves forward into the 21st century. I first identify four trends that demonstrate vibrant disciplinary progress in SLA. I then turn to the notion of transdisciplinarity, or the proclivity to pursue and generate SLA knowledge that can be of use outside the confines of the field and contribute to overall knowledge about the human capacity for language. I propose an understanding of transdisciplinary relevance for SLA that results from the ability: (a) to place one's field in a wider landscape of disciplines that share an overarching common goal and (b) to develop critical awareness of one's disciplinary framings of object of inquiry and goals and others’ likely reception of them. Finally, I argue that it is by reframing SLA as the study of late bi/multilingualism that the remarkable progress witnessed in the last 15 years will help the field reach new levels of transdisciplinary relevance as a contributor to the study of the ontogeny of human language and a source of knowledge in support of language education in the 21st century.
226 citations
TL;DR: The authors consider five areas of research that are of interest in both fields and have the potential to make significant contributions to second language pragmatics research, including the design and evaluation of pragmatic tasks as simulations of conversation, task design for the study of implicit and explicit knowledge; the measurement of pragmatic development; the interface of the development of grammar and lexicon with pragmatic concepts; and the effect of environment on pragmatic development.
Abstract: This article positions research on the acquisition of pragmatics as an inquiry in the greater field of second language acquisition research. Viewing pragmatics from this intersection, I consider five areas of research that are of interest in both fields and have the potential to make significant contributions to second language pragmatics research. They are: the design and evaluation of pragmatics tasks as simulations of conversation; task design for the study of implicit and explicit knowledge; the measurement of pragmatic development; the interface of the development of grammar and lexicon with pragmatics; and the effect of environment on pragmatic development.
213 citations
TL;DR: This article reviewed three types of measures which have been widely used in psychological research to assess the conscious or unconscious status of knowledge: retrospective verbal reports, direct and indirect tests, and subjective measures.
Abstract: This article reviews three types of measures which have been widely used in psychological research to assess the conscious or unconscious status of knowledge: retrospective verbal reports, direct and indirect tests, and subjective measures. The goal is to make these techniques available to a wide audience of second language (L2) researchers and to offer suggestions for their sound use in order to promote the study of implicit L2 learning. Each section begins with a brief definition of what it means to have acquired unconscious (implicit) knowledge according to the measure in question. This is followed by a description of representative studies that illustrate how the technique has been used and by a discussion of its limitations. Each section concludes with specific guidelines on how to apply the respective measure to the investigation of implicit and explicit L2 learning.
201 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a design-based research in U.S. schools with a majority of English language learners, where teachers were supported in using Systemic Functional Linguistics metalanguage in the context of curricular activities, illustrates how a meaningful metalanguage can support learners in accomplishing challenging tasks in the primary school curriculum at the same time that it promotes the kind of focused consciousness-raising and explicit talk about language that has been shown to facilitate L2 development.
Abstract: Recent currents in language learning research highlight the social and emergent aspects of second language (L2) development and recognize that learners need opportunities for interaction in meaningful contexts supported by explicit attention to language itself. Theseperspectivessuggestnewwaysofconceptualizingthechallengesfacedbychildren learning L2s as they learn school subjects. This article reports on design-based research in U.S. schools with a majority of English language learners, where teachers were supported in using Systemic Functional Linguistics metalanguage in the context of curricular activities. This work illustrates how a meaningful metalanguage can support L2 learners in accomplishing challenging tasks in the primary school curriculum at the same time that it promotes the kind of focused consciousness-raising and explicit talk about language that has been shown to facilitate L2 development. Examples from classroom research exemplify how metalanguage supports the situated and contextual language learning that current research in education and L2 acquisition calls for, while also supporting disciplinary goals and activities in English language arts.
191 citations
TL;DR: This article examined potential cognitive predictors of successful learning to advanced proficiency levels in adult second language (L2) learners and found that high-level attainment was related to working memory (including phonological short-term memory and task set switching), associative learning, and implicit learning.
Abstract: Few adult second language (L2) learners successfully attain high-level proficiency. Although decades of research on beginning to intermediate stages of L2 learning have identified a number of predictors of the rate of acquisition, little research has examined factors relevant to predicting very high levels of L2 proficiency. The current study, conducted in the United States, was designed to examine potential cognitive predictors of successful learning to advanced proficiency levels. Participants were adults with varying degrees of success in L2 learning, including a critical group with high proficiency as indicated by standardized language proficiency tests and on-the-job language use. Results from a series of group discrimination analyses indicate that high-level attainment was related to working memory (including phonological short-term memory and task set switching), associative learning, and implicit learning. We consider the implications for the construct of high-level language aptitude and identify future directions for aptitude research.
182 citations
TL;DR: This paper evaluated comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness in first-language learners of English as a second language (L1) Mandarin and Slavic language speakers, and found that Mandarin learners showed no change over time on any of the dimensions.
Abstract: Researching the longitudinal development of second language (L2) learners is essential to understanding influences on their success. This 7-year study of oral skills in adult immigrant learners of English as a second language evaluated comprehensibility, fluency, and accentedness in first-language (L1) Mandarin and Slavic language speakers. The primary data were judgments at three times from two sets of listeners: native monolingual speakers of English and highly proficient English L2 speakers. The Mandarin L1 speakers showed no change over time on any of the dimensions, while the Slavic language L1 speakers improved significantly in comprehensibility and fluency. Improvement in accent was limited to the first 2 years in the Slavic language group. These outcomes appear to be due to the complex interplay of L1, age, the depth and breadth of learners’ conversations in English, and their willingness to communicate.
171 citations
TL;DR: The authors employed synthetic and meta-analytic techniques to review the literature on the Cognition Hypothesis, which predicts that increasing task complexity influences the quality of second language production, and found small positive effects for accuracy and small negative effects for fluency.
Abstract: This study employed synthetic and meta-analytic techniques to review the literature on the Cognition Hypothesis, which predicts that increasing task complexity influences the quality of second language production. Based on 8 inclusion criteria, 17 published studies were synthesized according to key features. A subset of these studies (k = 9) was also meta-analyzed to investigate the overall effects of raising resource-directing task demands on learner output during monologic tasks. The synthesis of 17 primary studies revealed an assortment of treatments and measures. Among the 9 comparable studies, the meta-analysis uncovered small positive effects for accuracy and small negative effects for fluency. This lends support to the Cognition Hypothesis; however, the present study also disconfirms predictions regarding syntactic complexity. Implications for research and pedagogy are discussed.
151 citations
TL;DR: The authors used a quasi-experimental design to assess the effects of motivational strategies used by Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers (N = 14) on Saudi EFL learners' self-reported learning motivation.
Abstract: While consensus exists about the critical role of learners’ motivation in second language acquisition, controlled investigations of the effects of teachers’ motivational strategies are limited. The research reported here used a quasi-experimental design to assess the effects of motivational strategies used by Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers (N = 14) on Saudi EFL learners’ (N = 296) self-reported learning motivation. The experimental treatment involved class-time exposure to 10 preselected motivational strategies over an 8-week period; the control group received traditional teaching methods. Multivariate analyses revealed a significant rise in learner motivation over time exclusively or predominantly among experimental vs. control learners, which held robust even when controlling for pretreatment group differences. These results provide compelling evidence that teachers’ motivational behaviors cause enhanced motivation in second language learners.
147 citations
TL;DR: The effect of age of acquisition on ultimate attainment in second language learning has been a controversial topic for years as mentioned in this paper, and two main reasons why these issues are so controversial are conceptual misunderstandings and methodological difficulties.
Abstract: The effect of age of acquisition on ultimate attainment in second language learning has been a controversial topic for years. After providing a very brief overview of the ideas that are at the core of the controversy, I discuss the two main reasons why these issues are so controversial: conceptual misunderstandings and methodological difficulties. The main part of the article then makes suggestions for improvement in subject selection, data collection, and instrumentation, in the hope that both sides of the debate will be able to agree on them. More sophisticated research in this area is of the utmost importance given how crucial understanding age effects is for educational policy and curriculum design. Where foreign language learning rather than second language learning is concerned, directly relevant research, carried out with classroom foreign language learners, is even more sorely needed.
TL;DR: This article examined whether sequence learning ability (one aspect of a cognitive aptitude hypothesized to be relevant for implicit language learning and processing) is involved in early and late second language learners' morphosyntactic attainment, as measured by two types of structures and tasks.
Abstract: Language aptitude has been hypothesized as a factor that can compensate for postcritical period effects in language learning capacity. However, previous research has primarily focused on instructed contexts and rarely on acquisition-rich learning environments where there is a potential for massive amounts of input. In addition, the studies conducted to date have investigated cognitive aptitudes weighted heavily in favor of explicit processes (e.g., language analysis) and have overlooked potential individual differences in implicit cognitive processes. This study examines whether sequence learning ability (one aspect of a cognitive aptitude hypothesized to be relevant for implicit language learning and processing) is involved in early and late second language learners’ morphosyntactic attainment, as measured by two types of structures and tasks. Results revealed that sequence learning ability moderated scores on structures involving grammatical agreement relations in both early and late second language learners.
TL;DR: This article explored the relationship between implicit and explicit lexical knowledge (of collocations) of collocations and found significant long-term gains in explicit form recall and recognition both for natives and non-natives.
Abstract: To date, there has been little empirical research exploring the relationship between implicit and explicit lexical knowledge (of collocations). As a first step in addressing this gap, two laboratory experiments were conducted that evaluate different conditions (enriched, enhanced, and decontextualized) under which both adult native speakers (Experiment 1) and advanced nonnative speakers of English (Experiment 2) acquire collocations. Three different tests of collocational knowledge were used to assess gains after treatment: two traditional explicit tests (form recall and form recognition) and an innovative implicit test (priming). Results from mixed-effects modeling showed that all conditions led to significant long-term gains in explicit form recall and recognition both for natives and nonnatives, while no condition facilitated implicit collocational priming effects either for natives or nonnatives.
TL;DR: The authors trace the evolution of research on the transfer of learning, in general, and on language learning in particular, and propose a different view of learning transfer, rather than learners being seen to export what they have learned from one situation to the next, it is proposed that learners transform their learning.
Abstract: Instruction is motivated by the assumption that students can transfer their learning, or apply what they have learned in school to another setting. A common problem arises when the expected transfer does not take place, what has been referred to as the inert knowledge problem. More than an academic inconvenience, the failure to transfer is a major problem, exacting individual and social costs. In this article, I trace the evolution of research on the transfer of learning, in general, and on language learning, in particular. Then, a different view of learning transfer is advanced. Rather than learners being seen to “export” what they have learned from one situation to the next, it is proposed that learners transform their learning. The article concludes by offering some suggestions for how to mitigate the inert knowledge problem from this perspective.
TL;DR: The range, variety, or diversity of words found in learners' language use is believed to reflect the complexity of their vocabulary knowledge as well as the level of their language proficiency as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The range, variety, or diversity of words found in learners’ language use is believed to reflect the complexity of their vocabulary knowledge as well as the level of their language proficiency. Many indices of lexical diversity have been proposed, most of which involve statistical relationships between types and tokens, and which ultimately reflect the rate of word repetition. These indices have generally been validated in accordance with how well they overcome sample-size effects and/or how well they predict language knowledge or behavior, rather than in accordance with how well they actually measure the construct of lexical diversity. In this article, I review developments that have taken place in lexical diversity research, and also describe obstacles that have prevented it from advancing further. I compare these developments with parallel research on biodiversity in the field of ecology, and show what language researchers can learn from ecology regarding the modeling and measurement of diversity as a multidimensional construct of compositional complexity.
TL;DR: The authors developed an account of embodied word and grammar searches as socially distributed planning practices, which were produced by three intermediate learners of Italian as a Foreign Language (IFL) during a 3-week period from a third-semester IFL course at a university in the United States.
Abstract: We use insights and methods from ethnomethodological conversation analysis and discursive psychology to develop an account of embodied word and grammar searches as socially distributed planning practices. These practices, which were produced by three intermediate learners of Italian as a Foreign Language (IFL), occurred massively in natural data that were gathered during a 3-week period from a third-semester IFL course at a university in the United States. We develop a behavioral analysis of these data that shows: (1) what participants do during planning talk and how they do such talk and (2) whether they actually do what they planned to do.
TL;DR: The authors investigated whether there are sufficient constraints in the dynamics of language to promote robust induction by means of statistical learning over limited samples, and illustrated the approach with regard to English verbs, their grammatical form, semantics, and Zipfian patterns of usage.
Abstract: Each of us as language learners had different language experiences, yet somehow we have converged upon broadly the same language system. From diverse, often noisy samples, we have attained similar linguistic competence. How so? What mechanisms channel language acquisition? Could our linguistic commonalities possibly have converged from our shared psychology of learning as applied to the evidence of similar-enough language experience? This article outlines a research program to investigate whether there are sufficient constraints in the dynamics of language to promote robust induction by means of statistical learning over limited samples. It illustrates the approach with regard to English verbs, their grammatical form, semantics, and Zipfian patterns of usage. It explores the emergence of structure from experience using methods from cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, learning theory, complex systems, and network science.
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of studies that investigated the relative effectiveness of comprehension-based instruction (CBI) and production based instruction (PBI) is presented in this article. But, the meta analysis only included studies that featured a direct comparison of CBI and PBI in order to ensure methodological and statistical robustness.
Abstract: This article reports a meta-analysis of studies that investigated the relative effectiveness of comprehension-based instruction (CBI) and production-based instruction (PBI). The meta-analysis only included studies that featured a direct comparison of CBI and PBI in order to ensure methodological and statistical robustness. A total of 35 research projects in 30 published studies were retrieved. The studies were coded for three types of effect sizes: comparative, absolute, and pre-to-post change. The comparative effect sizes were used in a subsequent moderator analysis to test the impact of two mediator variables—CBI with and without Processing Instruction and PBI involving text creation versus text manipulation. The results showed that (1) overall, both types of instruction had large effects on both receptive and productive knowledge; (2) for receptive knowledge, CBI had a greater effect than PBI when the acquisition was measured within one week but the difference diminished in the delayed tests (i.e., posttests administered between 1 week and 75 days after the treatment); (3) for productive knowledge, CBI and PBI had similar effects in short-term measurement but PBI was more effective in the delayed tests; and (4) the initial advantage found for CBI was largely due to Processing Instruction. We discuss the theoretical and pedagogical significance of these findings.
TL;DR: This article examined the effects of learning context and age on second language development by comparing the language gains, measured in terms of oral and written fluency, lexical and syntactic complexity, and accuracy, experienced by four groups of learners of English: children in a study abroad setting, children in their at-home school, adults in a university setting, and adults in their study-at-home setting.
Abstract: This study examines the effects of learning context and age on second language development by comparing the language gains, measured in terms of oral and written fluency, lexical and syntactic complexity, and accuracy, experienced by four groups of learners of English: children in a study abroad setting, children in their at-home school, adults in a study abroad setting, and adults in their at-home university. Results show that the study abroad context was superior to the at-home context, and more advantageous for children than for adults in comparative gains, although adults outscored children in absolute gains. The interaction between learning context and age suggests that studying abroad was particularly beneficial for children, who also had more opportunities for oral language practice.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors found that gender-related variance on a measure of the ideal language-speaking/using self could be accounted for by an interdependent self-construal.
Abstract: Despite the consistency with which gender differences have been found in second language motivation, little systematic research has taken place on motivation and gender to date. Permeating self-concept development, gender impacts not only current selves but also future-oriented possible selves. In construing possible selves, females tend to emphasize interdependence, meaning they invest more in interpersonal relationships and self–other interaction. Based on instruments measuring ideal language-speaking/using selves and an interdependent self-construal in a sample of 140 female and 129 male adolescents enrolled in the final year of secondary education in Sweden, and using confirmatory factor analysis, support was found for the hypothesis that gender-related variance on a measure of the ideal language-speaking/using self could be accounted for by an interdependent self-construal. In discussing the results, further avenues for exploring the impact of gender on possible selves using more contextually sensitive research designs are presented.
TL;DR: The authors investigated the impact of recasts together with form-focused instruction (FFI) on the development of second language speech perception and production of English /ɹ/ by Japanese learners and found that FFI itself impacts various domains of L2 speech learning processes (perception, controlled, and spontaneous production).
Abstract: The current study investigated the impact of recasts together with form-focused instruction (FFI) on the development of second language speech perception and production of English /ɹ/ by Japanese learners. Forty-five learners were randomly assigned to three groups—FFI recasts, FFI only, and Control—and exposed to four hours of communicatively oriented lessons. Whereas many FFI activities including explicit instruction were embedded into the treatment in order for the experimental groups to notice and practice /ɹ/ in a meaningful discourse, an instructor provided recasts only to the FFI-recast group in response to their mispronunciation of /ɹ/. Perception was measured using a two-alternative forced choice identification task, while pronunciation performance was elicited using controlled and spontaneous production tests and assessed by 10 naive native-speaking listeners. According to the statistical comparisons, whereas the FFI-only group attained perception and production improvement particularly under trained lexical conditions, the FFI-recast group demonstrated similar but generalizable gains both in trained and untrained lexical contexts. The results indicate that (a) FFI itself impacts various domains of L2 speech learning processes (perception, controlled, and spontaneous production) and (b) recasts promote learners’ attentional shift away from lexical units as a whole to phonetic aspects of second language speech (i.e., vocabulary to sound learning).
TL;DR: This paper investigated the role of verbal working memory in sentence comprehension in typically developing English-speaking children and found that children experienced most difficulty comprehending sentences that contained non-canonical word order (passives and object relative clauses).
Abstract: This study considers the role of verbal working memory in sentence comprehension in typically developing English-speaking children. Fifty-six (N = 56) children aged 4;0–6;6 completed a test of language comprehension that contained sentences which varied in complexity, standardized tests of vocabulary and nonverbal intelligence, and three tests of memory that measured the three verbal components of Baddeley’s model of Working Memory (WM): the phonological loop, the episodic buffer, and the central executive. The results showed that children experienced most difficulty comprehending sentences that contained noncanonical word order (passives and object relative clauses). A series of linear mixed effects models were run to analyze the contribution of each component of WM to sentence comprehension. In contrast to most previous studies, the measure of the central executive did not predict comprehension accuracy. A canonicity by episodic buffer interaction showed that the episodic buffer measure was positively associated with better performance on the noncanonical sentences. The results are discussed with reference to capacity-limit and experience-dependent approaches to language comprehension.
TL;DR: The authors argue that listeners demonstrate a certain amount of reliability in their ratings of speakers stemming from shared expectations of a speaker's language and social groups, rather than from the speech itself, and discuss evidence from perceptual psychology, sociolinguistics, and phonetics demonstrating a sizable listener influence on speech perception.
Abstract: Second language pronunciation research and teaching relies on human listeners to assess second language speakers’ performance Most applied linguists working in this area have been satisfied that listener ratings are reasonably reliable when well-controlled research protocols are implemented We argue, however, that listeners demonstrate a certain amount of reliability in their ratings of speakers stemming from shared expectations of a speaker's language and social groups, rather than from the speech itself In this article, we discuss evidence from perceptual psychology, sociolinguistics, and phonetics demonstrating a sizable listener influence on speech perception We conclude by suggesting ways for research and teaching to acknowledge and contend with the role of the listener
TL;DR: The authors found that the FLCAS is likely to be measuring individual differences in students' language skills and/or self-perceptions about their language learning skills rather than anxiety unique to L2 learning.
Abstract: The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) has been challenged on the grounds that it may also assess language learning skills. In this study, 128 students who had been administered measures of first language (L1) skills in elementary school were followed from 1st to 10th grade. Fifty-three students had completed second language (L2) courses in high school where they were administered the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), FLCAS, and measures of L1 skills. A full information likelihood procedure (FIML) was used to conduct a path analysis and hierarchical regressions. The results showed that the FLCAS accounted for significant unique variance in L1 skills in elementary school several years before the students’ engaged in L2 study as well as significant unique variance on the MLAT and L1 skills measured in high school. Hierarchical regressions found that the FLCAS predicted growth in L1 skills (reading, spelling, language) in elementary school and also from elementary to high school. Findings suggest that the FLCAS is likely to be measuring individual differences in students’ language skills and/or self-perceptions about their language learning skills rather than anxiety unique to L2 learning.
TL;DR: This paper analyzed three phenomena where intersections occur between cognitive skills, personal attitudes, social practices, and macro-societal structures in ways that are salient, puzzling, and also illuminating about the multiple dimensions of learning literacy in situations of cultural and linguistic diversity.
Abstract: Language, literacy, and culture intersect almost everywhere, of course I analyze three phenomena where intersections occur between cognitive skills, personal attitudes, social practices, and macro-societal structures in ways that are salient, puzzling, and also illuminating about the multiple dimensions of learning literacy in situations of cultural and linguistic diversity: (a) heuristic search strategies involving language switching for choices of words and phrases while composing, (b) expressions of personal identity when writing for specific discourse communities, and (c) reciprocal modeling during dynamic assessments of writing and reading Examples are drawn from research in Toronto with multilingual students entering university programs and with “at-risk” adolescents in a community-based, after-school tutoring program The analyses set an agenda for future research and educational practices to help develop the multifaceted dimensions of developing academic literacy among culturally diverse learners
TL;DR: The authors examined differences in reading achievement and mastery skill development among grade-6 students with different language background profiles, using cognitive diagnosis modeling applied to large-scale provincial reading test performance data.
Abstract: The study examined differences in reading achievement and mastery skill development among Grade-6 students with different language background profiles, using cognitive diagnosis modeling applied to large-scale provincial reading test performance data. Our analyses revealed that students residing in various home language environments show different reading achievement growth patterns. Earlier gaps in their reading achievement disappear the longer they reside in the target language community. Additionally, students who come from home environments where they use English and another language equally demonstrate higher skill mastery achievement levels, indicating that immigrant students' diverse home language environments do not adversely affect their reading achievement in the longer term. The study results support the evidence that multilingual home language environments are not a cause of low achievement; however, the achievement patterns of Canadian-born English language learners (ELLs) do differ from their immigrant counterparts, revealing that time alone is not a sufficient condition of reading skill achievement. ELLs' outperformance of monolinguals after 5 years of residence is a result of ongoing instructional support and a rich linguistic environment. The study results hold important policy implications: The evaluation of ELLs' academic achievement and school effectiveness for accountability purposes should be based on longitudinal data that track their developmental growths.
TL;DR: This article examined the role of incidental focus on form (FonF) in adult English-as-a-second-language classrooms and explored the extent to which the amount, type, and effectiveness of FonF were related to differences in classroom participation structure.
Abstract: This study examined the role of incidental focus on form (FonF) in adult English-as-a-second-language classrooms. Specifically, it explored the extent to which the amount, type, and effectiveness of FonF were related to differences in classroom participation structure, that is, the organization of classroom talk within which FonF may occur. The data consisted of 54 hours of audio- and video-recorded classroom interaction collected over two 12-week semesters from 35 lessons at three levels of language proficiency: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The data were transcribed and coded in terms of types of FonF (reactive vs. preemptive, and student vs. teacher initiated) and types of participation structure (whole class, small group, and individual one on one). Individualized posttests were developed and administered to each student 1 week after each classroom observation to assess the effectiveness of FonF. The results revealed that incidental FonF occurred rather frequently in all classrooms but its occurrence varied depending on the type of participation structure. The results also demonstrated a relationship between participation structure and the effectiveness of FonF as well as an interaction between participation structure and class levels. These findings highlight the role of classroom participation structure as an important contextual factor that may impact the provision and success of incidental FonF.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest that this child-directed speech (CDS) is the result of a transactional process of dynamic adaptation between the child and the adult, and build a mathematical-conceptual model that captures the essential dynamics of adaptation in a series of coupled equations.
Abstract: When speaking to young children, adults adapt their language to that of the child. In this article, we suggest that this child-directed speech (CDS) is the result of a transactional process of dynamic adaptation between the child and the adult. The study compares developmental trajectories of three children to those of the CDS of their caregivers. Furthermore, a mathematical-conceptual model is built that captures the essential dynamics of adaptation in a series of coupled equations. This model is sensitive to changes in the language development of the child. The results show evidence for a dynamic form of adaptation, although there are also clear individual differences.
TL;DR: This article reported on how a Japanese-speaking adult learning English made use of a negative formula, "I don't know", and how, in and through interaction, analyzed it into its component parts and began using "don't" more productively.
Abstract: This article reports on how, against a background of relatively stable patterns of second language negation, a Japanese-speaking adult learning English made use of a negative formula, “I don't know,” and how, in and through interaction, analyzed it into its component parts and began using “don't” more productively. Making use of the micro-analytic techniques of conversation analysis to analyze data collected over a seven-month period, two relatively stable patterns of negation are described. This is followed by a description of how the learner used the formula and, over time, analyzed it. This often involved repetition and/or self-repair. Changes in how “don't” was used included coming to use it with the verb “like,” as well as coming to use it with “you.”
TL;DR: The first statistical analysis to employ a Bayesian multinomial probit model in the investigation of subject expression in first and second language (L2) Spanish is presented in this article.
Abstract: This study constitutes the first statistical analysis to employ a Bayesian multinomial probit model in the investigation of subject expression in first and second language (L2) Spanish. The study analyzes the use of third-person subject-expression forms and demonstrates that the following variables are important for subject expression: perseveration, switch reference, number of the verb, specificity, verbal tense/mood/aspect, object pronoun, referent cohesiveness, the interaction of switch reference and referent cohesiveness, and the interaction of native language and four independent variables (number, specificity, tense/mood/aspect, and object pronoun). However, only certain parameters of these independent variables predicted use. The analysis highlights that, for advanced L2 speakers and native speakers, all forms of subject expression (i.e., lexical noun phrases, null subjects, personal pronouns, and other pronouns) allow variation and should be examined for a thorough understanding of subject expression in Spanish. The study offers theoretical and empirical evidence for the need to conduct cross-disciplinary research in second language acquisition.