Showing papers on "Second-language acquisition published in 2016"

Technology in Language Use, Language Teaching, and Language Learning.

Abstract: This article offers a capacious view of technology to suggest broad principles relating technology and language use, language teaching, and language learning. The first part of the article considers some of the ways that technological media influence contexts and forms of expression and communication. In the second part, a set of heuristic questions is proposed to help guide language teachers and researchers in determining how to incorporate technology into their teaching practice or research agenda and evaluate its suitability and impact. These questions are based primarily on the goal of helping learners to pay critical attention to the culturally encoded connections among forms, contexts, meanings, and ideologies that they will encounter and produce in different mediums, both traditional and new. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking Technology to Task: Technology-Mediated TBLT, Performance, and Production

Abstract: Over the last few decades, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has garnered increasing attention from researchers and educators alike. With a strong and growing body of research demonstrating the efficacy of tasks to support and facilitate second language development and performance (e.g., Keck, Iberri-Shea, Tracy-Ventura, & Wa-Mbaleka, 2006), TBLT has become a leading pedagogical approach. Similarly, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has also grown as a field, with the use and integration of technology in the classroom continuing to increase (Petersen & Sachs, 2015). As these fields have matured, a reciprocal relationship has developed (Lai & Li, 2011), with the literature on tasks and technology seeking to not only examine how technology might support and facilitate language learning, but how TBLT might serve as a framework to more thoroughly investigate CALL. In light of the expanding research on tasks and technology, this review article aims not only to provide a current state of the art of how technology-mediated TBLT facilitates and supports second language development and performance, but also to describe how technology can contribute to our understanding of how features of TBLT, such as task design features and task implementation, influence the success of second language acquisition. Suggestions for possible research agendas in technology-mediated TBLT are also made.

Sources, developments and directions of task-based language teaching

Abstract: This paper provides an outline of the origins, the current shape and the potential directions of task-based language teaching (TBLT) as an approach to language pedagogy. It first offers a brief description of TBLT and considers its origins within language teaching methodology and second language acquisition. It then summarises the current position of TBLT from two perspectives: first, it identifies key elements in approaches to the teaching of language based on tasks, and second, it turns to a consideration of the principal issues that have been explored in TBLT research. The paper concludes by considering directions for the future development of TBLT as an approach to language pedagogy, highlighting the need for future research to be classroom-based and programme-based.

The type and linguistic foci of oral corrective feedback in the L2 classroom: A meta-analysis:

Abstract: Research on corrective feedback (CF), a central focus of second language acquisition (SLA), has increasingly examined how teachers employ CF in second language classrooms. Lyster and Ranta’s (1997) seminal study identified six types of CF that teachers use in response to students’ errors (recast, explicit correction, elicitation, clarification request, metalinguistic cue, and repetition) as well as target linguistic foci (lexical, phonological, and grammatical errors). These taxonomies have remained dominant in observational studies conducted in a growing range of second language teaching contexts. Several studies have acknowledged that contextual factors may influence how teachers provide CF (e.g. Mori, 2002; Sheen, 2004) with few generalizable conclusions. The present study brings together research in this area in the first comprehensive synthesis of classroom CF research seeking to aggregate proportions of CF types teachers provide, as well as their target linguistic foci. Findings reveal that recasts ...

Task-based language teaching and learning

Abstract: Task-based language teaching (TBLT) constitutes both an innovative language teaching method and a thriving area of investigation in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). The past three de...

The crossroads of English language learners, task-based instruction, and 3D multi-user virtual learning in Second Life

Abstract: English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' task-based practices in 3D multi-user virtual environments are a dynamic avenue that has attracted research attention in current second language acquisition literature. This study explores EFL adult learners' perceptions and language practices in a 10-session, task-based course in Second Life (SL). A full-blown task-based syllabus that capitalized on meaningful real-life tasks was designed and documented in this study. Employing the grounded theory approach and triangulating multiple qualitative data sources, two core themes emerged: factors that influence SL learning experience and effects of task-based instruction on language learning in SL. SL was evidenced as a viable learning environment due to its conspicuous features, immersive and virtual reality, sense of tele- and co-presence. This study implicates that 1) 3D multimodal resources in SL provide EFL learners with visual and linguistic support and facilitate language teaching and learning; and 2) tasks that draw upon SL features, accommodate learners' cultural/world knowledge, and simulate real-life scenarios, can optimize learners' virtual learning experiences. SL serves as an optimal 3D MUVE for language teaching and learning.Unique features in SL augment instruction and make learning fun and engaging.The immersive and creative nature of SL sets it apart from other Web 2.0 tools.Culture-driven and communicative tasks foster virtual learning experience.Simulating real-world tasks deepen knowledge processing and language acquisition.

Anniversary article Interactional feedback in second language teaching and learning: A synthesis and analysis of current research:

Abstract: The role of interactional feedback has long been of interest to both second language acquisition researchers and teachers and has continued to be the object of intensive empirical and theoretical inquiry. In this article, I provide a synthesis and analysis of recent research and developments in this area and their contributions to second language acquisition (SLA). I begin by discussing the theoretical underpinnings of interactional feedback and then review studies that have investigated the provision and effectiveness of feedback for language learning in various settings. I also examine research in a number of other key areas that have been the focus of current research including feedback timing, feedback training, learner–learner interaction, and computer-assisted feedback. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the issues examined with regard to classroom instruction.

Measuring Syntactic Development in L2 Writing: Fine Grained Indices of Syntactic Complexity and Usage-Based Indices of Syntactic Sophistication

Abstract: Syntactic complexity has been an area of significant interest in L2 writing development studies over the past 45 years. Despite the regularity in which syntactic complexity measures have been employed, the construct is still relatively under-developed, and, as a result, the cumulative results of syntactic complexity studies can appear opaque. At least three reasons exist for the current state of affairs, namely the lack of consistency and clarity by which indices of syntactic complexity have been described, the overly broad nature of the indices that have been regularly employed, and the omission of indices that focus on usage-based perspectives. This study seeks to address these three gaps through the development and validation of the Tool for the Automatic Assessment of Syntactic Sophistication and Complexity (TAASSC). TAASSC measures large and fined grained clausal and phrasal indices of syntactic complexity and usagebased frequency/contingency indices of syntactic sophistication. Using TAASSC, this study will address L2 writing development in two main ways: through the examination of syntactic development longitudinally and through the examination of human judgments of writing proficiency (e.g., expert ratings of TOEFL essays). This study will have important implications for second language acquisition, second language writing, and language assessment. INDEX WORDS: Second language acquisition, Syntactic complexity, Writing development, Language use, Language assessment, Natural language processing MEASURING SYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT IN L2 WRITING: FINE GRAINED INDICES OF SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY AND USAGE-BASED INDICES OF SYNTACTIC SOPHISTICATION

An introduction to psycholinguistics

Abstract: Learning About Language is an exciting and ambitious series of introductions to fundamental topics in language, linguistics and related areas. The books are designed for students of linguistics and those who are studying language as part of a wider course. Cognitive Linguistics explores the idea that language reflects our experience of the world. It shows that our ability to use language is closely related to other cognitive abilities such as categorization, perception, memory and attention allocation. Concepts and mental images expressed and evoked by linguistic means are linked by conceptual metaphors and metonymies and merged into more comprehensive cognitive and cultural models, frames or scenarios. It is only against this background that human communication makes sense. After 25 years of intensive research, cognitive-linguistic thinking now holds a firm place both in the wider linguistic and the cognitive-science communities.An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics carefully explains the central concepts of categoriza­tion, of prototype and gestalt perception, of basic level and conceptual hierarchies, of figure and ground, and of metaphor and metonymy, for which an innovative description is provided. It also brings together issues such as iconicity, lexical change, grammaticalization and language teaching that have profited considerably from being put on a cognitive basis.The second edition of this popular introduction provides a comprehensive and accessible up-to-date overview of Cognitive Linguistics: Clarifies the basic notions supported by new evidence and examples for their application in language learning Discusses major recent developments in the field: the increasing attention paid to metonymies, Construction Grammar, Conceptual Blending and its role in online-processing. Explores links with neighbouring fields like Relevance Theory Uses many diagrams and illustrations to make the theoretical argument more tangible Includes extended exercises Provides substantial updated suggestions for further reading.

The role of input flood and input enhancement in EFL learners' acquisition of collocations

Abstract: The study investigated L2 learners’ acquisition of verb-noun and adjective-noun collocations following two kinds of instruction: input flood only and input flood plus input enhancement (in the form of underlining) L1 Polish learners of English as a foreign language were exposed to infrequent collocations embedded in stories that were read during three consecutive weeks Their collocational competence was subsequently assessed in a battery of delayed tests tapping into productive and receptive levels of collocational mastery Input flood plus input enhancement resulted in the acquisition of collocations but only at the level of form recall and form recognition The findings are discussed with reference to the complexity of acquiring and measuring L2 collocational knowledge The article concludes with implications for instructed second language acquisition

Language learning motivation through a small lens: A research agenda

Abstract: In this paper I propose an agenda for researching language learning motivation ‘through a small lens’, to counteract our tendency in the second language (L2) motivation field to engage with language learning and teaching processes at a rather general level. I argue that by adopting a more sharply focused or contextualized angle of inquiry, we may be able to understand better how motivation connects with specific aspects of second language acquisition (SLA) or particular features of linguistic development. Keeping the empirical focus narrow may also lead to interesting and illuminating analyses of motivation in relation to particular classroom events or to evolving situated interactions among teachers and learners. I propose a number of possible research tasks that might be undertaken by experienced researchers, teacher-researchers or student-researchers wishing to investigate language learning motivation ‘through a small lens’.

L1 Influence on the Acquisition Order of English Grammatical Morphemes: A Learner Corpus Study

Abstract: We revisit morpheme studies to evaluate the long-standing claim for a universal order of acquisition. We investigate the L2 acquisition order of six English grammatical morphemes by learners from seven L1 groups across five proficiency levels. Data are drawn from approximately 10,000 written exam scripts from the Cambridge Learner Corpus. The study establishes clear L1 influence on the absolute accuracy of morphemes and their acquisition order, therefore challenging the widely held view that there is a universal order of acquisition of L2 morphemes. Moreover, we find that L1 influence is morpheme specific, with morphemes encoding language-specific concepts most vulnerable to L1 influence.

Using an online collaborative project between American and Chinese students to develop ESL teaching skills, cross-cultural awareness and language skills

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools to facilitate second language acquisition and develop English as a second language (ESL) teaching skills and cultural awareness. The paper describes a collaborative online project between students from China and the USA. who communicated using the discussion board and e-mail tools on blackboard for tutoring and learning different aspects of English grammar and for developing culture awareness. Twenty-three American students from an ESL teaching program were paired up with 26 Chinese first-year English majors and tutored them on grammar structures that they selected after analyzing the Chinese students’ introductory essays on American life and culture for grammar mistakes. The tutorials addressed specific grammar points and were presented through texts that described different aspects of American culture. The Chinese students used the discussion board and e-mail as well as Skype to communicate with their A...

A Review of Mobile Language Learning Applications: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities

Abstract: Mobile language learning applications have the potential to transform the way languages are learned. This study examined the fifty most popular commercially-available language learning applications for mobile phones and evaluated them according to a wide range of criteria. Three major trends were found: first, apps tend to teach vocabulary in isolated units rather than in relevant contexts; second, apps minimally adapt to suit the skill sets of individual learners; and third, apps rarely offer explanatory corrective feedback to learners. Despite a pedagogical shift toward more communicative approaches to language learning, these apps are behaviorist in nature. To better align with Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and L2 pedagogical research, we recommend the incorporation of more contextualized language, adaptive technology, and explanatory feedback in these applications.

Stimulated Recall Methodology in Applied Linguistics and L2 Research

Abstract: Stimulated Recall Methodology in Applied Linguistics and L2 Research provides researchers and students in second language acquisition and applied linguistics with the only how-to guide on using stimulated recalls in their research practice. This new edition expands on the scope of the previous edition, walking readers step-by-step through a range of studies in applied linguistics in order to demonstrate the history of stimulated recalls and their efficacy as a data collection tool. With its exclusive focus on stimulated recalls, coverage of the most up-to-date research studies, and pedagogically rich text design, Stimulated Recall Methodology in Applied Linguistics and L2 Research supplies researchers and students with the practical skills to elicit richer data in their own research.

Learning (not) to predict: Grammatical gender processing in second language acquisition

Abstract: In two experiments, this article investigates the predictive processing of gender agreement in adult second language (L2) acquisition. We test (1) whether instruction on lexical gender can lead to ...

Task-based language teaching: An empirical study of task transfer:

Abstract: Since the 1980s, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has enjoyed considerable interest from researchers of second language acquisition (SLA), resulting in a growing body of empirical evidence to support how and to what extent this approach can promote language learning. Although transferability and generalizability are critical assumptions for TBLT, there is little empirical evidence that task-related language abilities are indeed transferable. The current study was conducted to address this need for empirical research on generalizability and transfer critical for the planning of teaching and assessment of learning by specifically investigating whether or not transfer occurs between two similar pedagogic tasks. Fifty-three randomly assigned low-level adult second language learners were trained in a computer lab to complete one of two pedagogic tasks or no task, after which all participants were tested on two transfer tasks. Although the results of a MANCOVA did not provide statistically significant eviden...

Linguistic Proficiency Assessment in Second Language Acquisition Research: The Elicited Imitation Task

Abstract: This study investigated the elicited imitation task (EIT) as a tool for measuring linguistic proficiency in a second/foreign (L2) language, focusing on French. Nonnative French speakers (n = 94) and native French speakers (n = 6) completed an EIT that included 50 sentences varying in length and complexity. Three raters evaluated productions on five scales: meaning, syntax, morphology, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Participants also completed a cloze test and a language background questionnaire. Results from regression and principal component analyses showed a strong relationship between EIT performance and cloze test scores and significant relationships between EIT performance, sentence length, and learners’ knowledge of and experience with French. Ratings were internally consistent, and all test items discriminated well between lower- and higher-level learners. We argue that this EIT exhibits good validity and reliability, discriminates among French learners of different proficiencies, and is a practical tool for L2 proficiency assessment.

Early child L2 acquisition. Age or input effects? Neither, or both?

Abstract: This paper explores whether there is evidence for age and/or input effects in child L2 acquisition across three different linguistic domains, namely morphosyntax, vocabulary, and syntax-semantics. More specifically, it compares data from English-speaking children whose age of onset to L2 Dutch was between one and three years with data from children whose age of onset was between four and seven years in their acquisition of verb morphology, verb placement, vocabulary, and direct object scrambling. The main findings were that there were no significant differences between the two groups in any of these areas and, with the exception of scrambling, current amount of exposure was the only factor significantly related to children's scores. The paper discusses the theoretical significance of these findings with respect to the role of input in the language acquisition process and the claim that there is a critical period ending within (early) childhood.

Introduction: cognitive perspectives on difficulty and complexity in l2 acquisition

Abstract: The theme that runs through the contributions to this special issue is diffi culty , an important yet challenging theme in second language acquisition (SLA) that, after the demise of the contrastive analysis hypothesis (e.g., Stockwell, Bowen, & Martin, 1965), has only been latent in second language (L2) research; however, it has been attracting renewed and more explicit interest in the wake of the recent surge of research on language complexity (e.g., Bulté & Housen, 2012 ; Miestamo, Sinnemäki, & Karlsson, 2008 ; Ortega, 2012 ; Pallotti, 2015 ; Trudgill, 2011 ), and its scope and signifi cance are becoming increasingly clear. This special issue addresses the question of what makes learning some aspects of L2 grammar more or less diffi cult, arguing that this question can only be properly understood by reference to the synergistic infl uence of properties of the L2 target feature (e.g., linguistic complexity, frequency, and salience; DeKeyser, 2005 ; N. C. Ellis, 2006 ), the learning conditions (e.g., implicit vs. explicit learning; de Graaff & Housen, 2009 ; R. Ellis, 2006 ; Long & Robinson, 1998 ), and the individual learner (e.g., attention and awareness, working memory, and language aptitude; Juffs & Harrington, 2011 ; Sawyer & Ranta, 2001 ; Wen, Borges Mota, & McNeill, 2015 ). Despite its importance in SLA, diffi culty has rarely fi gured explicitly as a primary research variable, and relevant fi ndings have mostly appeared in isolated publications (e.g., Collins, Trofi movich, White, Cardoso, & Horst, 2009 ; DeKeyser, 2005 ; R. Ellis, 2006 ; Goldschneider & DeKeyser, 2001 ; Li, 2013 ; Ozeki & Shirai, 2007 ; Roehr & Gánem-Gutiérrez, 2009 ).

Mode in Theoretical and Empirical TBLT Research: Advancing Research Agendas

Abstract: In this article we explore how oral and written modes may differentially influence processes involved in second language acquisition (SLA) in the context of task-based language teaching (TBLT). We first start by reflecting on the differences between spoken and written language. In what follows, we provide a general description of tasks in relation to the SLA processes. We then establish the links between the learning processes and task phases/features in the two modes. Concluding that the role of mode has been underresearched, we call for a more integrative and mode-sensitive TBLT research agenda, in which hybridness of discourse (i.e., mingling of the two modes within one communicative event/task) is taken into account.

Salience in Second Language Acquisition: Physical Form, Learner Attention, and Instructional Focus.

Abstract: We consider the role of physical form, prior experience, and form focused instruction (FFI) in adult language learning. (1) When presented with competing cues to interpretation, learners are more likely to attend to physically more salient cues in the input. (2) Learned attention is an associative learning phenomenon where prior-learned cues block those that are experienced later. (3) The low salience of morphosyntactic cues can be overcome by FFI, which leads learners to attend cues which might otherwise be ignored. Experiment 1 used eye-tracking to investigate how language background influences learners’ attention to morphological cues, as well as the attentional processes whereby different types of FFI overcome low cue salience, learned attention and blocking. Chinese native speakers (no L1 verb-tense morphology) viewed Latin utterances combining lexical and morphological cues to temporality under control conditions (CC) and three types of explicit FFI: grammar instruction (VG), verb salience with textual enhancement (VS), and verb pretraining (VP), and their use of these cues was assessed in a comprehension test. CC participants were significantly more sensitive to the adverbs than verb morphology. Instructed participants showed greater sensitivity to the verbs. These results reveal attentional processes whereby learners’ prior linguistic experience can shape their attention toward cues in the input, and whereby FFI helps learners overcome the long-term blocking of verb-tense morphology. Experiment 2 examined the role of modality of input presentation – aural or visual – in L1 English learners’ attentional focus on morphological cues and the effectiveness of different FFI manipulations. CC participants showed greater sensitivity toward the adverb cue. FFI was effective in increasing attention to verb-tense morphology, however, the processing of morphological cues was considerably more difficult under aural presentation. From visual exposure, the FFI conditions were broadly equivalent at tuning attention to the morphology, although VP resulted in balanced attention to both cues. The effectiveness of morphological salience-raising varied across modality: VS was effective under visual exposure, but not under aural exposure. From aural exposure, only VG was effective. These results demonstrate how salience in physical form, learner attention, and instructional focus all variously affect the success of L2 acquisition.

Learning Additional Languages as Hierarchical Probabilistic Inference: Insights From First Language Processing

Abstract: We present a framework of second and additional language (L2/Ln) acquisition motivated by recent work on socio-indexical knowledge in first language (L1) processing. The distribution of linguistic categories covaries with socio-indexical variables (e.g., talker identity, gender, dialects). We summarize evidence that implicit probabilistic knowledge of this covariance is critical to L1 processing, and propose that L2/Ln learning uses the same type of socio-indexical information to probabilistically infer latent hierarchical structure over previously learned and new languages. This structure guides the acquisition of new languages based on their inferred place within that hierarchy and is itself continuously revised based on new input from any language. This proposal unifies L1 processing and L2/Ln acquisition as probabilistic inference under uncertainty over socio-indexical structure. It also offers a new perspective on crosslinguistic influences during L2/Ln learning, accommodating gradient and continued transfer (both negative and positive) from previously learned to novel languages, and vice versa.

Student teacher beliefs on grammar instruction

Abstract: The role of grammar teaching in foreign language education is a controversial one both in second language acquisition (SLA) research and language pedagogy and, as a result, a potential source of confusion to student teachers. The objective of this study was to gain insight into the beliefs on grammar teaching of student teachers of English as a foreign language enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education programmes at Dutch universities of applied sciences. To this end a questionnaire was developed and validated based on four construct pairs from SLA literature: meaning- versus form-focused instruction, focus on form (FonF) versus focus on forms (FonFs), implicit versus explicit instruction, and inductive versus deductive instruction. Overall, respondents (n = 832) were found to prefer form-focused, explicit, inductive instruction, and FonFs. However, higher-year undergraduates’ and postgraduates’ results showed a trend towards a preference for more meaning-focused and implicit instructio...

Nonverbal behavior and corrective feedback in nine ESL university-level classrooms:

Abstract: Nonverbal behavior is an area of recent interest in second language acquisition (SLA). Some researchers have found that teachers’ nonverbal behavior plays a role in second language (L2) learners’ learning. Furthermore, corrective feedback during L2 interaction can also be facilitative of L2 development; however, little is known about how nonverbal behavior accompanies teachers’ corrective feedback. The current study investigated teachers’ nonverbal behavior in corrective feedback during 48 observations (about 65 hours of recordings) of nine classrooms for English as a second language (ESL). The results indicated that teachers used a variety of nonverbal behavior in their corrective feedback, including hand gestures (specifically iconics, metaphorics, deictics, and beats), head movements, affect displays, kinetographs, and emblems. Specific nonverbal behaviors that commonly occurred in the observations were nodding, head shaking, pointing at an artifact, and pointing at a person.

Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes

Abstract: This chapter has two broad aims: to relate aptitude tests and recent aptitude research, including that reported in this volume, to proposed second language acquisition stages; and to relate aptitude testing to the contrasts between domain-generality and domain-specificity, on the one hand, and explicit and implicit processes, on the other. Regarding SLA stages, a broad distinction is made between stages concerned with developing knowledge and those concerned with developing control. It is argued that aptitude tests have concentrated on the first and that there is scope to develop more aptitude tests to assess the second. Regarding the two major contrasts, it is argued that analysing aptitude tests in these terms is useful as a means of indicating what underlying theories they have. In that respect it is interesting that the most recent major battery (HiLAB: domain-general, often implicit) contrasts with older batteries (e.g. MLAT: domain specific, explicit). It is argued that aptitude tests, viewed in this way, can make theoretical contributions to second language acquisition more generally in characterising what language learning abilities consist of.