Browsing by Subject "Second language acquisition"
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Item A comparison of audio-only versus audio-visual second language instruction in first-year university-level Spanish(Texas Tech University, 1998-12) Ware, Tina LynnDuring the second half of this century, the study of language acquisition has changed from its original emphasis on language teaching methodologies. Since the late 1960s (Ellis, 1995), a number of studies have focused on second language learning, which "introduced a new research agenda and gave definition to the field that has come to be known as second language acquisition" (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 1991, p. 5). This new research agenda looks closely at learner styles and the learning process. Researchers have learned much of what we know about language acquisition in the three decades since the introduction of the field of second language acquisition, or SLA (Dulay, Burt & Krashen, 1982; Ellis, 1995). Gass (1989) uses Ellis' (1985) definition of second language acquisition, which is "the study of how learners learn an additional language after they have acquired the mother tongue" ( p. 499). The findings of second language research aid foreign language instructors in the classroom because teachers who use these ideas are better able to meet the needs of their students. When referring to a language other than the first language, usually a distinction is made between a second language and a foreign language. A second language is a language being acquired in the milieu in which it is the native tongue, such as English being studied by a Korean in England. A foreign language is a language acquired outside of an environment where it is the native tongue, such as a Spaniard's study of French in Spain. Although some researchers choose to differentiate between a second language and a foreign language, "SLA has really come to mean the acquisition of any language(s) other than one's native language" (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 1991, p. 7).Item The acquisition of the perfective/imperfective aspectual distinction in French : output-based instruction vs. processing instruction(2007-05) Megharbi, Nora; Blyth, Carl S. (Carl Stewart), 1958-The effect of grammar instruction on second language acquisition continues to be a source of debate in SLA research. Previous studies have shown that input-based instruction such as Processing Instruction (PI) is more effective than traditional grammar instruction (TI) for the acquisition of grammatical structures such as object pronouns in Spanish, the Spanish preterite, the simple present vs. the present progressive in English, and the ser/estar contrast in Spanish (VanPatten and Cadierno, 1993; Cadierno, 1995; Buck, 2000; Cheng, 2004). This quasi-experimental, classroom-based study examines the effects of output-based instruction (OB) and PI on the acquisition of the perfective/imperfective aspectual distinction in French, shown to be difficult to master by English-speaking learners due to its linguistic and pragmatic complexity. Specifically, the research design investigates whether OB instruction and PI have significant effects on the learners' performance involving the interpretation and production of the passé composé and the imparfait in narration. Two second semester university level French classes at the University of Texas at Austin were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: an output-based instruction group (n=18) and a processing instruction group (n=17). A distinct instructional treatment was developed for both groups, and a pretest/posttest procedure was used to assess the effect of instruction. The two posttests were administered one day and one month after instruction. All tests except the pretest included a written interpretation task, a controlled written production task, and a written composition. The findings show that both the OB and the PI groups improved their performance significantly on the assessment tasks and that there was no statistical difference between the groups on any of the tasks. These results differ from those of previous PI research and suggest that either type of instruction, output-based or processing, may have had a significant impact on the learners' developing system. The type of output-based instruction used in this study differs from TI in that it does not include a mechanical component. The results of the present study are consistent with Farley (2004b) in showing that approaches to grammar instruction that are meaning-oriented may bring about significant effects on SLA.Item Anxiety in the noticing and production of L2 forms: a study of beginning learners of Arabic(2014-08) Nassif, Lama; Horwitz, Elaine, 1950-; Al-Batal, Mahmoud; Schallert, Diane; Pulido , Diana; Salaberry, Maximo RafaelThis study investigated the relationship between anxiety and the noticing and integration of language forms in the learning of a less commonly taught language: Arabic. The study was motivated by the need to understand why some learners notice and integrate language forms in their second language speech better than others. Simultaneously, the study sought to understand the mechanisms through which anxiety interferes with second language speech processes. The study included a sample of 80 beginning-level learners of Arabic. The participants were assigned to two treatment conditions, Input and Output. The participants’ language anxiety was measured by the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986), and their state anxiety during the noticing and production tasks was measured by the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire (Sarason, 1978). In the treatment session, the Output group participants provided an oral description of a picture story, listened to, read, and underlined an Arabic speaker’s description, and re-described the pictures. The Input group participants answered pre-text exposure questions, listened to, read, and underlined the description, and answered post-text exposure questions. An immediate oral production posttest was administered at the end of the treatment session, and a delayed posttest was administered two weeks later. Interviews were conducted following the delayed posttest. The results showed that the noticing and integration of language forms were influenced by the type of anxiety and the nature of the forms. While language anxiety positively predicted learner noticing and integration of the language forms, state anxiety negatively predicted them. Syntactic and discourse level forms deemed more salient and of higher communicative value were more amenable to anxiety effects. No differential anxiety influences on learner noticing were detected across the Input and Output conditions. Pedagogical implications are offered in light of these findings.Item The co-emergence of Spanish as a second language and individual differences : a dynamical systems theory perspective(2012-05) Lyle, Cory Jackson; Koike, Dale April; Salaberry, Maximo; Nishida, Chiyo; Blyth, Carl; Streeck, JürgenDynamical Systems Theory (DST) (De Bot, Lowie, & Vespoor 2007; Larsen-Freeman 1997, 2007; Larsen-Freeman & Cameron 2008; Dörnyei 2009; and van Lier 2000) represents a scientific paradigm shift derived from the fields of physics, engineering and theoretical mathematics that attempts to solve real-world scenarios that do not respond to scientific reductionism, otherwise known as ‘analysis’. The purpose of this dissertation is to (re)frame foreign language learning/use as a dynamical process that that involves interplay among what Dörnyei (2009) terms the language, the agent and the environment. More specifically, this dissertation presents a quasi-experimental, psycholinguistic study that looks at the interface between language (in this case the talk that resulted from NS-NNS interactions) and agent (as defined by a set of personal traits, or Individual Differences [IDs], including motivation, attitudes, personality and aptitude) in order to answer the research question: Do IDs vary in conjunction with language learning/use, and if so, how? Eight tutored Spanish learners were followed over the course of 16 weeks during which time they participated in 8 chat sessions with a native Spanish-speaker. Their ID profiles were measured immediately before and after each session and sessions with significant pre- to post-session ID shifts were analyzed to determine to what extent such shifts correlated with certain types of talk and/or think-aloud sequences. Results indicated that all participants’ pre- and post-interactional ID profiles fluctuated measurably and significantly, even within the span of a single interaction. Moreover, those sessions with significantly positive ID shifts were qualitatively different in terms of language-related episodes (LREs), conversation management/pragmatic markers, and metacognition from those with significantly negative ID shifts. Other unexpected findings revealed, for example, that LREs (especially NS-initiated LREs) negatively impacted motivations and attitudes and, therefore, the language-learning process itself. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that the agent’s IDs and their (inter)language co-emerge; that is to say, they evolve simultaneously and in response to one another. Moreover, this study suggests that DST can indeed be quasi-experimentally applied to the study of SLA, thus necessitating further development in DST-oriented methodologies and research questions.Item Dancing with Spanish words : teaching pragmatic awareness through speech acts(2013-05) Sallee, Ashley Nicole; Sardegna, Veronica G.This Report answers three questions: (a) Why is teaching pragmatic competence important? (b) What are the approaches to teaching pragmatic awareness? Specifically how do instructors teach Spanish requests?, and (c) What role does technology play in pragmatic awareness instruction? The first chapter explains why I chose to write my Report on developing pragmatic awareness through speech act instruction. Chapter two discusses development of pragmatic awareness. Chapter three and four address approaches to teaching pragmatic knowledge and technology’s role in pragmatic instruction. Chapter five proposes a lesson for an intermediate university Spanish class grounded on speech act theory. Materials and a rubric for classroom use accompany the lesson (Appendices A-C). The chapter concludes with a discussion of pedagogical challenges as well as pedagogical recommendations for teachers. Chapter six concludes the Report by answering my guiding questions succinctly, summarizing the pedagogical lesson proposed, and explaining the reasons why I think the lesson is a useful resource for teachers.Item Describing and analyzing English as a Lingua Franca(2012-12) Dunlap, Katie J.; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-; Sardegna, Veronica GResearchers are becoming increasingly interested in responding to the effects of the English language’s viability as a Lingua Franca. English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is being used predominantly in communication from one non-native speaker to another, and descriptive studies are just beginning to emerge (Dewey 2007; Jenkins, 2000; Seidlhofer, 2004). This report offers a theoretical overview showing ELF’s increasing relevance, and reviews empirical studies that have investigated how ELF is manifesting in the field of language education. These empirical studies are gaining significant traction, specifically in relation to descriptive linguistics, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics (House, 2003; Mauranen, 2003). In order to investigate a formal description of ELF, recent empirical work is reviewed after two seminal articles were published that helped gain viability into ELF as a distinct research area (i.e. Seidlhofer, 2001; Mauranen, 2003). Such reviews of empirical studies through the use of corpora are not meant to distinguish ELF as a distinct variety of English, but to simply allow for a deep description of how ELF is being used currently. Also discussed are the developments to English language pedagogy and directions for future research as ELF scholars begin to re-conceptualize what is meant by language context and communication in ELF.Item The dynamic assessment of narratives : a bilingual study(2008-12) Fiestas, Christine Eve, 1965-; Peña, Elizabeth D.; Gillam, Ronald B. (Ronald Bradley), 1955-This three-part study explores an application of the dynamic assessment of narratives in a bilingual Spanish and English-speaking early elementary population as a preliminary study of bilingual children’s response to a short-term intervention. Dynamic assessment has been used successfully to differentiate culturally diverse monolingual children with language impairment from their typically developing peers. In order to extend this assessment measure to bilinguals, specifically Spanish and English-speaking children, the effects of the language of intervention and the language of production was explored. Profiles of bilingual children’s narratives with and without impairment and their differential responses has not been well documented in both languages. Thus, narrative profiles and from pre to post intervention changes were compared for typically developing and language-impaired children. The first study examined whether parallel stories were elicited within languages using two books. The second study explored the effects of the language of intervention and the language of story production on narrative performance, and the transfer of narratives skills across languages using the dynamic assessment paradigm. The third study examined children’s performance with and without language impairment pre and post mediated learning experience in comparison to a non-intervention control group. Results from study one indicated that children told parallel stories for the two books within each language. Findings from study two indicated that children’s stories in Spanish were stronger overall, and children’s performance did not differ as a function of intervention in Spanish vs. English. Children demonstrated transfer of narrative macrostructure across both languages. Finally, study three indicated that the children who were typically developing demonstrated a greater amount of pretest to posttest gain as compared to children in the language impaired and control groups. The typically developing children were rated as more modifiable in comparison to those with language impairment.Item Echoing their lives: teaching Russian language and culture through the music of Vladimir S. Vysotsky(2008-05) Jones, Ruby Jean, 1947-; Garza, Thomas J.Using vocal music in the foreign language classroom to teach language and culture can become the foundation of an approach specifically geared to encourage students to take charge of their own language learning, and thereby improve their overall language competencies. Many researchers have already noted that the usual classroom program of instruction does not provide sufficient exposure time for students to achieve a level much above the ACTFL Intermediate level. Most students who enter university language programs with plans to major in a language have certain expectations, usually elevated, and the problem is exacerbated by commercial products which promise that, “You will speak like a native in months!” The problem is compounded by the disappointment experienced when these high expectations are not met, and students cease trying before they approach the levels to which they originally aspired. One way to help students not go through this dismotivation phase of language learning, is to help them improve their language skills beyond that usually attainable through classroom instruction alone. Training in the use of learning strategies, increased time spent listening to authentic vocal music, and the anticipated personal satisfaction gained by attaining successful results can all be positively related to an increase in motivation. By introducing students to the music of Soviet bard/poet/actor Vladimir S. Vysotsky, early in their language-training career, and using his compositions as supplementary material in a syllabus, the Russian language teacher can provide versatile authentic language material. Selections from the prolific output of approximately 700 poems and songs by Vysotsky can be used to introduce: a) language forms, b) pronunciation, c) cultural idioms and contrast, d) historicalpolitical items, e) social customs, and f) literary works and characters. In the case of language learning and metacognitive strategies, ignorance is not bliss: ignorance is the destroyer. Students who become aware of the strategies available (e.g., memory, cognitive, compensation, affective, social, or metacognitive) and pleasurable ways to improve their own language competence are more likely to be encouraged to continue studying the language and more likely to devote the extra time to the endeavor.Item The effects of L1 orthographic features and phonological awareness on Chinese speakers learning to read in English(2010-12) Moody, Joe William; Sardegna, Veronica G.; Schallert, DianeThis report focuses on language transference between alphabetic (English) and logographic, non-alphabetic (Chinese) languages, with respect to the importance of phonemic awareness in literacy acquisition. Within large ESL/EFL classrooms, language learners from all cultures are taught in the same way. Instruction rarely caters for specific problems directly associated with L1 transfer or the learner’s culture. The purpose of this report is not only to gain a better understanding of the differences in literacy acquisition between the two languages (English and Chinese), but also to assess the impact of this difference on Chinese children learning how to read in English. Research is examined that focuses on the role that phonemic awareness plays in the acquisition of English literacy and in the acquisition of Chinese literacy. The relationship between Chinese orthographic features and word recognition processing in English as a second language is explored as well as cross-language transfer of phonological awareness and its effect on English literacy acquisition. Pedagogical implications are also discussed on how to apply these findings to the classroom for instructors of English as a second language.Item The effects of speaking anxiety on foreign language learning(2009-12) Park, Sae Mee, 1985-; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-; Palmer, Deborah K.The purpose of this paper is to examine in depth and to synthesize the literature on foreign language anxiety, with specific focus on speaking anxiety. This paper reviews the development of the foreign language anxiety construct and extensive research on its relationship with other domains of second language acquisition, including specific language skills and language learning processes. Review of the literature has confirmed that foreign language anxiety plays a significant role in learners’ performance and achievement. However, there are still many areas that need further research and clarification. Variables such as individual differences still cloud the relationship between anxiety and achievement, thus suggesting that further research should be conducted in order to clarify the effects of foreign language anxiety and should strive to alleviate learners’ anxiety in the language classroom.Item El Mundo de Comida : the relative effectiveness of digital game feedback and classroom feedback in helping students learn Spanish food vocabulary(2014-12) Wendorf, Arthur Herman II; Koike, Dale AprilFeedback has been defined as “helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to say what can be done to improve a performance, product, etc.” (Merriam-Webster, 2014) Within the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) researchers have shown that language learners acquire languages best when they are provided with feedback (Gass & Selinker, 2008; Loewen, 2012). Because of the importance of feedback to the language learning process, there is an ongoing line of investigation that seeks to determine whether differences in how and when feedback is provided lead to different results in acquisition (Loewen, 2012). To date this research has primarily been focused on comparing the effectiveness of the different types of feedback that naturally occur within language classrooms, as identified by such classic studies as Lyster and Ranta (1997; Bargiela, 2003). However, there are other possible approaches to feedback than those that naturally occur within the language classroom. One of these alternatives is the approach to feedback used in digital games. Similar to what is found in the field of SLA, within the field of digital game research it has been established that feedback is important for successful learning (Schell, 2008). Nevertheless, to date no research has been conducted which compares the SLA approach to feedback and the digital game approach to feedback in order to determine which would lead to better language acquisition within a digital game. Answering this question is the goal of the present dissertation. In order to answer this question I created two versions of a digital game, called “Mundo de Comida” (MuCo) ‘World of Food’, which is designed to help novice Spanish learners acquire food vocabulary. One version of the game employs feedback strategies based on the most commonly employed feedback used in Spanish language classes, while the other uses feedback designed according to the most commonly used feedback mechanisms in commercial digital games. A comparison of the vocabulary gains according to feedback type allows us to see which type of feedback seems to help learners of Spanish acquire vocabulary within the context of MuCo. The findings indicate that MuCo does indeed help participants acquire food vocabulary. However, there is no significant difference in the effectiveness of the two different feedback types, which is likely due to the fact that both feedback types have been refined within their respective environments. Nevertheless, there is evidence to suggest that participants found the game that contained the digital game-style feedback to be more game-like than the other version. It was also found that, for several participants, MuCo did motivate them in the sense that they played more of the game than was required. Finally, there was no significant effect found for the participants’ self-reported gaming habits, personalities, or motivation. These findings suggest that well-designed digital games can help learners acquire Spanish vocabulary, and that the impact of differences among participants is negligible when the game is well designed.Item Emergence of comprehension of Spanish second language requests(2013-08) Sauveur, Robert Paul; Koike, Dale AprilThis dissertation examines the developmental trajectory of online processing toward second language (L2) pragmatic comprehension. This goal stems from two shortcomings of previous research: (1) approaching L2 pragmatics as the acquisition of discrete phenomena through progressive stages (see Kasper, 2009), and (2) focusing narrowly on production. Building upon previous L2 pragmatic comprehension work (Carrell, 1981; P. García, 2004; Taguchi, 2005, 2007, 2008a, 2008b, 2011a, 2011b; Takahashi & Roitblat, 1994), the current study investigates the development of L2 Spanish request speech act comprehension by native English-speaking adult learners. The analysis involves accuracy, comprehension speed and the relationship between the two dimensions across three levels of directness over a 13-week period. Previous research was informed by skill acquisition theories (Anderson & Lebiere, 1998) to account for increased accuracy and decreased speed over time. Here, further analysis is based on Complexity Theory / Dynamic Systems Theory (CT/DST) (Larsen-Freeman, 1997; Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008a; de Bot, Lowie, & Verspoor, 2007; Ellis, et al., 2009; Verspoor, de Bot, & Lowie, 2011) to account for the seemingly chaotic results often found in L2 research. The findings of the current study show significant overall improvement in accuracy and speed of Spanish request identification, and a moderate relationship between the two measures. However, the association between slower responses and higher accuracy in the current data contradicts skill acquisition theories. Rather, the theoretical framework of CT/DST provides a more authentic account of development. As such, the results indicate that the levels of request directness develop along distinct trajectories and timescales. Direct requests reflect higher accuracy and faster interpretation. While the most indirect level of requests shows the largest improvement in accuracy, the responses for these items are no faster at the end of the study than at the beginning. The development of conventionally indirect requests occupies a middle ground in terms of accuracy similar to direct requests and comprehension speed like implied items. Further findings reflect L2 pragmatic comprehension as a complex, dynamic system that emerges through the differential effects of predictor variables across measures and within sub-groups of participants based on proficiency improvement, motivation and response strategy.Item Enhancing the capabilities of Arabic learners : language learning strategies in the Arabic classroom(2012-05) Ebner, Gregory Ralph; Al-Batal, Mahmoud; Horwitz, Elaine K.; Raizen, Esther L.; Brustad, Kristen; Raz, AdiSince Joan Rubin opened the discussion of the existence of techniques of memorization, recall, and production that marked the performance of successful learners of foreign languages, the study of Language Learning Strategies (LLS) has expanded into innumerable directions. Such studies have attempted to establish a link between LLS use and improved student performance in the classroom and beyond, determine what drives students to select particular strategies for use, and analyzed the effectiveness of LLS instruction. Few studies have examined the relationship between LLS and the study of Arabic as a foreign language. The present study identifies, among university-level students of Arabic, the LLS whose use is associated with student language success. Using a combination of survey response analysis and classroom observation, the study highlights the benefits of 17 separate strategies and recommends a phased introduction of those strategies to students in order to maximize their potential effect. The study then moves on to explore the role of the Arabic instructor in student strategy use, determining the effectiveness of current methods of strategy instruction and provides recommendations to the Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) field that may improve the techniques used to impart strategic learning competence to students of the language. In the final section of analysis, the study turns toward the Arabic textbooks that most commonly used in American colleges and universities and examines the level of support that these texts provide to the development of strategic learning methods within students, providing advice to instructors and learning materials developers intended to enhance presentation of strategies. The ultimate goal of these suggestions is improving the overall strategic capability of students of Arabic so that they can become more independent learners, capable of continuing study of the language beyond the boundaries of the university classroom.Item Exploring the complexity of second language writers' strategy use and performance on an integrated writing test through structural equation modeling and qualitative approaches(2009-05) Yang, Hui-chun; Plakans, LiaIntegrated writing tasks that combine reading, listening, and writing have become increasingly popular in assessing academic writing. These tasks are seen to offer more authenticity, improve fairness, and provide positive washback effects of the test on learning and teaching of English around the globe. However, the integrated nature of these tasks can pose some issues, such as construct-related validity and verbatim source use. Given that the inferences made from test scores depend upon the construct of the measure, it is important to have a working knowledge of how strategies are used on integrated writing tests as part of the process of construct validation. This study investigates the relationship between second language writers’ strategy use and performance on an integrated reading-listening-writing test using structural equation modeling and qualitative approaches. Data were collected from 161 non-native English-speaking students. The students first took an integrated reading-listening-writing test and followed by a strategy inventory on how they thought while completing the test. Twenty students, ten in the high-performance group and ten in the low-performance group, participated in a retrospective interview. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify the clusters of items based on three hypothetical factors: Rhetorical, Self-Regulatory, and Test-Wiseness Strategy Use. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then utilized to test the hypothetical relations between observed and latent variables. Subsequently, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to model the relationship between students’ self-reported strategy use and their test performance. The data collected from retrospective interviews, an open-ended questionnaire, and planning sheets were analyzed to triangulate quantitative results and provide supplementary information in interpreting the quantitative data. The study illuminates the nature of integrated writing strategy use, the nature of integrated writing performance, and the relationship between strategy use and performance on an integrated reading-listening-writing test. The results of the study have implications for second language writing assessment and instruction as well as theory in second language academic writing.Item Expressing emotions in a first and second language : evidence from French and English(2010-12) Paik, Jee Gabrielle; Birdsong, David; Blyth, Carl; Donaldson, Bryan; Meier, Richard; Schallert, DianeThis dissertation presents results from a study on the expression of emotions in a second language in order to address two overarching research questions: 1) What does the acquisition of L2 emotion lexicon and discourse features tell us about the pragmatic and communicative competence of late learners and the internalization of L2-specific concepts, and 2) Knowing that expressing emotions in L2 is one of the most challenging tasks for L2 learners (Dewaele, 2008), what can late L2 learners do at end-state, with regards to ultimate attainment and the possibility of nativelikeness? Narratives of positive and negative emotional experiences were elicited from late L2 learners of English and French at end-state, both in their L1 and L2. First, the acquisition of L2 emotion words was analyzed through the productivity and lexical richness of the emotion vocabulary of the bilinguals. Analysis of L2 emotion concepts was also conducted through the distribution of emotion lemmas across morphosyntactic categories. Lexical choice of emotion words was also investigated. Results showed that although L2 English and L2 French bilinguals' narratives were shorter than the monolinguals' and the proportion of emotion word tokens were fewer than that of monolinguals', bilinguals showed greater lexical richness than the monolinguals. In terms of morphosyntactic categories, bilinguals behaved in a nativelike pattern such that L2 English bilinguals favored adjectives and L2 French bilinguals preferred nouns/verbs. This pattern was held constant across the first languages of the bilinguals. With respect to lexical choice, bilinguals used the same emotion lemmas used the most by monolinguals. On occasion, non-nativelike patterns also emerged, suggesting both L1 transfer on L2 (L2 English bilinguals favoring nouns/verbs) and L2 transfer on L1 (L1 English bilinguals favoring nouns/verbs). However, these rare instances could be explained by individual and typological variability. The findings suggest that late L2 learners can achieve nativelike levels of attainment in L2, providing evidence against the existence of a critical period for the acquisition of L2 pragmatics and culture-specific L2 lexicon. In a separate analysis, the L2 discourse of emotion was investigated under a corpus linguistic framework, in order to shed some light into the ways late L2 learners of English and French talk about emotions in narratives of personal stories. The use of stance lemmas and tokens, and the distribution of these stance markers across categories of certainty and doubt evidentials, emphatics, hedges, and modals, as well as lexical choice of stance were analyzed. This was followed by an analysis of discourse features, such as figurative language, reported speech, epithets, depersonalization, and amount of detail. Results showed that although bilinguals produced significantly less stance lemmas and tokens than monolinguals, in terms of the distribution of stance categories, the French group (L2 French and L1 French bilinguals) behaved in a nativelike pattern, favoring emphatics, certainty evidentials, doubt evidentials, hedges, and modals. The English group's results, on the other hand, were somewhat inconsistent, in that neither L2 English bilinguals, nor L1 English bilinguals followed the distribution pattern of English monolinguals. In terms of nativelike performance, we conclude that the L2 French bilinguals did perform nativelike with regards to stance marking, and that L2 English bilinguals also performed nativelike, but only for certain categories of stance. Also, L2 English transfer on L1 French was evidenced for L1 French bilinguals. Analysis of discourse features revealed between 1 up to 10 bilinguals (L2 English or French) out of 31 who used those features which were only evidenced in native speech in previous research. The findings here, once again suggest that late L2 learners can acquire aspects of L2 discourse to a nativelike degree.Item Extensive reading in a second language : literature review and pedagogical implications(2014-12) Hong, Sunju; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-This Report explores the importance of including extensive reading (ER) program in English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To find benefits and implications of L2 extensive reading, the Report reviews comprehensive literature on L2 extensive reading. Research has found that extensive reading enables L2 learners to achieve both cognitive and affective gains. Based on these findings, the report provides some pedagogical implications for an L2 program in ESL/EFL contexts. The suggestions include practical tips such as materials, useful ER activities, and a discussion of teacher roles in an extensive reading program.Item “First, let’s make a brainstorming” : French EFL learners’ use and awareness of Anglicisms(2009-12) Fitzpatrick, Eileen Susan; Léger, Catherine; Horwitz, ElaineMany French EFL (English as a foreign language) learners may be aware of the origin of anglicisms (loanwords from English) and may thus attempt to use these words in English. However, changes in meaning, phonology, and syntax, etc., during the integration of a loanword into the borrowing language create the potential for error in such efforts. This report reviews relevant research and theory on language transfer, vocabulary knowledge, metacognition, and lexical borrowing as factors that bear light on this type of transfer. It then presents two studies, one with French EFL learners and one with EFL teachers in France. Results suggest that anglicisms do cause errors in the English of French learners, that learners are generally aware of anglicisms and of the possible difference in meaning between the French and the English words, and, finally, that this awareness does not necessarily lead to correct usage of such words.Item The fundamental difference between child and adult language acquisition: a longitudinal, naturalistic study of parameter resetting in Swedish interlanguage(2003) Stewart, John Mark; Southern, Mark R. V.Item High school English learners and college-going : three stories of success(2011-05) Moon, Daniel Louis; Callahan, Rebecca M.; Sardegna, Veronica G.Recent research suggests that the college-going trajectories of English language learners (ELLs) may be improved by focusing on their academic abilities rather than their English limitations; that ELLs are capable of high-track, college preparatory coursework. Most research draws on feedback or observations of current high school students. This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to elicit retrospective perspectives of three Latina college students placed in English as a second language (ESL) during high school. These three former ELLs were able to navigate from ESL courses to higher-track, advanced placement (AP) courses, which prepared them for college. Results suggest that relatively short times spent in ESL may positively influence ELLs’ access to college preparatory coursework and integration with native English speaking (NES) peers who possess college-going social capital. Results also suggest that ELLs’ perceptions of teachers’ high expectations and college-going assistance may provide important social capital facilitating ELLs’ access to higher-tracks and college.Item How auditory discontinuities and linguistic experience affect the perception of speech and non-speech in English- and Spanish-speaking listeners(2005) Hay, Jessica Sari Fleming; Diehl, Randy L.Speech perception results from a complex interplay between the operating characteristics of the auditory system (i.e., auditory discontinuities) and linguistic experience. Research in human infants and animals, and research using tone-onset-time (TOT) stimuli, a type of non-speech analogue of voice-onset-time (VOT) stimuli, has suggested that there is an underlying auditory basis for the perception of stop consonants based on a threshold for detecting temporal onset asynchronies in the vicinity of + 20 ms. Languages, however, differ in their reliance on temporal onset asynchrony-based auditory discontinuities in their [voice] categories. This dissertation sought to examine whether long-term linguistic experience with different [voice] categories (i.e., English or Spanish) affects the perception of non-speech stimuli that are analogous in their acoustic timing characteristics. This research was also designed to investigate the joint effects of linguistic experience and auditory mechanisms on phoneme structure and category learning. Three cross-linguistic studies were designed to look at (1) the production and perception of VOT and the perception of TOT, (2) the effects of stimulus range on the perception of VOT, and (3) the effects of auditory discontinuities on non-speech category learnability. Results indicate that linguistic experience does affect the perception of nonspeech stimuli, at least in certain circumstances. Thus, there is some commonality in the processes used to discriminate between non-speech sounds and those used to discriminate between speech sounds. Additionally, auditory discontinuities were found to influence both phoneme structure and category learning. It is suggested that English- and Spanishspeaking listeners use different cues to discriminate their [voice] categories. Results also suggest that there are perceptual asymmetries between the positive and the negative onset asynchrony-based auditory discontinuities. The relationships between auditory discontinuities, linguistic experience, discriminability, phoneme category structure, and learnability are discussed.
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