Chapter 7. Examining the role of instructor first language in classroom-based oral input

2020 ◽  
pp. 160-185
Author(s):  
Avizia Yim Long ◽  
Kimberly L. Geeslin
Keyword(s):  
First Language

scholarly journals A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT AUDITORY PROCESSING IN L2 SEGMENTAL AND SUPRASEGMENTAL ACQUISITION

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Hui Sun ◽  
Kazuya Saito ◽  
Adam Tierney
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Immersion Experience ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Processing Ability ◽  
Speech Learning

Abstract Precise auditory perception at a subcortical level (neural representation and encoding of sound) has been suggested as a form of implicit L2 aptitude in naturalistic settings. Emerging evidence suggests that such implicit aptitude explains some variance in L2 speech perception and production among adult learners with different first language backgrounds and immersion experience. By examining 46 Chinese learners of English, the current study longitudinally investigated the extent to which explicit and implicit auditory processing ability could predict L2 segmental and prosody acquisition over a 5-month early immersion. According to the results, participants’ L2 gains were associated with more explicit and integrative auditory processing ability (remembering and reproducing music sequences), while the role of implicit, preconscious perception appeared to be negligible at the initial stage of postpubertal L2 speech learning.

scholarly journals The role of response domain and scale label in the quantitative interpretation of patient-reported outcome measure response options

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Peasgood ◽  
Jen-Yu Chang ◽  
Robina Mir ◽  
Clara Mukuria ◽  
Philip A. Powell
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Patient Reported Outcome Measures ◽  
Patient Reported Outcome ◽  
Response Options ◽  
The Public ◽  
Online Panel ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Common Response ◽  
Chi Squared

Abstract Purpose Uncertainties exist in how respondents interpret response options in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), particularly across different domains and for different scale labels. The current study assessed how respondents quantitatively interpret common response options. Methods Members of the general public were recruited to this study via an online panel, stratified by age, gender, and having English as a first language. Participants completed background questions and were randomised to answer questions on one of three domains (i.e. loneliness (negatively phrased), happiness or activities (positively phrased)). Participants were asked to provide quantitative interpretations of response options (e.g. how many times per week is equal to “often”) and to order several common response options (e.g. occasionally, sometimes) on a 0–100 slider scale. Chi-squared tests and regression analyses were used to assess whether response options were interpreted consistently across domains and respondent characteristics. Results Data from 1377 participants were analysed. There was general consistency in quantifying the number of times over the last 7 days to which each response option referred. Response options were consistently assigned a lower value in the loneliness than happiness and activities domains. Individual differences, such as age and English as a second language, explained some significant variation in responses, but less than domain. Conclusion Members of the public quantify common response options in a similar way, but their quantification is not equivalent across domains or every type of respondent. Recommendations for the use of certain scale labels over others in PROM development are provided.

Assessing the Role of Selective Fossilization Hypothesis in Determining Fossilizable Phonetic Errors in Tunisian EFL Learners’ Oral Output

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Aicha Rahal ◽  
Chokri Smaoui
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
First Language ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Phonetic Errors ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon

Fossilization is said to be a distinctive characteristic of second language (L2) learning (Selinker, 1972, 1996; Han, 2004). It is the most pervasive among adult L2 learners (Han and Odlin, 2006). This linguistic phenomenon has been characterized by cessation of learning, even though the learner is exposed to frequent input. Based on the findings of the MA dissertation of the first researcher which is about ‘phonetic fossilization’ and where she conducted a longitudinal study, Han’s Selective Fossilization Hypothesis (SFL) is used to analyze the obtained fossilized phonetic errors in relation to L1 markedness and L2 robustness with a particular focus on fossilized vowel sounds. This is an analytical model for identifying both acquisitional and fossilizable linguistic features based on learners’ first language (L1) markedness and second language (L2) robustness. The article first gives an overview of the theory of Interlanguage and the phenomenon of fossilization. Then, it introduces SFL. This is an attempt to study fossilization scientifically. In other words, it tests the predictive power of a developed L1 Markedness and L2 Robustness rating scale based on Han’s (2009) model. The present study has pedagogic implications; it is an opportunity to raise teachers’ awareness on this common linguistic phenomenon.

scholarly journals Friend or foe? First language (L1) in second/foreign language (L2/FL) instruction & Vygotsky

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-39
Author(s):  
Liaquat A. Channa ◽  
Daniel Gilhooly ◽  
Charles A. Lynn ◽  
Syed A. Manan ◽  
Niaz Hussain Soomro
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Sociocultural Theory ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Target Language

Abstract This theoretical review paper investigates the role of first language (L1) in the mainstream scholarship of second/foreign (L2/FL) language education in the context of language learning, teaching, and bilingual education. The term ‘mainstream’ refers here to the scholarship that is not informed by sociocultural theory in general and Vygotskian sociocultural theory in particular. The paper later explains a Vygotskian perspective on the use of L1 in L2/FL language education and discusses how the perspective may help content teachers in (a) employing L1 in teaching L2/FL content and (b) helping L2/FL students to become self-regulative users of the target language.

The Role of Translation in Language Teaching

2015 ◽  
pp. 118-135
Author(s):  
Anna Maria D'Amore
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
First Language ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
English Reading

With the development of approaches and methods in Modern Language teaching that favoured oral communication skills and advocated more “natural” methods of second/foreign language acquisition, methodology calling for translation in the classroom was shunned. Nonetheless, translation used as a resource designed to assist the student in improving his or her knowledge of the foreign language through reading comprehension exercises, contrastive analysis, and reflection on written texts continues to be practiced. By examining student performance in problem-solving tasks at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, this chapter aims to demonstrate the validity of “pedagogical translation” in ELT in Mexico, particularly at undergraduate level where it is an integral part of English reading courses in Humanities study programmes, not as an end in itself, but as a means to perfecting reading skills in a foreign language and furthermore as an aid for consolidating writing and communication skills in the student's first language.

The Causes of Learner Pronunciation Problems in English

2019 ◽  
pp. 361-379
Author(s):  
John Rothgerber
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Phonological Representation ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Primary Focus

This chapter will provide the language teacher with an introduction to the theory behind the challenges and problems that learners from a variety of language backgrounds face as they learn to pronounce the sounds of English. The primary focus will be on the influence of the first language in second language phonological acquisition. This will include an overview of the role of perception of non-native sounds, as well as a consideration of phonological representation in the mental lexicon and articulatory constraints, all of which can have an effect on difficulties that learners encounter as they learn to pronounce English sounds. Attention will be given to the various components that make up the phonological system, including segmentals, suprasegmentals, phonotactics, and phonological processes. This theoretical understanding will then be applied to pronunciation instruction within the classroom by addressing what teachers can do to maximize the effectiveness of instruction.

A Sociological Study of the Role of Language in Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Naima Saeed ◽  
Tansif Ur Rehman ◽  
Mehmood Ahmed Usmani
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Present Article ◽  
First Language ◽  
Social Pressure ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Place Of Residence ◽  
Sociological Study

The present article is on the role of language in education. This article collected opinions of respondents about the role that language plays in the process of learning and education. Subjects were asked about their preferred mediums of instruction and their feelings about studying in a particular medium of instruction. The study also focused on the reasons why the respondents opted for a certain medium of instruction. Relationships between proficiencies in the first and second language, i.e., Urdu and English were evaluated. Other findings were related to their proficiency in the first language, gender, place of residence, social pressure, the medium of instruction and quality of education. At the end, recommendations developed by researchers are to clarify the issues regarding the role of language in education.

Cross-linguistic similarity in L2 speech learning: Evidence from the acquisition of Russian stop contrasts by Mandarin speakers

2020 ◽  
pp. 026765831990091
Author(s):  
Yuxiao Yang ◽  
Xiaoxiang Chen ◽  
Qi Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Perceptual Discrimination ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Specific Research ◽  
Speech Learning Model ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Speech Learning

This study investigated the role of cross-linguistic similarity in the acquisition of Russian initial stop contrasts by Chinese learners, addressing two specific research questions: (1) How similar are Russian voiced stops to Mandarin stops for Chinese learners? (2) How can the speech learning model (SLM) be applied to account for the acquisition of Russian initial stop contrasts by Chinese learners? Regarding the first question, a hypothesis was proposed that Russian voiced stops could be regarded as dissimilar ‘new’ sounds by Chinese learners, as judged by three commonly adopted methods: IPA comparison, acoustic difference, and feature redeployment. The results of the perceptual assimilation task, however, disconfirmed this hypothesis, as Russian voiced stops were perceived as being highly similar to the sounds of Mandarin voiceless unaspirated stops. According to SLM, perceptually similar second language (L2) sounds are difficult to acquire; hence, a corresponding hypothesis was advanced in relation to the second question; namely, that the acquisition of Russian initial stop contrasts could be challenging for Chinese learners. This hypothesis was supported by the results of the perceptual discrimination and the production tests. These findings corroborated SLM regarding the difficulty in acquiring L2 sounds that are perceptually similar to their first language (L1) counterparts, while posing challenges to the hypothesis that Russian voiced stops could be dissimilar ‘new’ sounds for Chinese learners, as predicted by the three methods. The results indicated that perceived cross-linguistic similarity plays a key role in L2 phonetic acquisition. However, the degree of perceived similarity cannot always be accurately deduced solely through the three methods, at least not in the case of stops.

The Role of the First Language in Foreign Language Learning

Language ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 651
Author(s):  
Carol Blackshire-Belay ◽  
Håkan Ringbom ◽  
Hakan Ringbom
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning
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