Advanced learners of Spanish abroad

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-275
Author(s):  
María Victoria Soulé ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Knowledge Questionnaire ◽  
Formal Instruction ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract This study examines the progress made by a group of ERASMUS students in their use of the Spanish Preterite and Imperfect during a stay abroad. Advanced learners of Spanish (N = 12) and native speakers (N = 12) completed an impersonal narrative-based forced-choice test (INT) and an explicit knowledge questionnaire (EKQ). Results from the INT partially confirm the findings of previous studies which indicate that the expression of grounding distinguishes learners from native speakers. Our data show that only the foreground clearly distinguishes between the two groups, not the background. Responses to the EKQ reveal that learners use a variety of mechanisms for their selection of past tense morphology: formal instruction, translation into their L1, knowledge of other L2s and conversation with native speakers. This article suggests further research be undertaken to examine the impact of the learning context on students’ use of past tense morphology.

Examining the impact of task demands on morphological variability in native and non-native Spanish*

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz López Prego ◽  
Alison Gabriele
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Number Agreement ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Perfect Performance ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Impact

The study tests representational and computational accounts of morphological variability in English-speaking learners of Spanish by examining performance on gender and number agreement under different task demands. Second language (L2) learners took either a Speeded grammaticality judgment task (GJT) or an Untimed GJT. The tasks targeted agreement violations of two types: errors in the use of ‘default’ morphology and errors involving ‘feature clashes’ (McCarthy, 2008). In addition, three groups of native speakers took the Speeded GJT at three different presentation rates to examine whether native speakers under a processing burden perform similarly to learners. Natives in the fastest speed performed better with feature clash errors for both gender and number. Learners showed the same pattern for number, but performed better with default errors in gender, suggesting different effects of processing demands for properties unique to the L2. On the Untimed GJT, a subset of advanced learners showed perfect performance with both gender and number.

scholarly journals Probing rhythmic patterns in English-L2: a preliminary study on vowel reduction by Brazilian learners at different ages

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronaldo Mangueira Lima Jr ◽  
Guilherme Duarte Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Vowel Reduction ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Initial Exposure ◽  
Formal Instruction ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Categorical Classification ◽  
Preliminary Study

Languages are traditionally classified as mora-timed, syllable-timed or stress-timed in relation to their rhythmic patterns. The distinction between syllable-timed and stress-timed languages, however, lacks solid evidence in the literature. Syllable-timed languages typically have similar duration across unstressed and stressed syllables, whereas stress-timed languages tend to have similar inter-stress intervals, and unstressed syllables are shorter than stressed syllables. According to this categorical classification, English is a stress-timed language, thus having more reduction in unstressed vowels. Brazilian Portuguese, on the other hand, is typically classified as syllable-timed, and thus has little reduction of unstressed vowels. If these categorical rhythmic differences are correct, then acquiring the rhythmic patterns of English should be a challenging task to Brazilian learners, who are not expected to produce unstressed vowels with asmuch reduction as English native speakers. However, recent studies have found that the typology of rhythm is best understood as not categorical, but rather gradient, and that Brazilian Portuguese has a mixed classification, with more stress timing than would be expected from a traditional and categorical perspective. We therefore hypothesize that Brazilian learners of English should not have major difficulties reducing unstressed vowels, even when exposed to the second language later in life. To test this hypothesis, we analyze production data of native speakers of English (control group) and two groups of Brazilian advanced learners of English who differ in their age of initial exposure to formal instruction. The results show that neither group of learners is credibly different from the control group, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the mixed rhythm present in Brazilian Portuguese in fact facilitates the acquisition of the rhythmic patterns of English, a stress-timed language, at least in terms of unstressed vowel reduction.

scholarly journals 'You wouldn't pass the salt' – from accusation to request or the impact of learning context and learner identity on the acquisition of situational variation in highly advanced learners of English

2010 ◽  
pp. 53-58
Author(s):  
Anne Marie Devlin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Learner Identity ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
The Impact

The field of second language acquisition is a fascinating and global topic. Many of us have spent long hours poring over textbooks, memorising vocabulary and perfecting our grammar only to find that when we arrive in the country no-one understands us or our use of language unexpectedly gives rise to hilarity or even causes offense. We've been told, 'Don't worry. Spend a few weeks in the country and you'll soon soak up the language'. Again, this is not always the case. While many learners return from their time abroad showing and feeling huge improvements, there are others who seem not to have benefited from the experience. In fact, it is well known that people can live in another language environment for years and never 'pick up' the language. So, if learning doesn't necessarily help and spending time in the country doesn't always produce the desired results, then what are the ...

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF ORTHOGRAPHY ON LEXICAL ACCESS

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Andreas Opitz ◽  
Denisa Bordag
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Specific Property ◽  
Initial Letter ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Word Class ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Visual Priming ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Parent Node

Abstract Previous research has shown that orthographic marking may have a function beyond identifying orthographic word forms. In two visual priming experiments with native speakers and advanced learners of German (Czech natives) we tested the hypothesis that orthography can convey word-class cues comparable to morphological marking. We examined the effect of initial letter capitalization of nouns (a specific property of German orthography) on the processing of five homonymous and grammatically ambiguous forms. Both populations showed the same pattern of results: deverbal nouns (conversions) patterned together with countable nouns while in a previous study (with eliminated orthographic word-class cues) they patterned together with infinitives. Together, findings suggest that orthographic cues can trigger word-class-specific lexical retrieval/access. They also suggest a lexical entry structure in which conversion nouns, infinitives, and inflected verbal forms share a category-neutral parent node and that specified subnodes are accessed only when specifying cues are available and/or necessary for processing.

scholarly journals The Comprehension of Synonyms by Saudi EFL Learners: Acquisition and Pedagogical Implications

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Majed Alanazi
Keyword(s):  
English Proficiency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Multiple Choice Test ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Proficiency Level

This study investigates 40 Saudi EFL learners’ receptive knowledge of synonyms in English. It also tests whether the participants’ English proficiency level plays a role in their comprehension of English synonyms. To achieve this, the researcher designed a multiple-choice test to measure Saudi EFL learners’ ability to recognise the correct English synonym in contextualised sentences. In order to test whether the English proficiency level of the participants plays a role in their comprehension of English synonyms, the participants were divided on the basis of their scores on the Oxford Placement Test into two groups: 20 Advanced Learners (ALs) and 20 Intermediate Learners (ILs). Twenty native speakers of English (NSs) acted as the control group. The native speakers’ answers on the multiple-choice test were considered as the accurate answers. The answers provided by the ALs and ILs were compared to those provided by the NSs to determine whether the answers of the former approximate those of the latter. A Chi-square test was employed to determine whether the differences between the three groups, ALs, ILs and NSs on the multiple-choice test were statistically significant. The results reveal that the answers supplied by the ILs differed statistically from those of NSs on all items on the multiple-choice test, whereas those provided by the ALs differed significantly from those of the NSs on eight items. The results also show that participants’ English proficiency level may not have played a role in their ability to recognise the correct synonym on all items on the test. The researcher argued that the main sources of error were interference habits from the participants’ first language (L1), lack of awareness of the semantic differences between the synonyms in English and lack of familiarity with English collocations. The study concluded with some pedagogical implications for ESL/EFL teachers in the context of teaching English synonyms to L2 students. 

scholarly journals The influence of a short stay abroad experience on perceived foreign accent

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Àngels Llanes
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Home School ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Home Group ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of learning context on the L2 pronunciation of 14 Catalan/Spanish-speaking children. Eight children engaged in a two-month study abroad (SA) experience, whereas six students learned English (L2) in their home school. The participants were asked to describe a picture at three data collection times, namely prior to the SA group’s departure to Ireland, immediately after they returned from their stay abroad, and a further year later again. The excerpts were presented to a group of 11 native speakers of English who rated the degree of foreign accent. Results indicate that for the SA group, the difference between the pre- and post-tests was significant, and approaching significance between the pre- and delayed post-tests. For the at-home group of learners, no significant difference was found.

Methods for Restricting Maximum Exposure Rate in Computerized Adaptative Testing

Methodology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Ramon Barrada ◽  
Julio Olea ◽  
Vicente Ponsoda
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Accuracy ◽  
Computerized Adaptive Testing ◽  
Computation Time ◽  
Adaptive Testing ◽  
Exposure Rate ◽  
Control Parameters ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Two Alternatives ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Maximum Exposure

Abstract. The Sympson-Hetter (1985) method provides a means of controlling maximum exposure rate of items in Computerized Adaptive Testing. Through a series of simulations, control parameters are set that mark the probability of administration of an item on being selected. This method presents two main problems: it requires a long computation time for calculating the parameters and the maximum exposure rate is slightly above the fixed limit. Van der Linden (2003) presented two alternatives which appear to solve both of the problems. The impact of these methods in the measurement accuracy has not been tested yet. We show how these methods over-restrict the exposure of some highly discriminating items and, thus, the accuracy is decreased. It also shown that, when the desired maximum exposure rate is near the minimum possible value, these methods offer an empirical maximum exposure rate clearly above the goal. A new method, based on the initial estimation of the probability of administration and the probability of selection of the items with the restricted method ( Revuelta & Ponsoda, 1998 ), is presented in this paper. It can be used with the Sympson-Hetter method and with the two van der Linden's methods. This option, when used with Sympson-Hetter, speeds the convergence of the control parameters without decreasing the accuracy.

Implicit and explicit corrective feedback and feedback exposure conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-48
Author(s):  
Takehiro Iizuka ◽  
Kimi Nakatsukasa
Keyword(s):  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Oral Corrective Feedback ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Picture Description ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Instructional Settings ◽  
The Impact

This exploratory study examined the impact of implicit and explicit oral corrective feedback (CF) on the development of implicit and explicit knowledge of Japanese locative particles (activity de, movement ni and location ni) for those who directly received CF and those who observed CF in the classroom. Thirty-six college students in a beginning Japanese language course received either recast (implicit), metalinguistic (explicit) or no feedback during an information-gap picture description activity, and completed a timed picture description test (implicit knowledge) and an untimed grammaticality judgement test (explicit knowledge) in a pre-test, immediate post-test and delayed post-test. The results showed that overall there was no significant difference between CF types, and that CF benefited direct and indirect recipients similarly. Potential factors that might influence the effectiveness of CF, such as instructional settings, complexity of target structures and pedagogy styles, are discussed.

Impact of removing ESBL designation from culture reports on the selection of antibiotics for the treatment of infections associated with ESBL-producing organisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 604-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Lesher ◽  
Cory M. Hale ◽  
Dona S. S. Wijetunge ◽  
Matt R. England ◽  
Debra S. Myers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽  
Antibiotic Prescribing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Inhibitor Combination ◽  
Lactamase Inhibitor ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractWe characterized the impact of removal of the ESBL designation from microbiology reports on inpatient antibiotic prescribing. Definitive prescribing of carbapenems decreased from 48.4% to 16.1% (P = .01) and β-lactam–β-lactamase inhibitor combination increased from 19.4% to 61.3% (P = .002). Our findings confirm the importance of collaboration between microbiology and antimicrobial stewardship programs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document