Exploring L2 learners’ request behavior in a multi-turn conversation with a fully automated agent

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-257
Author(s):  
Veronika Timpe-Laughlin ◽  
Judit Dombi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Spoken Dialogue Systems ◽  
Dialog Systems ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Request Strategies ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
Oral Interaction

AbstractNew technology such as fully-automated interactive spoken dialogue systems (SDS), which allow learners to engage in multi-turn conversations with an automated agent, could provide a means for second and foreign language learners (L2) to practice form-function-context mappings in oral interaction. In this study, we investigated how learners interacted with an automated agent as they engaged in an SDS task that required them to make two requests. We examined the requests employed by 107 L2 learners, exploring in particular the request strategies and modifications used. We first transcribed verbatim all audio-recorded dialogues. Then, all turns were coded as to whether they contained a request or not. All turns that were identified as including requests were then coded for four categories adopted from Cross-cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns project: (1) Level of directness, (2) Request strategy, (3) External modifiers, and (4) Internal modifiers. Direct requests were most frequently used and learners’ preferred request strategies were want-statements and query preparatories. Additionally, they employed more internal than external modifications – a finding that seems contrary to most interlanguage studies on request realization. Moreover, we found distinct request realizations when comparing L1 Hungarian and L1 Japanese learners of English. We discuss the findings with regard to previous interlanguage studies on request realization, the potential impact of an automated agent, and ways automated spoken dialog systems might be used to implement individualized feedback to raise learners’ pragmatic awareness.

scholarly journals Developmental Stages and the CEFR Levels in Foreign Language Learners’ Speaking and Writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Yumiko Yamaguchi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
English Syntax ◽  
Japanese Learners

<p class="AbstractTitle"><em>This paper aims to investigate foreign language learners’ speaking and writing based on a second language acquisition (SLA) theory and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR; Council of Europe, 2001). While the CEFR has been widely used as a reference instrument in foreign language </em><em>education</em><em>, there has been insufficient empirical research undertaken on the CEFR levels (e.g., Hulstijin, 2007; Wisniewski, 2017). Also, few studies have examined how the CEFR levels relate to the developmental stages predicted in SLA theories. In this study, spoken and written narratives performed by 60 Japanese learners of English are examined based on one of the major SLA theories, namely Processability Theory (PT; Pienemann, 1998, 2005; Bettoni &amp; Di Biase, 2015), as well as on the CEFR. Results show that the Japanese L1 learners acquire English syntax as predicted in PT in both speaking and writing. In addition, there seems to be a linear correlation between the CEFR levels and PT stages. However, it is also found that the learners at the highest PT stage are not necessarily at a higher CEFR level.</em><em></em></p>

Deployment of the formulaic utterance “how about∼” in task-based second language classroom discussions

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-446
Author(s):  
David Aline ◽  
Yuri Hosoda
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Alternative Procedures ◽  
Japanese Learners

Abstract Formulaic speech has long been of interest in studies of second language learning and pragmatic use as production and comprehension of formulaic utterances requires less processing and production effort and, therefore, allows for greater fluency. This study scrutinizes the sequential positions and actions of one formulaic utterance “how about∼” from the participants’ perspective. This conversation analytic study offers a fine-grained microanalysis of student interaction during classroom peer discussion activities. The data consist of over 54 h of video-recorded classroom interaction. Analysis revealed several positions and actions of “how about∼” as it occurs during peer discussions by Japanese learners of English. Emerging from analysis was a focus on how learners deploy this formulaic utterance to achieve various actions within sequences of interaction. Analysis revealed that participants used “how about∼” for (a) explicitly selecting next speaker, (b) shifting topics, (c) proposing a solution, and (d) suggesting alternative procedures. Although the formula was deployed to perform these four different actions, consistent throughout all instances was the disclosure of learner orientation to the progressivity of the task interaction. The findings show how language learners deploy this formulaic utterance in discussion tasks designed for language learning and highlights the pragmatic functions of this phrase.

Using Skype to Focus on Form in Japanese Telecollaboration

2014 ◽  
pp. 181-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuka Akiyama
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Multimodal Interaction ◽  
Correction Method ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Focus On Form ◽  
Lexical Categories ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Multimodal Features ◽  
Linguistic Focus ◽  
Oral Interaction

This chapter examines the effects of lexical categories on Focus on Form (FonF) and the use of multimodal features of Skype for preemptive and reactive Language-Related Episodes (LREs) in a task-based language exchange via Skype (i.e. telecollaboration). Twelve pairs of Japanese-as-a-foreign-language learners and native speakers of Japanese engaged in two decision-making tasks. Each task prompt included target vocabulary of different lexical categories (nouns or onomatopoeia) that participants had to negotiate for task completion. The quantitative analysis of oral interaction revealed a significant effect of lexical categories on the total number and linguistic focus (i.e. morphological, lexical, and phonological items) of preemptive LREs, as well as the correction method, linguistic focus, and the uptake rate of reactive LREs. The analysis of multimodal interaction revealed that participants often used text chat, images, and webcams to carry out telecollaborative interaction and that the lexical categories affected which of these multimodal features of Skype are used for FonF.

scholarly journals FRAME MARKERS AND COHERENCE IN L2 ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-71
Author(s):  
Višnja Pavičić Takač ◽  
Sanja Vakanjac Ivezić
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Argumentative Essays ◽  
The Relationship

Academic literacy includes the learners’ ability to use their language knowledge to form articulate texts. In communicative competence models this ability is subsumed under the notion of discourse competence which includes the concepts of cohesion and coherence. Starting from the premise that constructing a coherent text entails efficient use of metadiscourse (i.e. means of explicit text organisation) this study focuses on elements referring to discourse acts, text sequences or stages called frame markers, i.e. items providing framing information about elements of the discourse and functioning to sequence, label, predict and shift arguments, making the discourse clear to readers or listeners (Hyland 2005). It analyses patterns of L2 learners’ use of frame markers, compares them to English native speakers’, and explores the relationship between frame markers and coherence. The corpus includes 80 argumentative essays written by early undergraduate Croatian L2 learners of English at B2 level. The results indicate that foreign language learners’ argumentative essays are characterized by an overuse of a limited set of frame markers. Finally, implications are drawn for teaching and further research.

Social Networking Sites and Critical Language Learning

2009 ◽  
pp. 237-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Halvorsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Japanese Learners

This chapter looks at the potential use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) for educators and second language learners. It views SNSs broadly through the lens of Critical Language Learning (CLL) and looks at specific issues of identity formation, student empowerment, learner autonomy, and critical literacy as they relate to the use of SNSs. This chapter also reports the results of an initial project to make use of the MySpace social networking site for Japanese learners of English. It is hoped that this chapter will raise awareness of some of the complex issues surrounding the use of SNSs by language learners and that it will lead to further research and consideration of these issues.

TRANSFER AND TRANSITION IN THE SLA OF ASPECT

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Gabriele
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Input Cues ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
English Native Speaker ◽  
Rule Out

Previous studies have shown that it is particularly difficult for second language (L2) learners to overcome the effects of transfer when they need to unlearn specific aspects of the native language in the absence of explicit input that indicates which properties of the first language (L1) are ruled out by the L2 grammar (Inagaki, 2001; Westergaard, 2003; White, 1991a, 1991b). The present study focuses on the effects of transfer in the domain of aspectual semantics through an investigation of the interpretation of the present progressive in L2 English and the imperfective marker te-iru in L2 Japanese and examines whether L2 learners can rule out interpretations available in the L1 but not in the L2. Japanese learners of English (n = 101), English native-speaker controls (n = 23), English learners of Japanese (n = 31), and Japanese native-speaker controls (n = 33) completed an interpretation task in English or Japanese. The results show that the L2 Japanese learners were more successful than the L2 English learners in both acquiring the semantics of the imperfective in the L2 and ruling out interpretations available only in the L1. It is proposed that successful unlearning depends on both the grammatical complexity of the semantic target in the L2 and the transparency of the input cues available to the learner.

scholarly journals Gender Errors in French Interlanguage

2015 ◽  
pp. 7-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Indefinite Article ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
L2 Learners

Many studies on gender assignment in French have focused on the effect of the final morpheme of the noun on the identification of the gender of the noun and the subsequent agreement with any determiners. The present study considers the effect of a noun’s initial vowel on gender accuracy in conversations with 36 Dutch-speaking French foreign language learners. The analysis of 1540 indefinite article + noun sequences revealed that gender accuracy was significantly lower when the noun started with a vowel. This effect was significant for French L3 learners but weaker among more advanced French L2 learners. It thus seems that an initial vowel, and the resulting gender syncretism, delays the correct identification of a noun’s gender among French L2 learners.

scholarly journals Validating the Construct of Readability in EFL Contexts: A Proposal for Criteria

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-16
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Pinchbeck ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Word Lists ◽  
Textual Features ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
Readability Formulas

This article examines how English as a foreign language learners might be better matched to reading texts using automatic readability analysis. Specifically, I examine how the lexical decoding component of readability might be validated. In Japan, readability has been mostly determined by publishers or by professional reading organizations who only occasionally publish their lists of readability ratings for specific texts. Without transparent readability methods, candidate texts cannot be independently evaluated by practitioners. Moreover, the reliance on centralized organizations to curate from commercially available texts precludes the evaluation of the multitudes of free texts that are increasingly available on the Internet. Previous studies that have attempted to develop automatic readability formulas for Japanese learners have used surface textual features of texts, such as word and/or sentence length, and/or they have used word-frequency lists derived from large multi- register corpora. In this article, I draw upon on the findings of a study that examines how such word-lists might be validated for use in matching Japanese learners to texts (Pinchbeck, manuscript in preparation). Finally, I propose a list of general criteria that might be used to evaluate the components of readability formulas in general.

Pragmatics in CLIL

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-494
Author(s):  
Nashwa Nashaat Sobhy
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Written Discourse ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Completion Test ◽  
Request Strategies

Abstract This study is a mixed-method, cross-sectional study that compares the acquisition of request modification in the productions of two secondary school groups (15–16 years old) in two school programs: content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and traditional mainstream (non-CLIL). A total of 192 requests were gathered from both groups by means of an elicitation instrument (a Written Discourse Completion Test – WDCT). The requestive pragmatic moves (external and internal modifiers and request strategies) were analysed according to their pragmatic functions (softeners and aggravators) and a data-driven taxonomy of request modification was elaborated in line with previously developed taxonomies (Blum-Kulka et al., 1989; Alcón Soler et al., 2005) for the data analysis. The results showed that both groups share similarities typical of foreign language learners. Nonetheless, significant statistical differences between them indicated that the CLIL group had a fuller repertoire of request modification strategies, yet their sociopragmatic knowledge is questioned.

Social Networking Sites and Critical Language Learning

2010 ◽  
pp. 1061-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Halvorsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Japanese Learners

This chapter looks at the potential use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) for educators and second language learners. It views SNSs broadly through the lens of Critical Language Learning (CLL) and looks at specific issues of identity formation, student empowerment, learner autonomy, and critical literacy as they relate to the use of SNSs. This chapter also reports the results of an initial project to make use of the MySpace social networking site for Japanese learners of English. It is hoped that this chapter will raise awareness of some of the complex issues surrounding the use of SNSs by language learners and that it will lead to further research and consideration of these issues.

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