scholarly journals The Role of Native-Language Knowledge in the Perception of Casual Speech in a Second Language

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Mitterer ◽  
Annelie Tuinman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
Casual Speech

SECOND LANGUAGE EPISTEMOLOGY

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Dekydtspotter
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Domain Specificity ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Language Knowledge

This article presents evidence that supports the claim that second language (L2) grammars arise in a domain-specific, informationally encapsulated module with contents provided by Universal Grammar and enriched by native language knowledge, as entertained by Schwartz (1986, 1987, 1999) contra Bley-Vroman (1990). I consider state-of-the-art evidence representative of a body of research on the poverty of the stimulus (POS) that argues for the domain-specificity of L2 representations, with a main focus on interpretation. Then I examine interpretive evidence relevant to the role of informational encapsulation and compositionality in SLA. I seek to demonstrate that the acquisition of syntax-linked interpretive properties where the POS is severe provides opportunities for a type of fingerprinting of mental organization that can inform a variety of epistemologically relevant questions.

DISCUSSION

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Juffs
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Lexical Representation ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Complete Understanding ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
Full Picture ◽  
Crosslinguistic Variation

In this article I discuss some key points that are raised in the papers in this special issue. The first issue is that a variety of theoretical tools are necessary for a complete understanding of the issues raised in these papers. Second, although the methodology that is used in studies of second language knowledge has improved, it is clear we still lack an agreed-on set of protocols that will permit reliable comparisons across studies. In spite of these challenges, we are making progress in using complementary theories of the role of lexical representation, predication, and crosslinguistic variation to get a full picture of this complex area of lexico-morphosyntactic knowledge.

Making Use Of Students’ Native Language Potential Strategy To Increase Second Language Acquisition

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Gultom
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Alternative Learning ◽  
Potential Strategy

<p>Alternative learning strategies, in the concept of second language acquisition (SLA), concern more on the identification of second language students’ characteristic. One of the alternative learning strategies that will be discussed in this paper is about the role of native language (L1) with a demonstration of Papuan Malay language possessive pronouns and noun phrases in the context of teaching English as a foreign language (FL) in Jayapura, Papua. The discussion about the structure of Papuan Malay language possessive pronouns and noun phrases might give insight for second language (L2) teachers in Papua on making use their students’ L1 as a potential strategy to help them to increase their second language acquisition.</p>

Learning to assign stress in a second language: The role of second-language vocabulary size and transfer from the native language in second-language readers of Italian

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-136
Author(s):  
Giacomo Spinelli ◽  
Luciana Forti ◽  
Debra Jared
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Stress Pattern ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Stress Assignment ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Distributional Information ◽  
Written Word

AbstractLearning to pronounce a written word implies assigning a stress pattern to that word. This task can present a challenge for speakers of languages like Italian, in which stress information must often be computed from distributional properties of the language, especially for individuals learning Italian as a second language (L2). Here, we aimed to characterize the processes underlying the development of stress assignment in native English and native Chinese speakers learning L2 Italian. Both types of bilinguals produced evidence supporting a role of vocabulary size in modulating the type of distributional information used in stress assignment, with an early bias for Italian's dominant stress pattern being gradually replaced by use of associations between orthographic sequences and stress patterns in more advanced bilinguals. We also obtained some evidence for a transfer of stress assignment habits from the bilinguals’ native language to Italian, although only in English native speakers.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF NATIVE LANGUAGE PHONOLOGY IN THE PRODUCTION OF L2 CONTRASTS

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Eckman ◽  
Gregory K. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Crucial Difference ◽  
Error Types

We present findings of an investigation into the acquisition of the English /s/–/ʃ/ contrast by native speakers of Korean and Japanese. Both of these languages have the phones [s] and [ʃ], and both languages exhibit a pattern—or motivate a rule—whereby /s/ is realized as [ʃ] before the vowel [i] and the glide [j]—that is, high front vocoids. The crucial difference, and the focus of this study, is that in Korean [s] and [ʃ] are allophones of /s/, whereas in Japanese the two sounds arguably instantiate different phonemes. We present production data showing that the differences in the functioning of [s] and [ʃ] in the second language learner’s native language have different consequences for the acquisition patterns and the error types produced in the learning of this contrast.

scholarly journals Crosslinguistic influence and L2 grammar learning: Proposed replications of Ellis and Sagarra (2011) and Tolentino and Tokowicz (2014)

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Kevin McManus
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Digital Repositories ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
Advance Knowledge

Abstract Investigations of crosslinguistic effects in second language acquisition (SLA) have contributed rich understandings about the ways in which prior language knowledge and experience can influence additional language learning. Building on this work, one recent line of research has examined the extent to which SLA findings about crosslinguistic influence can be used to improve L2 learning, indicating that explicit instruction tailored to address the nature of the crosslinguistic learning problem can benefit L2 performance. At the same time, however, this line of inquiry is relatively novel and under-researched. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to suggest further research which might advance knowledge and understanding about the ways in which explicit instruction can facilitate second language (L2) learning of crosslinguistically difficult target features. To this end, I lay the ground for a series of close replications designed to understand the role of prior language knowledge and experience in L2 learning: Ellis and Sagarra (2011) and Tolentino and Tokowicz (2014). These studies were selected because they are grounded in empirical SLA research and SLA theory. In addition, the selected studies facilitate replication because they have either (i) made their data collection materials available in digital repositories or (ii) have robustly described their design and provided the stimuli used.

scholarly journals The role of blended learning in vocabulary acquisition and student autonomy development in an ESP context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ivana Grabar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Autonomy Development ◽  
Language Knowledge

Nowadays, when globalization is having a strong influence across all spheres of life, people are aware of the significance of (foreign) languages. Since languages are influenced by the surrounding environment and are therefore constantly developing, fast changes in technology have influenced second language acquisition and interaction between students, students and teachers and students and computers at higher education institutions. In line with the need for a better understanding of influences that technology has on language learning at this particular level, research was conducted to investigate the role of blended learning in vocabulary acquisition and learner autonomy development in the context of English for specific purposes. The study included 179 participants, first-year students of University North, allocated to two groups (a face-to-face group and a blended learning group) in accordance with the level of their English language knowledge. Three hypotheses were formulated and in order to test them, both groups were asked to complete several tasks during the semester. In order to test the first hypothesis, Blended learning of ESP vocabulary has the same effect on vocabulary acquisition as face-to-face learning, at the beginning of the semester, the students were asked to do a vocabulary test related to their study programme. At the end of the semester, vocabulary levels of both groups were tested once more and compared. Results of the study indicated that it is possible to acquire vocabulary in a blended learning environment to the same extent as in a traditional face-to-face environment. In order to test the second hypothesis, Blended learning raises students’ awareness of the possibility of more autonomous and independent English language acquisition in relation to the traditional classroom learning, and the third hypothesis, The effect of blended learning on the acquisition of ESP vocabulary and the level of students’ self-assessed competence is related to the students’ skill of using a blended approach to learning, that is their technological skills and the use of the technology for learning purposes, the students were asked to fill in a questionnaire containing questions about their self-assessed technology competence, attitude towards learning in blended and online environments and using technology for academic purposes, and to self-assess their English language knowledge using “can-do” statements. The results showed that the students involved in online learning were aware of the possibilities that blended learning offered, and the possibility of developing learner autonomy through technology and distance learning, but were not aware of any improvements in their language skills. The results, in spite of certain limitations, confirmed those obtained by previous research and contributed to the field of second language acquisition, and they can therefore be applied in theory and practice to tertiary contexts outside Croatia.

Distinctiveness and Assimilation in Vowel Perception in a Second Language

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4534-4543
Author(s):  
Wei Hu ◽  
Sha Tao ◽  
Mingshuang Li ◽  
Chang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Vowel Identification ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Perceptual Distance ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Chinese Counterpart ◽  
Vowel Categories

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how the distinctive establishment of 2nd language (L2) vowel categories (e.g., how distinctively an L2 vowel is established from nearby L2 vowels and from the native language counterpart in the 1st formant [F1] × 2nd formant [F2] vowel space) affected L2 vowel perception. Method Identification of 12 natural English monophthongs, and categorization and rating of synthetic English vowels /i/ and /ɪ/ in the F1 × F2 space were measured for Chinese-native (CN) and English-native (EN) listeners. CN listeners were also examined with categorization and rating of Chinese vowels in the F1 × F2 space. Results As expected, EN listeners significantly outperformed CN listeners in English vowel identification. Whereas EN listeners showed distinctive establishment of 2 English vowels, CN listeners had multiple patterns of L2 vowel establishment: both, 1, or neither established. Moreover, CN listeners' English vowel perception was significantly related to the perceptual distance between the English vowel and its Chinese counterpart, and the perceptual distance between the adjacent English vowels. Conclusions L2 vowel perception relied on listeners' capacity to distinctively establish L2 vowel categories that were distant from the nearby L2 vowels.

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