scholarly journals Can Google Translate Rewire Your L2 English Processing?

Digital ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-85
Author(s):  
Natália Resende ◽  
Andy Way
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Syntactic Priming ◽  
Web Based ◽  
English Syntax

In this article, we address the question of whether exposure to the translated output of MT systems could result in changes in the cognitive processing of English as a second language (L2 English). To answer this question, we first conducted a survey with 90 Brazilian Portuguese L2 English speakers with the aim of understanding how and for what purposes they use web-based MT systems. To investigate whether MT systems are capable of influencing L2 English cognitive processing, we carried out a syntactic priming experiment with 32 Brazilian Portuguese speakers. We wanted to test whether speakers re-use in their subsequent speech in English the same syntactic alternative previously seen in the MT output, when using the popular Google Translate system to translate sentences from Portuguese into English. The results of the survey show that Brazilian Portuguese L2 English speakers use Google Translate as a tool supporting their speech in English as well as a source of English vocabulary learning. The results of the syntactic priming experiment show that exposure to an English syntactic alternative through GT can lead to the re-use of the same syntactic alternative in subsequent speech even if it is not the speaker’s preferred syntactic alternative in English. These findings suggest that GT is being used as a tool for language learning purposes and so is indeed capable of rewiring the processing of L2 English syntax.

Second language learning via syntactic priming: The effects of modality, attention and motivation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Coumel ◽  
Ema Ushioda ◽  
Katherine Messenger
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Syntactic Priming ◽  
Input Modality ◽  
Online Study ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
High Motivation

We examined whether language input modality and individual differences in attention and motivation influence second language (L2) learning via syntactic priming. In an online study, we compared French L2 English and L1 English speakers’ primed production of passives in reading-to-writing vs. listening-to-writing priming conditions. We measured immediate priming (producing a passive immediately after exposure to the target structure) and short- and long-term learning (producing more target structures in immediate and delayed post-tests without primes relative to pre-tests). Both groups showed immediate priming and short- and long-term learning. Prime modality did not influence these effects but learning was greater in L2 speakers. While attention only increased learning in L1 speakers, high motivation increased L2 speakers' learning in the reading-to-writing condition. These results suggest that syntactic priming fosters long-term L2 learning, regardless of input modality. This study is the first to show that motivation may modulate L2 learning via syntactic priming.

scholarly journals Vocabulary Learning Strategies: The Case of English for Business and Financial Reporting

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-331
Author(s):  
Hélder Fanha Martins ◽  
Maria João Ferro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies ◽  
Lexical Competence

Among the essential challenges faced by students in foreign language learning processes is vocabulary learning. Lexical competence has been acknowledged as critical to the use of language in which the students’ inadequate knowledge of the vocabulary causes problems in learning a second language. Therefore, learners require being educated with vocabulary in learning strategies when learning a second language. Contemporary research has not scrutinised to the fullest the categories of strategies of vocabulary learning used by learners who are majoring in Accounting.  The main objective of this research was to understand how students use vocabulary learning strategies. For that, we adopted a qualitative approach, based on open-ended individual interviews with fifteen learners. The strategies that were concluded include the monolingual and bilingual dictionary use, usage of several media of English language, learning a word by specific texts, and application of new words in everyday conversation, interrelated to memory, strategies of metacognitive, and determination. These are common strategies and have keenly been used by students.

scholarly journals Helping Second Language Student Writers Improve Their Revision

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Wenzhe Kang ◽  
Ruiyi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Language Students

Writing ability is a comprehensive evaluation of language learning level. Nowadays, most universities offer writing-related courses to help students lay a good foundation for writing and contribute to their subsequent studies. Compared with native English speakers, second language learners need to do more revision, which is a great challenge for second language learners. Therefore, in this paper, the aim is to make the second language students understand and apply the revision correctly.    

Second language learning of phonological alternations with and without orthographic input: Evidence from the acquisition of a German-like voicing alternation

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-545
Author(s):  
Shannon L. Barrios ◽  
Rachel Hayes-Harb
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Naming Test

AbstractWhile a growing body of research investigates the influence of orthographic input on the acquisition of second language (L2) segmental contrasts, few studies have examined its influence on the acquisition of L2 phonological processes. Hayes-Harb, Brown, and Smith (2018) showed that exposure to words’ written forms caused native English speakers to misremember the voicing of final obstruents in German-like words exemplifying voicing neutralization. However, they did not examine participants’ acquisition of the final devoicing process. To address this gap, we conducted two experiments wherein native English speakers (assigned to Orthography or No Orthography groups) learned German-like words in suffixed and unsuffixed forms, and later completed a picture naming test. Experiment 1 investigated learners’ knowledge of the surface voicing of obstruents in both final and nonfinal position, and revealed that while all participants produced underlyingly voiced obstruents as voiceless more often in final than nonfinal position, the difference was only significant for No Orthography participants. Experiment 2 investigated participants’ ability to apply the devoicing process to new words, and provided no evidence of generalization. Together these findings shed light on the acquisition of final devoicing by naïve adult learners, as well as the influence of orthographic input in the acquisition of a phonological alternation.

Educational failure or success

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Students First ◽  
Use Of Assessment

Within the Australian education system, Aboriginal students’ use of non-standard English features is often viewed simplistically as evidence of non-attainment of literacy and oral-English milestones. One reason for this is the widespread use of assessment tools which fail to differentiate between native- English speakers and students who are learning English as a second language. In these assessments, non-standard English features are framed as ‘mistakes’ and low scores taken as evidence of ‘poor’ performance. This paper will contrast a mistake-oriented analysis with one that incorporates knowledge of the students’ first language. It will clearly show that when consideration is given to the first language, a more nuanced picture of English proficiency emerges: one that is attuned to the specific second language learning pathway and thus far better placed to inform both assessment and classroom instruction.i

Pragmatic awareness and second language learning motivation

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Unknown / not yet matched ◽  
Wei Ren
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Web Based ◽  
L2 Motivation ◽  
Model Combining ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
Pragmatic Awareness ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Learning English

Abstract Motivation has an effect on the rate and success of second language (L2) learning. However, little is known about its role in students’ levels of L2 pragmatic awareness. This study investigated whether and to what extent students’ L2 motivation influences their pragmatic awareness. A total of 498 Chinese university students completed a two-part web-based survey (an appropriateness judgement task and a motivation questionnaire), of whom 12 were subsequently interviewed. The quantitative results show that pragmatic awareness correlates positively with attitudes towards the L2 community and the intended learning efforts. Moreover, a model combining the intended learning efforts, attitudes towards the L2 community and attitudes towards learning English can significantly predict pragmatic awareness. The analysis of semi-structured interviews reveals a mismatch between students’ immediate needs when learning English and outcomes of pragmatic acquisition, which may contribute to the absent correlation between overall levels of L2 motivation and pragmatic awareness.

scholarly journals The Effect of Instructed Second Language Learning on the Acoustic Properties of First Language Speech

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Olga Dmitrieva ◽  
Allard Jongman ◽  
Joan A. Sereno
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Classroom Language ◽  
L1 Use ◽  
Russian Norms ◽  
Phonetic Study

This paper reports on a comprehensive phonetic study of American classroom learners of Russian, investigating the influence of the second language (L2) on the first language (L1). Russian and English productions of 20 learners were compared to 18 English monolingual controls focusing on the acoustics of word-initial and word-final voicing. The results demonstrate that learners’ Russian was acoustically different from their English, with shorter voice onset times (VOTs) in [−voice] stops, longer prevoicing in [+voice] stops, more [−voice] stops with short lag VOTs and more [+voice] stops with prevoicing, indicating a degree of successful L2 pronunciation learning. Crucially, learners also demonstrated an L1 phonetic change compared to monolingual English speakers. Specifically, the VOT of learners’ initial English voiceless stops was shortened, indicating assimilation with Russian, while the frequency of prevoicing in learners’ English was decreased, indicating dissimilation with Russian. Word-final, the duration of preceding vowels, stop closures, frication, and voicing during consonantal constriction all demonstrated drift towards Russian norms of word-final voicing neutralization. The study confirms that L2-driven phonetic changes in L1 are possible even in L1-immersed classroom language learners, challenging the role of reduced L1 use and highlighting the plasticity of the L1 phonetic system.

The effects of age of second language learning on the production of English vowels

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray J. Munro ◽  
James Emil Flege ◽  
Ian R. A. Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Percent Correct ◽  
English Vowels

ABSTRACTThis study examined the English vowel productions of 240 native speakers of Italian who had arrived in Canada at ages ranging from 2 to 23 years and 24 native English speakers from the same community. The productions of 11 vowels were rated for degree of foreign accent by 10 listeners. An increase in perceived accentedness as a function of increasing age of arrival was observed on every vowel. Not one of the vowels was observed to be produced in a consistently native-like manner by the latest-arriving learners, even though they had been living in Canada for an average of 32 years. However, high intelligibility (percent correct identification) scores were obtained for the same set of productions. This was true even for English vowels that have no counterpart in Italian.

scholarly journals Effects of distributed practice on the acquisition of second language English syntax—ERRATUM

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-452
Author(s):  
STEVE BIRD
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Distributed Practice ◽  
English Syntax

There were eight occurrences of an incorrect spelling of the adjectival term language-learning as language-leaning in the original article (Bird, 2010). These typographical errors occurred in the first few pages only, which are reprinted herein. We regret these errors and any problems they may have caused.

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