scholarly journals Input frequencies in processing of verbal morphology in L1 and L2: Evidence from Russian

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Tkachenko ◽  
Tatiana Chernigovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Grammatical Structures

In this study we take a usage-based perspective on the analysis of data from the acquisition of verbal morphology by Norwegian adult learners of L2 Russian, as compared to children acquiring Russian as an L1. According to the usage-based theories, language learning is input-driven and frequency of occurrence of grammatical structures and lexical items in the input plays a key role in this process. We have analysed to what extent the acquisition and processing of Russian verbal morphology by children and adult L2 learners is dependent on the input factors, in particular on type and token frequencies. Our analysis of the L2 input based on the written material used in the instruction shows a different distribution of frequencies as compared to the target language at large. The results of the tests that elicited present tense forms of verbs belonging to four different inflectional classes (-AJ-, -A-, -I-, and -OVA-) have demonstrated that for both Russian children and L2 learners type frequency appears to be an important factor, influencing both correct stem recognition and generalisations. The results have also demonstrated token frequency effects. For L2 learners we observed also effects of formal instruction and greater reliance on morphological cues. In spite of the fact that L2 learners did not match completely any of the child groups, there are many similarities between L1 and L2 morphological processing, the main one being the role of frequency.

Perspective discursive et influence translinguistique

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Benazzo ◽  
Cecilia Andorno ◽  
Grazia Interlandi ◽  
Cédric Patin
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Romance Languages ◽  
Information Unit ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Discourse Organization ◽  
Grammatical Structures ◽  
Selection Of

This paper aims to study perspective-taking in L2 discourse at the level of utterance information structure. Many studies have shown how principles of discourse organization partly reflect lexico-grammatical structures available in a given language, and how difficult it is to reorganize L1 discursive habits when acquiring an L2 in adulthood. In this study we compare how L2 learners of Romance languages (French, Italian), with either a Romance or a Germanic language as an L1, organize the information structure of utterances relating contrasting events. Native speakers of Germanic and Romance languages show systematic differences in the selection of the information unit — referential entities or predicate polarity — on which the contrast is highlighted (Dimroth et al. 2010) ; moreover, they differ in the lexical, prosodic and morpho-syntactic means used to achieve this goal. Our data show that L2 learners can adopt the target language perspective in the selection of the information unit to contrast, when the input offers clear evidence for it. However, their choice of linguistic means reveals both the influence of the L1 and the role of more general acquisitional principles, which are still active at the advanced level.

scholarly journals The Influence the Language Learning Environment on Negative Transfer and its Connection to Status and Face-Saving Refusal Strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Rod E. Case ◽  
Wei Xu
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Negative Transfer ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Face Saving ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Refusal Strategies

While there is some research into the role of the target language community in understanding negative transfer and refusals (e.g., Beebe, Takahashi, Uliss-Weltz,1990; Ikoma & Shimura, 1993; Takahashi & Beebe, 1987; Yamagashira, 2001), most research has focused on determining the extent to which L2 proficiency influences negative transfer without close attention to status of the interlocuter or face-saving strategies (e.g., Félix-Brasdefer, 2004; Chang, 2009, Jiang, 2015). In response to this gap in the research, this study reports on findings from an investigation into the negative transfer of refusals among 59 students studying in Japan and the USA. Findings demonstrated that learning environments play a role in determining the frequency of negative transfers and that negative transfer was sensitive to status. Content-related findings suggest that the production of face-saving refusals is sensitive to the learning environment as well. Implications for pragmatic research comparing L1 and L2 environments are offered.

scholarly journals Vujović, Ramscar & Wonnacott (pre-print). Language learning as uncertainty reduction: The role of prediction error in linguistic generalization and item learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maša Vujović ◽  
Michael Ramscar ◽  
Elizabeth Wonnacott
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Prediction Error ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Total N ◽  
Artificial Language Learning ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
Learning As A Process

Discriminative theories frame language learning as a process whereby prediction error reduces uncertainty about the meaning of an utterance. Previous work proposed that learning a suffixing language promotes prediction error, and thus generalization, to a greater extent than prefixing, which in turn tended to promote item-learning. We explored this in two large-scale web-based artificial language learning experiments with adult learners (total N = 434). Although we found no overall benefit of suffixing on generalization, participants in the prefix condition were more affected by feature frequency, and were more likely to incorrectly overgeneralize a high frequency, but non-discriminating (in terms of affix use) feature than those in the suffix condition. We demonstrate computationally that this behaviour is in-line with the predictions of a naïve discriminative learning model which treats affixes as cues to nouns under prefixing, and nouns as cues to affixes under suffixing. For item learning, we did not see the predicted benefit of prefixing, although there was overall better item-learning of low type-frequency items, which we discuss in terms of differences in the entropy of individual items. The results demonstrate the crucial role of prediction error in linguistic generalization, and have implications for how generalization interacts with item-learning.

Second language processing of English past tense morphology: The role of working memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Filiz Rızaoğlu ◽  
Ayşe Gürel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
L2 Learners

AbstractThis study examines, via a masked priming task, the processing of English regular and irregular past tense morphology in proficient second language (L2) learners and native speakers in relation to working memory capacity (WMC), as measured by the Automated Reading Span (ARSPAN) and Operation Span (AOSPAN) tasks. The findings revealed quantitative group differences in the form of slower reaction times (RTs) in the L2-English group. While no correlation was found between the morphological processing patterns and WMC in either group, there was a negative relationship between English and Turkish ARSPAN scores and the speed of word recognition in the L2 group. Overall, comparable decompositional processing patterns found in both groups suggest that, like native speakers, high-proficiency L2 learners are sensitive to the morphological structure of the target language.

Study abroad and the SLA of variable structures: A look at the present perfect, the copula contrast, and the present progressive in Mexico and Spain

Probus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kanwit ◽  
Kimberly L. Geeslin ◽  
Stephen Fafulas
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Present Perfect ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Grammatical Structures

AbstractThe present study connects research on the L2 acquisition of variable structures to the ever-growing body of research on the role of study abroad in the language learning process. The data come from a group of 46 English-speaking learners of Spanish who participated in immersion programs in two distinct locations, Valencia, Spain and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Simultaneously, we tested a group of native speakers from each region to create an appropriate target model for each learner group. Learners completed a written contextualized questionnaire at the beginning and end of their seven-week stay abroad. Our instrument examines three variable grammatical structures: (1) the copulas

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.

scholarly journals Blogging Identity: How L2 Learners Express Themselves

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Kiyomi FUJII
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Self Image ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Identity Expression

This study discusses language learning and identity, particularly pertaining to intermediate-advanced-level Japanese-language learners, focusing on their target language and identity expression through their interactions with peers and Japanese college students. When learners of Japanese express their identities while interacting with others in their target language, they feel a gap between the self-image they want to present, and the image they are capable of presenting in Japanese (Siegal, 1994, 1995, 1996). Along with adjusting their L1 and L2 usage depending on their interlocutor (Kurata 2007), learners also use different sentence-ending styles depending on the role they want to assume (Cook 2008). By conducting a case study, the present inquiry attempts to address how learners of Japanese express their identities through blog conversations, focusing on their language choice and expressions. Results suggest that participants use the formal endings for self-presentation and projection of their student and classmate identity. However, when expressing emotion some students preferred informal endings, or sentence-final particles.

scholarly journals Investigation of Native Speaker and Second Language Learner Intuition of Collocation Frequency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Siyanova ◽  
S Spina
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Very Low Frequency ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 And L2

© 2015 Language Learning Research Club, University of Michigan. Research into frequency intuition has focused primarily on native (L1) and, to a lesser degree, nonnative (L2) speaker intuitions about single word frequency. What remains a largely unexplored area is L1 and L2 intuitions about collocation (i.e., phrasal) frequency. To bridge this gap, the present study aimed to answer the following question: How do L2 learners and native speakers compare against each other and corpora in their subjective judgments of collocation frequency? Native speakers and learners of Italian were asked to judge 80 noun-adjective pairings as one of the following: high frequency, medium frequency, low frequency, very low frequency. Both L1 and L2 intuitions of high frequency collocations correlated strongly with corpus frequency. Neither of the two groups of participants exhibited accurate intuitions of medium and low frequency collocations. With regard to very low frequency pairings, L1 but not L2 intuitions were found to correlate with corpora for the majority of the items. Further, mixed-effects modeling revealed that L2 learners were comparable to native speakers in their judgments of the four frequency bands, although some differences did emerge. Taken together, the study provides new insights into the nature of L1 and L2 intuitions about phrasal frequency.

Learner Autonomy as Discourse: The Role of the Target Language

10.47908/9/1 ◽  
2013 ◽  
pp. 13-29
Author(s):  
David Little
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Discourse ◽  
Development Of Language ◽  
Number Of Publications

In a number of publications (e.g., Little 2001, 2004, 2007) I have argued that the exercise and development of language learner autonomy depend on the operationalization of three interacting principles: learner involvement, learner reflection, and target language use. In this article I explore the theory and practice of language learner autonomy from the perspective of the third of these principles. I argue that the most successful language learning environments are those in which, from the beginning, the target language is the principal channel through which the learners’ agency flows: the communicative and metacognitive medium through which, individually and collaboratively, they plan, execute, monitor and evaluate their own learning. I describe in some detail the communicative and metacognitive dynamic that shapes target language discourse in the autonomy classroom at lower secondary level before suggesting ways of creating the same dynamic in other contexts of formal language learning. I conclude by briefly considering the implications of my argument for empirical research.

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