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Second Language Acquisition (second + language_acquisition)
Terms modified by Second Language Acquisition Selected AbstractsExplicit Input Enhancement: Effects on Target and Non-Target Aspects of Second Language AcquisitionFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 4 2006Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Carolyn Gascoigne Many recent studies have examined the effectiveness of various types of input enhancement. The following study expands this line of inquivy to include tech nological applications of language learning by comparing the effectiveness of the com puter application of diacritics to a traditional pen-and-paper process among beginning students of French and Spanish. In addition to studying the effect of computer-mediated input enhancement on the recall of accents, this study also questions the incidental effects of input enhancement on non-target aspects of the second language acquisition (SLA) process. Results support the effectiveness of explicit and computer-mediated input enhancement. [source] Second Language Acquisition of Gender Agreement in Explicit and Implicit Training Conditions: An Event-Related Potential StudyLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 1 2010Kara Morgan-Short This study employed an artificial language learning paradigm together with a combined behavioral/event-related potential (ERP) approach to examine the neurocognition of the processing of gender agreement, an aspect of inflectional morphology that is problematic in adult second language (L2) learning. Subjects learned to speak and comprehend an artificial language under either explicit (classroomlike) or implicit (immersionlike) training conditions. In each group, both noun-article and noun-adjective gender agreement processing were examined behaviorally and with ERPs at both low and higher levels of proficiency. Results showed that the two groups learned the language to similar levels of proficiency but showed somewhat different ERP patterns. At low proficiency, both types of agreement violations (adjective, article) yielded N400s, but only for the group with implicit training. Additionally, noun-adjective agreement elicited a late N400 in the explicit group at low proficiency. At higher levels of proficiency, noun-adjective agreement violations elicited N400s for both the explicit and implicit groups, whereas noun-article agreement violations elicited P600s for both groups. The results suggest that interactions among linguistic structure, proficiency level, and type of training need to be considered when examining the development of aspects of inflectional morphology in L2 acquisition. [source] Processing Constraints, Categorial Analysis, and the Second Language Acquisition of the Chinese Adjective Suffix - de(ADJ)LANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 3 2004Yanyin Zhang The study investigates the second language (L2) acquisition of the adjective marker - de(ADJ) in Chinese. It explores the interaction between processing constraints as represented in processability theory (Pienemann, 1998) and the learner's categorial analysis of Chinese adjectives and stative verbs (which cross-categorize) in the acquisition process. An examination of 3 longitudinal L2 data sets revealed more stative verbs (Vstatives) than adjectives in the learners' L2 Chinese. Furthermore, there appeared to be a correlation between the number of adjectives in the L2 samples and the developmental schedule of - de(ADJ). The reasons for the findings were explored through the processing procedures required for the structures in which the adjective and the Vstative occur and the impact they had on learners' categorial analysis of adjectives and Vstatives in L2 Chinese. [source] Conversation Analysis, Applied Linguistics, and Second Language AcquisitionLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue S1 2004Paul Seedhouse First page of article [source] Exact Repetition as Input Enhancement in Second Language AcquisitionLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 3 2003Eva Dam Jensen This study reports on two experiments on input enhancement used to support learners' selection of focus of attention in second language listening material. Eighty-four upper intermediate learners of Spanish took part. The input consisted of video recordings of quasi-spontaneous dialogues between native speakers, in tests and treatment. Exact repetition and speech rate reduction were examined for their effect on comprehension, acquisition of decoding strategies, and linguistic features. Each of three groups listened to each utterance of the dialogue three times, in different speed combinations: fast-slow-fast, fast-slow-slow, fast-fast-fast, respectively. A fourth group served as a baseline and received no treatment. Comparisons of pretest and posttest scores showed significant effects for all three parameters. No difference with regard to effect could be established between treatment conditions. [source] Why All Counter-Evidence to the Critical Period Hypothesis in Second Language Acquisition Is not Equal or ProblematicLINGUISTICS & LANGUAGE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2008Jason Rothman That adult and child language acquisitions differ in route and outcome is observable. Notwithstanding, there is controversy as to what this observation means for the Critical Period Hypothesis' (CPH) application to adult second language acquisition (SLA). As most versions of the CPH applied to SLA claim that differences result from maturational effects on in-born linguistic mechanisms, the CPH has many implications that are amendable to empirical investigation. To date, there is no shortage of literature claiming that the CPH applies or does not apply to normal adult SLA. Herein, I provide an epistemological discussion on the conceptual usefulness of the CPH in SLA (cf. Singleton 2005) coupled with a review of Long's (2005) evaluation of much available relevant research. Crucially, I review studies that Long did not consider and conclude differently that there is no critical/sensitive period for L2 syntactic and semantic acquisition. [source] Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition,edited by ROBINSON, PETER, & NICK C. ELLISMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009GRETCHEN SUNDERMAN No abstract is available for this article. [source] Input and Second Language Acquisition: The Roles of Frequency, Form, and Function Introduction to the Special IssueMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009NICK ELLIS The articles in this special issue explore how the acquisition of linguistic constructions as form,function mappings is affected by the distribution and saliency of forms in oral input, by their functional interpretations, and by the reliabilities of their form,function mappings. They consider the psycholinguistics of language learning following general cognitive principles of category learning, with schematic constructions emerging from usage. They analyze how learning is driven by the frequency and frequency distribution of exemplars within construction, the salience of their form, the significance of their functional interpretation, the match of their meaning to the construction prototype, and the reliability of their mappings. These investigations address a range of morphological and syntactic constructions in instructed, uninstructed, and laboratory settings. They include both experimental and corpus-based approaches (some conducted longitudinally) and consider the relationship between input and acquisition in the short term and over time, with a particular emphasis on spoken input directed to second and foreign language learners. [source] Ultimate Attainment in Second Language Acquisition: A Case Study by LARDIERE, DONNAMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008JASON ROTHMAN No abstract is available for this article. [source] Readings in Second Language Pedagogy and Second Language Acquisition: In Japanese Context edited by YOSHITOMI, ASAKO, TAE UMINO, & NEGISHI MASASHIMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007ABBOTT, YOSHIKO SAITO No abstract is available for this article. [source] Alignment and Interaction in a Sociocognitive Approach to Second Language AcquisitionMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2007DWIGHT ATKINSON This article argues for the crucial role of alignment in second language acquisition, as conceptualized from a broadly sociocognitive perspective. By alignment, we mean the complex processes through which human beings effect coordinated interaction, both with other human beings and (usually human-engineered) environments, situations, tools, and affordances. The article begins by summarizing what we mean by a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition. We then develop the notion of alignment, first in terms of general learning/activity and next in relation to second language (L2) learning. Following that, we provide an extended example of alignment-in-action, focusing on the coordinated activities of a Japanese junior high school student and her tutor as they study English in their sociocognitively constructed world. Next, we speculate on possible uses of the alignment concept in L2 research and teaching, and finally we conclude by restating our claim,that alignment is a necessary and crucial requirement for L2 development. [source] Cultural Identification and Second Language Pronunciation of Americans in NorwayMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002Karen Lybeck Schumann's Acculturation Theory as presented in The Pidginization Process: A Model for Second Language Acquisition (1978) predicts that the degree of a learner's success in second language (L2) acquisition depends upon the learner's degree of acculturation. Attempts to test this theory have not been particularly fruitful due to the lack of an adequate measure of acculturation and the particular linguistic markers selected to measure success in L2 acquisition. This study proposes to measure sojourners' acculturation in terms of their social exchange networks (Milroy & Wei, 1995). It measures L2 success in terms of pronunciation, which in the view of many scholars (Guiora, Beit,Hallahmi, Brannon, Dull, & Scovel, 1972; Labov, 1972; Scovel, 1988) is the strongest linguistic marker of a speaker's cultural identification. Using this framework, the current study provides strong evidence in support of Schumann's Acculturation Theory. The acculturation experiences and L2 pronunciation of 9 American women residing in Norway are described and the relationship examined. It is concluded that learners who developed positive network connections with native speakers of Norwegian evidenced more native,like pronunciation than those who had greater difficulty establishing such relationships. [source] Second Language Acquisition, Applied Linguistics, and the Teaching of Foreign LanguagesMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2000Claire Kramsch Given the current popularity of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) as a research base for the teaching and learning of foreign languages in educational settings, it is appropriate to examine the relationship of SLA to other relevant areas of inquiry, such as Foreign Language Education, Foreign Language Methodology, and Applied Linguistics. This article makes the argument that Applied Linguistics, as the interdisciplinary field that mediates between the theory and the practice of language acquisition and use, is the overarching field that includes SLA and SLA-related domains of research. Applied Linguistics brings to all levels of foreign language study not only the research done in SLA proper, but also the research in Stylistics, Language Socialization, and Critical Applied Linguistics that illuminates the teaching of a foreign language as sociocultural practice, as historical practice, and as social semiotic practice. [source] Integrative Motivation: Changes During a Year-Long Intermediate-Level Language CourseLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 1 2004R. C. Gardner The socioeducational model of second Language acquisition postulates that Language learning is a dynamic process in which affective variable influence Language achievement and achievement and experiences in Language learning can influences some affective variables. Five classes of variable are emphasized: integrativeness, attitudes toward the learning situation, motivation, Language anxiety, and instrumental orientation. The present study of a 1-year intermediate-level French course reveals that some affective characteristics are more amenable to change than others, and that patterns of change over time are moderated by achievement in the course. Related findings demonstrate very few differences on the affective measures from one class section to another, and that day-to-day levels of state motivation are largely invariant, whereas state anxiety might be influenced by environmental events. [source] Positive Evidence Versus Explicit Rule Presentation and Explicit Negative Feedback: A Computer-Assisted StudyLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 1 2004Cristina Sanz The facilitative role of explicit information in second Language acquisition has been supported by a significant body of research (Alanen, 1995; Carroll & Swain, 1993; de Graaff, 1997; DeKeyser, 1995; Ellis, 1993; Robinson, 1996, 1997), but counterevidence is also available (Rosa & O'Neill, 1999; VanPatten & Oikkenon, 1996). This experimental study investigates the effects of computer-delivered, explicit information on the acquisition of Spanish word order by comparing four groups comprised of [+/,Explanation] and [+/,Explicit Feedback]. Results showed that all groups improved significantly and similarly on interpretation and production tests. It is suggested that explicit information may not necessarily facilitate second Language acquisition and that exposing learners to task-essential practice is sufficient to promote acquisition. [source] The Combined Effects of Immersion and Instruction on Second Language PronunciationFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2010Gillian Lord Abstract: This preliminary study investigates the acquisition of second language phonology with respect to two variables: immersion in a target language community, and explicit instruction in the form of a phonetics/pronunciation class. Specifically, the research examines the second language acquisition (SLA) of specific properties of the Spanish phonology system as achieved by native speakers of English participating in a summer program in Mexico, some of whom had previously taken a Spanish phonetics course. Results suggest that it is not one factor or another in isolation that is most beneficial, but rather the combination of the two. The findings are analyzed not only in terms of how the SLA of sound systems develops, but also with respect to pedagogical, curricular, and administrative implications. [source] Making a Request for a Service in Spanish: Pragmatic Development in the Study Abroad SettingFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 1 2010Rebeca Bataller Abstract: This study addresses the development of the request strategies used in two service encounter scenarios by 31 nonnative speakers of Spanish spending 4 months living and studying in Valencia, Spain. The main method of data collection was an open role-play in which participants interacted with a Spanish native speaker. Results show that while there were some aspects of the learners' request production that changed after the study abroad experience, there were other aspects that remained unaffected. Knowing which aspects from the nonnative speakers' request production are acquired and which ones are not after a student has been immersed in the target culture for 4 months is relevant to informing second language acquisition, specifically the field of interlanguage pragmatics in the study abroad setting. [source] Taking a Closer Look at Vocabulary Learning Strategies: A Case Study of a Chinese Foreign Language ClassFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 4 2007Paula M. Winke Over the past decades, there have been a number of studies investigating the vocabulary strategies used by learners of Indo-European languages, especially English. However, studies of the strategies used by learners of non-Indo-European languages are rare. This classroom-based case study investigates the vocabulary learning strategies used by nine learners of Chinese as aforeign language and tests a taxonomy, based on Long's (1996) interaction hypothesis, for classifying strategies that mayfacilitate our understanding of strategies and their role within second language acquisition. [source] Explicit Input Enhancement: Effects on Target and Non-Target Aspects of Second Language AcquisitionFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 4 2006Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Carolyn Gascoigne Many recent studies have examined the effectiveness of various types of input enhancement. The following study expands this line of inquivy to include tech nological applications of language learning by comparing the effectiveness of the com puter application of diacritics to a traditional pen-and-paper process among beginning students of French and Spanish. In addition to studying the effect of computer-mediated input enhancement on the recall of accents, this study also questions the incidental effects of input enhancement on non-target aspects of the second language acquisition (SLA) process. Results support the effectiveness of explicit and computer-mediated input enhancement. [source] Enhancing Learners' Communication Skills through Synchronous Electronic Interaction and Task-Based InstructionFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 1 2002Lina Lee ABSTRACT: Online interactive exchange offers the learner many opportunities to use the target language to negotiate both meaning and form in a social context that is crucial for second language acquisition. This paper discusses a pilot study using synchronous electronic chats combined with task-based instruction (TBI) to enhance learners' communication skills. TBI focuses on the two-way exchange of information on real-life topics. This pilot study shows that computer-mediated communication using less structure-controlled but more open-ended exchange had a significant impact on the process of language learning. Students benefited from online task-based activities because they had to access different functional skills to construct and negotiate meaning collaboratively. However, foreign language educators need to be aware that the quick cyberspace interactions impeded students from producing correct and coherent discourse, especially during learner-learner interaction. One corrective technique is to make students reexamine and revise their exchanges with guided instruction. [source] Investigating grammatical difficulty in second language learning: Implications for second language acquisition research and language testingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 1 2008Rod EllisArticle first published online: 20 FEB 200 Both second language acquisition (SLA) researchers and language testers collect data in order to make statements about what learners have learned. Many researchers and testers consider the ideal data for this purpose to be naturally occurring language use. This paper examines whether data elicited by instruments designed to provide separate measures of implicit and explicit second language knowledge afford a valid basis for determining what learners have learned. It reports on a study that tested predictions derived from Pienemann's Processability Theory regarding the learning difficulty of four grammatical structures. The results showed that the predictions were borne out in the data from the tests of implicit knowledge but not in the data from the tests of explicit knowledge. The study suggests that experimentally elicited data can be used to examine interlanguage development (i.e. how learners' implicit knowledge develops) and to make statements about learners' grammatical proficiency. It also indicates that what constitutes learning difficulty needs to be considered separately for implicit and explicit knowledge. The implications for SLA research and language testing are considered.1 [source] Currents and eddies in the discourse of assessment: a learning-focused interpretation1INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2006Pauline Rea-Dickins évaluation formative de la langue; évaluation sommative de la langue; enseignement; l'anglais en tant que langue supplémentaire (seconde); interaction dans la classe This article explores processes of classroom assessment, in particular ways in which learners using English as an additional language engage in formative assessment within a primary school setting. Transcript evidence of teacher and learner interactions during activities viewed by teachers as formative or summative assessment opportunities are presented as the basis for an analysis of teacher feedback, learner responses to this feedback, as well as learner-initiated talk. The analyses suggest that there are different teacher orientations within assessment and highlight the potential that assessment dialogues might offer for assessment as a resource for language learning, thus situating this work at the interface between assessment and second language acquisition. The article also questions the extent to which learners are aware of the different assessment purposes embedded within instruction. Cet article explore les procédés d'évaluation pratiqués dans les salles de classe des écoles primaires en particulier les méthodes que les apprenants de l'anglais seconde langue utilisent dans le cadre d' une évaluation formative. Les transcriptions des interactions entre l'enseignant et l'apprenant durant les activités considérées par les enseignants comme étant des opportunités d'évaluation à la fois formatives et sommativesforment la base de l'analyse du feedback de l'enseignant, des réponses de l'apprenant à ce feedback ainsi que du discours initié par l'apprenant. Les analyses suggèrent qu'il existe différentes orientations de la part de l'enseignant au sein de l'évaluation et mettent en valeur le potentiel que les dialogues d'évaluation peuvent offrir en tant que ressource dans l'apprentissage d'une langue, situant ainsi ce travail dans l'interface entre l'évaluation et l'acquisition d'une seconde langue. L'auteur de cet article se demande à quel point les apprenants sont conscients des différents objectifs d'évaluation ancrés dans l'enseignement. [source] Concurrent and retrospective verbal reports as tools to better understand the role of attention in second language tasksINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2003Joaquim Camps This study investigates how the use of think-aloud protocols, both concurrent and retrospective, can contribute to the study of the role of attention in second language acquisition. It is based on the analysis of think-aloud protocols produced by 74 first-year learners of Spanish during and immediately after a reading and multiple-choice activity. The activity consisted of a text with direct object pronouns and 16 blanks for which a choice of three possible antecedents was given. The key to making the right choice was attending to both form and meaning in the input. The data in the think-aloud protocols was classified into mentions of the pronouns in the text as well as references to gender and number agreement. The results showed that mention of the targeted structure in the think-aloud protocols was related to better performance on the task for second-semester students, but not for first-semester students. There was some difference in the results for the concurrent and retrospective protocols. The possible complementary nature of these two sources of data is discussed. [source] Perceived in-group and out-group stereotypes among Brazilian foreign language studentsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2001Linda Gentry El-Dash Our research over the past few years on the attitudes of Brazilians towards the English language suggests that socio-psychological and socio-cultural aspects of motivation may be just as operative in foreign language learning as in second language acquisition. This article presents the results of a study of stereotypical perceptions of ten foreign populations by 164 Brazilian university students studying diverse foreign languages. Socio-cultural stereotypes were investigated using bipolar adjective scales paired in a Likert-type format. A factor analysis of the revealed stereotypes suggested a three-factor system is at work, consisting of conscientiousness (work-related values), social agreeableness and personal warmth. Evidence was found for the hypothesis that students studying a foreign language tend to have relatively positive stereotypes of the speakers of that language, but the picture is quite complex, with attraction and stereotyping of target-language speakers being linked to two different sets of values within the Brazilian population studied. [source] The Effectiveness of Corrective Feedback in SLA: A Meta-AnalysisLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 2 2010Shaofeng Li This study reports on a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of corrective feedback in second language acquisition. By establishing a different set of inclusion/exclusion criteria than previous meta-analyses and performing a series of methodological moves, it is intended to be an update and complement to previous meta-analyses. Altogether 33 primary studies were retrieved, including 22 published studies and 11 Ph.D. dissertations. These studies were coded for 17 substantive and methodological features, 14 of which were identified as independent and moderator variables. It was found that (a) there was a medium overall effect for corrective feedback and the effect was maintained over time, (b) the effect of implicit feedback was better maintained than that of explicit feedback, (c) published studies did not show larger effects than dissertations, (d) lab-based studies showed a larger effect than classroom-based studies, (e) shorter treatments generated a larger effect size than longer treatments, and (f) studies conducted in foreign language contexts produced larger effect sizes than those in second language contexts. Possible explanations for the results were sought through data cross-tabulation and with reference to the theoretical constructs of SLA. [source] Language Is a Complex Adaptive System: Position PaperLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 2009The "Five Graces Group" Language has a fundamentally social function. Processes of human interaction along with domain-general cognitive processes shape the structure and knowledge of language. Recent research in the cognitive sciences has demonstrated that patterns of use strongly affect how language is acquired, is used, and changes. These processes are not independent of one another but are facets of the same,complex adaptive system,(CAS). Language as a CAS involves the following key features: The system consists of multiple agents (the speakers in the speech community) interacting with one another. The system is adaptive; that is, speakers' behavior is based on their past interactions, and current and past interactions together feed forward into future behavior. A speaker's behavior is the consequence of competing factors ranging from perceptual constraints to social motivations. The structures of language emerge from interrelated patterns of experience, social interaction, and cognitive mechanisms. The CAS approach reveals commonalities in many areas of language research, including first and second language acquisition, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, language evolution, and computational modeling. [source] Age of Onset and Nativelikeness in a Second Language: Listener Perception Versus Linguistic ScrutinyLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 2 2009Niclas Abrahamsson The incidence of nativelikeness in adult second language acquisition is a controversial issue in SLA research. Although some researchers claim that any learner, regardless of age of acquisition, can attain nativelike levels of second language (L2) proficiency, others hold that attainment of nativelike proficiency is, in principle, impossible. The discussion has traditionally been framed within the paradigm of a critical period for language acquisition and guided by the question of whether SLA is constrained by the maturation of the brain. The work presented in this article can be positioned among those studies that have focused exclusively on the apparent counterexamples to the critical period. We report on a large-scale study of Spanish/Swedish bilinguals (n,=,195) with differing ages of onset of acquisition (<1,47 years), all of whom identify themselves as potentially nativelike in their L2. Listening sessions with native-speaker judges showed that only a small minority of those bilinguals who had started their L2 acquisition after age 12, but a majority of those with an age of onset below this age, were actually perceived as native speakers of Swedish. However, when a subset (n,=,41) of those participants who did pass for native speakers was scrutinized in linguistic detail with a battery of 10 highly complex, cognitively demanding tasks and detailed measurements of linguistic performance, representation, and processing, none of the late learners performed within the native-speaker range; in fact, the results revealed also that only a few of the early learners exhibited actual nativelike competence and behavior on all measures of L2 proficiency that were employed. Our primary interpretation of the results is that nativelike ultimate attainment of a second language is, in principle, never attained by adult learners and, furthermore, is much less common among child learners than has previously been assumed. [source] Explaining the "Natural Order of L2 Morpheme Acquisition" in English: A Meta-analysis of Multiple DeterminantsLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue S1 2005Jennifer M. Goldschneider This meta-analysis pools data from 25 years of research on the order of acquisition of English grammatical morphemes by students of English as a second language (ESL). Some researchers have posited a "natural" order of acquisition common to all ESL learners, but no single cause has been shown for this phenomenon. Our study investigated whether a combination of 5 determinants (perceptual salience, semantic complexity, morphophonological regularity, syntactic category, and frequency) accounts for the variance in acquisition order. Oral production data from 12 studies, together involving 924 participants, were pooled to obtain weighted accuracy scores for each of 6 grammatical functors. Results of a multiple-regression analysis showed that a large portion of the total variance in acquisition order was explained by the combination of the 5 determinants. Several of these determinants, it was argued, can be seen as part of a broad conceptualization of salience. Since the article was originally published, a number of meta-analyses have appeared in the applied linguistics literature (e.g., Masgoret & Gardner, 2003; Norris & Ortega, 2000; Ortega, 2003), and a book on meta-analysis in applied linguistics research is forthcoming (Norris & Ortega, in press). Meanwhile, research on the acquisition of Hebrew as a second language has begun to provide cross-linguistic evidence for how different aspects of salience contribute to ease or difficulty of second language acquisition (DeKeyser, Alfi-Shabtay, Ravid, & Shi, 2005) and how salience interacts with age of learning (DeKeyser, Ravid, & Alfi-Shabtay, 2005). [source] Input and SLA: Adults' Sensitivity to Different Sorts of Cues to French GenderLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue S1 2005Susanne E. Carroll All second language (L2) learning theories presuppose that learners learn the target language from the speech signal (or written material, when learners are reading), so an understanding of learners' ability to detect and represent novel patterns in linguistic stimuli will constitute a major building block in an adequate theory of second language acquisition (SLA) input. Pattern detection, a mainstay of current connectionist modeling of language learning, presupposes a sensitivity to particular properties of the signal. Learning abstract grammatical knowledge from the signal presupposes, as well, the capacity to map phonetic properties of the signal onto properties of another type (segments and syllables, morpheme categories, and so on). Thus, even seemingly "simple" grammatical phenomena may embody complex structural knowledge and be instantiated by a plethora of diverse cues. Moreover, cues have no a priori status; a phenomenon of a given sort takes on a value as a cue when acquisition of the grammatical system reveals it to be useful. My study deals with initial sensitivity to cues to gender attribution in French. Andersen (1984) asked: "What's gender good for anyway?" One answer comes from a number of studies, done mostly in the last 20 years, of gender processing by both monolingual and bilingual speakers (among many others, Bates, Devescovi, Hernandez, & Pizzamiglio, 1996; Bates & Liu, 1997; Friederici & Jacobsen, 1990; Grosjean, Dommergues, Cornu, Guillemon, & Besson, 1994; Guillemon & Grosjean, 2001; Taft & Meunier, 1998). These studies provide evidence that in monolinguals and early (but not late) L2 learners, prenominal morphosyntactic exponents of gender prime noun activation and speed up noun recognition. Over the same period, a growing number of studies detailing the course of L2 gender acquisition for a variety of different target languages and learner types (e.g., Bartning, 2000; Chini, 1995; Dewaele & Véronique, 2000; Granfeldt, 2003; Hawkins & Franceschina, 2004) have provided support for the hypothesis that developmental paths differ for early and later learners of gender. Yet despite its obvious importance to SLA theorizing, few studies have dealt directly with adult learners' ability to detect and analyze potential cues to gender at the initial stage of exposure to the L2 (and this despite considerable discussion in recent years of the nature of the "initial state" of L2 learning). The study reported on in this article, which was actually conducted in the late 1980s, was an attempt to shed some light on what the beginning learner can do with the gender attribution problem. This study was, at that time, and is even now, an anomaly; most research dealing with "input" provided descriptions of what people say to learners, not what learners can perceive and represent. Indeed, most studies that shed light on the initial analytical capacities of absolute beginners were concerned with "perceptual" learning, that is, with the acquisition of phonetic or phonological distinctions (e.g., Broselow, Hurtig, & Ringen's [1987] study of tone learning or various studies on the perception of the /r/ vs. /l/ phonemes in American English by Japanese speakers). In this update, it is therefore worth mentioning Rast's (2003) dissertation and Rast and Dommergues (2003), which is based on it, which examined the results of the first 8 hr of instructed learning of Polish by francophone adults. My study asked if anglophone adults, with little or no prior exposure to French, given auditory stimuli, were equally sensitive to phonological, morphosyntactic, or semantic cues to French gender classes. The issue of what learners can detect in the signal and encode is an empirical one. I presented 88 adult English speakers with highly patterned data in list form, namely, auditory sequences of [Det + N]French + translation equivalentEnglish forms. The patterns, all true generalizations, were drawn from linguistic descriptions of French. These cues are believed by grammarians of the language to be "psychologically real" to native speakers. I then measured in 3 different ways what my participants had acquired. Given the extreme limitations on the input (no visual supports to identify referents of names), the participants performed pretty well. Moreover, they proved to be highly sensitive to "natural" semantic and morphological patterns and could generalize accurately from learned instances to novel exemplars. These patterns, however, are not directly instantiated in the speech signal; they are abstractions imposed on the stimuli by human linguistic cognition. Moreover, although it would be inaccurate to describe the learning patterns as "transfer"(because English nouns have no gender feature), prior knowledge seemed to be implicated in the results. Above all, these Anglophones appear to perceive the gender learning problem as a semantic one and to make use of "top-down" information in solving it. It follows that the pattern detection that they can do when listening to speech is clearly biased by what they already know. These results, therefore, provide support for hypotheses that the initial state is to be defined in terms of the transfer of first language (L1) grammatical knowledge and/or the transfer of L1-based processing procedures. [source] Introduction: Investigating Form-Focused InstructionLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 2001Rod Ellis The Introduction has three main aims. First, it provides a historical sketch of form-focused instruction research, documenting the origins of this branch of second language acquisition, the research questions that have been addressed, and current trends. Second, it seeks to define and conceptualize what is meant by "form-focused instruction" by distinguishing it from "meaning-focused instruction" and by describing three types of form-focused instruction in terms of whether the primary focus is on form or meaning and whether the instructional attention to target forms is intensive or extensive. Various instructional options relating to each type are also described. Third, the Introduction offers a discussion of the main research methods that have been used to investigate form-focused instruction in terms of a broad distinction between confirmatory and interpretative research. Methods of measuring "acquisition" in form-focused instruction research are also considered. [source] | ||||||||||