bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MOTHER TONGUE MAINTENANCE AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING: A CASE OF JAPANESE CHILDREN
Authors: Okamura‐Bichard Fumiko
Published: October 2006

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted with Japanese children temporarily residing in the U.S. The study examined, within a population whose group‐specific background was fairly definable, the degree of mother tongue maintenance/ development in relation to the learning of the second language among the subjects as well as the factors which affected the individuals' success or failure in their endeavors in the learning of two languages.

Forty‐eight subjects, who were sixth graders in a Japanese weekend school, took a nonverbal IQ test and a Japanese language test. Some of them also took a reading test in English. Both the children and parents responded to individual questionnaires. Correlation, factor, multiple regression, and discriminant analyses were the methods of analyses used.

The results revealed that there were no relationships between (1) the years of schooling in Japan and the level in the Japanese language skills, (2) the level of intelligence and the abilities in the two languages, and (3) the comparable abilities in Japanese and English. The years of schooling in the U.S. significantly related to the skill level in English. This factor did not have any discriminating power, however, to separate the children who were high in both languages, high in one and low in the other, and low in both languages. Parents proved a factor in the children's language status, particularly in the degree of their mother tongue maintenance. In terms of relative importance, however, the children's interests, attitudes, and the extent of use of the language contributed more significantly to the level in each language.
REVIEW
Authors: Ross David A.
Published: October 2006

Learning Purpose and Language Use. Henry Widdowson.

Outsiders. Jean S. Mullen.

Thinking in English: Practice with the Complex Sentence for Students of ESL. Marvin Coates and Donald Pederson.

Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. Seymour Papert.
WHEN ARE CLOZE ITEMS SENSITIVE TO CONSTRAINTS ACROSS SENTENCES?
Authors: Chavez‐Oller Mary Anne , Chihara Tetsuro , Weaver Kelley A. , Oller John W.
Published: October 2006

This article, the long‐promised sequel to Chihara, Oiler, Weaver, and Chavez‐Oller (1977, n. 1), does two things. First, it reviews the continuing controversy about whether cloze items in general are sensitive to constraints beyond 5–10 words on either side of them. It is concluded that some are sensitive to constraints that reach even beyond 50 words on either side of a blank. The research shows that this sort of context sensitivity is inaccessible to rank beginners, but becomes increasingly accessible to more proficient language users. Second, in addition to reviewing several successful replications of these findings and critiquing several failed attempts, this article gives an item‐by‐item analysis of the experimental data from Chihara et al. (1977). It is demonstrated that about 10% of the items in each of the two texts examined are highly sensitive to constraints ranging across sentence boundaries. The basis for this sensitivity is discussed and the sensitive items are contrasted with nonsensitive ones.
THE ROLE OF ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING: CORRELATIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
Authors: Gardner R.C. , Lalonde R.N. , Moorcroft R.
Published: October 2006

This study investigated the multitrait‐multimethod validity of the Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery and in addition made use of laboratory procedures to examine the role of language aptitude and attitudinal/motivational attributes on the rate of learning French vocabulary. Subjects were 170 volunteers from an introductory psychology course. The results indicated that all but two measures adapted from the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery evidenced acceptable convergent and discriminant validity and that they were largely independent of social desirability. Indices of language aptitude and integrative motivation were independent correlates of indices of French achievement.

The effects of language aptitude, integrative motivation, and mode of presentation on the rate of learning 25 French/ English vocabulary pairs were investigated using a paired associate learning paradigm. The results demonstrated that all three factors influenced rate of learning. Subjects high in language aptitude learned faster than those who were low, those high on integrative motivation learned faster than those who were low, and the rate of learning was more rapid under visual/ written conditions as compared with aural/oral ones. Other results indicated that subjects' perceptions of their effort and interest on each trial were influenced by their level of integrative motivation but not by language aptitude, suggesting the different roles these two factors play in second language learning.
SCHEMATIC CONCEPT FORMATION: CONCURRENT VALIDITY FOR ATTAINED ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE READING COMPREHENSION?
Authors: Perkins Kyle , Angelis Paul J.
Published: October 2006

This article presents the results of a study in which the theory and methodology of schema theory were applied to the reading process in an English as a second language context. ESL students were given a schematic concept formation (SCF) task which involves graphic stimuli representing four classes, and the subjects were asked to indicate which stimuli belong to the same class. No significant differences in ranks between two major language groups were found for the SCF data. The SCF data were not truly scalable. The SCF and a criterion reading comprehension test had an estimated.5525 proportion of reliable variance in common, and the above average readers had significantly higher SCF ranks than the below average readers. The article concludes with a list of suggestions for future research with SCF tasks.
THE INTELLIGIBILITY OF SOCIAL DIALECTS FOR WORKING‐CLASS ADULT LEARNERS OF ENGLISH
Authors: Eisenstein Miriam , Verdi Gail
Published: October 2006

This study investigated the intelligibility of three English dialects for 113 working‐class adult English learners in the New York metropolitan area. The relative intelligibility of standard English, New Yorkese, and black English for these students was rated based on comprehension of six tape‐recorded contextualized monologues, two in each dialect. Learner proficiency was rated by cloze procedure, and most students were found to be at the intermediate level. Results showed that English comprehension was significantly affected by dialect. Interestingly, black English was the least intelligible of the three dialects considered in spite of the fact that this population had considerable contact with black English speakers. Also, learner judgments of the speakers on the tapes in terms of job status, friendliness, and appearance paralleled the relative comprehensibility of the speech samples.
VARIABILITY IN INTERLANGUAGE USE: A STUDY OF STYLE‐SHIFTING IN MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX
Authors: Tarone Elaine E.
Published: October 2006

It has been claimed that as second langue learners perform different tasks at a single point in time, their production of some grammatical, morphological, and phonological forms will vary in a predictable manner. This article reports a study on the English language use of native speakers of Arabic and Japanese in three task conditions: completing a written grammar test, participating in an oral interview, and narrating a story to a listener Results of the study provide evidence in support of the hypothesis that the utterances of second language learners show systematic variability in some morphological and grammatical forms, a variability related to task. The study shows that the performance of second language learners on a written grammar test varies from their performance when attempting to communicate orally, in some cases, grammatical accuracy is much better in spontaneous oral communication than in scores on a written grammar test The study shows that more than two styles arc evidenced when learners perform more than two tasks, and that when those tasks are ordered in terms of degree of attention to language form required, the styles produced by learners in response to those tasks may be ranged along a continuous dimension.
THE RATIONAL DELETION CLOZE AND GLOBAL COMPREHENSION IN GERMAN
Authors: Markham Paul L.
Published: October 2006

The intersentential sensitivity of the rational deletion cloze procedure was examined in this investigation. A total of 84 college‐level students of German participated in the study. One group of subjects completed a sequential cloze task, and a second group completed a scrambled cloze task. The results revealed no significant differences between cloxe test scores in the exact word or the acceptable word synonyms allowed) scoring conditions. It is suggested that the cloze procedure may not yield a valid and reliable assessment of global comprehension in the second language context.
AN ANALYSIS OF DISCOMFORT, RISKTAKING, SOCIABILITY, AND MOTIVATION IN THE L2 CLASSROOM
Authors: Ely Christopher M.
Published: October 2006

This study investigated a causal model of second language learning. Particular attention was given to three situation‐specific constructs: Language Class Discomfort, Language Class Risktaking, and Language Class Sociability. It was theorized that voluntary Classroom Participation mediates the effect of Language Class Discomfort, Language Class Risktaking, Language Class Sociability, and Strength of Motivation on success in classroom L2 learning. The subjects were students enrolled in first year (first and second quarter) university Spanish classes.

Data on Classroom Participation were gathered by means of classroom observation and audio recording. Proficiency was measured by correctness and fluency on a storyretelling task and correctness on a written final examination. The results of the causal analysis included findings that: Language Class Discomfort negatively predicted Language Class Risktaking and Language Class Sociability; Language Class Risktaking positively predicted Classroom Participation; and Classroom Participation positively predicted Oral Correctness for the first quarter students.
AMBIGUITY TOLERANCE AND FIELD INDEPENDENCE AS PREDICTORS OF PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
Authors: Chapelle Carol , Roberts Cheryl
Published: October 2006

The fact that some adults are more successful at acquiring an L2 than others has led to investigations of individual characteristics as predictors of successful L2 acquisition. This paper reports the results of an investigation of the relationship between two learner characteristics, Ambiguity Tolerance (AT) and Field Independence (FI), and adult learners' acquisition of English as a Second Language in the United States. A Multiple Regression Analysis revealed that AT and FI accounted for a significant amount of variance on several end‐of‐semester language measures beyond that which could be accounted for by beginning‐of‐semester performance or other variables. The implications of these findings for further research are outlined.
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY, TEXT CONTENT AND ORDER EFFECTS IN NARRATIVE RECALL
Authors: Walters Joel , Wolf Yuval
Published: October 2006

An analysis of the major goals of the story grammar paradigm and some of the controversy surrounding them has led to a challenge of the robustness of this paradigm's findings. The effects of text content and order of presentation on narrative recall were investigated in groups of intermediate and advanced readers of English as a foreign language. Subjects were asked to recall three narratives presented either in a standard, partially‐mixed or fully‐mixed order as well as a set of unrelated sentences. Data analysis in terms of story grammar categories revealed replication of category effects in six of the 18 conditions investigated. These effects were stronger than differences between standard and partially‐mixed orders while they were most salient in one specific text content. This picture was not similar for the two proficiency groups. It was concluded that different text‐based parameters may constrain the robustness of story grammar category effects.
RESTRUCTURING OR AUTOMATICITY? READING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE
Authors: McLeod Beverly , McLaughlin Barry
Published: October 2006

In this paper we discuss the notion of automaticity as used in information‐processing accounts of learning and recent criticism of this concept. It is suggested that improvement in performance can sometimes be due to a restructuring of the components of a task so that they are integrated and reorganized in new ways, thereby allowing procedures involving the old components to be replaced by more efficient procedures involving new components. We describe a study of reading in a second language that suggests there are at least two modes of learning — that achieved by the gradual accretion of automaticity and that achieved by restructuring.
THREE APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF INPUT
Authors: Schachter Jacquelyn
Published: October 2006

Within the field of second language acquisition research, one can discern three different approaches to the study of the input requirements of second language learners: the data‐oriented approach, the language‐model approach, and the processing‐model approach. In this article, each approach is characterized and its strengths and weaknesses are pointed out. Then one type of input, metalinguistic input, is identified, and the three approaches are compared with respect to their claims concerning the metalinguistic needs of the learner.
AGE CONTRASTS IN THE LEARNING OF LANGUAGE‐RELEVANT MATERIALS: SOME CHALLENGES TO CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS
Authors: Morris Beth S. K. , Gerstman Louis J.
Published: October 2006

In order to test the claim of diminished capacity for language learning at puberty, a Hawaiian lesson was given to 182 public school children (61, 73, and 48 from grades 4, 7‐8, and 11, respectively). Retention of material was evaluated immediately and after a week. The test was composed of syntactic and semantic tasks each assessed by multiple choice and metalinguistic means, with items demanding either rote memory, word rearrangement, or rule application. Repeated measures analyses of variance of second‐week performance covaried for initial scores, showed Grade 4 to be poorer than both older groups, and Grade 7‐8 to exceed Grade 11 on some tasks. Stepwise multiple regressions for each group revealed the consistent importance of English reading level and differing additional predictions in the three groups. It was concluded that second‐language learning capacities cannot be defined in terms of age alone.
THE ORAL APPROACH: A RE‐APPRAISAL
Authors: Ney James W.
Published: October 2006

Psychologists and transformational linguists have both criticized the oral approach or the audio‐lingual habit theory for the teaching of foreign languages. They have pointed out the deficiencies of this method from several different points of view. Some of these criticisms have been justified because the theory of foreign language learning on which this method has been based has certain deficiencies. In other cases, some of the criticisms have been unjustified because they have stemmed from a misunderstanding of this mode of teaching foreign languages. Insofar as the criticisms are justified, suggestions are made for the improvement of foreign language teaching. Insofar as the criticisms are not justified, a rebuttal is attempted. In either case, the contention is supported that many language teachers involved with the audio‐lingual approach anticipated a number of the objections to it by not being too doctrinaire.
CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES
Authors: Farsi A. A.
Published: October 2006

Adjectives in English are divided into three classes: A, B, and C, according to (i)meaning, (ii) negative prefixation, (iii) qualification by very, (iv) conjunction with other adjectives, (v) position within a noun phrase, In each case, adjectives from A and B exhibit opposing properties and those in C may exhibitproperties of either A or B. Adjectives in Class A are evaluative In meaning, take in‐, un‐ and dis‐ as negative prefixes, are qualifiable by very, can be conjoined with other Class A adjectives but not with those in Class B, and follow an adjective of age in the noun phrase. Class B adjectives are descriptive, take non‐ but not un‐, in‐, dis‐ as a negative prefix, do not occur with very, can be conjoined with other Class B adjectives but not Class A adjectives, and precede adjecttives of age in a noun phrase.
SOME OUTLANDISH PROPOSALS FOR THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Authors: Burling Robbins
Published: October 2006

Three propositions which bear upon second language learning are defended: (1) Some students need or desire only to be able to read and it is legitimate to design courses for such students which omit training in oral skills unless these help with reading. (2) Passive linguistic knowledge can develop far ahead of active ability, and this fact can be exploited when teaching reading by not demanding the simultaneous ability to write. (3) A number of examples suggest that grammar, lexicon, and phonology can be learned in greater independence of one another than is often assumed. It follows from these three propositions that it might be worth experimenting with courses which first teach the recognition of grammatical forms, then the recognition of lexicon, but which minimize both phonology and the active production of sentences in the new language. Techniques by which this could be accomplished would have the added advantage of avoiding the childish level of materials with which even adult students must usually contend when beginning a foreign language.
IMPLICATIONS OF RECENT PSYCHOLINGUISTIC DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE TEACHING OF A SECOND LANGUAGE
Authors: Jakobovits Leon A.
Published: October 2006

Traditional psychological theories about language acquisition emphasize the role of reinforcement provided by environmental agencies and view language as a set of vocal habits that are conditioned to stimuli in the environment. Imitation and practice of new forms are the processes by which language behavior develops and generalization of learned forms is supposed to account for the novel uses of language. Recent developments in linguistics have influenced our conception of the structure of language, hence the nature of the knowledge that the child has to acquire. A radically new psycholinguistic theory of language acquisition has been proposed which emphasizes the developmental nature of the language acquisition process and attributes to the child specific innate competencies which guide his discovery of the rules of the natural language to which he is exposed. Imitation, practice, reinforcement, and generalization are no longer considered theoretically productive conceptions in language acquisition. The implications of these new ideas for the teaching of a second language lie in the need for controlled exposure of the student to linguistic materials in a manner that will facilitate his discovery of the significant features of the language. “Shaping” of phonological skills, discrimination training on sound “units” and pattern drills are rejected in favor of “transformation exercises” at the phonological, syntactic and semantic levels.
THE KEAUKAHA MODEL FOR MAINSTREAM DIALECT INSTRUCTION*
Authors: Crowley Dale P.
Published: October 2006

This article is a detailed description of the procedures, together with some of the rationale underlying those procedures, that were designed into the treatment variable of a research project on language acquisition. The treatment variable to which the experimental Ss are being exposed is the pedagogical “model” mentioned in the title. This model for imparting proficiency in the target dialect to the Ss, although clearly an adaptation of audio‐lingual methodology for second language teaching, is described for the most part from the standpoint of educational psychology. The article delineates the various aspects of language pedagogy which were determined to be essential to the most effective model; namely, teacher training, classroom dynamics, dialect analysis, contrastive analysis (between the nonstandard and standard dialects), and lesson writing.

The research hypothesis states that the effect of the treatment, or model, will be a greater gain in the acquisition of proficiency in standard oral English by the experimental Ss than by the control Ss, who are exposed to only traditional procedures for teaching English. All of the Ss are youngsters who come to school with their native dialect only, commonly known as Pidgin English. The article characterizes the target dialect as mainstream English.
The Development of L1 and L2 Proficiency in Dutch: A Narrative Analysis of a Picture‐Based Story, Told by Turkish and Native Dutch Children at the Ages of Six and Eight
Authors: Lalleman Josine A.
Published: October 2006

This article presents analysis of the narrative proficiency of L1 and L2 learners of Dutch. A group of Dutch native children and a group of Turkish immigrant children, born and reared in The Netherlands, were asked to tell a story from a series of pictures, first when they entered primary school and again when they were in the third year of primary school.

In comparison with their Dutch peers, the Turkish children exhibit more or less the same level of narrative proficiency in Dutch; however, their grammatical knowledge is deficient. It was concluded that by using their communicative skills, the L2 learners are able to perform almost as well as native children in a task that is cognitively and contextually easy.
Linguistic Factors in Second‐Language Loss*
Authors: Moorcroft R. , Gardner R. C.
Published: October 2006

This study investigated the nature of the linguistic features lost in oral French over the summer vacation period by 89 English speaking Grade 9 students. These students had been studying French in a regular second‐language program since Grade 6 and had completed an average of 120 hours of instruction. Global analyses revealed significant reductions in total time, speaking time, number of pauses, quantity of production and grammatical accuracy on tasks requiring production of discourse, suggesting a general deterioration in language proficiency. There was, however, no significant reduction on tasks requiring production of individual vocabulary items. A more molecular analysis focused on the use of various grammatical structures and specific parts of speech. The results of this latter analysis indicated that losses take place in most grammatical elements, but that effects were most pronounced for those elements that were learned most recently. These results were discussed and contrasted with first‐language loss where vocabulary elements appear to suffer loss before grammatical forms.
The Influence of Linguistic Theories on Language Acquisition Research: Description and Explanation.*
Authors: Lightbown Patsy M. , White Lydia
Published: October 2006

There have been many changes in the way in which twentieth‐century researchers have perceived the relationship between theories of language and theories of language acquisition. In this review, we examine some of these changes in light of differences in expectations for the role of linguistic theories in describing what language learners acquire and explaining how they acquire it. We conclude that a theory of grammar will be a necessary component in our explanation of the L1 acquisition of formal properties of grammar, such as syntax, morphology and phonology, and may also be required to explain these aspects of L2 acquisition. Linguistic theories will play no role in other aspects of acquisition, equally important to our understanding of the overall acquisition process, and these must be accounted for in other ways.
Learners in Transition: Evidence from the Interaction of Accuracy and Self‐Monitoring Skill in a Listening Task
Authors: Yule George , Damico Jack , Hoffman Paul
Published: October 2006

Based on the observation that some ESL learners appear to regress in performance during language learning when traditional test accuracy scores are used, another aspect of students' performance was investigated. Using a confidence‐rating scale, the self‐monitoring abilities of 67 intermediate ESL students enrolled in a University‐level pronunciation/listening course were assessed over a seven week period and compared with test accuracy scores. Results indicated three different groups of students. A lower level group, in terms of initial test accuracy scores, improved in their ability to choose correct answers on a test but their self‐monitoring ability did not improve. A middle‐level group actually regressed in their ability to choose correct answers on a test but significantly improved in self‐monitoring ability. The higher‐level group showed only minor improvement in both ability to choose correct answers and in self‐monitoring. The pedagogical implications of these findings in terms of language acquisition, teacher attitudes, and testing are discussed.
Metacognition: An Expanded View on the Cognitive Abilities of L2 Learners
Authors: Wenden Anita
Published: October 2006

My mind is always open to accept information about the language … I always concentrate because I have to learn … I just don't take it as it comes. I change it in my mind. There's always movement.
Electoral Rhetoric in Israel — The Televised Debates A Study in Political Discourse*
Authors: Nir Raphael
Published: October 2006

The televised pre‐election debate, first instituted during the Nixon‐Kennedy campaign in 1960, has since been adopted by virtually all Western Democracies. In Israel, the first televised debate took place in 1977 between M. Begin and S. Peres, who met before the cameras once again four years later. A third such debate took place in 1984, this time between S. Peres and I. Shamir.

The increasing presence of the mass media in the political system diverts attention from politicians' deeds to their verbal behavior. The televised debate is a most reliable means of documenting the verbal behavior of political candidates, notwithstanding the constraints imposed on such behavior by the medium and the format.

In this paper, the author attempts to analyze the communicative setting of the debate within the Israeli format. Stylistic features of the candidates' discourse are studied, beginning with a review of some salient characteristics of persuasive discourse in general. While identifying and comparing rhetorical strategies of the candidates in three debates, the question is asked whether the differences are personal or perhaps stem from the ideologies of the political movements represented by the contenders.

The following stylistic and rhetorical features are described, using statistical and qualitative analysis: figurative expressions and intensifiers, irony and rhetorical questions, repetition and parallelism, meta‐discoursive comments.
Universal Preference for the Open Syllable as an Independent Process in Interlanguage Phonology*
Authors: Benson Bronwen
Published: October 2006

The focus of this study is the question: Is there evidence of a universal preference for the open syllable in Interlanguage (IL) phonology? The subjects are two Vietnamese speakers and the data consist of recordings of the subjects in informal conversation first in the IL and then in the native language (NL). An error analysis conducted on the IL data was restricted to the subjects' attempts at target language words most similar in syllable structure to words in the NL, monosyllabic words ending in postvocalic [p t k m n η]. The findings give limited support for the hypothesis that a universal preference for the open syllable is a shaping force in IL phonology independent of the process of NL transfer but also indicate the importance of the preceding vocalic context in the NL transfer processes, and the overall importance in IL research of gathering NL data comparable to the IL data, as the subjects' NL data proved crucial in shaping the findings of this study.
How Juries Get Hung: Problems With the Evidence for a Focus on Form in Teaching
Authors: VanPatten Bill
Published: October 2006

This paper will discuss the claim that attention to linguistic accuracy and/or instruction in grammar is necessary for early stage learners. The arguments for a focus on form revolve around three recurring topics or themes: fossilization, improved language performance, and the role of error correction. The paper will conclude that research evidence to date does not suggest that a focus on form is either necessary or beneficial to early stage learners. Nonetheless, it will be suggested that there is room for more research and that research on the effects of a focus on form might best be conducted in a foreign language context and not a second language context.
Comparative Research on Language Learning*
Authors: Gierut Judith A.
Published: October 2006

This paper integrates the research concerns of two language‐learning populations, adults acquiring a second language and children learning to correct functional (nonorganic) speech sound errors. Phonology was specifically examined with regard to four areas of mutual concern and benefit: (a) characterization of the sound system, (b) selection of aspects of the target sound system to be taught, (c) projection of learning during instruction, and (d) application of research findings to classroom and clinic. This comparative research indicated that basic theoretical and pedagogical aims overlap for both populations. Also, research on both populations has resulted in similar findings about language, learning, and instruction. Moreover, the study of each population has shown certain advances that may contribute to, and shape the direction of, language learning research for the other population. Integrated research efforts of this type have potential for isolating properties that are necessary and specific to language from those that are unique to acquisition, and further, for differentiating these universal properties from those that are specific to given language‐learning populations.
Second‐Language Acquisition Through Subject‐Matter Learning: A Follow‐up Study at the University of Ottawa*
Authors: Hauptman Philip C. , Wesche Marjorie B. , Ready Doreen
Published: October 2006

The present article describes a study of second‐language (ESL and FSL) acquisition in which Anglophone and Francophone university students took Introduction to Psychology / Introduction à la psychologie in their second language in a special, sheltered class taught by regular psychology professors. The questions serving as a basis for this study are: (1) Did the experimental subjects successfully master the psychology subject matter? (2) Were there measurable improvements in the second‐language proficiency of the experimental subjects? (3) Did the self‐confidence of the experimental subjects increase as reflected in their self‐reported gains in proficiency, second‐language use anxiety and intention to use the second language outside the classroom? Results provide an affirmative answer to the first two questions. In addition, comparison with control groups in language and psychology suggest that sheltered classes are at least as effective as traditional psychology and language classes, and sometimes even better. Results did not provide a definitive answer to the third question although experimental subjects consistently perceived improvements in their second‐language skills and those in the FSL study showed a decrease in French use anxiety.
Implicational Universals and Interrogative Structures in the Interlanguage of ESL Learners
Authors: Eckman Fred R. , Moravcsik Edith A. , Wirth Jessica R.
Published: October 2006

The validity of two implicational universals regarding constituent order in questions is tested in the English speech of 14 native speakers of Japanese, Korean, and Turkish. The interlanguage evidence is found to be generally supportive of the two universals. Some fundamental methodological problems are discussed which are attendant upon testing universals not only in interlanguages but in linguistic systems of any kind.
Changes in Attitude Toward Learning Hebrew in a South African Setting
Authors: Kraemer Roberta , Zisenwine David
Published: October 2006

This study investigated attitudes toward second‐language learning over an extended period of time in a cross‐sectional design. Subjects were 1,252 children in Grades 4 through 12 studying Hebrew in a private Jewish school system in South Africa. Five sets of attitudes were measured: attitudes toward learning the language, traditional orientation, nationalist orientation, motivation, and self‐rating of proficiency. Results showed that attitudes decreased in positive value over the nine grade levels, although not always in totally linear fashion, supporting other research findings. The sharpest changes took place from Grades 4 through 9 while a less consistent pattern characterizes the high‐school years. The rate of decline was not equal for all attitude sets suggesting the need for different explanations to account for the variety of attitude patterns.
Modularity in Adult L2 Acquisition
Authors: Zobl Helmut
Published: October 2006

Modular conceptions of the language faculty assume that linguistic knowledge is encoded in distinct cognitive systems differing in the nature of their representations. Earlier investigations (Schachter & Rutherford, 1979; Rutherford, 1983) have reported that L2 (English) syntactic forms are adapted to L1 (Chinese/Japanese) discourse functions, which suggests evidence for module‐sensitive acquisition. These findings invite a consideration of modular functioning in adult acquisition as a source of interlanguage‐primary language difference. Drawing on these earlier findings and production data from a large written corpus of Japanese‐English interlanguage, the paper shows that discourse‐pragmatic markedness conditions on the subject position combine with central aspects of a configurational syntax in the generation of sentential forms. The modular interaction leads to overrepresentation of NP‐movement and extraposition constructions, a significant number of which violate the Theta‐Criterion. Three positions on modular functioning are identified as possible ways of accounting for interlanguage‐primary language difference: (1) partial loss of the domain‐specific module; (2) penetration of the domain‐specific module by external knowledge representations; and (3) the creation of a module interface distinct from the L1 and the L2. The data strongly support the third position, lend some support to the second, but are difficult to reconcile with the first.
Writing Expertise and Second‐Language Proficiency*
Authors: Cumming Alister
Published: October 2006

The second‐language writing performance of 23 young adults on three composition tasks was assessed in relation to their writing expertise and second‐language proficiency. Both factors accounted for large proportions of variance in the qualities of written texts and problem‐solving behaviors in the second language. But the factors exerted independent effects, suggesting they are psychologically distinct. Writing expertise proved to relate to: qualities of discourse organization and content in the compositions produced; attention to complex aspects of writing during decision making; problem‐solving behaviors involving heuristic searches; and well‐differentiated control strategies. Second‐language proficiency proved to be an additive factor, enhancing the overall quality of writing produced, and interacting with the attention that participants devoted to aspects of their writing. But second‐language proficiency did not visibly affect the processes of composing. In all analyses, more cognitively demanding argument and summary tasks produced significantly different behaviors from a less cognitively demanding letter task.
Congruence in Native and Nonnative Conversations: Status Balance in the Academic Advising Session *
Authors: Bardovi‐Harlig Kathleen , Hartford Beverly S.
Published: October 2006

This paper examines the notion of status in institutional discourse and identifies congruence as a factor in determining the success of native speaker (NS) and nonnative speaker (NNS) interactions in that context. Thirty‐two academic advising sessions between faculty advisors and both native and highly proficient nonnative graduate students were examined. Whereas both NSs and NNSs show variable success in negotiating noncongruent (status‐challenging) speech acts such as suggestions, NNSs are generally less successful because of the absence of status‐preserving strategies that minimize the force of noncongruent speech acts. These strategies allow students to take out‐of‐status turns without jeopardizing their relationship with their advisors. Because of the advanced level of the NNSs, lack of success is not attributable to lack of linguistic competence but to lack of context‐specific pragmatic competence involving the use, kind, and number of status‐preserving strategies as well as the content and form appropriate for noncongruent speech acts.
Resolving Referential Conflicts in L2 Interaction: The Effect of Proficiency and Interactive Role *
Authors: Yule George , Macdonald Doris
Published: October 2006

Extending the research done on the effects of different types of task and different participant arrangements used to foster negotiated interaction among L2 learners, we developed a task that presents specific referential conflicts and analyzed the solutions adopted within two different pairings of learners. Pairs in which the higher proficiency member had the dominant role engaged in little interactive cooperation and in some cases changed the task rather than negotiate a solution. Pairs in which the higher proficiency member had the nondominant role engaged in substantial negotiation work, sought each other's perspective and generally shared much more in the interactive turn‐taking and the successful resolution of referential conflicts.
Timed Comprehension of Binding in Advanced L2 Learners of English
Authors: Cook Vivian J.
Published: October 2006

This paper is concerned with how advanced L2 learners of English interpret reflexive anaphors such as himself and pronominals such as him in sentences such as John said Peter helps himself and John said Peter helps him. Parameterized Binding Theory claims that the settings for the governing category parameter dictate whether particular anaphors or pronominals are bound to other noun phrases; the five possible settings are related in opposite hierarchies of inclusiveness for anaphors and pronominals according to the Subset Principle. An experiment is described that tested the interpretation of himself and him across five sentence types by 14 native speakers and 47 advanced L2 learners of English from three different language backgrounds—Japanese, Romance, and Norwegian. A computer‐controlled comprehension task gave the subjects 40 sentences, for each of which they had to decide whether him or himself referred to John or Peter by pressing the appropriate key. The results showed (1) anaphors were slightly more difficult than were pronominals overall, (2) pronominals were not treated as anaphors, (3) a consistent order of difficulty was found for the five sentence types, with certain exceptions, (4) common orders of difficulty and of response time occurred in all groups regardless of first language, again with exceptions, and (5) on one view the Subset Principle was positively related to difficulty for anaphors, negatively for pronominals. The discussion concerns the validity of comprehension tests as evidence for the Universal Grammar model. It is suggested that the results show that parameter settings are related to performance as well as to grammatical competence.
Factors Predicting Success in EFL Among Culturally Different Learners*
Authors: Olshtain Elite , Shohamy Elana , Kernp Judy , Chatow Rivka
Published: October 2006

The paper reports on a multivariate study that examined the contribution of two independent variables‐cognitive / academic proficiency in Ll and attitudes and motivation toward English as a foreign language‐on success in English as a foreign language of two culturally different learners, one identified as a socio‐culturally disadvantaged group and the other as a “regular” group. A description of the development of the instruments used to measure the variables is provided, the results of which indicated that academic proficiency in L1 played the most important role in predicting success in FLL in school context are reported. Within cognitive/ academic proficiency in L1 it is awareness of language use, register, and ability to correct errors in L2 that emerged as the subvariables that differentiated best among the two groups of students. Implications and conclusions of the results to foreign language learning are drawn.
Acquiring Literacy in a Second Language: The Effect of Book‐Based Programs *
Authors: Elley Warwick B.
Published: October 2006

This article outlines a set of recent little‐known empirical studies of the effects of “book floods” on students’ acquisition of a second language in elementary schools. In contrast to students learning by means of structured, audiolingual programs, those children who are exposed to an extensive range of high‐interest illustrated story books, and encouraged to read and share them, are consistently found to learn the target language more quickly. When immersed in meaningful text, without tight controls over syntax and vocabulary, children appear to learn the language incidentally, and to develop positive attitudes toward books. In some cases, the benefits are found to spread to other subjects and languages. Implications are drawn for language policy in developing countries and some support is established for such concepts as “comprehensible input” and “whole language” approaches to language acquisition in schools.
Foreign Accents Revisited: The English Pronunciation of Russian Immigrants*
Authors: Thompson Irene
Published: October 2006

This study investigated factors associated with the acquisition of L2 pronunciation and methodological problems associated with the study of foreign accents. Thirty‐six native speakers of Russian fluent in English read specially constructed English sentences and a prose passage, and talked spontaneously about their daily routine. They also filled out background and attitude questionnaires. The three speech samples were rated for accentedness by linguistically inexperienced native speakers of English representing “the person in the street” and by language experts. The best model of pronunciation accuracy included Age at Arrival in the U.S., Sex, Ability to Mimic, and Global Speaking Proficiency in English. Sentences “seeded” with difficult sounds were judged to be more accented than was spontaneous speech. Experienced raters were more reliable and more lenient in their assessments of accent than were inexperienced ones. Subjects who came to the U.S. between the ages of 4 and 10 years were judged to have a slight foreign accent. Results suggest that factors which affect the acquisition of L2 pronunciation depend on type of primary exposure to L2, and that perception of a foreign accent depends on language samples presented for judgment and on the linguistic experience of listeners. The study also raises the possibility that the acquisition of fully accentless speech in L2 may not be possible if L1 is maintained at a high level of proficiency, no matter how young the age at which the individual started to acquire the second language.
Motivation: Reopening the Research Agenda
Authors: Crookes Graham , Schmidt Richard W.
Published: October 2006

Discussion of the topic of motivation in second‐language (SL) learning contexts has been limited by the understanding the field of applied linguistics has attached to it. In that view, primary emphasis is placed on attitudes and other social psychological aspects of SL learning. This does not do full justice to the way SL teachers have used the term motivation. Their use is more congruent with definitions common outside social psychology, specifically in education. In this paper, we review the standard applied linguistics approach to this topic, and go on to provide an overview of research into motivation in mainstream education. This is used both to demonstrate the utility of other concepts of motivation to the SL field and as the basis for a research agenda for SL investigations of motivation thus conceived.
Piaget's Nominal Realism From a Linguistic Point of View*
Authors: Ephratt Michal
Published: October 2006

Nominal Realism connotes the belief that “every object has received a primordial and absolute name, which is somehow part of its being”. Following experimental results, Piaget and other psychologists claimed that such a phenomenon is observed with children during their “second childhood period”. This paper challenges these claims about Nominal Realism. Instead, it suggests that this is a linguistic phenomenon and should be studied as such.

In terms of linguistics and the philosophy of language, Nominal Realism is a referring instance and excludes any nonreferring (i.e., sense) properties. The sense property synonymy was chosen to carry out a field study in which use was made of a modification of the “semantic differential” in combination with pictorial stimuli to test the grasp of synonymy in children during their second childhood period.

By introducing linguistic terms, methods, and tools, we gain methodological validity and objective results, suitable for comparison. The conclusion is that children of the second childhood period acquire sense‐properties—synonymy—hence refuting the psychologists’ claims about Nominal Realism.
On L1 Transfer in L2 Comprehension and L2 Production*
Authors: Ringbom Håkan
Published: October 2006

Previous studies of transfer have dealt with its effects on either speaking or writing, whereas the effects on reading and listening have been neglected. In this paper, transfer is examined in relation to the different demands that the four language modalities make on the learner.

The main differences between L2 comprehension and L2 production concern the roles played by context and by potential knowledge. Transfer in comprehension is overt transfer, in which some cross‐linguistic similarity has been perceived between L2 input and existing or potential L1‐based knowledge, and which has an overwhelmingly facilitative effect on learning. In production, on the other hand, there is also covert transfer, in which L1‐based forms and procedures are used in the absence of appropriate L2‐based forms or procedures. This means that the relative strength of the positive versus the negative effects of transfer are much more difficult to assess in production. However, because comprehension normally precedes production, transfer in comprehension is at least as important as is transfer in production.
Sex Differences in Self‐Reported Beliefs About Foreign‐Language Learning and Authentic Oral and Written Input
Authors: Bacon Susan M. C. , Finnemann Michael D.
Published: October 2006

This study examined differences in the self‐reports of men and women regarding their attitudes, beliefs, strategies, and experience in language learning. Nine hundred and thirtyeight students of Spanish at two large institutions responded to a questionnaire that had previously yielded 11 stable factors (Bacon & Finnemann, 1990). Through discriminant analysis, we could distinguish between the responses of men and women on two language‐learning factors (LL), two dealing with authentic input (AI), and two exposure variables. The discussion includes a justification for using discriminant analysis as a statistical tool in second‐language attitude and belief research.