Adult Learners Of English Research Articles

How are personality factors connected to EFL learners’ oral performance? A psychological network analysis

This study employs psychological network analysis to explore the intricate relationships between personality traits and second language (L2) oral performance. The participants, 162 Korean adult learners of English, completed the IPIP-NEO-60 personality trait questionnaire and a time-pressured oral narrative task. The oral narratives are assessed for two aspects of L2 knowledge (grammar and vocabulary) and two aspects of L2 processing (pronunciation and fluency). The analysis identifies two personality factors (neuroticism and extraversion) and two oral performance factors (grammar and vocabulary) as playing central roles in the network model. It shows particularly robust associations in a negative link between neuroticism and vocabulary and a positive link between conscientiousness and vocabulary, as well as a potential interaction of L2 knowledge (vocabulary) and L2 processing (fluency). The findings highlight the need for differentiated instructional strategies based on learners’ diverse personality profiles.

Self-Regulated Multimedia Cognitive Learning Model: Enhancing Vocabulary Acquisition in Adult English Learners

Self-Regulated Multimedia Cognitive Learning Model: Enhancing Vocabulary Acquisition in Adult English Learners

Word-Final /s/-/z/ Omission in Vietnamese English

Southeast Asian learners of English, including those from Vietnam, frequently omit word-final consonants in their English speech. Previous work on Vietnamese learners of English is limited, and errors are typically usually attributed to first-language transfer effects. No large-scale empirical study on Vietnamese learners has been carried out to aid the development of an evidence-based pedagogy. This study uses authentic spoken data to compare lexical and morphological word-final /s/ and /z/ in the speech of sixteen Vietnamese adult learners of English. We discuss the relative impact of frequency of use, whether the instance of a target /s/ or /z/ is in a root or bound morpheme, and whether the preceding phoneme is a consonant or vowel. An overall omission rate of 28.4% of expected instances was found. Morphological {-s} when it is preceded by a consonant has the highest error rate (50.7%). A multilevel binary logistic regression was performed to ascertain the relative effects. Morphological words containing /s/ or /z/ were significantly more likely to be pronounced with the /s/ or /z/ absent than lexical words containing a /s/ or /z/, as were those in clusters compared to those with a preceding vowel. The results indicate that phonological effects and morphological effects are stacked and not multiplicative and that the observed omission rates are not solely attributable to L1 transfer effects. Frequency of use is also highly correlated with accuracy.

Языковое образование онлайн: принципы создания размеченного корпуса ошибок в специализированном английском языке русскоязычных работников IT-сферы

Today, academic corpora are a matter of great interest to many linguists. The article examines the importance of academic corpora in modern linguistics and pedagogy as a tool for identifying typical errors in the speech of foreign language students. They reveal problems in foreign language acquisition and create new teaching methods. The paper reviews the existing academic corpora and error classifications. The authors developed a corpus of oral speech errors typical of Russian-speaking IT students that study English for IT purposes. The corpus relied on 50 video recordings of in-class activities in which students communicated with English-speaking IT specialists and made up dialogues in English. The corpus made it possible to identify the main difficulties experienced by adult learners of English for IT purposes. It involves a tagged classification of typical errors divided by language level into morphological, syntactic, lexical, and phonetic ones. The research demonstrated good prospects for developing other academic speech corpora with automated error tagging based on the speech of English learners.

The Development of Past Tense Forms in Albanian Native Speakers and Learners of English as a Second Language

This study explores how Albanian learners acquire tense-aspect systems, focusing on two distinct groups: adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) and young native speakers of Albanian. Drawing on the Aspect Hypothesis (AH), which asserts that the aspectual properties of verbs play a key role in the acquisition of tense-aspect distinctions, the research aims to determine if these learners exhibit universal patterns in their development. Data was collected through written tasks, narrative exercises, and demographic questionnaires from Albanian bachelor’s students and children in grades 2-5. The analysis reveals that Albanian ESL learners demonstrate more variability and complexity in their past tense use, while young native speakers show a more systematic and predictable pattern, consistent with AH predictions. The study provides new insights into how the Aspect Hypothesis operates across different age groups and language contexts, offering valuable recommendations for improving teaching approaches and curriculum design for Albanian ESL learners.

Computer-assisted pronunciation training: A systematic review

Abstract This systematic review maps the trends of computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) research based on the pedagogy of second language (L2) pronunciation instruction and assessment. The review was limited to empirical studies investigating the effects of CAPT on healthy L2 learners’ pronunciation. Thirty peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1999 and 2022 were selected based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected about the studies’ contexts, participants, experimental designs, CAPT systems, pronunciation training scopes and approaches, pronunciation assessment practices, and learning measures. Using a pedagogically informed codebook, the pronunciation training and assessment practices were classified and evaluated based on established L2 pronunciation teaching guidelines. The findings indicated that most of the studies focused on the pronunciation training of adult English learners with an emphasis on the production of segmental features (i.e. vowels and consonants) rather than suprasegmental features (i.e. stress, intonation, and rhythm). Despite the innovation promised by CAPT technology, pronunciation practice in the studies reviewed was characterized by the predominant use of drilling through listen-and-repeat and read-aloud activities. As for assessment, most CAPT studies relied on human listeners to measure the accurate production of discrete pronunciation features (i.e. segmental and suprasegmental accuracy). Meanwhile, few studies employed global pronunciation learning measures such as intelligibility and comprehensibility. Recommendations for future research are provided based on the discussion of these results.

Reflexive participant collaboration: researching ‘with’ adult migrant learners of English

ABSTRACT This article explores a method of collecting in-situ data created by adult migrants attending English language classes to investigate the interindividual variance of vulnerability within this population. The study encourages reflexivity to evaluate and redress the power relationships present both in the research process and the daily lives of the migrants, whilst also building trust between the researcher and participants. I argue that weekly text message data, generated by participants and arranged as graphs for online interviews, empowers participants to take ownership of their research contribution and encourages deeper reflections to share the stories behind the messages.

Pronoun interpretation in intermediate-advanced L2 English speakers: L2 to L1 cross-linguistic effects

Aims and objectives: L2 learners who speak a null subject (L1 Spanish) and a non-null subject language (L2 English) may experience cross-linguistic interference from the L2 on L1 pronoun interpretation. In this study, we test pronoun interpretation in the L1 and L2 of adult learners, in comparison with two groups of monolingual speakers, to assess if L1 pronoun interpretation can change as a result of L2 acquisition at intermediate-advanced levels of L2 proficiency and in the absence of long L2 immersion. Methodology: A group of L2 English speakers (L1 Spanish) participated in two offline sentence comprehension tasks where they interpreted pronouns in the L1 and L2. The results are compared with English and Spanish monolingual speakers. Data and analysis: We find that adult English learners comprehend pronouns in their L1 (Spanish) differently than Spanish monolingual speakers, demonstrating a strong subject bias for interpreting null and overt pronouns. In addition, we show that pronoun interpretation patterns acquired in the L2 explain the changes to L1 interpretation biases. Conclusions: The results of this study significantly advance the understanding of the factors that contribute to bilingual language comprehension, showing the permeability of the L1 comprehension system at the discourse level as soon as the L2 sets in.

Inspired by Asian migrants: An adult English learner's imagined communities and study abroad trajectory

In today's globalized world, language learners gain inspiration for who they want to be and the community to which they want to belong through unconventional ways. This study investigates the unconventional language aspirations of a male Japanese adult sojourner who studied English in the Philippines and Canada and projected his imagined self as aligning with the Asian migrants he met in Japan. Data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire, two semi-structured interviews, and follow-up emails. In employing a critical event narrative inquiry approach, the study findings focus on two critical events that largely shaped this individual's imagined community and the desires shaping his English learning—the socialization with the migrants in Japan and his instructors in the Philippines. This study illuminates a nascent language desire that emerged in an internationalizing society and urges further exploration of unconventional aspirations that are situated beyond the dominant ideologies and transcend existing dichotomous boundaries.

The effects of listening-based lexical focus-on-form on the learning of morphologically complex words

This study explored the effects of listening-based lexical focus-on-form (lexical FonF) on the acquisition and retention of morphologically complex words. One hundred eighty-two adult English learners with two levels of English proficiency (higher and lower proficiency) from a public university in mainland China were assigned to three different conditions: morphological instruction (MI), an experimental condition in which morphological instruction related to target words was provided in addition to a series of audio passages containing the target items; word meaning explanation (WME), an experimental condition in which explanations of the word meaning of target items were offered in addition to the listening activity; and one control condition (CT) in which learners were exposed only to the listening activity. The results indicated that lexical FonF led to more vocabulary gains than purely incidental FonF and that the MI condition significantly outperformed the WME condition in both the acquisition and retention of morphologically complex words. In addition, no interaction was detected between the preintervention proficiency level and word learning conditions.

The Effectiveness of English Pronunciation Teaching on Korean Adult English Learners’ Pronunciation Ability Improvement

The Effectiveness of English Pronunciation Teaching on Korean Adult English Learners’ Pronunciation Ability Improvement

A Study on Adult Learners of English as A Foreign Language in Vietnam: Motivations, Advantages, and Challenges

English has become highly popular in Vietnam, emerging as the preferred language for diverse purposes. The increasing attendance at English Training Centers and schools shows a surge in adult learners seeking language refinement. Motivated by career progression, job prerequisites, learning objectives, and communication needs, these learners encounter many difficulties. This article explores the obstacles Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners face, providing practical solutions for both learners and educators. A comprehensive study involving 70 adult learners studying EFL at the University of Danang - University of Foreign Language Studies (UD-UFLS) utilized questionnaires and interviews, employing qualitative and quantitative analyses. The research revealed that despite high motivation driven by job and career goals, learners struggle due to time constraints, limited English literacy skills, and financial burdens, diminishing the effectiveness of their learning. In response to these difficulties, constructive recommendations are offered to enhance the learning experience and address the prevalent issues.

The effect of type of task on EFL learners' vocabulary learning.

Depth of processing vocabulary has been the subject of heated discussion among vocabulary researchers. Yet, current literature lacks research comparing different tasks to investigate the acquisition of vocabulary knowledge among adult learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). To fill the gap, we designed five task-based groups based on Technique Feature Analysis (TFA) as a framework to predict the effectiveness of different vocabulary learning tasks with similar or different TFA rankings on L2 vocabulary knowledge gain. The participants were 130 EFL learners (mean age = 21.7, female 61.5%) randomly assigned to the vocabulary learning tasks: reading and multiple-choice items (TFA = 6), reading and choosing definitions (TFA = 6), reading and fill-in-the-blanks (TFA = 7), reading and rewording the sentences (TFA = 6) and composition writing (TFA = 8). The results of the study revealed that tasks with the same TFA scores led to similar vocabulary knowledge gains. While predictions of the TFA are partially supported, composition writing and sentence rewording tasks supersede other tasks in terms of their effectiveness in vocabulary acquisition.

YOUNG ENGLISH LEARNERS’ ANXIETY: THE CASE IN INDONESIAN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

It is a common phenomenon that English language learners suffer from anxiety when they step into a language class, especially in the oral-focused lesson. This situation is experienced not only by adult English learners but also by the young ones who are learning in English-speaking classes at the elementary school level. Language anxiety they have is triggered by or originated from numerous factors, including the teacher’s identity factor. A teacher who is a ‘native’ speaker of the language is believed to gear greater anxiety among English as a foreign language learners resulted in passiveness and withdrawal from oral activities in the class. Referring to the circumstance, this study, was conducted to see the level of anxiety in English speaking classes which were taught by a native English speaker teacher (NEST) as well as to see the possible aspects evoking foreign language anxiety among young English learners. This present research, particularly, involved 69 active students of Tarakanita 1 elementary school in Jakarta. The research data was collected using a qualitative method with a set of questionnaires as a major data collection instrument, embracing three key indicators namely fear of communicating, fear of negative evaluations, and testing anxiety. To identify similarities and differences among students of differing anxiety levels, five categories: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high anxiety are applied. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed that the participants exhibit different levels of anxiousness in speaking English with a native English speaker. The highest percentage fell at high level category which was applied for the three aforementioned indicators. Pertaining to the factors influence might arouse anxiety in speaking class fear of communicating, contribute as much as the other two: fear of negative evaluations, and testing anxiety. The findings of this study are expected to benefit both teachers and students. It is hoped that students will develop more awareness towards factors, as anxiety, that may hinder them from mastering English-speaking skill and find solutions to overcome anxiety in speaking. Moreover, teachers are hoped to be more understanding and concerned with the anxiety young English learners experience and help them reduce their anxiety during the classroom performance through implementing various strategies.

Articulatory working space in first and second languages

Articulatory working space (acoustic and kinematic) is often studied to understand the overall size (limits) of a speaker’s articulatory behaviors. For example, prior research has shown that the magnitude of articulators’ movement (e.g., maximum tongue advancement, lip aperture) changes as a function of speech effort (loud, clear, and slow speech). To better understand second language acquisition in adults (i.e., articulatory working space determined by the language or anatomical differences), we compare both acoustic and kinematic working space of adult learners of English between their first language (L1) and second language (L2), which is also compared with that of native speakers of English. Specifically, the articulatory convex hull is measured during passage reading for both acoustic (F1 and F2 trajectories) and kinematic (tongue trajectories on x- and y-dimensions) data. Participants include 11 adult learners of English (four men and seven women) with a Korean language background and 10 adult L1 speakers of English (six men and four women). In the presentation, the findings will be discussed to address whether articulatory space is (1) different between native and nonnative languages (determined by linguistic needs) or (2) rather a constant articulatory characteristic of speakers between the languages, regardless of the speaker’s English proficiency.

Prosodic Focus Interpretation in Spectrotemporally Degraded Speech by Non-Native Listeners.

This study assesses how spectrotemporal degradations that can occur in the sound transmission of a cochlear implant (CI) may influence the ability of non-native listeners to recognize the intended meaning of utterances based on the position of the prosodically focused word. Previous research suggests that perceptual accuracy and listening effort are negatively affected by CI processing (or CI simulations) or when the speech is presented in a non-native language, in a number of tasks and circumstances. How these two factors interact to affect prosodic focus interpretation, however, remains unclear. In an online experiment, normal-hearing (NH) adolescent and adult native Dutch learners of English and a small control group of NH native English adolescents listened to CI-simulated (eight-channel noise-band vocoded) and non-CI-simulated English sentences differing in prosodically marked focus. For assessing perceptual accuracy, listeners had to indicate which of four possible context questions the speaker answered. For assessing listening effort, a dual-task paradigm was used with a secondary free recall task. The results indicated that prosodic focus interpretation was significantly less accurate in the CI-simulated condition compared with the non-CI-simulated condition but that listening effort was not increased. Moreover, there was no interaction between the influence of the degraded CI-simulated speech signal and listening groups in either their perceptual accuracy or listening effort. Non-native listeners are not more strongly affected by spectrotemporal degradations than native listeners, and less proficient non-native listeners are not more strongly affected by these degradations than more proficient non-native listeners.

Digital poetry for adult English learners with limited education: Possibilities in language learning, literacy development and interculturality

Studies on the role of digital technology in teaching and learning English tend to focus on secondary or higher education contexts and/or with literate or educated students. The recent global pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to advance digital equity and inclusion for adult learners with limited education and literacy. Despite their basic digital, language and literacy skills, classroom observations and studies have challenged stereotypes of this cohort of students’ limited capacity for online learning (Pobega, 2020; Tour et al, 2021). This paper will discuss a digital literacy project which involved poetry writing using an online book creator app with adult learners with limited English print literacy skills. Moving beyond merely mastering the mechanics of digital technologies (Kern, 2015), this project was an exploration of how language classrooms can be set up as supportive spaces where adult English learners perform “social acts of meaning mediated by the creation of texts” (Bhatt, 2012). Drawing on their personal histories, the learners made connections with the people, events, and spaces, from their past and present, emphasising the need to focus on human connections in language learning and the development of digital literacy skills (Guillén et al, 2020). Through poetry as a familiar literary form, the project serves to expand and strengthen the epistemic contribution capability (Fricker, 2015) of English learners with limited education and print literacy skills.

Adult language learners’ perception of the usefulness of learning strategies

This qualitative study investigated the perception that adult English learners in a non-formal context have about the usefulness of learning strategies. Data were collected through field notes and qualitative surveys. The results indicated that participants perceived the strategies not only as very useful but also as dynamic, entertaining, and interesting. Likewise, the results showed that the inclusion of strategies contributes to the development of language skills and helped the participants to gain confidence in the use of the learned language. The pedagogical implications suggest that the inclusion of strategies, as a support tool outside the classroom, can have a positive effect on the perception, adoption of new strategies, and on the increase of time invested outside the classroom.

Difficulties in Production of Voiceless Interdental Fricative // Sound for Chinese Learners of English

Chinese learners of English have long been known to have significant difficulties with the voiceless fricative // sound in English. This study focuses on the challenges and errors faced by Chinese learners of English while producing the voiceless interdental fricative sound //, and aims to find out the speakers error rate and possible reasons when pronouncing it. In this study, six Chinese adult learners of English were selected as a sample for pronunciation recordings, and the average pronunciation accuracy of // and the accuracy of each individual were calculated. Next, a short interview is conducted with each of them, containing possible reasons for the mispronunciation. The results of the study showed that the overall average correct pronunciation rate of the six Chinese English learners was only 37%. There was a positive correlation between the learners' long-term exposure to a pure, full English environment and the accuracy of their pronunciation. And the correct position of the tongue during pronunciation determines correct pronunciation.

Implicit Statistical Learning in L2 Sentence Processing: Individual Cognitive Differences.

This study investigates whether statistical learning ability, conceptualized as a cognitive ability to learn regularities implicitly, is a good predictor for L2 learners' online language processing performance. Native-English-speaking adults, as a control group, and native-Korean-speaking adult L2 learners of English participated. They completed: (a) an artificial grammar learning task containing nonadjacent dependencies in sequences of non-words, to test statistical learning ability; and (b) a self-paced English reading task containing relative clauses (RC) in which the "filler" and the "gap" formed a long-distance dependency, to test language processing. Both tasks' stimuli were presented element-by-element to mimic the incremental nature of online language processing. The results for the L1 group show that higher accuracy scores on the artificial grammar learning task did not predict higher sentence comprehension scores. The results for the L2 group, however, show a marginally significant correlation between accuracy scores on the artificial grammar learning task and sentence comprehension scores. For both groups, the reading time difference between grammatical and ungrammatical items in the artificial grammar learning task did predict the speed of reading times for items with RCs with a long-distance dependency in the sentence processing task: Larger differences in RTs in the artificial grammar task correlated with slower reading at the critical region of English RCs. These findings suggest a similar mechanism for online first and second language processing of core syntactic phenomena and for statistical learning ability that involves implicitly tracking distributional relations across elements.