Adult Second Language Learners Research Articles

Memory-card vowel training for child and adult second-language learners: A first report.

Japanese adults and Spanish-Catalan children received auditory phonetic training for English vowels using a novel paradigm, a version of the common children's card game Concentration. Individuals played a computer-based game in which they turned over pairs of cards to match spoken words, drawn from sets of vowel minimal pairs. The training was effective for adults, improving vowel recognition in a game that did not explicitly require identification. Children likewise improved over time on the memory card game, but not on the present generalisation task. This gamified training method can serve as a platform for examining development and perceptual learning.

Can adult learners sense L2 emotional words automatically? The role of L2 use on the emotional Stroop effect

The present study investigated whether adult learners of second language (L2) can automatically activate emotional connotation during emotional word recognition as compared native (L1) users and whether L2 use plays a significant role in it. The automaticity of activation was measured through the emotional Stroop task. In this task, emotional words and neutral words were displayed in two different colors, and the participants were asked to indicate the color by button press. Results showed a delay in L2 learners’ response to emotional words (the emotional Stroop effect) without significant differences from L1 users’ response, indicating comparable automaticity in activating emotional connotation in performing the task. Further analyses on the effect of L2 use revealed its significant role in increasing the emotional Stroop effect. Specifically, L2 learners with higher amount of L2 use in daily life produced a significant emotion Stroop effect comparable to L1 users, while L2 learners with lower L2 use did not. We discuss the importance of L2 use in actual context in automatic processing of L2 emotional words, especially among adult learners who began L2 learning in adulthood in a case of underrepresented languages as L2.

From one language to the other: Examining the role of code-switching on vocabulary learning in adult second-language learners

The present work examines the impact of code-switching (CS) on novel word learning in adult second language (L2) learners of Spanish. Participants completed two sessions (1–3 days apart). In the first session, they were taught 32 nonwords corresponding to novel creatures. Training occurred across 4 conditions: (1) a sentence in English only, (2) a sentence in Spanish only (the L2), (3) a sentence that contained CS from Spanish-to-English, (4) a sentence that contained CS from English-to-Spanish. Immediately after training, participants were tested on their ability to identify the newly trained words using a looking-while-listening paradigm in which videos of participants’ looking patterns were collected remotely via Zoom. In the second session, re-testing of the trained words was completed. In the first session, training in the English-only condition led to better initial learning compared to the other conditions. In the second session, the English-only condition still had the highest accuracy, but performance in the two CS conditions was significantly better compared to the Spanish-only condition. These findings suggest that CS during vocabulary training may aid the retention of newly acquired word-object relations in the L2, compared to when training occurs entirely in the L2. This work has important implications for theories of L2 acquisition and can inform instruction practices in L2 classrooms.

Phonetics Instruction's Effect on Adult Learners and the Production of Second Language Sounds at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education

The influence of phonetics education on adult learners and the creation of second language sounds was examined at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education. The study was guided by four research questions. A questionnaire on the influence of phonetics education on adult learners in the generation of English sounds was used in a qualitative study design. A total of 10,000 people were studied with a sample size of 200 people. To obtain responses from the respondents, random and purposive selection approaches were utilized. The data was analyzed using the mean and standard deviations. According to the research, adult second-language learners who learn phonetics improve their pronunciation of English sounds. Adult second-language learners who received phonetics training improved their intonation. After obtaining phonetics education, adult second language learners improve in the placing of emphasis on words. Phonetics teaching helped adults who were learning a new language improve their word pronunciation.

Accessible and engaging voices: Teaching English to adult second-language learners with visual impairment using WhatsApp voice notes in India

This case study explored the possibility of using WhatsApp voice notes to teach English to adult learners with visual impairment. The study has documented in detail the challenges and advantages of learning and teaching English through WhatsApp. In this case study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and integrated and analysed to understand feasibility of using WhatsApp to teach English to learners with visual impairment. Even though the case study was primarily qualitative, some quantitative data were also collected and analysed numerically. The numerical data were analysed using descriptive statistics and reported using numbers and in the form of tables and figures. Furthermore, non-numerical data were examined inductively and reported thematically. The advantage of using WhatsApp voice notes was that it provided a platform for the learners to converse in English and an opportunity to reflect on their own learning process and progress critically. It provided a collaborative learning experience independent of the conventional learning experience of a classroom. The study revealed that the learners with visual impairment were more engaged in the learning process and in improving their speaking skill when WhatsApp voice notes were used. The coding of messages and detailed analysis of message categories clearly revealed the social-emotional skills of each participant in the study. The message categories were adapted from Community of Inquiry Framework and message categories suggested by Naaman et al.

The relationship between topic and metaphor in second-language learners’ essays

AbstractIn this article I investigate to what extent the use of metaphorical expressions in language learners’ texts vary according to the topic they have chosen to write about. The data come from the Norwegian learner corpus ASK, where the texts are from written assignments produced by adult second-language learners as part of an official Norwegian test and texts. Texts from two different prompts are selected, which are related to friendship and nature. Metaphors are defined according to conceptual metaphor theory and a triangulation of methods is used, alternating between a manual and an automatic extraction method.The results confirm the hypothesis that the two different prompts given to the learners in a language test not only triggers different metaphorical expressions but also influences the amount of metaphor used in the learners’ writing. This knowledge is important to researchers for comparing the use of metaphors between different groups, such as between different learners or between students in different stages of education. It is also important for test designers who decide on topics to be used in tests and teachers who help learners prepare for their tests. In addition, it is of interest for researchers, educators in general and the learners themselves who are interested in the effect the use of metaphors in texts have on raters’ evaluations in high-stake tests.

Using ultrasound tongue imaging to study covert contrasts in second-language learners’ acquisition of English vowels

ABSTRACT Research attempting to understand the intermediate stages of first-language acquisition and disordered speech has led to the discovery of covert contrast. A covert contrast is a statistically reliable difference between phonemes that is produced by a language learner, but in a way that cannot be heard readily by a listener of the target language. In the present study, we aimed to extend the investigation of covert contrasts to the domain of second-language acquisition. In particular, we used ultrasound tongue imaging to examine whether adult second-language learners of American English produced articulatory distinctions between the target vowels, in addition to producing acoustic differences. We collected speech recordings from 21 speakers (7 Korean speakers, 7 Spanish speakers, 7 English controls) while they produced words illustrating the relevant vowel contrasts in English: /i/-/ɪ/ and /ɛ/-/æ/. Results showed that approximately 36% of our second-language participants implemented various patterns of covert contrast in vowel articulation. Ultrasound measurements revealed that two participants made a covert distinction between two vowels that were perceptually neutralized. For one participant, the anterior part of the tongue was higher for /i/ than /ɪ/, and for the other, it was higher for /ɛ/ than /æ/. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of a learner-oriented approach in studying the acquisition of phonemic contrasts and suggest that ultrasound tongue imaging can be a promising tool to examine the articulatory details of vowel production in second-language learners.

The Determination of Brain Localization in Adult Second Language Learning Process

The aim of current study takes an interdisciplinear perspective to address the investigation of brain localization in adult second language learning process. This study was conducted on 10 native speakers of English who were trained on intensive Turkish as a second language at Indiana University Programme of Turkish Flagship, from initial exposure to high proficiency during 6 months. Participants were recorded by using fMRI while performing picture matching nd production tasks. Brain activation was found in areas associated with first language processing and parietal cortex, suggesting that adult second language learners have access to first language regions. Additional areas were engaged, suggesting that first language mechanisms are not sufficient for second language learning and processing. At early stages of learning, hippocampal activation was found for both vocabulary and grammar. At later stages, basal ganglia activation was observed for grammar, particularly in the caudate nucleus. The findings reccomend that early word and grammar learning relies on declarative memory, but that grammar later relies on procedural memory. These results highlight the importance of integrating neural and behavioral methods in second language research.

Prepositions in Contexts of Coordination: The Developmental Trajectory and Language Variation

This study examines the variable occurrence of preposition duplication in contexts of coordination in Spanish (e.g., Fui con mi madre y (con) mi padre). We build on previous research on this variable morphosyntactic phenomenon (namely, prepositions in contexts of coordination) by expanding the type of data and the independent variables analyzed. The examination of data from a written contextualized task suggests that duplication is the preferred variant for native speakers and that the linguistic factors of animacy, preposition type, and coordinator condition variation. We also extend the investigation of prepositions in contexts of coordination to adult second-language learners of Spanish. The results from four instructional levels of learners show numerous changes along the acquisitional path, both in the frequency of selection of the variants and of the factors that predict their occurrence. They also suggest that this variable structure is acquired late. Thus, the present investigation contributes to the understanding of second-language variation by providing information on the developmental trajectory and targetlikeness of a variable structure that has not been examined previously in the field of second language acquisition.

The processing of English which-questions in adult L2 learners: Effects of L1 transfer and proficiency

Abstract In a visual-world eye-tracking study, we investigate the on-line comprehension of subject and object which-questions in 60 German-English adult second-language (L2) learners at various stages of proficiency. In particular, we examine whether adult L2 learners follow the same acquisitional trajectories as children or whether L1 transfer dictates a different development. Previous research on monolingual English children shows that child learners initially commit to a strong subject preference and use inflectional cues, i.e. number marking, to overcome structural biases (e.g. Contemori and Marinis 2014b). The adult data on comprehension accuracy show strong effects of proficiency. Intermediate-proficiency L2 learners have an overwhelming structural preference for subject questions, and they are not sensitive to inflectional cues that disambiguate towards object readings. High-intermediate learners come to exploit inflectional cues for revising an initial subject-preference to the target object reading. Finally, advanced learners display native-like comprehension patterns. In contrast to the off-line accuracy data, the analysis of the eye movements shows that all groups of L2 adults make incremental use of inflectional cues in on-line comprehension. These findings indicate that inflectional cues are integrated in the course of L2 development in similar ways as in monolingual development. We discuss the results in the context of current approaches to L2 processing and child-adult differences in language development.

An Event Related Field Study of Rapid Grammatical Plasticity in Adult Second-Language Learners.

The present study used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate how Spanish adult learners of Basque respond to morphosyntactic violations after a short period of training on a small fragment of Basque grammar. Participants (n = 17) were exposed to violation and control phrases in three phases (pretest, training, generalization-test). In each phase participants listened to short Basque phrases and they judged whether they were correct or incorrect. During the pre-test and generalization-test, participants did not receive any feedback. During the training blocks feedback was provided after each response. We also ran two Spanish control blocks before and after training. We analyzed the event-related magnetic- field (ERF) recorded in response to a critical word during all three phases. In the pretest, classification was below chance and we found no electrophysiological differences between violation and control stimuli. Then participants were explicitly taught a Basque grammar rule. From the first training block participants were able to correctly classify control and violation stimuli and an evoked violation response was present. Although the timing of the electrophysiological responses matched participants' L1 effect, the effect size was smaller for L2 and the topographical distribution differed from the L1. While the L1 effect was bilaterally distributed on the auditory sensors, the L2 effect was present at right frontal sensors. During training blocks two and three, the violation-control effect size increased and the topography evolved to a more L1-like pattern. Moreover, this pattern was maintained in the generalization test. We conclude that rapid changes in neuronal responses can be observed in adult learners of a simple morphosyntactic rule, and that native-like responses can be achieved at least in small fragments of second language.

Language effects in second-language learners: A longitudinal electrophysiological study of spanish classroom learning

How do the neural mechanisms involved in word recognition evolve over the course of word learning in adult learners of a new second language? The current study sought to closely track language effects, which are differences in electrophysiological indices of word processing between one's native and second languages, in beginning university learners over the course of a single semester of learning. Monolingual L1 English-speakers enrolled in introductory Spanish were first trained on a list of 228 Spanish words chosen from the vocabulary to be learned in class. Behavioral data from the training session and the following experimental sessions spaced over the course of the semester showed expected learning effects. In the three laboratory sessions participants read words in three lists (English, Spanish and mixed) while performing a go/no-go lexical decision task in which event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. As observed in previous studies there were ERP language effects with larger N400s to native than second language words. Importantly, this difference declined over the course of L2 learning with N400 amplitude increasing for new second language words. These results suggest that even over a single semester of learning that new second language words are rapidly incorporated into the word recognition system and begin to take on lexical and semantic properties similar to native language words. Moreover, the results suggest that electrophysiological measures can be used as sensitive measures for tracking the acquisition of new linguistic knowledge.

A Reflection on Language Acquisition Theory Dealing with the Critical Period Issues and Its Implication for English Study in Indonesia

Language acquisition be it as a first or a second language is still an up to date topic in language education. This can be seen from the numerous researches carried out by specialists in the field. In view of first language acquisition, their investigation usually goes to the stages of language development of children in connection to age till language maturity is acquired. Almost similar to the area of quest in first language, in second language, researchers’ curiosity is aimed at uncovering the period of successful language acquisition whether it is similar in process to that in first language learning. Also, they search for answers to questions like “Is language acquisition faster at younger age than at older age? Is there a period where language learning progress will be slower? If there is, at what age is it? What is the impact of learning a second language before and after puberty? What problems are faced by adult learners of second language?”. And one most challenging source of keeping the spirit of research on issue is the hypothetical statement, the so called Critical Period Hypothesis. This article presents a discussion on language acquisition, particularly on second language as an attempt to make all parties involved in language education, especially English education in Indonesia, see what the proponents and opponents say about the unsolved issue of language acquisition and be more aware of implication of the existing theories for English language study in the country. It is concluded that from all the pro and contra arguments a uniformity of view cannot be reached yet. Accent has been proven as a refutation to the hypothesis. But this is not considered to be a significant finding because accent is regarded as the least important aspect of SLA proficiency, Key words: language acquisition, Critical Period Hypothesis, accent, English, implication

Emerging literacy in adult second-language learners: A synthesis of research findings in the Netherlands

This article synthesises the findings of research on the acquisition of literacy by unschooled adult immigrants in the Netherlands. It addresses studies on three main topics: the metalinguistic skills of these adults, their development of word recognition and predictors of success in reading. The first study compared the conceptions of spoken and written language of 25 unschooled adults with those of young pre-reading children and low-educated adult readers. The study revealed that the metalinguistic skills of unschooled adults differed more from those of low-educated adult readers than from pre-reading children. The second was a case study which focused on the reading development of adult L2 beginners and revealed that their development of word-recognition skills confirms stage models of beginning reading in which acquiring the alphabetical principle is a key step. In the third study, the literacy skills of roughly 300 adult L2 literacy students were assessed and related to their background characteristi...

Citizenship and race in second-language education

This article explores the links between citizenship and race in second-language education through an examination of the ways in which citizenship is linked to English language proficiency within a key Canadian federal adult English as a Second Language assessment document, the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB). It uses data and updates the analysis from a previously treated study that compared the way in which citizenship was conceptualised within that document with a sampling of adult second-language learners in a federally funded ESL programme. The participants in the study from which these data are drawn described becoming Canadians predominantly in terms of human rights, multicultural policy, and the obligations of being citizens. The CLB, however, rarely referred to citizenship in these terms. Instead, it described being Canadian in terms of normative standards, including various forms of social behaviour, which implied the existence of a dominant and singular culture to which second-language learners had to conform. This article argues that these normative standards have the effect of racialising second-language learners in this context.

Appraising Adult Second-Language Learners’ Subjectivity and Ability in Virtual Worlds

This paper uses Appraisal analysis to explore adult second-language learners’ realisations connecting self and ability when using Second Life. In particular, possible selves theory was used to discover whether learners realised a variety of selves. Studies of avatar subjectivity have focused on appearance and bricolage as vehicles for virtual subjectivity. Motivation theory articulates relations between various selves including the here-and-now self and desired selves which may function as self-guides, if a learning task is seen as realistic. In all, 40 student blogs were analysed using computational methods. This study found support for both approaches. Six frequently-occurring positive, and three frequently-occurring negative connections between self and ability are explored through examples. Conclusions are that virtual subjectivity is more goal-oriented and less involved with appearance and game-play in older users, older users accept social limitations on self, and second-language learners’ metacritical awareness may impact their ability to understand language tasks as realistic.

A novelty effect in phonetic drift of the native language

Previous findings on adult second-language (L2) learners showed systematic phonetic changes in their production of the native language (L1) starting in the first weeks of L2 learning [Chang, C. B. (2012). Rapid and multifaceted effects of second-language learning on first-language speech production. Journal of Phonetics, 40, 249–268]. This “phonetic drift” of L1 production in novice L2 learners was consistent with reports of phonetic drift in advanced L2 learners; however, the fact that novice learners showed relatively pronounced drift was unexpected. To explore the hypothesis that this pattern is due to a novelty effect boosting the encoding and retrieval of elementary L2 experience, the current study compared the inexperienced learners analyzed previously (learners with no prior knowledge of the L2) to experienced learners enrolled in the same language program. In accordance with the hypothesis, experienced learners manifested less phonetic drift in their production of L1 stops and vowels than inexperienced learners, suggesting that progressive familiarization with an L2 leads to reduced phonetic drift at later stages of L2 experience. These findings contradict the assumption that L2 influence on the L1 is weakest at early stages of L2 learning and argue in favor of viewing the L1 and L2 both as dynamic systems undergoing continuous change.

Acquisition of features in the nominal domain in bilingual acquisition

The four papers in this special issue deal with the acquisition of morphology and semantics in the nominal domain in two groups of language learners: adult second-language (L2) learners (Sagarra & Herschensohn; Cuza, Guijarro-Fuentes, Pires, & Rothman) and simultaneous bilin- gual children (Eichler, Jansen, & Muller; Larranaga & Guijarro-Fuentes). The acquisition of gender is the focus of three of the papers, while the fourth explores the interpretation of plural noun phrases in specific and generic contexts. Romance (Italian, French, and Spanish), Germanic (English and German), and a non-Indo-European language (Basque) form the empirical basis of the four studies. Despite the different language populations and the different aspects of the nomi- nal domain under investigation, the articles share some theoretical concerns that will be explored in the following.Two main issues cut across the articles on the acquisition of gender: the inevitable question about differences and similarities between bilingual and monolingual speakers, and the nature of what it is that language learners actually need to acquire. As for the two papers on adult L2 learn- ers, the additional issue revolves around evidence for acquisition of L2 features that are not present in the first language (L1), and the degree to which learners can achieve native-like competence as a function of experience. The role of input is also explored in the article by Eichler et al. in terms of language dominance in bilingual children. Another theme that is at the forefront of the article by Sagarra and Herschensohn is the relationship between representation and computation and the extent to which extra-linguistic factors, such as working memory capacity, affect the online com- putation of gender.Similarities and differences between bilinguals and monolingualsOne of the items high on the agenda of bilingual research is the extent to which the linguistic behavior of bilinguals is similar or different from monolinguals'. In developmental terms this begs the question of how exposure to two languages affects the course of language acquisition; factors such as the quantity and quality of the input (e.g. Argyri & Sorace, 2007; Cornips & Hulk, 2006; Paradis & Navarro, 2003; Pearson, Fernandez, Lewedeg, & Oller, 1997; Sorace, Serratrice, Filiaci, & Baldo, 2009; Thomas & Gathercole, 2007), and the age at which children are first exposed to two languages (e.g. Meisel, 2008, 2010; Unsworth, 2008; Unsworth & Hulk, 2009) have been shown to play a role. The age of exposure is controlled for in the Eichler et al. and in the Larranaga and Guijarro-Fuentes papers, as the children are all simultaneous bilinguals who have been regu- larly exposed to two languages from birth. There is, however, variation in terms of children's lan- guage dominance in the Eichler et al.'s study that is related to the marking of gender in their weaker language. The issue of language dominance is not explicitly linked by the authors to the quantity and quality of the input addressed to the children, rather it is considered for the cascading effect that it has on the accuracy of gender marking. The case made by the authors is that although devel- opment in the weaker language can be slower, it does not necessarily mean that children are less accurate. Two of the children in their sample are reported to have a mean difference between the Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) values in their two languages of almost two words and as a result are classified as unbalanced bilinguals. Both children are, however, surprisingly accurate in German, their weaker language. The authors nevertheless point out that this superficially impres- sive performance betrays a low degree of lexical diversity with a small number of gender-marked noun types in the children's lexicon. Lexical conservatism is a trade-off for their relatively error- free use of gender marking; in more general terms, this could be viewed as an indication of low productivity and, therefore, call into question these children's overall acquisition of the complex gender system of German. …

Evolution of Verb Meanings in Children and L2 Adult Learners Through Reorganization of an Entire Semantic Domain: The Case of Chinese Carry/Hold Verbs

The meaning of a word is not acquired in isolation from other words. This article investigates how first-language (L1) and adult second-language (L2) learners of Chinese learn the meanings of verbs belonging to the same semantic domain, focusing on the semantic domain of “carrying/holding” in Chinese. Results revealed that the verb use of L2 adults is heavily influenced by their lexical knowledge of L1 and that their development of word meanings stops before they fully reach the adult native speakers' word meaning. L1 children in contrast tend to depend on perceptually visible features of actions at the initial stage of lexical acquisition and then gradually learn how their L1 categorizes the actions by verbs. We argue that L2 learners need to attain meta-knowledge about the mapping of the entire configuration of the corresponding lexical domain between L1 and L2 and discuss how reading inside and outside of the classroom could foster this process.

Diagnosing Contact Processes from their Outcomes: The Importance of Life Stages

This paper addresses the questions, Do bilingually induced and shift-induced change have different outcomes? If they do, can these differences assist us in reconstructing the prehistoric past, specifically the linguistic prehistory of the (smallscale neolithic) societies of Melanesia. A key to better interpreting differences in the outputs of contact-induced change is to understand how such change in smallscale societies actually occurs. I argue that it is important to know the life-stage loci of change. I suggest that language shift has two life-stage loci, one in early childhood, where evidence of shift, if any, is restricted to specialist lexicon, and one in adulthood. Adult language shift appears to have been rare in Melanesia. I also suggest that bilingually induced change, which entails the syntactic restructuring of one’s heritage language on the model of a second language, takes place among preadolescent children–a claim which is supported by various kinds of evidence. This understanding helps us in turn to interpret the outcomes of contact-induced change and to infer prehistoric events, since adult second-language learning typically leads to simplification, whilst childhood language learning may lead to an increase in complexity.