Chinese L2 Research Articles

Investigating Chinese University-Level L2 Learners’ Foreign Language Anxiety in Online English Classes

The growing importance of online classes due to the outbreak of COVID-19 raises concerns about foreign language anxiety in online English classes. However, few studies have focused their attention on this issue. Accordingly, the current study will investigate Chinese university students’ foreign language anxiety in online English classes. In addition, it has examined the extent to which age and gender may impact their foreign language anxiety. Ninety-nine Chinese university non-English majors participated in the study. The results demonstrate that 1) among the three aspects of language anxiety proposed by Horwitz et al. (1986), the participants got the highest score in fear of negative evaluation and the lowest in test anxiety. 2) There is a negative relationship between gender and fear of negative evaluation. Possible reasons for the results and some suggestions for online teaching are provided.

Analysis of Mandarin Syntactic Errors of Indonesian Learners at Elementary Level

This research discusses Mandarin syntactic errors of Indonesian learners, performed at the elementary stage. It aims to categorize errors and identify them. The researchers follow Corder’s steps in error analysis. This paper considers four categories of errors: omission, addition, replacement, and disorder. Finally, the researchers seek to explain why the students commit such errors. The results of the data analysis show that most of the syntactic errors are classified as omission errors and disorder errors. These results indicate that the participants relied heavily on their native language to use the target language. Furthermore, their errors reveal that lack of Chinese grammatical knowledge and L1 interference may be significant reasons for their errors. To reduce syntactic errors for students at the elementary stage, teachers should pay more attention to comparing Mandarin and their native language and provide comprehensible input.

The impacts of self-efficacy on undergraduate students’ perceived task value and task performance of L1 Chinese integrated writing: A mixed-method research

The impacts of self-efficacy on undergraduate students’ perceived task value and task performance of L1 Chinese integrated writing: A mixed-method research

Epistemic Stance in Chinese L2 Spoken English: The Effect of Grade and Genre-Specific Questions

Zuczkowski et al.’s KUB model clarified three epistemic stances: Knowing/Certain, Not Knowing Whether and Believing/Uncertain, and Unknowing/Neither Certain nor Uncertain, according to the speakers’ communicated information, and delineated three types of markers: macro-markers, micro-markers, and morphosyntactic markers. The model has seldom been applied to L2 instruction. To address this gap, the study examines the effect of grade and genre-specific questions on Chinese L2 speakers’ choice of epistemic markers with reference to the model by analyzing the self-built corpus consisting of the oral data collected from two groups: Group One consisting of 20 sophomores and Group Two comprising 20 first-year graduate students. The participants were required to answer four genre-specific questions covering argumentation, description, narration, and exposition. The results show that the two group members use similar epistemic markers (EMs) for the Knowing/Certain and Not Knowing Whether and Believing /Uncertain positions but present a slight discrepancy in Unknowing/Neither Certain nor Uncertain stance-taking. The genre-based questions demonstrate a significant effect on the graduate speakers’ use of the micro-markers and morphosyntactic markers for the Not Knowing Whether and Believing/Uncertain and the macro-markers and morphosyntactic markers for the Unknowing/Neither Certain nor Uncertain. It indicates that high-grade speakers are more sensitive to genre-based messages, though they use rather limited epistemic forms as low-grade speakers do. The findings suggest that English as a Second Language (ESL) oral instruction in China should be reformed and supplemented with diverse EMs to allow the speakers to take the epistemic stance they are comfortable with.

The acquisition of evidential markers in L1 Chinese: data from Taiwan Mandarin-speaking children

The acquisition of evidential markers in L1 Chinese: data from Taiwan Mandarin-speaking children

Promoting Learning Potential among Students of L2 Chinese through Dynamic Assessment

ABSTRACT In Dynamic Assessment (DA), the observation that individuals respond differently to support, or mediation, is important for diagnoses of development. The concept of learning potential refers to openness to mediation, i.e., the extent of change to performance when mediation is available, which may suggest learners will need less overall instruction to develop. The current study investigates this prediction and the premise that aligning DA mediation with learner needs promotes development. Mediation, as a systematic interactional process, is more likely to appropriately identify learner needs that are sensitive to future development. Thirty-four secondary school learners of L2 Chinese participating in a two-month study abroad in China completed narration tasks following an instructional intervention, one group receiving DA mediation and the other explicit feedback. The bα (把)-construction, recognized as particularly challenging for learners of Chinese, was the focal language feature. Analysis revealed significant differences, with the group receiving DA mediation showing greater improvement with mediation and more accuracy during independent functioning.

Adult Chinese Spanish L2ers' acquisition of phi-agreement and temporal concord: The role of morphosyntactic features and adverb/subject-verb distance.

While phi-agreement and concord are suggested to differ in nature during the first language (L1) acquisition, the acquisition of adverb-verb TC and SV person/number agreement by Chinese Spanish second language (L2) learners has only received limited attention. The current study examined morphosyntactic processing by advanced Chinese Spanish L2 learners (L2ers), whose L1 lacks the explicit morphological marking of tense and phi-agreement. Chinese Spanish L2ers and native Spanish speakers were asked to complete a self-paced grammaticality judgment task, where the grammaticality of adverb-verb TC and SV person/number agreement as well as the adverb/subject-verb distance were manipulated. For both native Spanish speakers and L2ers, SV agreement violations are detected earlier and judged more accurately than adverb-verb TC violations. Furthermore, L2ers process SV number agreement less efficiently than SV person agreement (but as efficiently as adverb-verb TC). And there is no influence of the adverb/subject-verb distance on the processing of verbal inflection. This study suggests that advanced Chinese Spanish L2ers tend to use native-like cognitive mechanisms for phi-agreement and concord computations, though their sensitivity to agreement violations may be further influenced by the morphosyntactic feature involved.

Dynamic Assessment of the Learning Potential of Chinese as a Second Language

ABSTRACT The construct of learning potential has been proposed to capture differences between learner independent performance and performance during Dynamic Assessment (DA). This paper introduces a new LPS formula implemented in a DA study involving Pakistani learners of L2 Chinese. Learners were randomly assigned to a control or experimental group and administered a pre-, post-, and more difficult transfer test, each focused on verb-resultative constructions. Use of the new learning potential score (LPS) formula allowed for greater differentiation of learner trajectories.

Function and Accuracy of Lexical Bundle Use in English as L3 Learners" Essay Writings: A Learner Corpus-Based Study

This study aims to investigate English features of lexical bundles used by English L3 group of learners, focusing on the function and accuracy. English L3 learners are Chinese Korean ethnic college students who acquired Korean and Chinese before learning English. In order to carry out a comprehensive comparison, Korean L1 and Chinese L1 students are also involved. Thus, EFL leaner corpora of Yonsei English Learner Corpus (YELC), Chinese Korean English Learner Corpus (CKELC), and Chinese Han English Learner Corpus (CHELC) are examined and compared, with Louvain Corpus of Native English Essay (LOCNESS) as a reference. By comparing those corpora, this study produced the following findings: (1) among the most frequently used bundles, English L3 learners used over 50% of the same bundles as Chinese L1 learners; (2) English L3 learners have the same preference as Korean L1 learners in overusing stance-expression bundles; (3) three groups of EFL learners had a better grammatical correctness than semantic appropriacy in terms of bundle use, but none of them had gained a satisfying performance; (4) with respect to the overall quality of lexical bundles, English L3 learners were the worst among the three EFL learner groups. The results of this study may provide pedagogical implications for EFL teachers to improve learners’ essay writing.

Dependency resolutions of null and overt subjects in English speakers’ L2 Chinese: Evidence for the cue-based model

This study investigates whether there are different first-language–second-language (L1–L2) dependency resolutions by focusing on less-studied crosslinguistic variances in L2 acquisition of Chinese, a null-subject language, by speakers of English, a non-null-subject language. The overt subject pronoun of a Chinese main clause has free orientation and its antecedent can be the subject or object of the preceding causal subordinate clause, depending on pragmatic biases. The null subject of a Chinese main clause, however, is subject-oriented, and this subject orientation is not affected by any pragmatic bias. English does not allow null subjects and, like Chinese, overt subject pronouns in English have free orientation. An acceptability judgement task and an interpretation task were adopted, and the results suggest that only the free orientation of overt subjects, but not the subject orientation of null subjects, is acquirable for English-speaking learners; they are found to be influenced by the pragmatic bias. This provides evidence for the cue-based model (Cunnings, 2017), which states that L1–L2 differences in dependency resolution can be explained in terms of L1–L2 differences in susceptibility to interference and L2ers’ over-reliance on discourse-based/pragmatic cues. It is also observed that in L1 Chinese, competition between the target antecedent and distractors occurs during the reading of the sentence, while in L2 Chinese, this occurs after the reading of the sentence. These findings add to our growing understanding of different mechanisms in L1 vs. L2 dependency resolutions.

Is the digit effect a cognate effect? Digits (still) differ from pictures in non-phonologically mediated language switching

AbstractLanguage control in bilinguals is often investigated with the language switching paradigm. Switch costs reflect the ease/difficulty of applying this control mechanism. The type of stimuli employed in the experiments may influence switch costs. To date, only one study has compared digit vs picture processing, reporting reduced switch costs for digits (Declerck, Koch & Philipp, 2012). This result was adjudicated to phonological overlap between the languages used. Crucially, it remains an open question whether this digit effect generalises to language combinations without phonological relation. We fill this gap by investigating language switching with two language pairs differing in relative proficiency (L1 Chinese–L2 English, L1 Chinese–L3 French), where cross-language phonological activation is not expected. Overall, a digit effect is observed in the Chinese–English pair. Contrary to Declerck et al.'s (2012) finding, digits increased switch costs. Phonological mediation cannot explain this effect; instead, we suggest its origin lies in within-language word association links.

Crosslinguistic influence in the conceptualization of motion events: A synthesis study on L2 acquisition of Chinese motion expressions

As Chinese shows both satellite- and verb-framed properties (Slobin, 2004; Talmy, 2012, 2016), it provides a unique lens through which to observe the extent of first-language (L1) typological influence in second language (L2) acquisition of motion expressions. This study has dual purposes. First, it extends Wu’s (2016) investigation on motion expressions produced by 80 L1 satellite-framed English learners of L2 Chinese to include newly collected data produced by L1 verb-framed speakers, a sample comprised of 41 L1 Japanese learners of Chinese and 40 Japanese native speakers. Second, it synthesizes the data from both studies and comprehensively examines factors that have been proposed to affect development of L2 thinking-for-speaking (TFS) patterns. The results show that development of L2 TFS is best predicted by learners’ L1 type, but the effect is mitigated by L2 proficiency. While the L1 English learners outperform L1 Japanese learners in their development of target-like L2 Chinese TFS, learners with limited L2 proficiency in both groups tend to adopt verb-framed strategies to express only the core path information of a motion event and leave out the manner details. Analysis of L1 Japanese learners’ oral narratives in L1 Japanese and L2 Chinese also shows that reverse L2-to-L1 transfer is less likely to happen when learning a typologically closer L2 that requires minimal restructuring of their L1 TFS.

Correlated metadiscourse and metacognition in writing research articles: A cross-linguistic and cross-cultural study.

Metadiscourse represents a producer's intention to guide a receiver's interpretation of the textual meanings. It is a highly dynamic topic in discourse analysis and language education. Related studies provide a way to understand language in use, and contribute to a better understanding about the relationship between the seemingly unconscious language choices and the social contexts. Based-on a corpus of 150 research articles (RAs) written by English L1 scholars, Chinese ESL scholars and Chinese L1 scholars, this study compared their interactive and interactional metadiscourse strategies cross-linguistically and cross-culturally. Quantitative results manifest significantly higher metadiscursive frequencies in English-medium RAs than in Chinese-medium RAs, and significantly higher metadiscursive frequencies in RAs written by British-American scholars than by Chinese scholars. Also, Chinese ESL writers reveal L1-based transfer of discourse conceptualization. Apart from providing with cultural explanations, this study then particularly discusses cognitive implications of culture-specific and language-specific metadiscourse variations by addressing the connections between metacognition and metadiscourse. With the proposed Model of Correlated Metadiscourse and Metacognition, it argues that metadiscourse is the linguistic reflection of metacognition and that metacognition exerts mediation and monitoring over cognitive objects partly by the means of metadiscourse.

Written corrective feedback, learner-internal cognitive processes, and the acquisition of regular past tense by Chinese L2 learners of English

Abstract This article reports on a mixed methods study that investigated the extent to which written corrective feedback (WCF) contributes to L2 learners’ acquisition of regular past tense in English and the cognitive processes that underpin the corrective feedback provided. The study adopted a pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design and involved 113 intermediate-level Chinese learners of English who were assigned to four conditions: indirect WCF, direct WCF, metalinguistic WCF, and control. A picture description task and a grammaticality judgement test were used to measure gains in the target structure. To explore how learners process feedback, nine learners, three from each treatment group, were selected to produce think aloud protocols. The study found that all three types of WCF had a positive effect on the picture description task, though none of them had a clear impact on the grammaticality judgement test. In addition, indirect WCF was found to have an advantage over direct and metalinguistic WCF on the delayed posttest, when compared to the control group. Think aloud data suggested that indirect WCF induced deeper cognitive processes than the other two kinds of feedback, which may account for the superiority of indirect WCF.

Significantly different noun-verb distinguishing mechanisms in written Chinese and Chinese sign language: An event-related potential study of bilingual native signers

Little is known about: (a) whether bilingual signers possess dissociated neural mechanisms for noun and verb processing in written language (just like native non-signers), or they utilize similar neural mechanisms for those processing (due to general lack of part-of-speech criterion in sign languages); and (b) whether learning a language from another modality (L2) influences corresponding neural mechanism of L1. In order to address these issues, we conducted an electroencephalogram (EEG) based reading comprehension study on bimodal bilinguals, namely Chinese native deaf signers, whose L1 is Chinese Sign Language and L2 is written Chinese. Analyses identified significantly dissociated neural mechanisms in the bilingual signers' written noun and verb processing (which also became more explicit along with increase in their written Chinese understanding levels), but not in their understanding of verbal and nominal meanings in Chinese Sign Language. These findings reveal relevance between modality-based linguistic features and processing mechanisms, which suggests that: processing modality-based features of a language is unlikely affected by learning another language in a different modality; and cross-modal language transfer is subject to modal constraints rather than explicit linguistic features.

Speech competence and speech performance

AbstractThis study examined Chinese-as-a-second-language (L2 Chinese) learners’ speech production ability from a dual perspective: speech competence and speech performance. A total of 118 valid L2 Chinese learners finished two developed tests in this study, namely, the Chinese speech competence test and the Chinese speech performance test. The results suggested that L2 Chinese learners’ speech competence and speech performance, as a twofold rendering of their L2 speech production ability, not only showed a significant positive correlation with a large effect size (Pearson’sr = .598) but also significantly predicted each other with a large effect size (Cohenf2 = .555). However, such large effect sizes of the correlation and the prediction between speech competence and speech performance were not supported among the upper-intermediate L2 Chinese learners. This suggested that the development between speech competence and speech performance may be more unbalanced among the upper-intermediate L2 Chinese learners compared with their advanced counterparts. The study adds evidence to the call for a multidimensional evaluation of L2 speech production ability. It is hoped that the dual approach (i.e., speech competence and speech performance) proposed in the present study may contribute to a more comprehensive evaluation of learners’ L2 Chinese speech production ability. Consequently, classroom-based teaching can be tailored to facilitate a more balanced development of L2 Chinese learners’ speech competence and speech performance.

How vocabulary breadth and depth influence bilingual reading comprehension: Direct and indirect pathways

This study examined the links between two aspects of vocabulary knowledge (i.e., breadth and depth) and reading comprehension, and the mediating impact of word reading on these links within and across first language (L1) Chinese and second language (L2) English among 391 Hong Kong Chinese-English bilingual second graders. After administering tasks on receptive and expressive vocabulary breadth, expressive vocabulary depth, word reading, and reading comprehension, path model analyses revealed a direct effect of receptive vocabulary breadth, and indirect effects of expressive vocabulary breadth and depth through word reading, on reading comprehension in L1 Chinese. However, in L2 English, a direct effect occurred in expressive vocabulary depth, while indirect effects were observed in receptive and expressive vocabulary breadth. The cross-language analyses showed a direct effect of Chinese receptive vocabulary, and an indirect effect of Chinese expressive vocabulary depth through L2 English word reading, on English reading comprehension.

Changes in second-language learners’ oral skills and socio-affective profile following short-term study abroad to Japan

Abstract Thirty-seven second language (L2) learners of Japanese (21 L1 English, 16 L1 Chinese) participated in an eight-week study abroad (SA) program to Japan. Pre- and post-SA oral proficiency interviews were used for ACTFL-level assessments and ratings of component skills (pronunciation, fluency, grammatical accuracy, vocabulary/content, interaction skills). Surveys measured socio-affective variables and L2 engagement (using a modified Language Contact Profile). Thirty-six participants increased in ACTFL level. Both L1 groups showed a significant increase in component skills and perceived competence. For L1 Chinese participants, pre-SA perceived competence significantly correlated with time spent in brief exchanges using Japanese. For L1 English participants, gains in interaction scores remained significant after controlling for the significant increase in positive communication affect. Thematic analysis of participants’ journals revealed the homestay environment was the nexus of activities supporting communication skill development through exchanges of viewpoints and culture learning, frequently over dinner. Homestays also contributed to developing greater L2 speaking confidence.

한국어 복수 표지 ‘-들’ 사용에 대한 언어 습득 연구 —중국인 고급 학습자의 명사 복수 표지를 중심으로—

Soyoung Kim. 2022. The Study on the Acquisition of the Korean Plural Marker -Tul—Based on Noun Plural Marking by Chinese L2 Learners of Korean. Studies in Modern Grammar 115, 159-185. Korean plural marking on nouns exhibits less restriction in realization than the Chinese one. The Korean plural marker -tul can be attached not only to nouns denoting an inanimate object or abstract notion but also to generic or proper nouns, which its corresponding plural marker ‘们’ in Chinese cannot. The study investigates the acquisition of Korean plural marking on four types of nouns such as inanimate nouns, abstract nouns, generic nouns and proper nouns by Chinese L2 learners of Korean. By employing a multiple-choice task, thirty Chinese learners with high Korean proficiency level as well as thirty Korean adult native speakers were instructed to read a context that introduces plural entities and then choose an appropriate noun plural marking to refer to them among the three choices such as a noun without -tul, a noun with -tul and both of the forms possible. As a result, both of the participant groups had in common attaching –tul to generic nouns the most and abstract nouns the least. However, Korean adults strongly preferred to use a plural noun regardless of the noun types whereas Chinese learners demonstrated different plural marking depending on them. The findings are discussed in terms of L1 transfer and methodological issues.

How Do Word Reading and Word Spelling Develop Over Time? A Three‐Year Longitudinal Study of Hong Kong Chinese–English Bilingual Children

AbstractWord reading and word spelling are important processes of literacy acquisition for children. The longitudinal relationship between reading and spelling is still unclear, especially among bilinguals and biscriptals. In the present study, we compared the longitudinal word reading–spelling relationship in L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English), together with early cognitive‐linguistic skills. Participants were 182 pairs of Chinese–English bilingual twins who were tested annually across 3 years on word reading and word spelling in both scripts. Chinese and English cognitive and linguistic skills were measured in the first year only (mean age = 7.38). Cross‐lagged panel models were applied to analyze the longitudinal word reading–spelling relations. Predictors of word reading and word spelling differed between Chinese and English. Longitudinally, there were no bidirectional or unidirectional relationships between word reading and spelling in Chinese. In contrast, a reciprocal relationship between word reading and spelling was revealed in English. This study underscores similarities and differences in the development of literacy skills among biscriptal readers of L1 Chinese and L2 English.