L2 Competence Research Articles

Which Factors Predict L2 Receptive Vocabulary and Expressive Syntax in Bilingual Children from Low-SES Families?

The objective of the current study was two-fold. First, it aimed to estimate receptive vocabulary and expressive syntax skills in L2 Italian among early sequential/simultaneous bilingual children of migrant single-mother families with very low socioeconomic status (SES). This objective was achieved by matching the participants' performance with normative data. Secondly, this study aimed to identify which individual and language exposure factors contributed to learning L2 vocabulary and syntax. Twenty-four early sequential/simultaneous bilingual children (age range = 5.10-12.4 years) and their mothers were enrolled. Mothers answered questions about linguistic biography and demographic information. Children completed Lexical Comprehension, Sentence Repetition, and Non-Word Repetition tasks from the Language Assessment Battery for 4-12-year-olds to, respectively, assess receptive vocabulary, expressive syntax, and phonological processing. Moreover, non-verbal intellectual functioning was evaluated by the Raven's Test. Compared to normative data, 20 children showed lower receptive vocabulary abilities (<-1.5 SD), 24 lower expressive syntax skills (-2DS), and 7 children lower phonological processing (<-1.5 DS). Moreover, L2 phonological processing and the length of L2 exposure in an educational context positively predicted L2 receptive vocabulary as well as L2 expressive syntax skills. To date, performance in L2 among early sequential/simultaneous bilingual children from migrant households and very low SES remains underexplored. Future efforts need to be directed towards the understanding of factors that impact oral competence in L2, considering that these children will also be exposed to written L2 in the school context.

Unconventional Metaphor Use in the Writing of Chinese Learners of English

Metaphors are known to present both opportunities and challenges for second language learners, but relatively little is known about learners’ awareness of them. To investigate this, we analyzed 72 argumentative essays written in English by a group of 37 intermediate Chinese university students of English. We identified metaphors using an established identification procedure, and then used dictionary descriptions and corpus procedures to identify unconventional uses. Seeking to understand students’ thoughts about their uses of metaphor, we interviewed them within 2 days of the writing task. In this article, we explore the boundary between unconscious use of non-nativelike metaphors and deliberate choices. We argue that in many cases, our learners made conscious, careful language choices which they were able to articulate fluently and thoughtfully. Interview data show that sometimes they consciously decided to use a metaphor from their L1, fully aware that it was not a nativelike use in English, for one of various communicative functions. Our study extends thinking on deliberate metaphor, suggesting implications for its use in reframing research into second language metaphor use. Pedagogical implications are presented for developing learners’ metaphoric competence in L2 writing classrooms.

Literature-based instruction and language learner autonomy: A case study of a tertiary EFL reading course

This qualitative case study aims to investigate pedagogical strategies for developing language learner autonomy through scrutinising a literature-based EFL reading course carried out in a tertiary institution in China. To achieve triangulation, data were collected from multiple sources, including two diagnostic surveys, post-course feedback interviews, student artefacts, teacher’s reflective journal, and related teaching materials. In data analysis, triangulation was accomplished by involving and integrating multiple investigators’ perspectives – three researchers collaborated in analysing data collected from student feedback interviews. Findings of this study could be classified into three categories. Regarding second language acquisition (SLA), results from the surveys and interviews indicate a comprehensive improvement in learners’ L2 competence, in addition to their cognitive and motivational enhancement. With regard to literature-based instruction, evidence from this study contributes to a deepened and enriched understanding of the comprehensive approach to L2 literature and scaffolded extensive reading. For developing language learner autonomy, this study provides a three-dimensional modal with pedagogical implications for literature-based instruction, from the perspectives of teaching content, methodological approaches, and ideological orientation.

Disambiguating ambiguity: A comparative analysis of lexical decision-making in native and non-native English speakers

Making lexical decisions to disambiguate multiple-meaning words or senses provides clear evidence of word recognition, processing systems and representation in the mental lexicon. This comparative study explores non-native English speakers’ and native English speakers’ cognitive mechanisms employed in phonological and lexical ambiguity resolution embedded in auditory and visual utterances. English proficiency and vocabulary tests and two lexical decision tests were conducted with 35 EFL undergraduate students and four native English monolingual speakers. The effects of factors such as L2 proficiency and familiarity on ambiguity resolution in addition to the resolution techniques employed were also explored. Our findings suggest that the differences in disambiguating L2 words among native English speakers and non-native English speakers might indicate different comprehension, representation and processing patterns. The ambiguity type most likely has a major role in determining the diverse phenomenon of ambiguity resolution. More specifically, there was evidence of significant differences in homophone use, metaphorical polysemy and homonym ambiguity resolution between the two groups, excluding metonymous polysemy. Homophones and polysemy were the least problematic and challenging lexical ambiguity types unlike homonymy for the non-native group. Other results also revealed the positive effects of L2 proficiency and L2 word familiarity on ambiguity resolution. Thus, this study also has important implications considering the vital role of vocabulary in L2 competence and knowledge.

Is the Common Test for University Admissions in Japan enough to measure students’ general English proficiency? The case of the TOEIC Bridge

This study investigated to what extent the scores of two English tests are correlated to each other, namely, the English test of the Common Test for University Admissions (Common Test, henceforth) in Japan and the TOEIC Bridge, a commercially available English test developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) that measures four skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Moreover, this study examined to what extent the two tests’ constructs overlap from the viewpoint of L2 competence. In total, 128 university freshmen and high school seniors took the Common Test at the official venues and also the TOEIC Bridge at the researcher’s university (n = 92) or at home (n = 36) a few months later. Results indicated that the scores of the corresponding skills are moderately correlated to each other across the two tests (Reading = .548; Listening = .646; Total = .732). Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the degree of data fitting of the three models of test constructs (unitary, correlated skills, correlated tests) was statistically similar to each other. On the basis of substantive and statistical results, however, we claim that the correlated skills model should be chosen as the best-fit model and, consequently, that the productive skills should be measured in addition to the Common Test.

Predictors of L2 Willingness to Communicate in Saudi Context

L2 Willingness to Communicate (L2WTC) is an important precursor of L2 behavior and actual use of L2. Associations between L2WTC and other L2 concepts, such as foreign language anxiety and self-perceived L2 competence, have been studied for some time. L2 learning is likely associated with other, broader psychological concepts, such as personality, and it is the aim of this study to explore the associations between L2WTC, foreign language anxiety, self-perceived L2 competence, openness to experience and extraversion, in the Saudi context. Being the first study to explore these associations in this context, this study has the potential to contribute to understanding of relatively low English competence among Saudi students by seeking to understand predictors of L2WTC. After conducting factor analyses (principal axis factoring with direct oblimin) of raw scores, two separate multiple regression analyses were conducted, with L2WTC outside classroom (L2WTC-OC) and L2WTC inside classroom (L2WTC-IC) factors as dependent variables, and factors relating to foreign language anxiety, self-perceived L2 competence, extraversion, and openness to experience entered as predictors. The addition of openness to experience improved prediction of L2WTC-IC above and beyond other factors (R square change = .025; p=.001), while addiction of extraversion improved prediction of L2WTC-OC (R square change = .032; p=.025).

Writing on steroids? Accuracy of automatic corrective feedback in L2 competence development

The article examines the use of written corrective feedback by online grammar checkers as a tool for L2 competence development. While feedback on students’ writing is considered an instrumental part in their learning process, providing comprehensive feedback may not always be possible. Grammar checkers can therefore become an interesting tool to scaffold the students’ learning process as they promote self-directed learning. For the purposes of this study, a set of authentic EFL compositions in English (n=91; C1 CEFR) was subjected to a popular Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) system, Grammarly, in order to analyse the feedback provided, namely the types and frequency of errors and the level of accuracy in error detection. The findings determine that, while grammar checkers may be useful as a complementary tool, they are developed with native speakers in mind, so the feedback does not always meet the EFL learners’ needs.

Ending the cycle of anxiety in language learning: A non-recursive path analysis approach

From a socio-psychological perspective, learners with high second language (L2) learning anxiety are likely to avoid using L2, missing substantial L2 learning opportunities to improve their L2 competence, which would result in negatively impacting their L2 anxiety, forming a circulation process, also known as “vicious cycle of language anxiety” (Lou & Noels, 2020a). In this study, we explored the reciprocal relationship between self-perceived language competence, language anxiety, and language proficiency using two structural models applied to second language learning settings by recruiting 270 undergraduate students learning English as their foreign language, and building a recursive (i.e., a structural equation model) and a non-recursive (i.e., a path analysis with a feedback loop) structural models to investigate how to end the cycle of anxiety. Evidently, we found that there existed a reciprocal relationship between these factors, and building a growth language mindset, previous proficiency, and motivation would alleviate the “vicious cycle of language anxiety” in light of the results from the non-recursive path analysis model. Our findings are a major step forward from prior suggestions of piecemeal solutions that only partially affect a cyclical element to eventually break this so-called vicious cycle, such as fostering learners’ growth mindset to mitigate their anxiety.

Exploring the Efficacy of Video Project Assignments in English Language Learning through the Lens of Tertiary-Level EFL Students

Convenient methods for the instruction of foreign languages are constantly in quest as a consequence of incessant technological breakthroughs at a rapid speed. Video-making project has turned out to be a prominent technique that allows learners to be actively involved in the target language and utilize L2 in real-world situations with “intake” they obtained from in-class setting. English language students’ perceptions concerning the effectiveness of these multimodal resources in their learning experience as non-examination assessment tools have not, however, been the objective of many studies within online EFL contexts. Hence, this study was directed at seeking the relationship between EFL learners’ perceptions of the efficacy of group project assignments on their L2 competence, language learning process, and implementations in online classes. To that end, 75 sophomore Turkish students in tertiary-level education enrolled in a compulsory online module of English partook in the research by filling out a 17-item questionnaire. The results portray the positive relations between their perceptions towards the influences of those projects on language proficiency and target language learning phases, whereas a significant relationship was not detected between their implementations in online settings and contributions to the L2 learning process. Nevertheless, the optimistic approach of EFL students to exploit these projects as effective tools for English proficiency mediated the link between these two foregoing sub-dimensions. Accordingly, some suggestions were provided for future research directions.

Willingness to Communicate and English Language Proficiency in Saudi Military Cadets: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

This study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the internal structure of a number of variables: L2 anxiety, L2 perceived competence, and L2 willingness to communicate and to examine their impact on the frequency of using L2 in L2 speaking situations. In addition, the study also examined the influence of the students’ English language proficiency on the relations among these variables. The sample of the study was 112 Saudi military cadets studying English as a foreign language. The study found that the willingness of the Saudi EFL learners to communicate in English was directly affected by their perception of L2 competence and indirectly by their L2 anxiety. In addition, the influence of the L2 anxiety on the students’ perception of their L2 competence was direct. Furthermore, the frequency of using English in L2 speaking situations was directly impacted by the willingness of the Saudi EFL learners to communicate in L2. Finally, the analysis revealed that the English language proficiency of the Saudi students had no effect on the relations among the variables of the model.

ATTITUDE OF HS STUDENTS TOWARDS ACQUISITION OF ESL IN GARHBETA-I BLOCK OF PASCHIM MEDINIPUR DISTRICT

Learners attitude towards second language (L2) predicts their language performance because learners positive attitude helps them to achieve communicative competence in L2 while negative attitude prevents them in achieving. In general opinion, they will perform better in L2 if they shares positive attitude towards second language acquisition (SLA). In order to identify the same, the present study examines the HS learners attitude towards SLA in Garhbeta-I Block of Paschim Medinipur district. To collect data, a self developed questionnaire has been used and administered among the randomly selected HS students of government and government aided schools of Garhbeta-I Block. The data has been analysed by using descriptive statistics and t- test. The study has reflected positive attitude of learners towards SLA and disclosed that no significant differences exist among the learners attitude towards SLA in regards to their gender, streams of learning, educational advantages as first or next generation learners and their economic status of the family. On the basis of statistical analysis, the study thrashes out major findings of the study and discusses few significant implications.

Digital Games and Second Language Learning among Tertiary-level EFL Learners: A Critical Review

Despite the increased interest in the possibilities of digital games in second language education, their use in higher education is a relatively uncharted territory. This review was carried out to examine how digital game-based language learning is used, and what its effects are on language learners at tertiary level in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Twenty-seven studies were short-listed from academic literature and were analysed for research methodology, theoretical frameworks, research foci, game types and specifications, research results, and pedagogical implications. The research revealed six types of digital games, each with its own affordances that could enhance language learning. It was also found that these games increased vocabulary uptake and long-term lexical retention, enhanced L2 reading and listening comprehension, fostered writing ability and communicative competence, and increased motivation and willingness to communicate in the L2. Therefore, it may be deduced that digital games can be employed as a beneficial tool for the development of L2 competence and for the enrichment of the language learning experience. Suggestions for further research and educational implications have been provided.

The impact of Danmaku-based and synchronous peer feedback on L2 oral performance: A mixed-method investigation.

Advancement of research in education has propelled the augmentation of theoretical and practical knowledge in learning-oriented feedback. In recent years, the channels, modes, and orientations of feedback became manifold. Copious empirical evidence from the body of literature supported the strength of feedback in enhancing learning outcomes and promoting the motivation of learners. However, compared to the popularity in implementation and fruitfulness of findings in other educational domains, the application of state-of-the-art technology-enhanced feedback in fostering students' L2 oral abilities remain few and far between. To address the knowledge gap, the present study endeavored to investigate the effect of Danmaku-based and synchronous peer feedback on L2 oral performance and the acceptance thereof among students. Adopting a mixed-method design, the study recruited 74 (n = 74) undergraduate English majors from a Chinese university for a 16-week 2x2 experiment. The collected data were analyzed through statistical and thematic analysis respectively. The findings revealed that Danmaku-based and synchronous peer feed-back was impactful on students' performance in L2 oral production. Furthermore, the impacts of peer feedback on subdomains of L2 competence were statistically analyzed. Regarding students' perceptions, the incorporation of peer feedback was generally favored by participants who were satisfied and motivated in the learning process but lacked confidence in their assessment literacy. Furthermore, students expressed their agreement with the benefit of reflective learning and the subsequent enrichment in knowledge and horizon. The research was significant for its conceptual and practical contribution for follow-up researchers and educators in L2 education and learning-oriented feedback.

Digital Games and Second Language Learning among Tertiary-level EFL Learners: A Critical Review

Despite the increased interest in the possibilities of digital games in second language education, their use in higher education is a relatively uncharted territory. This review was carried out to examine how digital game-based language learning is used, and what its effects are on language learners at tertiary level in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Twenty-seven studies were short-listed from academic literature and were analysed for research methodology, theoretical frameworks, research foci, game types and specifications, research results, and pedagogical implications. The research revealed six types of digital games, each with its own affordances that could enhance language learning. It was also found that these games increased vocabulary uptake and long-term lexical retention, enhanced L2 reading and listening comprehension, fostered writing ability and communicative competence, and increased motivation and willingness to communicate in the L2. Therefore, it may be deduced that digital games can be employed as a beneficial tool for the development of L2 competence and for the enrichment of the language learning experience. Suggestions for further research and educational implications have been provided.

Features of Behaviorism in Second Language Acquisition (SLA): An Empirical Excerpt from Applied Linguistics View

Three decades thereabouts when Skinner proposed his behaviorist theory in the context of L1 acquisition exploiting sociolinguistic approach specifically. Subsequently, there have been dearth of studies conducted validating the claims of behaviorism in the field of applied linguistics. Thus, RQ1 highlights the principles of behaviorism towards L2 competence with tantamount research assumption. Taking into account the data presented, it reveals that there practically are features of behaviorism which contributed to the successful L2 acquisition by the L2 learners. This involves reward, habit formation as well stimulus-response linguistic processes leading to the acceptance of the first assumption. Reward fosters positive attitude to further explore the unknown. It leads to an affirmative language attitude necessary to discover the full details of the L2 learning. RQ2 delineates the possible linguistic factors that are contributory to the collective L2 performance during the investigation time frame. Primary linguistic factors could have been the minimal L2 exposure of the students to the target language due to transition phase which forced the students to switch codes occasionally to complete the cycle of communication. This study is valuable to the learners and teachers of ESL/EFL worldwide as it offers some pedagogical implications necessary to understand the learning pace, lexical index, comprehensible input (CI), and language attitude of L2 learners. EFL teachers could likewise provide appropriate teaching materials and communicative activities to bring the students to a high level of competence by degrees.

Impostor Phenomenon and L2 willingness to communicate: Testing communication anxiety and perceived L2 competence as mediators.

The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) describes experiences of perceived intellectual fraudulence despite the existence of objectively good performances, and it is a robust predictor of experiences and outcomes in higher education. We examined the role of the IP in the domain of second language (L2) acquisition by testing its relations with a robust predictor of L2 use, willingness to communicate (WTC). We collected self-reports of 400 adult Iranian L2 learners and tested the associations between the IP and WTC. As expected, we found a negative association between IP and WTC (r = -0.13). When testing a mediation model with perceived competence and communication anxiety as parallel mediators, we found evidence for full mediation via perceived competence. Our findings show the importance of considering self-evaluations in the domain of L2 acquisition. Further implications and limitations are discussed.

Developing productive metaphoric competence through a frame-inspired task-based teaching model

The paper reports preliminary findings from applying a frame-inspired task-based approach to metaphor teaching in an EFL classroom. The teaching model used combines Frame Semantics, a cognitive linguistic theory that takes a usage-based view of meaning, with Task-Based Language Teaching, which emphasizes second/foreign language learning through interactionally authentic language use. In this paper we examine students’ productions in terms of the amount, type and function of metaphor use with a view to identifying the stages the students went through in developing their metaphoric competence in L2 writing. We illustrate how their metaphor awareness skills seem to develop along a continuum from non-deliberate isolated figurative instances to deliberate extended metaphor used as a conceptual and discursive framework for their writing. We thus provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of the proposed frame-inspired task-based approach to metaphor teaching.

Mit Wortschatz und lexikografischen Ressourcen handeln: kritische Überlegungen zur Anwendung lexikalischer, lexikografischer und digitaler Kompetenzen im virtuellen Raum beim akademischen Schreiben im DaF-Bereich

Acting with Lexicon and Lexicographical Resources: Critical Reflec­tions on the Use of Lexical, Lexicographic and Digital Literacy in Vir­tual Environments in Academic Writing in GfL. The paper deals with vocabulary acquisi­tion in the academic writing process in advanced GfL in interaction with the development of appropriate language awareness and wide-ranging up-to-date digital literacy. The starting point is the observation that in the academic L2 writing process the extensive information potential of mono­lingual, bilingual and multilingual lexicographic and lexico-grammatical online resources as well as other language technology tools is not adequately known. Accordingly, the many digital language resources are not optimally used for methods of teaching vocabulary and acting with it, e.g. in academic writing. On the other hand, digital media occupy more and more space in our everyday life and also provide highly developed tools based on linguistic technology for various L2 competence areas, such as translation. The aim of this paper is therefore both to show ways of making sensible use of existing internet resources and to outline entirely new ways based on artifi­cial intelligence. Selected resources will be used as examples to demonstrate the extensive infor­ma­tion potential and to discuss possibilities for use in academic writing. An outlook points to the necessity of adapting to revolutionary technological changes in the field of foreign language didac­tics. Keywords: learner's dictionaries, vocabulary acquisition, academic writing, multiliteracies, online-lexicography, language technologies, german as foreign language, corpuslinguistics, writing assistant, artifi­cial intelligence

Interlanguage and Its Implications to Second Language Teaching and Learning

Interlanguage refers to the knowledge system which is formed in a certain period in learners’ second language learning process. The study on interlanguage is of great significance in the field of second language acquisition. This paper elaborates on the definition and characteristics of interlanguage, and analyzes five main factors contributing to the formation of interlanguage.The first factor is language transfer, especially negative language transfer; the second is transfer of language training, which means teacher overemphasized one form or pattern and used inappropriate or even faulty teaching materials, at the same time, teacher’s incompetence in identifying non-English forms may also lead to interlanguage; the third factor is strategies of second language learning, which is often thought to be culture bound; the fourth factor is strategies of second language communication; the last factor is overgeneralization of target language. Through close study of the factors leading to interlanguage, this paper draws some implications to second language teaching and learning: the first is reducing negative transfer. Teachers can emphasize the importance of reinforcing the learners’ responses by rewarding target-like responses and correcting non-target-like ones, and learners should be encouraged to read as much as possible the English writings by native English writers. Second is increasing cultural information teaching. Teachers can choose some culturally-authentic materials from the native speech community and adopt various cultural teaching techniques. At the same time, to optimize language input environment. Teachers are supposed to equip with high levels of L2 competence and provide students with the right thing in the right way. Another way to reduce language transfer is to increase the opportunity for output. Moreover, we can see that making errors is a part of language and error-correction can help interlanguage develop towards the TL, hence, adopting proper correction strategies are of great importance. Last but not least, applying proper learning strategies is also a better way to avoid the occurrence of interlanguage.

Witness or Interpreter?

This study demonstrates that self-interpretation does indeed occur in Kenyan courtroom proceedings, a situation that necessitates the use of a language other than the regular and official languages of Kenyan courts. Such language use rendered mostly in terms of self-interpretation has far-reaching ramifications on the content, facts, style, and meaning predispositions of a witness's testimony. Most studies in courtroom communicative interactions, language, and speech manifestations, have been largely and dominantly sociolinguistic in approach and there is so much that has been asserted in that dimension. However, this study's point of departure is that it seeks to adopt a Translation Studies approach to analyze self-interpreted presentations made by four witnesses in selected criminal cases at Kisii Law Courts in Kenya. Their self-interpreted testimonies which constitute the data used in this discussion were collected between October 2020 and June 2021. The testimonies rendered constituted: one murder case in the high court, one rape case, and two assault cases in the magistrate court. The overarching aim of this study is an attempt to show that, bilingual litigants, who have habitually and for a long time been regarded as persons of limited language competence, can in practical renditions be astute self-interpreting persons in testimony presentation. However, the confrontational experience they undergo throughout has adversarial effects on the facts of the case and the eventual outcomes of such cases, the disadvantages of their competence in L2 (the official language of the court) notwithstanding. Consequently, a translation studies approach, as applied in this paper, offers a framework of reference through which it is possible to analyze the encumbrances of comprehending legal procedures, terminology, and propriety which litigants undergo to accentuate meaning shifts, stem contextual meaning deviations besides the overall factual misrepresentations which emerge during and as a result of self-interpreted renditions as constrained by the contextual imperatives of traditional courtroom language.