Elicited Imitation Task Research Articles

Dependency distance reflects L2 processing difficulty: Evidence from the relationship between dependency distance, L2 processing speed, and L2 proficiency

Aims and objectives: This study aims to investigate whether dependency distance (DD) can reflect L2 processing difficulty by exploring the relationship between DD, L2 processing speed, and L2 proficiency. Methodology: The sentences in a maze task were annotated based on dependency syntax to indicate L2 processing difficulty. The maze task then was used to capture the word-level and sentence-level processing speed. The task was successfully performed by 62 Chinese learners of English, who were assigned into an intermediate-level group and an advanced-level group according to their scores on an elicited imitation task (EIT) and a vocabulary and grammar test. Data and analysis: Reaction time (RT) data of processing word-level and sentence-level items were collected from the maze task. The DD-based estimates of word-level and sentence-level processing difficulty were calculated. Generalized linear regression models (GLMs) were employed to inspect the relationship between the DD-based estimate of processing difficulty, L2 processing speed, and L2 proficiency. Findings: Our results showed that DD significantly predicted L2 processing speed at both word and sentence levels, irrespective of participants’ L2 proficiency. As DD increased, advanced learners’ word-level processing time grew significantly slower than that of intermediate learners. Originality: Using psycholinguistic experiments, the study is one of the first attempts to empirically validate the effectiveness of DD in capturing L2 processing difficulty. Significance: Our findings suggest that DD is useful in predicting L2 processing difficulty, and the extent to which learners are able to efficiently process dependencies with increasing distance can differentiate their L2 proficiency levels.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Curricular Framework for Online Language Courses

Constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spike in courses originally designed for in-class instruction being delivered online. As the pandemic wanes many courses will return to in-class instruction while other programs will look to develop post-pandemic long-term online courses, indicating a clear need for an effective curriculum for online foreign language classes. This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a newly developed curricular framework for online language courses at university level. Primarily, this framework is designed to foster oral proficiency. The technology used to implement the framework was also developed specifically to facilitate speaking practice. We have used the framework at Purdue University to develop a curriculum for Japanese online courses Levels 1–4 (i.e., semesters 1–4). Japanese Level 1 is used in this article to illustrate the features and effectiveness of the framework. The framework has three major components: asynchronous self-learning modules, weekly small-group synchronous sessions, and performance-based assessments. Each component involves a pedagogical innovation, a technological innovation, or both. This study’s main research question was, “Do students in an online course designed using the new framework develop a degree of oral proficiency comparable to that of students in a classroom?” An oral test administered at the end of the course showed that the online students performed comparably to their classroom counterparts on question and answer and picture description tasks and outperformed them on an elicited imitation task. The results of a questionnaire also indicated participants’ positive perceptions of the technology used and the online course itself. These findings serve as further evidence for the effectiveness of the proposed curricular framework.

Variability in heritage and second language writers’ linguistic complexity: Roles of proficiency and motivational beliefs

AbstractThis study investigates the extent to which (a) Spanish heritage (HL) and second language (L2) writers’ linguistic complexity differs across register contexts and (b) Spanish proficiency and writing motivational beliefs differentially affect HL and L2 writers’ performance. Participants were 58 HL and 54 L2 Spanish learners who completed two persuasive writing tasks—the Email to Friend and Letter to Dean tasks—designed to be topically similar while eliciting different registers. Proficiency measures included an elicited imitation task (EIT) and a cloze test. Mixed-effects models indicated that both HL and L2 writers evidenced greater lexico-syntactic complexity in the Letter to Dean task; nonetheless, HL writers demonstrated more robust cross-register distinctions in syntactic complexity. The EIT and cloze test positively predicted syntactic and lexical complexity, respectively, although differential patterns were also observed by group. Intrinsic/interest and cognitive/linguistic value beliefs about Spanish writing emerged as positive and negative predictors of linguistic complexity, respectively.

Using sentence processing speed and automaticity to predict L2 performance in the productive and receptive tasks

Abstract We investigated the predictive capacity of second language (L2) sentence processing speed measured using reaction time (RT) and automaticity captured using the coefficient of variation (CV) on the accuracy of L2 use in receptive and productive tasks. A total of 74 Chinese English-L2 learners completed a maze task, an elicited imitation task (EIT), and a timed grammaticality judgment task (TGJT) using comparable sentences. RT and CV from the maze task were used to predict the use of L2 morphological markers in the EIT and TGJT. The findings revealed that there were no significant effects of RT and CV in the EIT. However, in the TGJT, the effect of CV was significant. These results highlight the predictive power of L2 processing automaticity in the receptive task involving L2 morphological use.

The effects of various combinations of form-focused instruction techniques on the acquisition of English articles by second language learners of English

The current study investigated the extent to which second language (L2) learners of English benefitted from various combinations of form-focused instruction (FFI) techniques on the acquisition of English articles. Forty-six participants were randomly assigned to four conditions: input enhancement only ( n = 12); input enhancement and metalinguistic explanations ( n = 11); input enhancement, metalinguistic explanations, and practice ( n = 11); and a control condition ( n = 12). They each received six hours of online instruction on English articles according to their condition. The participants’ knowledge of articles was measured by four tasks (i.e. grammaticality judgment task, metalinguistic knowledge task, elicited imitation task, and picture-description task) in a pretest, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest. Results showed that the group receiving input enhancement and metalinguistic explanations exhibited clear and durable gains in the metalinguistic knowledge task. Furthermore, a subset of participants who benefitted the most from the instructional treatment revealed two common factors: a first language (L1) without an article system and a high rate of engagement during the online instruction. The findings suggest that metalinguistic explanations clearly contribute to explicit knowledge of articles and that learners’ L1 backgrounds may affect the extent to which FFI on English articles benefits them. The present study contributes meaningfully to the current understanding of the effects of FFI as well as the L2 acquisition of English articles.

Parallel forms reliability of two versions of the Spanish Elicited Imitation Task

Assessing proficiency in a standardized way is fundamental to second language acquisition research methodology and theory building. Ortega and colleagues’ (2002) Elicited Imitation Task (EIT), developed to measure global oral proficiency across various languages, has been supported by a body of methodological research that provides evidence that the task yields scores that are internally reliable and externally valid. However, where only one EIT has been validated for a given language, as in Spanish, the EIT's usefulness for longitudinal or repeated-measures research is limited due to possible test effects. The present study tests the parallel forms reliability of a minimally modified version of the Ortega et al. (2002) Spanish EIT (version A) and a second version (version B) designed to provide a parallel option for longitudinal research. Both versions were administered to participants (n = 96), from whom self-ratings of proficiency were also collected. Parallel forms reliability was supported by a wide variety of metrics, including comparability between the versions in terms of overall scores, internal reliability, item-level statistics, and correlations with an external measure (self-ratings of proficiency). These results provide evidence for the two versions’ parallel forms equivalence, which in our view supports their utility for longitudinal research.

The influence of raters and scoring procedures on EIT outcomes: An exploratory study

This mixed-methods study examines the role of rating modality (aural vs. written) and rater characteristics (language background, linguistics training) on outcomes on a Spanish elicited imitation task (EIT) and provides insight into rater cognition during the scoring process. Thirty Spanish-English bilingual raters were divided into two conditions—one that scored test-takers’ audio-recorded oral EIT productions, the other that scored written transcriptions. Within each condition, raters varied according to their language background (native vs. nonnative Spanish speaker) and linguistics training (no training, minimal training, moderate training, extensive training). All raters scored the same six 30-item EITs using Ortega et al.’s (2002) rubric. Ten raters additionally completed a think-aloud protocol during their scoring. Ordinal logistic mixed-effects modelling was used to explore quantitative interrater differences in scoring (k = 5,400), and content analysis (Krippendorf, 2018) was employed to investigate patterns in the verbal reports. Results reveal significant differences in EIT outcomes according to rating modality and language background but not linguistics training. Raters scoring in the aural condition and native Spanish speakers rated test items higher than their written condition and nonnative Spanish-speaking counterparts. Analyses of the verbal reports suggest some systematic differences in rating considerations according to rating modality such as differences introduced by punctuation in the written modality or by the need to determine what language was produced in the aural modality. The findings contribute novel information for EIT validity arguments and have implications for rating procedures for future EIT studies.

Examining the comparability of parallel English and Chinese elicited imitation tasks

The suite of elicited imitation tasks (EITs) developed originally by Ortega et al. (2002) has been validated as an effective measure of second language (L2) proficiency and adopted in different L2 studies. However, the comparability of the crosslinguistic parallel EITs, all developed based on the English version, has yet to be explored. This exploratory study investigated the comparability of Ortega et al.’s parallel English and Chinese EITs by analyzing L2 English data collected from 82 L2 English participants in Wu et al. (2022) and L2 Chinese data collected from 80 L2 Chinese participants in Wu and Ortega (2013). Despite the crosslinguistic variation observed between the English and Chinese EITs, the converging evidence gathered from internal consistency, item discriminatory power, correlations with external proficiency measures, and abilities to discriminate four speaking levels indicates that the two parallel EITs tap roughly the same language proficiency components in each language. Crucially, the classification drawn from the same CAF measures across both languages suggests that the five proficiency levels of the EIT scores (i.e., Novice = 0–24; Low = 25–48; Intermediate = 49–72; High = 73–96; Advanced = 97–120) can consistently discriminate language abilities into distinctive levels across both languages. We hope the proposed five proficiency levels will enhance the application and interpretation ability of Ortega et al.’s parallel EITs in crosslinguistic, bilingual, and multilingual research.

FMRI reveals the dynamic interface between explicit and implicit knowledge recruited during elicited imitation task

Development of valid tasks that tap into implicit knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding the interface between explicit and implicit grammatical knowledge in second language (L2) acquisition. However, the extent to which elicited imitation tasks (EITs) draw on implicit or/and explicit knowledge has been a subject of controversy, due in part to the limitations of behavioral methods. To overcome this drawback, in this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural circuits underlying explicit and implicit knowledge (i.e., declarative and procedural memory) during the listening and speaking phases of an EIT performed by advanced L2 speakers of Japanese living in Japan. While the behavioral data suggest that the EIT primarily draws on automatized (speeded-up) explicit knowledge, the neuroimaging data revealed learners’ dynamic use of explicit and implicit knowledge during its comprehension and production phases. Higher explicit knowledge scores (derived from a metalinguistic knowledge task) were associated with greater declarative memory (left hippocampus) activation during the speaking EIT phase, indicating a prominent role of explicit knowledge in production. During the listening phase, however, higher explicit knowledge scores predicted lower activation in declarative memory (left hippocampus) and higher activation in procedural memory (left inferior frontal gyrus), suggesting that explicit knowledge plays both inhibitory and facilitative role in the use of implicit knowledge for comprehension. Taken together, these findings suggest that advanced L2 speakers utilize their explicit and implicit knowledge efficiently and dynamically—characterized as a hallmark of automaticity—for comprehension and production during the EIT.

Building an elicited imitation task as a measure of implicit grammatical knowledge

Elicited imitation tests (EIT) are often used to measure the effects of a form?focused intervention on the development of L2 learners’ implicit grammatical knowledge, which is intuitive and retrieved without conscious awareness. This study investigated the relationship between an EIT focused on the English past tense and a set of other tests; it also examined whether the past-tense morpheme type, grammaticality of the verbs, their position in the stimulus utterances, and the explicitness of the test instructions influence learners’ imitation accuracy. Forty-four university-level students, all native speakers of Mandarin and enrolled in an English for academic purposes program in Canada, completed an EIT along with four other tests over two consecutive sessions. Results revealed that only the imitation of irregular verbs was significantly correlated with the other tests. In addition, the participants were more accurate in repeating the grammatical and correcting the ungrammatical regular verbs but neither the position of the verbs nor the type of instructions significantly influenced imitation. These findings suggest that several factors can influence learners’ performance and the knowledge that they draw upon during an EIT.

The relationship between social network typology, L2 proficiency growth, and curriculum design in university study abroad

AbstractThis study utilizes social network analysis to characterize a typology of study abroad sojourner experience, detailing the relationship of social experience types to second language (L2) proficiency growth and study abroad program design. In contrast with previous research, the study performs a quantitative analysis of structural and compositional network features to identify a typology of social networks. Participants were 30 L2 Spanish learners from five US-based semester-long university study abroad programs in Spain. Social network data were collected using a social network questionnaire, while L2 development was measured through an elicited imitation task. Results identify four prominent social network patterns, characterized by varying levels of Spanish language use, emotional proximity to contacts, frequency of interaction, contact status as program peer or host community member, and network cohesion. L2 proficiency development was significantly affected by these patterns, which were shaped by the contrasting curricular models of study abroad programs.

The role of L1 in L2 speech production at different stages of L2 development: Evidence from L2 Chinese oral production of verb-phrase ellipsis by English and Korean speakers.

The article reports on an empirical study investigating the role of L1 at the initial and developmental stages of L2 speech production. It examines two types of Chinese verb- phrase-ellipsis, ΣP-ellipsis licensed by the auxiliary shi 'BE' and vP-ellipsis licensed by the other auxiliaries, in 45 English and 45 Korean adult speakers' L2 Chinese speech production. An elicited imitation task was administered to L2 learners at beginner, intermediate and advanced Chinese proficiency levels. L1 influence is not observed at beginner levels, but it appears at intermediate and advanced levels, L1 influence disappears at different time in English and Korean learners' oral production of verb-ellipsis and ΣP-ellipsis. It is proposed that the absence of L1 influence at beginner levels is due to a breakdown of syntax-stylistics interface and beginners' difficulty in implementing checking and deleting operations in their L2 oral production. The different timings of the disappearance of L1 influence in the two language groups at advanced levels is attributed to interactions between the persistence of L1 influence and the computational complexity involved in the target elliptical structures.

Neurophysiological correlates of memory change in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders treated with choline.

BackgroundPrenatal and early postnatal choline supplementation reduces cognitive and behavioral deficits in animal models of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). In a previously published 9-month clinical trial of choline supplementation in children with FASD, we reported that postnatal choline was associated with improved performance on a hippocampal-dependent recognition memory task. The current paper describes the neurophysiological correlates of that memory performance for trial completers.MethodsChildren with FASD (N = 24) who were enrolled in a clinical trial of choline supplementation were followed for 9 months. Delayed recall on a 9-step elicited imitation task (EI) served as the behavioral measure of recognition memory. Neurophysiological correlates of memory were assessed via event-related potentials (ERP).ResultsDelayed recall on EI was correlated with two ERP components commonly associated with recognition memory in young children: middle latency negative component (Nc amplitude; range: r = −0.41 to r = −0.44) and positive slow wave (PSW area under the curve; range: r = −0.45 to r = −0.63). No significant ERP differences were observed between the choline and placebo groups at the conclusion of the trial.ConclusionAlthough the small sample size limits the ability to draw clear conclusions about the treatment effect of choline on ERP, the results suggest a relationship between memory performance and underlying neurophysiological status in FASD. This trial was registered.1

Effectiveness of explicit and implicit corrective feedback in a video-based SCMC environment

The facilitative role of corrective feedback (CF) in second language (L2) acquisition has been attested in numerous empirical studies. However, despite the increasing popularity of video-supported tools in language education, few studies have examined the effectiveness of CF delivered through video chat. To address this gap, the current study investigated the effect of explicit and implicit corrective feedback (CF) on the acquisition of third person singular –s in a video-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) environment. Fifty-six Chinese learners of English were recruited and randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: explicit CF, implicit CF, and control. They completed two interactive tasks over two treatment sessions during which CF was delivered through video chat to the two treatment groups. The effect of CF treatment was assessed by an untimed grammaticality judgement task and an oral elicited imitation task at the time of pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest. The results indicated that the two treatment groups outperformed the control group on both assessment tasks and that there was no significant difference between the two treatment groups. These results point to the benefits of CF in video-based SCMC and challenge the superiority of explicit CF over implicit CF.

The relationship between poststimulus pause, learner proficiency, and working memory in an Elicited Imitation Task

AbstractThe Elicited Imitation Task (EIT) is a popular technique for efficiently measuring global proficiency in multiple languages, and accumulated evidence indicates high reliability and strong relationships with other proficiency measures. Nevertheless, several dimensions of EIT design remain open to investigation, including the assumption that a pause is required in between the aural stimulus and oral response, to ensure processing of the input and prevent so-called parroting. This study investigated the relationship between three poststimulus pause conditions, learners’ proficiency and working memory, and their EIT scores as well as their perceptions of task difficulty, mental effort, focus, and interest. Findings indicated no differences in performances or perceptions between the 0-second pause, 2-second pause, and 5-second pause conditions, and a weak relationship between EIT performance and working memory. Across all conditions, the EIT distinguished consistently among proficiency levels, correlated strongly with a criterion proficiency measure, and produced remarkably reliable scores.

An Exploratory Study of Strategy Use on Elicited Imitation Tasks

Elicited imitation (EI) has gained popularity with recent interests in the quest for efficient and flexible measures of second language (L2) proficiency. Despite the surge of interests, questions remain as to what specific linguistic knowledge, skills, and strategies EI measures. To contribute to this line of inquiry, this study explored the nature of strategy use and its effect on EI performance to elucidate the constructs of EI. Twenty-four L2 learners and eight native speakers of Chinese completed an EI test of Chinese and a strategy use questionnaire after the test. Qualitative analyses of the questionnaire responses revealed that participants mainly employed five types of strategies, including approach strategies, cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, communication strategies, and test-wiseness strategies. While native speakers reported the least number of strategies, higher-proficiency L2 learners reported more strategies than lower-proficiency L2 learners. We further subjected strategy use, along with participant proficiency level, item length, and item complexity level, to linear mixed-effects regression analyses. The results showed that participant proficiency level, item length, and item complexity level explained the largest test score variance; in contrast, strategy use of different types only accounted for a smaller proportion. The total number of cognitive strategies had a significant, positive effect on EI performance whereas the total number of metacognitive strategies had a significant, negative effect. These findings offer some insights into the nature of speech comprehension and production on EI and provide validity evidence for the use of EI as a language proficiency measure.

Do children know whanything? 3-year-olds know the ambiguity of wh-phrases in Mandarin

ABSTRACT Wh-phrases in Mandarin have an interrogative (like English what) and an indefinite (like English a/some) interpretation. Previous comprehension studies find that children can access both interpretations around 4.5 years old; studies with younger children focus on production and find that children between 2 and 4.5 do not reliably produce the indefinite interpretation in naturalistic speech or in elicited imitation tasks. In this article, we use comprehension tasks to examine 3-year-olds’ interpretation of wh-phrases. We find that they have adult-like interpretations of wh-phrases in two different contexts: in dou -sentences (Experiment 1), where the indefinite interpretation is the only available interpretation and the whole sentence receives a universal reading (roughly equivalent to English any), and in negated sentences (Experiment 2), where the interpretation of wh-phrases depends on prosodic prominence and the indefinite interpretation leads to an existential reading of the sentence.

New Methods for Tracking Development of Sociophonetic Competence: Exploring a Preference Task for Spanish /d/ Deletion

AbstractBeyond language use, an important component of communicative competence is the ability to attend to sociolinguistic variation in the input, which requires knowledge regarding when to expect a particular form over another variant according to linguistic or extralinguistic factors. This study explores the acquisition of sociophonetic competence, employing a novel contextualized preference task with an aural component to examine second language (L2) learners’ knowledge of variable Spanish /d/ deletion—a sociolinguistic phenomenon constrained by linguistic, social, and contextual factors—regardless of whether learners produce the deleted variant in their speech. Fifty learners completed a background questionnaire, an elicited imitation task, and the contextualized preference task. Learners’ preference for a deleted variant tended to increase as proficiency level increased, as did sensitivity to variables previously shown to constrain native speaker patterns of variation, including speaker gender, surrounding phonetic context, and grammatical category of the lexical item containing /d/. Overall, findings suggest that this contextualized preference task provides an additional tool for accessing evidence of learners’ developing sociophonetic awareness, tapping an important skill as learners build communicative competence.

EXPLORING AN ELICITED IMITATION TASK AS A MEASURE OF HERITAGE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

AbstractThis study examines a 30-item Spanish elicited imitation task (EIT) as a measure of global language proficiency for heritage language (HL) learners of Spanish. Results from Rasch modeling suggest that, while EIT scores demonstrated excellent reliability, the ability of much of the HL sample far exceeded the difficulty of the items. Differential item functioning analysis revealed that several items functioned differently for the present study’s HL sample than for the second language learners from a prior study. Additionally, although EIT scores were strongly correlated with another proficiency measure for the present HL sample (e.g., the Diploma de español como lengua extranjera or DELE), common-person equating suggested that the EIT and the DELE may measure different latent variables. Overall, the results provide evidence of the EIT’s utility as a proficiency assessment tool for research on HL learners, however, with limitations and the need for additional analyses discussed.

Telecollaboration and Linguistic Gains in Postsecondary Non-Native Portuguese Learning

This study sought to investigate linguistic gains and crosslinguistic influence (CLI) from English and Spanish on the oral production of postsecondary L3 Portuguese learners, comparing the effects of two pedagogical approaches: oral synchronous telecollaboration between Portuguese learners and native speakers (Teletandem), and group work among learners in the L2 classroom. Participants met weekly for eight weeks, after which gains in oral proficiency were measured using an Elicited Imitation Task (EIT) and a listening comprehension test (LCT). Linguistic development was also measured by various indices of oral complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). Results showed significant improvement in proficiency and all CAF measures over time, but no differences between groups. Spanish CLI was significantly higher than English CLI for both groups and the only type of CLI to significantly decrease. Participants' perceptions and beliefs, and the lack of differential performance across groups is discussed, considering different pedagogical and theoretical approaches to telecollaboration.