L2 Contact Research Articles

A context‐specific research tool to probe the out‐of‐class vocabulary‐related strategies of study‐abroad learners

This mixed‐methods study reports the development and employment of an innovative research tool designed to capture in fine detail the vocabulary‐related strategies used by adult learners of English on a study‐abroad experience when exposed to unfamiliar vocabulary outside the classroom. A questionnaire determined the five most identified with out‐of‐class L2 contact scenarios, and subsequently computer‐based simulations of those scenarios were used as stimuli in semi‐structured interviews to capture the task and/or context‐specific strategic behaviour that learners were manifesting. Scenarios which served to provide entertainment or build interpersonal relationships were the most highly identified with. The simulation tool revealed a strong relationship between contextual features and strategic behaviour, particularly when a salient link existed between contextual intention and comprehension of a target word/phrase.

What’s age got to do with it? Accounting for individual factors in second language accent

Empirical research conducted over the past few decades suggests that the age at which an individual is first exposed to a second language affects long-term outcomes, in particular for phonology. The question that has occupied scholars of various bents is what, exactly, underlies the robust age effects observed. Does age imply immutable changes in one’s ability to ever sound native-like? Are these changes neurological, cognitive, or socio-psychological in nature? What role do L2 use and contact play? Do age-related influences apply to all individuals, or can language learners actually chart their own course when it comes to accent? This paper will outline basic assumptions of the critical period for phonology while suggesting a different approach to the age question that highlights the individual’s role in both process and outcome. Constructs such as L2 experience, motivation, self-concept, learning approach, and willingness to communicate are discussed in depth in order to show the fundamental connection between cognition and affect so critical for late phonological learning. A re-orientation of the age research is suggested as a result, to prioritize contextual understandings of language use and learner agency.

Are certain types of instruction better for certain learners?

The goal of this study was to investigate a possible link between second language (L2) learners' background variables and the type of instruction learners receive in L2 classrooms. We specifically focused on the relationship between several learner background factors (e.g., L2 contact, native language literacy skills, general academic ability) and measures of L2 speaking by analyzing the data from a large-scale longitudinal project investigating two different methods of teaching English as an L2 (comprehension-based vs. “traditional” L2 program). We found that the learners who had greater contact with English, who showed more interest in reading, whose parents spoke more English, and who attained higher scores in French reading, English vocabulary recognition and general school ability tended to produce more accurate and comprehensible English sentences in an elicited imitation task. However, this relationship was stronger in the comprehension-based than in the traditional program, revealing a possible interaction between type of instruction and learner background variables. Taken together, these findings suggest that certain types of instruction could be more beneficial for learners with certain learning profiles and highlight the importance of investigating interactions between learner background variables and type of instruction in authentic learning contexts.

The role of individual differences in a study abroad experience: the case of Erasmus students

This study examines the extent to which a study abroad (SA) experience has an effect on the L2 written and oral performance of a group of Spanish undergraduates, studying English as a second language (L2) in a university in the UK. This article also examines the role that individual differences, such as the participants' motivation, attitudes, perception of progress, L2 contact and academic factors, have with regards to their written and oral performance. Written and oral data were collected from 24 participants by means of a composition and an oral narrative before and after their overseas experience, whereas data on individual differences were gathered through a questionnaire. The results of the statistical analyses suggest that SA is positive for L2 development, particularly for oral skills. Results also indicate that some individual differences related to the participants' attitudes, university degrees, self-perception of their L2 proficiency and L2 contact play a role when learning an L2 abroad.

Languages at play: The relevance of L1 attrition to the study of bilingualism

Speakers who routinely use more than one language may not use any of their languages in ways which are exactly like that of a monolingual speaker. In sequential bilingualism, for example, there is often evidence of interference from the L1 in the L2 system. Describing these interference phenomena and accounting for them on the basis of theoretical models of linguistic knowledge has long been a focus of interest of Applied Linguistics. More recently, research has started to investigate linguistic traffic which goes the other way: L2 interferences and contact phenomena evident in the L1. Such phenomena are probably experienced to some extent by all bilinguals. They are, however, most evident among speakers for whom a language other than the L1 has started to play an important, if not dominant, role in everyday life (Schmid and Köpke, 2007). This is the case for migrants who move to a country where a language is spoken which, for them, is a second or foreign language. We refer to the phenomena of L1 change and L2 interference which can be observed in such situations aslanguage attrition.

‘Ich sag allebei’: Strategien beim frühen Erwerb einer verwandten Zweitsprache

The paper deals with crosslinguistic influence in reception and production of a second language (Dutch) that is closely related to the first language (German). A girl's language acquisition is studied during a time period of one year, covering her first L2 contact at the age of two and the first words and sentences in L2. The types of mixing patterns and the negotiations of meaning in discourse and code-switching situations reveal what a two-year-old 'knows' about similarities and differences of language systems. Different strategies are identified in reception and production of the L2. It will be argued that transfer successfully functions as a decoding strategy rather than a production strategy.