L2 English Article Research Articles

Atomicity & Countability in Linguistically-Informed Instruction

While the literature shows that there is strong support for the effects of explicit instruction on explicit language knowledge, there has been little research on the effects of different types of explicit instruction on language acquisition. This study attempts to bridge the gap between Instructed Second Language Acquisition and Generative Second Language Acquisition by creating an instructional context that employs Generative theories and findings in order to teach L2-English articles and noun types. The study investigates L1-Mandarin learners in three different instructional contexts (linguistically-informed instruction, traditional instruction, and no extra instruction) acquiring countable and uncountable nouns in an indefinite-singular article context in L2 English. As measured by an elicited-sentence imitation task and an acceptability judgment task at pre-test, immediate posttest, and three-week-delayed post-test, the results find that learners receiving explicit instruction on the semantic features needing to be reassembled make the greatest gains over the duration of the study. These findings suggest that if linguistically-informed instruction were implemented in a systematic way throughout an entire grammar course, it may lead to greater linguistic gains in a shorter amount of time.

Corpus Analysis of L2 English Article Usage Patterns & Pedagogical Implications

There has been plenty of observational evidence displaying that L2 English learners whose L1 do not have article systems undergo persistent difficulties. It is known that functional categories of grammar are especially difficult for L2 learners, and the Korean language does not have a functional equivalent to English articles. The current study aims to investigate article usage patterns by L1 Korean L2 English learners by employing a large English interlanguage corpus data; ICNALE written corpus data. Particularly, the current study focuses on the analysis of a specific NP, “part-time jobs”. The current research claims that by narrowing down the scope of analysis to a particular NP, one can expect more reliable and meaningful interpretation from L2 learners’ authentic language production, which can ultimately lead to more effective language instruction and better outcomes for second language learners. The current study seeks to describe patterns of L2 English articles across different proficiency levels. According to the results, it was found that learners’ article usage patterns appeared to be more similar to that of the native speaker in the group with higher English proficiency. One of the interesting findings was the frequent use of bare nominals even in the most advanced learners. Based on the corpus analysis, the current study provides the pedagogical implication that teaching structural differences between learners’ L1 and L2 is very important and article instruction should be emphasized in L2 classrooms in EFL settings.

An Investigation of L2 English Article Substitutions by L1 Chinese Learners

An Investigation of L2 English Article Substitutions by L1 Chinese Learners

Potential L1 transfer effects in explicit and implicit knowledge of articles in L2 English

Abstract This study investigates how L1-Korean L2-English learners perform with regard to articles in both explicit and implicit tasks. It also examines the role of L1-transfer from Korean demonstratives to English definites in L2 article production. 21 native English speakers and 27 adult intermediate L1-Korean L2-English learners were tested. The participants completed an elicited imitation task (EIT, implicit) and a forced-choice task (FCT, explicit). In the EIT, participants repeated sentences with and without articles, while stating whether the sentence matched the picture. In the FCT, participants chose the correct article for each item. The same sentences were used in both tasks. The results showed that in the FCT, learners were target-like in anaphoric contexts, supplying the, but very frequently overused a in non-anaphoric (bridging) contexts, suggesting that they equate definiteness with previous-mention. In the EIT, learners were less target-like than native speakers, yet the patterns of the two groups were similar. We consider possible explanations for the different results obtained in the two tasks.

The acquisition of English articles among L1 Dagbani L2 English learners

AbstractThis study investigates the acquisition of articles in L2 English by L1 speakers of Dagbani, a Gur language spoken in Ghana. Dagbani differs from English in that it has two definite articles, no indefinite article, and a zero-article which may express definiteness, indefiniteness as well as genericity. The study consisted of a Forced-choice task (FCT) and an Acceptability judgement task (AJT) which were administered to Dagbani teenagers with an intermediate proficiency in English (n = 45) and a group of native English speakers as controls (n = 8). The results showed that the learners’ article choice was based on definiteness, not specificity (i.e., no fluctuation between the two) and that they had slightly more problems with indefinite than definite contexts, while generic contexts were the most problematic. Except for a certain task effect as well as a possible interference of instruction (in the FCT), the results can be argued to generally be due to influence from the L1 and to the difficulty of feature reassembly.

Online processing and offline judgments of L2-English articles

Abstract This study examines L1-Korean speakers’ online processing and offline judgments of L2-English articles using a self-paced task (SPRT) targeting implicit knowledge and an untimed acceptability judgment task (AJT) assessing explicit knowledge. SPRT results indicate that L1-Korean speakers exhibited targetlike online sensitivity to (in)appropriate use of articles, which provides evidence against the claim that L2-specific morphosyntactic structures cannot be utilized during online comprehension (Jiang, 2007). However, the same L2 speakers showed non-targetlike judgment patterns in the AJT. The discrepancy between online and offline performance is discussed in terms of the role of task effects on L2 performance and the development of implicit and explicit knowledge for L2 articles in the acquisition process. Methodological considerations for evaluating L2 knowledge are also discussed.

Non-target-like Syntactic Representation: An Investigation of L2 English Article Substitutions by L1 Thai Learners

Non-target-like Syntactic Representation: An Investigation of L2 English Article Substitutions by L1 Thai Learners

Acquisition of Definiteness And Indefiniteness by Behdini Kurdish Learners of English

The acquisition of English grammatical articles by non-native speakers of English language has been the main concern of a wide range of research, especially in languages whose grammatical article system functions differently from the English grammatical article system. Behdini is a variety whose grammatical article system is different from that English grammatical parameter. Thus, the acquisition of L2 English articles among L1 Behdini speakers is investigated in this study along proposals based on the Interpretability Hypothesis (Hawkins & Hattori, 2006; Tsimpli & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007; Hawkins & Casillas, 2008), and the Full Transfer Full Access (FT/FA) hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994, 1996).

Acquisition of Definiteness And Indefiniteness by Behdini Kurdish Learners of English

The acquisition of English grammatical articles by non-native speakers of English language has been the main concern of a wide range of research, especially in languages whose grammatical article system functions differently from the English grammatical article system. Behdini is a variety whose grammatical article system is different from that English grammatical parameter. Thus, the acquisition of L2 English articles among L1 Behdini speakers is investigated in this study along proposals based on the Interpretability Hypothesis (Hawkins & Hattori, 2006; Tsimpli & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007; Hawkins & Casillas, 2008), and the Full Transfer Full Access (FT/FA) hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994, 1996). The researcher developed a Judgement Elicitation Task (JET)   based on the following research question: Will Behdini learners’ English language proficiency level play a role in participants’ judgements? Will these learners be able to acquire English definite, indefinite, and zero articles systematically? In other words, is any development expected in Behdini learners’ acquisition of English articles? 40 Behdini L2 English learners took part in the Judgement Elicitation Task . English learners took an English language proficiency test based on which they were roughly grouped into three sub-groups: elementary (11 participants), intermediate (22 participants), and advanced (7 participants). All participants took two tests: an acceptability judgment test including 46  items (34 pure test items + 12 filler gaps) and a proficiency test with 40  items. The results of the study show that there is a transfer from L1 into the L2ers’ English interlanguage due to the finding that most participants, disregarding their proficiency level, failed to reject the ungrammatical sentences in almost all the categories. The study finds support for the FT/FA proposal, where first language transfer, second language input and access to universal grammar features are argued to have impacts on Learners of English article acquisition among L1 Behdini learners. The result  also show that learners of  English  fluctuate in their choice of articles, which is interpreted by the predictions made by the Fluctuation Theory. Uninterpretable features also, proved to be difficult to acquire by Behdini learners, a point that  can be interpreted the base form of the Interpretability Hypothesis.&nbsp

From Interlanguage grammar to target grammar in L2 processing of definiteness as uniqueness

This study investigated the processing of English articles by second language (L2) speakers whose first language (L1) is Korean. Previous studies in L2 English article use had some issues unresolved such as using offline tasks, conflating definiteness with real-world knowledge, and operationalizing definiteness and relevant constructs in ways that participants can be primed or get metalinguistic cues. To revisit such issues, the construct ‘definiteness’ was operationalized as unique identifiability, a self-paced reading task was used to collect data, and regression models were employed to analyse logarithm residuals of raw reading time data, which can detect subtle differences that are otherwise buried. The results show that L1 speakers show sensitivity to the use of definite and indefinite articles in response to given contexts and that both advanced and intermediate L2 speakers first resort to their non-target-like Interlanguage grammar, but the advanced group later revises their initial interpretation and eventually shows the effect of target grammar. The L2 behavior is discussed in terms of its theoretical implications.

English article acquisition by Chinese learners of English: An analysis of two corpora

The English article system presents a particular challenge to learners. This paper explores the acquisition of articles by Chinese learners of English in two corpora: one of Asian college EFL students, and one of Chinese professionals living and working in the United States. It seeks to describe patterns of L2 English articles across different proficiency levels. Our results show a surprising level of conformity of accuracy rates across participant proficiency levels. L2 speakers use articles in the most native-like manner in plural contexts. Certain errors are common, such as overusing the zero article in inappropriate contexts. Other errors are nonexistent, such as using more than one determiner in a noun phrase. In the end, we emphasize the importance of educators examining their students’ L2 article use with an eye towards the commonly made errors that we uncover. In addition, we advise that L2 article patterns might appear grammatical, but still represent an oversimplified understanding of the English article system. We also suggest further topics for research in L2 acquisition of the noun phrase.

L2 English article use by L1 speakers of article-less languages

This paper adopts the Integrated Contrastive Model (Granger 1996) to an examination of the use of articles in the L2 English written production of L1 speakers of three article-less languages (Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Thai) across four L2 proficiency levels. Data is sourced from the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE; Ishikawa 2011, 2013), comprising 575 written essays totalling 125,588 words across two writing prompts. Accuracy of zero, indefinite and definite articles is measured using Pica’s (1983) Target Language Use across Bickerton’s (1981) semantic/pragmatic article contexts (generic, specific definite, specific indefinite and non-specific indefinite). The results show two different orders of article accuracy depending on L1 background, as well as effects of writing prompt on the accuracy of certain article forms, and evidence of pseudo-longitudinal development for particular article usages as L2 proficiency increases, although not in all cases. Massive overproduction of indefinite/definite articles in generic contexts is problematic for all three L2 groups regardless of L1 background and L2 proficiency. However, Mandarin L2 English users appear to enjoy a significant advantage in L2 article accuracy over Korean or Thai L2 English users in almost all contexts of use and L2 proficiency levels, providing further potential evidence that the often reported grammaticalisation of definiteness/specificity markers in L1 Mandarin is aiding Mandarin L2 English users’ acquisition of the English article system.

The use of articles in L2 English: A phraseological perspective

While it is a well-known fact that speakers of article-less mother tongues, such as Polish, experience problems with articles in English, this study seeks to investigate the problem from a different perspective. Namely, it poses the question of whether the correct use of the article system of the L2 is indeed a purely grammatical task (as it is universally perceived), or whether the correct use of articles is to some extent aided by the mechanisms that underlie the formulaic character of language. The study was conducted with 90 Polish upper-intermediate and advanced users of L2 English, who completed a test on article use, which made it possible to compare patterns of article use between contexts of different collocational strength (defined in terms of the frequency of occurrence in a corpus). The statistically higher success rates for article use in high-frequency collocations (with the grammatical “rule” being the same) indicate that phraseological aspects of language use may indeed play a role in what is usually perceived as the correct application of grammatical rules.

The Role of Universal Semantic Features in L2 English Article Choice by L1 Japanese Speakers

The Role of Universal Semantic Features in L2 English Article Choice by L1 Japanese Speakers

A UG Approach to the Development of L2 English Articles

This study examines the development of L2 English articles by Korean EFL students (middle school, high school and college students) in terms of the specificity feature. It shows that the acquisition order or difficulty level of L2 English articles is [-specific] α ＞ [+specific] α ＞ the ＞ [+specific] Φ ＞ [-specific] Φ (from the earliest/easiest to the latest/most difficult), which has not been presented in the literature. This finding implies that the prototypical meaning of a DP with the indefinite article a is a non-specific entity, and a DP with the zero Φ article typically refers to the most definite one (Berezowski 2009, Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freemman 1999). The significant role of the UG feature specificity with the Korean teenage speakers of L2 English is consistent with the findings of Ionin et al. (2004). But the findings reveal that the number of a certain type of learners who are sensitive to specificity and thus overuse the does not decrease as their proficiency increases, suggesting that some special instructions or treatments be needed for this type of Korean EFL learners.

The use of reformulation markers in Business Management research articles

This paper investigates the use of reformulation markers as a common metadiscourse device in L1 English and Spanish and in L2 English research articles of a particular discipline, namely Business Management. These markers are considered procedural items, i.e. they encode information on how to process lexical meaning. The general frequency of use of the markers, the types of markers used, the functions most commonly performed and their (non-)parenthetical uses are compared in order to explore the degree of transference in their use by the L1 Spanish academics writing L2 English articles. The results are compared to similar studies on reformulation markers in general English and Spanish and also to studies in other disciplines. The results lead us to conclude that some general rhetorical L1 features are more likely to be adapted in the L2 English texts written by L1 Spanish academics than other more specific grammatical features.

The Role of Semantic Factors in the Acquisition of English Articles

This study examines the roles of semantic factors in the acquisition of English articles by Korean secondary school students. First, this study shows that semantic feature specificity plays a role in the acquisition of the indefinite article a and the zero article o. Second, it shows that different uses of the definite article the present different levels of difficulty for Korean students of English. Third, noun countability is shown to affect L2-English learners' article choice, while the structural factor, modification, is not. Overall, this research reveals that Korean secondary school students' acquisition of English articles is nonrandom, and it implies that Universal Grammar is relevant for L2 acquisition of English articles by Korean secondary school students whose L1 lacks articles. Finally, this study presents some pedagogical implications for teaching L2 English articles.