L2 Experience Research Articles

The effects of L2 experience on L3 perception

ABSTRACTThis study examines the influence of experience with a second language (L2) on the perception of phonological contrasts in a third language (L3). This study contributes to L3 phonology by examining the influence of L2 phonological perception abilities on the perception of an L3 at the beginner level. Participants were native speakers of Korean whose L2 was English and whose L3 was Japanese. They participated in two perception tasks involving Japanese contrasts and one perception task involving English contrasts. Correlations between Korean participants’ perception performance in their L2 and L3 were analysed to determine whether the level of L2 ability was related to the successful perception of phonological contrasts in the L3. The results of the correlation analysis demonstrate that, in general, the better the participants performed in their L2, the better they also performed in their L3, but this result was limited to a few contrasts. The overall findings suggest that L3 learners’ phonological perception is positively influenced not only by experience with specific L2 contrasts, but also by the general experience of learning a foreign language, which gives them a global advantage in phonological perception.

Phonological memory and aptitude components: Contributions to second language proficiency

This study is an examination of the relationship between phonological short-term memory, or simply phonological memory (PM), language learning aptitude, and second language (L2) proficiency in advanced adult L2 learners (French native speakers, N=40) with relatively homogeneous previous and current L2 experience. PM was measured by two different measures: a nonword repetition (NWR) task and a serial recognition (SR) task. Correlational analyses revealed that PM, as measured by each of the tasks, was significantly related to L2 proficiency. Aptitude (measured by the TALV, Test d'aptitude aux langues vivantes) also correlated significantly with L2 proficiency and with PM (NWR). The two PM tasks were significantly correlated. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three main factors: memory, L2 proficiency (reading and vocabulary) and aptitude (Spelling Clues and Words in Sentences). Overall, results reveal continuing links between phonological memory, aptitude, and L2 proficiency in advanced learners.

L2 Motivational Self System Among Arab EFL Learners: Saudi Prespective

The current paper investigates the validity of the motivational L2 self system tripartite model as to explaining the L2 motivational behaviours of a sample of Arab university level EFL students in southern Saudi Arabia. Dornyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (2009) is used as the theoretical framework. A survey was designed and administered to about 400 Saudi male undergraduate students majoring in English. The obtained data were coded and analysed. The results upheld the validity of the of the L2 Self System model’s core components of Ideal L2, Ought-to L2 and learning experiences of English, as well as their relevance in the Saudi context. The findings indicated high significance levels and strong contributions from the Ideal L2 and Language Learning Experiences to the learners’ reported efforts in learning English as the criterion measure. Both components make stronger contributions to explaining the variance than Ought-to L2 component.

The influence of native-language tones on lexical access in the second language.

When listening to speech in a second language, bilinguals' perception of acoustic-phonetic properties is often influenced by the features that are important in the native language of the bilingual. Furthermore, changes in the perception of segmental contrasts due to L1 experience can influence L2 lexical access during comprehension. The present study investigates whether the effect of L1 experience on L2 processing seen at the segmental level extends to suprasegmental processing. In an eye-tracking task, Mandarin-English bilinguals heard an auditorily presented English word and selected which of two visually presented Chinese characters represented the correct Mandarin translation. The pitch contour of the spoken word was manipulated to either match or mismatch the lexical tone of the Mandarin translation. Results revealed that bilinguals were significantly faster to correctly identify the target and made earlier eye movements to targets when the suprasegmental information of the word spoken in English matched that of its Mandarin translation. The findings provide compelling evidence for bilinguals' sensitivity to suprasegmental tone information, even when listening to a non-tonal language. These results have important implications for the effect of L1 experience on L2 lexical access and language interaction in bilinguals, and are consistent with a highly interactive account of language processing.

Effects of acoustic and linguistic experience on Japanese pitch accent processing

This study investigated the effects of L2 learning experience in relation to L1 background on hemispheric processing of Japanese pitch accent. Native Mandarin Chinese (tonal L1) and English (non-tonal L1) learners of Japanese were tested using dichotic listening. These listener groups were compared with those recruited in Wu, Tu & Wang (2012), including native Mandarin and English listeners without Japanese experience and native Japanese listeners. Results revealed an overall right-hemisphere preference across groups, suggesting acoustically oriented processing. Individual pitch accent patterns also revealed pattern-specific laterality differences, further reflecting acoustic-level processing. However, listener group differences indicated L1 effects, with the Chinese but not English listeners approximating the Japanese patterns. Furthermore, English learners but not naïve listeners exhibited a shift towards the native direction, revealing effects of L2 learning. These findings imply integrated effects of acoustic and linguistic aspects on Japanese pitch accent processing as a function of L1 and L2 experience.

Thinking Is Modulated by Recent Linguistic Experience: Second Language Priming Affects Perceived Event Similarity

AbstractCan recent second language (L2) exposure affect what we judge to be similar events? Using a priming paradigm, we manipulated whether native Swedish adult learners of L2 Spanish were primed to use path or manner during L2 descriptions of scenes depicting caused motion events (encoding phase). Subsequently, participants engaged in a nonverbal task, arranging events on the screen according to similarity (test phase). Path versus manner priming affected how participants judged event similarity during the test phase. The effects we find support the hypotheses that (a) speakers create or select ad hoc conceptual categories that are based on linguistic knowledge to carry out nonverbal tasks, and that (b) short‐term, recent L2 experience can affect this ad hoc process. These findings further suggest that cognition can flexibly draw on linguistic categories that have been implicitly highlighted during recent exposure.Open PracticesThis article has been awarded an Open Data badge. All data are publicly accessible via the Harvard Dataverse at http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/QOD8ZU. Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open Science: https://osf.io/tvyxz/wiki.

The impact of different L1 and L2 learning experience in the acquisition of L1 phonological processes

Previous studies on the effect of L2 experience on L1 acquisition mostly focused on the segmental level without taking into consideration phonological processes. In particular, whether learners' different L1 and L2 learning experience affects their acquisition of L1 phonological processes has not been much explored. This study investigated the impact of different L1 Korean-L2 English learning experience in the acquisition of L1 phonological processes (t-palatalization and h-merger) among three groups of Korean children (mean age: 9): 20 Korean monolingual, 21 Returnee and 19 ESL children. In production the children read orthographically presented stimuli embedded in sentences. In perception both standard (target-appropriate) and spelling-based non-standard variant (target-inappropriate) pronunciations of target words were aurally presented in sentential contexts and the children judged the target appropriateness. The results of the production and perception tests indicated the effect of different L1 and L2 learning experience in the acquisition of L1 phonological processes due to the monolingual and Returnee children significantly outperforming the ESL children either in production or in perception. However, the Returnees outperformed the monolingual children on h-merger in perception, which may partly be accounted for by the Returnees' bilingual benefits and re-exposure to their L1. An asymmetry between t-palatalization and h-merger was also found as all the children performed significantly better on h-merger than on t-palatalization. The asymmetry between the two phonological processes was accounted for in terms of variation and the intrinsic nature of the phonological processes.

The hierarchies of phonetic realization of focus in second language speech

Two experiments were conducted to examine the phonetic realization of focus in L2 Mandarin by L1 American English speakers and in L2 English by L1 Beijing Mandarin speakers. The production data in both experiments indicated an acoustical hierarchy of duration > intensity > F0 at the sentential level. This hierarchy was correlated with another hierarchy in sentence location relative to focus: pre-focus > in-focus > post-focus. In other words, L2 learners tended to produce more nativelike patterns of duration than intensity, and intensity than F0, to code focus. These patterns were more salient in pre-focus condition than in-focus condition, and in in-focus condition than post-focus condition. These findings are consistent with Wu and Chung (2011, ICPhS) and Chen, Xu and Guion-Anderson (2014, Phonetica) that bilingual learners used more duration and intensity than F0 and more in-focus expansion than post-focus compression to code focus in L2 speech. Post-focus compression of F0 was the most difficult acoustic cue in phonetically realizing L2 focus. The nativelikeness of focus realization in L2 speech increased with the increase of L2 experience. [This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China #61573187 and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in China NJUSTWGY14001.]

L2 Motivational Self System of Korean High School and University Learners of English: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 motivational self system has been applied in diverse settings worldwide to understand the motivation to learn languages. Some of the past research has suggested that students at different institutional levels develop different forms of motivational selves. Little research, however, has focused on the L2 motivation of Korean students at varying levels, in relation to their self-concept. This study, therefore, investigates (a) how learners’ L2 motivational self system (ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 experience) predicts intended L2 learning effort, and (b) how the motivational system differs between high school and university students. A questionnaire was completed by 109 high school students and 72 university students, and structural equation modeling was run. The results showed that L2 experience, along with ideal L2 self, played a crucial role in predicting the intended effort. Ideal L2 self also significantly influenced L2 experience, which in turn affected intended effort. The findings also revealed that compared to university students, high school students’ intended effort was more strongly influenced by L2 experience, and less directly affected by ideal L2 self. Ought- to L2 self had a negative impact on intended effort for the high school students, but no impact for the university students.

The puzzle of gender effects in L2 phonology

Gender has received scant attention in L2 phonology studies, yet evidence for a female advantage in pronunciation has appeared throughout the past several decades. Neurolinguistic research suggests that females process language differently than males. At the same time, female L2 learners may be more concerned about pronunciation accuracy than their male counterparts. No definitive explanation has yet been offered, however, about why this is so, and how it might impact long-term language acquisition. This paper explores the gender construct in terms of such neurolinguistic predispositions, as well as the L2 evidence for socio-psychological and cognitive differences in orientation to accent, including motivation and strategy use. Suggestions for future research include a closer examination of gender differences in: (a) self-concept; (b) approach to task; (c) access to relevant resources and L2 experience. In this way, gender effects may be more clearly understood as extrinsic or intrinsic in nature.

English

Acquisition of second language (L2) phonology is possibly the most challenging task for L2 learners. As a result, many tend to preserve a foreign accent in their speech even after they have attained a high level of proficiency in other aspects of L2 use. The difficulty in acquiring an L2 phonological system has been attributed to factors such as age of L2 perceptual learning, quality and quantity of L2 input and interference from the first language phonological system. This paper contributes to ongoing discussions on the acquisition of L2 phonology by examining the difficulties encountered by two groups of Iraqi EFL learners in the perception of English vowels and the accuracy of perceived difficulty by Iraqi EFL teachers and learners. The results on perceived difficulty were compared with performance in a speech perception task. The findings show that Iraqi EFL learners encounter varying degrees of difficulty in the perception of English vowels. The findings also show that there is an effect in the level of proficiency on the accuracy rate for some vowel categories but two vowel categories, /ɒ/ and /ae/, were persistently difficult for most subjects regardless of their proficiency level in English. Iraqi EFL teachers and learners reported that they encountered difficulty learning some English vowels; however, the vowels that were identified as difficult differed considerably from those identified in the perception task. Keywords: speech perception; English vowels; Iraqi EFL learners; L2 experience; perceived difficulty DOI: http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2016-2201-01

Eye movements and the perceptual span during first- and second-language sentence reading in bilingual older adults.

This study addressed a central yet previously unexplored issue in the psychological science of aging, namely, whether the advantages of healthy aging (e.g., greater lifelong experience with language) or disadvantages (e.g., decreases in cognitive and sensory processing) drive L1 and L2 reading performance in bilingual older adults. To this end, we used a gaze-contingent moving window paradigm to examine both global aspects of reading fluency (e.g., reading rates, number of regressions) and the perceptual span (i.e., allocation of visual attention into the parafovea) in bilingual older adults during L1 and L2 sentence reading, as a function of individual differences in current L2 experience. Across the L1 and L2, older adults exhibited reduced reading fluency (e.g., slower reading rates, more regressions), but a similar perceptual span compared with matched younger adults. Also similar to matched younger adults, older adults' reading fluency was lower for L2 reading than for L1 reading as a function of current L2 experience. Specifically, greater current L2 experience increased L2 reading fluency, but decreased L1 reading fluency (for global reading measures only). Taken together, the dissociation between intact perceptual span and impaired global reading measures suggests that older adults may prioritize parafoveal processing despite age-related encoding difficulties. Consistent with this interpretation, post hoc analyses revealed that older adults with higher versus lower executive control were more likely to adopt this strategy.

ASSESSING SECOND-LANGUAGE ORAL PROFICIENCY FOR RESEARCH

Proficiency is a key variable in late second language (L2) learning, but one that is undermeasured in current research. This study investigates whether L2 oral proficiency can be quickly and reliably assessed via the Spanish “elicited imitation task” (EIT; Ortega, Iwashita, Rabie, & Norris, 1999). Thirty-seven L2 learners of Spanish with varied L2 experience (from low to very advanced) were tested. The EIT’s external validity was assessed via correlation with the simulated oral proficiency interview. Further analyses examined the EIT’s internal reliability, discriminatory power, and usefulness in identifying subgroups (clusters) of learners within the sample. Results strongly support the utility of the Spanish EIT for measurement of oral proficiency in SLA research. Moreover, the availability of parallel EITs in other languages promises to facilitate comparisons across studies. Thus, more precise measurement and analysis of proficiency in SLA research is called for via standardized measurements including the EIT.

The role of formal L2 learning experience in L3 acquisition among early bilinguals

ABSTRACTEarly bilingualism is thought to facilitate language learning [Klein, E. C. (1995). Second versus third language acquisition: Is there a difference? Language Learning, 45(3), 419–466; Cromdal, J. (1999). Childhood bilingualism and metalinguistic skills: Analysis and control in young Swedish-English bilinguals. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20(1), 1–20]. The present study tests whether experience with formal study of an L2 conveys further advantages to early bilinguals, and whether typological similarity of previously-learnt languages to L3 plays a significant role in L3 learning. Two groups of participants, Early Bilinguals (EBLs) and Early Bilinguals with formal L2 experience (EBLs+L2), were tested on acquisition of Korean case markers in four argument structures: intransitive verbs, transitive verbs with both arguments, transitive verbs with one omitted argument, and descriptive verbs. EBLs+L2 significantly outperformed EBLs and the two groups showed further differences by sentence type, with EBLs showing more difficulty with novel structures while EBLs+L2 did not. To examine the role of typological proximity, EBLs+L2 were divided into those who had studied Japanese (EBLs+Jap), which is structurally similar to Korean, and those with experience studying other languages (EBLs+non-Jap). In spite of typological similarity, EBLs+Jap did not significantly outperform EBLs+non-Jap overall. These results support the conclusion that formal study of an L2 conveys advantages to early bilinguals in L3 learning. Such experience results in greater metalinguistic awareness, allowing students to efficiently acquire structures that differ from their existing linguistic repertoire.

The Impact of L2 Learning on Cognitive Aging

It has become a multidisciplinary research area to overcome cognitive decline caused by aging. Many factors can affect cognitive aging and the influence of second language learning (L2 learning) cannot be ignored. The recent decade has witnessed much pathological, behavior and neuroimaging research that L2 experience may help maintain the cognitive function in the elderly, resist cognitive decline, and even delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This work is to review available literature concerned and elucidate the neural mechanisms under which L2 learning (training) may modify or sculpt the brain from perspectives of cognitive reserve, plasticity and overlapping networks. Future directions concerning length of learning, frequency of use, comparison with other cognitively stimulating activities are put forward so as to clarify the relationship between language experience and cognitive aging.

Speech perception and production in sequential bilingual children: A longitudinal study

The majority of bilingual speech development research has focused on children who acquire both languages simultaneously from birth. Yet, for many bilingual children growing up in dense immigrant communities, their language experience is typically very different. These children, often referred to as sequential bilinguals, are initially exposed to their heritage language (L1) and in many cases are only immersed in the host country’s language (L2) when they start school at around 4-years-old. To date, little is known about the developmental trajectory of sequential bilinguals. The current study tracked the acquisition of the English voicing contrast and monophthongal vowels by Sylheti-English sequential bilingual children from the London-Bengali community. Children were tested during preschool (mean age: 54 months old) and again one year later. The sequential bilinguals perception and production was initially driven by their L1 experience, resulting in less refined English phonemic categories than their monolingual peers. With L2 experience, children acquired the target phonemic contrasts, however they displayed a preference Sylheti phonotactics in a non-word repetition task. These findings have implications for our understanding of language development in complex multilingual settings, and will be discussed in light of the children’s language input and broader phonological development.

Learning English in Algeria Through French-based Background Proficiency

With globalization leading to an ever-increasing connectedness of the world, learning a foreign language has become a requirement rather than an indulgence. Yet, learning a second and/or a third language may present a challenge and the issue in Algeria is no exception. In addition to the mother tongue (Arabic or Berber in some regions), French is the second most spoken language in the country, and thus, its relatedness with other Western languages facilitates the learning of English as a third language. Already acquired, not only in the primary school process but also in the community's linguistic practices, French helps learners to develop proficiency in English through the transfer of their French-based background, in particular the typological (syntactical and lexical) similarities between French and English. The aim of the study is to show that the learners’ prior linguistic experience in L2 may be a facilitator to learn an L3. In this study, a group of 25 male learners aged between 20 and 30 years old was chosen. Their L1 is Arabic. The participants are bilinguals (Arabic/French) with different levels of competence in French. They had to translate an English text into the language of their choice, i.e., either Arabic or French. The results have shown that learners who already know French find it easy to learn English because of their ability to use resources in L2 to learn L3.

Effects of experience with L2 and music on rhythmic grouping by French listeners

Rhythm perception is assumed to be guided by a domain-general auditory principle, the Iambic/Trochaic Law, stating that sounds varying in intensity are grouped as strong-weak, and sounds varying in duration are grouped as weak-strong. Recently, Bhatara et al. (2013) showed that rhythmic grouping is influenced by native language experience, French listeners having weaker grouping preferences than German listeners. This study explores whether L2 knowledge and musical experience also affect rhythmic grouping. In a grouping task, French late learners of German listened to sequences of coarticulated syllables varying in either intensity or duration. Data on their language and musical experience were obtained by a questionnaire. Mixed-effect model comparisons showed influences of musical experience as well as L2 input quality and quantity on grouping preferences. These results imply that adult French listeners’ sensitivity to rhythm can be enhanced through L2 and musical experience.

Degree of Perceived Accent in Finnish as a Second Language for Turkish Children Born in Finland

This study investigated whether children born in a second language (L2) environment pronounce their L2 with foreign accents and, if so, when foreign accents first emerge. This study also examined the latest age of onset (AO) of extensive L2 experience at which native L2 pronunciation is possible and explored several factors that affect the degree of perceived accent for child L2 learners. Participants included 20 native Finnish children and 19 Finnish‐born Turkish children 7–17 years of age (mean AO = 3) as well as 61 native Finnish raters who evaluated the speech samples for foreign accent using a 9‐point scale. Only 4 of the 19 Turkish children spoke Finnish without foreign accents, which were first detectable at an AO of 2.5 years. AO was the main determiner of perceived accent, followed by home use of first language (L1), and the amount of L2 and L1 use. These findings suggest that there is an interplay between AO and language use factors in determining child L2 learners’ accent.

THE ROLE OF AGE OF ACQUISITION IN LATE SECOND LANGUAGE ORAL PROFICIENCY ATTAINMENT

The current project examined whether and to what degree age of acquisition (AOA), defined as the first intensive exposure to a second language (L2) environment, can be predictive of the end state of postpubertal L2 oral proficiency attainment. Data were collected from 88 experienced Japanese learners of English and two groups of 20 baseline speakers (inexperienced Japanese speakers and native English speakers). The global quality of their spontaneous speech production was first judged by 10 native English-speaking raters based on accentedness (linguistic nativelikeness) and comprehensibility (ease of understanding) and was then submitted to segmental, prosodic, temporal, lexical, and grammatical analyses. According to the results, AOA was negatively correlated with the accentedness and comprehensibility components of L2 speech production, owing to relatively strong age effects on segmental and prosodic attainment. Yet significant age effects were not observed in the case of fluency and lexicogrammar attainment. The results suggest that AOA plays a key role in determining the extent to which learners can attain advanced-level L2 oral abilities via improving the phonological domain of language (e.g., correct consonant and vowel pronunciation and adequate and varied prosody) and that the temporal and lexicogrammatical domains of language (e.g., optimal speech rate and proper vocabulary and grammar usage) may be enhanced with increased L2 experience, regardless of age.