Levels Of Second Language Proficiency Research Articles

Code Switching in English Teacher Instruction: A study of the Teacher Language in English Classroom and Its Implications for Indonesian Students Language Education

Teaching English in Indonesia is not the same as teaching English in a country where English is the native language. The teacher should make sure the students understand the explanation or instruction from the teacher. In the foreign language classroom, code switching is naturally occurring to make the teaching learning process run smoothly. Therefore, this study aimed to explain the function of code switching, students perceptions of the teacher’s code switching, and the effect of teacher’s code switching practices on students’ understanding in the teaching learning process. It was conducted at SMAN 9 Palu by using descriptive qualitative as the method. The researcher used observation, questionnaire and interview to get the data. The results of the study showed that first, there were three functions of code switching used by the teacher proposed by Sert (2005), those are topic switch, affective function, and repetitive function. Second, most of the students had positive perceptions about students' understanding and students' feelings during learning with code switching used by the teacher. Third, code switching used by the teacher in teaching learning English process provides a positive effect in providing a positive learning environment, and facilitating students with low level of second language proficiency
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 Keywords: Code switching, English classroom, teacher instruction

A neural mechanism of cognitive reserve: The case of bilingualism

Cognitive Reserve (CR) refers to the preservation of cognitive function in the face of age- or disease-related neuroanatomical decline. While bilingualism has been shown to contribute to CR, the extent to which, and what particular aspect of, second language experience contributes to CR are debated, and the underlying neural mechanism(s) unknown. Intrinsic functional connectivity reflects experience-dependent neuroplasticity that occurs across timescales ranging from minutes to decades, and may be a neural mechanism underlying CR. To test this hypothesis, we used voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity analyses of MRI data to compare structural and functional brain integrity between monolingual and bilingual older adults, matched on cognitive performance, and across levels of second language proficiency measured as a continuous variable. Bilingualism, and degree of second language proficiency specifically, were associated with lower gray matter integrity in a hub of the default mode network – a region that is particularly vulnerable to decline in aging and dementia – but preserved intrinsic functional network organization. Bilingualism moderated the association between neuroanatomical differences and cognitive decline, such that lower gray matter integrity was associated with lower executive function in monolinguals, but not bilinguals. Intrinsic functional network integrity predicted executive function when controlling for group differences in gray matter integrity and language status. Our findings confirm that lifelong bilingualism is a CR factor, as bilingual older adults performed just as well as their monolingual peers on tasks of executive function, despite showing signs of more advanced neuroanatomical aging, and that this is a consequence of preserved intrinsic functional network organization.

Visual recognition of identical cognates involves sublexical inhibition and lexical facilitation.

The study investigated the consequences of cross-language activation on the time course of bilingual word recognition. Twenty-two Spanish-English bilinguals and 21 English monolingual controls decided whether visually presented letter strings were English words, while behavioral and event-related potential responses were recorded. The language status of words was manipulated experimentally, such that words were either identical cognates between English and Spanish (e.g. CLUB) or noncognates (e.g. CLOCK). Participants were equally fast in responding to cognate and noncognate words. Bilinguals were more accurate in responding to cognates, whereas monolinguals exhibited higher accuracy in response to noncognates. Critically, bilinguals produced larger P200 followed by smaller N400 responses to cognates than noncognates, whereas monolinguals showed a pattern of reduced N400 responses to cognates. The results of the current study indicate that cross-language activation may not only result in lexical facilitation (indexed by a reduction of the N400 response to cognates) as a result of shared form-meaning associations across languages but also in sublexical inhibition (indexed by a larger P200 response to cognates) as a consequence of cross-language competition among phonological forms. Results support the language-nonselective view of bilingual lexical access and suggest that while lexical facilitation for identical cognates may be observed at most levels of second language proficiency, sublexical inhibition in response to identical cognates may be a marker of advanced levels of proficiency.

The role of phonological short-term memory in second language phonology

Abstract This study reports on the production of the five Spanish vowels in stressed and unstressed contexts by English-speaking advanced learners of Spanish at two experience levels who differed according to phonological short-term memory (PSTM) capacity. Our findings indicate that learners with higher PSTM capacity were less likely to reduce both stressed and unstressed vowels in Spanish. Consequently, learners with higher PSTM in fourth-year Spanish courses produced vowels that were more native-like than lower PSTM fourth-year learners. On the other hand, higher PSTM graduate students of Spanish produced a Spanish vowel space that was more expanded than that of native Spanish, particularly for /u/, compared to lower PSTM graduate learners, who were more native-like. These findings suggest that PSTM does play a role in second language phonology, even at advanced levels, and may help to explain why individual differences in pronunciation exist even at very high levels of second language proficiency.

Acceptance and Online Interpretation of "Gender-Neutral Pronouns": Performance Asymmetry by Chinese English as a Foreign Language Learners.

The present study (N = 109) set out to examine the role of cross-linguistic differences as a source of potential difficulty in the acceptance and online interpretation of the English singular they by Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners across two levels of second-language proficiency. Experiment 1 operationalized performance through an untimed acceptability judgment test and Experiment 2 through a self-paced reading task. Statistical analyses yielded an asymmetric pattern of results. Experiment 1 indicated that unlike native English speakers who generally accepted the singular they with all antecedent types, two Chinese EFL groups consisting of English majors (higher level) and non-English majors (lower level) both rated it as the least acceptable pronoun regardless of their proficiency level. In contrast, Experiment 2 demonstrated that like native English speakers, both Chinese EFL groups were not disrupted in their reading by the use of the singular they most of the time, although its online interpretation was modulated by L2 proficiency levels of the participants. While the English majors were not affected by the use of the singular they, the non-English majors spent a significantly longer time reading the latter region of the sentences where the singular they was used. In short, the results of the two experiments seem to indicate that under no time constraint, L2 speakers showed a heightened degree of grammar sensitivity, whereas when there was a time constraint, their grammatical sensitivity was reduced by a greater need to focus on meaning. The difficulty for Chinese EFL learners to acquire the singular they may be located at the restructuring of their existing knowledge of the plural feature of they [−PLURAL] in their mental lexicon and the adaptation to the sociocultural norms of the target language. The pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed.

L2 proficiency predicts inhibitory ability in L1-dominant speakers

Aims and Objectives: Bilinguals reportedly perform better in tasks that require the suppression of interference because of the constant practice in linguistic inhibition. However, previous literature was largely based on comparisons of pure monolinguals and balanced bilinguals. Those in between the two extremes were rarely examined. This project aimed at studying whether the population who primarily speak in a first language with a different level of second language proficiency also enjoy bilingual advantage. Methodology: Twelve monolingual and 38 bilingual Hong Kong older adults were recruited to perform the Stroop task and the second language (English) proficiency tests. The subjects were all frequent first language (Cantonese) speakers with various levels of second language proficiency. Data and Analysis: Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to identify the relationship between inhibition ability (Stroop score) and demographic and language background variables (including proficiency in and frequency of exposure to their second language). Findings: Both correlation and multiple regression analysis showed that the subjects with higher proficiency in a second language performed significantly better in the Stroop task. The results suggested that higher second language proficiency leads to higher difficulty in suppressing it, thus the training of inhibition is more effective. Originality: This study expanded the literature on bilingual advantage from a dichotomous comparison between monolingual and bilingual to the more continuous spectrum of bilinguals with different levels of second language proficiency. This study aimed at showing a fuller picture of bilingualism in the world. Significance/Implications: This study proposed that with high proficiency in a second language, frequent first language speakers could also enjoy cognitive advantages brought by bilingualism. Our study provides further evidence for the bilingual advantage hypothesis.

Prior Knowledge Predicts Early Consolidation in Second Language Learning.

Language learning occurs in distinct phases. Whereas some improvement is evident during training, offline memory consolidation processes that take place after the end of training play an important role in learning of linguistic information. The timing of offline consolidation is thought to depend on the type of task, with generalization of implicit knowledge suggested to take more time and sleep to consolidate. The current study aims to investigate individual differences in the timing of consolidation following learning of morphological inflections in a novel language in typical adults. Participants learned to make plural inflections in an artificial language, where inflection was based on morpho-phonological regularities. Participants were trained in the evening, and consolidation was measured after two intervals: 12 h (one night) and 36 h (two nights) post training. We measured both inflection of trained items, which may rely on item-specific learning, and generalization to new untrained items, which requires extraction of morpho-phonological regularities. The results for both trained and un-trained items showed two patterns of consolidation: early versus late, that is while some participants improved during the first night, others, who deteriorated in performance during the first night, improved in the later consolidation interval. Importantly, phonological awareness in L1 predicted early consolidation for trained items. Furthermore, there was no association between participants’ consolidation trajectory in trained and untrained items. Our results suggest that consolidation timing depends on the interaction between task characteristics and individual abilities. Moreover, the results show that prior meta-linguistic knowledge predicts the quality of early consolidation processes. These results are consistent with studies in rodents and humans, showing that prior knowledge accelerates consolidation of newly learnt episodic memory. Finally, the rate of consolidation across exposures to the language might explain some of the variability found in the attained level of second language proficiency.

Neural Mechanism and Representation of English and Chinese Metaphors of Bilinguals with Different Second Language Proficiency: An ERP Study

Abstract Brain mechanism of metaphor processing has always been a focus in Neurolinguistics. This study approaches bilinguals’ metaphor semantic representation mechanism with Chinese bilinguals with different levels of second language proficiency by means of ERP (Event-related Potentials) technology. The experiment results showed that: 1) Both hemispheres collaborate in metaphor processing with the left hemisphere serving a leading semantic recognition role. The left hemisphere is more sensitive to first language input, while the right hemisphere is more active to second language input. 2) Compared with Chinese learners of higher proficiency in L2, learners of lower proficiency tend to adopt more Chinese neural mechanism in processing English metaphors. 3) When learners process metaphors, the neural mechanism difference of learners of higher proficiency is smaller than that of those of lower proficiency. The higher the second language proficiency, the higher the degree of common representation of Chinese and English metaphor.

The impact of late, non-balanced bilingualism on cognitive performance

We present a study examining cognitive functions in late non-balanced bilinguals with different levels of second language proficiency. We examined in two experiments a total of 193 mono- and bilingual university students. We assessed different aspects of attention (sustained, selective and attentional switching), verbal fluency (letter and category) as well as picture–word association as a measure of language proficiency. In Experiment 2 we also compared students in their first/initial (Y1) and fourth/final (Y4) year of either language or literature studies. There were no differences between both groups in category fluency. In selective attention, bilinguals outperformed monolinguals in Y1 and this difference remained significant in Y4 despite overall improvement in both groups. Contrasting results were found in attentional switching and letter fluency: while no differences were found in Y1 in both tasks, in Y4 there was an advantage for bilinguals in attentional switching and for monolinguals in letter fluency. We conclude that overall late-acquisition non-balanced bilinguals experience similar cognitive effects as their early-acquisition balanced counterparts. However, different cognitive effects may appear at different stages of adult second language acquisition.

Bilingualism and the increased attentional blink effect: evidence that the difference between bilinguals and monolinguals generalizes to different levels of second language proficiency

The attentional blink task involves rapid serial presentation of visual stimuli, two of which the participants have to report. The usual finding is that participants are impaired at reporting the second target if it appears in close temporal proximity to the first target. Previous research has shown that the effect is stronger in bilinguals than monolinguals. We investigated whether the difference between monolinguals and proficient bilinguals can be extended to bilinguals of different proficiency levels. Therefore, we replicated the paradigm in a large sample of Hindi-English bilinguals with different proficiency levels of English, as measured with a validated vocabulary test. We additionally measured the participants' intelligence with the raven progressive matrices. We found that the size of the attentional blink effect correlates with the degree of second language proficiency and not with the degree of intelligence. This indicates that research on executive control functions can be done with bilinguals of different proficiency levels. Our results are also in line with recent findings showing that the attentional blink effect is not primarily due to limited processing resources.

English Use Among Older Bilingual Immigrants in Linguistically Concentrated Neighborhoods: Social Proficiency and Internal Speech as Intracultural Variation

This research focuses on patterns of English proficiency and use-of-English among older immigrants living in linguistically concentrated, ethnic neighborhoods. A sample (n = 60) of older Puerto Ricans, who moved from the island to the mainland in their twenties, were divided into English proficiency groups (fluent, high intermediate, low intermediate) via the Adult Language Assessment Scales. Participants then provided self-ratings of their English proficiency (understanding, speaking, reading, and writing), their use of English in social domains (language spoken with own-family, in-laws, spouse, children, neighbors, and workmates), and their use of English in private psychological domains (language of talking to oneself, counting, writing notes to oneself, thinking, dreaming, praying, and expressing feelings). Finally, all participants completed the Puerto Rican Bicultural Scale. Results show a cohort of immigrant elders whose first language is protected by their ethnic neighborhoods but whose domestic and private lives are increasingly permeated by English. In particular, children emerge as powerful forces of language socialization in English for their parents. Further, there are important individual differences by level of proficiency, with a lowest proficiency group that is less acculturated, lower in socioeconomic status, and even more linguistically isolated than groups with higher proficiency. In essence, level of second language proficiency is a potent source of intracultural variation. Methodologically, the paper makes the important point that self-rated patterns of language use are consistent with scores on formal measures of proficiency. The paper also provides empirical verification of the logic of dividing language use into external, social speech and internal, psychological speech.

Plasticity in the adult language system: A longitudinal electrophysiological study on second language learning

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to trace changes in brain activity related to progress in second language learning. Twelve English-speaking exchange students learning German in Switzerland were recruited. ERPs to visually presented single words from the subjects' native language (English), second language (German) and an unknown language (Romansh) were measured before (day 1) and after (day 2) 5 months of intense German language learning. When comparing ERPs to German words from day 1 and day 2, we found topographic differences between 396 and 540 ms. These differences could be interpreted as a latency shift indicating faster processing of German words on day 2. Source analysis indicated that the topographic differences were accounted for by shorter activation of left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) on day 2. In ERPs to English words, we found Global Field Power differences between 472 and 644 ms. This may due to memory traces related to English words being less easily activated on day 2. Alternatively, it might reflect the fact that – with German words becoming familiar on day 2 – English words loose their oddball character and thus produce a weaker P300-like effect on day 2. In ERPs to Romansh words, no differences were observed. Our results reflect plasticity in the neuronal networks underlying second language acquisition. They indicate that with a higher level of second language proficiency, second language word processing is faster and requires shorter frontal activation. Thus, our results suggest that the reduced IFG activation found in previous fMRI studies might not reflect a generally lower activation but rather a shorter duration of activity.

Transfer and Variation in Cognitive Reading Strategies of Latino Fourth-Grade Students in a Late-Exit Bilingual Program

The present study examines how 50 fourth-grade Spanish-dominant students utilize cognitive reading strategies to enhance comprehension of expository texts in Spanish and transfer strategic reading behaviors to English reading. The participants were grouped by Spanish reading ability into Able (Ab), Average (Av), and Less-Able (LAb) readers in order to determine how native language (LI) reading ability influences second language (L2) reading. Students' perception of the reading process and their oral proficiency in English were also examined as possible influences on cross-linguistic transfer. Data were collected through student interviews and think-aloud task tasks. For purposes of analysis, responses were grouped into categories of similar answers for comparisons across groups and languages; overall group means for strategic reading in Spanish were compared to those in English at various Language Assessment Scales (LAS) levels of English oral proficiency. All groups reported an increase in strategy use in English reading. Results indicate that strategic behaviors in L1 undergird L2 reading behaviors and that the level of second language proficiency played a less prominent role in second-language strategic reading than did the level of strategy use in L1.

Are Immersion Programmes Appropriate for Students with Special Needs?

Foreign language immersion programmes are programmes of second language study in which the target language is the medium, rather than the topic, of instruction. Students enrolled in such programmes are thus exposed to the second language in all content areas throughout the school day, with the exception of native language arts instruction. Early immersion programmes begin in Kindergarten or Grade One or their equivalents. Late immersion programmes begin in junior high school or high school or their equivalents (Met, 1993). Research into the efficacy of immersion programmes has produced mixed results. Some studies have shown that immersion programme students achieve near-native profiency (e.g., Pawley, 1986; MacFarlane Wesche, 1995). Others, however, suggest that students in immersion programmes do not approach native-like proficiency (e.g., Lyster, 1987). While these studies have yielded a great deal of information about language acquisition in immersion programmes, they have focused on regular-education students. Little information on the suitability of immersion programmes for special-needs students, particularly those with language deficits, is available. This paper seeks to fill this gap in our understanding about immersion programmes. First, background information on immersion programmes is provided. Here it will be argued that, while certainly not perfect, these programmes are successful in helping regular-education students achieve high (though not native-like) levels of second-language proficiency. Next, the question of the suitability of immersion programmes for special-needs students, particularly those students with language deficits, will be raised. A study bearing on this question will then be presented. In this study, US immersion programmes were assessed as to the level of services they provide to special-needs students, their instructional adaptations and the success of their students. Finally, results of this study, together with conclusions and implications for immersion programmes and for the education of children with language deficits will be presented.

Vocabulary Teaching in a Grade 8 French Immersion Classroom: A Descriptive Case Study

There have been few descriptive studies of vocabulary teaching in second language classrooms, and only two in a French immersion setting (Swain & Carroll, 1987; Wright, 1993). Both involved descriptions of vocabulary teaching at a single grade level in multiple classrooms in an attempt to provide an overview of lexical instruction. In this paper we take an in-depth look at one effective teacher known to achieve high levels of second language proficiency in his students and who places a great deal of emphasis on vocabulary teaching and learning. From a detailed analysis of the instructional strategies used by this teacher, we hope to contribute to a framework for lexical teaching that could have broader relevance for language teaching in immersion and other classroom contexts.

The effect of bilingualism on cognitive ability: A test of the level of bilingualism hypothesis

ABSTRACTDoes bilingualism facilitate the development of cognitive abilities, and if so, how? According to the level of bilingualism hypothesis (Diaz, 1983), only in the early stages of second language acquisition does bilingualism foster cognitive ability. This hypothesis was tested on a sample of 3rd and 4th grade Mexican Spanish-English bilinguals with low English proficiency. Knowledge of Spanish and English in phonology, vocabulary, and syntax was measured. Nonverbal general intelligence was assessed with the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices, and verbal intelligence was assessed with a subtest of the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery. No relationship was found between degree of bilingualism and nonverbal intelligence, contrary to the level of bilingualism hypothesis. The results suggest that the effects of bilingualism on cognitive development are not solely dependent on the level of second language proficiency.

Developmental Changes in Ingroup Favouritism among Bilingual and Unilingual Francophone and Anglophone Students

Relations between bilingualism and intergroup attitudes are examined among 663 Francophone students in Quebec, 521 Anglophone cadets at an Ontario military college, and in a longitudinal Anglophone 271-student sample from an Ontario university. In each of the three samples, among older students, unilinguals display ingroupfavouritism; bilinguals do not. Educational level is positively related to ingroup favouritism among unilinguals. Among bilinguals, educational level and favouritism are negatively related in all samples but, while Anglophone bilinguals move from ingroup favouritism to equal evaluations at later levels, Francophone bilinguals move from outgroup favouritism at earlier levels to equal evaluations later. AmongAnglophone respondents, contact with the second-language group is associated with greater levels of ingroup favouritism among respondents with low levels of second-language proficiency. Longitudinal analyses, in the Anglophone university sample, suggest that unilinguals undergo negative contact effects, whereas at the military college, longitudinal analyses (n = 336) reveal increased ingroup favouritism by cadets experiencing failure in second-language training. Among Francophones, relations of bilingualism with attitudes toward other groups are mixed in direction, whereas among Anglophones, relations are uniformly positive. Results are discussed with respect to social identity theory and the social psychology of language.

Spreekvaardigheidstoetsing

At higher levels of second language proficiency, the speaking skill is frequently measured in interviews, but the use of guided tests and group discussions is common too and can improve efficiency. Guided test and discussion create rather different speech situations and might well elicitate dissimilar kinds of oral production: the informal setting of group discussion is certainly less 'anxiety-provoking' and elicitates more natural speech, but it may lead to the use of elementary and unmonitored, minimally correct speech. In this article we report on a small-scale empirical investigation intended to lay bare differences between the language used in a guided test and in a group discussion at the level of 1st year university students of French. Although the discussion subject was defined in such a way that it would enable students to discuss a rather wide range of aspects, even superficial analysis of guided test and discussion subject suggested the first to be more content valid: this quality manifested itself in the higher proportion of different words used in the guided test answers. In other respects, there were no systematic differences between test and discussion: proportions of unique words and of less frequent words, in relation to the number of different words, were nearly the same in the two kinds of speech production. Contrary to intuitive expectation, the number of lexical and grammatical errors was greater in test production (i.e. in the formal setting) than in discussion, the guided test being perhaps a more demanding task, but the possible conclusion that the overall quality of second language use was less good in the guided test was not supported by other findings: mean scores of the three raters did not show systematic differences between test and discussion. Correlations between test scores and discussion scores were about .77, suggesting that as tests of speaking proficiency when the criterion is correctness, guided test and discussion are not as different as they may seem. The main difference between the two is in rater reliability: interrater correlations for the test were about .82; for the discussion the mean of three correlations was .52, but two of them approximated .60. One of the problems of rating discussions may be the rather unequal participation of the members of the group. The quality of discussion as a speaking proficiency test can, in our opinion, be improved by defining its subject in such a way that the aspects discussed will be sufficiently diverse and by training or instructing students: they should all participate actively and pay attention to regular turn-taking.

Neurolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition

The following three papers were presented at the TESOL Research Committee's Fourth State of the Art Symposium, TESOL/Detroit, 1981. The purpose of the symposium was twofold: 1) to demystify our conceptions about the neurolinguistic literature, i.e., to provide a knowledge base about the field, and 2) to stimulate further research related to the issues addressed. Three research experts from within the ranks of TESOL were given a year to critically review the growing body of literature on neurolinguistics and its relation to second language learning and teaching. Their efforts were carefully orchestrated so that the three papers would provide a comprehensive and yet focused treatment of some of the major issues in this growing field. In this first paper, Seliger considers three broad issues: 1) the language functions performed by the right hemisphere after language has become centralized in the left hemisphere, 2) the linguistic role of the right hemisphere after lateralization, and 3) the role of right hemisphere functions in the language acquisition process as opposed to the language maintainance process. He claims that the right hemisphere has many functions which may play an important role in second language acquisition. He also notes that since the hemispheres interact at both the cortical and subcortical levels, it is best not to teach to one hemisphere exclusively. In the second paper, Genesee focuses on the growing body of literature dealing with neurolinguistic investigations of bilinguals. He begins with clinical studies of bilingual aphasia and reports that the two languages of the bilingual do not appear to be subserved by different neuropsychological substrates. He then examines the experimental studies of bilingualism dealing with the extent of right hemisphere involvement in second language processing. On the basis of this examination, he reports the following: 1) there may be greater right hemisphere involvement in language processing in bilinguals who acquire their second language late, 2) there may also be greater right hemisphere involvement in bilinguals who learn their second language in informal contexts, and 3) there is little evidence that either stage or level of second language proficiency plays an important

An Analysis of French Verb Errors Made by Second Language Learners in a Bilingual Program

The data presented in this paper were gathered using a French cloze test in the context of a longitudinal evaluation of a number of French immersion programs in Ontario conducted by the Bilingual Education Project of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (see, for example, Barik and Swain 1978(a), 1978(b); Swain and Barik 1976; Swain and Lapkin 1977). One of the major research questions to which these studies have been addressed concerns the degree of second language proficiency attained by the immersion students: how much French is acquired by English-speaking students in these bilingual programs compared to that acquired by students in a regular program taking 20 to 40 minutes daily of core French or conventional French as a second language training? Through the use of standardized French achievement tests and other French measures developed by the Bilingual Education Project (e.g. Barik 1975, 1976; Barik, Swain, and Schloss 1978), it was determined early in the longitudinal study of early French immersion that immersion pupils were attaining a level of second language proficiency far superior to that of the comparison pupils taking core French. It became clear that a more appropriate reference group for measuring French language proficiency would consist of native French-speaking pupils of the same age and grade level. In other words, a shift of emphasis in the original research question has occurred over the past several years so that now the focus is on the degree to which immersion students can attain native-like ability in the second language (Lapkin 1978).