Linguistic Progress Research Articles

L2 Gain or L2 Pain? A Comparative Case Study of the Target Language Development among the Erasmus+ Mobility Students and Home Stay Students

The Erasmus+ exchange programme has become very popular, with the numbers of student sojourners growing each year. However, it was observed that not all students benefit equally from the study abroad (SA) experience (c.f. Kinginger, 2008, 2009; Marijuan & Sanz, 2018; Mitchell, Tracy-Ventura & McManus, 2017; Regan, Howard & Lemée, 2009). Consequently, the main aim of the present study was to have a closer look at various factors that might contribute to the development of the target language among two small groups of students that self-selected themselves to do their language teaching practicum abroad, as a part of the Erasmus+ mobility program (n=6), or to do it at the local schools in the country of their residence (n=5). Both groups were examined prior their departure and after their arrival with a battery of tests that included: Oxford Placement test, Self-reported proficiency questionnaire, Oral proficiency test based on Cambridge Advanced exam, Language Engagement Questionnaire, Multicultural Personality Questionnaire(MPQ), Big Five Personality Questionnaire and Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). Our findings demonstrated that the majority of the Erasmus+ mobility program students examined in this study showed some greater linguistic progress when it comes to grammar and speaking in comparison to the home stay students. However, there were two cases that failed to progress after the stay abroad experience. Further analyses and interviews showed that some other factors like attitudes, language engagement and satisfaction from the Erasmus experience might in fact influence and shape target language development while abroad. At the same time, it could be speculated that in the case of researched informants their progress in grammar and speaking could be assigned mostly to the amount and quality of the language input outside of the classroom setting.

What difference does it make?

AbstractDirect effects of participation in study abroad on linguistic proficiency have been notoriously difficult to differentiate from mere participant, time and study effects. This study examines English proficiency gains among 136 advanced-level German university students who applied for an ERASMUS exchange and either studied at a British university or continued to study at home. Participants completed C-tests of English language proficiency and comprehensive questionnaires at baseline, after three and nine months. After the first three months, those studying abroad had made significantly higher proficiency gains than the ERASMUS applicants who continued to study at home. During the subsequent six months, linguistic progress among the study abroad participants slowed and between-group differences were no longer significant. The results further substantiate hypotheses on significant linguistic benefits of participation in study abroad for advanced L2 learners, while also highlighting the need to facilitate sustained linguistic progress among exchange students, particularly during more extended stays.

Self-perceived linguistic progress, target language use and personality development during study abroad

Abstract This exploratory study investigates the development of personality dimensions related to multicultural effectiveness and its relation to amount of target language use and self-perceived progress in speaking during a sojourn abroad in seven European countries. The participants were 59 Swedish and Belgian university students. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire – Short Form (van der Zee, Van Oudenhoven, Ponterotto, & Fietzer, 2013) was administered at the beginning and the end of the semester, and data on self-reported weekly hours of target language use and self-perceived linguistic progress were gathered at Time 2. The main findings are the observed moderate or near moderate correlations between self-perceived progress in speaking and change in Cultural Empathy, and between amount of target language use and change in Cultural Empathy and Openmindedness. This points to the relevance of further studies on the role of target language use and progress in the development of personality characteristics.

Smart Enough to Talk With Us? Foundations and Challenges for Dialogue Capable AI Systems

Smart Enough to Talk With Us? Foundations and Challenges for Dialogue Capable AI Systems

The Key Role of Foreign Language Teachers in Content and Language Integrated Learning at a University Level

Content and language integrated learning is a teaching formula that is recently proliferating in Andalusian universities with the implementation of programmes including bilingual education. In such a context, the recognition of the profile of the participants in these CLIL teaching proposals is extremely important for the identification of roles that may exist linked to this didactic formula. The role of the content teacher facing CLIL teaching seems to be clearly defined. Additionally, we have at our disposal the contributions that foreign language teachers can offer since they can provide didactic strategies that are enriching to content teachers to become co-responsible for the linguistic learning of their students. In particular, the didactic proposals that can be made by teachers whose didactic approach is part of the Foreign Language Acquisitive Teaching Method can be very useful for a content teacher who has to face the linguistic progress of their students. There seems to be agreement on the value of collaboration between both groups of teachers (those of linguistic areas and those of non-linguistic areas). However, at a university, there is not always a bilingual coordinator to help the CLIL teacher. For this reason, the establishment of this collaboration in the university context is extremely important, since the exchange of ideas between both contributes to the generation of quality bilingual education. The creation of a protocol of cooperation between the content teacher and the FL teacher must be a crucial component of bilingual programmes in higher education that guarantees optimal CLIL teaching.

Décibel par M. Butzbach, et al

Reviews 197 directly connected to three Ps thus requires careful planning from instructors. They will need to evaluate how to integrate language learning in a way that demonstrates best practices and responds to ACTFL guidelines for each of the selected readings. Nevertheless, the strength of La culture francophone can be seen in the quality selection of its cultural components as well as its variety. This focus, in turn, provides more freedom to instructors to structure their classes around the essential questions on which they would like students to reflect. University of Wisconsin, La Crosse Virginie Cassidy Butzbach, M., C. Martin, D. Pastor, et I. Saracibar. Décibel. Paris: Didier, 2015. Méthode de français A1. ISBN 978-2-278-08107-3. Pp. 95. Cahier d’activités A1. ISBN 978-2-278-08120-2. Pp. 66. Méthode de français A2.1. ISBN 978-2-278-08336-7. Pp. 106. Cahier d’activités A2.1. ISBN 978-2-278-08347-3. Pp. 66. Méthode de français A2.2. ISBN 978-2-278-08337-4. Pp. 106. Cahier d’activités A2.2. ISBN 978-2-278-08350-3. Pp. 95. This three-part series is designed for middle school but could be used at the secondary level as supplementary resource. It is leveled A1, A2.1, and A2.2 under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which correlates to the ACTFL Novice Low through Intermediate Mid proficiency levels. Décibel’s goal is to prepare students for the DELF certification. Materials include the Méthode de français, Cahier d’activités, teacher resources (DVDs and CDs), and online access to a Guide pédagogique. In the first two books, traditional topics such as “Les commerçants de mon quartier”and“À la maison”dominate. In level A2.2, students interact with more current topics such as social justice and ecology. Unit objectives include vocabulary and grammar topics, perfunctory culture, and DELF test preparation. Teachers accustomed to the ACTFL“Can-Do”statements and proficiency goals will find that the unit goals are designed for test performance. Herein lies the conflict for United States teachers looking for more “authentic” materials from a French publisher: The objectives and exercises do not match the ACTFL National Standards. The program was designed mainly for Europeans preparing for the DELF exam. The textbooks and ancillary content focus mainly on vocabulary and grammar while setting aside engaging communicative activities. The weak coherence between unit lessons is distracting. In an A2.1 unit,“Les quatre saisons,”the introduction presents a review of basic weather phrases. Lesson one discusses savanna animals, speed records, and comparisons. Lesson two introduces predictions about future life on the planet with the future tense. Lesson three revisits superlatives and comparisons with recordbreaking places in France. The writing activity returns to describing an animal. There is a short bande dessinée that combines weather and physical comparisons of humans. Finally, in the “Bilan oral,” a drawn scene of a protest for the protection of bees provides a series of six short exercises that award points for describing the weather, circumlocution, describing an animal, making comparisons, and understanding conversation about the weather.While each of these topics was touched on in the unit and in the workbook, the summative exercises do not provide a pedagogically-sound assessment of students’linguistic progress. The workbook proposes mainly busy work including crossing out a nonsense word in a string of words and writing the dialogue that remains, matching pictures to numbers or filling in verb forms or vocabulary terms. These types of exercises harken back to a more traditional, non-communicative style of language acquisition that emphasized task completion, not progress toward proficiency. Metropolitan France dominates the ancillary resources, and the DVD vignettes (available with subtitles in French) present adult-focused geography and cultural information that does not always relate to the unit objectives. While Décibel is not an ideal text for the United States system, one may keep in mind that it is the teacher, not the textbook, who sets the curriculum. The provided materials could support teachers who have access to more communicative interpersonal and presentational activities, but who...

Transition in modern foreign languages: a longitudinal study of motivation for language learning and second language proficiency

The current longitudinal study examines the similarities and differences between primary and secondary foreign language curricula and pedagogy along with the development of motivation for language learning and second language proficiency. Data from 26 English learners of French (aged 10–11) were collected across three times points over a 12-month period. The study employed the use of lesson observations, along with questionnaires and focus group interviews to examine the development of attitudes and motivation. To measure linguistic progression an oral role play task, an oral photo description task, and a free writing task were administered at each time point. The results show that an abrupt shift in pedagogy may negatively influence learner attitudes and motivation in early secondary and, while early language learning does appear to generate positive attitudes to language learning, questions remain as to its effectiveness over the longer term when learners encounter language teaching that appears incongruous with their aims. Learners did make significant linguistic progress across the transition phase as measured by objective and fine-grained measures, which raises the question as to whether it may in fact be assessment practices that account for the reported ‘hiatus’ in progression across transition rather than lack of actual progress.

Otomanguean historical linguistics: Exploring the subgroups

AbstractThis is the second of two articles that survey and assess progress and prospects in the historical linguistics of the Otomanguean language family, which is the most widely distributed and most diverse linguistic lineage of Mesoamerica. While considerable progress has been made in understanding the linguistic and cultural history of Otomanguean, in some ways, it remains the Mesoamerican language family about which we know the least. It consists of eight major subgroups: Mè'phàà‐Subtiaba, Chorotegan, Oto‐Pamean, Chinantec, Mixtecan, Amuzgo, Zapotecan, and Popolocan. While the first article of this series addressed the historical linguistics of the higher levels of the Otomanguean family, this article focuses on the eight major subgroups, especially progress in their reconstruction, internal subgrouping, and areas in need of further research.

Exploring Teacher and Learner Views on the use of Formative Assessment in Primary EAL Classrooms: A Case Study

In England number of learners who speak English as their second or even third language (known as learners with EAL, English as an additional language) in state primary and secondary schools is constantly increasing. In 2012 these learners represented 16% of the entire school population, and in 2015 - 18% (Schools Census, 2012 and 2016). Many EAL learners have limited proficiency in the language of instruction. This fact makes it difficult for teachers to not only effectively teach but also accurately assess these learners’ academic (linguistic and subject-specific) progress. Making use of a recently introduced formative assessment model to support and assess EAL learners’ performance during the lessons seems like a good idea. However, to date little is known about the effectiveness of this assessment method and about the teachers’ and learners’ views on it. This paper, drawing on a selection of the data collected as part of a larger mixed-methods empirical research study (see Afitska, 2014a), seeks to examine teachers’ and learners’ views on the usefulness of formative assessment methods (including teacher feedback, learner peer- and self-assessment) for teaching and learning. The paper concludes with a list of implications for practice based on the study’s findings.

Aimed Inquiry and Positive Theology in Sefer Maʿayan ha-Ḥokhmah

This article discusses the anonymous early kabbalistic work Sefer Maʿayan ha-Ḥokhmah (The Book of the Fountain of Wisdom), one of the pivotal works of ʿIyyun literature. The first part deals with the book’s historical and literary aspects. The second part interprets a specific formulation in light of the basic ideas of the book itself, presenting the twofold pattern as a mystical type and as a grounding for linguistic-theological theory. The third part discusses the term “positive theology” in the theosophical and religious dimension, from the phenomenological perspective of extrovertive mysticism, and as a linguistic structure that provides the layer of signs as a stable basis for the restrained progress of Tongue. Acquiring the source as hidden but attendant by its constant grounding as a part of linguistic progression, uses the bifocal sight of binary extrovertive mysticism to denote the twofold structure of each being and each part of speech.

Presentation: Creating emotional awareness through drama in the second language acquisition

Drama as a teaching medium seems to be a solution for working with students not only on linguistic progress but also on developing their emotional potential. It helps to develop students’ emotional and social competences which are extremely important in second language acquisition. This article focuses on using drama as a medium of working with children in a bilingual nursery in Poland. It describes the project based on the action research taken in Poland.

Practice makes best: contrasting learning contexts, comparing learner progress

Undoubtedly, different learning contexts offer different opportunities for foreign language practice. This article focuses on context effects, and reports on the findings of the Study Abroad and Language Acquisition (SALA) project, which has examined in depth the impact of two learning contexts, SA within the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS), and formal instruction (FI), on the progress made by advanced level higher education (HE) English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The differential context effects on learners’ EFL relative gains in oral and written skills are thus measured. Following a description of the European multilingual policies in the HE Area (HEA), each context is characterised from a second language acquisition perspective. When such effects on oral skills are analysed for the dimensions of Fluency and Accuracy, higher gains seem to accrue in the SA context than in the FI context in both dimensions, with the exception of phonological perception. When written skills are examined, for Complexity, Fluency and Accuracy, in a similar vein, benefits accrue to a larger extent after the period spent abroad, except for Complexity. To conclude, the overall superior effect on learners’ linguistic progress of the SA context over the FI context is discussed.

The linguistic impact of a CLIL Science programme: An analysis measuring relative gains

The present study seeks to contribute new evidence regarding the linguistic progress achieved over one academic year by Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) secondary education learners, enrolled in an English-medium Science course. It gauges the relative linguistic gains resulting from the CLIL programme in contrast with a formal instruction (FI) programme developed in the same school. Participants were followed longitudinally with a pre-test, post-test design. Tests used to elicit data were modelled on the type of tasks used both in FI and CLIL. They tapped into the productive and receptive skills of the learners. The sample included 2 groups of bilingual Catalan/Spanish participants, English being their L3 (N = 50 each). One group had FI plus CLIL in the Science course, (experimental group), the other had FI only (control group). Results obtained confirm that larger relative gains are obtained by the FI + CLIL programme, however not in all domains and to the same degree: relative higher gains accrue in reading, as expected, but not in listening. Similarly, their writing ability, and particularly so their accuracy, shows higher relative gains, and so do their lexico-grammatical abilities. In sum, in the CLIL programme analysed, reading and grammar seem to benefit the most.

From form-focussed to communicative: how university students change their beliefs about learning a foreign language

ABSTRACTTaking a contextual approach to research on language learner beliefs, this longitudinal study of 49 Swiss university students learning Danish as a foreign language investigates how and why the participants change their beliefs over time. At the beginning of the three-semester language course, the participants believe that form-focussed approaches to language learning are most efficient, whereas at the end of the course, they believe that communicative approaches to language learning are more important. The study is based on 142 written learning journals that were collected during a year and a half and analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The main finding of the study is that the participants change their learner beliefs in accordance with changes in their perceived linguistic progression and in accordance with the methods and materials chosen by the teacher.

Una propuesta de adaptación del Marco Europeo para los ESL

En este artículo abordamos la evaluación del progreso lingüístico del alumnado inmigrante o minoritario que empieza a aprender la lengua de la escuela años después que sus compañeros nativos, ya sea catalán, castellano, u otra lengua del país o una lengua extranjera, como en las aulas de CLIL donde le lengua vehicular es el inglés o el francés, por ejemplo. Este alumnado (que llamamos ESL, estudiantes de una segunda lengua o de una lengua adicional para fines escolares) lleva una doble carga, aprendiendo de forma simultánea el contenido curricular y la lengua vehicular de la escuela. Es importante seguir el progreso de los ESL para saber cómo y cuánto adaptar el currículo para que éste sea alcanzable para los ESL de varios niveles de competencia lingüística, y para garantizar que estos alumnos sigan desarrollando sus habilidades lingüísticas hasta que lleguen al nivel que tienen sus compañeros de la misma edad.

Hungarian Is No "Idioma Incomparabile": The Hungarian Language Reform in European Comparison

The idea of the uniqueness of the Hungarian language is firmly rooted in Hungarian culture and discourse. Accordingly, the language reform (“nyelvújítás”)—the movement which led to the standardization of Modern Hungarian orthography and grammar and a radical renewal of the lexicon, especially by way of numerous neologisms, in the nineteenth century—is often seen as part of specifically Hungarian cultural history rather than in the framework of European ideologies. This paper briefly presents the most relevant linguistic aspects of the language reform and analyzes its connections to contemporary linguistic culture, the ideologies of late Enlightenment and Romantic Nationalism, and the progress in linguistics.

Coping with the Knowledge Society: An Interdisciplinary Approach of Teaching English in a Technical University

The present-day Digital Age with its fast-developing knowledge society calls for an interdisciplinary approach of teaching a foreign language in a technical university. To cope with the knowledge society, teaching a foreign language for specific technical domains requires a new syllabus approach meant to enhance motivation to learn and improve the students’ language level. Developing the engineering students’ literary competence in analyzing and debating on literary and non-literary texts, in arguing for or against certain theories and ideas pertaining to literature, science and technology generates motivation to make linguistic progress and brush up on the foreign language.

Age or Experience? The Influence of Age at Implantation and Social and Linguistic Environment on Language Development in Children With Cochlear Implants

The authors investigated the influence of social environmental variables and age at implantation on language development in children with cochlear implants. Participants were 25 children with cochlear implants and their parents. Age at implantation ranged from 6 months to 42 months ( M (age) = 20.4 months, SD = 22.0 months). Linguistic progress was assessed at 12, 18, 24, and 30 months after implantation. At each data point, language measures were based on parental questionnaire and 45-min spontaneous speech samples. Children's language and parents' child-directed language were analyzed. On all language measures, children displayed considerable vocabulary and grammatical growth over time. Although there was no overall effect of age at implantation, younger and older children had different growth patterns. Children implanted by age 24 months made the most marked progress earlier on, whereas children implanted thereafter did so later on. Higher levels of maternal education were associated with faster linguistic progress; age at implantation was not. Properties of maternal language input, mean length of utterance, and expansions were associated with children's linguistic progress independently of age at implantation. In children implanted within the sensitive period for language learning, children's home language environment contributes more crucially to their linguistic progress than does age at implantation.

The effect of Study Abroad (SA) on written performance

Research on the effects of Study Abroad (SA) periods on learners’ linguistic progress has tended to focus on oral skills, and few SA studies have focused on learners’ development in writing while abroad. The subjects in the present study were 37 advanced level non-native (NNSs) university students of English on a SA programme. Written compositions were analysed for fluency accuracy and complexity gains after the SA. They were contrasted with progress after formal instruction and with native speakers (NSs) baseline written performance. Language background data, attitudes, and stay abroad conditions were elicited with questionnaires. The SA period resulted in significant progress, which receded in the mid-term. Formal instruction only showed some improvement in accuracy. Significant differences were found between NSs and NNSs, although not in all domains. Results allow us to identify the students who benefit most from the SA and to examine the factors which seem to characterize them.

California/Spain Visiting Teachers Program Participants' Opinions About the Use and Effects of Students' Primary Languages in the Classroom

This study examined opinions about some theoretical and practical tenets of bilingualism and bilingual education, as well as about the instructional use of English language learners' (ELLs) native languages in the classroom, of 77 teachers from Spain working in California as part of the California/Spain Visiting Teachers Program. In their responses, participants showed strong support for the tenets of bilingual education and for the use of ELLs' primary languages in class, agreed that primary language instruction contributes to the academic and English acquisition progress of ELLs, and opposed the discontinuation of ELLs' primary languages after these students had learned English. The results of the study show that 8 years after the passage of Proposition 227, which intended to eliminate the presence of minority languages in California public schools, participants continued to acknowledge the value of these languages in the linguistic and academic progress of ELLs.