Native English Research Articles

Impact of Technology-based Non-enculturation Sources of Native English on Yoruba (Nigerian) Teenage English Nuclear and Contrastive Stress Assignment

Impact of Technology-based Non-enculturation Sources of Native English on Yoruba (Nigerian) Teenage English Nuclear and Contrastive Stress Assignment

Hearing the Voices: Embracing Diversity in the Study of Language in Society

ABSTRACT We have all heard or read about “embracing diversity” in our professions, but what does this look like in practice? In this presentation, we will take you on a journey through our First Nations-led collaboration to study Australian Aboriginal English, an Indigenised variety of English spoken by approximately 80% of First Nations people in Australia (Rodríguez Louro & Collard, 2020, 2021a, b). Our sociolinguistic research into Aboriginal English as spoken in Nyungar country, Southwest Western Australia allowed us to record and analyse the way that people use language in everyday contexts. Our use of “yarning” as a method of data collection made it possible to engage with community in a culturally safe fashion (Rodríguez Louro & Collard, 2021c). We also applied a diversity lens when we worked with the Heart Foundation to decolonise medical media for First Nations communities (Collard & Rodríguez Louro, Submitted; Rodríguez Louro & Collard, 2021d). In this presentation, we demonstrate how working together can ensure that we “hear the voices” of those at the margins of mainstream practice and how, with every minute decision in the right direction, we can make the world a better place.

More foreign-accented but more comprehensible: Attrition and amelioration of L1 speech in proficient L2 learners.

There is an increasing interest in cross-linguistic influences of the second language (L2) on the first (L1), but its communicative impact remains to be elucidated. This study investigates how L2 learners' L1 pronunciation is perceived as foreign-accented and (in) comprehensible as a function of their L2 learning experience and proficiency levels. Read speech of 154 L1 Japanese learners of L2 English in the J-AESOP corpus was examined, where approximately one-third of them had lived in English-speaking countries and the rest had never lived outside of Japan. Their L1 speech was rated by another group of native Japanese listeners for accentedness and comprehensibility (from October 25, 2022 to August 20, 2023), while their L2 speech was previously rated by native American English listeners for nativelikeness or proficiency. The speakers' vowel acoustics were also examined. More proficient L2 speakers were perceived as more foreign-accented in their L1, but only if they had lived overseas; their length of residence abroad predicted the degree of perceived accentedness. In contrast, more proficient L2 speakers were consistently perceived as more comprehensible in the L1, regardless of prior overseas experience. Acoustic analyses indicated that perceived accentedness is associated with a clockwise chain shift of all vowel categories in the vowel space. It was also revealed that the dispersion, rather than compactness, of vowel production contributed to perceived comprehensibility, although the degree of L1 vowel dispersion did not predict L2 proficiency. The overall results suggest two main conclusions. First, perceptible L1 foreign accent likely results from L1 disuse rather than L2 interference, thereby L1 pronunciation differs from native norms at a system-wide rather than category-specific level. Second, L2 learning has a positive influence on perceived L1 comprehensibility, rather than individuals with clearer and more comprehensible L1 speech being inherently better L2 learners.

Beliefs About and Motivation for Chinese EFL Learners’ English Language Learning: A Study Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour

It is widely seen that research in the mainstream of education drew upon the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine learners’ beliefs about and intentions/motivations to learn a second or foreign language. However, such research in a Global Englishes (GE) context is scant. This study employed an adapted TPB model to explore the beliefs held by English language learners in China concerning GE and English language learning, and to anticipate the relationships between learners’ beliefs and their L2 (second language) motivation. The data was collected using questionnaires with 460 (N = 460) students at a university in China. Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed that the students’ beliefs formed five dimensions, namely, attitudes toward native English, attitudes toward China English, attitudes toward non-native English, subjective norm and self-efficacy. Two dimensions: attitudes toward native English and subjective norm were found to occupy a prominent place in students’ beliefs. As for their L2 motivation, three dimensions were identified, namely, integrative orientation, instrumental orientation and international posture. The results of regression analysis showed that learners’ L2 motivation were significantly shaped by some of their beliefs. Particularly, learners’ attitudes toward native English had a significant relationship with every dimension of their L2 motivation. And their normative beliefs (subjective norm) were found to have the most significant influence on their L2 motivation, indicating that the social pressure perceived by Chinese students played an important role in their L2 learning. The employment of Ajzen’s TPB model empirically supported to the validity of the theoretical model in examining learners’ beliefs and motivation.

Addressing the Role of “Linguistic Knowledge” in Global Englishes Pedagogy

AbstractOne key tenet of Global Englishes for Language Teaching (GELT) is that the native English speaker should no longer serve as the role model for second language (L2) English users. Such a view does not discount that some degree of linguistic knowledge is necessary for successful global communication. However, GELT scholarship has remained relatively silent on the process and product of L2 acquisition. In this paper, we propose integrating L2 acquisition theory into GELT pedagogical practices without relying on theoretical perspectives steeped in some form of native speakerism. At the heart of our discussion is the concept of linguistic knowledge–implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious)–emphasizing the role of explicit learning processes in GELT classrooms rather than adhering solely to the idealistic goal of implicit competence. Because L2 learners need to reflect on linguistic knowledge (repertoire) and strategies for effective global communication, we propose that their learning should aim to develop skill sets of using explicit and implicit knowledge dynamically and efficiently in varied communicative contexts. We argue that skill acquisition theory offers a useful framework for GELT, as it can account for the development of automatized explicit knowledge alongside implicit knowledge, aligning with GELT objectives of fostering multicompetent English users. We illustrate how this perspective can inform classroom activities such as shadowing and task repetition. These activities not only promote deliberate, explicit learning processes but also integrate seamlessly with awareness–raising activities commonly employed in GELT, enhancing learners' communication strategies and capacity for effective English use in global contexts.

Structural and Functional Usages of Lexical Bundle in Native and Non-Native English Sociology Academic Writings: A Comparative Study Based on MICUSP

Structural and Functional Usages of Lexical Bundle in Native and Non-Native English Sociology Academic Writings: A Comparative Study Based on MICUSP

Constrained communication in EFL and ESL

Abstract This study relies on the constrained communication framework to compare the use of embedded inversion in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL). It is based on several (sub)corpora of EFL and ESL, but also reference corpora of native English, which differ along the constraint dimensions of language activation (monolingual/bilingual), proficiency (native users/proficient L2 users/learners), and modality (speech/writing). In addition to these constraint dimensions, we also investigate the possible effect of linguistic factors that have been claimed to play a role in the use of embedded inversion. A multifactorial analysis comparing embedded inversion with standard-like indirect questions, supplemented by a close examination of the patterns of use of embedded inversion, reveals both shared and distinctive features across EFL and ESL. It also highlights the importance of linguistic factors and variety/L1, and their interaction with communicative constraints.

Language practice and beliefs of domestic and L2 English international students in an English-taught program in Japanese higher education

ABSTRACT This study compared domestic and international students regarding their self-evaluated English proficiency, language performance in English-medium instruction (EMI) classrooms, and their language beliefs. They were enrolled in an English-taught program (ETP) in a Japanese university. EMI courses and programs have strategically increased to attract overseas students and improve domestic students’ English proficiency. Despite extensive EMI research, few studies have focused on EMI experiences of both domestic and international students. Thus, the study analyzed online survey responses from 84 domestic and 24 international students, mostly from Asia. Noticeably, domestic students rated their English proficiency lower than their L2 English international group. Also, the former group found it significantly difficult in performing language tasks, compared to the latter group. Critically, L2 English international students preferred first language (L1) English-speaking instructors and expect non-L1 English lecturers to use native English, whereas Japanese students showed appreciation of lecturers using their L1 in EMI context.

Syntactic and typological properties of constrained language: A study based on dependency treebanks of translated English and non-native English

AbstractTo explore if translation-intrinsic features are apparent in other types of bilingualism-influenced constrained language use such as non-native production, this study approaches syntactic and typological properties of constrained English translated from Chinese and written by native Chinese speakers via two cognitively-motivated dependency metrics, viz. mean dependency distance (MDD) and dependency direction (DDir). Results of this study show that translated English (both L1 and L2) and non-native English differ from the non-constrained native English in a similar way yet to a slightly different extent, but not from each other in both indicators. Syntactically, bilingually-constrained varieties exhibit reduced syntactic complexity with shorter MDDs, suggesting a simplification tendency. Typologically, cross-linguistic influences are detected in constrained varieties for being more head-final in word-order primed by the source or native language Chinese. Surprisingly, it seems that language directionality affects, albeit marginally, the affinity between constrained varieties, with non-native English being more syntactically and typologically similar to translated English from L1 than from L2.

How do differences in native language affect out-of-body experiences?

Out-of-body experiences are scientifically inducible cognitive phenomena attracting global attention due to their application in the Metaverse and medical care. Despite previous studies suggesting that one's native language influences one's cognition, the out-of-body experiences of humans with different native languages have not been investigated separately. This study replicated an experiment from a 2007 study to investigate whether differences in native language affect the ability to have scientifically induced out-of-body experiences. A total of 19 age-matched native English and Japanese speakers completed the experiment in two blocks. Thereafter, their experiences were evaluated using questionnaires, and their responses were compared. Importantly, no significant differences between the English and Japanese native-speaker conditions were found. The results showed that out-of-body experiences were induced similarly in both groups, suggesting that people can have out-of-body experiences as a response to similar stimuli, regardless of their native language. However, differences in participants' introspective reports suggested that their experiences may differ qualitatively, possibly, due to the different linguistic backgrounds. The elucidation of the mechanisms of science-assisted out-of-body experiences that consider different cultural and cognitive characteristics, such as native language, could lead to the investigation of their applications in the borderless Metaverse and medicine.

The Role of Letter-Speech Sound Integration in Native and Second Language Reading: A Study in Native Japanese Readers Learning English.

The automatic activation of letter-speech sound (L-SS) associations is a vital step in typical reading acquisition. However, the contribution of L-SS integration during nonalphabetic native and alphabetic second language (L2) reading remains unclear. This study explored whether L-SS integration plays a similar role in a nonalphabetic language as in alphabetic languages and its contribution to L2 reading among native Japanese-speaking adults with varying English proficiency. A priming paradigm in Japanese and English was performed by presenting visual letters or symbols, followed by auditory sounds. We compared behavioral and event-related responses elicited by congruent letter-sound pairs, incongruent pairs, and baseline condition (symbol-sound pairs). The behavioral experiment revealed shorter RTs in the congruent condition for Japanese and English tasks, suggesting a facilitation effect of congruency. The ERP experiment results showed an increased early N1 response to Japanese congruent pairs compared to corresponding incongruent stimuli at the left frontotemporal electrodes. Interestingly, advanced English learners exhibited greater activities in bilateral but predominantly right-lateralized frontotemporal regions for the congruent condition within the N1 time window. Moreover, the enhancement of P2 response to congruent pairs was observed in intermediate English learners. These findings indicate that, despite deviations from native language processing, advanced speakers may successfully integrate letters and sounds during English reading, whereas intermediate learners may encounter difficulty in achieving L-SS integration when reading L2. Furthermore, our results suggest that L2 proficiency may affect the level of automaticity in L-SS integration, with the right P2 congruency effect playing a compensatory role for intermediate learners.

Exploring Students’ Generative AI-Assisted Writing Processes: Perceptions and Experiences from Native and Nonnative English Speakers

AbstractGenerative artificial intelligence (AI) can create sophisticated textual and multimodal content readily available to students. Writing intensive courses and disciplines that use writing as a major form of assessment are significantly impacted by advancements in generative AI, as the technology has the potential to revolutionize how students write and how they perceive writing as a fundamental literacy skill. However, educators are still at the beginning stage of understanding students’ integration of generative AI in their actual writing process. This study addresses the urgent need to uncover how students engage with ChatGPT throughout different components of their writing processes and their perceptions of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI. Adopting a phenomenological research design, the study explored the writing practices of six students, including both native and nonnative English speakers, in a first-year writing class at a higher education institution in the US. Thematic analysis of students’ written products, self-reflections, and interviews suggests that students utilized ChatGPT for brainstorming and organizing ideas as well as assisting with both global (e.g., argument, structure, coherence) and local issues of writing (e.g., syntax, diction, grammar), while they also had various ethical and practical concerns about the use of ChatGPT. The study brought to front two dilemmas encountered by students in their generative AI-assisted writing: (1) the challenging balance between incorporating AI to enhance writing and maintaining their authentic voice, and (2) the dilemma of weighing the potential loss of learning experiences against the emergence of new learning opportunities accompanying AI integration. These dilemmas highlight the need to rethink learning in an increasingly AI-mediated educational context, emphasizing the importance of fostering students’ critical AI literacy to promote their authorial voice and learning in AI-human collaboration.

Our gateway is your gatekeeper: benefits and constraints of EMI for different participants in Japanese ELF contexts

Abstract This paper explores the interconnectedness of gatekeeper and gateway roles the same English-medium instruction (EMI) policy plays for different student populations at different times. The research site is located in an EMI programme at a Japanese university, where, for international students, EMI opens a gateway to the university, Japanese ability not being required at the entry point, whereas the same policy plays a gatekeeping role for Japanese students, a high English proficiency level based on native English speaker (NES) norms being required. However, for international students with plans to work for Japanese companies after graduation, their low Japanese ability starts playing a gatekeeping role for their future career, contrary to the situation at the outset. In contrast, Japanese students, who initially struggle to get used to EMI, after a few years, become empowered by their ability to use English as a lingua franca (ELF), which becomes a gateway to new career opportunities. Thus, the same EMI policy could play opposing roles for different student populations at different times, a gateway turning gatekeeper for one group, while for another, the initial gatekeeper turning gateway after some time. The exploration is mostly based on our interview data with EMI graduates at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Implications for language policy will also be discussed.

Kincretism in crosslinguistic perspective

Traditional anthropology in the vein of Morgan (1871) distinguishes between descriptive and classificatory kinship terms. Mainstream US English father functions as a descriptive term, as it conventionally only indicates one relationship type: `'ego's begetter'. In contrast, Aboriginal English father functions as a classificatory term, as it conventionally indicates both 'ego's begetter' and `'ego's begetter's brother'. We propose that it is possible to study classificatory kinship in the same manner that we study morphological syncretism in nominal and verbal paradigms. We propose toy features for kinship and demonstrate that Murdock's (1949) classical hexapartite typology of kinship patterns is best thought of as a set of metasyncretisms (Harley 2008) generated by impoverishment. In theoretical terms, we contribute to the broader research program of Crossmodular Structural Parallelism (Nevins 2008), in that we argue that kintactic features may interact and be modified in ways homologous to phonological and morphological features. In empirical terms, we provide a genealogically diverse sample of underdescribed language-specific kincretisms outside of the broader Murdockian typology, with an emphasis on kincretisms that involve affinal terms.

Language transfer in L2 academic writings: a dependency grammar approach.

Dependency distance (DD) is an important factor in language processing and can affect the ease with which a sentence is understood. Previous studies have investigated the role of DD in L2 writing, but little is known about how the native language influences DD in L2 academic writing. This study is probably the first one that investigates, though a large dataset of over 400 million words, whether the native language of L2 writers influences the DD in their academic writings. Using a dataset of over 2.2 million abstracts of articles downloaded from Scopus in the fields of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences, the study analyzes the DD patterns, parsed by the latest version of the syntactic parser Stanford Corenlp 4.5.5, in the academic writing of L2 learners from different language backgrounds. It is found that native languages influence the DD of English L2 academic writings. When the mean dependency distance (MDD) of native languages is much longer than that of native English, the MDD of their English L2 academic writings will be much longer than that of English native academic writings. The findings of this study will deepen our insights into the influence of native language transfer on L2 academic writing, potentially shaping pedagogical strategies in L2 academic writing education.

Effectiveness of language-related Youtube videos on EFL learning motivation

YouTube is a widely popular platform that offers a vast array of video content. This study aimed to explore the elements of YouTube videos that contribute to sustaining learners’ motivation. A survey was conducted among 349 young adult Indonesian learners. Statistical data analysis revealed that three types of language-related YouTube videos—language lessons, language tips, and language immersions—significantly influenced learners’ motivation to study English. However, language immersion videos exhibited a modestly lower level of effectiveness compared to the other video types. Additionally, it was observed that non-native English-speaker (NNES) videos were more effective in maintaining motivation across all proficiency levels, except for advanced learners, who responded better to native English speaker (NES) videos. Furthermore, the study concluded that videos ranging from 5 to 15 minutes were more effective in sustaining learners’ motivation, as opposed to shorter or longer videos. These findings explain that teachers consider incorporating explicit instruction or tips in their content to enhance learners’ motivation. The findings also indicate that teachers and designers should utilize NNES videos for beginners and intermediate learners, while NES videos may be more effective for advanced learners. Lastly, when choosing instructional videos, the video length should be considered to ensure that learners remain motivated.

Investments, identities, and Chinese learning experience of an Irish adult: the role of context, capital, and agency

Abstract This case study aims to explore the foreign language (FL) investments of a highly motivated young Irish adult in learning Chinese across different contexts, encompassing classroom settings and daily life, both in Ireland and abroad. By analysing the interview data through the lens of Darvin and Norton’s model of investment, this study shows that the participant’s investments at different stages of her learning journey appear to be intricately intertwined with her identities and are mediated by the perceived likelihood of achieving her imagined identity. This study highlights the importance of present identity and linguistic capital in shaping and consolidating native English speakers’ FL-related identities.It provides insights into how FL learning investment and FL-related identitiesare influenced by learners’ first language (L1) in the era of globalisation. As powerrelations among individuals with different L1s are often unequal in the globallinguistic marketplace, learners’ L1 can be valuable capital that influences the return of foreign language learners’ investment.

Exploring variation in English as a lingua franca: Multivariate analysis of modal verbs of obligation and necessity in the VOICE corpus

Abstract The modal verbs of necessity and obligation, a testing ground of grammatical change, have been shown to exhibit change and variation in world Englishes. Previous studies have primarily concentrated on English as a native language (ENL) and English as a second language (ESL) varieties. The present study extends this line of research and explores variation in modal verbs of necessity and obligation in English use as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Descriptive statistics indicate that ELF resembles American English and also shares similarities with ESL varieties. In addition, ELF further exhibits divergence from both ENL and ESL varieties that arises in multilingual interactions. The multivariate analysis of this study employs mixed-effects logistic regression on the use of must and have to. Integrating social and linguistic factors, this analysis exploits metadata gathered from the VOICE corpus, which has thus far been underused. The results of the inferential statistics indicate that the same sociolinguistic factors that influence the variation in ENL and ESL varieties also shape ELF grammar. These findings not only bring ELF closer to other English varieties but also demonstrate the advantage of studying ELF from a variationist sociolinguistic perspective.

Resting state EEG assisted imagined vowel phonemes recognition by native and non-native speakers using brain connectivity measures.

Communication is challenging for disabled individuals, but with advancement of brain-computer interface (BCI) systems, alternative communication systems can be developed. Current BCI spellers, such as P300, SSVEP, and MI, have drawbacks like reliance on external stimuli or conversation irrelevant mental tasks. In contrast to these systems, Imagined speech based BCI systems rely on directly decoding the vowels/words user is thinking, making them more intuitive, user friendly and highly popular among Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) researchers. However, more research needs to be conducted on how subject-specific characteristics such as mental state, age, handedness, nativeness and resting state activity affects the brain's output during imagined speech. In an overt speech, it is evident that native and non-native speakers' brains function differently. Therefore, this paper explores how nativeness to language affects EEG signals while imagining vowel phonemes, using brain-map analysis and scalogram and also investigates the inclusion of features extracted from resting state EEG with imagined state EEG. The Fourteen-channel EEG for Imagined Speech (FEIS) dataset was used to analyse the EEG signals recorded while imagining vowel phonemes for 16 subjects (nine native English and seven non-native Chinese). For the classification of vowel phonemes, different connectivity measures such as covariance, coherence, and Phase Synchronous Index-PSI were extracted and analysed using statistics based Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) approach. Different fusion strategies (difference, concatenation, Common Spatial Pattern-CSP and Canonical Correlation Analysis-CCA) were carried out to incorporate resting state EEG connectivity measures with imagined state connectivity measures for enhancing the accuracy of imagined vowel phoneme recognition. Simulation results revealed that concatenating imagined state and rest state covariance and PSI features provided the maximum accuracy of 92.78% for native speakers and 94.07% for non-native speakers.

Language Dependency of /s/ Production: Native Dutch Versus Non-Native English.

With forensic recordings being collected in multiple languages increasingly often, this study investigates the language dependency of the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ in speakers of native (L1) Dutch and non-native (L2) English. Due to phonetic similarity between the languages, Dutch learners of English may exhibit language-independent /s/ acoustics, making it an interesting feature for multilingual forensic speaker comparisons (FSCs). However, the findings show that out of the four spectral moments, center of gravity, standard deviation (SD), skewness, and kurtosis, only SD remained stable across the languages; the other measurements were language-dependent. The results were largely independent of the /s/ tokens' contexts, although an interaction between language and context was found for skewness and kurtosis: With a labial right phonetic neighbor, language dependency was largely reduced. The findings have implications for FSCs: as /s/ is language-dependent in speakers of L1 Dutch and L2 English, it shows limited potential for cross-linguistic speaker comparisons in forensic casework.