Proficiency Groups Research Articles

L2 Learners’ Knowledge of Formulaic Sequences in English: Is the Familiar Always Accurate?

This paper examines L2 learners’ familiarity and correct use of formulaic sequences in English. In particular, the extent to which L2 proficiency level and collocational frequency affected L2 learners’ knowledge and use was investigated. Thirty L2 learners of English were tested on their correct use of 32 formulaic sequences in English, made of up ‘Verb + out’ and asked to rate their familiarity with these formulaic sequences. The results showed that the familiarity ratings given by the low L2 proficiency participants showed a significant positive correlation with their accuracy scores, but no such correlation was found for the high proficiency group. Familiarity ratings correlated positively with both word frequency and formulaic sequence frequency, but neither word frequency nor formulaic sequence frequency showed a significant correlation with accuracy of use, although formulaic sequence frequency showed a trend toward a positive correlation. Effects of frequency and decomposability on various types of formulaic sequences are discussed, along with the disparity in L2 learners’ exposure to formulaic sequences and their ability to use them accurately.

Enhancing a Corpus-based Approach to Teach English Phrasal Verbs to Korean Learners

The purpose of this study was to investigate the way to reinforce a corpus-based approach to teach English phrasal verbs. For this purpose, this study explores the difference between a corpus-based approach and a dictionary-based approach. In addition, the difference between high and low proficiency learners who studied English phrasal verbs (PVs) using a corpus-based approach was analyzed. The phrasal verb lesson was administered to 121 participants at a university who take one of the compulsory English subjects for 15 sessions. The corpus-based lessons were administered to two experimental groups and the dictionary-based lesson to a controlled group. A pre-test and a post-test were administered respectively. From the independent sample t-test, the p-value was less than the significance level (< .05), which rejects the null hypotheses? 1 and 2. As there were significant differences in the performance of the learners who were taught English PVs through using concordance in both the experimental groups and the high proficiency group, teaching English PVs was verified as effective. A corpus-based approach can be an effective way not only to learn English PVs but also to practice their usage with authentic data. It is also a suitable method to teach language awareness of grammatical features and the functional meaning of English PVs in a certain context. However, the result of the study also revealed challenges of the corpus-based approach in teaching English PVs, particularly difficulties in deductive discovery learning. Therefore, there should be a concerted effort to develop attractive techniques to motivate learners to use concordance in order to deduce lexical meanings as well as contextual and collocated features of English PVs. (Dankook University)

Positive, negative, and nil effects of connectives in written stories: Analysis by proficiency groups

Positive, negative, and nil effects of connectives in written stories: Analysis by proficiency groups

Learners of Different Language Proficiency Levels and Incidental Focus on Form in Synchronous Text-based Discussion

This study examined the effectiveness of incidental focus on form in facilitating second language learning for learners of different proficiency levels in a synchronous computer-mediated communication environment. Sixteen native speaker (NS)-nonnative speaker (NNS) dyads and fourteen NNS-NNS dyads were formed. The participants completed two communicative tasks. Language-related episodes (LRE), mini-dialogues in which learners either explicitly or implicitly ask or talk about language or question their own or/and interlocutors' language use, were identified and used as a basis for individualized tailor-made tests to assess the learners' subsequent learning outcome. The results reveled that in the NS-NNS dyads, no significant difference in the frequency of LREs produced was found between the lower- and higher-proficiency learners whereas in the NNS-NNS dyads, the lower-proficiency learners produced significantly more LREs than their higher-proficiency interlocutors. Additionally, the learners of both proficiency groups interacting with NSs produced significantly more LREs than learners interacting with NNSs. However, no significant differences were found in the test performance of learners of different proficiency levels in either dyadic type.

Country, School and Students Factors Associated with Extreme Levels of Science Literacy Across 25 Countries

A huge gap in science literacy is between students who do not show the competencies that are necessary to participate effectively in life situations related to science and technology and students who have the skills which would give them the potential to create new technology. The objective of this paper is to identify, for 25 countries, distinct subgroups of students with characteristics that appear to be associated with this proficiency gap. Data were based on the answers of 46,131 PISA 2006 students with scores classified below level 2 or above level 4, as well as the answers of their principals to school questionnaire and the OECD indicators of the financial and human resources invested in education at the national level for secondary school. The dependent variable of the analysis was a dichotomous variable the values of which represent the two different groups of students. The independent variables were the OECD indicators, and the items and indices derived from the student and school questionnaires. The analysis was based on classification trees and the findings were replicated and extended by the means of a multilevel logistic regression model. The results show that very specific levels of teachers’ salaries, parental pressure on schools, school size, awareness of environmental issues, science self-efficacy and socio-economic status have a very important role in predicting whether 15 year olds in OECD countries will belong to the lower or the highest proficiency groups as regards their aptitude in the context of life situations involving problems of a scientific nature.

Syntactic and lexical development in an intensive English for Academic Purposes programme

This study investigates how the lexical and syntactic characteristics of L2 learners’ academic writing change over the course of a one-month long intensive English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme at a British university. The participants were asked to produce two argumentative essays, at the beginning and at the end of the EAP course, which were analyzed using measures that are theoretically motivated by previous research in corpus linguistics, systemic functional linguistics, and developmental child language acquisition. The results indicate improvements, with regard to lexical diversity, both for intermediate-level students who were preparing for undergraduate university studies in the UK and upper-intermediate level participants who were planning to continue their studies at postgraduate level. The academic argumentative texts of the students in the lower proficiency group also demonstrate development in noun-phrase complexity and in the use of genre-specific syntactic constructions. The findings suggest that despite no explicit focus on lexis and syntax in the EAP programme, by the end of the course the students’ writing exhibited a developmentally more advanced repertoire of lexical and syntactic choices that are characteristic of expository texts in academic contexts.

Wh-Constraints In Interlanguage Grammar Of Persian EFL Learners and its Implication for Teaching English as a Foreign Language

In second language (L2) studies, one direction of research is to investigate whether adult L2 learners still have access to Universal Grammar (UG) . In the related vein, this study is an indirect assessment of availability of Wh-constraints in interlanguage grammar of Persian EFL learners through an on-line sentence-matching task. To do so, 60 university students, both male and female, majoring in EFL at Khorasgan university in Iran were chosen through an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and divided into three proficiency groups(i.e. 20 Low Intermediate, 20 High Intermediate, and 20 Advanced groups). Moreover, 10 native English speakers were chosen as the control group in this study. Both English native speakers and Persian EFL learners performed an on-line sentence-matching task. The on-line test contained 40 pairs of English sentences, 20 matching grammatical pairs which observed the UG Wh- constraint and 20 matching ungrammatical pairs which violated this Principle. In sentence-matching task students responded to two sentences on a computer screen indicating whether the two sentences were identical or not. The reaction time of EFL learners to both grammatical and ungrammatical pairs was measured and compared to that of English native speakers. The results revealed that native speakers of English can do the task faster than non-natives. Thus, Wh- constraint is not accessible to second language learners to the same extent that it is to first language learners. This study furthers our understanding of the Persian EFL learners’ performance in the area of L2 language acquisition. Moreover, the more proficient groups were faster than the less ones in sentence-matching task. As the proficiency increased, the results got much closer to the results of native speakers. Therefore, proficiency can be considered as a strong factor for UG activation.

Is Background Music a Distraction or Facilitator?: An Investigation on the Influence of Background Music in L2 Writing

A number of studies have reported the benefits of music in language learning, but some have also found evidence that the music may deteriorate the writing fluency and quality. Given that, this study aims to expand our knowledge on the musical effects in L2 writing and their dependency on the writer``s L2 proficiency. This study recruited 28 students, who wrote an argumentative essay in music and no music conditions respectively. Results of the experiment were examined in terms of Skehan``s three dimensions of fluency (e.g., speed, breakdown dysfluency, and repair dysfluency) and writing quality. Data analysis showed significant differences in pause frequency between the music and no music conditions. Further, High Proficiency Group (HPG) and Low Proficiency Group (LPG) were compared, and the results of total writing time showed a significant group by condition interaction, indicating marginally different effects of music depending on the writers`` proficiency level. The findings of this study suggested a moderate facilitative effect of background music in L2 writing and its dependency on the writers`` L2 proficiency level. It is hoped that the findings of this study invite further exploration on the effects of music to bring pedagogical implications in L2 writing pedagogy.

A Corpus-Based Study on Chinese English Majors’ Use of Discourse Markers

Discourse markers (DMs for short hereafter) are used widely by native speakers and L2 learners. Previous studies are mostly about the acquisition and application of DMs, but studies on the potential factors that might affect the use of DMs are rare. Under the Relevance Theory, the present corpus-based study aims to reveal the influence of gender and oral proficiency on the use of DMs by Chinese English majors. It found that: (1) generally speaking, the variety of DMs employed by Chinese learners of English is rather limited; (2) male Chinese learners of English use more DMs than female learners; (3) high proficiency Chinese learners of English employ more DMs than the low proficiency group; moreover, the variety of DMs used by the former group is much larger than that of the latter. These findings reveal that the learner factors of gender and oral proficiency do influence the use of DMs in L2 learners’ conversations and they should be taken into consideration when we are learning or researching.

The Validity and Reliability of Rhythm Measurements in Automatically Scoring the English Rhythm Proficiency of Chinese EFL Learners

This article aims to find out the validity of rhythm measurements to capture the rhythmic features of Chinese English. Besides, the reliability of the valid rhythm measurements applied in automatically scoring the English rhythm proficiency of Chinese EFL learners is also explored. Thus, two experiments were carried out. First, thirty students of English major and five native English speakers were selected to read ten English sentences. The participants were divided into four proficiency groups according to human scoring. Then seven previously proposed rhythm measurements were investigated in four proficiency groups. One-way ANOVA results showed that five rhythm measurements were valid to distinguish different English rhythm patterns among four proficiency groups. Based on the valid measurements, an experiment of automatic scoring for English rhythm proficiency was also conducted through statistical technique Multiple Regression. The correlation coefficient between the autoscores and the scores made by experienced teachers reached 0.866. The result showed a high reliability of the objective evaluation for English rhythm proficiency of Chinese EFL learners.

Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect.

Numerous studies have shown that the native language influences foreign word recognition and that this influence is modulated by the proficiency in the non-native language. Here we explored how the degree of reliance on cross-language similarity (as measured by the cognate facilitation effect) together with other domain-general cognitive factors contribute to reading comprehension achievement in a non-native language at different stages of the learning process. We tested two groups of native speakers of Spanish learning English at elementary and intermediate levels in an academic context. A regression model approach showed that domain-general cognitive skills are good predictors of second language reading achievement independently of the level of proficiency. Critically, we found that individual differences in the degree of reliance on the native language predicted foreign language reading achievement, showing a markedly different pattern between proficiency groups. At lower levels of proficiency the cognate facilitation effect was positively related with reading achievement, while this relation became negative at intermediate levels of foreign language learning. We conclude that the link between native- and foreign-language lexical representations helps participants at initial stages of the learning process, whereas it is no longer the case at intermediate levels of proficiency, when reliance on cross-language similarity is inversely related to successful non-native reading achievement. Thus, at intermediate levels of proficiency strong and direct mappings from the non-native lexical forms to semantic concepts are needed to achieve good non-native reading comprehension, in line with the premises of current models of bilingual lexico-semantic organization.

The Role of Health Literacy in Predicting Multiple Healthcare Outcomes Among Hispanics in a Nationally Representative Sample: A Comparative Analysis by English Proficiency Levels.

Health literacy (HL) research among Hispanics currently focuses on individuals with limited English proficiency but impacts of HL on healthcare outcomes among other English language proficiency groups is relatively unknown. Regression models assessed associations between HL and healthcare outcomes for Hispanics overall (n=4013) and for proficiency level sub-populations using the 2007 Pew Hispanic Health Survey. Overall, Hispanics with adequate HL percieved US medical care as "excellent," were more satisfied with their doctor's help, and reported "excellent" overall health. In the sub-population analysis, "excellent" perception of US healthcare was associated with HL among the Spanish and English dominant groups. Among bilinguals, adequate HL was associated with decreased use of traditional medicine. The effect of adequate HL varied within English proficiency groups. HL research that focuses only on Spanish dominant speakers can exclude a substantial percentage of English proficient or bilingual populations who have low HL.

Test Takers' Writing Activities During theTOEFL iBT®Writing Tasks: A Stimulated Recall Study

This study aimed to describe the writing activities that test takers engage in when responding to the writing tasks in theTOEFL iBT®test and to examine the effects of task type and test‐taker English language proficiency (ELP) and keyboarding skills on the frequency and distribution of these activities. Each of 22 test takers with different levels of ELP (low vs. high) and keyboarding skills (low vs. high) responded to 2TOEFL iBTwriting tasks (independent and integrated) on the computer. Each participant then provided stimulated recalls about the writing activities they used when performing each writing task. Stimulated recalls were coded and the results were compared across tasks and test‐taker groups. The findings indicated that the participants engaged in various construct‐relevant activities, such as interacting with the writing task and resources, planning, generating, evaluating, and revising. Additionally, test takers' writing activities varied significantly across tasks and to a lesser extent across test‐taker groups. Participants' writing activities varied most across writing tasks and, to a lesser extent, across English proficiency groups. Low keyboarding skills seem to have affected mainly activities on the independent writing task. To better understand the role of keyboarding skills in performance on theTOEFL iBTwriting tasks and to address the test's extrapolation inference, future studies need to compare the writing performance of test takers with different levels of second language (L2) proficiency and keyboarding skills in test and nontest settings.

Trends in sexual orientation missing data over a decade of the California Health Interview Survey.

We explored changes in sexual orientation question item completion in a large statewide health survey. We used 2003 to 2011 California Health Interview Survey data to investigate sexual orientation item nonresponse and sexual minority self-identification trends in a cross-sectional sample representing the noninstitutionalized California household population aged 18 to 70 years (n = 182 812 adults). Asians, Hispanics, limited-English-proficient respondents, and those interviewed in non-English languages showed the greatest declines in sexual orientation item nonresponse. Asian women, regardless of English-proficiency status, had the highest odds of item nonresponse. Spanish interviews produced more nonresponse than English interviews and Asian-language interviews produced less nonresponse when we controlled for demographic factors and survey cycle. Sexual minority self-identification increased in concert with the item nonresponse decline. Sexual orientation nonresponse declines and the increase in sexual minority identification suggest greater acceptability of sexual orientation assessment in surveys. Item nonresponse rate convergence among races/ethnicities, language proficiency groups, and interview languages shows that sexual orientation can be measured in surveys of diverse populations.

False recall of brands in advergames: a cross-country comparison

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to attempt to answer whether there is a difference between retrieving memory by using recall or false recall of brands in an interactive and imagery-rich environment such as advergaming, and there are differences in memory in the same context if the languages of proficiency are based on the same script (e.g. alphabetic/alphabetic such as Spanish/English) versus cross-script (e.g. logographic/alphabetic, such as Chinese/English). Design/methodology/approach – A series of international experiments addressed memory of brand placements in advergames – via correct and false recall – across groups of bilinguals from China, Mexico and South Korea. Findings – The most salient finding of this study revealed advergame interactivity increased false memory more pronouncedly in the proficient groups (“experts”), supporting the notion of increased false recall as a result of feelings of accountability that experts naturally experience. Research limitations/implications – The procedures of the international experiments were susceptible to some limitations concerning sampling design and experimental stimuli. Despite its limitations, this study helps to uncover the effect of these elements in short-term brand memory, to guide marketers for an effective use of brand and product placements in advergames. Originality/value – Analysis of both correct and false recall of bilinguals in imagery-rich environments is of utmost importance. In these environments, memory may originate from experience or from imagination. The study addressed brand memory among diverse Internet audiences by taking into account both correct memory scores as well as false memory scores within the advergaming context.

Chinese University EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Writing Anxiety: Pattern, Effect and Causes

This paper reports on the result of a study on Chinese university EFL learners’ foreign language writing anxiety in terms of general pattern, effect and causes. 1174 first-year students answered the 26-item Foreign Language Writing Anxiety Scale (FLWAS) (Young, 1999) and took an English writing test, 18 of whom were invited for semi-structured interviews. The results showed that 1) FLWAS had three principal components—low confidence in English writing (FLWAS1), dislike of English writing (FLWAS2) and English writing apprehension evaluation (FLWAS3), 2) the whole sample, as well as male and female students, were generally confident in and liked English writing, and were not apprehensive of having their English writing evaluated, 3) significant differences existed between male and females students, and among different proficiency groups in all the FLWAS scales, 4) foreign language writing anxiety significantly negatively affected students’ performance in the English writing test, and 5) a number of factors contributed to the students’ foreign language writing anxiety.

Tap into Students’ Metacognitive Strategies Report via the Internet-Mediated Contextualized English for Domestic Tourism Lessons (InConMedt)

The objectives of this paper were to compare total and individual metacognitive strategies by four groups of university students from different majors in five different tourism situational lessons. The total of 34 students participated in this study, and they were categorized into four groups based on their major of study and English proficiency level. The research instruments were a web-based speaking test in English for Tourism (WBST-EFT), a strategy coding scheme and the Internet-mediated contextualized English for Domestic Tourism lessons (InConMedt). Mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed in the present study. The quantitative analysis included Kruskal Wallis, Mann-Whitney U test as well as Chi-square, mean rank, frequency and percentages. Qualitative content analysis from the verbal reports in the stimulated recall session on metacognitive strategies was employed in this study. The findings showed that four groups significantly and differently employed total metacognitive strategies in five lessons,  2 (3, N = 34) = 10.00, p = .01. The significant difference was evident in the use of individual metacognitive strategies including goal setting and planning of the groups and in a particular lesson. The insights from the verbal report content analysis revealed significant information on how the high proficiency group effectively employed their metacognitive strategy in their speaking performances; whereas the information from the low proficiency group also shed more light in the instructional approach on how to train these students to improve their speaking ability using effective strategies.

Japanese Food Product Purchase Intention: Comparing Students with and without Japanese Language Learning Experience

The purpose of this study was to compare the Japanese food product purchase intention between students who studied and who did not study Japanese language at the university. In total 199 usable responses were analysed using an independent sample T-test analysis and a one-way analysis of variance. The result showed a significant difference in the Japanese food products purchase intention between the groups which did not study Japanese language and with those enrolled in Japanese language classes at the university. However, there was no significant difference in Japanese food products purchase intention between different levels of Japanese language proficiency groups.

The Effects of Video Projects on EFL Learners' Language Learning and Motivation

This study examined the language learning and motivational and effects of a video project, including students' perceptions of the processes, and the impact of peer evaluations. Forty-three intermediate EFL learners in Taiwan communicated their thoughts in multimodal formats by producing a video that involved searching online materials and integrating music and pictures to illustrate their ideas. Results from a one-way ANOVA showed that the language learning effects were more obvious in the low proficiency group than in the high proficiency one. Results from t-test analyses of pre- and post- motivation questionnaires showed that students increased their learning motivation, and interview data showed that students felt that making videos boosted their confidence and improved their technological capability. An examination of peer assessments of videos showed that they promoted peer learning and encouraged self-reflection. This study's findings support the adoption of video projects with lower proficiency students in order to stimulate language production.

Exploring the relationship between lexical access and proficiency level in L2 speech production

This study explores the relationship between lexical access and proficiency level in L2 speech production. Forty-one participants (intermediate and advanced learners of English as a foreign language) performed a lexical access task in L2 which yielded two measures: reaction time (RT) and naming accuracy (NA). The statistical analysis point to a facilitatory effect of semantic related word distractors on L2 picture-naming for the experimental and control conditions in both proficiency groups. In addition, only the mean difference in NA scores for the control and experimental conditions between proficiency groups reached statistical significance. That is, advanced learners overpassed the intermediate ones in number of words correctly named. Results also indicate a partial relationship between RT and NA scores. Findings are explained in light of research on L2 speech production, lexical access and working memory, taking into account the development of L2 proficiency and L2 lexical representations.