Role Of Proficiency Research Articles

Complexity and accuracy of verbal morphology in written L2 Italian

Abstract The present study aims to verify previous findings on the role of proficiency in the degree of complexity and accuracy of verbal morphemes in written essays from intermediate and advanced L2 Italian learners. In addition, by taking the perspective of usage-based theories on the distributional properties in the input, it investigates the extent to which contingency affects morphological complexity and accuracy by the emergence of cue-outcome associations. Hypotheses on the effects of contingency and proficiency on complexity and accuracy, and on their mutual relationships, are verified by adopting a confirmatory approach and by using Structural equation modeling. Results support the claims for non-universal mechanisms in the acquisition of verbal morphology: proficiency does not affect the morphological complexity of learner texts in the same way in inflectionally rich and poor languages, and the cue-outcome mechanisms of associative learning work to different extents depending on the inflectional systems of the target languages.

Korean English learners’ strategy use and self-efficacy in writing: The role of proficiency

Korean English learners’ strategy use and self-efficacy in writing: The role of proficiency

Role Of Proficiency In Source Language Activation While Learning English Lexemes In A Cross-Linguistic Context

The study aimed to address the lexemic cross-linguistic influence (CLI) mechanism and the role of proficiency in activating the source language of influence. The multilingual, Gujari-speaking English lexical learner participated in the study through the discourse completion tasks and self-assessment tests. The study identified evidence of lexemic influence[1] from already learned languages at form and concept levels while English lexical items were used. The study found that Urdu as L2 offered a facilitative role compared to Gujari and Pahari in influencing learning English vocabulary as Ln. The results indicate that L2 Urdu serves as the primary source of lexemic influence on English (Ln), which is shaped by the higher level of proficiency in the Urdu Language. Hence, the pattern of influence was from higher to higher and Urdu as an L2 also functions as a filter for other language features when acquiring L3 lexemes.

Variability in heritage and second language writers’ linguistic complexity: Roles of proficiency and motivational beliefs – ERRATUM

Variability in heritage and second language writers’ linguistic complexity: Roles of proficiency and motivational beliefs – ERRATUM

Variability in heritage and second language writers’ linguistic complexity: Roles of proficiency and motivational beliefs

AbstractThis study investigates the extent to which (a) Spanish heritage (HL) and second language (L2) writers’ linguistic complexity differs across register contexts and (b) Spanish proficiency and writing motivational beliefs differentially affect HL and L2 writers’ performance. Participants were 58 HL and 54 L2 Spanish learners who completed two persuasive writing tasks—the Email to Friend and Letter to Dean tasks—designed to be topically similar while eliciting different registers. Proficiency measures included an elicited imitation task (EIT) and a cloze test. Mixed-effects models indicated that both HL and L2 writers evidenced greater lexico-syntactic complexity in the Letter to Dean task; nonetheless, HL writers demonstrated more robust cross-register distinctions in syntactic complexity. The EIT and cloze test positively predicted syntactic and lexical complexity, respectively, although differential patterns were also observed by group. Intrinsic/interest and cognitive/linguistic value beliefs about Spanish writing emerged as positive and negative predictors of linguistic complexity, respectively.

EXPRESS: Struggling with L2 alphabet: the role of proficiency in orthographic learning.

The present study examined the process of L2 orthographic learning in bilinguals with distant L1-L2 orthographies. Chinese-English bilinguals with various English proficiency levels were trained with novel L2 words during a reading task. In contrast to higher proficient learners, those with lower L2 proficiency exhibited increased effects of length, frequency and lexicality across exposures and at-chance recognition of trained words. Importantly, an additional post-training task assessing the lexical integration of trained words evidenced the engagement in different L1-L2 reading strategies across different levels of L2 proficiency, hence suggesting the L1 holistic processing at the base of the effortful establishment of L2 orthographic representations shown by lower-proficient learners. Overall, these findings indicate the role of L2 proficiency in the influence that cross-linguistic variation exerts on L2 orthographic learning and highlight the need for English education programs to tackle specific grapheme-to-phoneme skills in non-alphabetic target communities.

The LexTALE as a measure of L2 global proficiency

The role of proficiency is widely discussed in multilingual language acquisition research, and yet, there is little consensus as to how one should operationalize it in our empirical investigations. The present study assesses the validity of the LexTALE (Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012) as a ‘quick and valid’ measure of global proficiency. We first provide an overview review of how the LexTALE has been used since its publication, showing that although the test has gained popularity in the last few years, its reliability has not been thoroughly examined. Thus, herein we present results of a partial replication of Lemhöfer and Broersma (2012), where we empirically assess the validity of the LexTALE as a measure of L2 global proficiency in two groups of learners of English with various degrees of proficiency (L1 Spanish, n = 288; L1 Chinese, n = 266). Results indicate that if we are to use LexTALE in our investigations, we should do so with caution as the analyses show that irrespective of the L1 and level of proficiency of the targeted participants, its reliability as a measure of global proficiency is under question evidenced by the low and moderate correlations found with a standardised measure of global proficiency.

The Role of Proficiency in Kashmiri Language in Phonological Processing Skills: A Cognitive-linguistic Approach

Language reflects the general aspects of human cognition and it works in terms of generalities, i.e. in terms of categories (Cruse, 2000). So, any of the linguistic expressions, whether it’s a phone, word, syllable or a sentence ends up in the representation of a category referring to a something that is usually aimed at sufficing the need for communication. These categories are conceptual or can be referred to as the abstract mental constructs. However, language is not an autonomous cognitive faculty which implies that language is not exactly an innate cognitive module and is not separated from non-linguistic cognitive abilities (Craft & Cruse, 2004). This study reports on the role of proficiency of Kashmiri language in phonological processing of illiterate native Kashmiri speakers. A total number 40 participants (20 Literate; 20 Illiterate), divided into two groups; were tested for Lexical Decision, Random Automatized Naming, Initial Phoneme Deletion, and Final Phoneme Deletion. The results suggested that the performance of both the groups was affected by Literacy and Proficiency in their native language i.e. Kashmiri. The effect of literacy on phonological processing was in consistence with the available literature however, the performance by illiterates was not worked out. This study attempted to find out the reasons for the performance of illiterates, and it was found that the illiterates can perform almost similar to those of literates on phonological awareness tasks because the proficiency in their native language enhances their phonemic and phonological awareness skills. Hence, the proficiency in Kashmir language has a role in phonological processing of illiterates.

The role of proficiency in the interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit

Previous research indicates nonnative listeners may have an advantage at understanding nonnative speech of talkers with the same L1 due to shared interlanguage knowledge. The present study offers a comprehensive analysis of various factors that may modulate this advantage, including the proficiency of interlocutors, the mapping of phonemes between the L1 and L2, and the acoustic properties of the phonemes. Accuracy scores on a lexical decision task were used to identify whether native Mandarin learners of English are better than native English listeners at perceiving Mandarin-accented English speech, as well as whether they are better at perceiving Mandarin-accented English compared to native English speech. Results indicated an overall native English interlocutor advantage, an advantage for common-phoneme over unique-phoneme words in nonnative speech, and some evidence of gradience in ISIB effects based on the proficiency of talkers and listeners. No strong relationship between type of English input (native or accented) and the ability to understand Mandarin-accented English speech was found. The nonnative listener advantage at perceiving nonnative speech is relatively small and depends on various factors, including listener proficiency, speaker proficiency, phoneme characteristics, and the acoustics of specific speech tokens.

L2 French learning by Eritrean refugee speakers of Tigrinya

AbstractThis study reports data on 47 Tigrinya speaking Eritrean refugees learning French. L2 French proficiency is assessed through the placement test Ev@lang, a standardized grammar test, and fine corpus analyses. Analysis of individual factors shows that, whereas school education, number of years in Switzerland, and French classes attended play no role in proficiency, age penalizes learning and, critically, multilingualism facilitates it. Corpus analyses replicate difficulties commonly reported in the literature with root infinitives, determiner omission and gender errors. Productions also depart from previous reports as we observed a low rate of subject drop, a high rate of gender errors involving animate nouns, and the overuse of the feminine, in line with Tigrinya grammar. Finally, our data provide preliminary evidence of the validity of Ev@lang in assessing French proficiency in refugees, an issue which is becoming critical with the increased role of language skills in European asylum policies.

Examining the quality of mobile-assisted, video-making task outcomes: The role of proficiency, narrative ability, digital literacy, and motivation

Although increasing evidence has demonstrated the benefits of mobile technology in diverse aspects of language learning, research on the use of mobiles in task-based instruction has been scarce. Particularly, there has been little research directly investigating predictors of the quality of mobile-assisted, video-making tasks. To fill the gap and contribute to the area of emerging technology-mediated, task-based language teaching, the current study examined predicting factors of the quality of digital-video-making task outcomes. Forty-eight Korean high school students completed a digital-video-making task using a mobile application called KineMaster. Students created a self-introduction storytelling video focusing on their experiences of success or failure in their life. To examine predicting factors (English writing proficiency, first language narrative ability, digital literacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation), multiple data sources were gathered: timed argumentative English essays and Korean writing samples on the same narrative topic, a digital literacy questionnaire, and a motivation survey. For data analyses, the quality of the digital-video-making task outcome was scored using an analytic rubric assessing the use of multi-modes, language use, and task fulfillment. Students’ English and Korean narrative essays were rated for English writing proficiency and first language narrative ability, respectively. Digital literacy and motivation questionnaires were analysed quantitatively, and the composite scores were included in statistical models. Multiple regression models were created to investigate which factors predicted the quality of the digital-video-making task outcome. The results showed that English writing proficiency and first language narrative ability significantly predicted the quality of language use and task fulfillment. The findings shed light on mobile-assisted task performance in foreign language classrooms.

The role of proficiency and pair formation method in language-related episodes: A study of young CLIL learners’ interaction

Little is known about young CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) learners’ attention to formal aspects of the target language when engaged in collaborative task-based interaction. Previous research on language-related episodes (LREs) with other populations indicates that certain variables (e.g. target language proficiency or pair formation method) may play a role in the production of LREs. This study investigates the amount, types and resolution of LREs produced by primary education CLIL learners in a collaborative picture-ordering + story-telling task depending on two variables – L2 English proficiency (grade 5 dyads vs. grade 6 dyads) and pairing method (proficiency-matched dyads vs. student self-selected dyads). Findings indicate that young CLIL learners’ interactive behaviour in L2 English, at least in terms of LRE production, does not differ as a consequence of target language proficiency, whereas pair formation method exerts some influence, self-selected pairs producing and resolving more meaning-based LREs. No differences were found for form-focused LREs.

Electrophysiological insights into the role of proficiency in bilingual novel and conventional metaphor processing

Abstract While novel and conventional metaphor comprehension has received much attention in the monolingual context, thus far little electrophysiological research has been conducted with a view to examining how bilingual speakers process metaphors in their non-native language (L2) as well as how L2 proficiency level might modulate such processes. The present study aims to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of novel and conventional metaphor comprehension in intermediate and advanced Chinese-English bilingual speakers. The participants performed a semantic decision task to English (L2) novel metaphoric, conventional metaphoric, literal, and anomalous word pairs. The results showed a graded N400 effect from literal utterances, to conventional metaphors, novel metaphors, and finally to anomalous utterances in both groups of participants, indicating that both types of metaphors were more cognitively taxing than literal utterances, irrespectively of L2 proficiency level. Additionally, between-group differences that were irrespective of utterance type were found in the N400 time frame, indicating more extended lexico-semantic access in the intermediate relative to the advanced group. Finally, in both groups of participants, an anterior sustained negativity was found in response to anomalous, novel metaphoric, and conventional metaphoric word pairs, thus suggesting a continuing difficulty of meaning integration.

Contributions of Motivation to Read in L2, Proficiency and L1 Reading Strategy Awareness to L2 Reading

L2 learners, when reading in L2 have access to their L1 literacy as a repertoire of reading strategy in L1. The main purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent awareness of reading strategies in L1 (strategy) and general proficiency in L2 (proficiency) contribute to reading comprehension ability in L2 (reading) and how it would differ among Iranian EFL learners with different degrees of motivation to read in L2 (motivation). To this purpose, a reading strategy inventory assessing strategic reading behavior in L1, a test of general English proficiency, a reading comprehension test in L2, and a motivation to read questionnaire in L2 were distributed among 289 university students selected conveniently at a Teacher Education University. To gain a deeper insight into the issue, a structured interview was also devised with thirty purposively selected participants subsequent to quantitative analysis of the data. Pearson correlation and Regression analysis as well as a two-way ANOVA were used to analyze the collected data. The results showed that proficiency accounted much more strongly for the participants' reading score variance than strategy and motivation. Additionally, it was found that strategy and motivation contributed nearly similarly to reading, showing that motivation is fairly as important as strategy in predicting reading. It was also found that the role of proficiency in the participants with low and high levels of motivation was significant. When motivation is high or low, proficiency has strong effects on reading. When strategy is low, motivation has strong effect on reading and when proficiency is medium, strategy has a strong effect on reading. This study has implications for EFL classroom practitioners and L2 pedagogy to adjust instruction to individual learner profiles.

Social inclusion of immigrant children at school: the impact of group, family and individual characteristics, and the role of proficiency in the national language

ABSTRACT The present study, based on data concerning 2328 immigrant children attending a representative sample of 561 schools, investigates the impact of various group, family and individual characteristics as well as proficiency in the national language on acceptance and friendship among classmates, while controlling for measurement errors by means of a structural equation modelling approach. As regards group characteristics, the results indicate that only immigrant density in the classroom has a positive impact on social inclusion, which seems to be limited to peer acceptance. As regards family and individual characteristics, low-SES and female immigrants appear to be doubly vulnerable in class, which specifically affects their friendships. One of our main findings is that proficiency in the national language predicts the social inclusion of immigrant children, while controlling for all the other variables considered. A moderation analysis reveals that this factor also applies to second-generation immigrants. In conclusion, we suggest that interventions aiming to facilitate the social inclusion of immigrant children should take into account the fact that proficiency in the national language appears to be much more important than group, family and individual characteristics, and that low-SES and female immigrants require particular attention, since they are doubly vulnerable.

Rethinking bilingual enhancement effects in associative learning of foreign language vocabulary: The role of proficiency in the mediating language

The present study investigated claims that learning vocabulary in an unfamiliar language is more efficient in bilinguals than in monolinguals and the possible effects of language proficiency and dominance. In Experiment 1, monolingual (n = 48) and bilingual participants (n = 96) learned Japanese words paired with English translations and completed cued-recall and associative-recognition tests. Accuracy did not differ across monolingual and bilingual or language dominance groups. Nevertheless, in bilinguals, higher English proficiency was associated with higher accuracy. In Experiment 2, Japanese-English bilinguals (n = 40) learned Spanish-Japanese word pairs, and higher Japanese proficiency was associated with higher accuracy. Associative strategies were reported at a higher rate in bilingual than in monolingual participants but were not associated with more accurate performance. Careful comparisons of the present and previous results support the conclusion that higher proficiency in the language through which bilinguals learn foreign vocabulary enhances associative memory, but bilingualism itself does not.

Why is “John Ran to the House” the Same as “John Went to the House Running” in Arabic?

The study explores how Arabic has the same conflation pattern characteristics as English even though it belongs to Verb-framed Languages. A focused-group approach is used to evaluate the effect of the first language (L1) and the potential role of proficiency in the acquisition of the English directional preposition ‘to’ with manner-of-motion to goal construction. One group consists of Saudi speakers at two levels of development; an intermediate and advanced proficiency levels; whereas, the second group (control group) comprises of English native speakers. Acceptability Judgment Task associated with video animation clips is designed to elicit participants’ judgments in the depicted event. Results indicated that the intermediate Saudi speakers accept the directional preposition ‘to’ with and without boundary-crossing event, as is the case of their L1, which was opposite for the advanced and native English speakers for the without boundary-crossing event. The advanced Saudi speakers accept the constructions of encoding the manner with the motion and expressing the manner as the complement depicting an appropriate description of the event, reflecting L1 influence. All the group’s judgment varies based on the acceptance to conflate the manner with the motion overexpressing manner as a complement in an event without boundary-crossing.

Lexical access and competition in bilingual children: The role of proficiency and the lexical similarity of the two languages

Using a picture–auditory word recognition task, we examined how early child bilinguals access their languages and how the languages affect one another. Accuracy and response times in “false friends” (i.e., words with similar form but unrelated meanings) and semantically related words were compared with control conditions within and across languages and grades. Study 1 tested the performance of school-age children with balanced versus unbalanced knowledge of first-language (L1) Italian and second-language (L2) German. Study 2 compared unbalanced bilingual children with L1 Italian and L2 French or German to investigate the effect of lexical similarity in the children’s languages. Children were found to activate both languages on receiving an auditory stimulus; performance in each language was affected by proficiency in the other language, degree of between-language similarity, and length of experience with each language. The BLINCS (Bilingual Language Interactive Network for Comprehension of Speech) model was invoked as a plausible framework for conceptualizing the nature of bilingual phonolexical representation and its effect on word recognition.

The influence of proficiency and language combination on bilingual lexical access.

The present study examines the influence of language proficiency and language combination on bilingual lexical access using category fluency in 109 healthy speakers. Participants completed a category fluency task in each of their languages in three main categories (animals, clothing, and food), each with two subcategories, as well as a language use questionnaire assessing their proficiency. Five language combinations were examined (Hindi-English, Kannada-English, Mandarin-English, Spanish-English, and Turkish-English). Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that the average number of correct items named in the category fluency task across the three main categories varied across the different groups only in English and not the other language. Further, results showed that language exposure composite (extracted from the questionnaire using a principal component analysis) significantly affected the average number of items named across the three main categories. Overall, these results demonstrate the effects of particular language combinations on bilingual lexical access and provide important insights into the role of proficiency on access.

Speech Intelligibility of Korean EFL Learners : Role of Proficiency, Text Type and Text Length

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether and to what extent the intelligibility of Korean EFL learners’ speech at the text level is affected by their English proficiency, text type, and text length. Various speech materials produced by native English speakers and two Korean EFL speaker groups (high vs. low proficiency) were presented to native English listeners and two Korean EFL listener groups, respectively, for comparison of intelligibility scores. The results showed that the listeners’ overall proficiency played the most critical role in determining the level of speech intelligibility for all speaker groups, regardless of the type and length of speech materials. The speakers’ proficiency level in terms of pronunciation, however, had no significant effect. As for the text type, dialogue texts were consistently more intelligible than monologues to all listener groups while the effect of text length varied depending on the text type. These results suggest that L2 learners’ speech intelligibility needs to be examined within the context of natural L2 text beyond word- and sentence-level utterances in consideration of the interaction of text-related features and other learner variables. Some pedagogical implications are also discussed.