SLA Research Research Articles

To talk or to remain silent? Foreign language enjoyment and perceived classroom climate as drivers of change in Chinese EFL learners’ willingness to communicate: a latent growth curve analysis

ABSTRACT Classroom communication helps learners ameliorate their language proficiency, particularly speaking skills. Considering this, factors that bring favorable variations in language learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) need to be identified. To address this need, many SLA researchers have strived to disclose the predictors or antecedents of L2 learners’ WTC. However, no researcher has examined the internal and external sources of this variable and the growth of L2 learners’ WTC via complexity-informed approaches. To bridge the gaps, using latent growth curve analysis (LGCA), the present study investigated the rate of change in Chinese EFL learners’ WTC at the beginning, middle, and the end of the semester and measured the role of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and perceived classroom climate in predicting Chinese EFL learners’ WTC. To accomplish this, three self-report scales were administered to 894 EFL learners at three different times. Results indicated that Chinese EFL learners’ WTC significantly increased during the semester and uncovered that FLE and perceived classroom climate brought positive and significant variations in Chinese EFL learners’ WTC. The findings would be of great help to language teachers, notably English teachers, in raising L2 learners’ WTC.

L2 repair fluency through the lenses of L1 repair fluency, cognitive fluency, and language anxiety

Abstract Repairs (including false starts, repetitions, and different types of self-corrections) have been examined in second language (L2) speech fluency research as one dimension of (dis)fluent speech. However, in contrast to other dimensions of L2 speech fluency (speed and breakdown), repair fluency is not equally well understood: the results are mixed, and more research investigating the factors behind L2 repair fluency is needed. While some previous studies suggest links between first language (L1) and L2 repair fluency, to what extent L2 repairs are connected with cognitive and affective factors is less understood. To achieve a comprehensive view of the factors behind L2 repair fluency, we combine perspectives of L1 repair fluency, attention control, and language anxiety (LA) that have individually been shown to potentially affect L2 repairs but have rarely been examined together. We analyzed data from L1 Finnish and L2 English monologue speech tasks, a Stroop task in L1 and L2, and surveys for general and task-specific LA from 59 advanced users of English to investigate how L1 repair fluency, cognitive fluency, and LA are related to L2 repair fluency. Correlational analyses revealed that task-specific LA and certain Stroop measures were connected with L2 repair measures, while correlations between L1 and L2 repair fluency measures were weak. An analysis of repair profiles of participants displaying the highest levels of L2 repair fluency revealed that, overall, repairs are more common in the L2 than in the L1, but patterns regarding preferences for repair types vary across individuals. The study has methodological implications for psycholinguistic and SLA research into L2 repair fluency and broader implications for L2 classrooms and assessment.

The role of exposure condition, awareness and item type in developing implicit and explicit knowledge of collocational rules.

This study expands on previous SLA research by focusing on learning collocational rules. The study also explores the interaction between exposure conditions, awareness, and item-related variables in the context of collocation learning. Chinese learners of English were exposed to sentences from large corpora, featuring four target node verbs (replaced with pseudowords) and their respective noun collocates. There are two pairs of novel verbs with different L1-L2 congruencies in the experimental material. Participants were divided into incidental and intentional groups. The learning effectiveness was assessed through a plausibility judgment test (PJT), which included trained, new, and swapped items. Awareness of the underlying rules was measured using source attributions, retrospective verbal reports, and posttest thinking aloud. The results revealed that participants acquired both explicit and implicit knowledge of collocational rules. Rule-searching led to greater explicit knowledge but did not improve overall learning outcomes. Additionally, an interaction was observed among awareness, rule type, and test type. As the difficulty level increased in terms of L1-L2 congruency or item type, the importance of awareness in meeting the learning demands also increased.

Translingual Oral Corrective Feedback in an Arabic as a Heritage Language Classroom in the USA

Over the years, a sweeping interest in translanguaging practices and corrective feedback (CF) in parallel has received momentum in instructed SLA research. Whereas previous CF studies focused on CF interactions and factors affecting L2 learning, this study examined how translanguaging intertwined with CF in Arabic as a Heritage Language learning in a sixth-grade class at a K-12 school in the USA. The research data resulted from twenty hours of class observations, interviews with the class teacher, and ten randomly selected participating students. The data were coded based on Ranta and Lyster’s (2007) CF types and uptake moves taxonomy. The results showed that the teacher's translanguaging practices helped learners engage in pedagogical tasks and CF interactions, leading to effective Arabic language learning. The teacher provided five CF types—explicit correction, recast, metalinguistic feedback, elicitation, and multiple feedback. Metalinguistic feedback, recast, and multiple feedback accounted for 72% of CF, where recasts received the highest uptake and repair rates (95% and 87%, respectively), and the other types of CF also led to high uptake and repair moves. This study suggests that CF can be effective when teachers employ translanguaging during CF interactions, positively address learner errors, and motivate learners’ in-class participation.

On the Value of Explicit Instruction: The View from Sociocultural Theory

This article provides a theoretical and empirical argument in support of explicit language instruction. It proposes on theoretical grounds that certain features of a language are sufficiently complex and subtle that learners are unlikely to be able to decipher their full conceptual meaning on the basis of exposure alone. It further proposes that the kind of explicit instruction that has been assumed in much of SLA research—based on structural rules of thumb—is inappropriate and that an alternative approach, grounded in principles of sociocultural theory is an effective means of promoting development, which in the theory calls for both explicit conceptual knowledge and extensive and intensive communicative practice. The approach, or model, is referred to as Concept-based Language Instruction (C-BLI). Empirical support for explicit instruction using C-BLI is derived from pedagogical studies using the model. In addition, evidence from L2 neuroscience ERP research is considered as well as evidence from cultural evolution. The principles of C-BLI are compared to those supporting Dynamic Usage-Based instruction which emerges from L2 research informed by Complex Dynamic Systems Theory.

Can L2 Pronunciation Be Evaluated without Reference to a Native Model? Pillai Scores for the Intrinsic Evaluation of L2 Vowels

In this article, we explore the possibility of evaluating L2 pronunciation, and, more specifically, L2 vowels, without referring to a native model, i.e., intrinsically. Instead of comparing L2 vowel productions to native speakers’ productions, we use Pillai scores to measure the overlap between target vowel categories in L2 English (/iː/ — /ɪ/, /ɑː/ — /æ/, /ɜː/ — /ʌ/, /uː/ — /ʊ/) for L1 French, L1 Spanish, and L1 Italian learners (n = 40); and in L2 French (/y/ — /u/, /ø/ — /o/, /ø/ — /e/, /ɛ˜/ — /e /, /ɑ˜/ — /a/, /ɔ˜/ — /o/) for L1 English, L1 Spanish, and L1 Italian learners (n = 48). We assume that a greater amount of overlap within a contrast indicates assimilated categories in a learner’s production, whereas a smaller amount of overlap indicates the establishment of phonological categories and distinct realisations for members of the contrast. Pillai scores were significant predictors of native ratings of comprehensibility and/or nativelikeness for many of the contrasts considered. Despite some limitations and caveats, we argue that Pillai scores and similar methods for the intrinsic evaluation of L2 pronunciation can be used, (i) to avoid direct comparisons of L2 users’ performance with native monolinguals, following recent trends in SLA research; (ii) when comparable L1 data are not available; (iii) within longitudinal studies to track the progressive development of new phonological categories.

Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research and Its Relevance to Classroom Practices

Instructed SLA research has gained considerable attention due to the widespread interest in the role of instruction in language development. This study critically reviews several influential SLA studies on classroom instruction in second language learning. The aim is to assist teachers in delivering well-informed and relevant instruction to L2 learners to enable them to meet their language learning expectations and participate in real-world practices. The paper examines the focus on form and meaning-based instructions as the most common approaches utilized in language learning settings. It critically evaluates several SLA research findings on L2 classroom instruction and interprets their data using comparisons, assessments, and descriptions. Based on these interpretations, the paper ends with a discussion of pedagogical implications for teaching second language learners, taking into account the learning mechanisms employed by learners, and how teachers, via effective instructions, can use these mechanisms to facilitate successful L2 learning.

Exploring collocation development in L2 German from students’ perspective: A contrasting case study

Despite the growing body of studies on collocation learning in SLA research, there are hardly any studies taking the perspective of the individual learner or studies that have examined the effect of individual differences. This study–a qualitative component of a mixed-methods longitudinal project–presents an in-depth exploration of the intro- and retrospective views of five Dutch-speaking L2 students of German on their 3-year collocation learning process. It focuses on the individual factors that enhanced or hindered L2 collocation development, and on the extent to which effective and less effective collocation learners differed regarding their L2 motivation, exposure and use, learning experience, and learning strategies. Extreme sampling strategy was used and five contrasting cases of learners were selected (three effective versus two less effective collocation learners). Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and learners’ written reflections on five specific collocations. Findings indicate that the effective collocation learners showed a higher intrinsic motivation, more engagement in informal learning activities, more extensive social interaction in the L2, more awareness towards collocations, a higher degree of self-regulation, and a higher number of learning strategies than the less effective collocation learners. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications are provided.

Evaluating evidence for the reliability and validity of lexical diversity indices in L2 oral task responses

AbstractAlthough lexical diversity is often used as a measure of productive proficiency (e.g., as an aspect of lexical complexity) in SLA studies involving oral tasks, relatively little research has been conducted to support the reliability and/or validity of these indices in spoken contexts. Furthermore, SLA researchers commonly use indices of lexical diversity such as Root TTR (Guiraud’s index) and D (vocd-D and HD-D) that have been preliminarily shown to lack reliability in spoken L2 contexts and/or have been consistently shown to lack reliability in written L2 contexts. In this study, we empirically evaluate lexical diversity indices with respect to two aspects of reliability (text-length independence and across-task stability) and one aspect of validity (relationship with proficiency scores). The results indicated that neither Root TTR nor D is reliable across different text lengths. However, support for the reliability and validity of optimized versions of MATTR and MTLD was found.

Exploring the motivations and emotions of Filipino learners of languages other than English: a structural equation modelling approach

ABSTRACT Despite rich insights that the experience of Global South countries like the Philippines could offer in understanding emerging trends in SLA research, i.e. learning languages other than English (LOTEs), studies conducted in this context are few and far apart. The study explored the motivations and emotions of 389 Filipino learners of LOTEs who accomplished a 76-item questionnaire. Six factors of LOTE motivation and two factors of LOTE emotions were simultaneously analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Composite reliability measures showed that these factors were valid and reliable. Six sets of model fit measures indicated a good fit for the final SEM model. Initial and final direct effects showed that the six factors of LOTE motivation significantly influenced LOTE enjoyment and LOTE anxiety. Against the backdrop of studies dominated by the Japanese and Chinese experiences, the Filipino experience has shown to be equally susceptible to the influences of globalisation and the hegemony of English on learning languages other than English. The final SEM model of LOTE learning among Filipinos is instructive of the multifaceted LOTE motivation, but it also captures the effects of motivational constructs in the ‘flowering of emotions’ in the context of learners acquiring a language other than English.

The winner's curse and related perils of low statistical power − spelled out and illustrated

A classical prospective power analysis estimates the chance of obtaining a statistically significant result. However, it does so with no regard to the reliability of the result. “Design analysis” is a complementary component of study planning which addresses that limitation. Monte Carlo simulations and innovative freeware were used to provide illustrations of common, potentially grave problems that make design analysis necessary. Five statements outline widely known background to those problems. (1) A regime of significance testing tends to engender publication bias. (2) Small-sample studies commonly have very low expected statistical power. (3) Many SLA (quasi-)experimental studies have used small samples. (4) A combination of publication bias and low average power seeds a research literature with findings that well-powered replication studies do not repeat. (5) Published estimates of true effects are often too high. As to the last statement, many SLA researchers may be unaware of the mathematical basis of the tendency for obtained significant estimates to be too high whenever expected power is not high, which it frequently is not. Indeed, if power is too low, a significant result can only be misleading: Any good estimate will be nonsignificant. The design analysis procedures used to illustrate the focal problems can also be used to estimate sample sizes required for adequate expected power along with good control of the risk of obtaining very misleading significant results.

Linguistic and Geographic Diversity in Research on Second Language Acquisition and Multilingualism: An Analysis of Selected Journals

Abstract The present study assesses linguistic and geographic diversity in selected outlets of SLA and multilingualism research. Specifically, we examine over 2,000 articles published in specialized top-tier journals, recording the languages under study and their acquisition order, author affiliations, the country in which the research was conducted, and citations. In the sample, there were 183 unique languages and 174 unique pairings, corresponding to 3 per cent of the world’s 7,000 languages and less than 0.001 per cent of 24.5 million possible language combinations. English was overwhelmingly the most common language, followed by Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. North America and Western Europe were both the main producers of knowledge and the main sites for research on multilingualism in the sample. Crucially, the regions with the highest levels of linguistic diversity and societal multilingualism (typically the Global South) were only marginally represented. The findings also show that studies on English and northern Anglophone settings were likely to elicit more citations than studies on other languages and settings, and that less studied languages were included more frequently in article titles.

Language Moments in Second Language Interaction: Relevance of Understanding to Learning

Interactional modification is important in SLA research because it involves correcting problematic L2 use. However, not all modifications will lead to pedagogical changes. Participants in conversational interactions are not always oriented to linguistic forms or functions. One way to address this dilemma is to examine the process by which participants come to terms with problematic L2 use in interactional exchanges. “Language moments” refer to cases in which L2 forms and functions are objects of interactive exchanges in L2 interactions. Through conversation analysis, the present study uncovered four different types in which participants in L2 interaction discovered and acted on language moments in terms of the degree of explicitness in recognizing and addressing problematic L2 use. This study used data from ESL classroom interactions that featured native teachers of English and L2 learners in an US context. This descriptive account of interactional processes might complement prior research studies that have focused on effects of interactional modification.

The effects of typographic enhancement on L2 collocation processing and learning from reading: An eye-tracking study

Collocations have been of considerable interest to applied linguistics and SLA researchers, due to their pervasiveness in language. In corpus research, collocations are broadly defined as pairs of content words like nouns and adjectives that appear more frequently in language than the occurrence frequency of the individual words would predict (Biber et al. 1999). Typical examples in English are heavy rain and strong wind. As conventional forms of expression, collocations may be used to express concepts in an efficient manner, or serve as phrasal terminology in technical, scientific, or academic discourse (e.g. Schmitt and Carter 2004). Research has shown that L2 learners tend to produce many collocations that are deviant or non-nativelike (e.g. *make a photo) in their speech (Nekrasova 2009) and writing (e.g. Durrant and Schmitt 2009; Laufer and Waldman 2011). Although the evidence is far from conclusive, it is generally thought that L2 collocation knowledge develops slowly, and therefore does not always show up at the level of productive use (e.g. Durrant and Schmitt 2010). A better understanding of why this might be the case requires a closer look at the variables that may affect the learnability of collocations.

Assessing interactional competence in secondary schools

AbstractInteractional competence (IC) is a crucial component of teaching and assessing speaking in second/foreign languages in general. However, SLA research based on Conversation Analysis (CA) has shown that IC is a complex phenomenon, and while a qualitative approach to assessing IC is needed, it is time-consuming. At the same time, assessment in the foreign-language classroom has to be both manageable for teachers and it should provide learners with reliable and supportive feedback about their specific strengths and weaknesses. This paper offers some solutions for these issues. It will draw on previous proposals in CA to employ generic organizations of practice as a way to manage the complexity of the IC concept. Second, it will show how one of these organizations – action accomplishment – can be operationalized for assessment purposes in public-school classrooms. This includes a discussion of the CEFR Companion’s approach to ‘action’. Finally, it will present a possible rubric for action accomplishment. Our approach to assessing will be illustrated through the analysis of a sample role play with two foreign-language learners from a corpus of 14 2–4 minute role plays, recorded with beginning-to-intermediary-level learners of English as a foreign language in two German secondary schools.

An introduction to process tracing as an innovative qualitative research method to explore affective variables in SLA.

When the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) enlightened the line of inquiry in education, innovative research methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, were also introduced. Process tracing, which is among the CDST-compatible qualitative research methods, has just begun to benefit SLA research in the past few years. The present study provides a review of the conceptualization, significance, and procedural features for the implementation of the process tracing analytical method. In doing so, this review suggests a number of practices through which process tracing has been introduced in SLA. Additionally, some practical implications are provided for SLA researchers to enhance their knowledge of this new approach. Finally, future research suggestions for a more advanced use of this method are made in SLA.

“I WENT TO VENICE AND WAS VERY WORRIED.” – DIFFERENTIAL SUBSTITUTION OF THE /V/-/W/ CONTRAST IN SERBIAN-ENGLISH INTERPHONOLOGY

Previous findings of SLA research underlined the significance of differential substitution as one of the most common strategies for overcoming difficulties in pronouncing English consonants. The acquisi- tion of /v/-/w/ contrast seems particularly demanding for Serbian EFL learners, due to diverse factors, the dominant one being mother tongue interference and the resulting perceptual assimilation. Having the previously stated in mind, as well as the scarcity of research in the Serbian scientific context, the present study aimed at investigating instances of differential substitution of the English labiodental fricative and the labial-velar approximant in relation to the phonetic context and the formality of task type. Both the perception and production of a total of 72 English-major students were tested using different instruments, including phonemic discrimination task, wordlist as well as paragraph reading, and the interview. The obtained data were quantitatively ana- lyzed and supported by spectrogram illustrations of both native and non-native speakers of English. The results indicate a greater frequency of /v/-substitution ([w] being the main substitute) with phonetic con- text and task type playing a statistically significant role in differential substitution. Instances of substitution of the labial-velar approximant were not as frequent and are said to be characteristic of a specific group of learners (Serbian labiodental sonorant [ʋ] being the main sub- stitute). The results underscore the variability and complexity of the interlangauge system and the importance of valuing the process, and not merely the outcomes of L2 sound acquisition.

Why Second Language Acquisition of sign languages matters to general SLA research

Abstract SLA research is characterised by a striking homogeneity in the linguistic, social and geographical data we as a field draw on. Such empirical homogeneity is a potential threat to the validity and scope of our models and theories. This paper focuses on a particular gap in our knowledge, namely the SLA of sign languages. It outlines an argument as to why the SLA of sign matters to general SLA research in terms of the empirical representativity, generalisability, and validity of the conclusions in the field. It exemplifies three domains where the study of language acquisition across modalities could shed important light on theoretical issues in mainstream SLA/bilingualism research (e.g. learner varieties, explicit-implicit learning, and crosslinguistic influence), and highlight some of the methodological challenges involved in such work.

A Cross-sectional Study of the Present Perfect Tense in Arabic and Indonesian EFL Settings

This document-based paper investigates EFL learners’ uses of the present perfect tense when using English as their second or foreign language. A sample of 216 sentences written by 38 Indonesian and Arab undergraduate students was analyzed to detect erroneous uses of the present perfect tense (PPT) in their English writing. Twelve erroneous structures in the Arab corpus and 17 in the Indonesian dataset were underlined. The incorrect sentences were singled out and discussed. Pairing these grammar-related errors to SLA research and existing literature, the findings demonstrate that the majority of errors were grounded in either Arabic or Bahasa Indonesian language interference with English. The Arab learners seem to have more difficulties in using the PPT than the past simple tense. In contrast, the Indonesian EFL learners seem to have difficulties in both past and present perfect tenses altogether due to the absence of the past tense in the Indonesian tongue. It is concluded that learners’ mother tongues in both contexts affect their uses of English grammatical structures. This yields important implications with reference to the effects of the mother tongue in EFL settings.

Structure-based Versus Dynamic Usage-based Instruction

In the Netherlands, teaching programs for French as a foreign language in secondary school usually involve an explicit focus on grammar. This is partially motivated by early findings in SLA research, which showed that explicit instruction is more effective in foreign language acquisition (Norris, & Ortega, 2000; Spada, & Tomita, 2010) and is even considered essential to achieve accuracy in advanced writing (Gunnarsson, 2012). The aim of this classroom study is to test these claims as it compares a structure-based (SB) method to a Dynamic Usage-Based (DUB) method in developing writing mastery in a pre-university program for French. The results suggest that both programs are equally effective in achieving grammatical accuracy and obtaining general text scores, but a DUB program seems more effective in achieving lexical complexity and fluency.