Target Language Input Research Articles

Lexical frequency and target language input in the primary languages classroom

ABSTRACT This paper presents an exploratory study of L2 input in the primary languages classroom. Teacher talk in 33 videorecorded lessons taught to Year 3 French beginners by a specialist teacher of French was analysed, in order to document the extent and nature of L2 vocabulary input. Further analyses compared the lexis of teacher talk in this primary setting with high-frequency wordlists derived from two reference corpora designed to support the teaching of L2 French. Results showed that children were exposed to c 45,000 words (tokens) of French, reflecting a teacher vocabulary of c 650 lemmas. Intentionally taught lexis such as foods or animal names typically received massed practice, not always supplemented by distributed practice. The teachers’ partial but consistent use of French for classroom management contributed to a well-balanced distribution of word classes. There was considerable overlap with both reference wordlists, and divergence could largely be explained by the teacher’s choice of topics, and incidental use of French to personalise and engage childrens’ individual interests, as well as for classroom management purposes. In discussion, the need for careful planning and management of vocabulary instruction is highlighted, as well as the significant potential of L2 classroom management to enrich lexical input.

Effect of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) Attitude and Practices in University Students

This study explores how technology, particularly mobile devices, is changing the landscape of foreign language learning. Traditionally, foreign language education relied on various methods and techniques, but the rise of technology and changing teacher attitudes have paved the way for innovative approaches. Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) represents the latest evolution, following the earlier Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) approach. This research investigates the impact of MALL on student attitudes and practices in foreign language learning. The mixed study involved 40 university students from various majors. Data was collected through a 5-point Likert scale survey and follow-up semi structured interviews with some volunteers. The findings revealed a strong belief among students that mobile devices are highly effective for language learning. Students highlighted the advantage of instant access to target language input through mobile tools. Overall, participants' high mobile phone use, media preferences, and frequency of mobile phone usage all pointed towards a positive attitude towards the role of mobile phones in their foreign language development. The findings of this study extend beyond the immediate research and can be applied by future researchers, teachers, parents, and others interested in language learning.

Dutch compound constructions in additional language acquisition

Abstract Studies have demonstrated that Dutch has a much stronger tendency towards compounding than French (e.g., Du. badkamer vs Fr. salle de bains ‘bathroom’) when adopting a restrictive approach of compounding in which the presence of prepositions and/or internal inflection in multi-word expressions is considered evidence for their syntactic formation. The example above illustrates that Dutch compounding differs from French in another important aspect: while Germanic compounding is by definition right-headed, French has a general tendency towards left-hand headed compounds and phrases. In this study, we investigate the impact of these typological differences on the acquisition of Dutch nominal compounds by French-speaking learners in the context of multilingual Belgium. We provide an in-depth corpus analysis of the acquisition of Dutch compounds at different levels of abstraction (schematic and substantive compound constructions). Moreover, we investigate the impact of additional target-language input through CLIL programs (Content and Language Integrated Learning) on the acquisition of Dutch compounds by French-speaking learners of Dutch. The results are described and interpreted from the perspective of Diasystematic Construction Grammar (DCxG), which conceptualizes the linguistic competence of multilingual speakers as one integrated network of constructions, containing language-specific idioconstructions and shared diaconstructions.

Foregrounding learner voice: Chinese international students' interpretations of strategy use during oral discourse socialization in Germany

AbstractAlthough multilingualism is becoming a more important topic of inquiry, a closer look at intercultural studies on Chinese overseas students reveals that they are inclined to contrast the learning behaviors of these students with Western learning conceptions and practices and interpret their learning ways based on Western assumptions. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate how this cohort of minoritized learners leveraged a material‐centered approach highlighting repetition, reading aloud, rote learning, and translanguaging to increase the salience and processing of the target language input. Additionally, this study performed a comparative analysis of the use frequency and interpretations of learning strategies between self‐reported successful and currently less successful students from China. The results indicate that the former cohort was more concerned with self‐directed activities in favor of input processing and the model of input‐output connection. Lastly, this highlights the importance of legitimization of their approach resource repertoire by foregrounding their interpretations of their own learning behaviors in the new academic environment.

O'zbekistondagi boshlang'ich maktab o'quvchilari uchun ingliz tili o'quv materiallarida gender stereotiplarining ifodalanishi

The current study examines the representation of gender stereotype in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks, namely Guess What, for elementary school pupils produced in Uzbekistan. The research aims to ascertain how gender is represented and what kinds of stereotypes expressions are used in the Guess What series by focusing on four areas; Adult Social Role Beliefs, Domestic Role Beliefs, Educational Role Beliefs, and Professional Role Beliefs concerning school type variables. The method used in this research was descriptive qualitative method. Language is not perceived only orally or in written forms, but through visual language too, such as pictures on posters, images in books, magazines. They are ubiquitous in modern life and are of great importance to get the message, as they convey and represent particular meaning (Fairclough, 2013). English language teaching materials, which are one of the main sources of target language and culture input, have a great impact in the formation of pragmatic competence and the development of relational identity.

Film and Streaming Media as Resource in Learning Readings in Philippine History

This study regards filming and streaming media in Social Studies teaching. The study aims to examine the role of film and streaming media as educational resources and investigate students' utilization and perception of these media in education. Freshmen students in the College of Teachers Education at the University of Cebu- Main Campus were used as respondents for this study. The findings of this study indicate that there are multiple reasons to consider film as a valuable teaching resource. According to the respondents, a "film and streaming experience" is a powerful tool for quickly understanding a discussion and can also benefit different learning styles. Additionally, the respondents highlighted that film and streaming media provide authentic target language input, suggesting their significance. Furthermore, it is plausible that students' favorable views of film and streaming media in teaching can influence their learning, as previous research has shown that motivation and attitudes can impact the process of acquiring knowledge. The results also suggested that students generally are optimistic about the use of film in education and believe that they can learn many things from audio-visual media. The interviewed students can adjust to the demands of technological advancement to benefit learning, which is especially important.

Canadian Second Language Teachers’ Technology Use Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

If teachers have previously used technology (e.g., Learning Management Systems, document sharing, video-conferencing, gamification, social media or video-recording), they are likely to use it again. For second language teachers, sudden or planned-for online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in their using new or familiar technology to support their pedagogy, engage students, or provide authentic target language input. However, since online instruction was temporary, perhaps their use of certain technologies was temporary as well. To investigate L2 teachers’ use of technology before, during, and (anticipatedly) after the pandemic, this study statistically analyzed data on technology use ( n = 18 items) from a survey of Canadian L2 teachers ( n = 203). It inquired about their use of Learning Management Systems, document sharing, video-conferencing, gamification, social media, and video-recording. Findings reveal that teachers’ use of technology during the pandemic predicted their anticipated use post-pandemic. Teachers who used any of the six technologies during the pandemic were significantly more likely to anticipate using those same ones post-pandemic than those who did not. Despite the challenges of implementing these tools under these circumstances, these six technologies may remain as part of L2 teaching in the future.

Study of Classroom Discourse of English-Major Interns from the Perspective of Functional Linguistics

Based on the qualitative analysis of classroom discourse of English-major interns, this study investigates the characteristics and causes of classroom discourse of English-major interns in underdeveloped areas in western China from the perspective of functional linguistics, and endeavors to explore the reasons for these characteristics from social context. The results show that the classroom discourse of English-major interns has the following three characteristics: 1) code-switching is common; 2) the types of clauses are mainly imperative sentences, declarative sentences with rising intonation; 3) teachers talk a lot and dominate the conversational turn. Code-switching reflects the shortage of target language input and outdated teaching methods in English class; and the second characteristic just echoes with existing research; teacher’s dominance over conversational turn indicates interns’ imitation of their instructors’ teaching mode, hoping to construct their teacher identity. This paper puts forward relevant suggestions to the above-mentioned problems, including adopting a research-guided teaching in elementary education, reinforcing the supervision of college internship instructors, diversifying the way interns constructing their teacher identities.

L2 Word Learning and Learner Perspectives by Vocabulary Self-collection Strategy with Glossing

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of Vocabulary Self-collection Strategy (VSS) withglossing on L2 word recall and retention as well as learner perspectives on vocabulary knowledgeand word consciousness by the strategy in EFL classroom contexts. Methods: For the study, sixty-four learners were randomly allocated for both VSS accompanied withL1 glossing (VSSL1) and VSS accompanied with L2 glossing (VSSL2) groups. Data were collectedthrough a pre-test for collecting target words, two immediate and two delayed post vocabulary tests,and a retrospective questionnaire. Results: The results revealed that VSSL2 group significantly outperformed in immediate word recalland delayed retention in receptive and productive knowledge than VSSL1 group. In addition, overall,positive perceptions on the strategy were found in vocabulary knowledge and word consciousnessfrom the two groups. It is noteworthy that the VSSL2 group showed significantly higher mean scoreof the statement regarding long-term memory effect by the strategy. Conclusion: The results from VSS L2 group appeared to be attributed to deeper processing for form-meaningconnections of target words with higher involvement load in need to understand, search for themusing L2-L2 dictionary, and evaluation to check proper meanings in the context on their own. Thiscould be strengthened by the cooperative classroom discussions with peers and teacher guidance forfull comprehension of target language input. (Dankook University)

Development of lexical richness among beginning learners of French as a foreign language

Vocabulary knowledge forms the basis of all the communicative skills and is a core component of language proficiency. In educational contexts in which target language input is limited, the acquisition of new vocabulary can be a challenging task for learners, and lexical development might be slow. This study explored the extent to which 14 upper-secondary students of French as a foreign language (FFL) in Norwegian schools showed signs of increased lexical richness in their written production over a period of approximately six months. The data were taken from the TRAWL (Tracking Written Learner Language) corpus, a digital collection of second and foreign-language learner texts. Two aspects of lexical richness were investigated: 1) lexical sophistication was measured using the MultiLingProfiler software for lexical frequency profiling and supplemented by a manual and more detailed analysis of five learners’ texts; 2) lexical diversity was measured using D_Tools v.2.0 and word family counts. The data revealed that although many learners showed signs of using a somewhat more varied vocabulary over time, it is difficult to find proof of productive vocabulary development among beginning learners of FFL within such a limited period. The study suggests that finer-grained measures of analysis could be added to existing automated tools to make these tools more useful for beginner levels.

An In-depth Discussion on Age Effects in Second Language Learning

People believe learning a new language is better to start from a very early age in many countries. This belief is also why many countries lower the age of starting a second language programme in school. The theoretical basis for this belief is the critical period hypothesis and learning mechanism. However, some research shows older learners can learn faster and better than early learners. This research studied if starting young in a second language is better than later. By reviewing amounts of literature, this research discussed this question from four situations: the inside and outside of the classroom in the non-target language countries; the inside and outside of the classroom in the target language countries. Besides the situation of the learners, the learning time and the expectation for early starters and older starters are also different and these two factors also should be considered when thinking about the outcome of learning a second language for early and old learners. The conclusion is that if there is a condition that could provide amounts of target language input for early learners, children are better to start early. Otherwise, it is not important if children start to learn a second language early.

Research on Interactive Teaching for English Classroom in Junior High School

Interactive teaching is very important for students to learn English. In the junior English classroom, language is not only a tool for teachers to organize teaching, but also the main source of students’ target language input. Therefore, more and more researchers at home and abroad pay attention to it. Classroom interactive language mainly includes questions and feedback. Among them, classroom questions are divided into display questions and reference questions. Junior high school is a very important stage of English learning. This paper will elaborate on interactive teaching and interactive classroom, and analyze the characteristics of junior high school English interactive classroom in detail, so as to provide a theoretical and methodological perspective for studying the relationship between second language acquisition and classroom teaching.

Path Under Construction: Challenges Beyond S-Framed Motion Event Construal in L2 German

The encoding of motion events is known to be challenging for second language (L2) users, particularly if the lexicalization patterns of their first language (L1) diverge from those of the L2. This paper analyzes oral and written motion event descriptions produced by advanced L2 users of German, an information-dense satellite-framed language. Based on L2 usage and error patterns, we discuss six major challenges with respect to motion event encoding and, more specifically, path encoding. These challenges clearly go beyond event construal and the acquisition of the basic satellite-framed lexicalization pattern (e.g., verb semantics) as well as beyond expected challenges related to the use of prepositional phrases (e.g., prepositional semantics, case marking). Advanced L2 users actually particularly struggle with “smaller” path encoding devices such as particles, locative and directional adverbs, their formal and functional differentiation, their usage patterns and combinatorial potential. These aspects seem to be challenging for advanced L2 users of German with either verb-framed L1s (French, Spanish) or satellite-framed L1s (Danish, English). We therefore discuss characteristics of the target language input that might explain why L2 users struggle with identifying and differentiating these path encoding devices, their usage, and combinatorial patterns. We sketch potential implications for L2 teaching.

A study of the use of code-switching: Functions and perceptions in a Thai tertiary EFL classroom

With the linguistic globalization of English, code-switching has become a common phenomenon in communication. In the classroom, however, there are polarising perceptions regarding alternating between languages. At one end, several researchers believe that language learning should be clear of the interference of first language so as to expose students to as much target language input as possible, while those who favor codeswitching contend that bilingual teaching is natural and more effective for teachers and students. The present study investigated the use of code-switching by a Thai university language lecturer in an English foundation course to see how code-switching was carried out in practice and what effects it had on English as a foreign language teaching and learning from the perspectives of the teacher and thirty-one students. Through classroom observations, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, it was revealed that code-switching was perceived positively and used for two main purposes. First, to accommodate language learning by making the target language more comprehensible and, second, to lower students’ affective filter by establishing rapport and supportive learning environment. It thus appears that the alternate use of students’ first language and the target language can be beneficial in the language classrooms to help promote language acquisition and cordial classroom interaction.

Delexical Get + Noun Collocations in Argumentative Essays Written by Korean Learners of English

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of delexical verb get + noun collocations by Korean learners of English focusing on the frequency of the construction, semantic fields of the noun collocates, and types and sources of collocational errors. Toward this end, delexical get + noun collocations in the Korean subcorpus of ICLE were analyzed in comparison with those in the control corpus LOCNESS. Results showed that the Korean learners overused the delexical get + noun combinations compared with their native speaker peers. The two groups also revealed discrepancy in the use of noun collocates belonging to different seman0211219ic fields. In terms of types of deviant collocations, usage in verbs, determiners, numbers, and nouns were particularly problematic for the learners. Deviant collocations were attributable to the inextricable intertwining of L1 influence, intralingual development, and target language input.

How to promote the pragmatic awareness and avoid the fossilization phenomenon through a role play activity in English as a foreign language classes

Many people, even after spending a lifetime studying a foreign language are prone to get stuck in a certain grammatical domain no matter the efforts made and the amount of the target language input offered in the classroom. Unfortunately, the great majority who pursuits their dreams to be the closest possible to a native like speaker, the lack of ability to analyze and synthesize linguistic elements makes them persist in the same errors, establishing a phenomenon known as Fossilization in their learning process. In fact, Fossilization can occur in all learning process levels: phonological, grammatical, lexical and pragmatic and the errors made seem to be similar from individual to individual. In an attempt to avoid this Fossilization process concerning the pragmatically ability to communicate, this article aims to present a suggestion of a role-play activity involving strategies to enhance pragmatic awareness related to politeness theory.

Developing crosslinguistic awareness through plurilingual consciousness-raising tasks

If maximal exposure were the key to success in language learning, then adult learners at the university level would be doomed to fail. Not only are they presumably too old to learn additional languages effectively, but target language (TL) input appears to be insufficient, especially when other languages are allowed in class. Nevertheless, learners were shown to build on knowledge of previously acquired languages, to rely on language learning experience and to develop metalinguistic awareness. This study explores the perceived usefulness of a plurilingual consciousness-raising task that aims at helping learners make and strengthen connections between the TL and other previously acquired languages. Two university-level language courses were targeted: Spanish in Quebec and French in Mexico. Two customized tasks were implemented and recorded in each course throughout the semester. Each task included an input-based (discovery) phase, a reflective (metalinguistic) phase during which participants were asked to make assumptions on underlying patterns and correspondences across languages, and a validation phase where they presented their assumptions until reaching a consensus as a group. While tasks were generally perceived as useful, analyses of post-task questionnaires also revealed mixed feelings regarding its inductive stance. However, the verbal data collected demonstrated that the collaborative and metalinguistic reflective nature of the task permitted learners to find correspondences between languages and to engage in knowledge construction. Moreover, the various reflections collected indicate that learners benefitted from the task as groups engaged in metalinguistic reflections, activated their plurilingual repertoire and were able to create accurate assumptions regarding the targeted structure.

Teacher target language input and young learners’ aural comprehension of English

Abstract The quantity of target language input available to learners contributes to the understanding of target language development. The present paper reports on a longitudinal study of the relationship between the amount of non-native teachers’ EFL input and learners’ aural achievement in instructed SLA. Young learners (N=132) were followed over a three-year period. High variability in teacher use of EFL was found. Results of correlational analyses and group comparisons pointed to a longitudinal advantage of participants exposed to instruction dominated by teacher target language use during their first two years of formal EFL learning. Directions for future research on the use of different languages and their relation to learners’ achievement are discussed in the context of early formal foreign language study.

ICT multimedia learning affordances: role and impact on ESL learners' writing accuracy development

This work examined the role and impact of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools such as YouTube as an open educational resource-cum-tool with respect to its affordances of captions and their adjustable settings like font size and color (i.e., enhanced captions of videos); these affordances were proposed for their multimedia learning effects for the development of ESL learners' writing accuracy. This work hypothesized that the frequent use of these affordances as a technique can create and enhance a multimedia learning environment which can in its turn help learners focus more on the (new) target language input, be more able to notice their errors and correct them by way of conscious comparisons between their own output and target language input. In effect, their L2 writing becomes more accurate over time. This work investigated the role and impact of these YouTube affordances on the development of ESL writing accuracy through exploring the learners' personal experience with and actual use of these affordances for the development of ESL writing accuracy over five months. Moreover, it sought to determine whether or not learners' L2 writing accuracy improved after the implementation of the proposed YouTube affordances for ESL writing improvement. Furthermore, it explored the correlation between the development of learners' L2 writing accuracy, if any, and the impact of these YouTube affordances on the development of ESL writing accuracy. The findings of this study revealed that the frequent use of ICT multimedia tools like YouTube with respect to its affordances of captions and their adjustable settings like font size and color (i.e., enhanced captions of videos) played a positive role that impacted the improvement of learners' English writing accuracy over five months. Also, the findings demonstrated that participants' L2 writing accuracy (as indicated by all the metrics used in this study for measuring the learners' writing accuracy progress) developed significantly after five months of the implementation of the proposed YouTube affordances of enhanced captions as a technique for the development of ESL writing. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant evidence, although ethically speaking this evidence was not conclusive as it was limited by the small sample size of this group of participants and thus the elicited and analyzed data, which suggested that there was a strong correlation between the development of learners' L2 writing accuracy and the frequent use of the proposed YouTube affordances of enhanced captions for the development of ESL writing accuracy. It was concluded that ICT tools such as YouTube with respect to its affordances of captions and their adjustable settings like font size and color (i.e., enhanced captions of videos) can be effectively used and recommended as a technique for the development of learners' L2 writing accuracy due to their positive and enhancing multimedia learning effects.

Use of Word Clouds for Task Based Assessment in Asynchronous E-Language Learning

Word clouds can be used as an effective tool for the teaching and learning processes in language learning, as the visual input during schemata activation, and other parts of the lesson, serve as manageable and meaningful target language input. There are emerging studies that explore their effectiveness, but less so with respect to their use in the online second language classroom. This study explores the effectiveness of word clouds for teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in an asynchronous mode. The study used a mixed methods design and triangulation was used for data collection. The participant group, as bachelor's degree students at the Virtual University of Pakistan (VUP), were given word clouds based assessment activities in two communication skills courses: Eng 001 (305 students participated) and Eng 101 (1714 and 1516 students participated in two activities respectively). The scores of the students were analyzed to gauge the suitability of task-based assessment in an asynchronous mode. Furthermore, an online survey questionnaire was administered to seek their input on the assessment activities. A total of 272 (N= 272) students responded to the survey questionnaire. The results reflected that the students responded positively overall regarding the use of word clouds for reading comprehension and essay writing tasks but had mixed opinions about reading and writing skill improvement tasks. The study concludes that the use of word clouds for pre-reading and pre-writing activities for task-based EFL teaching in asynchronous learning environments can be effective with the constraints that are described.