Young L2 Learners Research Articles

Is AI-assisted assessment liable to evaluate young learners? Parents support, teacher support, immunity, and resilience are in focus in testing vocabulary learning

This study investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted assessment on young L2 learners’ vocabulary knowledge, immunity, and resilience, considering parental and teacher support roles. Sixty junior high school students in Afghanistan, aged 13 to 14, participated in the study. They were divided into an experimental group receiving AI-assisted assessment and a control group with traditional instruction. The research employed a pretest–posttest control group design, using teacher-made vocabulary tests validated for reliability and instruments measuring immunity and resilience. The findings revealed that AI-assisted assessment significantly improved vocabulary knowledge and emotional resilience compared to the control group. While parental support showed a positive trend toward vocabulary enhancement, teacher support did not significantly impact the outcomes. The study highlights the potential of AI in language education, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts among educators, parents, materials developers, syllabus designers, and policymakers to maximize the benefits of AI tools. These findings underscore the importance of integrating advanced technologies into educational frameworks to support cognitive and emotional development in learners.

Understanding young high-achieving Chinese L2 learners’ experiences: a case study in an Australian primary school

ABSTRACT Chinese (Mandarin) is taught as an L2 in many Australian primary schools and is considered challenging for English-speaking students to learn. This case study is an inquiry into the experiences of young high-achieving Chinese L2 learners’ (from an English-speaking background) in an Australian primary school. This study aims to search for the answers to ‘why’ and ‘what makes’ high-achieving students perform well and become high-achievers in Chinese L2 learning. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, the findings of the multiple case study reveal that both internal and external factors play a role in supporting high-achieving students’ learning. Internal factors include self-confidence, positive attitudes towards L2 learning, and interest in L2 learning. External factors relate to continuously learning the same L2 curriculum and family support in language learning. This study highlights the importance of understanding the experiences of young high-achieving Chinese L2 learners and the factors that affect their learning for English-speaking background students.

Phonetic imitation by young L2 learners: English VOTs for speakers of Polish

Phonetic imitation by young L2 learners: English VOTs for speakers of Polish

Greater coverage vs. deeper processing? Comparing individual and collaborative processing of teacher feedback

Despite the proliferation of research on how second language (L2) learners engage with feedback on L2 writing in recent years, little is known about how young and low-proficiency L2 learners process teacher feedback. The present study investigated how Chinese lower-secondary school learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) cognitively and behaviourally engaged with teacher feedback in two conditions: individual written languaging and collaborative oral languaging. Eighty-one students (aged 13–14 years, A1–A2 English proficiency) from two classes and two English teachers at a public lower-secondary school in China participated in this study. Comprehensive teacher feedback (focusing on language errors, content, and organization) was provided to students on three writing tasks completed over six weeks. Findings showed that collaborative processing of teacher feedback elicited students’ deeper cognitive processing, drew their attention to issues beyond linguistic errors and encouraged learner autonomy. On the other hand, individual written languaging promoted students’ noticing of teacher feedback in their languaging process, although with a primary focus on grammar and mechanics. Written languaging also enabled students to act on more teacher feedback points in their revisions than the collaborative processing condition. Pedagogical implications from the comparison of the two feedback processing conditions are discussed.

The impact of multi‐word units in early foreign language learning and teaching contexts: A systematic review

AbstractThis systematic review reports on research investigating the impact of multi‐word unit (MWU) input on young learners' second language (L2) attainment in instructed settings. Recent findings suggest that L2 learners can generalise from MWU input, abstract patterns and employ such schemata productively via slot‐filling, indicating that MWUs are key catalysts of learners' L2 development. Simultaneously, primary school L2 instruction is on the rise worldwide and the importance of MWUs is acknowledged in curricula, teacher education and teaching materials. Therefore, the incentive of this review is to systematically report the state of the art of research regarding the impact of MWU instruction in early L2 teaching contexts. The review covers English, German and French research into typically developing monolingual children aged 5–12 learning an L2 in instructed teaching settings. Only two of the total results (n = 2233) met the inclusion criteria. Following quality assessment using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and based on a narrative synthesis of available results, we cannot report trustworthy evidence of the effectiveness of teaching MWUs to young L2 learners. We highlight the lack of research evidence and conclude that existing research lacks robust evidence that MWU input already established in teaching contexts has a measurable effect on specific aspects of students' L2 attainment, such as productive skills. Although we promote MWU's potentially facilitating role in L2 development, we call for more classroom‐based intervention research on MWUs in primary school contexts to enable much‐needed evidence‐based recommendations for L2 teaching to support L2 learning outcomes in primary schools. Context and implicationsRationale for this studyResearch has shown that multi‐word units (MWUs) are key catalysts for L1 and L2 learning. MWUs are crucial to current primary school L2 teaching and their importance is acknowledged in curricula. This review systematically examines the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of MWU instruction on L2 attainment.Why the findings matterOur review cannot report trustworthy evidence of the effectiveness of teaching MWUs to young L2 learners. This lack of evidence is striking since early L2 instruction is on the rise worldwide and MWUs are already integral parts of L2 curricula, teacher education and teaching materials.Implications for the research community and policy makersGiven our findings, we call for more research in instructed settings to better understand the impact of MWU input on specific aspects of students' L2 attainment, such as productive skills. Based on such work, researchers could provide policy makers and practitioners with evidence‐based recommendations that help integrate MWU input into L2 curricula and teaching in such a way that is most beneficial for young students' L2 attainment.

The early language gap between first- and second-language learners: acquisition of Chinese characters among preschoolers.

For culturally and linguistically diverse children, early second language (L2) development is important for school achievement and social inclusion. These children face challenges in acquiring L2, especially in Hong Kong, where the dominant Chinese language contrasts strongly with their home languages. Studies that compared the language abilities of first language (L1) and L2 students in English-speaking contexts have reported young L2 learners' disadvantage in using the dominant language in oral language and comprehension at school entry. The findings raise the question of whether L2 learners who fall behind their L1 peers in language abilities will be further disadvantaged, showing a weaker development gradient. This study used the Chinese Character Acquisition Assessment (CCAA) to compare character acquisition of 491 L2 children aged from 3 to 6 years against that of 240 of their L1 peers from Hong Kong kindergartens. The CCAA is comprised of six subtests and assesses children's abilities to make associations among character written form (orthography), sound, and meaning. Results showed that L2 learners had greater development in meaning and sound associations across class levels, implying that they may first develop oral language related abilities. In addition, results indicate that diverging gaps between L1 and L2 learners' Chinese character acquisition existed across class levels for the associations involving written character form, but not in regard to associations between character meaning and sound. This study highlights the Chinese learning needs of L2 preschoolers and provides understanding of their abilities in mapping among character written forms, sounds, and meanings. The findings suggest the importance of supporting L2 children's oral language at earlier stages of Chinese learning, and the need to provide instructional support to compensate for their relative weakness in literacy at school entry.

Promoting young EFL learners’ listening potential: A model of mediation in the framework of dynamic assessment

AbstractDynamic assessment (DA) integrates assessment and instruction into an organic unity aimed at promoting learner development through mediation sensitive to the individual's (or in some cases, a group's) current abilities. This article reports on the construction of a model of mediation framed within DA for English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language listening comprehension. The model was implemented in a 1‐semester comparative experimental study in 2 parallel classes of Grade 8 in an urban middle school in central China. For mediation, the experimental class (EC) received four DA sessions aligned to their emerging abilities at all listening stages. Statistical results showed that students in EC outperformed those in the control class significantly in both a posttest and a near transfer assessment test, a more complex task intended to assess development in a more accurate manner, although they showed no significant advantage in the far TA test. Microgenetic analysis of the development of a sample of 9 students revealed that the mode of mediation used during enrichment permitted the teacher to ascertain students’ listening problems, including their struggles with phonology, lexicon, grammar, and strategy use. The value of the DA mediation model is discussed as a dialectical unity of both a diagnostic tool and a pedagogical framework in the context of young L2 learners.

Models as written corrective feedback: Effects on young L2 learners’ fluency in digital writing from product and process perspectives

This study was motivated by Truscott’s (1996, 2004) scarcely empirically tested claims that written corrective feedback (WCF) processing hinders fluency in subsequent rewriting owing to learners’ purposeful avoidance of making mistakes by composing shorter texts at a higher speed. It examined the writing fluency of the texts produced by eighteen 10-11-year-old L2 English children in a digital environment. They were divided into a feedback (N = 10) and a self-correction group (N = 8). Both groups engaged in a three-stage task: writing, comparison of their texts with a model or self-editing as appropriate, and rewriting. Fluency was analyzed via five product/offline and five process/online measures. The texts and writing behaviors were recorded with Inputlog 8.0. The results partially support Truscott’s claims. The feedback group improved their fluency in all the ten measures. However, the self-editing group showed higher fluency than the feedback group in seven of the ten measures, with the corresponding Hedge’s effect sizes between groups ranging from small to large. The study enlightens our knowledge of young learners’ writing fluency and supports adopting a multidimensional approach to understand the complex and multi-faceted nature of fluency as mediated by WCF processing.

The Associations of Parental Support with First-Grade Primary School L2 Chinese Learners’ Ideal Selves, Motivation, Engagement, and Reading Test Performance in Hong Kong: A Person-Centered Approach

ABSTRACT Research Findings: With a sample of 390 non-Chinese speaking first-grade primary school students and their parents in Hong Kong, this study examines associations between parental support and students’ ideal selves, motivation, engagement, and Chinese reading test performance. Latent profile analysis (LPA) identified four groups of students (low-, moderate-, and high-ideal learners and ambivalent learners). Except for those ambivalent learners, students’ ideal Chinese selves were positively associated with motivation to study Chinese. LPA models with external variables showed that high-ideal learners were the most engaged in learning, followed by ambivalent, moderate- and low-ideal learners. High-ideal learners had significantly higher Chinese reading test scores than low-ideal learners, but not the other two groups. Meanwhile, parent-child Chinese reading activity was the most effective predictor of students’ group memberships, whereas number of Chinese books at home the least effective. Practice or Policy: The results affirm the important role of parental support in young L2 learners’ learning, suggesting that parents should spend time reading with their children to increase the kids’ motivation, learning engagement, and academic performance.

Individual Differences in Categorical Judgment of L2 Stops: A Link to Proficiency and Acoustic Cue-Weighting.

This study investigated individual differences in Korean adult learners' categorical perception of L2 English stops with an aim to explore the relationship of gradient categorizations to perceptual sensitivity to acoustic cues and L2 proficiency. Korean young adult L2 learners of English (N = 49) participated in two speech perception tasks (visual analog scaling and forced-choice identification) in which they listened to English voiced and voiceless stops and Korean lax and aspirated stops with Voice Onset Time (VOT) and F0 manipulated to form a continuum. It was found that in both L1 and L2 stop perception, listeners' gradient category judgment was associated with greater reliance on language-specific redundant cues (i.e., F0 in L2 English and VOT in L1 Korean) and that in the perception of L2 stops, categorical listeners who tended to be less sensitive to F0 were the ones with a higher level of L2 English proficiency. The results suggest that the categorical manner of judging L2 stops reflects learners' better knowledge of L2-specific acoustic cue-weightings, based on which less relevant acoustic information is effectively suppressed.

Exploring the potential of graphic novels for L2 pragmatic teaching and learning – focus on young learners

ABSTRACT To date very little research is available that focuses on L2 pragmatics and young learners [cf. Schauer, G.A. 2022a. Teaching pragmatics to young learners: a review study. Applied Pragmatics. DOI:10.1075/ap.00006.sch]. Recent studies have shown that textbooks for young learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) vary considerably regarding their pragmatic content and frequently do not provide varied and consistent input of key speech acts and formulaic expressions. Graphic novels could be a rich source of pragmatic input for L2 learners as they tend to contain a considerable amount of direct speech that could be used in a variety of different ways in the L2 classroom. In this paper, I will examine four graphic novels (2 suitable for beginner level and 2 suitable for intermediate level EFL learners) concerning their potential to provide young L2 learners with pragmatic input of their respective level. The study provides an overview of the number of speech act occurrences of eight speech acts (greetings, leave-takings, requests, responses to requests, expressions of gratitude, responses to expressions of gratitude, apologies, responses to apologies), as well as a more detailed analysis of individual speech act expressions and formulaic routines of six of the eight speech acts.

Digital Picture Books for Young Dual Language Learners: Effects of Reading in the Second Language

Reading picture books in the first language (L1) before rereading them in the second language (L2) is assumed to be beneficial for young dual language learners (DLLs). This pilot study examined how sharing digital picture books in L1 or L2 at home before reading them in L2 in kindergarten affected L2 book-specific vocabulary learning and story comprehension. Participants were 14 three- and four-year-old children who spoke Polish at home and learned Norwegian as their second language. Even when DLLs were less advanced in L2, reading first in L1 was not advantageous for L2 vocabulary learning. Characteristics of caregiver–child interactions during the reading of digital picture books in L2 may explain why home reading in L2 was more beneficial than reading in L1 for less proficient young L2 learners.

Cross-language activation during word recognition in child second-language learners and the role of executive function

We investigated lexical retrieval processes in 4- to 6-year-old German–English bilinguals by exploring cross-language activation during second-language (L2) word recognition of cognates and noncognates in semantically related and unrelated contexts in young learners of English. Both button presses (reaction times and accuracies) and eye-tracking data (percentage looks to target) yielded a significant cognate facilitation effect, indicating that the children’s performance was boosted by cognate words. Nonetheless, the degree of phonological overlap of cognates did not modulate their performance. Moreover, a semantic interference effect was found in the children’s eye movement data. However, in these young L2 learners, cognate status exerted a comparatively stronger impact on L2 word recognition than semantic relatedness. Finally, correlational analyses on the cognate and noncognate performance and the children’s executive function yielded a significant positive correlation between noncognate performance and their inhibitory control, suggesting that noncognate processing depended to a greater extent on inhibitory control than cognate processing.

Teaching L2 pragmatics to young learners

Abstract This paper reviews research on teaching pragmatics – and more specifically speech acts – to young L2 learners from two perspectives: (1) studies investigating young L2 learners’ pragmatic competence and (2) studies examining the potential of different materials with regard to pragmatics instruction. The review of L2 learners’ speech act competence addresses cross-sectional and longitudinal developmental studies, as well as studies that examined the effects of specific instructional approaches, learning contexts or materials on young L2 learners’ pragmatic competence. The review of studies examining materials addresses both studies focusing on designated L2 teaching materials produced for the explicit purpose of foreign language instruction of young learners, as well as studies examining speech acts included in children’s books. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues relevant to young learners and the teaching and researching of L2 pragmatics.

Procedural and Declarative Knowledge: The Swedish and Vietnamese learners' acquisition of knowledge in English grammar, and Pedagogical Implications

In this study, the L2 acquisition of English third person-s in different settings is examined. Two types of knowledge are declarative knowledge as the knowledge about a grammatical rule, and procedural knowledge as the ability to use these rules in spoken production. Data on procedural and declarative knowledge was collected from 32 young L2 learners in Sweden and 44 in Vietnam. The learners' acquisition of English grammar was assessed using elicitation instruments that captured procedural and declarative knowledge of English subject-verb agreement on third person singular s (3-sg-s). Procedural knowledge was tested using communicative tasks where the participants were asked to describe a boy's habitual action orally in a picture series. Declarative knowledge of grammar was investigated by means of a metalinguistic task. The learners were asked to correct the sentences and explain the reasons for their choices by referring to grammatical rules. The average scores on procedural and declarative tests within each group were statistically analyzed. The results show differences in learner outcomes, in that the Swedish learners are better at procedural knowledge and the Vietnamese learners are better at declarative knowledge. It is suggested the two types of knowledge are independent of each other. Implications for language learning and teaching for young learners will be further discussed based on the teaching practices as found in Son (2018).

Accent, Comprehensibility, and Confidence in Second and Third Languages of Adolescents: How Do They Relate to Language Proficiency and Language Interactions?

This study examines the degree to which adolescents in Iceland are judged by native Icelandic speakers to have a foreign accent both in Icelandic and in English, two languages that are learned under different conditions, as the community and school language, and through school and incidental exposure. Fifty-eight adolescents, 27 with Icelandic as their first language (L1), 21 as their second language (L2), and 10 as one of two L1s read passages in Icelandic and English. Twelve untrained native speakers of Icelandic rated the degree of foreign accent, comprehensibility, and confidence level and selected from multiple-choice options what they thought was the L1 of the speakers. Significant group differences were found in Icelandic but not in English. L2 speakers had a significantly greater foreign accent than the other groups in Icelandic; however, there was substantial overlap with some L2 speakers judged to be native and some L1 speakers judged as nonnative. All groups had a significantly greater accent in English than in Icelandic. Accent was judged more sternly than comprehensibility and confidence and related differently to vocabulary proficiency. Accent is typically not considered in studies of bilingual attainment in children for purposes of clinical assessment or educational placement but should be given closer attention. The study confirms previous findings that many young L2 learners have a detectable foreign accent. The overlap with L1 speakers also raises questions about the ideal of a native accent. More research is needed on how accent relates to bilingual and multilingual proficiency and on its impacts on comfort level, ease of communication, choice of language, and language exposure.

Learning semantic and thematic vocabulary clusters through embedded instruction: effects on very young English learners’ vocabulary acquisition and retention

AbstractResearch has suggested an interference effect for words taught in semantic clusters due to the semantic links connecting the words. Thematic clustering of vocabulary is an alternative method of presenting new words to second language (L2) learners. However, what is known about the effects of semantic and thematic clustering has been uncovered through the recruitment of adult learners, with little research conducted with very young learners. Moreover, language textbooks and curriculums for very young learners continue to structure vocabulary semantically. Embedded instruction using storybook contexts has been suggested as a suitable context-based vocabulary teaching technique although knowledge of its effects is limited. To investigate this claim, a quasi-experimental within-subjects design was used to investigate whether embedded instruction could differentially affect very young L2 learners’ learning of new vocabulary taught in either semantic or thematic clusters (N = 38) compared to a control (N = 15). The findings suggest that embedded instruction is beneficial for very young L2 learners’ vocabulary learning regardless of the clustering type. Participants gained and retained over time considerable receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge for both semantic and thematic clustered words, indicating that embedding vocabulary in storybook contexts may reduce the potential for interference between target words in semantic clusters.

The simple view of reading in French second language learners

This longitudinal study examined the relative contributions of word reading accuracy, word reading fluency and linguistic comprehension to reading comprehension from Grade 1 to Grade 2 in Canadian children who speak French as an L2. French is an opaque orthography but it is more consistent in how graphemes are mapped to phonemes than English. A total of 183 Non-Francophone children enrolled in French immersion programs in Canada (M = 80.91, SD = 3.61) were followed for one year from Grade 1 to Grade 2. The participants completed French measures of word reading accuracy, fluency, receptive vocabulary, and reading comprehension in each grade. The results showed that word reading fluency was a significant predictor of reading comprehension in both Grades 1 and 2. Additionally, word reading accuracy, word reading fluency and vocabulary all contributed to reading comprehension in Grades 1 and 2 and the magnitude of the contribution of each component remained similar across the two grades. Our findings provide support to the SVR model in young French L2 learners and highlight the importance of word reading fluency in reading comprehension in French.

Morphological instruction and reading development in young L2 readers: A scoping review of causal relationships

This scoping review explores the causal relationship between morphological instruction and reading development in young L2 learners by synthesizing 12 primary studies published between 2004 and 2019 (N = 1,535). These studies focused on reading English as the target language and involved participants between kindergarten and Grade 12 from four countries (China, Egypt, Singapore, and the USA). Findings suggested that (a) morphological instruction led to consistent and positive gains in L2 children’s morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, and the effect sizes (Cohen’s ds) ranged from small to large; and (b) the relationship between morphological instruction and other outcomes such as phonological awareness, word reading accuracy, word reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension was inconclusive. Notably, transfer effects of L2 English morphological instruction on novel word learning in English or on reading development in an additional language were only examined and observed in four primary studies. Discussion was provided regarding future instructional and research design.

Impact of exercise format and repetition on learning verb–noun collocations

A growing number of studies have probed the effectiveness of certain exercise formats in the learning of multi-word expressions (MWEs) in classroom settings. However, a number of important variables, such as MWE retention over an extended period of time and the role of repetition, have so far not been considered. Furthermore, studies have focused primarily on university level learners, with young L2 learners being almost entirely disregarded. The present study sought to address these gaps with 148 high school students who were randomly assigned one of three fill-in-the-gap exercises: (1) word-format, where participants selected the appropriate verb from a list provided; (2) letter-format, where the first-letter of the missing verb was provided as a clue; and (3) phrase-format, where participants chose an appropriate intact phrase from a list. Participants did the exercise once, twice or three times. The study investigated the effects of exercise format and repetition on the learning of 20 verb–noun collocations, one and eight weeks following the treatment. Results from generalized linear mixed-effects modeling showed that both exercise and repetition had significant impact on the learnability of the target MWEs, but the format had a smaller effect size than repetition. Rasch analysis was also used to examine the potential difference in the difficulty of MWEs, and how this difficulty may interact with the exercise format. The findings largely support previous research, but also underline the importance of repetition and suggest that exercise format does not uniformly interact with the learnability of MWEs.