This study explores the discursive construction and negotiation of exclusion and belonging, at the conceptual intersection of language ideologies and affect. Focusing on a group of multilingual ‘return’ migrant women of Turkish heritage, who were born, raised, and educated in Germany in Turkish migrant families and later settled in Turkey as highly-qualified adult professionals, the paper delves into the complexities of their lived experiences of languages. Based on in-depth interviews with eight multilingual women with diasporic upbringings in Germany and now residing in Turkey, the paper argues that the construction of authentic membership and the sense of (un)belonging is achieved through intensive affective engagements with standard and prescriptivist language ideologies in Turkey. It is further discussed that prevailing hegemonic language ideologies in both diasporic and local contexts create unique discursive sites of a marginalized and gendered vulnerability for the multilingual ‘returnee’ women in the study.
{"title":"Exploring the intersections of language ideologies and affect: The case of multilingual ‘returnee’ women in Turkey","authors":"Yasemin Erdoğan-Öztürk","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2023-0050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2023-0050","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study explores the discursive construction and negotiation of exclusion and belonging, at the conceptual intersection of language ideologies and affect. Focusing on a group of multilingual ‘return’ migrant women of Turkish heritage, who were born, raised, and educated in Germany in Turkish migrant families and later settled in Turkey as highly-qualified adult professionals, the paper delves into the complexities of their lived experiences of languages. Based on in-depth interviews with eight multilingual women with diasporic upbringings in Germany and now residing in Turkey, the paper argues that the construction of authentic membership and the sense of (un)belonging is achieved through intensive affective engagements with standard and prescriptivist language ideologies in Turkey. It is further discussed that prevailing hegemonic language ideologies in both diasporic and local contexts create unique discursive sites of a marginalized and gendered vulnerability for the multilingual ‘returnee’ women in the study.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141040758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper presents ongoing research on German as a foreign language in secondary education in the Netherlands. Specifically, it discusses the question what the language-ideological construct of proximity can tell us about people’s willingness to invest in German language education in this country. The paper is based on quantitative data about the number of German language learners in Dutch secondary education, as well as on qualitative data about the discourse surrounding German as a subject in Dutch secondary education. Through the perspective of proximity, the paper highlights three aspects of these data. First, it highlights the language-ideological nature of the historical separation of Dutch and German as two distinct language varieties. Second, it underlines the apparent foreignness of German language-culture as an explanation for the decline in the number of German language learners in the Netherlands. Third, it highlights the uneven distribution of the proportion of German language learners in the Netherlands, which may be explained by differences in the perceived proximity of Germanness in different parts of the country. Ultimately, the paper invites other researchers to consider the value of the notion of proximity for applied linguistics.
{"title":"Language ideologies and proximity: The position of German in Dutch secondary schools","authors":"Daan Hovens","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2024-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2024-0002","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper presents ongoing research on German as a foreign language in secondary education in the Netherlands. Specifically, it discusses the question what the language-ideological construct of proximity can tell us about people’s willingness to invest in German language education in this country. The paper is based on quantitative data about the number of German language learners in Dutch secondary education, as well as on qualitative data about the discourse surrounding German as a subject in Dutch secondary education. Through the perspective of proximity, the paper highlights three aspects of these data. First, it highlights the language-ideological nature of the historical separation of Dutch and German as two distinct language varieties. Second, it underlines the apparent foreignness of German language-culture as an explanation for the decline in the number of German language learners in the Netherlands. Third, it highlights the uneven distribution of the proportion of German language learners in the Netherlands, which may be explained by differences in the perceived proximity of Germanness in different parts of the country. Ultimately, the paper invites other researchers to consider the value of the notion of proximity for applied linguistics.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140691910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Interviews serve as a prominent methodological tool in applied linguistics and beyond, allowing researchers to explore participants’ experiences, ideologies and beliefs. Yet, the extent to which interview questions are shared in advance with participants is often unclear, although this methodological decision can substantially shape responses and subsequent reflections. Some advantages of sharing interview questions in advance include enhanced participant engagement and reflexivity, reduced interview anxiety, and more thoughtful responses. Conversely, the practice may engender risks such as participant bias, and predetermined answers. This reflective piece addresses this underexplored aspect by first discussing methodological considerations of such a practice, including a brief review of existing practices in research on language teacher ideologies and beliefs. Second, it considers ethical dimensions entailed in such a practice. Additionally, this paper explores how six English teachers in Norway experienced having access to all interview questions in advance to prepare for interviews centred around their individual teaching beliefs about multilingualism and multilingual practices. The paper concludes by suggesting that sharing interview questions in advance can benefit both participants and enhance the quality of research.
{"title":"Sharing interview questions in advance: Methodological considerations in applied linguistics research","authors":"Åsta Haukås, Therese Tishakov","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2023-0045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2023-0045","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Interviews serve as a prominent methodological tool in applied linguistics and beyond, allowing researchers to explore participants’ experiences, ideologies and beliefs. Yet, the extent to which interview questions are shared in advance with participants is often unclear, although this methodological decision can substantially shape responses and subsequent reflections. Some advantages of sharing interview questions in advance include enhanced participant engagement and reflexivity, reduced interview anxiety, and more thoughtful responses. Conversely, the practice may engender risks such as participant bias, and predetermined answers. This reflective piece addresses this underexplored aspect by first discussing methodological considerations of such a practice, including a brief review of existing practices in research on language teacher ideologies and beliefs. Second, it considers ethical dimensions entailed in such a practice. Additionally, this paper explores how six English teachers in Norway experienced having access to all interview questions in advance to prepare for interviews centred around their individual teaching beliefs about multilingualism and multilingual practices. The paper concludes by suggesting that sharing interview questions in advance can benefit both participants and enhance the quality of research.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140694249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Research in second language acquisition has shown that vocabulary growth is beneficial for reading (Qian 1999, 2000), listening comprehension (Staehr 2009), and has a positive influence on writing and speaking performances (Johnson et al. 2016; Levelt 1995). Vocabulary learning is hence a central pillar in the second language classroom. The activities used to enable the acquisition of new vocabulary play a crucial role in the learners’ path to proficiency. In this regard, the textbooks used are important since they can largely influence what types of vocabulary activities are used by the teachers in the classroom (Allen 2008; Tavakoli and Wright 2020; Woodward 1989). Nation (2013) provides a useful framework to analyze such activities. He identifies four strands that should be used in a balanced way to provide students with a comprehensive variety of tools to learn and apply new vocabulary. This study explores to what extent the four strands of activities are present in mainstream textbooks of Italian as a Foreign Language. This study also bridges a gap in the literature, since little research on vocabulary instruction has been done on the textbooks used for languages other than English. The result of our analysis shows that the Italian textbooks mostly focus on vocabulary aspects such as form-meaning mapping and grammar, leaving less room for meaning focused input and output. Furthermore, no activities that aimed at fluency development were found.
{"title":"Vocabulary Instruction in Textbooks of Italian as a Foreign Language: A Descriptive Analysis","authors":"Valentina Concu, Sara Noli","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2022-0034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2022-0034","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Research in second language acquisition has shown that vocabulary growth is beneficial for reading (Qian 1999, 2000), listening comprehension (Staehr 2009), and has a positive influence on writing and speaking performances (Johnson et al. 2016; Levelt 1995). Vocabulary learning is hence a central pillar in the second language classroom. The activities used to enable the acquisition of new vocabulary play a crucial role in the learners’ path to proficiency. In this regard, the textbooks used are important since they can largely influence what types of vocabulary activities are used by the teachers in the classroom (Allen 2008; Tavakoli and Wright 2020; Woodward 1989). Nation (2013) provides a useful framework to analyze such activities. He identifies four strands that should be used in a balanced way to provide students with a comprehensive variety of tools to learn and apply new vocabulary. This study explores to what extent the four strands of activities are present in mainstream textbooks of Italian as a Foreign Language. This study also bridges a gap in the literature, since little research on vocabulary instruction has been done on the textbooks used for languages other than English. The result of our analysis shows that the Italian textbooks mostly focus on vocabulary aspects such as form-meaning mapping and grammar, leaving less room for meaning focused input and output. Furthermore, no activities that aimed at fluency development were found.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140230955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Several researchers have drawn attention to the educational challenge posed by multilingual classes where students from different linguistic backgrounds coexist. Current institutional initiatives in Europe, but also elsewhere, advocate for the maintenance and promotion of multilingual and multicultural diversity within both monolingual and multilingual classrooms. In this study located in Spain, we were interested in exploring the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) vocabulary production and FL categorization of a group of heritage bilinguals in comparison with their mainstream monolingual peers. Results from a categorization task revealed that on most measures taken, heritage bilinguals, despite being a more heterogenous group, performed similarly in terms of vocabulary production in general, and as compared against the framework of a standard pre-B1 Cambridge vocabulary list, FL categorization, and typicality structures. The levelling effect of the EFL class is claimed to be accountable for this lack of differences. Furthermore, we dare speculate the generalization of CLIL could play in favour of more inclusive classes where immigrant learners are not left behind and can realise their potential to the fullest.
{"title":"Some good news for the school: the levelling effect of the EFL class in FL vocabulary production and FL categorization of autochthonous learners and heritage speaker learners","authors":"M. Agustín-Llach","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2022-0045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2022-0045","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Several researchers have drawn attention to the educational challenge posed by multilingual classes where students from different linguistic backgrounds coexist. Current institutional initiatives in Europe, but also elsewhere, advocate for the maintenance and promotion of multilingual and multicultural diversity within both monolingual and multilingual classrooms. In this study located in Spain, we were interested in exploring the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) vocabulary production and FL categorization of a group of heritage bilinguals in comparison with their mainstream monolingual peers. Results from a categorization task revealed that on most measures taken, heritage bilinguals, despite being a more heterogenous group, performed similarly in terms of vocabulary production in general, and as compared against the framework of a standard pre-B1 Cambridge vocabulary list, FL categorization, and typicality structures. The levelling effect of the EFL class is claimed to be accountable for this lack of differences. Furthermore, we dare speculate the generalization of CLIL could play in favour of more inclusive classes where immigrant learners are not left behind and can realise their potential to the fullest.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140228555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present study attempted to investigate the writing proficiency differences between the two groups of EFL and ESL writers considering the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity measures. Additionally, it aimed to disclose the association between writing proficiency and the utilization of the New General Service List (NGSL). To these ends, a corpus of 1331 argumentative essays accumulated from EFL and ESL writers on a single topic was examined. The findings of the analysis in the measures of linguistic complexity showed that the writings of the ESL group scored slightly higher than those of the EFL group in every corresponding sub-construct; that is, ESL writers were found moderately more proficient than EFL writers concerning the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity of their writings. However, the outcomes showed that EFL writers utilized more NGSL words in their essays, leading to the consideration that NGSL use may be negatively associated with proficiency levels. Hence, contextual diversity leads to distinct levels of proficiency, and lexical coverage can be considered a great indicator of writing skill and quality.
{"title":"Illuminating the Impacts of Contextual Diversity on L2 Writing Proficiency: A Corpus-Based Analysis in the Measures of Linguistic Complexity","authors":"Masoomeh Estaji, Arya Ghoddousi","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2022-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2022-0004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The present study attempted to investigate the writing proficiency differences between the two groups of EFL and ESL writers considering the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity measures. Additionally, it aimed to disclose the association between writing proficiency and the utilization of the New General Service List (NGSL). To these ends, a corpus of 1331 argumentative essays accumulated from EFL and ESL writers on a single topic was examined. The findings of the analysis in the measures of linguistic complexity showed that the writings of the ESL group scored slightly higher than those of the EFL group in every corresponding sub-construct; that is, ESL writers were found moderately more proficient than EFL writers concerning the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity of their writings. However, the outcomes showed that EFL writers utilized more NGSL words in their essays, leading to the consideration that NGSL use may be negatively associated with proficiency levels. Hence, contextual diversity leads to distinct levels of proficiency, and lexical coverage can be considered a great indicator of writing skill and quality.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139883276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present study attempted to investigate the writing proficiency differences between the two groups of EFL and ESL writers considering the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity measures. Additionally, it aimed to disclose the association between writing proficiency and the utilization of the New General Service List (NGSL). To these ends, a corpus of 1331 argumentative essays accumulated from EFL and ESL writers on a single topic was examined. The findings of the analysis in the measures of linguistic complexity showed that the writings of the ESL group scored slightly higher than those of the EFL group in every corresponding sub-construct; that is, ESL writers were found moderately more proficient than EFL writers concerning the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity of their writings. However, the outcomes showed that EFL writers utilized more NGSL words in their essays, leading to the consideration that NGSL use may be negatively associated with proficiency levels. Hence, contextual diversity leads to distinct levels of proficiency, and lexical coverage can be considered a great indicator of writing skill and quality.
{"title":"Illuminating the Impacts of Contextual Diversity on L2 Writing Proficiency: A Corpus-Based Analysis in the Measures of Linguistic Complexity","authors":"Masoomeh Estaji, Arya Ghoddousi","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2022-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2022-0004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The present study attempted to investigate the writing proficiency differences between the two groups of EFL and ESL writers considering the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity measures. Additionally, it aimed to disclose the association between writing proficiency and the utilization of the New General Service List (NGSL). To these ends, a corpus of 1331 argumentative essays accumulated from EFL and ESL writers on a single topic was examined. The findings of the analysis in the measures of linguistic complexity showed that the writings of the ESL group scored slightly higher than those of the EFL group in every corresponding sub-construct; that is, ESL writers were found moderately more proficient than EFL writers concerning the lexical, syntactic, and morphological complexity of their writings. However, the outcomes showed that EFL writers utilized more NGSL words in their essays, leading to the consideration that NGSL use may be negatively associated with proficiency levels. Hence, contextual diversity leads to distinct levels of proficiency, and lexical coverage can be considered a great indicator of writing skill and quality.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139823572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This study aims at contributing to the field of multilingual writing and providing evidence for Cummins’ Common Underlying Proficiency Hypothesis (CUP) through analysing trilingual writing among secondary education students enrolled in a Basque immersion program. The main objective of the present study is to explore the relationships between participants’ compositions in their three languages of schooling (Basque, Spanish and English). A trilingual corpus of argumentative scientific writing essays was collected from a sample of 113 secondary education students. The texts were analysed with MultiAzterTest to retrieve complexity, accuracy and fluency measures. Correlational analyses were performed to explore correlations of each measure across languages, and low-moderate correlations were found between most measures and their counterparts. Specifically, accuracy and fluency measures showed stronger between-language relationships, which were especially salient between Basque and Spanish. Findings suggest that multilingual learners exhibit similar across-language patterns in the writing process, thus supporting Cummins’ CUP. The emerging similarities have important implications for bi/multilingual education programs, as they might inform curriculum design and instruction to foster crosslinguistic transfer and metalinguistic multilingual awareness.
{"title":"Exploring multilingual writers in secondary education: insights from a trilingual corpus","authors":"Roberto Arias-Hermoso, Ainara Imaz Agirre","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2023-0022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2023-0022","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study aims at contributing to the field of multilingual writing and providing evidence for Cummins’ Common Underlying Proficiency Hypothesis (CUP) through analysing trilingual writing among secondary education students enrolled in a Basque immersion program. The main objective of the present study is to explore the relationships between participants’ compositions in their three languages of schooling (Basque, Spanish and English). A trilingual corpus of argumentative scientific writing essays was collected from a sample of 113 secondary education students. The texts were analysed with MultiAzterTest to retrieve complexity, accuracy and fluency measures. Correlational analyses were performed to explore correlations of each measure across languages, and low-moderate correlations were found between most measures and their counterparts. Specifically, accuracy and fluency measures showed stronger between-language relationships, which were especially salient between Basque and Spanish. Findings suggest that multilingual learners exhibit similar across-language patterns in the writing process, thus supporting Cummins’ CUP. The emerging similarities have important implications for bi/multilingual education programs, as they might inform curriculum design and instruction to foster crosslinguistic transfer and metalinguistic multilingual awareness.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138967877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Previous research on the perception of second-language speech has suggested that non-native listeners may benefit from sharing the speakers’ first language, e.g. speakers of Spanish find Spanish-accented English easy to understand. In the present study, L2 English speech samples elicited from L1 Finnish and L1 Finland-Swedish speakers were rated for comprehensibility and accentedness by English-speaking listeners and the speakers’ peers, seeking to explore whether there is a difference between the listener groups. In addition, the speakers’ overall spoken proficiency (A2, B1, B2 on the CEFR scale) was considered in the analysis to find out if the possible shared L1 effect is connected to the speakers’ proficiency. The results were mixed, finding that L1 Finland-Swedish listeners were more lenient towards their peers’ English than the English-speaking listeners were, whereas L1 Finnish listeners gave comprehensibility ratings equal to those given by English-speaking listeners, and accentedness ratings that were stricter. The finding supports earlier suggestions on the effects of sharing the speakers’ L1 for L2 speech perception being L1 dependent. As for the influence of the speakers’ proficiency, the results demonstrate a greater difference between English-speaking listeners and listeners who share the speakers’ L1 regarding low-proficiency speakers.
{"title":"Second Language Learners Listening to their Peers: Is There a Shared L1 Effect for L2 Comprehensibility and Accentedness?","authors":"Elina Tergujeff","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2022-0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2022-0014","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Previous research on the perception of second-language speech has suggested that non-native listeners may benefit from sharing the speakers’ first language, e.g. speakers of Spanish find Spanish-accented English easy to understand. In the present study, L2 English speech samples elicited from L1 Finnish and L1 Finland-Swedish speakers were rated for comprehensibility and accentedness by English-speaking listeners and the speakers’ peers, seeking to explore whether there is a difference between the listener groups. In addition, the speakers’ overall spoken proficiency (A2, B1, B2 on the CEFR scale) was considered in the analysis to find out if the possible shared L1 effect is connected to the speakers’ proficiency. The results were mixed, finding that L1 Finland-Swedish listeners were more lenient towards their peers’ English than the English-speaking listeners were, whereas L1 Finnish listeners gave comprehensibility ratings equal to those given by English-speaking listeners, and accentedness ratings that were stricter. The finding supports earlier suggestions on the effects of sharing the speakers’ L1 for L2 speech perception being L1 dependent. As for the influence of the speakers’ proficiency, the results demonstrate a greater difference between English-speaking listeners and listeners who share the speakers’ L1 regarding low-proficiency speakers.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135385136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Although the competent handling with passive is acquired before school entrance, its comprehension is considered to be challenging in school books. According to a corpus linguistic analysis, passive is more frequent in school books than in texts from leisure contexts. Moreover, the agent differs semantically depending on context: Human agents appear predominantly in all contexts, but the proportion of abstract systemic agents are significantly higher in school books for biology and chemistry than in school books for history or in texts from leisure contexts. Furthermore, a survey shows that students do not perceive the general use of passive as challenging, but those sentences with abstract systemic agents are assessed as more challenging than comparable sentences with human agents. This leads to the assumption that challenges in reception of school books arise neither only from grammatical structure nor from global linguistic functions. Semantical and functional differences from specific constructions are fundamental to locate potential language-based challenges in school books. Consequently, the joint reflection of concrete formal and functional aspects should be considered in the development of diagnostic instruments as well as in the operationalisation of the language of schooling. Furthermore, cross-linguistic comparisons can sensitise for conspicuous use of structures and support a language-sensitive teaching in both languages.
{"title":"Passive Sentences and Abstract Agents in German School Books","authors":"Sarah Olthoff","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2022-0036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2022-0036","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Although the competent handling with passive is acquired before school entrance, its comprehension is considered to be challenging in school books. According to a corpus linguistic analysis, passive is more frequent in school books than in texts from leisure contexts. Moreover, the agent differs semantically depending on context: Human agents appear predominantly in all contexts, but the proportion of abstract systemic agents are significantly higher in school books for biology and chemistry than in school books for history or in texts from leisure contexts. Furthermore, a survey shows that students do not perceive the general use of passive as challenging, but those sentences with abstract systemic agents are assessed as more challenging than comparable sentences with human agents. This leads to the assumption that challenges in reception of school books arise neither only from grammatical structure nor from global linguistic functions. Semantical and functional differences from specific constructions are fundamental to locate potential language-based challenges in school books. Consequently, the joint reflection of concrete formal and functional aspects should be considered in the development of diagnostic instruments as well as in the operationalisation of the language of schooling. Furthermore, cross-linguistic comparisons can sensitise for conspicuous use of structures and support a language-sensitive teaching in both languages.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46103769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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