Abstract This partially longitudinal study focussed on the ability of pupils to write descriptive texts in English and French as foreign languages and German as language of schooling. The teaching of two foreign languages from primary school onwards is compulsory in Switzerland, where this study is situated. The study responds to the urgent need for empirical research on cross-linguistic and cross-level development as a foundation for the improvement of language teaching. Current curricula do provide for the coherent fostering of the plurilingual repertoires of learners, across languages and school levels. But this still stands in sharp contrast to the multiple compartmentalisations and discontinuities induced by the educational system. Letters with spatial descriptions were collected in a quasi-experimental design in the canton of St. Gallen at the end of primary school (Year 6, N=185) and in the first year of secondary school (Year 7, N=218). The texts were analysed in terms of spatial organisation and text length. Moderate but statistically significant correlations between languages were found for both variables. The analysis revealed continuity of the development in the foreign languages, but stagnation in the language of schooling. The benefits of fostering transversally accessible textual patterns through a genre-based approach, in particular for the second foreign language (L3), are discussed.
{"title":"Development of writing abilities across languages and school-levels: Room descriptions produced in three languages at primary and secondary school","authors":"Mirjam Egli Cuenat","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2021-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2021-0010","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This partially longitudinal study focussed on the ability of pupils to write descriptive texts in English and French as foreign languages and German as language of schooling. The teaching of two foreign languages from primary school onwards is compulsory in Switzerland, where this study is situated. The study responds to the urgent need for empirical research on cross-linguistic and cross-level development as a foundation for the improvement of language teaching. Current curricula do provide for the coherent fostering of the plurilingual repertoires of learners, across languages and school levels. But this still stands in sharp contrast to the multiple compartmentalisations and discontinuities induced by the educational system. Letters with spatial descriptions were collected in a quasi-experimental design in the canton of St. Gallen at the end of primary school (Year 6, N=185) and in the first year of secondary school (Year 7, N=218). The texts were analysed in terms of spatial organisation and text length. Moderate but statistically significant correlations between languages were found for both variables. The analysis revealed continuity of the development in the foreign languages, but stagnation in the language of schooling. The benefits of fostering transversally accessible textual patterns through a genre-based approach, in particular for the second foreign language (L3), are discussed.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"11 1","pages":"132 - 159"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46828502","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}
Purpose: The study aimed at assessing the role of language in the national identity of a socially dynamic society. Methodology: A desktop literature review was used for this purpose. Relevant seminal references and journal articles for the study were identified using Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria entailed papers that were not over 20 years old. Findings: From the researcher’s perspective, there is a danger that, if political communities are viewed as deriving from a shared or common cultural heritage or tradition, the political actions they take are interpreted as motivated by a shared sense of „ethnic identity‟. Languages symbolize identities and are used to signal identities by those who speak them. People are also categorized by other people according to the language they speak. People belong to many social groups and have many social identities. There is often a particularly strong link between language and a sense of belonging to a national group, a sense of national identity. ‘National’ language(s) are taught in schools as subjects and are also used in schools to teach other subjects. For some children this means learning to read and write, and then speak, a different language from the language of the home
{"title":"The Role of Language in The National Identity of a Socially Dynamic Society","authors":"Rachel Kamau","doi":"10.47941/ejl.898","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47941/ejl.898","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The study aimed at assessing the role of language in the national identity of a socially dynamic society. \u0000Methodology: A desktop literature review was used for this purpose. Relevant seminal references and journal articles for the study were identified using Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria entailed papers that were not over 20 years old. \u0000Findings: From the researcher’s perspective, there is a danger that, if political communities are viewed as deriving from a shared or common cultural heritage or tradition, the political actions they take are interpreted as motivated by a shared sense of „ethnic identity‟. Languages symbolize identities and are used to signal identities by those who speak them. People are also categorized by other people according to the language they speak. People belong to many social groups and have many social identities. There is often a particularly strong link between language and a sense of belonging to a national group, a sense of national identity. ‘National’ language(s) are taught in schools as subjects and are also used in schools to teach other subjects. For some children this means learning to read and write, and then speak, a different language from the language of the home","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81846580","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}
Purpose: Non-verbal communication has strong impact on the behavior of both instructors and learners. As a result, both the learners’ and instructors’ success rely on the effective communication between them in the classroom. The purpose of our study therefore is to evaluate instructors’ and learners’ perceptions on use of non-verbal communication in instruction of English in Kenya. Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Conclusion: From the findings of this study, one may conclude that non-verbal communication helped in effective teaching and learning of English language. The study also concluded that students understand better when their teachers use non-verbal cues in the class. Instructors’ non-verbal communication is one of the best tools for classroom management and control. Recommendations: The study recommended that the government should make provision for learning resources which can complement teachers’ non-verbal usage in order to deliver content and knowledge effectively. Also, since classroom communication is a two-way process, teachers should better understand their students’ non-verbal communication. This means that if there is any communication problem in the class, the teacher should be able to adopt better methods of teaching which should also be accompanied with non-verbal gestures.
{"title":"INSTRUCTORS’ AND LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON USE OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN INSTRUCTION OF ENGLISH IN KENYA; A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW","authors":"M. Kamene","doi":"10.47941/ejl.895","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47941/ejl.895","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: Non-verbal communication has strong impact on the behavior of both instructors and learners. As a result, both the learners’ and instructors’ success rely on the effective communication between them in the classroom. The purpose of our study therefore is to evaluate instructors’ and learners’ perceptions on use of non-verbal communication in instruction of English in Kenya. \u0000Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. \u0000Conclusion: From the findings of this study, one may conclude that non-verbal communication helped in effective teaching and learning of English language. The study also concluded that students understand better when their teachers use non-verbal cues in the class. Instructors’ non-verbal communication is one of the best tools for classroom management and control. \u0000Recommendations: The study recommended that the government should make provision for learning resources which can complement teachers’ non-verbal usage in order to deliver content and knowledge effectively. Also, since classroom communication is a two-way process, teachers should better understand their students’ non-verbal communication. This means that if there is any communication problem in the class, the teacher should be able to adopt better methods of teaching which should also be accompanied with non-verbal gestures.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88684901","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}
Purpose: Sheng is a blend of two words derived from Kiswahili and English. It is a code created by young people as a badge of identity, also designed to exclude adults. Sheng morphosyntactic structures can highly affect the student’s competence in Kiswahili and English, which is an examinable subject by the Kenya National Examination Council. The purpose of the study therefore, is to evaluate the impact of Sheng dialect on the English and Swahili teaching in Kenya. Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Conclusion: Sheng code interferes with standard Kiswahili and English and hence it has negative effects on teaching of formal education. The study identified that learners have continued to make grammatically Sheng- related errors that hinder their proficiency in English and Swahili. The study found out that, inadequate exposure to Standard English and Swahili and the linguistic backgrounds of the learners make them to evolve communication strategies in which Sheng- formation processes play a major role. Recommendations: The study recommends educators to discourage the learners from participating in the discourse that is likely to influence their language competence. School administrators can come up with school-based language policies where certain days of the week are dedicated to communicating in Kiswahili and the students made to conform to it.
{"title":"IMPACT OF SHENG DIALECT ON THE ENGLISH AND SWAHILI TEACHING IN KENYA; A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW","authors":"Albert Obata","doi":"10.47941/ejl.891","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47941/ejl.891","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: Sheng is a blend of two words derived from Kiswahili and English. It is a code created by young people as a badge of identity, also designed to exclude adults. Sheng morphosyntactic structures can highly affect the student’s competence in Kiswahili and English, which is an examinable subject by the Kenya National Examination Council. The purpose of the study therefore, is to evaluate the impact of Sheng dialect on the English and Swahili teaching in Kenya. \u0000Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. \u0000Conclusion: Sheng code interferes with standard Kiswahili and English and hence it has negative effects on teaching of formal education. The study identified that learners have continued to make grammatically Sheng- related errors that hinder their proficiency in English and Swahili. The study found out that, inadequate exposure to Standard English and Swahili and the linguistic backgrounds of the learners make them to evolve communication strategies in which Sheng- formation processes play a major role. \u0000Recommendations: The study recommends educators to discourage the learners from participating in the discourse that is likely to influence their language competence. School administrators can come up with school-based language policies where certain days of the week are dedicated to communicating in Kiswahili and the students made to conform to it.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81279873","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}
Purpose: Synonym is a paradigmatic relation that enables lexically simple units to have same meaning as lexically complex units and vice versa. It is necessary to develop student’s vocabulary by use of synonyms. By learning the synonym, the students not only know one word but also other words that have nearly same meaning on the text. The purpose of the study therefore is to evaluate the effects of synonyms in English as second language in Kenya. Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Conclusion: Learning vocabulary is one of the most efficient ways in improving the English students’ comprehension. The study concluded that it is necessary to develop students’ vocabulary by use of synonyms. By learning the synonym, the students not only know one word but also other words that have nearly same meaning on the text. Recommendations: The study concluded that teachers can use synonym in learning vocabulary with their own strategy or other subject to enrich students’ knowledge of English vocabulary. Also, students can use synonym in learning certain subject when the aim of their learning is comprehended. Further there is need for the government to procure and distribute enough teaching and learning materials that can facilitate the improvement of learning English vocabulary.
{"title":"EFFECTS OF SYNONYMS IN ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE IN KENYA; A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW","authors":"Albert Obata","doi":"10.47941/ejl.892","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47941/ejl.892","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: Synonym is a paradigmatic relation that enables lexically simple units to have same meaning as lexically complex units and vice versa. It is necessary to develop student’s vocabulary by use of synonyms. By learning the synonym, the students not only know one word but also other words that have nearly same meaning on the text. The purpose of the study therefore is to evaluate the effects of synonyms in English as second language in Kenya. \u0000Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. \u0000Conclusion: Learning vocabulary is one of the most efficient ways in improving the English students’ comprehension. The study concluded that it is necessary to develop students’ vocabulary by use of synonyms. By learning the synonym, the students not only know one word but also other words that have nearly same meaning on the text. \u0000Recommendations: The study concluded that teachers can use synonym in learning vocabulary with their own strategy or other subject to enrich students’ knowledge of English vocabulary. Also, students can use synonym in learning certain subject when the aim of their learning is comprehended. Further there is need for the government to procure and distribute enough teaching and learning materials that can facilitate the improvement of learning English vocabulary.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89069506","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}
Studies show that majority of African men engage in polygamous marriages, where the men marry more than one wife. Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter and Ama Ata Aidoo's Changes are two texts that portray polygamy as an affront to romantic love. The present study seeks to highlight the various constructions of polygamy in the texts and to showcase how polygamy deprives women of romantic love and critique its effects on the lives of characters in the texts. This study, therefore, is worth examining to shed a light of the social ills of polygamy in the society today. The study is a qualitative one, it employs textual and critical analysis to analyse the texts. The analysis indicates that polygamous marriages do not guarantee healthy relationship between spouses, men use polygamy to subject women to inferior positions, women in polygamous marriages are depressed, lonely and are also deprived of joy and love and there is also disintegration between the children in polygamous homes. The study adopts polygamy as the main theoretical framework in theorizing the work. Findings of the study have implications for scholars and society to reorient their minds about polygamous marriages.
{"title":"Polygamy is an Affront to Romantic Relationship: A Critical Analysis in Mariama Ba'S So Long a Letter and Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes.","authors":"Lydia Apio","doi":"10.47941/ejl.886","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47941/ejl.886","url":null,"abstract":"Studies show that majority of African men engage in polygamous marriages, where the men marry more than one wife. Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter and Ama Ata Aidoo's Changes are two texts that portray polygamy as an affront to romantic love. The present study seeks to highlight the various constructions of polygamy in the texts and to showcase how polygamy deprives women of romantic love and critique its effects on the lives of characters in the texts. This study, therefore, is worth examining to shed a light of the social ills of polygamy in the society today. The study is a qualitative one, it employs textual and critical analysis to analyse the texts. The analysis indicates that polygamous marriages do not guarantee healthy relationship between spouses, men use polygamy to subject women to inferior positions, women in polygamous marriages are depressed, lonely and are also deprived of joy and love and there is also disintegration between the children in polygamous homes. The study adopts polygamy as the main theoretical framework in theorizing the work. Findings of the study have implications for scholars and society to reorient their minds about polygamous marriages.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87619207","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 In a challenging criticism-generating oral defense of a doctoral program, examiners evaluate the PhD dissertation so as to confirm its scholarly merit. The main purpose of this ethnographic study was identifying the examiners’ expectations of the viva which was achieved by using a content analytic approach for analyzing the disputation section of two applied linguistics doctoral defense sessions from two accredited Iranian universities in 2019. Despite the similar shortcomings in terms of innovation, development, sampling and treatment, raised by the examiners, one of the candidates passed with distinction while the other was suggested re-submission. This finding suggests that the outcome of a viva, in an EFL context, not only depends on adherence to the conventions of doctoral research but is also influenced by the strictness of the examiners, the candidates’ language proficiency, and negotiation skills in this confrontational communicative event. Findings provide evidence for factors, namely the examiners’ attributes, the doctoral candidate’s attributes, and the dissertation attributes that determine the success or failure of PhD candidates in displaying their claims of scholarship during their defense sessions.
{"title":"Referral for re-submission: Scholarly Expectations of EFL Applied Linguistics Doctoral Defense Sessions","authors":"A. Jalilifar, N. Mayahi","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2021-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2021-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In a challenging criticism-generating oral defense of a doctoral program, examiners evaluate the PhD dissertation so as to confirm its scholarly merit. The main purpose of this ethnographic study was identifying the examiners’ expectations of the viva which was achieved by using a content analytic approach for analyzing the disputation section of two applied linguistics doctoral defense sessions from two accredited Iranian universities in 2019. Despite the similar shortcomings in terms of innovation, development, sampling and treatment, raised by the examiners, one of the candidates passed with distinction while the other was suggested re-submission. This finding suggests that the outcome of a viva, in an EFL context, not only depends on adherence to the conventions of doctoral research but is also influenced by the strictness of the examiners, the candidates’ language proficiency, and negotiation skills in this confrontational communicative event. Findings provide evidence for factors, namely the examiners’ attributes, the doctoral candidate’s attributes, and the dissertation attributes that determine the success or failure of PhD candidates in displaying their claims of scholarship during their defense sessions.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"11 1","pages":"160 - 189"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46746927","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 In the last decade, thousands of forcibly-displaced people have sought refuge in the Netherlands. Many of them are highly educated, and their integration into the host society’s labour market could improve their own quality of life as well as making a significant contribution to the country’s economy. However, refugees face many challenges in their search for employment. This is the first exploratory study of the role that professional intercultural communicative competence (PICC) plays in highly-educated refugees’ integration in the Dutch labour market. Interviews and focus groups were used to collect data from refugees who had already successfully integrated into the Dutch workforce as well as from newcomers who were still in the process of achieving this. Content analysis was performed on the data, using rounds of deductive and inductive coding and analysis. The findings indicate that the development of PICC (including resilience) plays an important role in helping refugees overcome the challenges they face. The article discusses the implications of the findings – should they generalise – in terms of PICC training offered to refugees themselves (as part of their language courses) and to professionals who work with them, with the aim of facilitating and promoting the refugees’ labour market integration.
{"title":"Professional intercultural communicative competence and labour market integration among highly-educated refugees in the Netherlands","authors":"Anna Fardau Schukking, R. Kircher","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2021-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2021-0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In the last decade, thousands of forcibly-displaced people have sought refuge in the Netherlands. Many of them are highly educated, and their integration into the host society’s labour market could improve their own quality of life as well as making a significant contribution to the country’s economy. However, refugees face many challenges in their search for employment. This is the first exploratory study of the role that professional intercultural communicative competence (PICC) plays in highly-educated refugees’ integration in the Dutch labour market. Interviews and focus groups were used to collect data from refugees who had already successfully integrated into the Dutch workforce as well as from newcomers who were still in the process of achieving this. Content analysis was performed on the data, using rounds of deductive and inductive coding and analysis. The findings indicate that the development of PICC (including resilience) plays an important role in helping refugees overcome the challenges they face. The article discusses the implications of the findings – should they generalise – in terms of PICC training offered to refugees themselves (as part of their language courses) and to professionals who work with them, with the aim of facilitating and promoting the refugees’ labour market integration.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"10 1","pages":"31 - 56"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47316017","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 The increasing importance of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) has led to research on the linguistic characteristics of its levels, as this would help the application of the CEFR in the design of teaching materials, courses, and assessments. This study investigated whether CEFR levels can be distinguished with reference to syntactic complexity (SC). 14- and 17-year-old Finnish learners of English (N=397) wrote three writing tasks which were rated against the CEFR levels. The ratings were analysed with multi-facet Rasch analysis and the texts were analysed with automated tools. Findings suggest that the clearest separators at lower CEFR levels (A1–A2) were the mean sentence and T-unit length, variation in sentence length, infinitive density, clauses per sentence or T-unit, and verb phrases per T-unit. For higher levels (B1–B2) they were modifiers per noun phrase, mean clause length, complex nominals per clause, and left embeddedness. The results support previous findings that the length of and variation in the longer production units (sentences, T-units) are the SC indices that most clearly separate the lower CEFR levels, whereas the higher levels are best distinguished in terms of complexity at the clausal and phrasal levels.
{"title":"Syntactic complexity in Finnish-background EFL learners’ writing at CEFR levels A1–B2","authors":"Ghulam Abbas Khushik, A. Huhta","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2021-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2021-0011","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The increasing importance of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) has led to research on the linguistic characteristics of its levels, as this would help the application of the CEFR in the design of teaching materials, courses, and assessments. This study investigated whether CEFR levels can be distinguished with reference to syntactic complexity (SC). 14- and 17-year-old Finnish learners of English (N=397) wrote three writing tasks which were rated against the CEFR levels. The ratings were analysed with multi-facet Rasch analysis and the texts were analysed with automated tools. Findings suggest that the clearest separators at lower CEFR levels (A1–A2) were the mean sentence and T-unit length, variation in sentence length, infinitive density, clauses per sentence or T-unit, and verb phrases per T-unit. For higher levels (B1–B2) they were modifiers per noun phrase, mean clause length, complex nominals per clause, and left embeddedness. The results support previous findings that the length of and variation in the longer production units (sentences, T-units) are the SC indices that most clearly separate the lower CEFR levels, whereas the higher levels are best distinguished in terms of complexity at the clausal and phrasal levels.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"10 1","pages":"142 - 184"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49251134","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 Research suggests that explicit pronunciation teaching improves second language speech production, but language teachers often lack the relevant knowledge to teach pronunciation. This study examined segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English and the relationship between segmental errors and foreign accent ratings in two groups differing in amount of second language experience. Our study identified a number of common segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English, which may guide formal pronunciation instruction. We further found that the sheer number of segmental errors in a sentence affected foreign accent ratings as did the number of vowel errors in a sentence. We speculate that the detrimental effect of vowel errors may be related to the finding that vowel errors resulted in non-English segments more often than consonant errors did. Finally, we found a facilitative effect of second language experience on foreign accent rating that cannot be reduced to number of segmental errors, despite the finding that number of consonant errors was reduced with increased second language experience.
{"title":"Segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English","authors":"C. Horslund, Parker F. Van Nostrand","doi":"10.1515/eujal-2020-0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/eujal-2020-0019","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research suggests that explicit pronunciation teaching improves second language speech production, but language teachers often lack the relevant knowledge to teach pronunciation. This study examined segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English and the relationship between segmental errors and foreign accent ratings in two groups differing in amount of second language experience. Our study identified a number of common segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English, which may guide formal pronunciation instruction. We further found that the sheer number of segmental errors in a sentence affected foreign accent ratings as did the number of vowel errors in a sentence. We speculate that the detrimental effect of vowel errors may be related to the finding that vowel errors resulted in non-English segments more often than consonant errors did. Finally, we found a facilitative effect of second language experience on foreign accent rating that cannot be reduced to number of segmental errors, despite the finding that number of consonant errors was reduced with increased second language experience.","PeriodicalId":43181,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"10 1","pages":"109 - 141"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46319549","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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