Abstract Research by this author found abdominal enhancement techniques can address difficulties in Mandarin and Cantonese speakers’ English pronunciation by helping them: (1) maintain long vowel/diphthong sounds for their required duration; and (2) adequately voice fricative consonants. This current study aimed to further understand the impact of these techniques, chiefly on learners from other L1s who also characteristically find these areas of pronunciation problematic. Consequently, I charted the progress of a Spanish speaker and a Japanese speaker as they were taught the techniques in an English pronunciation course. A cohort of Mandarin speakers from the same course was additionally examined. This was partly for comparability purposes with the Spanish and Japanese speakers, but also because some new areas of learner response to the techniques were examined in the study that had not previously been examined for Mandarin speakers. Following the instruction, I was also able to examine the Spanish and Mandarin speakers one year later to check for further progress. The study found the learners from the three L1s responded to the techniques in different ways, and often for apparently different reasons. Consequently, tentative theoretical claims regarding the techniques’ impact on such learners were developed, along with preliminary instructional guidelines.
{"title":"The impact of abdominal enhancement techniques on L1 Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin speakers’ English pronunciation","authors":"M. Yeldham","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0159","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0159","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Research by this author found abdominal enhancement techniques can address difficulties in Mandarin and Cantonese speakers’ English pronunciation by helping them: (1) maintain long vowel/diphthong sounds for their required duration; and (2) adequately voice fricative consonants. This current study aimed to further understand the impact of these techniques, chiefly on learners from other L1s who also characteristically find these areas of pronunciation problematic. Consequently, I charted the progress of a Spanish speaker and a Japanese speaker as they were taught the techniques in an English pronunciation course. A cohort of Mandarin speakers from the same course was additionally examined. This was partly for comparability purposes with the Spanish and Japanese speakers, but also because some new areas of learner response to the techniques were examined in the study that had not previously been examined for Mandarin speakers. Following the instruction, I was also able to examine the Spanish and Mandarin speakers one year later to check for further progress. The study found the learners from the three L1s responded to the techniques in different ways, and often for apparently different reasons. Consequently, tentative theoretical claims regarding the techniques’ impact on such learners were developed, along with preliminary instructional guidelines.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48472434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This study explores the ways that L2 learners develop their knowledge in understanding the pragmatic functions of a Chinese discourse marker (DM), zenme shuo ne (‘how to say’), and examines three interrelated aspects in pragmatic knowledge of this DM. Using metapragmatic interviews, emic data are collected from sixteen L2 Chinese learners and nineteen L1 Chinese speakers. The data are analysed using both qualitative methods and computational models. The findings reveal that L2 learners identify a different range of DM functions from L1 speakers. They attribute their function identification to concerns about self-face and speaker-centred interpersonal relationships, in contrast to L1 speakers, who refer to moral norms and indirect interpersonal relationships between the hearer and a third party. The different interpretations that L1 and L2 participants develop for the DM have given rise to different expectations of conversational directions. L2 learners are consistently more optimistic about upcoming conversations than L1 speakers.
{"title":"Functions, sociocultural explanations and conversational influence of discourse markers: focus on zenme shuo ne in L2 Chinese","authors":"X. Chen, W. Ren","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0230","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0230","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study explores the ways that L2 learners develop their knowledge in understanding the pragmatic functions of a Chinese discourse marker (DM), zenme shuo ne (‘how to say’), and examines three interrelated aspects in pragmatic knowledge of this DM. Using metapragmatic interviews, emic data are collected from sixteen L2 Chinese learners and nineteen L1 Chinese speakers. The data are analysed using both qualitative methods and computational models. The findings reveal that L2 learners identify a different range of DM functions from L1 speakers. They attribute their function identification to concerns about self-face and speaker-centred interpersonal relationships, in contrast to L1 speakers, who refer to moral norms and indirect interpersonal relationships between the hearer and a third party. The different interpretations that L1 and L2 participants develop for the DM have given rise to different expectations of conversational directions. L2 learners are consistently more optimistic about upcoming conversations than L1 speakers.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46965225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract A large body of research has investigated the factors which underlie willingness to communicate (WTC). However, scant scholarly attention has been paid to WTC vis-à-vis learner talk, i.e., how intentions to talk translates into talk. Drawing on Dörnyei’s retrodictive qualitative modelling template, this research comprises a qualitative multiple-case study of three South Korean students who were learning English in a low-proficiency EAP classroom in the UK study-abroad context. Specifically, the study examined what factors facilitated or hindered their WTC-talk realisation. Methodological triangulation was achieved by means of classroom observations, audio-stimulated recall interviews and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed five individual factors and four contextual factors which formed various interactional patterns and interdependently influenced the three students’ WTC-talk realisation. Such interactional patterns showcase how individual and contextual factors interact and contribute to WTC and individual differences in communication frequency in the EAP classroom. The study provides novel empirical evidence for the influence of the Korean Confucian-based culture of learning and communication on students’ L2 practice. Informed by the complex dynamic systems theory, the study concludes with pedagogical implications that aim to inspire EAP practitioners to cultivate WTC-friendly classes that optimise the realisation of learner talk.
{"title":"Investigating willingness to communicate vis-à-vis learner talk in a low-proficiency EAP classroom in the UK study-abroad context","authors":"Qianqian Zhou","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0219","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract A large body of research has investigated the factors which underlie willingness to communicate (WTC). However, scant scholarly attention has been paid to WTC vis-à-vis learner talk, i.e., how intentions to talk translates into talk. Drawing on Dörnyei’s retrodictive qualitative modelling template, this research comprises a qualitative multiple-case study of three South Korean students who were learning English in a low-proficiency EAP classroom in the UK study-abroad context. Specifically, the study examined what factors facilitated or hindered their WTC-talk realisation. Methodological triangulation was achieved by means of classroom observations, audio-stimulated recall interviews and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed five individual factors and four contextual factors which formed various interactional patterns and interdependently influenced the three students’ WTC-talk realisation. Such interactional patterns showcase how individual and contextual factors interact and contribute to WTC and individual differences in communication frequency in the EAP classroom. The study provides novel empirical evidence for the influence of the Korean Confucian-based culture of learning and communication on students’ L2 practice. Informed by the complex dynamic systems theory, the study concludes with pedagogical implications that aim to inspire EAP practitioners to cultivate WTC-friendly classes that optimise the realisation of learner talk.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45166829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This study employed a mixed-method approach to investigate L2 WTC as a dynamic variable in synchronous group discussion tasks. Data were collected from a group of Farsi-speaking ESL students in six online discussion tasks. The participants rated their WTC level every 5 min during the discussions and then provided explanations for changes in WTC in follow-up written stimulated recall procedures. The results indicate that participants’ WTC levels fluctuate significantly during the online discussion tasks, lending support to viewing online WTC as a fluid dynamic variable. The results also show that WTC changes are triggered by complex interactions between a range of internal and external forces. Pedagogical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
{"title":"Investigating willingness to communicate in synchronous group discussion tasks: one step closer towards authentic communication","authors":"Shahin Nematizadeh, Y. Cao","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0092","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study employed a mixed-method approach to investigate L2 WTC as a dynamic variable in synchronous group discussion tasks. Data were collected from a group of Farsi-speaking ESL students in six online discussion tasks. The participants rated their WTC level every 5 min during the discussions and then provided explanations for changes in WTC in follow-up written stimulated recall procedures. The results indicate that participants’ WTC levels fluctuate significantly during the online discussion tasks, lending support to viewing online WTC as a fluid dynamic variable. The results also show that WTC changes are triggered by complex interactions between a range of internal and external forces. Pedagogical implications and directions for future research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47138896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of L2 instruction on the learning of English caused-motion constructions (e.g., Jane put the balls into the box, Harry swam Peter to the beach). Korean EFL high school students (N = 156) were randomly assigned to three instructional conditions and one control group. While the metalanguage group relied on explicit uses of grammar jargon, the input flood group read narrative stories in which the instances of a prototypical verb were presented with higher frequency than other verbs. The image-schema group, which adopted a balanced approach to form and meaning attention, studied the core meaning of the target construction. Mixed-effects logistic regressions on Korean-to-English translation tests revealed that the image-schema group was most effective in terms of learnability and generalizability. The benefits of image-schema-based instruction were attributed to simultaneous attention to form and meaning, which might lead to deeper processing. Image-schema-based-instruction is discussed as a viable alternative for L2 construction learning.
{"title":"Image-schema-based-instruction enhanced L2 construction learning with the optimal balance between attention to form and meaning","authors":"Hyun-Bin Hwang","doi":"10.1515/iral-2023-0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2023-0015","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of L2 instruction on the learning of English caused-motion constructions (e.g., Jane put the balls into the box, Harry swam Peter to the beach). Korean EFL high school students (N = 156) were randomly assigned to three instructional conditions and one control group. While the metalanguage group relied on explicit uses of grammar jargon, the input flood group read narrative stories in which the instances of a prototypical verb were presented with higher frequency than other verbs. The image-schema group, which adopted a balanced approach to form and meaning attention, studied the core meaning of the target construction. Mixed-effects logistic regressions on Korean-to-English translation tests revealed that the image-schema group was most effective in terms of learnability and generalizability. The benefits of image-schema-based instruction were attributed to simultaneous attention to form and meaning, which might lead to deeper processing. Image-schema-based-instruction is discussed as a viable alternative for L2 construction learning.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42154163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The study examines the acquisition of L3 French present form by advanced L2 English learners of L1 Chinese within the framework of the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) of Rothman (2011) and the Interpretability Hypothesis of Tsimpli and Dimitrakopoulou (Tsimpli, Ianthi-maria & Maria Dimitrakopoulou. 2007. The Interpretability Hypothesis: Evidence from wh-interrogatives in second language acquisition. Second Language Research 23. 215–242. The meaning-form distinction of the present form in relation to habitual and event-in-progress interpretations varies between French, English, and Chinese, but is constrained by the presence/absence of tense and agreement features. Thirty-two adult L1 Chinese speakers of high proficiency L2 English/low proficiency L3 French and thirty adult L1 Chinese speakers of low proficiency L2 English together with a native English control group and a French control group were invited to take part in an acceptability judgement test. The results provide partial support to the TPM, which posits that the perceived typological similarity between L3 and the previously acquired languages conditions transfer in L3 initial state. The findings are, instead, more consistent with the Interpretability Hypothesis, which assumes the inaccessibility of uninterpretable syntactic features in subsequent language acquisition. What remain available in adult multilingual acquisition are interpretable syntactic features, computational devices, and other aspects of Universal Grammar (UG).
摘要本研究在Rothman(2011)的类型首因模型(TPM)和Tsimpli和Dimitrakopoulou (Tsimpli, Ianthi-maria & Maria Dimitrakopoulou, 2007)的可解释性假设框架下,考察了高级二语英语学习者学习L1汉语时法语三级现在时的习得。可解释性假说:来自二语习得中wh疑问句的证据。第二语言研究215 - 242。法语、英语和汉语的现在时形式与习惯解释和进行中事件解释的意义-形式区别有所不同,但受到时态和一致性特征的存在/缺失的限制。本研究邀请32名母语为汉语的成人高水平L2英语/低水平L3法语和30名母语为汉语的成人低水平L2英语与母语为英语的对照组和法语对照组一起参加可接受性判断测试。研究结果部分支持了TPM理论,该理论认为,感知到的L3和先前习得的语言条件之间的类型学相似性在L3初始状态下转移。相反,这些发现更符合可解释性假说,该假说认为不可解释的句法特征在随后的语言习得中是不可接近的。在成人多语言习得中仍然可用的是可解释的句法特征、计算设备和通用语法(UG)的其他方面。
{"title":"The acquisition of L3 French present simple and present progressive by adult L1 Chinese speakers of L2 English","authors":"S. Kong","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0178","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The study examines the acquisition of L3 French present form by advanced L2 English learners of L1 Chinese within the framework of the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) of Rothman (2011) and the Interpretability Hypothesis of Tsimpli and Dimitrakopoulou (Tsimpli, Ianthi-maria & Maria Dimitrakopoulou. 2007. The Interpretability Hypothesis: Evidence from wh-interrogatives in second language acquisition. Second Language Research 23. 215–242. The meaning-form distinction of the present form in relation to habitual and event-in-progress interpretations varies between French, English, and Chinese, but is constrained by the presence/absence of tense and agreement features. Thirty-two adult L1 Chinese speakers of high proficiency L2 English/low proficiency L3 French and thirty adult L1 Chinese speakers of low proficiency L2 English together with a native English control group and a French control group were invited to take part in an acceptability judgement test. The results provide partial support to the TPM, which posits that the perceived typological similarity between L3 and the previously acquired languages conditions transfer in L3 initial state. The findings are, instead, more consistent with the Interpretability Hypothesis, which assumes the inaccessibility of uninterpretable syntactic features in subsequent language acquisition. What remain available in adult multilingual acquisition are interpretable syntactic features, computational devices, and other aspects of Universal Grammar (UG).","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":"61 1","pages":"655 - 689"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41639091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Although motivational variables have been extensively examined in the context of English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL), they have received little attention when learning Chinese as a second language (CSL), especially among elementary school students in lower grades. Considering the significant impact of psychological variables on language learning and the dilemma of Chinese reading for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students from Hong Kong, this study examined the structural relationship between the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation, as well as their impacts on the learning engagement and reading performance of 475 Hong Kong first-grade NCS students. Two findings were noteworthy: (1) under the simultaneous consideration of the above-mentioned variables, intrinsic motivation affects learning engagement and Chinese reading performance more than the ideal self; (2) the indirect effects of intrinsic motivation on reading performance through learning engagement are more significant than its direct effect on reading performance. The implications of the findings are discussed.
{"title":"The different effects of the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation on reading performance via engagement among young Chinese second-language learners","authors":"Xinhua Zhu, Shui-duen Chan, Yuan Yao, Siyu Zhu","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0189","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Although motivational variables have been extensively examined in the context of English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL), they have received little attention when learning Chinese as a second language (CSL), especially among elementary school students in lower grades. Considering the significant impact of psychological variables on language learning and the dilemma of Chinese reading for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students from Hong Kong, this study examined the structural relationship between the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation, as well as their impacts on the learning engagement and reading performance of 475 Hong Kong first-grade NCS students. Two findings were noteworthy: (1) under the simultaneous consideration of the above-mentioned variables, intrinsic motivation affects learning engagement and Chinese reading performance more than the ideal self; (2) the indirect effects of intrinsic motivation on reading performance through learning engagement are more significant than its direct effect on reading performance. The implications of the findings are discussed.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41965165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.1515/iral-2023-frontmatter1
{"title":"Frontmatter","authors":"","doi":"10.1515/iral-2023-frontmatter1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2023-frontmatter1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136390343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The study examined the underlying structures, psychometric properties, and predictive validity of the following domain-general and domain-specific grit scales: The (L2) Grit Scales and the Long-term (L2) Grit Scales. Seven hundred German-as-a-FL learners from six secondary schools in China filled in the four grit scales and a scale measuring self-perceived German proficiency. Two hundred and eighty-nine out of them participated in a subsequent German exam and their German teachers rated their German proficiency. The main results are as follows: (1) both domain-general grit and L2 grit represented a unitary first-order construct with two correlated but distinct factors, namely, consistency of interest and perseverance of efforts; (2) only the Grit Scale and the L2 Grit Scale showed sound psychometric properties; (3) both domain-general grit and L2 grit were positively correlated with L2 achievement; (4) domain-general grit completely lost its predictive power on L2 achievement when combined with L2 grit in the same regression models. Our findings resonate with prior calls for prioritizing L2-specific grit research over domain-general grit research in L2 contexts.
{"title":"Domain-general grit and domain-specific grit: conceptual structures, measurement, and associations with the achievement of German as a foreign language","authors":"Chengchen Li, Yuan Yang","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0196","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The study examined the underlying structures, psychometric properties, and predictive validity of the following domain-general and domain-specific grit scales: The (L2) Grit Scales and the Long-term (L2) Grit Scales. Seven hundred German-as-a-FL learners from six secondary schools in China filled in the four grit scales and a scale measuring self-perceived German proficiency. Two hundred and eighty-nine out of them participated in a subsequent German exam and their German teachers rated their German proficiency. The main results are as follows: (1) both domain-general grit and L2 grit represented a unitary first-order construct with two correlated but distinct factors, namely, consistency of interest and perseverance of efforts; (2) only the Grit Scale and the L2 Grit Scale showed sound psychometric properties; (3) both domain-general grit and L2 grit were positively correlated with L2 achievement; (4) domain-general grit completely lost its predictive power on L2 achievement when combined with L2 grit in the same regression models. Our findings resonate with prior calls for prioritizing L2-specific grit research over domain-general grit research in L2 contexts.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45886179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract A key concern in L2 research and pedagogy is how learner attention can be directed to linguistic forms. Research has shown that textual enhancement (TE) facilitates the noticing of targeted L2 features, leading to cognitive processes beneficial for L2 learning. However, very few studies on TE have had children as participants. This longitudinal study investigated the extent to which TE in model texts could have an effect on the development of third person possessive pronouns (his/her) among young EFL learners. The participants, 30 dyads of 11- to 12-year-old Spanish children from three EFL classes, were randomly assigned to a control group (CG), a treatment group (TG) and a long-term treatment group (LTG). The groups were engaged in two four-stage collaborative writing cycles of 3 weeks each separated by four months. The CG, which self-corrected their own texts, was not exposed to TE, the TG was only exposed to it during the two cycles and the LTG benefitted from this technique during the two writing cycles and the period in-between. The findings revealed statistically significant differences between the LTG and the other two groups after a sustained exposure to TE, which seems to be a useful pedagogical tool to facilitate the children’s noticing of third person possessives.
{"title":"The impact of textual enhancement on the acquisition of third person possessive pronouns by child EFL learners","authors":"María Luquin, María del Pilar García Mayo","doi":"10.1515/iral-2022-0176","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0176","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract A key concern in L2 research and pedagogy is how learner attention can be directed to linguistic forms. Research has shown that textual enhancement (TE) facilitates the noticing of targeted L2 features, leading to cognitive processes beneficial for L2 learning. However, very few studies on TE have had children as participants. This longitudinal study investigated the extent to which TE in model texts could have an effect on the development of third person possessive pronouns (his/her) among young EFL learners. The participants, 30 dyads of 11- to 12-year-old Spanish children from three EFL classes, were randomly assigned to a control group (CG), a treatment group (TG) and a long-term treatment group (LTG). The groups were engaged in two four-stage collaborative writing cycles of 3 weeks each separated by four months. The CG, which self-corrected their own texts, was not exposed to TE, the TG was only exposed to it during the two cycles and the LTG benefitted from this technique during the two writing cycles and the period in-between. The findings revealed statistically significant differences between the LTG and the other two groups after a sustained exposure to TE, which seems to be a useful pedagogical tool to facilitate the children’s noticing of third person possessives.","PeriodicalId":46778,"journal":{"name":"Iral-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45357362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}