Foreign Language Annals最新文献

Ten beginning- and intermediate-level French textbooks were examined to determine which factors most influence authors' selection of vocabulary to be learned explicitly. Word frequency, imageability, concreteness, and use of lexical sets were examined, as these factors were shown in previous research to either facilitate or inhibit lexical acquisition. Findings indicate that beginning-level textbooks included more high-frequency vocabulary, but that all textbooks fell woefully short of ensuring that learners are exposed to the 2000 most frequent words in French. Furthermore, no progression to less frequent or imageable/concrete vocabulary was discernible in moving from beginning to intermediate levels, nor was there any noticeable recycling of vocabulary that may present a higher learning burden. Lexical sets, known to inhibit vocabulary acquisition, appeared to be the predominant factor guiding vocabulary selection in the textbooks examined. Implications for teaching and for materials creation will be addressed.

This study investigated primary school children's spontaneous translingual practices in an English as a foreign language setting in a context with difficult circumstances in the Global South. The research question that guided this project was: What does translanguaging look like in an English language primary classroom in a difficult Argentinian context? Participants were 11 5th grade children at a public elementary school in a large metropolitan area in central Argentina, aged 9–13. Data included researcher field notes, video recordings of lessons, children's work done in class (written texts, drawings) and an individual deferred interview with each child. Qualitative analysis indicated that translanguaging emerged spontaneously from the difficult circumstances of the context, that the children used English and Spanish flexibly to fulfill specific functions negotiated in classroom interactions, and that they engaged in spontaneous translanguaging across modalities to make meaning and share personal worlds.

In this study, I compare the accuracy of automatic speech recognition (ASR) transcription against two measures of intelligibility provided by human listeners. The data came from readings of five texts recorded by 15 language learners of French. Human understanding was gauged by (i) asking a group of 36 naïve first language (L1) speakers of French recruited from the general population to provide word-for-word transcriptions of the recordings, and (ii) asking two experienced French teachers (L1 speakers of French) to rate the recordings for intelligibility. The results reveal that ASR transcription accuracy was lower than that of human transcribers. However, all three measures, namely ASR transcription accuracy, human transcription accuracy, and human ratings of intelligibility, were correlated. Implications of these results for using the technology in foreign language teaching and learning are considered in the discussion.

This study investigated the differences between the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview - Computer (OPIc) among Spanish learners at a U.S. university. Participants (N = 154) were randomly assigned to take both tests in a counterbalanced order to mitigate test order effects. Data were analyzed using an aligned rank transform (ART) analysis, focusing on variables such as gender, age, language courses, missionary experience, and self-assessed Spanish ability. Results showed a strong correlation between ACTFL OPI and ACTFL OPIc ratings (τ = 0.79, p < .001), though ACTFL OPIc ratings were slightly higher on average. No significant order effects were found, indicating the order of test administration did not influence ratings. The reliability of both tests was confirmed, and no significant biases were detected. The findings suggest that both ACTFL OPI and ACTFL OPIc are effective, holistic measures of Spanish oral proficiency, with ACTFL OPIc offering a slight advantage in rating outcomes. Pedagogically, this suggests flexibility in test choice without compromising assessment integrity.

Although the distinction between explicit and implicit (automatized) knowledge of second or foreign language (L2) is of crucial importance to second language acquisition (SLA) theory and research, it has thus far not been directly applied to L2 pronunciation. The paper attempts to fill this gap by making an initial attempt to illustrate the relevance of this vital distinction in this area. Following the discussion of some crucial preliminary issues, the two types of knowledge are characterized and challenges involved in their measurement are considered. Subsequently, the distinction is related to theoretical accounts of how L2 pronunciation is learnt and empirical investigations into the effectiveness of different types of pronunciation instruction as well as everyday instructional classroom practices. The role of mediating factors, such as individual differences or contextual influences, is also considered.

Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) are increasingly prevalent in world language instruction. While researchers have investigated various dimensions of IPAs, only one previous study has analyzed the discursive content of associated teacher-learner co-constructive feedback sessions (Adair-Hauck & Troyan, 2013). The present study examines the feedback affordances generated during co-constructive feedback sessions with two learner dyads, as well as learner performance in the interpersonal speaking component of four IPA cycles. The findings demonstrated that the learner dyads engaged in the co-construction of abundant feedback affordances with the researchers and each other, and appear to have utilized some of the affordances in subsequent IPAs, in which three of four participants improved their performance. Research and pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.