Prior research suggests that second language (L2) proficiency is key in students’ study progress, but this research has mainly been carried out at universities. It is thus unclear how this relation varies across different educational levels. Moreover, previous studies are often not informative about the causality of this relation, making it difficult to base intervention policies on these studies. To address these shortcomings, we analyze a large historical registry dataset of examinees of the L2 Dutch state exam between 2011 and 2023 (n = 12,664). First, we map out the statistical dependency between language proficiency and examinees’ study success. Next, using graphical approaches to causal inference, we estimate the effect of a hypothetical intervention: Would an increase in language proficiency affect study success rates? We replicate the relation between language proficiency and study success in university students, but it does not generalize to students in applied universities or vocational programs.
{"title":"Investigating the Relation Between Second Language Proficiency and Study Success Using a Causal Inference Approach","authors":"Sybren Spit, Sible Andringa, Oisín Ryan","doi":"10.1111/lang.12713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12713","url":null,"abstract":"Prior research suggests that second language (L2) proficiency is key in students’ study progress, but this research has mainly been carried out at universities. It is thus unclear how this relation varies across different educational levels. Moreover, previous studies are often not informative about the causality of this relation, making it difficult to base intervention policies on these studies. To address these shortcomings, we analyze a large historical registry dataset of examinees of the L2 Dutch state exam between 2011 and 2023 (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 12,664). First, we map out the statistical dependency between language proficiency and examinees’ study success. Next, using graphical approaches to causal inference, we estimate the effect of a hypothetical intervention: Would an increase in language proficiency affect study success rates? We replicate the relation between language proficiency and study success in university students, but it does not generalize to students in applied universities or vocational programs.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143784783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The current study investigated from a usage‐based perspective how phrasal frequency and collocational strength of verb–preposition collocations influence preposition placement in wh‐relative clauses. Native English speakers and Chinese learners of English as a second language of the intermediate and advanced English proficiencies completed a sentence completion task and an acceptability judgment task. The results showed that native and nonnative speakers had an overall preference for preposition stranding. Native speakers had a stronger acceptance of preposition pied‐piping than nonnative speakers; advanced learners had a stronger acceptance of pied‐piping than intermediate learners. The collocational strengths of verb–preposition combinations had a significant effect on the productive use and acceptability of preposition placement for both native speakers and advanced learners. Intermediate learners’ preposition placement was more affected by phrasal frequency. Overall, the findings confirm that the distributional properties of verb–preposition collocations influence speakers’ preference for the type of wh‐clause structure, which provides strong support to the usage‐based account of grammar analysis and grammar acquisition.
{"title":"Native and Nonnative Speakers’ Preferences for Preposition Pied‐Piping Versus Stranding in English Wh‐Relative Clauses","authors":"Henan Duan, Helen Zhao, Jonathon Lum","doi":"10.1111/lang.12712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12712","url":null,"abstract":"The current study investigated from a usage‐based perspective how phrasal frequency and collocational strength of verb–preposition collocations influence preposition placement in <jats:italic>wh</jats:italic>‐relative clauses. Native English speakers and Chinese learners of English as a second language of the intermediate and advanced English proficiencies completed a sentence completion task and an acceptability judgment task. The results showed that native and nonnative speakers had an overall preference for preposition stranding. Native speakers had a stronger acceptance of preposition pied‐piping than nonnative speakers; advanced learners had a stronger acceptance of pied‐piping than intermediate learners. The collocational strengths of verb–preposition combinations had a significant effect on the productive use and acceptability of preposition placement for both native speakers and advanced learners. Intermediate learners’ preposition placement was more affected by phrasal frequency. Overall, the findings confirm that the distributional properties of verb–preposition collocations influence speakers’ preference for the type of <jats:italic>wh</jats:italic>‐clause structure, which provides strong support to the usage‐based account of grammar analysis and grammar acquisition.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143736589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study investigates how distributional cues are integrated into the mental representation of the as‐predicative construction by English native and nonnative speakers, drawing on associative learning theory. We examined speakers’ constructional retrieval when given a verbal cue (Experiment 1) and their verb retrieval when given a constructional cue (Experiment 2). Speakers concurrently integrated both cues in their construction retrieval but not in their verb retrieval. Between‐group differences were also found, alongside distinct effects of verb frequency and voice. A question is therefore raised about the integration of distributional cues in forward versus backward retrieval of linguistic information, though we maintain that constructional categories partially emerge as a result of distributional information hinging on ΔP theory. We highlight the need for more comprehensive research, particularly in relation to crosslinguistic differences and the role of second language proficiency, and we offer an alternative statistical perspective by adopting a Bayesian approach to logistic and negative binomial mixed‐effects modeling.
{"title":"Distributional Cues in Construction Acquisition: A Comparative Study of Native and Nonnative English Speakers Using the As‐Predicative Construction","authors":"Ivana Domazetoska, Helen Zhao","doi":"10.1111/lang.12710","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12710","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates how distributional cues are integrated into the mental representation of the <jats:italic>as</jats:italic>‐predicative construction by English native and nonnative speakers, drawing on associative learning theory. We examined speakers’ constructional retrieval when given a verbal cue (Experiment 1) and their verb retrieval when given a constructional cue (Experiment 2). Speakers concurrently integrated both cues in their construction retrieval but not in their verb retrieval. Between‐group differences were also found, alongside distinct effects of verb frequency and voice. A question is therefore raised about the integration of distributional cues in forward versus backward retrieval of linguistic information, though we maintain that constructional categories partially emerge as a result of distributional information hinging on ΔP theory. We highlight the need for more comprehensive research, particularly in relation to crosslinguistic differences and the role of second language proficiency, and we offer an alternative statistical perspective by adopting a Bayesian approach to logistic and negative binomial mixed‐effects modeling.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143607776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tiphaine Caudrelier, Jessi Jacobsen, Catherine Clark, Clara D. Martin
Seeing written forms of novel words during learning can help memorize vocabulary, but it may alter pronunciation, especially when orthography is opaque like in English. This study investigated whether a color‐code helps participants learn novel words with unpredictable pronunciation. Sixty Spanish speakers learned 16 English‐like pseudowords in one of three training conditions. Audio group learned training items with the auditory word form only. Two other groups learned items with auditory and written forms, with a color‐code (ColorCode group) or with random colors (RandColor group). Elicited speech samples from each group were assessed for recall and pronunciation accuracy. ColorCode group outperformed other groups on pronunciation in posttest tasks including reading training items in black text, and reading color‐coded untrained items. Color‐code benefits even strengthened one week later. These findings indicate that a color‐code can support pronunciation learning in languages with opaque orthography and should be more systematically implemented in learning resources.
{"title":"Move, Rove, Love: Color Cues Help Learning Novel English Words When Pronunciation Is Not Predictable From Spelling","authors":"Tiphaine Caudrelier, Jessi Jacobsen, Catherine Clark, Clara D. Martin","doi":"10.1111/lang.12709","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12709","url":null,"abstract":"Seeing written forms of novel words during learning can help memorize vocabulary, but it may alter pronunciation, especially when orthography is opaque like in English. This study investigated whether a color‐code helps participants learn novel words with unpredictable pronunciation. Sixty Spanish speakers learned 16 English‐like pseudowords in one of three training conditions. <jats:italic>Audio</jats:italic> group learned training items with the auditory word form only. Two other groups learned items with auditory and written forms, with a color‐code (<jats:italic>ColorCode</jats:italic> group) or with random colors (<jats:italic>RandColor</jats:italic> group). Elicited speech samples from each group were assessed for recall and pronunciation accuracy. <jats:italic>ColorCode</jats:italic> group outperformed other groups on pronunciation in posttest tasks including reading training items in black text, and reading color‐coded untrained items. Color‐code benefits even strengthened one week later. These findings indicate that a color‐code can support pronunciation learning in languages with opaque orthography and should be more systematically implemented in learning resources.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"56 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143608040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The present study used immersive virtual‐reality (iVR) technology to simulate a real‐life environment and examined its impact on novel‐word learning and lexicalization. On Days 1–3, Chinese‐speaking participants learned German words in iVR and traditional picture–word (PW) association contexts. A semantic‐priming task was used to measure word lexicalization on Day 4, and again 6 months later. The behavioral findings of an immediate posttest showed a larger semantic‐priming effect on iVR‐learned words compared to PW‐learned words. Moreover, electrophysiological results of the immediate posttest demonstrated significant semantic‐priming effects only for iVR‐learned words, such that related prime–target pairs elicited enhanced N400 amplitude compared to unrelated prime–target pairs. However, after 6 months, there were no differences between the iVR and PW conditions. The findings support the embodied‐cognition theory and dual‐coding theory and suggest that a virtual real‐life learning context with multimodal enrichment facilitates novel‐word learning and lexicalization but that these effects seem to disappear over time.
{"title":"Learning Novel Words in an Immersive Virtual‐Reality Context: Tracking Lexicalization Through Behavioral and Event‐Related‐Potential Measures","authors":"Lu Jiao, Yue Lin, John W. Schwieter, Cong Liu","doi":"10.1111/lang.12707","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12707","url":null,"abstract":"The present study used immersive virtual‐reality (iVR) technology to simulate a real‐life environment and examined its impact on novel‐word learning and lexicalization. On Days 1–3, Chinese‐speaking participants learned German words in iVR and traditional picture–word (PW) association contexts. A semantic‐priming task was used to measure word lexicalization on Day 4, and again 6 months later. The behavioral findings of an immediate posttest showed a larger semantic‐priming effect on iVR‐learned words compared to PW‐learned words. Moreover, electrophysiological results of the immediate posttest demonstrated significant semantic‐priming effects only for iVR‐learned words, such that related prime–target pairs elicited enhanced N400 amplitude compared to unrelated prime–target pairs. However, after 6 months, there were no differences between the iVR and PW conditions. The findings support the embodied‐cognition theory and dual‐coding theory and suggest that a virtual real‐life learning context with multimodal enrichment facilitates novel‐word learning and lexicalization but that these effects seem to disappear over time.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143528382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mojtaba Tadayonifar, Anna Siyanova‐Chanturia, Irina Elgort
Learning multiword expressions (MWEs) typically involves exposure to language input, such as through reading and listening. However, this way of learning can be rather slow. Therefore, finding strategies to enhance learning from input is crucial for language acquisition. In this study, 80 Iranian learners of English as a foreign language read short texts with 28 figurative English phrasal verbs (PVs), repeated three times. In a counterbalanced experimental design, we manipulated definition placement (before vs. after text) and the lag of retrieval practice (short vs. long lag). Learning was measured via immediate and delayed gap‐fill and meaning‐generation posttests. We found that providing definitions after reading resulted in greater learning outcomes than presenting definitions before reading under both short‐ and long‐lag conditions. Retrieving PVs under the long lag further increased this advantage. The results contribute to the understanding of how contextual learning and retention of MWEs from reading can be supported.
{"title":"The Effects of Definition Placement and Lag of Retrieval Practice on Contextual Learning and Retention of Phrasal Verbs","authors":"Mojtaba Tadayonifar, Anna Siyanova‐Chanturia, Irina Elgort","doi":"10.1111/lang.12706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12706","url":null,"abstract":"Learning multiword expressions (MWEs) typically involves exposure to language input, such as through reading and listening. However, this way of learning can be rather slow. Therefore, finding strategies to enhance learning from input is crucial for language acquisition. In this study, 80 Iranian learners of English as a foreign language read short texts with 28 figurative English phrasal verbs (PVs), repeated three times. In a counterbalanced experimental design, we manipulated definition placement (before vs. after text) and the lag of retrieval practice (short vs. long lag). Learning was measured via immediate and delayed gap‐fill and meaning‐generation posttests. We found that providing definitions after reading resulted in greater learning outcomes than presenting definitions before reading under both short‐ and long‐lag conditions. Retrieving PVs under the long lag further increased this advantage. The results contribute to the understanding of how contextual learning and retention of MWEs from reading can be supported.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143393055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What Proactive Language Learning Theory Is and Is Not: A Response to Atkinson's Commentary","authors":"Mostafa Papi, Phil Hiver","doi":"10.1111/lang.12704","DOIUrl":"10.1111/lang.12704","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"75 1","pages":"337-342"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143055224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abundant research has indicated fluency features as meaningful predictors of second language proficiency. However, the extent to which different fluency dimensions and features can predict proficiency remains underexplored. This meta‐analysis employed a multilevel modeling approach to synthesize fluency–proficiency relationships from 71 empirical studies from 1959–2023. Additionally, we examined several moderator variables, including task type, learning context, age, and proficiency measure. The correlations found were strongly positive for speed (r = .55), moderately positive for productivity (r = .38), moderately negative for breakdown (r = −.33), and weakly negative for repair (r = −.11). Moderator analyses revealed that task, learning context, and proficiency measure influence fluency–proficiency relationships in the repair, productivity, and speed dimensions, respectively. Post hoc analyses also suggested that the operationalization of breakdown features might make a difference in fluency–proficiency relationships. This study has both theoretical and methodological implications for second language fluency research.
{"title":"Diving Deep Into the Relationship Between Speech Fluency and Second Language Proficiency: A Meta‐Analysis","authors":"Xun Yan, Yuyun Lei, Yulin Pan","doi":"10.1111/lang.12701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12701","url":null,"abstract":"Abundant research has indicated fluency features as meaningful predictors of second language proficiency. However, the extent to which different fluency dimensions and features can predict proficiency remains underexplored. This meta‐analysis employed a multilevel modeling approach to synthesize fluency–proficiency relationships from 71 empirical studies from 1959–2023. Additionally, we examined several moderator variables, including task type, learning context, age, and proficiency measure. The correlations found were strongly positive for <jats:italic>speed</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = .55), moderately positive for <jats:italic>productivity</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = .38), moderately negative for <jats:italic>breakdown</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = −.33), and weakly negative for <jats:italic>repair</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = −.11). Moderator analyses revealed that task, learning context, and proficiency measure influence fluency–proficiency relationships in the repair, productivity, and speed dimensions, respectively. Post hoc analyses also suggested that the operationalization of breakdown features might make a difference in fluency–proficiency relationships. This study has both theoretical and methodological implications for second language fluency research.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142968185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There is considerable lab‐based evidence for successful incidental learning, in which a learner's attention is directed away from the to‐be‐learned stimulus and towards another stimulus. In this study, we extend incidental learning research into the language learning classroom. Three groups of adult second language (L2) learners (N = 52) engaged in structured classroom Mandarin learning took part in an 8‐week study. One group served as a classroom‐only control group. The second group underwent additional intentional auditory training involving Mandarin speech and explicit feedback. The third group underwent additional incidental learning combined with nonspeech “perceptual building block” categories—categories that share critical perceptual dimensions with target L2 speech categories but that are not perceived as speech. We demonstrate that when supplemented with structured classroom learning, incidental learning involving nonspeech analogs promotes phonetic, category, and word learning equivalent to learning from more traditional intentional auditory training.
{"title":"Incidental Nonspeech Auditory Learning Scaffolds Phonetic, Category, and Word Learning in a Foreign Language Classroom","authors":"Seth Wiener, Timothy K. Murphy, Lori L. Holt","doi":"10.1111/lang.12700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12700","url":null,"abstract":"There is considerable lab‐based evidence for successful incidental learning, in which a learner's attention is directed away from the to‐be‐learned stimulus and towards another stimulus. In this study, we extend incidental learning research into the language learning classroom. Three groups of adult second language (L2) learners (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 52) engaged in structured classroom Mandarin learning took part in an 8‐week study. One group served as a classroom‐only control group. The second group underwent additional intentional auditory training involving Mandarin speech and explicit feedback. The third group underwent additional incidental learning combined with nonspeech “perceptual building block” categories—categories that share critical perceptual dimensions with target L2 speech categories but that are not perceived as speech. We demonstrate that when supplemented with structured classroom learning, incidental learning involving nonspeech analogs promotes phonetic, category, and word learning equivalent to learning from more traditional intentional auditory training.","PeriodicalId":51371,"journal":{"name":"Language Learning","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142967744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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