scholarly journals Knowledge of expletive and pronominal subjects by learners of Spanish

2002 ◽  
Vol 135-136 ◽  
pp. 37-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristóbal Lozano
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Third Person ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Empty Element ◽  
Gender Features

Abstract Abstract A number of studies investigating second language acquisition (SLA) from the perspective of Principles and Parameters Theory (P&P, CHOMSKY, 1981, 1995) have focused on the pro-drop parameter, and have argued that older second language learners are sensitive to the different, properties it purportedly covers (e.g., AL-KASEY & PÉREZ-LEROUX, 1998; LICERAS, 1989; PHINNEY, 1987; WHITE, 1986). In this paper we extend this work by investigating two of its syntactic corollaries, namely, referential pronominal subjects (ProS) and expletive pronominal subjects (ExpS). In so-called [+pro-drop] languages both may be realised as an empty element (pro). While on the surface these forms are identical, referential subject pro is different from expletive subject pro both syntactically and semantically; syntactically because referential pro co-exists with a set of overt subject pronouns (yo 'I' , tú 'you', etc), whereas there are no overt expletive pronouns; semantically because referential pro is distinguished for 3 persons, number and gender features, whereas expletive pro would appear to be a third person, singular, gender-neutral pronoun. We will examine whether older L2 learners are sensitive to these differences by using paired grammaticality judgement tests (PGJT). Results are consistent with the claim that learners have different mental representations for ProS and ExpS.

The Acquisition of Spanish Gender Marking in the Writing of Heritage and Second Language Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-267
Author(s):  
Antonio Pérez-Núñez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Nonlinear Process ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Written Production ◽  
And Gender

This study aims to expand on previous research on the acquisition of gender marking by examining the longitudinal written production of second language (L2) and heritage language (HL) learners. The written production of 24 participants (L2, n = 12; HL, n = 12) enrolled in the same course was traced over four weeks and all cases of canonical and non-canonical gender marking (i.e., gender assignment and gender agreement) were coded. The group results indicated that the HL learners were significantly more accurate than their L2 counterparts with both canonical and non-canonical ending nouns; however, close inspection of the participants’ individual accuracy patterns revealed a nonlinear process that was subject to great instability in their performance over time. Findings are discussed in light of interlanguage development and implications for research in second language acquisition are presented.

The Effect of Teachers’ Use of Reinforcement on Learners’ Performance in English Language

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-129
Author(s):  
Ndegwa Grace Konyu; Dr. Lucy Wathika; Dr Josephine Khaemba
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Verbatim Transcript

The intention of the study was to establish the effect of teachers’ use of reinforcement on learners’ performance in English language. It was done in selected secondary schools in Nakuru town and used descriptive research design. The study was guided by Gardner and Lambert’s Socio-Educational model of second language acquisition. Stratified random sampling was employed in selecting four schools while simple random sampling was used to choose one stream in form two, three and four in each school for observation. It resulted in eight observational schedules. The study sample of 60 students in form 2-4 and 8 teachers of English was purposively selected for interviews. A total number of 353 learners were observed. The study used interviews, audio recording and Structured Observational Schedules for data collection. The data was presented in form of tables, figures and verbatim transcript excerpts used for exemplification and illustration in a qualitative explication. The findings of the study revealed that second language learners’ performance in English is greatly influenced by teachers’ use of reinforcement. Moreover, it proved that teachers of English give unguarded praises, negative statements and criticisms to English second language learners. This study is a vital contribution to the field of Second Language Acquisition theory and practice with regard to offering information and insight into reinforcement, motivation and attitude in practical language acquisition and learning in the classroom situation. These findings are useful in the improvement of second language learners’ performance in English. Teachers of English will also acquaint themselves with effective use of positive verbal reinforcement which works as a motivational force on learners’ acquisition and use of the English language.

Do second language learners acquire restrictive relative clauses on the basis of relational or configurational information? The acquisition of French subject, direct object and genitive restrictive relative clauses by second language learners

1989 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Linear Ordering ◽  
Restrictive Relative Clauses ◽  
The Way

Much of the work on the second language acquisition of restrictive relative clauses has made reference to the similarities between learners' order of diffi culty and Keenan and Comrie's (1977) typologically determined noun phrase accessibility hierarchy for relativisation (AH). There has been little considera tion, however, of whether this 'theory of markedness' (for that is the implica tion of citing the AH in the context of second language learning) actually determines the way that second language learners develop rules for restrictive relative clauses. The present study examines the way that learners of L2 French construct rules for French relativiser morphology from this perspective. It is found that there is no evidence to support the view that learners make use of a theory of markedness like the AH in constructing such rules. Rather, learners appear to construct rules on the basis of the linear ordering of the constituents of restrictive relative clauses in surface configurations. From the evidence it is suggested that 'markedness' in the development of L2 restrictive relative clauses is not a feature of the grammatical component of learners' linguistic knowledge, but is a feature of their L2 processing capacity.

World Englishes, Second Language Acquisition, and Language Contact

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajend Mesthrie
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
Second Languages

Although areas of potential overlap between the fields of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and World Englishes (WE) may seem obvious, they developed historically in isolation from each other. SLA had a psycholinguistic emphasis, studying the ways in which individuals progressed towards acquisition of a target language. WE studies initially developed a sociolinguistic focus, describing varieties that arose as second languages in former British colonies. This chapter explores the way in which each field could benefit from the other. The SLA emphasis on routes of development, overgeneralization, universals of SLA, and transfer in the interlanguage has relevance to characterizing sub-varieties of WEs. Conversely, the socio-political dimension of early WE studies and the notion of macro- or group acquisition fills a gap in SLA studies which sometimes failed to acknowledge that the goal of second language learners was to become bilingual in ways that were socially meaningful within their societies.

When activity shapes the repertoire of second language learners

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 121-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolors Masats ◽  
Luci Nussbaum ◽  
Virginia Unamuno
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Choices ◽  
Pair Work

Interactionists interested in second language acquisition postulate that learners’ competences are sensitive to the context in which they are put into play. Here we explore the language practices displayed, in a bilingual socio-educational milieu, by three dyads of English learners while carrying out oral communicative pair-work. In particular, we examine the role language choice plays in each task.  A first analysis of our data indicates that the learners’ language choices seem to reveal the linguistic norms operating in the community of practice they belong to. A second analysis reveals that they exploited their linguistic repertoires according to their interpretation of the task and to their willingness to complete it in English. Thus, in the first two tasks students relied on code-switching as a mechanism to solve communication failures, whereas the third task generated the use of a mixed repertoire as a means to complete the task in the target language.

Metonymic inferencing and second language acquisition

AILA Review ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 134-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Barcelona
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Cognitive Linguistic ◽  
Lexical Polysemy

The article is a reflection on the various areas of cognitive linguistic research on metonymy that are of potential relevance for SLA. Three of them are particularly relevant: (1) research on metonymy-guided inferencing; (2) research on metonymy-based lexical polysemy, and (3) research on metonymy-based grammatical constructions. Of the three main areas with which the paper is mainly concerned, area (1) is particularly relevant for research on second language comprehension, especially in utterance and discourse types heavily relying on the inferential work of the comprehender; area (2) has already proved to be very useful for research on the inferencing strategies followed by second language learners in their comprehension of new lexical senses in context; and area (3) should be helpful for research on the acquisition of grammatical constructions by these learners.

Noticing in second language acquisition: a critical review

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Truscott
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Theory Of Language ◽  
Indirect Tests ◽  
Metalinguistic Knowledge

This article examines the Noticing Hypothesis – the claim that second language learners must consciously notice the grammatical form of their input in order to acquire grammar. I argue, first, that the foundations of the hypothesis in cognitive psychology are weak; research in this area does not support it, or even provide a clear interpretation for it. The problem of interpreting the hypothesis is much more acute in the area of language acquisition. Partly because the hypothesis is not based on any coherent theory of language, it is very difficult to determine exactly what it means in this context,or to draw testable predictions from it.In the absence of specific predictions, research on form-focused instruction and feedback provide indirect tests, the results of which create additional problems for the hypothesis. The various problems can be eliminated or greatly reduced if the Noticing Hypothesis is reformulated as a claim that noticing is necessary for the acquisition of metalinguistic knowledge but not competence.

Understanding text in a second language: a psychological approach to an SLA problem

1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Jenkin ◽  
Suzanne Prior ◽  
Richard Rinaldo ◽  
Ann Wainwright-Sharp ◽  
Ellen Bialystok
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
First Language ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Visual Display ◽  
Psychological Approach ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
The Way

The study is an attempt to assess the way in which second language learners form mental representations of information they read. Subjects were asked to read passages in their first and second languages and to demonstrate comprehension of the information by using it to make a judgement of a visual display of the same information. Following this there was a surprise recognition task to determine whether or not they still had access to verbatim representations of the passages. The results showed that information read in a second language is represented differently from the same information read in subjects' first language.

Zero Anaphora in Second Language Acquisition:A Comparison among Three Varieties of English

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Williams
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Discourse Function ◽  
Spontaneous Production ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Zero Anaphora ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines the use of zero anaphora in the English production of three speaker groups: native speakers, second language learners, and speakers of a non-native institutionalized variety. General discourse function for zero anaphora is found to be similar across speaker groups, although in many cases, ungrammatical by prescriptive standards. In addition, there are important quantitative and structural differences between the native speakers and non-native speakers in how this device is used. The results suggest that the relationship between performance data and second language acquisition needs to be reexamined. In particular, it cannot be assumed that spontaneous production of a given form isa direct indicator of acquisition and conversely, that non-production is necessarily proof of non-acquisition.

scholarly journals DAILY VERBS: TEACHING ENGLISH VERB TENSES THROUGH A SIMPLE VIDEO GAME

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Aljayyousi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Affective Filter ◽  
Learning Hypothesis ◽  
Principles Of Learning ◽  
English Verb

This study introduces an educational game called “Daily Verbs” which teaches verb tenses to second language learners. The mechanics of the game is simple. The player moves a sprite through daily tasks and to each task there is a sentence attached stating the relevant tense. In the game, the researcher made use of Stephen Krashen’s principles of second language acquisition, namely, the acquisition vs. learning hypothesis, the affective filter, and the monitor hypothesis. Their manifestation in the game is explained in this study. Besides, the researcher made extensive use of John Gee’s 13 principles of learning embedded in video games. Their evidence in the game is also explained in the study. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0871/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

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