Hasil untuk "Language acquisition"

Fariha Yasmeen, Yap Ngee Thai, Zalina Mohammad Kasim et al.

Interpreting event completion is a core difficulty in second language acquisition, as it underpins temporal reference and communication. This study investigates how L1 Urdu Pakistani learners of English acquire telicity, a semantic property that distinguishes completed and ongoing events. The analysis centers on bounded and unbounded object noun phrases (NPs) in marking telic/atelic events within accomplishment predicates. In English, telicity is compositionally encoded through verb types, object NPs, and temporal adverbials, whereas Urdu relies on aspectual morphology, creating challenges for learners in mapping event completion. The study is framed within the Full Transfer Full Access (FTFA) model and the Interpretability Hypothesis (IH). Data were collected through an Acceptability Judgment Task (AJT) administered to Pakistani ESL learners at elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, alongside a native English control group. Results support the FTFA model, revealing a significant developmental trajectory where accuracy in distinguishing telic/atelic contrasts increases with proficiency. At the elementary level, an L1-based accuracy gradient emerged across NP types, reflecting the transfer of Urdu nominal underspecification. While advanced learners demonstrated successful restructuring in bounded contexts, partial support for the IH was found in atelic contexts. Continued divergence from native judgements in unbounded NP conditions highlights a persistent mapping deficit at the syntax–semantics interface. The study advances second language event semantics, emphasizing the role of object structure and cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of L2 event boundaries.

Claire Randolph, Adam Michaleas, Darrell O. Ricke

IntroductionLearning complex, detailed, and evolving knowledge is a challenge in multiple technical professions. Relevant source knowledge is contained within many large documents and information sources with frequent updates to these documents. Knowledge tests need to be generated on new material and existing tests revised, tracking knowledge base updates. Large Language Models (LLMs) provide a framework for artificial intelligence-assisted knowledge acquisition and continued learning. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) provides a framework to leverage available, trained LLMs combined with technical area-specific knowledge bases.MethodsHerein, two methods are introduced (DaaDy: document as a dictionary and SQAD: structured question answer dictionary), which together enable effective implementation of LLM-RAG question-answering on large documents. Additionally, the AI for knowledge intensive tasks (AIKIT) solution is presented for working with numerous documents for training and continuing education. AIKIT is provided as a containerized open source solution that deploys on standalone, high performance, and cloud systems. AIKIT includes LLM, RAG, vector stores, relational database, and a Ruby on Rails web interface.ResultsCoverage of source documents by LLM-RAG generated questions decreases as the length of documents increase. Segmenting source documents improve coverage of generated questions. The AIKIT solution enabled easy use of multiple LLM models with multimodal RAG source documents; AIKIT retains LLM-RAG responses for queries against one or multiple LLM models.DiscussionAIKIT provides an easy-to-use set of tools to enable users to work with complex information using LLM-RAG capabilities. AIKIT enables easy use of multiple LLM models with retention of LLM-RAG responses.

Yulia Tverdokhlib

The research examines the efficacy of YouTube as a resource for acquiring English military terminology and its influence on cadets' linguistic education. A mixed-methods approach is employed, integrating quantitative and qualitative analyses to evaluate advancements in vocabulary acquisition, understanding, and retention. The research encompassed 100 military academy cadets, categorized according to English skill levels ranging from A1 to B2. The experimental group utilized YouTube videos with genuine military conversations and training footage, whereas the control group engaged in conventional study methods. The study's findings demonstrate that video content markedly enhances learners' language abilities, fosters immersion in the linguistic context, and offers an engaging educational experience. Following six weeks of training, the experimental group had test results that were 35% superior to baseline, but the control group achieved merely an 18% enhancement. The most significant improvement in outcomes was observed among intermediate-level cadets (B1), validating the efficacy of the audiovisual approach. The Mann-Whitney U-test further validated a statistically significant difference between the groups (p < 0.05). Surveys with participants in the experimental group indicated substantial motivation to study, and enhanced contextual comprehension of military terminology. Participants in the A1 level trial encountered challenges in comprehending the rapid speech and the extensive array of new military vocabulary in videos, necessitating further adaption of instructional methods (simplified bilingual introductory videos were selected with Ukrainian translation of key terms, slow-paced speech, subtitles; glossaries with key terms were added to each topic; cadets at this level were asked to focus on passive recognition and understanding of vocabulary, as well as voluntary memorization of terms using flashcards). This study highlights the considerable potential of YouTube as a valuable teaching tool in military language training and demonstrates the necessity for its incorporation into curricula. The findings may benefit educators and methodologists at military academies and institutes focused on teaching military professionals in English.

Xingsan Chai, Jie Bao

How linguistic distance affects second language acquisition is a major concern in cross-language transfer research. However, no study has explored how systematic differences between Chinese and learners’ native language (L1) influences Chinese character, vocabulary, and grammar acquisition, or how these influences change as Chinese proficiency improves. To address this, we employed the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) index method to multidimensionally quantify the linguistic distance between Chinese and L1, and examined the effect of systematic linguistic distance on acquisition of Chinese character (Quasi-Experiment 1), vocabulary (Quasi-Experiment 2), and grammatical knowledge (Quasi-Experiment 3) in Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners with elementary, intermediate, and advanced Chinese proficiency levels. We examined a random sample of 58,240 CSL learners’ test scores from 24 different L1 backgrounds, and analyzed 2,250 CSL learners’ Chinese character, vocabulary, and grammar scores in each of the three quasi-experiments. We found that closer linguistic distance facilitated more favorable Chinese character and vocabulary acquisition at elementary, intermediate, and advanced Chinese proficiency levels, and that the influence of linguistic distance on CSL learners’ vocabulary acquisition tended to decrease as Chinese proficiency increased. Finally, linguistic difference did not significantly affect CSL learners’ grammar acquisition at elementary proficiency, but as Chinese proficiency improved, an L1 interference effect occurred among CSL learners with a short linguistic distance from Chinese, which hindered grammar acquisition. These results suggest that linguistic distance has differential proficiency-dependent effects on Chinese character, vocabulary, and grammar acquisition.

Fei Wang, Fei Wang, Takaya Yuizono et al.

The application of mobile technology in language education is gaining increasing momentum for its potential benefits, and scholars cast attention to issues such as learner motivation, learning effects and learner behaviors in the mobile learning process. Reflection is an essential part in learning as it can record learner behaviors, cultivate self-awareness of knowledge construction, facilitate cognitive growth, and promote academic achievement. Despite of the wide approval of reflection, not much study has been done concerning the application of reflection in mobile language learning process. Therefore, this study aims to investigate students’ perception of a mobile-assisted reading program facilitated with reflective activities as well as their preferences for reflection modes adopted. The participants were 60 students from two classes in a Chinese college. Students read passages on mobile applications and completed a reflection in one mode every two weeks. Four modes (paper journal reflection, e-journal reflection, audio reflection, and collaborative reflection) were adopted in the study. The study lasted approximately nine weeks. At the end of the program, all students were required to complete an anonymous questionnaire concerning their learning perception. In addition, ten students were selected randomly to attend a semi-structured interview. A pretest and a posttest were conducted to observe students’ language gains. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted with the data obtained. Results showed students generally approved of the effect of this mobile-assisted reading and their reading proficiency improved significantly after the program. In addition, most students favored reflective practices as a good way to stimulate interest, deepen understanding and promote reflective and summarizing abilities, but they didn’t consider it a good method to monitor the learning process in the mobile-assisted reading program. As for the preference for reflection mode, most students favored traditional paper reflection and audio reflection, while collaborative reflection and e-journal reflection received the least support. The findings provided implications for educators and app designers. For educators, based on the understanding of students’ age, learning experience, and possible preferences, they may create a good reflective environment with technical and instructional support, and then provide two or three popular modes for students to reflect on whatever they read. For app developers, some preferable reflection modes facilitated with stimulative measures may be offered to cater to more learners to conduct reflective activities.

Harisal Harisal

The second-language learning process is often constrained by the influence of mother tongue or first language-Acquisition learners, which is called interference. Interference is principal language irrelevance in bilingual due to one or more language to be introduced or Speech Communication. Based on its phenomenon, students of State Polytechnic of Bali are considered passive interference learners, putting their mother tongue (Javanese and Balinese) elements and Indonesian Language in Japanese consciously or intuitively. This study aims to disclose the type of interference by the hospitality program students for those studying Japanese in State Polytechnic of Bali and explain its factors. The method used is Descriptive Qualitative, which is concerned with taking document field notes and literature Review to represent the real phenomenon of passive Interference types. The population in this study were all students in State Polytechnic of Bali in Japanese class. In contrast, the sample was taken from the results of purposive sampling based on their 100% attendance. There were about 65 first-year or second Semester students in Japanese Class and showed their Interferences. The study results showed that about 75 Passive Interference has commonly occurred in grammatical cases, such as phonetics, morphology, and syntax. Moreover, the occurrence factors of Passive Interference are distinctive Phonetic Features, The Language pattern differences between Mother Tongues (Local Languages) – Japanese, and lack of Japanese Language Proficiency skills and its dictions.

Maria Montefinese, Maria Montefinese, David Vinson et al.

Age of acquisition (AoA) is an important psycholinguistic variable that affects the performance of healthy individuals and patients in a large variety of cognitive tasks. For this reason, it becomes more and more compelling to collect new AoA norms for a large set of stimuli in order to allow better control and manipulation of AoA in future research. An important motivation of the present study is to extend previous Italian norms by collecting AoA ratings for a much larger range of Italian words for which concreteness and semantic-affective norms are now available thus ensuring greater coverage of words varying along these dimensions. In the present study, we collected AoA ratings for 1,957 Italian content words (adjectives, nouns, and verbs), by asking healthy adult participants to estimate the age at which they thought they had learned the word in a Web survey procedure. First, we found high split-half correlation within our sample, suggesting strong internal reliability. Second, our data indicate that the ratings collected in this study are as valid and reliable as those collected in previous studies for Italian across different age populations (adult and children) and other languages. Finally, we analyzed the relation between AoA ratings and other lexical-semantic variables (e.g., word frequency, imageability, valence, arousal) and showed that these correlations were generally consistent with the correlations reported in other normative studies for Italian and other languages. Therefore, our new AoA norms are a valuable source of information for future research in the Italian language. The full database is available at the Open Science Framework (osf.io/3trg2).

Jean-Marc Dewaele, Xinjie Chen, Amado M. Padilla et al.

The present contribution offers an overview of a new area of research in the field of foreign language acquisition, which was triggered by the introduction of Positive Psychology (PP) (MacIntyre and Gregersen, 2012). For many years, a cognitive perspective had dominated research in applied linguistics. Around the turn of the millennium researchers became increasingly interested in the role of emotions in foreign language learning and teaching, beyond established concepts like foreign language anxiety and constructs like motivation and attitudes toward the foreign language. As a result, a more nuanced understanding of the role of positive and negative learner and teacher emotions emerged, underpinned by solid empirical research using a wide range of epistemological and methodological approaches. PP interventions have been carried out in schools and universities to strengthen learners and teachers’ experiences of flow, hope, courage, well-being, optimism, creativity, happiness, grit, resilience, strengths, and laughter with the aim of enhancing learners’ linguistic progress. This paper distinguishes the early period in the field that started with MacIntyre and Gregersen (2012), like a snowdrop after winter, and that was followed by a number of early studies in relatively peripheral journals. We argue that 2016 is the starting point of the current period, characterized by gradual recognition in applied linguistics, growing popularity of PP, and an exponential increase in publications in more mainstream journals. This second period could be compared to a luxuriant English garden in full bloom.

Irina Khomchenkova, Polina Pleshak, Natalia Stoynova

One of the features of the oral Russian speech of bilingual speakers of the indigenous languages of Russia is the omission/the overuse of the &#8220;reflexive&#8221; affix -<i>s^ja</i> (a &#8220;middle voice&#8221; marker with a wide range of uses including reflexive, reciprocal, anticausative, passive, and some others). We discuss the data on the nonstandard use of -<i>s^ja</i> in the Russian speech of bilingual speakers of two language groups that differ both from Russian and from each other in this grammatical domain: Samoyedic (Forest Enets, Nganasan, and Nenets) and Tungusic (Nanai and Ulch). The data come from the corpus of contact-influenced Russian speech, which is being created by our team. We show that the mismatches in standard and nonstandard usage cannot be explained by direct structural copying from the donor language (indigenous) to the recipient one (the local variety of Russian). Nor is there a consistent system which differs from standard Russian since there are many more usages that follow the rules of standard Russian. The influence of the indigenous languages explains some overuses and omissions; the others can be explained by other factors, e.g., difficulties in the acquisition of verb pairs with non-transparent semantic or syntactic relations.

Peter Kim

Energy Conservation Theory of Second Language Acquisition (ECT-L2A; Han, Bao & Wiita, 2017), an interdisciplinary theory juxtaposing a physics perspective and an applied linguistics perspective, conceptualizes individuals’ ultimate attainment as a function of dynamic transformation of endogenous and exogenous energies throughout the learning process. ECT-L2A predicts, inter alia, (1) that beginning L2 learners should show stronger motivation than end-state learners, (2) that developing learners should show higher motivation than that of beginners, and (3) that beginning, developing, and end-state learners should exhibit similar profile in aptitude.  These predictions were tested with 56 ESL learners. Correlation analyses were conducted on learners’ aptitude, motivation, years of study, and performance on a timed grammaticality judgment test. The results showed that: (1) with increase in proficiency and years of study, there was a decrease in motivation; (2) the effect of aptitude diminished as learners made progress towards the target language; (3) combined effect of aptitude and motivation correlated positively with the their L2 attainment, but its effects diminished as the proficiency level of the groups became more advanced.

Hristo Kyuchukov

The paper presents the process of language socialization and acquisition of grammatical categories through the Roma oral culture in which metaphors are extensively used. Roma children who grow up in extended Roma families and community learn the language through communication with speakers of different registers. Research with 22 Roma children between three and six years of age from Croatia was carried in order to find out what grammatical categories are learned in this period of the life of children. The children were tested with a specially designed language assessment test in Romani (Kyuchukov & de Villiers, 2014b). The results show that Roma boys perform the test much better than Roma girls. Boys learn Romani from folkloristic genres which are rich in metaphors and this helps them to acquire complex grammatical categories. References Beller, S. (2008). Fostering Language Acquisition in Daycare Settings. The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation. Black, B. & Logan, A. (1995). 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An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Language and Languages. London: Penguin Dryll, E. (2009). Changes in metaphor comprehension in children. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 40(4), 204 – 212. Elbers, E., Maier, R., Hoekstra, T., Hoogsteder, M. (1992) Internalization and adult-child interaction. Learning and Instruction, 2, 101–118. Ervin, S. & Miller, W. (1972). Language Development. In: Readings in the Sociology of Language, (pp. 68–98). J. Fishman (ed.). The Hague: Mouton. Gleason, J. Berko (1992). Language Acquisition and Socialization. University Lecture. Boston: Boston University Press. Granquist, K. (2012). Metaphors of Finish Roma in Finish and Romani. In: Endangered Metaphors, (pp. 293–313). A. Idstrom, T. Falzett, E. Piirainen (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Haslett, B. (1989). Communication and language acquisition within a cultural context. In: Language, Communication and Culture. Current Directions, (pp. 19–34). S. TingToomey & F. Korzenny (eds.). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications. Hoff, E. (2003). Language development in childhood. In: Handbook of Psychology. Vol. 6. Developmental Psychology, (pp. 171– 193). R. Lerner, M.A. Easterbrooks, J. Mistry (eds.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &Sons. Kubanik, P. (2016). Using Romani in language socialization in a Czech family. In: Roma: Past, Present, Future, (pp. 238–249). H. Kyuchukov, E. Marushiakova & V. Popov (eds). Munich: Lincom, Kyuchukov, H. (2014a). Acquisition of Romani in a bilingual context. Psychology of Language and Communication, 18, 211–225. Kyuchukov, H. (2014b). Romani language assessment of Roma children. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 2, 52–64. Kyuchukov, H. (2010). Romani language competence. In: Situation of Roma Minority in Czech, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, (pp. 427–465). J. Balvin and L. Kwadrants (eds.). Wroclaw: Prom. Kyuchukov, H. & de Villiers, J. (2014a). Roma children’s knowledge on Romani. Journal of Psycholinguistics, 19, 58–65. Kyuchukov, H. & de Villiers, J. (2014b) Addressing the rights of Roma children for a language assessment in their native language of Romani. Poster presented at the 35th Annual Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders. Madison, Wisconsin June 12–14. Kyuchukov, H., Kaleja, M. &Samko, M. (2016). Roma parents as educators of their children. Intercultural Education, 26, 444–448. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Macwhinney, B. (2001) First language acquisition. In: The Handbook of Linguistics, (pp. 466–489). M. Aronoff & J. Rees-Miller (eds.). Oxford: Blackwell Publisher. Ochs, E. & Schieffelin, B. (1983). Acquiring Conversational Competence. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Ochs, E. & Schieffelin, B. (1995). Language acquisition and Socialization: Three developmental stories and their implications. In: Language, Culture, and Society. A book of Readings. Second edition, (pp. 470–512). B. Blount (ed.). 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Reyhaneh Mohamadi, Mehdi Kazemi-Dastjerdi, Asghar Minaei et al.

Introduction: The passive sentence structure is one of the most interesting syntactic structures on language development. Studies in some languages have indicated that comprehension of this syntactic structure takes place late in the language acquisition process. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the comprehension of active and passive structures in 48-59- and 60-71-month-old Persian-speaking children. Material and Methods: 100 children aged 48-71 months (38 children aged 48-59 months and 62 children aged 60-71 months) participated in this study from seven different kindergartens and three preschools. Five active sentences and four passive sentences were uttered, and the children were asked to look at one of the four pictures in front of them and choose the correct one. After recording the replies, comprehension scores were compared between both age groups and both gender using independent t-test. In the end, the percentages of correct and wrong answers were analyzed. Results: There was a significant difference between the comprehension of active sentences by the children in both age groups (P < 0.050). Children aged 60-71 months scored higher. There were no significant differences between the comprehension of passive sentences between the two age groups (P > 0.050). Furthermore, there were no significant differences between the two genders in comprehension of active or passive sentences. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it appears that Persian-speaking children aged 48-71 months have a better comprehension of active sentences compared to passive sentences. Furthermore, despite the improvement in the comprehension of active sentences from 48 months to 71 months, no noticeable change occurred in the comprehension of passive structures.

Marco Antonio Mora Piedra

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Web multimodality plus dialogical interactions in the acquisition and retention of novel lexical items among EFL students. The lexical acquisition of 107 1st-year English majors at the University of Costa Rica was analyzed through Simultaneous Multiple Linear Regression. Treatment A group, exposed to multiple Web input and allowed to discuss their findings dialogically, was compared to an only-Web group and a Control group. The results of the regression were statistically significant [R2 = .677, F (3, 78) = 54.60, p < .001] and the unstandardized coefficients indicated that the marginal mean of the Web plus dialogue group (34.69, p < .001) was statistically different to the Web-only and Control groups (-6.26, p = .047; -24.40, p < .001). The results of this study have pedagogical implications by informing practitioners about student preferences when integrating multi-modality into foreign language vocabulary acquisition and the intrinsic value of dialogical interactions in the construction of meaning.

Matteo La Grassa

L’indagine presenta i primi risultati emersi dall’analisi di una parte del corpus LISAU (LIS di Adulti Udenti) sulla produzione segnata del sintagma nominale in LIS da parte di informanti udenti che hanno appreso la LIS come L2 in età adulta. Scopo dell’indagine è cominciare a tracciare una linea di ricerca nell’ambito della linguistica acquisizionale con riferimento all’acquisizione della LIS come L2 da parte di udenti. Il corpus LISAU include il segnato di 7 informanti udenti con livello di competenza omogenea che hanno terminato un corso di terzo livello presso la sede Ente Nazionale Sordi di Prato e di 2 informanti sordi segnanti nativi considerati come gruppo di controllo. L’analisi si è incentrata sulla realizzazione dei nomi di prima e di seconda classe rilevando anche forme non citazionali, sulla realizzazione di forme plurali e sulle modalità di accordo tra nomi e aggettivi. Dalla maggior parte dei dati analizzati si rileva la piena competenza degli informanti nella realizzazione del sintagma nominale. Nouns Signed by hearing adults in LIS: a preliminary survey on the LISAU corpus The results of an analysis concerning part of the LISAU (LIS of  Hearing Adults) corpus related to the production of the noun phrase in LIS by hearing informants who learned the LIS L2 in adulthood are presented. The purpose of the investigation was to outline the process with regard to the acquisition of LIS L2 by hearing adults. The LISAU corpus is composed of the sign language of 7 hearing informants with a homogeneous level of competence who completed a third-level course at the Ente Nazionale Sordi in Prato. LISAU also includes the sign language of 2 deaf native signers, considered the control group. The analysis focuses on the first and second-class nouns, including non-citation forms, plural forms and noun-adjective agreement. Most of the analyzed data reveals the informants’ full competence in creating noun phrases.

Michael Kevin Olsen

This study investigates L2 Spanish rhotic production in intermediate learners of Spanish, specifically addressing the duration of the influence of L1 English rhotic articulations and a phonetic environment involving English taps on the acquisition of Spanish taps and trills that Olsen (2012) found. Results from multiple linear regressions involving thirty-five students in Spanish foreign language classes show that the effect of English rhotic articulations evident in beginners has disappeared after four semesters of Spanish study. However, results from paired samples t-tests show that these more advanced learners produced accurate taps significantly more in words containing phonetic environments that produce taps in English. This effect is taken as evidence that L1 phonetic influences have a shorter duration on L2 production than do L1 phonological influences. These results provide insights into L2 rhotic acquisition which Spanish educators and students can use to formulate reasonable pronunciation expectations.

J. Schumann

Amy Proulx

Implemented as a high-stakes Teacher Performance Assessment, in my opinion, edTPA holds great promise for evaluating novice teachers’ readiness. However, in its current stage, this pre-service assessment is better in theory than practice. I do not want this paper to evolve into a ranting diatribe against edTPA, rather, I hope my insight will shed some light on how we can collectively move forward with sound strategies that best support our teachers and students in the field we all love: education.

Letitia G. Naigles

Akiyo Hirai

The purpose of this paper is to review each of the following four vocabulary studies: (1) Estimations of Japanese University Learners’ English Vocabulary Sizes Using the Vocabulary Size Test (VST), by Stuart McLean, Nicholas Hogg, and Brandon Kramer, (2) Local Item Dependence on the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) Revisited, by Tadamitsu Kamimoto, (3) Test Taking and DK Use on the VST, by Dawn Lucovich, (4) Estimating Learners’ Vocabulary Size under Item Response Theory (IRT), by Aaron Gibson.

B. Vanpatten, Teresa Cadierno