Addressing issues which are critical for language planning, this is an overview of research on the age factor in foreign language learning. It presents research on foreign language learning in ...bilingual communities in formal instruction settings focusing on syntax, phonology, writing, and more.
The series Trends in Applied Linguistics meets the challenges of the rapidly growing field of applied linguistics. In a very broad sense, applied linguistics is understoodby focusing on the ...application of theoretical linguistics to current problems arising in different contexts of human society. Given the interdisciplinary character of applied linguistics, the series includes cognitive, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic and educational perspectives. The following topicsare included in the series: Second language acquisition and the acquisition of additional languages Bilingual and multilingual education Language planning and language policy Literacy skills Second/foreign language pedagogy Translation and interpretation Language for specific purposes Discourse analysis Language testing and assessment Child language Language and gender Pragmatics and rhetorics Corpus analysis Critical pedagogies Research methodology in applied linguistics Language and technology.
This article elucidates the Typological Primacy Model (TPM; Rothman, 2010, 2011, 2013) for the initial stages of adult third language (L3) morphosyntactic transfer, addressing questions that stem ...from the model and its application. The TPM maintains that structural proximity between the L3 and the L1 and/or the L2 determines L3 transfer. In addition to demonstrating empirical support for the TPM, this article articulates a proposal for how the mind unconsciously determines typological (structural) proximity based on linguistic cues from the L3 input stream used by the parser early on to determine holistic transfer of one previous (the L1 or the L2) system. This articulated version of the TPM is motivated by argumentation appealing to cognitive and linguistic factors. Finally, in line with the general tenets of the TPM, I ponder if and why L3 transfer might obtain differently depending on the type of bilingual (e.g. early vs. late) and proficiency level of bilingualism involved in the L3 process.
Research on L2 interaction among adults has shown that task modality influences language learning opportunities, with oral tasks eliciting more attention to meaning and tasks including a written ...component more attention to form. Recent research has also shown that pairing method has an impact on the nature of peer interaction. However, no research on these topics has been carried out with young learners in foreign language settings. This study examines the interaction of 32 dyads of 11–12 year-old Spanish EFL learners with an elementary proficiency level while they completed an oral task and an oral + written task. They were divided into proficiency-paired, teacher-selected and self-selected groups, whose interaction was video recorded, transcribed and analyzed for interactional patterns and frequency, nature and outcome of language-related episodes (LREs). The findings revealed that children were mostly collaborative in both modalities but there were differences regarding how the tasks unfolded. As for attention to form, the children generated more LREs in the oral + written task. The qualitative analysis showed that they pooled their linguistic resources together in order to correctly solve at least half of the LREs produced.
The language learning potential of models, a form of written feedback consisting of native-like texts that students compare with their original composition, has been under-represented in studies on ...EFL child SLA. In particular, there is a need to gather data from larger samples of participants and to use delayed post-tests to assess whether potential positive effects of models are sustained over time. The aim of the present study is to analyze what EFL primary school children notice and incorporate during a four-stage collaborative writing task. The participants in the study were 38 11-12-year-old children divided into a treatment group (TG, n = 18), which received a model, and a control group (CG, n = 20), which self-edited their texts. The children’s pair talk was analyzed for evidence of any content and linguistic problems they noticed during the composition or comparison stages. The findings show that children in the TG noticed significantly more lexical and content-related features at the comparison stage. Moreover, the TG incorporated significantly more mechanics- and discourse-related features than the CG into the rewriting stage, and also a significantly higher number of formal and discursive aspects into the post-test. Our findings point to the apparent benefits of models with this population.
Collaborative writing tasks have been claimed to offer language learning opportunities because they implicitly draw learners' attention to form. Nevertheless, their efficacy has been claimed to be ...moderated by proficiency, as low proficiency learners tend to override form over meaning. These claims, however, are mostly based on adult learners and little work has been carried out with child low proficiency learners. The present study analyzes the oral production of 31 dyads of L1 Spanish young EFL learners (aged 11-12) while completing a collaborative dictogloss task in which the embedded target form was the 3rd person singular morpheme -s. The instances in which they deliberated about language were operationalized as Language Related Episodes according to their focus and resolution. Resolved deliberations incorporated into the collaborative written output were also quantified. The findings show that these children focused significantly more on form than on meaning, yet, they significantly focused more on other grammatical forms than on the target -s. Regarding resolution, there were significantly more correctly resolved LREs than incorrectly resolved or unresolved ones. Finally, resolved LREs were mostly incorporated in the writing, regardless of their focus. A number of implications drawn from these results are discussed for research and pedagogy.
A growing body of research suggests that a balanced use of the first language (L1) in the foreign language classroom yields beneficial effects for second language (L2) learning. Still, the extent to ...which young learners in foreign language contexts actually make use of their L1 while completing tasks is in need of further research, especially in an approach that has become prevalent in Europe: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The current longitudinal study analyzes the oral interactions of 32 young Spanish learners (ages 8–10) when performing a communicative task twice in two consecutive academic years. We have analyzed the learners’ L1 use and the functions it serves, the differences between two foreign language instructional settings (mainstream foreign language lessons and CLIL) and the changes over a year. Our findings confirmed the facilitative role of the L1 which mainly served to assist learners as they coped with unknown vocabulary. CLIL learners used their L1 significantly less than mainstream learners, and, interestingly, the L1 was more frequently used the second time the learners carried out the task. The findings shed light on the facilitative role of the L1 for task completion by young learners in foreign language settings.
The series Trends in Applied Linguistics meets the challenges of the rapidly growing field of applied linguistics. In a very broad sense, applied linguistics is understoodby focusing on the ...application of theoretical linguistics to current problems arising in different contexts of human society. Given the interdisciplinary character of applied linguistics, the series includes cognitive, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic and educational perspectives. The following topicsare included in the series: Second language acquisition and the acquisition of additional languages Bilingual and multilingual education Language planning and language policy Literacy skills Second/foreign language pedagogy Translation and interpretation Language for specific purposes Discourse analysis Language testing and assessment Child language Language and gender Pragmatics and rhetorics Corpus analysis Critical pedagogies Research methodology in applied linguistics Language and technology.
Interaction research has demonstrated the facilitative role of negotiation of meaning in the process of L2 learning. Pioneering work by Oliver (2002) considered child interaction in an English as a ...second language (ESL) setting. However, little is known about child interaction in foreign language classrooms and much less about a new learning context that is becoming prevalent in Europe: Content-and-language-integrated-learning (CLIL). Although general discourse features have been investigated in this setting, it is still necessary to examine whether its special characteristics (more exposure to the target language and interactive methodology) have an effect on learners' production. This paper focuses on English as a foreign language (EFL) and CLIL children's oral interaction while completing a picture-placement task. Eighty (80) 8–11 year old children were paired to form 40 age- and proficiency-matched dyads (20 EFL, 20 CLIL) and their oral production was analyzed to identify the different strategies they use to complete the task. Findings point to quantitative differences between the two contexts and age groups. CLIL learners negotiate more and resort to the L1 less frequently than EFL learners. On the other hand, older children in both contexts negotiate less and use the L1 more frequently than younger children.
PDF
