The hierarchy of Chinese grammar: A cross-sectional study of L2 Chinese within Processability Theory

Processability Theory (PT) is a well-established theoretical framework within the field of Second Language Acquisition, which describes the development of acquiring language as a process of acquiring procedural skills. The procedural skills are necessary for the learner being able to process different grammatical structures of the target language, and these are obtained by the learner through available input and the given learning device. The acquirement of procedural skills follows a hierarchy of grammatical processing procedures, an implicational pattern where each procedure is a prerequisite to the next. PT has been applied to many different languages, there among Chinese. Previous PT-studies concerning second language acquisition of Chinese have explored the developmental processes of English L1 speakers, but so far, no studies regarding the developmental processes of Swedish L1 speakers have been done within the framework of PT. Hence, the aim of the present work is to evaluate whether Swedish L1 speakers´ developmental process of acquiring certain Chinese grammatical morphemes and structures correspond to the developmental stages found in earlier studies regarding English-speaking learners. A cross-sectional research design consisting of two elicitation tasks was utilized. A total of 15 Swedish learners of Chinese with different language proficiency in the target language participated in the study. The collected data, consisting of the participants´ spontaneous speech production of the target language, was analyzed in the search for the emergence and the accuracy of using specific Chinese grammatical morphemes and structures. Results indicate that Swedish L1 learners follow the same developmental processes of learning certain Chinese grammar as found in previous studies regarding English L1 learners. However, suggestions of altering the locations of certain grammatical structures in the PT-hierarchies established by previous research are discussed

L1 transfer in the acquisition of English articles. Evidence from L1 Bulgarian and L1 Norwegian learners

This study investigates the L1 transfer in the acquisition of articles in L2 English by L1 speakers of Bulgarian and Norwegian. Bulgarian differs from English in that it has no overt indefinite article, the definite article is postposed, and it expresses genericity by means of the definite article. Norwegian is similar to English in that it has overt indefinite article. The definite article in Norwegian is postposed and genericity is expressed by both definite, indefinite, singular and plural, and in that Norwegian is similar to both Bulgarian and English. The study consists of a Grammaticality judgement test (GJT) administered to Bulgarian students in grade 6/7 aged 12-13 (N=234), and Norwegian students in grade 6/7 aged 11-12 (N=134). A Proficiency placement test was administered before the GJT in order to match the groups for proficiency level. Six sub-conditions were differentiated, two of which targeted the use of the indefinite article. For both of them, the results showed a large difference in the number of correct answers between L1 Norwegian students and L1 Bulgarian students. The difference is largest in the condition where Norwegian requires an obligatory indefinite article. In the condition where Norwegian requires a bare noun, the difference between the two language groups is smaller. In all other sub-conditions, there is no difference between the two language groups. The results confirm that L1 influences the acquisition of articles in L2 English

Digital video presentation in an EFL writing classroom / Yustinus Calvin Gai Mali

This qualitative study delved into students’ perspectives on the practices of a digital video presentation project in their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing class at an English Language Education Program of a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. Twenty-five students participated in this research by submitting their reflective journals that responded to five guiding questions. The study indicated some successes as well as challenges in the implementation aspects of the project. Implications for the integration of technology into EFL teaching and learning practices were also discussed in the paper

Crosslinguistic influence in third language acquisition

In this dissertation, crosslinguistic influence in third language (L3) acquisition is investigated in three articles that explore how linguistic variables affect the influence of pre-existing grammars. The goal is to contribute to novel insights about the cognitive process of language acquisition. We collected data in offline acceptability judgements tasks. In articles 1 and 2, we tested Norwegian–English bilinguals who were exposed to an artificial L3. In article 3, we tested Russian–Norwegian bilinguals who had been instructed in English for five–six years. We analysed the data by means of mixed-effects modelling. The results show that L3ers are influenced by both pre-existing languages, at early and intermediate stages. At intermediate stages, we documented both facilitative and non-facilitative influence. We clearly see that the source of the influence is affected by similarities between the L3 and pre-existing grammars, but we find no indications of wholesale transfer. We argue that the results reflect a complex learning situation in which candidate structures from both pre-existing languages are co-activated and compete for the overall best fit to the L3 input. The goodness of fit of a given structure determines the level of activation and consequently, the influence on the target interlanguage.I denne avhandlingen utforsker vi tverrspråklig innflytelse i tredjespråkstilegnelse gjennom tre artikler som undersøker hvordan ulike lingvistiske variabler påvirker innflytelsen av tidligere tilegnede språksystemer. Målet med avhandlingen er å bidra til ny innsikt i språktilegnelse som kognitiv prosess. Vi samlet data ved hjelp av offline akseptabilitetstester. I artikkel 1 og 2 testet vi norsk–engelsk tospråklige som ble eksponert for et kunstig tredjespråk. I artikkel 3 testet vi tospråklige talere av russisk og norsk som hadde hatt engelsk på skolen i fem–seks år. Vi brukte regresjonsanalyse (blandet modell) til å utforske dataene. Resultatene viser at begge tidligere tilegnede språk påvirker tredjespråket, både tidlig i tilegnelsesprosessen og ved senere stadier. Blant mer erfarne tredjespråksinnlærere finner vi både positiv og negativ innflytelse. Vi finner ingen indikasjoner på at et av språkene blir valgt som den eneste kilden til tverrspråklig innflytelse, men derimot at likheter mellom målspråkets grammatikk og tidligere tilegnede grammatiske systemer påvirker hvor innflytelsen kommer fra. Vi argumenterer for at resultatene reflekterer en kompleks læringssituasjon der lingvistiske strukturer fra begge tidligere tilegnede språk er parallelt aktivert og kjemper mot hverandre i en konkurranse der likheter mellom målspråket og de eksisterende språkene i stor grad avgjør innflytelsen på tredjespråket

Interpreting language-learning data

This book provides a forum for methodological discussions emanating from researchers engaged in studying how individuals acquire an additional language. Whereas publications in the field of second language acquisition generally report on empirical studies with relatively little space dedicated to questions of method, the current book gave authors the opportunity to more fully develop a discussion piece around a methodological issue in connection with the interpretation of language-learning data. The result is a set of seven thought-provoking contributions from researchers with diverse interests. Three main topics are addressed in these chapters: the role of native-speaker norms in second-language analyses, the impact of epistemological stance on experimental design and/or data interpretation, and the challenges of transcription and annotation of language-learning data, with a focus on data ambiguity. Authors expand on these crucial issues, reflect on best practices, and provide in many instances concrete examples of the impact they have on data interpretation

EFL Pragmatics Teaching in the Norwegian VG1 Programme for General Studies: Current Teacher Attitudes on the Development of Pupils’ Pragmatic Competence

Master's thesis in Literacy studiesThis thesis investigates pragmatics’ current position in the first year of the Norwegian EFL programme for upper secondary general studies classes. The aim was to ascertain whether pragmatics is explicitly or implicitly taught, and whether the development of pupils’ pragmatic competence is seen as relevant among Norwegian EFL teachers. To this end, a mixed-methods approach was used through a combination of interviews with ten teachers and distribution of DCTs among 166 16-17-year-old Norwegian EFL learners. The teachers and pupils were selected from five different upper secondary schools in Rogaland, Norway. Inspired by existing pragmalinguistic research carried out by Brubæk (2012) and Norenberg (2017), the current thesis and its results can be viewed as follow-up and support of their argument for giving pragmatics and development of pragmatic competence explicit attention in Norwegian EFL instructional settings. None of the interviewed teachers reported paying explicit attention to developing pragmatic competence in their lessons. The teachers also admitted that they were unfamiliar with the linguistic terms pragmatics and pragmatic competence. A general perception was that pragmatics receives little to no attention in Norwegian EFL classrooms. However, through teaching formal compared to informal writing, the pupils are implicitly (and unconsciously) introduced to pragmatics. Based on the interview data, other pragmatic issues, such as conventions of politeness in L2, are largely disregarded. Data from the DCTs demonstrated that that pupils rely on L1 request formulations in L2. Native speakers of English tend to more frequently use negation and combinations of past tense and past/present progressive aspects. Only a minor fraction of the participants demonstrated native-like modification, and negation was counted only twice among the data. Instead, pupils opted for simple ‘can I/you’-formulations and external modifications, such as grounders. The current study additionally means to contribute to and inspire further study on pragmatics’ and its position in Norwegian EFL instructional settings. To this date, the amount of research conducted on Norwegian pupils’ interlanguage pragmalinguistic performance is considerably low compared to similar research carried out internationally. As such, more research is needed to map the extent of possible lacking pragmatic competence in Norwegian EFL classrooms

Interpreting language-learning data

This book provides a forum for methodological discussions emanating from researchers engaged in studying how individuals acquire an additional language. Whereas publications in the field of second language acquisition generally report on empirical studies with relatively little space dedicated to questions of method, the current book gave authors the opportunity to more fully develop a discussion piece around a methodological issue in connection with the interpretation of language-learning data. The result is a set of seven thought-provoking contributions from researchers with diverse interests. Three main topics are addressed in these chapters: the role of native-speaker norms in second-language analyses, the impact of epistemological stance on experimental design and/or data interpretation, and the challenges of transcription and annotation of language-learning data, with a focus on data ambiguity. Authors expand on these crucial issues, reflect on best practices, and provide in many instances concrete examples of the impact they have on data interpretation

The Variable Learning Effects of Two Types of Intervention on L2 Communication Skills Using Interactive Tasks.

This study evaluated the benefits of a task-based procedure used to develop L2 communicative effectiveness in spoken English among a group of advanced proficiency learners. Using two interactive information-exchange map tasks, one diagram task, and two intervening discussion sessions, the study attempted to investigate the actual communicative outcomes of interaction prompted by the tasks and by the interventions. Subjects in three conditions first performed a map task designed with four referential problems which had to be solved to successfully complete the task. Immediately following the map task, the subjects in the first condition participated in a discussion session in which the nature of the referential problems was the focus. Subjects in the second condition took part in an intervening discussion whose focus was the linguistic features of the language used to perform the task. The third condition contained no intervention and served as the experimental control group. After the intervention events, subjects performed another map task designed with referential problems similar to those in the first map. Following the second map task, the subjects were given a diagram task to perform. The diagram was analogous to the map tasks and contained the same types of referential problems. A fourth condition provided baseline data for the diagram task by having subjects perform only that task, without benefit of practice on either of the map tasks. It was found that, when the intervening discussion focused on linguistic aspects of task performance, speakers tended to adopt a noticeably more speaker-centered perspective in a subsequent communicative task. When referential aspects of the task were discussed, subsequent communicative performance was characterized by a more listener-oriented perspective. The findings suggested that L2 communicative effectiveness in an information-exchange task is enhanced when the speaker is led to take the listener\u27s needs into account rather than focusing primarily on the form of the speaker\u27s message