Predicting Native Language from Gaze

A fundamental question in language learning concerns the role of a speaker's first language in second language acquisition. We present a novel methodology for studying this question: analysis of eye-movement patterns in second language reading of free-form text. Using this methodology, we demonstrate for the first time that the native language of English learners can be predicted from their gaze fixations when reading English. We provide analysis of classifier uncertainty and learned features, which indicates that differences in English reading are likely to be rooted in linguistic divergences across native languages. The presented framework complements production studies and offers new ground for advancing research on multilingualism.Comment: ACL 201

Examining the development of pragmatics of Chinese JFL students

The field of interlanguage pragmatics has burgeoned since late 20th century. Requests, as a part of speech act theory, have been investigated by many scholars. This cross-sectional study explores the acquisition of pragmatics of Chinese learners of Japanese in foreign language contexts (JFL) by examining their request usages, which incorporates pragmatic transfer as a tool to interpret data. Discourse completion task (DCT) questionnaires were distributed to first-year, second-year and fourth-year Japanese learners at a university in China, as well as to native speakers in the U.S. to elicit requests. Requests were analyzed according to the following six categories: perspectives, speech levels, strategies, syntactic downgraders, semantic downgraders, and supportive moves. Based on data analysis, the preliminary findings are: 1) Significant improvement from the first- year group to the second-year group can be observed. 2) In general, the fourth-year group performed similar to or less native-like than the second-year group. 3) Regardless of the advancement, a gap still exists between learners and native speakers regarding pragmatics proficiency. The study not only sheds light on the evolution of learners’ interlanguage from a perspective of pragmatics, but can also reveal part of the current teaching and learning situations of Japanese pragmatics at universities in China. By discussing learners' success and potential areas that need developing, the findings could provide some meaningful implications for Japanese pedagogy

Effects of a timed dictation activity in the introductory course in Japanese focusing on the accuracy and fluency of writing Katakana

The importance of mastering one of the Japanese syllabaries, Katakana, is acknowledged by both Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) learners and teachers. Katakana is a phonetic syllabary that is used to transcribe loanwords primarily from European languages and onomatopoeia words. These loanwords are nowadays called Katakana words. The number of Katakana words in Japanese language has been increasing, and it is reported that many JFL learners in Japan often encounter difficulty in understanding these words. Though teachers are also aware of the importance of teaching Katakana, it is treated less importantly. For example, after spending some time and effort teaching Hiragana, the other primary syllabary, Katakana can be thought of as additional, and allocating some set amount of time during the class for Katakana teaching is challenging. In order to solve these current issues, the present study utilized the timed-dictation with the timed-dictation player (Fukada, 2015). The goal of this study is to examine if this method has an effect to enhance learners’ fluency and accuracy in writing Katakana. The subjects were 74 JFL learners in the Timed Dictation (TD) group, who had timed-dictation activities through a semester, and 113 in the Written Test (WT) group, who had traditional Katakana writing practices as a treatment. During the timed-dictation activities, students were asked to transcribe an audio recording within a limited time frame. The students were able to practice dictation on their own using the timed dictation player before having the timed-dictation test during the class. At the end of semester, an identical Katakana test was administered to both groups. It asked students to convert as many Hiragana symbols into Katakana symbols as they can within three minutes. The result showed that though the timed-dictation activity did have a positive effect, the impact was insufficient for the TD group to achieve overall higher Katakana writing proficiency than the WT group. Further analysis involving the learners’ first languages and questionnaire responses was also conducted. It is found that the level of difficulty of dictation materials should be adjusted to the learners’ proficiency levels

What do English speakers know about gera-gera and yota-yota?: A cross-linguistic investigation of mimetic words for laughing and walking

The relation between word form and meaning is considered arbitrary; however, Japanese mimetic words, giseigo and gitaigo , are exceptions. For giseigo (words mimicking voices), there is a direct resemblance(‘iconicity’) between the sound of the word and the sound it refers to; for gitaigo (words that mimic manners/states) there is a symbolic relationship (‘sound symbolism’) between the sound and the manner/state to which the word refers. While native speakers intuitively recognize these relationships, it is questionable whether speakers of other languages are able to access the meaning of Japanese mimetic words from their sounds. In the current study, we asked native English speakers with no prior experience with the Japanese language to listen to Japanese mimetic words for laughing (giseigo) and for walking (gitaigo), and rate each word’s meaning on semantic differential scales (e.g.,“GRACEFUL-VULGAR”(laughing,“GRACEFUL-CLUMSY”(walking). We compared English and Japanese speakers’ ratings and found that English speakers construed many of the features of laughing in a similar manner as Japanese native speakers (e.g., words containing /a/ were rated as more amused, cheerful, nice and pleasant laughs). They differed only with regard to a few sound-meaning relationships of an evaluative nature (e.g., words for laughing containing /u/ were rated as more feminine and graceful, and those containing /e/ were rated as less graceful and unpleasant). In contrast, for the words referring to walking, English speakers’ ratings differed greatly from native Japanese speakers’. Native Japanese speakers rated words beginning with voiced consonants as referring to a big person walking with big strides, and words beginning with voiceless consonants as more even-paced, feminine and formal walking; English speakers were sensitive only to the relation between voiced consonants and a big person walking. Hence, some sound-meaning associations were language-specific. This study also confirmed the more conventional and lexicalized nature of the mimetic words of manner

Cross-linguistic transfer in the L2 learning of spatial concepts

Previous research has demonstrated persistent difficulties in learning spatial expressions in a second language (L2) (Ahlberg et al., 2018; Ijaz, 1986; Jarvis & Odlin, 2000; Mukattash, 1984; Munnich & Landau, 2010; Park & Ziegler, 2014). Recent studies have suggested that these difficulties may come from the learners\u27 native language (L1) spatial conceptual systems, which remain persistent and influence conceptualization in second language acquisition (Ahlberg et al., 2018; Coventry & Garrod, 2004; Jarvis, 2016). Through a combination of triad picture matching and description tasks, the present study examined whether conceptual transfer is involved in L2 learning of Japanese spatial expressions among learners from two different L1s (Chinese and English) and two different proficiency levels (beginning and advanced). Results of the study showed that although there were clear linguistic differences in spatial descriptions among languages, specifically in the adpositions used, the stimuli failed to yield clear cross-linguistic differences in spatial conceptualization. Thus, no evidence of L1 transfer to the L2 at the cognitive level was found, at least in these data. However, findings from the study also suggested that target-like conceptualization may be related to learners’ accurate use of L2 spatial expressions regardless of their L1 or proficiency. Thus, if learners can identify linguistic concepts underlying L2 spatial expressions, they may be more likely to use the expressions correctly. Further investigations are necessary to examine how and to what extent learners’ spatial categorizations are affected by learning new concepts in an L2, which conceptualization patterns might not be affected, and how the conceptualization systems are structured in bilinguals’ minds

Peer mediation for conflict management: a Singaporean case study

The burgeoning interest in conflict and its management has recently begun to impact on schools and school systems worldwide. Motivated by a concern for increasing levels of violence in schools and student�student conflict, many school administrators are looking at conflict management programs as a means of dealing with the problem. Most of the more widely used programs have their origins in the United States; their appropriateness and effectiveness in other countries and cultures is, at best, unknown, and in some respects open to conjecture. In this paper the cultural appropriateness of a peer mediation program in a primary school in Singapore is the subject of investigation. The study also addresses, in an exploratory manner, the effectiveness of peer mediation as a mechanism for student�student conflict management

Kanji Acquisition among Language Minority Students in Japan: A Comparative Study of Japanese-as-a-Second-Language Students Born in Japan

Although Japan has an increasing number of children who are learning Japanese as their second language (JSL students), relatively little is understood with regards to their acquisition of the Japanese language. Since acquisition of kanji (i.e., Chinese characters used in Japanese) is considered a critical skill for academic success at school in Japan, this study examined the reading and writing of kanji among JSL students, focusing on students who were born in Japan but raised in non-Japanese speaking homes. A set of kanji reading and writing tests were administered to 27 4th grade JSL students, and their performance was compared to that of their Japanese native-speaking (NS) counterparts. While the oral proficiency of the JSL students was found to be equivalent to that of the native speakers, there was a significant difference in kanji reading between the JSL and NS students even though no differences were found in kanji writing. An error analysis indicated that the JSL students had more missing answers, and more errors associated with meaning in kanji reading. Among the various background factors, only the frequency of reading in Japanese outside of school was found to be significantly influential over the students’ kanji reading. With respect to kanji writing, in addition to the frequency of reading in Japanese, the amount of practice of kanji writing and the frequency of reading outside of the school in the students’ first language (L1) were found to be significantly influential

Own-language use in language teaching and learning: state of the art

Until recently, the assumption of the language-teaching literature has been that new languages are best taught and learned monolingually, without the use of the students’ own language(s). In recent years, however, this monolingual assumption has been increasingly questioned, and a re-evaluation of teaching that relates the language being taught to the students’ own language has begun. This article surveys the developing English language literature on the role of students’ own language(s) in the language classroom. After clarifying key terms, the paper charts the continuing widespread use of students’ own languages in classrooms around the world and the contemporary academic and societal trends which have led to a revival of support for this. It then explores key arguments which underpin this revival, and reviews a range of empirical studies which examine the extent and functions of own-language use within language classrooms. Next, the article examines the support for own-language use that a range of theoretical frameworks provide, including psycholinguistic and cognitive approaches, general learning theory and sociocultural approaches. Having explored the notion of ‘optimal’ in-class own-language use, the article then reviews research into teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards own-language use. It concludes by examining how a bilingual approach to language teaching and learning might be implemented in practice

The study of Japanese language speakers

Peer reviewe