1,106,813 research outputs found
Growing up Overseas: Perceptions of Second Language Attrition and Retrieval Amongst Expatriate Children in India
This study involves expatriate children whose first language (L1) is English and who learned Hindi as their second language (L2) while their parents worked in India. The purpose of the study was to investigate the linguistic experiences of the children after they had left India, particularly experiences with L2 attrition. Through semi-structured interviews, subjects shared their stories of L2 acquisition and attrition. Common experiences which contributed to the attrition of the L2 included periods of non-use of the L2, social responses to the use of the L2, the lack of development of Hindi literacy and subjectsâ attitude toward using the L2. Some of the subjects were able to retrieve the L2 on return trips to India and an examination is made of their perceptions of what supported this retrieval process. These include exposure to the âenvironmentâ of India and personal motivation. The conclusion provides questions and suggestions for further research to contribute to a better understanding of the linguistic experiences of expatriate children.
Cette Ă©tude concerne les enfants expatriĂ©s de langue maternelle anglaise qui ont appris le hindi comme deuxiĂšme langue (L2) alors que leurs parents travaillaient en Inde. Le but de cette Ă©tude Ă©tait dâenquĂȘter sur les pratiques linguistiques usuelles de ces enfants une fois quâils avaient quittĂ© lâInde, avec un accent particulier sur lâĂ©rosion de la L2. Au cours dâentrevues semistructurĂ©es, les participants ont racontĂ© comment ils ont acquis et oubliĂ© la deuxiĂšme langue (L2). Les facteurs usuels dâĂ©rosion de la L2 comprennent des pĂ©riodes de non utilisation de la L2, les rĂ©actions sociales Ă lâutilisation de la L2, le manque de dĂ©veloppement de lâalphabĂ©tisation des participants en hindi, et leur attitude envers lâusage de la L2. Certains des participants ont pu rĂ©cupĂ©rer la langue suite Ă un retour en Inde; ils attribuent cette rĂ©cupĂ©ration Ă plusieurs facteurs, notamment lâexposition Ă un environnement indien et la motivation personnelle. La conclusion formule des questions et des suggestions pour mener dâautres recherches afin de mieux comprendre les expĂ©riences linguistiques des enfants expatriĂ©s
Metalinguistic Knowledge and Language Ability in University-Level L2 Learners
Existing research indicates that instructed learners' L2 proficiency and their metalinguistic knowledge are moderately correlated. However, the operationalization of the construct of metalinguistic knowledge has varied somewhat across studies. Metalinguistic knowledge has typically been operationalized as learners' ability to correct, describe, and explain L2 errors. More recently, this operationalization has been extended to additionally include learners' L1 language-analytic ability as measured by tests traditionally used to assess components of language learning aptitude. This article reports on a study which employed a narrowly focused measure of L2 proficiency and incorporated L2 language-analytic ability into a measure of metalinguistic knowledge. It was found that the linguistic and metalinguistic knowledge of advanced university-level L1 English learners of L2 German correlated strongly. Moreover, the outcome of a principal components analysis suggests that learners' ability to correct, describe, and explain highlighted L2 errors and their L2 language-analytic ability may constitute components of the same construct. The theoretical implications of these findings for the concept of metalinguistic knowledge in L2 learning are considered. © Oxford University Press 2007
Embedded Aspect in L2 Acquisition: Evidence from L1 Russian Learners of Greek.
This work investigates first language (L1) influence on the second language (L2) acquisition of aspect, comparing participants with homogeneous L1 background (Russian) in Mainland Greece (L2 Standard Modern Greek) and Cyprus (L2 Cypriot Greek), where verb complementation takes a finite form instead of an infinitival as is possible in Russian. Focus of the experimental study lies on embedded environments, which require only perfective aspect in Greek but allow either perfective or imperfective in Russian. The findings support the Full Transfer/Full Access Hypothesis, according to which aspect is part of Universal Grammar and L2 learners can reach nativeïżœâlike attainment due to access to it, while at the initial stage of L2 acquisition transfer from L1 into L2 takes place
Avoiding initiation of repair in L2 conversations-for-learning
Using audio-recorded data from second language (L2) English conversations-for-learning between an L2 user of English and a first language (L1) user of English (the researcher), this study analyzes cases in which the L1 user avoids initiation of repair. In each case, the L2 user appears to have misunderstood something said by the L1 user. Instead of initiating repair in next turn on the L2 userâs talk, or in third position on his own talk, the L1 user goes along, at least briefly, with the direction set by the L2 user. Often, the L1 user, sooner or later, returns to the misunderstood talk. Avoidance of repair initiation is one way in which the L1 user contributes to the construction of the L2 user as interactionally competent to participate in conversations-for-learning
The role of international student interactions in English as a lingua franca in L2 acquisition, L2 motivational development and intercultural learning during study abroad
Crossing borders features prominently as a theme in study abroad, not only in terms of studentsâ physical border crossings but also in their intercultural interactions with second language (L2) speakers whose background (linguistic and otherwise) they may perceive as markedly different from their own. Researchers have had a long-standing interest in study abroad participantsâ interactions with other L2 speakers abroad for their perceived potential to enhance L2 development, L2 motivation and intercultural learning processes. The focus of existing studies in this area has been on the interactions of study abroad participants with host national students, while their interactions with other international students who are also L2 users abroad have received far less attention, despite the ever-growing international student populations at European universities. This study examined studentsâ views regarding the role that lingua franca (LF) interactions with other international students played in their L2 acquisition, their L2 motivational development and their intercultural learning during study abroad. The data were derived from an empirical study that involved 81 German ERASMUS students who were studying in the UK for up to one academic year. The studentsâ views were elicited at the end of their stay with open-ended questionnaire items, and their verbal responses were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The analysis of the studentsâ reflections revealed a number of functions in each of the three areas, highlighting the potential of international student interactions as a viable source of L2 acquisition, L2 self-motivation, and intercultural learning during study abroad
Self-reported use and perception of the L1 and L2 among maximally proficient bi- and multilinguals: a quantitative and qualitative investigation
This study investigates language preferences and perceptions in the use of the
native language (L1) and second language (L2) by 386 bi- and multilingual
adults. Participants declared that they were maximally proficient in L1 and L2
and used both constantly. A quantitative analysis revealed that despite their
maximal proficiency in the L1 and L2, participants preferred to use the L1 for
communicating feelings or anger, swearing, addressing their children, performing
mental calculations, and using inner speech. They also perceived their
L1 to be emotionally stronger than their L2 and reported lower levels of communicative
anxiety in their L1. An analysis of interview data from 20 participants
confirmed these findings while adding nuance. Indeed, differences in the
use of the L1 and L2 and perceptions of both are often subtle and context-specific.
Participants confirmed the finding that the L1 is usually felt to be more
powerful than the L2, but this did not automatically translate into a preference
for the L1. Longer stretches of time in the L2 culture are linked to a gradual
shift in linguistic practices and perceptions. Participants reported that their
multilingualism and multiculturalism gave them a sense of empowerment and
a feeling of freedom
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