The Development of Language Learning Aptitude and Metalinguistic Awareness in Primary-School Children: A Classroom Study

In the typical foreign language classroom, many learners all over the world find themselves in a minimal-input environment. Existing research suggests that in such a setting, adolescents typically outperform younger children. The greater cognitive maturity of older learners manifests itself in greater language learning aptitude, greater metalinguistic awareness, and enhanced capacity for explicit learning. We examined whether the teaching and learning of either Esperanto or French would facilitate the development of language learning aptitude and metalinguistic awareness in 8-9-year-old children (N=28), thus setting the scene for enhanced explicit learning even at a young age. Following instruction in either Esperanto or French over a school year, children made significant gains on measures of aptitude, metalinguistic awareness, and L2 proficiency. Effect sizes in the Esperanto group were larger throughout, however, with greater homogeneity of performance in evidence and a closer association between aptitude, metalinguistic awareness, and L2 proficiency at the end of the treatment. Moreover, Esperanto proved significantly easier to learn than French, with larger gains in L2 proficiency achieved by the Esperanto group compared with the French group. Finally, we found that language-analytic ability emerged as a significant predictor of L2 achievement in the sample as a whole

Conflict Resolution Ability in Late Bilinguals Improves With Increased Second-Language Proficiency: ANT Evidence

Experimental data supporting the claim that bilingual speakers have superior cognitive control abilities are often questioned with respect to certain methodological limitations. One such limitation is the use of between-group design, potentially confounding bilingual status with other factors (e.g., socioeconomic status). Here, we used a homogeneous sample of 57 young adult Russian–English late unbalanced bilinguals who were administrated Attention Network Task (ANT) together with an L2 proficiency task. We tested the correlation of L2 vocabulary performance with conflict and alertness measures and overall reaction times in ANT performance. Overall, participants demonstrated better conflict resolution with the increase in their second language competence, with 8% of variance in conflict resolution explained by L2 proficiency. Our results support the notion of regular correspondence between bilingualism and cognitive control

Erasmus students using English as a "lingua franca": does study abroad in a non-English-speaking country improve L2 English?

There is a lack of research on the impact of study abroad (SA) on the development of L2 English when students study in non-anglophone countries. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap by examining 39 Catalan/Spanish students who, as part of an Erasmus exchange, spent a term at universities in non-English-speaking European countries. In this context, English was used as the vehicular language for their studies and in their daily extracurricular activities when interacting with other students. Our research focuses the impact of this specific type of SA on students’ L2 English proficiency, and in particular their writing skills. Before and after the SA, students completed the Quick Oxford Placement Test (a general measure of L2 proficiency) and also drafted a short written paragraph in English. Their writing was analysed for syntactic complexity, lexical complexity and subordination. The results show that participants improved significantly after their SA on two out of the four measures: general L2 proficiency and lexical complexity. Though threshold levels of general proficiency have been posited for students’ ability to benefit linguistically from SA, in this case, L2 proficiency at the outset of the SA experience was found not to influence the development of writing skills, except on the measure of subordination. Implications are drawn for further research and pedagogic practice in developing English as a lingua franca skills in a European context.Peer ReviewedPreprin

Why am I learning English? Spanish EFL sports science university students´ motivational orientations through the prism of the L2 motivational self system

The study explores the motivational profiles of Spanish EFL sports science university students from the second language (L2) motivation self system (L2MSS) perspective to ultimately support Spanish higher institutions´ plans committed to improving employability and competitiveness. The study analyzes the relationships between L2 motivation, L2 proficiency, gender, and L2 contextual variables using data from 196 English as a foreign language (EFL) sports science university students. The data reveal that the ideal L2 self construct stands out as the most salient and powerful factor, while the ought-to and rebellious L2 selves are less significant and there are items loading on both of them at the same time. Thus, higher means for the ideal L2 self motivation correspond to higher levels of L2 proficiency and are supported by L2 learning contextual variables. The strongest ought-to L2 self was registered in students with mid-low L2 proficiency and a lack of L2 learning experiences. Meanwhile, the rebellious L2 self is clearly distinguishable only for students with high L2 proficiency. Pedagogical and curricular implications of these findings are that the ideal and the rebellious L2 selves could positively predict students´ L2 proficiency. Thus, new dynamics of education should explore language teaching methodologies that are more likely to enhance students´ ideal and rebellious L2 selves

Role of Discipline-specific Vocabulary in L2 Reading by Chinese Chemistry Major Undergraduates

This study explored the contribution of second language (L2) discipline-specific vocabulary to Chinese chemistry major undergraduates’ reading of textbooks. Participants included 82 second-year undergraduates majoring in chemistry. Their discipline-specific vocabulary knowledge and chemistry textbook reading ability were measured. Their L2 proficiency and chemistry knowledge data were collected. Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed that discipline-specific vocabulary was highly correlated with L2 proficiency and disciplinary knowledge, and discipline-specific vocabulary contributed the most to textbook reading, bigger than either L2 proficiency or disciplinary knowledge. Implications for discipline-specific vocabulary and English for academic purposes (EAP) reading instructions are discussed

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

Inhibitory Control and L2 Proficiency Modulate Bilingual Language Production: Evidence from Spontaneous Monologue and Dialogue Speech

Bilingual language production requires that speakers recruit inhibitory control (IC) to optimally balance the activation of more than one linguistic system when they produce speech. Moreover, the amount of IC necessary to maintain an optimal balance is likely to vary across individuals as a function of second language (L2) proficiency and inhibitory capacity, as well as the demands of a particular communicative situation. Here, we investigate how these factors relate to bilingual language production across monologue and dialogue spontaneous speech. In these tasks, 42 English–French and French–English bilinguals produced spontaneous speech in their first language (L1) and their L2, with and without a conversational partner. Participants also completed a separate battery that assessed L2 proficiency and inhibitory capacity. The results showed that L2 vs. L1 production was generally more effortful, as was dialogue vs. monologue speech production although the clarity of what was produced was higher for dialogues vs. monologues. As well, language production effort significantly varied as a function of individual differences in L2 proficiency and inhibitory capacity. Taken together, the overall pattern of findings suggests that both increased L2 proficiency and inhibitory capacity relate to efficient language production during spontaneous monologue and dialogue speech

Teachers’ self‐reported L1 and L2 use and self‐assessed L2 proficiency in primary EFL education

This study investigates teachers’ first language (L1, German) and second language (L2, English) use in the primary English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom in two federal German states. It particularly focuses on the question of whether a more frequent, (self-reported) use of the L2 is positively correlated to teachers’ professional qualification as well as (self-assessed) L2 proficiency. To this end, data was collected in 2017 through an online survey among German primary teachers teaching EFL in year 4 (N = 844). L2 use was assessed through a 4-point Likert scale comprising 16 items on various classroom situations. L1 use was surveyed with an open question on situations of L1 use in the L2 classroom. Moreover, teachers self-assessed their L2 proficiency with a 4-point Likert scale and adapted CEFR descriptors for speaking. Findings indicate that teachers claim to use the L2 more in L2-related situations and the L1 more in classroom management situations. The study shows that teachers with a higher formal qualification tend to assess their L2 proficiency higher and claim to use the L2 more often in the primary EFL classroom. In contrast, teachers with a lower formal qualification tend to assess their L2 proficiency lower and claim to use the L1 more frequently in the L2 classroom

L2 English Article Use by L1 Speakers of Article-less Languages: A Learner Corpus Study

This paper adopts the Integrated Contrastive Model (Granger 1996) to an examination of the use of articles in the L2 English written production of L1 speakers of three article-less languages (Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Thai) across four L2 proficiency levels. Data is sourced from the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE; Ishikawa 2011, 2013), comprising 575 written essays totalling 125,588 words across two writing prompts. Accuracy of zero, indefinite and definite articles is measured using Pica’s (1983) Target Language Use across Bickerton’s (1981) semantic/pragmatic article contexts (generic, specific definite, specific indefinite and non-specific indefinite). The results show two different orders of article accuracy depending on L1 background, as well as effects of writing prompt on the accuracy of certain article forms, and evidence of pseudo-longitudinal development for particular article usages as L2 proficiency increases, although not in all cases. Massive overproduction of indefinite/definite articles in generic contexts is problematic for all three L2 groups regardless of L1 background and L2 proficiency. However, Mandarin L2 English users appear to enjoy a significant advantage in L2 article accuracy over Korean or Thai L2 English users in almost all contexts of use and L2 proficiency levels, providing further potential evidence that the often reported grammaticalisation of definiteness/specificity markers in L1 Mandarin is aiding Mandarin L2 English users’ acquisition of the English article system.postprin

The relationship between language proficiency and attentional control in Cantonese-English bilingual children: Evidence from Simon, Simon Switching, and working memory tasks

By administering Simon, Simon switching, and operation-span working memory tasks to Cantonese-English bilingual children who varied in their first-language (L1, Cantonese) and second-language (L2, English) proficiencies, as quantified by standardized vocabulary test performance, the current study examined the effects of L1 and L2 proficiency on attentional control performance. Apart from mean performance, we conducted ex-Gaussian analyses to capture the modal and positive-tail components of participants\u27 reaction time distributions in the Simon and Simon switching tasks. Bilinguals\u27 L2 proficiency was associated with higher scores in the operation span task, and a shift of reaction time distributions in incongruent trials, relative to congruent trials (Simon effect in μ), and the tail size of reaction time distributions (τ) regardless of trial types in the Simon task. Bilinguals\u27 L1 proficiency, which was strongly associated with participants\u27 age, showed similar results, except that it was not associated with the Simon effect in μ. In contrast, neither bilinguals\u27 L1 nor L2 proficiency modulated the global switch cost or local switch cost in the Simon switching task. After taking into account potential cognitive maturation by partialling out the participants\u27 age, only (a) scores in the working memory task and (b) RT in incongruent trials and (c) Simon effect in μ in the Simon task could still be predicted by bilinguals\u27 L2 proficiency. Overall, the current findings suggest that bilingual children\u27s L2 proficiency was associated with their conflict resolution and working memory capacity, but not goal maintenance or task-set switching, when they performed the cognitive tasks that demanded attentional control. This was not entirely consistent with the findings of college-age bilinguals reported in previous studies