The early phase of /ɹ/ production development in adult Japanese learners of English

Although previous research indicates that Japanese speakers’ second-language (L2) perception and production of English /ɹ/ may improve with increased L2 experience, relatively little is known about the fine phonetic details of their /ɹ/ productions, especially during the early phase of L2 speech learning. This cross-sectional study examined acoustic properties of word-initial /ɹ/ from 60 Japanese learners with a length of residence (LOR) between one month and one year in Canada. Their performance was compared to that of 15 native speakers of English and 15 low-proficiency Japanese learners of English. Formant frequencies (F2 and F3) and F1 transition durations were evaluated under three task conditions—word reading, sentence reading, and timed picture description. Learners with as little as two to three months of residence demonstrated target-like F2 frequencies. In addition, increased LOR was predictive of more target-like transition durations. Although the learners showed some improvement in F3 as a function of LOR, they did so mainly at a controlled level of speech production. The findings suggest that during the early phase of L2 segmental development, production accuracy is task-dependent and is influenced by the availability of L1 phonetic cues for redeployment in L2

Laryngeal stop systems in contact: connecting present-day acquisition findings and historical contact hypotheses

This article examines the linguistic forces at work in present-day second language and bilingual acquisition of laryngeal contrasts, and to what extent these can give us insight into the origin of laryngeal systems of Germanic voicing languages like Dutch, with its contrast between prevoiced and unaspirated stops. The results of present-day child and adult second language acquisition studies reveal that both imposition and borrowing may occur when the laryngeal systems of a voicing and an aspirating language come into contact with each other. A scenario is explored in which socially dominant Germanic-speaking people came into contact with a Romance-speaking population, and borrowed the Romance stop system

Mandarin Chinese as a Second Language: A Review of Literature

Mandarin Chinese has become increasing prevalent in the modern world. Accordingly, research of Chinese as a second language has developed greatly over the past few decades. This paper reviews research on the difficulties of acquiring a second language in general and research that specifically details the difficulty of acquiring Chinese as a second language. Based on this research, the author also reveals some areas that should be researched further in order to advance the field

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

THE USE OF DYNAMIC INDICATORS OF BASIC EARLY LANGUAGE SKILLS (DIBELS) AND MEASURES OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS (MAP) TO COMPARE READING PROFICIENCY IN NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

This study compares native English, Spanish, Lao, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, and all other ELL students over one, two, three, and four-year spans to determine if certain groups appear to face more difficulties in developing early reading mastery by third grade. This study also examines whether socio-economic status impacts the differences in literacy growth. Findings suggest that Spanish speaking students are more likely to begin school at a disadvantage in reading compared to ELL peers and continue to be more likely than ELL peers to be at risk of reading failure by third grade, after four years of sheltered instruction and tiered interventions with ESOL-certified staff. Longitudinally, Lao speaking students are increasingly likely to be at risk for reading failure over successively longer intervals. Among ELL students at low risk for reading failure, On the other end of the achievement spectrum, Spanish speaking students are less likely than ELL peers to be in the highest achieving group early in their schooling and continue to be so after four years of instruction

A Psycholinguistic Perspective on Development of Phonetic Category Formation in Bilingual Children

This chapter reviews theories and research about phonetic category formation in bilingual children. Investigating phonetic categories provides us with a way to answer one of the longstanding theoretical issues in bilingualism, that is, whether bilingual children possess one versus two linguistic systems in the learning of their respective languages. In this chapter, theoretical backgrounds of phonetic categories in bilingual adults and children are reviewed. Then, empirical evidence showing phonetic categories in bilingual children is summarized. Finally, a development model of phonetic category formation in simultaneous and sequential bilingual children is proposed. Based on the model, detailed phonetic categories do not form across-the-board and bilingual children may invoke multi-dimensional representations of phonetic categories

The Influence of Changing L1 on Child Second Language Acquisition

This paper presents a 26-month longitudinal study of a child who began learning English while developing her native Korean, conducted in order to investigate the role of language transfer in child SLA. The study examined the subject’s first language (L1) and second language (L2) negation, and plural and possessive markings. It looked for evidence of language transfer (LT) using comparisons to English L2 data from speakers with similar and dissimilar L1s, as well as comparisons between the subject’s L2 speech and her L1 system (Jarvis, 2000). The data showed evidence of LT for all features studied, with a predominance of Korean to English transfer early in the study period, and English to Korean toward the end. Results are interpreted using Foster-Cohen’s (2001) Sliding Window approach, which states that rather than neatly distinguishing L1 from L2 acquisition or early from late SLA, individual development along a variety of axes should be considered, including age, cognitive maturity, and native-like performance in L1. From this standpoint, the subject’s waxing and waning L2 performance across the study period appears to reflect changes in her L1 and in intensity of exposure to both languages

ALANZ handbook 2018

Co-edited Handbook for participants at December ALANZ Symposiu

ALANZ handbook

Co-edited Handbook for participants at December ALANZ Symposiu

ALANZ handbook

Co-edited Handbook for participants at December ALANZ Symposiu