Modality effects in vocabulary acquisition

It is unknown whether modality affects the efficiency with which humans learn novel word forms and their meanings, with previous studies reporting both written and auditory advantages. The current study implements controls whose absence in previous work likely offers explanation for such contradictory findings. In two novel word learning experiments, participants were trained and tested on pseudoword - novel object pairs, with controls on: modality of test, modality of meaning, duration of exposure and transparency of word form. In both experiments word forms were presented in either their written or spoken form, each paired with a pictorial meaning (novel object). Following a 20-minute filler task, participants were tested on their ability to identify the picture-word form pairs on which they were trained. A between subjects design generated four participant groups per experiment 1) written training, written test; 2) written training, spoken test; 3) spoken training, written test; 4) spoken training, spoken test. In Experiment 1 the written stimulus was presented for a time period equal to the duration of the spoken form. Results showed that when the duration of exposure was equal, participants displayed a written training benefit. Given words can be read faster than the time taken for the spoken form to unfold, in Experiment 2 the written form was presented for 300 ms, sufficient time to read the word yet 65% shorter than the duration of the spoken form. No modality effect was observed under these conditions, when exposure to the word form was equivalent. These results demonstrate, at least for proficient readers, that when exposure to the word form is controlled across modalities the efficiency with which word form-meaning associations are learnt does not differ. Our results therefore suggest that, although we typically begin as aural-only word learners, we ultimately converge on developing learning mechanisms that learn equally efficiently from both written and spoken materials

The challenges of viewpoint-taking when learning a sign language: Data from the 'frog story' in British Sign Language

Little is known about how hearing adults learn sign languages. Our objective in this study was to investigate how learners of British Sign Language (BSL) produce narratives, and we focused in particular on viewpoint-taking. Twenty-three intermediate-level learners of BSL and 10 deaf native/early signers produced a narrative in BSL using the wordless picture book Frog, where are you? (Mayer, 1969). We selected specific episodes from part of the book that provided rich opportunities for shifting between different characters and taking on different viewpoints. We coded for details of story content, the frequency with which different viewpoints were used and how long those viewpoints were used for, and the numbers of articulators that were used simultaneously. We found that even though learners’ and deaf signers’ narratives did not differ in overall duration, learners’ narratives had less content. Learners used character viewpoint less frequently than deaf signers. Although learners spent just as long as deaf signers in character viewpoint, they spent longer than deaf signers in observer viewpoint. Together, these findings suggest that character viewpoint was harder than observer viewpoint for learners. Furthermore, learners were less skilled than deaf signers in using multiple articulators simultaneously. We conclude that challenges for learners of sign include taking character viewpoint when narrating a story and encoding information across multiple articulators simultaneously

Modality of Input and Vocabulary Acquisition

This study examines the effect of input modality (video, audio, and captions, i.e., on-screen text in the same language as audio) on (a) the learning of written and aural word forms, (b) overall vocabulary gains, (c) attention to input, and (d) vocabulary learning strategies of beginning L2 learners. Twenty-six second-semester learners of Russian participated in this study. Group one (N = 8) saw video with audio and captions (VAC); group two (N = 9) saw video with audio (VA); group three (N = 9) saw video with captions (VC). All participants completed written and aural vocabulary tests and a final questionnaire.The results indicate that groups with captions (VAC and VC) scored higher on written than on aural recognition of word forms, while the reverse applied to the VA group. The VAC group learned more word meanings than the VA group. Results from the questionnaire suggest that learners paid most attention to captions, followed by video and audio, and acquired most words by associating them with visual images. Pedagogical implications of this study are that captioned video tends to aid recognition of written word forms and the learning of word meaning, while non-captioned video tends to improve listening comprehension as it facilitates recognition of aural word forms

Self-Efficacy and Attitudes for Vocabulary Strategies Among English Learners and Native Speakers

This study examined university students’ self-efficacy and attitudes for employing vocabulary strategies in four learning contexts. The contexts are characterized by input modality (reading vs. listening) and purpose (academic vs. leisure). Another goal was to compare the self-efficacy and attitudes between English learners (ELs) and native speakers. A total of 112 participants responded to four short scenarios by rating their self-efficacy and attitudes toward employing vocabulary strategies under each scenario. Among the results, students reported higher self-efficacy using morphological analysis and dictionary use when reading and higher self-efficacy to seek help when learning for academic purpose. There were no differences in their attitudes. ELs reported lower self- efficacy for using morphological analysis, contextual analysis, and help-seeking than native speakers, but no difference in using dictionaries

The Role of Socially-Mediated Alignment in the Development of Second Language Grammar and Vocabulary: Comparing Face-to-Face and Synchronous Mobile-Mediated Communication

Decades of research has shown that speakers mutually adapt to each other’s linguistic behaviors at different levels of language during dialogue. Recent second language (L2) research has suggested that alignment occurring while L2 learners carry out collaborative activities may lead to L2 development, highlighting the benefits of using alignment activities for L2 learning. However, despite the notion that speakers linguistically align in interactions happening in socially-situated contexts, little is known about the role of social factors in the magnitude and learning outcomes of alignment occurring in L2 interaction. The purpose of the study was to examine the pedagogical benefits of alignment activities for the development of L2 grammar and vocabulary during peer interaction across two different interactional contexts: Face-to-Face (FTF) and synchronous mobile-mediated communication (SMMC; mobile text-chat). The target vocabulary items included 32 words and the target structure was a stranded preposition construction embedded in an English relative clause. Furthermore, this study investigated whether social factors (i.e., L2 learners’ perceptions of their interlocutor’s proficiency, comprehensibility of the interlocutor’s language production, and task experience with the interlocutor) and cognitive factors (i.e., individual differences in language aptitude, cognitive style, and proficiency) would modulate alignment effects. Ninety-eight Korean university students were assigned to either the FTF or SMMC group. They completed two alignment activities in pairs, three measurement tests (pre-, post-, and delayed post-test), various cognitive ability tests, and perception questionnaires over four weeks. Results indicated that alignment occurred at the structural and lexical levels in FTF and SMMC modes, but also that structural alignment was facilitated significantly more in the SMMC mode when compared to FTF. However, there was no significant modality effect on the degree of lexical alignment. Findings also demonstrated beneficial role of alignment activities in L2 grammar and vocabulary learning, irrespective of the modality. Furthermore, results suggested that language proficiency and explicit language aptitude were significantly associated with structural alignment driven learning. Learners’ perceptions did not show a significant impact on the degree of alignment and learning outcomes. Implications for the benefits of interactive alignment activities for L2 development and the effect of modality, social factors, and cognitive factors are discussed

Development of audiovisual comprehension skills in prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants

Objective: The present study investigated the development of audiovisual comprehension skills in prelingually deaf children who received cochlear implants. Design: We analyzed results obtained with the Common Phrases (Robbins et al., 1995) test of sentence comprehension from 80 prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants who were enrolled in a longitudinal study, from pre-implantation to 5 years after implantation. Results: The results revealed that prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants performed better under audiovisual (AV) presentation compared with auditory-alone (A-alone) or visual-alone (V-alone) conditions. AV sentence comprehension skills were found to be strongly correlated with several clinical outcome measures of speech perception, speech intelligibility, and language. Finally, pre-implantation V-alone performance on the Common Phrases test was strongly correlated with 3-year postimplantation performance on clinical outcome measures of speech perception, speech intelligibility, and language skills. Conclusions: The results suggest that lipreading skills and AV speech perception reflect a common source of variance associated with the development of phonological processing skills that is shared among a wide range of speech and language outcome measures

Instructors’ Perceptions of the Opportunities and Challenges of Integrating Technology in Crisis- Prompted Online Language Instruction in the Times of COVID-19

ABSTRACT This mixed-method study investigated higher education language instructors’ experiences during the pivot from face-to-face teaching to online teaching during the stay-at-home order in the Spring of 2020. Eleven participants discussed their approach to teaching online for the first time. The present study provided a comprehensive view of language instructors\u27 use of technology, their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned during this time of online teaching. The findings from this study revealed several themes. In regard to challenges, faculty were concerned about ways to adapt technology, enhance student-instructor interaction, allocate time, and enhance student participation. For the opportunities, participants discussed ways to create a sense of community in the synchronous online classroom and effective ways to communicate with their students despite the lack of physical proximity. Participants’ final recommendations included evaluating their current instructional strategies and taking advantage of learning opportunities in their workplace. An analysis conducted using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) and Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) frameworks provided insight on how language instructors pivoted to teaching online amid a global pandemic. Each of the CoI presences offered an overview of how language instructors used different approaches to teach online. Similarly, the present study revealed that most class activities used during this time remained at the substitution level in the SAMR framework. This study concluded with recommendations for future research and specific recommendations for online language instructors. Keywords: COVID-19, higher education, online language instruction, Community of Inquiry, SAMR, social presence, cognitive presence, teaching presence, language instructors, language teaching, Zoom, challenges, opportunities, recommendations, student-instructor interaction, time, student participation, community, communication, instructional strategies, learning opportunities, effective online instruction, online language learning communities

Metaphoric competence and communicative language ability

Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have highlighted the importance as well as the ubiquity of metaphor in language. Despite this, the ability of second language learners to use metaphors is often still not seen as a core ability. In this paper, we take a model of communicative competence that has been widely influential in both language teaching and language testing, namely Bachman (1990), and argue, giving a range of examples of language use and learner difficulty, that metaphoric competence has in fact an important role to play in all areas of communicative competence. In other words, it can contribute centrally to grammatical competence, textual competence, illocutionary competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence. Metaphor is thus highly relevant to second language learning, teaching and testing, from the earliest to the most advanced stages of learning