Grammaticality judgments, metalinguistic awareness and the age factor in EFL

Comunicación presentada en el XXII lnternational Conference of AEDEAN, Lleida, 17-19 December 1998. -- Pere Gallardo and Enric Llurda, editors.This paper deals with the issue of the nature of grammatica/ity judgments {G)s) by second /anguage (Ll) learners of different age groups in an EFL context The two main aims of the study were: (i) to compare the results obtained in GJs tasks by EFL subjects of different age groups and (ii) to determine if a higher cognitive development is related tó a higher degree of metafinguistic awareness. The results show that there are important differences between the two age groups in both implicit (Gfs task) and explicit (language awareness) know/edge of the target language in favor of the older learners.The research projecl reported on here has been funded by bolh the Ministerio de Educación y Cu!tura (Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior, grant number PS95•0025) and by the Universidad del País Vasco (Vicerrectorado de Investigación, grant number 103.l30-HA087/97). Bolh grants are hereby gratefully acknowledged

The development of ESP: language description and its influence of pedagogical materials

This paper provides a brief overview of the dijferent phases of development undergone by the ESP/EST move- ment since its beginnings in the 1960s. The aim of the survey is twofold: on the one hand the main approaches to ESP/EST will be identified and analyzed with respect to the five relevant features provided by West (1995). On the other, we want to consider how the dijferent language descriptions in each of the phases influenced the type of teaching materials used. The knowledge of the evolution of the movement will make us more aware of the dijferent issues at stake when we have to make decisions as ESP teachers and materials designers.

Exploring the use of models as a written corrective feedback technique among EFL children

The language learning potential of models, a form of written feedback consisting of native-like texts that students compare with their original composition, has been under-represented in studies on EFL child SLA. In particular, there is a need to gather data from larger samples of participants and to use delayed post-tests to assess whether potential positive effects of models are sustained over time. The aim of the present study is to analyze what EFL primary school children notice and incorporate during a four-stage collaborative writing task. The participants in the study were 38 11-12-year-old children divided into a treatment group (TG, n = 18), which received a model, and a control group (CG, n = 20), which self-edited their texts. The children’s pair talk was analyzed for evidence of any content and linguistic problems they noticed during the composition or comparison stages. The findings show that children in the TG noticed significantly more lexical and content-related features at the comparison stage. Moreover, the TG incorporated significantly more mechanics- and discourse-related features than the CG into the rewriting stage, and also a significantly higher number of formal and discursive aspects into the post-test. Our findings point to the apparent benefits of models with this population.The financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under grant FFI2016-74950-P (AEI/FEDER/UE) and by the Basque Government under grant IT904-16 are hereby gratefully acknowledged

Collaborative writing, written corrective feedback and motivation among child EFL learners

The present study compares two types of written corrective feedback (WCF), reformulations and models, and their effect on the output by thirty-nine English as a foreign language primary school children (age 11-12; A2 level) working individually and collaboratively. Additionally, the effect of collaborative writing (CW) on learners’ motivation was measured. Learners’ noticing of problematic features and their subsequent incorporation in their revised drafts after being provided with the two types of WCF were analysed, comparing the children’ production after being provided with the two types of WCF and comparing CW vs individual writing as to noticing and incorporation of features as well as motivation. Few statistically significant differences between the two WCF groups were found but, rather, tendencies in the following sense: the children using models noticed and incorporated more lexical items, whereas noticing and incorporation of learners in the reformulation group was generally related to grammatical and spelling features. As for the comparison between the pairs and the individuals, some statistical differences were found, pointing to an advantage of CW over individual. These findings are discussed in light of the potential benefits of CW for young learners, and pedagogical implications are considered.El presente estudio compara dos tipos de retroalimentación escrita (RE), reformulaciones y modelos, y su efecto sobre la producción de treinta y nueve alumnos de educación primaria (edad 11-12; nivel A2) con inglés como lengua extranjera (ILE), que trabajaban de forma colaborativa e individual. Además, se examina el efecto de la escritura colaborativa (EC) en la motivación de los aprendices. Se analizaron la percepción de aspectos problemáticos y su consiguiente incorporación a los textos revisados tras haberles proporcionado RE en sus dos tipos, comparando la EC con la individual en cuanto a la percepción e incorporación de elementos lingüísticos y en cuanto a la motivación. Se encontraron escasas diferencias significativas entre los dos grupos de RE, pero sí algunas tendencias en el sentido de que los niños del grupo de modelos percibieron e incorporaron más elementos léxicos mientras que la percepción e incorporación en el grupo de reformulaciones generalmente estaba relacionada con aspectos gramaticales y ortográficos. La comparación de EC e individual reveló diferencias significativas, apuntando a la ventaja de la EC sobre la individual. Estos hallazgos se comentan con referencia a los posibles beneficios de la EC para jóvenes aprendices y se presentan algunas implicaciones pedagógicas

THE RELEVANCE OF ATTENTION TO L2 FORM IN COMMUNICATIVE CLASSROOM CONTEXTS

AbstractThis paper presents an overview of the rationale for the return to the relevance of L2 form in the communicative language classroom, and provides ideas about how to draw learners’ attention to formal aspects of language within the backdrop of a task-based approach to language teaching. The paper offers an updated review of the approach to grammar instruction known as Focus-on-Form (FonF), an instructional option that calls for an integration of grammar and communication in non-native language teaching, and provides research-informed insights that might be of use for the classroom practitioner. Several avenues for research on FonF are also presented, considering new instructional settings and the access to computer-mediated communication. A call for the strengthening of the link between second language acquisition (SLA) research findings and language pedagogy is made as a way to contribute to more ecologically valid classroom research and pedagogy.ResumenEste trabajo se centra en los motivos que han llevado a volver a poner de relieve la pertinencia de la forma lingüística en la enseñanza de lenguas dentro de un enfoque comunicativo y proporciona ideas de cómo hacer que los alumnos dirijan su atención hacia esos aspectos formales dentro del marco de la enseñanza/aprendizaje por tareas. El trabajo proporciona una revisión actualizada de la aproximación didáctica conocida como ‘atención a la forma’, una opción pedagógica que busca integrar la gramática y la comunicación en la enseñanza de lenguas no maternas, y proporciona ideas que provienen de las investigaciones realizadas y que pueden ser útiles para el profesorado. También se identifican varias líneas de investigación sobre la atención a la forma teniendo en cuenta nuevos escenarios de enseñanza y el acceso a la comunicación a través del ordenador. Se aboga por reforzar la interrelación entre los resultados de las investigaciones sobre la adquisición de segundas lenguas y la práctica docente para beneficio de ambos campos

Native Vs Non-Native Strategies in Rendering Grammaticality Judgments

Las tareas que hacen uso de los juicios de gramaticalidad han desempeñado un importante papel en el desarrollo de la lingüística teórica pero hasta hace poco tiempo no se les ha prestado demasiada atención cuando las utilizan los aprendices de una segunda lengua (L2). En este trabajo analizamos la producción hablada de parejas y los juicios individuales de 36 informantes españoles que estudian inglés como L2 y ofrecen juicios de gramaticalidad en español e inglés. Nuestros resultados corroboran los de investigaciones previas y demuestran que las estrategias utilizadas para juzgar frases en la primera y la segunda lengua no son las mismas. Sugerimos, de acuerdo con Gass (2001), que los juicios de gramaticalidad deben utilizarse como técnicas de obtención de datos pero en combinación con otros métodos para que los resultados sean más fiables.Grammaticality judgment (GJ) tasks have played an important role in the development of theoretical linguistics, but the study of their nature with learners of a second language (L2) has not received much attention until quite recently. In this paper we examine dyad speakaloud protocols and individual judgments by 36 Spanish subjects studying English as an L2 and rendering GJs in Spanish and in English. Our findings support those of previous research and show that strategies used in judging sentences in the subjects’ first and second languages are not the same. In line with Gass (2001) we suggest that GJs should be used as a data-gathering technique but in combination with other methods in order to obtain more reliable results

Lexical Crosslinguistic Influence in L3 Spanish by Tagalog–English Bilinguals

Crosslinguistic influence (CLI) has emerged as a topic of interest in the field of third language acquisition (L3A) due to the increasing focus on multilingual learners. Research has considered many different issues, such as the roles of typology/psychotypology, the influence of the L2, and L2 proficiency. Thus, the present study focuses on two less-studied factors, language dominance and L3 proficiency, in the lexical CLI in the oral and written output by 52 Tagalog–English early bilinguals with Spanish as their L3. They were grouped according to their language dominance based on the findings from the Bilingual Language Profile, and according to their Spanish proficiency. The experimental tasks included a written and an oral picture description task, followed by an exit questionnaire, wherein they expressed their perception about the similarities and differences between the languages in question. Instances of lexical CLI were identified according to the classifications used in previous studies. The results suggest that language dominance is not a significant predictor of the source language of the participants’ lexical CLI production. However, the results do indicate that proficiency plays a significant role in the number and type of lexical CLI production. In other words, the number of lexical CLI produced decreased as L3 proficiency increased

EFL task-based interaction: Does task modality impact on language-related episodes?

Research on L2 interaction has shown that task modality (written vs. oral) influences language learning opportunities. However, most research has been carried out in ESL settings and few studies have investigated task modality differences in EFL contexts, where both quantity and quality of exposure to the target language differ considerably. In addition, most research has only focused on how task modality impacts on the incidence, nature and outcome of language-related episodes (LREs), but has not considered the relationship between task modality and learners’ level of engagement. This chapter examines the impact of task modality on the LREs and level of engagement in the oral interaction of 44 Spanish-Basque EFL learners while completing four communicative tasks. The findings point to a significant impact of task modality on the incidence, nature and outcome of LREs but a minor impact on learners’ level of engagement.Gobierno Vasco - beca predoctoral BFI08.28

Task-modality and L1 use in EFL oral interaction

[EN] This study examines whether task-modality (speaking vs. speaking+writing) influences first language (L1) use in task-based English as a foreign language (EFL) learner–learner interaction. Research on the topic has shown that different task-modality triggers different learning opportunities with collaborative speaking tasks drawing learners’ attention to meaning and tasks that also incorporate a written component drawing attention more to formal linguistic aspects. Research has also shown that a balanced L1 use might be positive in learner–learner interaction, as it helps learners maintain their interest in the task and acts as a strategy to make difficult tasks more manageable. This article analyses L1 use and the functions it served during the oral interaction of 44 EFL Spanish learners while they completed four collaborative tasks: two speaking tasks (picture placement and picture differences) and two speaking+writing tasks (dictogloss and text editing). Findings point to a clear impact of task-modality on L1 use, as speaking+writing tasks made learners fall back on their L1 more frequently. L1 functions were also task dependent with grammar deliberations more frequent in speaking+writing tasks and vocabulary searches in speaking tasks.Gobierno Vasco: referencia IT-311-10 (grupo consolidado), y referencia BFI08.281 (beca predoctoral) Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU): UFI 11/0