Revising in two languages:A multi-dimensional comparison of online writing revisions in L1 and FL

It has frequently been claimed that, in foreign language writing, attention to linguistic processes inhibits attention available for higher level conceptual processing [e.g., Chenoweth & Hayes, 2001; Whalen & Ménard, 1995]. This study examines this hypothesis for foreign language revision processes by comparing online revisions made by 22 Dutch junior high school writers when producing computer-written texts in Dutch and English (FL). This comparison is made using a multi-dimensional revision taxonomy. The study combines the use of think-aloud and keystroke-logging techniques. The relationship between different types of revisions and text quality is also considered. The results indicate that, although revisions made to linguistic elements were more frequent in FL, there was little evidence that students’ higher level revision processes were inhibited in FL writing. Little relationship was found between revision frequencies and text quality

Do word associations assess word knowledge? A comparison of L1 and L2, child and adult word associations

Differences in word associations between monolingual and bilingual speakers of Dutch can reflect differences in how well seemingly familiar words are known. In this (exploratory) study mono-and bilingual, child and adult free word associations were compared. Responses of children and of monolingual speakers were found to be more dispersed across response categories than responses of adults and of L2 speakers, respectively. Log linear analyses show that the distributional patterns of association responses differ among the groups. Age has the largest effect on association responses. Adults give more meaning-related responses than children. Child L1 speakers give more meaning-related responses than child L2 speakers. Form-based and 'Other' associations were mostly given by (L2) children. The different findings for mono-and bilingual children and for mono-and bilingual adults show the influence of bilingualism on the development of word associations. The prominent effect of age emphasizes the role of conceptual development in word association behavior, and makes free word association tasks less suitable as an assessment tool for word knowledge

Shared syntax in bilinguals: Does code-switching affect the strength of cross-language structural priming?

Results from both cross-language priming and code-switching studies suggest that syntax is shared between languages in a bilingual’s language system. However, it is not clear how these bilingual language phenomena interact. We tested whether, under an implicit learning account, code-switching in the prime increases syntax sharing, leading to stronger cross-language priming. We conducted four simulated Spanish to English structural priming experiments using the Bilingual Dual-path model. The primes either had an English (code-switched) determiner and noun or noun only, at the beginning or end of the sentence, or were entirely in Spanish. Mixed effects analyses only revealed a significant positive interaction between code-switch condition and priming, indicating stronger priming, with a code-switched English noun phrase at the very beginning of the sentence, but non-significant interactions otherwise. These results provide further support for the idea that code-switching and cross-language structural priming can be interpreted as evidence for shared syntactic representations bilinguals

Modeling the Development of L1 and EFL Writing Proficiency of Secondary School Students

This longitudinal study investigates the development of writing proficiency in English as a foreign language (EFL), in contrast to the development of first language (L1) writing proficiency in Dutch L1, in a sample of almost 400 secondary school students in the Netherlands. Students performed several writing tasks in both languages in three consecutive years. Furthermore, data were collected about students' metacognitive and linguistic knowledge (grammar, vocabulary, and spelling) and their fluency in lexical retrieval and sentence building (reaction times). Analyses, using structural equation modeling, show that EFL writing was more strongly correlated to linguistic knowledge and linguistic fluency than L1 writing was and that, over the course of the two years investigated, students' EFL writing proficiency improved to a greater extent than did their L1 writing proficiency. Furthermore, through the modeling of L1 and EFL writing proficiency, a strong relation between the two constructs could be established, with metacognitive knowledge and general fluency mediating this relation. This finding is paralleled by the study of Van Gelderen, Schoonen, Stoel, De Glopper, and Hulstijn (2007) showing a strong relationship between L1 and EFL reading proficiency. Taken together, the findings of these studies call for the inclusion of the constructs of L1 proficiency, linguistic fluency (speed of processing of lexical and grammatical information), and language-general metacognition in theories of the acquisition of L2 proficiency

Development of adolescent reading comprehension in language 1 and language 2: A longitudinal analysis of constituent components

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension development of 389 adolescents in their dominant language (Language 1 [L 1], Dutch) and a foreign language (Language 2 [L2], English). In each consecutive year from Grades 8 through 10, a number of measurements were taken. Students' reading comprehension, their linguistic knowledge (vocabulary and grammar knowledge) and processing efficiency (speed of word recognition and sentence comprehension) in both languages, and their metacognitive knowledge about reading were assessed. The relative strengths of the effects of these components of reading were analyzed to distinguish among 3 hypotheses about the relationship between L1 and L2 reading comprehension: the transfer hypothesis, the threshold hypothesis, and the processing efficiency hypothesis. The transfer hypothesis predicts a strong relationship between LI and L2 reading comprehension and a strong effect of metacognitive knowledge on L2 reading comprehension, whereas the threshold and processing efficiency hypotheses predict a more important role of language-specific knowledge and processing skills. Results support the transfer hypothesis, although language-specific knowledge and fluency also contribute to L2 reading performance