Is multicultural effectiveness related to phrasal knowledge in English as a second language?

The present study investigates the role of personality in language learning, with a special focus on the association between multicultural effectiveness and phrasal knowledge in L1 Dutch L2 English learners in Belgium (n=97). Results from the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) (five personality dimensions) were associated with results from a rational cloze test, measuring productive phrasal knowledge. In addition, scores from grammar proficiency tests were also included, since language proficiency is known to be a strong predictor for phrasal knowledge. A regression analysis revealed significant associations between phrasal knowledge and the personality dimensions Flexibility and Openmindedness, when grammar proficiency was controlled for. This study adds to the growing body of evidence of associations between phrasal knowledge and personality, encouraging researchers to pursue this avenue with learners from different L1/L2 pairings, in different contexts of L2 acquisition

Productive collocation knowledge and advanced CEFR-levels in Swedish as a second language: A conceptual replication of Forsberg Lundell, Lindqvist & Edmonds (2018)

This study constitutes a conceptual replication of Forsberg Lundell et al. (2018), who investigated whether productive collocation knowledge – a linguistic feature known to be indicative of high-level L2 proficiency – developed between the B2 and C1 levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages scale in second-language (L2) French. The results showed significant development. The present study set out to replicate these findings in L2 Swedish, in order to investigate whether the reported development would stand cross-linguistic validation. To this end, a test of productive collocation knowledge in L2 Swedish was developed based on 22 separate computerized newspaper corpora of Swedish, searchable via the corpus tool 'Korp' at SpråkbankenText (Swedish Language Bank). The method of the item selection was identical to that of the Forsberg Lundell et al., but the replication could only be conceptual since the reference corpora are different, from different languages. The test was conducted comparing participants from B2 and C1 levels in Swedish ('N' = 60). The results replicated the original study, confirming a significant difference in productive collocation knowledge between the B2 and C1 levels. Furthermore, in addition to the replication, the study explored frequency and Mutual Information score as potential factors for collocation item difficulty. The study found no significant effects for frequency or for Mutual Information score. Finally, the impact of cross-linguistic similarity was also investigated, grouping the results for participants with Germanic and non-Germanic first languages. This analysis did not point to any noteworthy effects

Factors Affecting Grammatical and Lexical Complexity of Long-Term L2 Speakers’ Oral Proficiency

There remains considerable disagreement about which factors drive second language (L2) ultimate attainment. Age of onset (AO) appears to be a robust factor, lending support to theories of maturational constraints on L2 acquisition. The present study is an investigation of factors that influence grammatical and lexical complexity at the stage of L2 ultimate attainment. Grammatical and lexical complexity were assessed in 102 spontaneous oral interviews. Interviewees' AOs ranged from 7 to 17 years old. Multifactorial analyses yielded consistently significant effects of gender and level of education for grammatical and lexical complexity. Additionally, native language use at work was a significant predictor for lexical complexity; conversely, AO did not emerge as a significant factor. We conclude that grammatical and lexical complexity at the stage of L2 ultimate attainment is the result of a complex interplay of variables that are general to language learning and performance rather than L2 specific

The role of tenascin-C in tissue injury and tumorigenesis

The extracellular matrix molecule tenascin-C is highly expressed during embryonic development, tissue repair and in pathological situations such as chronic inflammation and cancer. Tenascin-C interacts with several other extracellular matrix molecules and cell-surface receptors, thus affecting tissue architecture, tissue resilience and cell responses. Tenascin-C modulates cell migration, proliferation and cellular signaling through induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oncogenic signaling molecules amongst other mechanisms. Given the causal role of inflammation in cancer progression, common mechanisms might be controlled by tenascin-C during both events. Drugs targeting the expression or function of tenascin-C or the tenascin-C protein itself are currently being developed and some drugs have already reached advanced clinical trials. This generates hope that increased knowledge about tenascin-C will further improve management of diseases with high tenascin-C expression such as chronic inflammation, heart failure, artheriosclerosis and cancer

Understanding High Performance in Late Second Language (L2) Acquisition—What Is the Secret? A Contrasting Case Study in L2 French

Adult L2 acquisition has often been framed within research on the Critical Period Hypothesis, and the age factor is one of the most researched topics of SLA. However, several researchers suggest that while age is the most important factor for differences between child and adult SLA, variation in adult SLA is more dependent on social and psychological factors than on age of onset. The present qualitative study investigates the role of migratory experience, language use/social networks, language learning experience, identity and attitudes for high performance among Swedish L1 French L2 users in France. The study constitutes an in-depth thematic analysis of interviews with six high-performing individuals and four low-performing individuals. The main results show that the high performers differ from the low performers on all dimensions, except for attitudes towards the host community. High performers are above all characterized by self-reported language aptitude and an early interest in languages, which appears to have led to rich exposure to French. Also, they exhibit self-regulatory behaviors and attribute importance to being perceived as a native speaker of French—both for instrumental and existential reasons

Understanding High Performance in Late Second Language (L2) Acquisition—What Is the Secret? A Contrasting Case Study in L2 French

Adult L2 acquisition has often been framed within research on the Critical Period Hypothesis, and the age factor is one of the most researched topics of SLA. However, several researchers suggest that while age is the most important factor for differences between child and adult SLA, variation in adult SLA is more dependent on social and psychological factors than on age of onset. The present qualitative study investigates the role of migratory experience, language use/social networks, language learning experience, identity and attitudes for high performance among Swedish L1 French L2 users in France. The study constitutes an in-depth thematic analysis of interviews with six high-performing individuals and four low-performing individuals. The main results show that the high performers differ from the low performers on all dimensions, except for attitudes towards the host community. High performers are above all characterized by self-reported language aptitude and an early interest in languages, which appears to have led to rich exposure to French. Also, they exhibit self-regulatory behaviors and attribute importance to being perceived as a native speaker of French—both for instrumental and existential reasons

Development of a collocation test for advanced L2 French

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