Multilingual speakers’ L1, L2, and L3 fluency across languages: A study of Finnish, Swedish, and English

The present study provides a multilingual perspective on speech fluency by examining fluency across first language (L1), second language (L2), and third language (L3) productions in Finnish, Swedish, and English among L1 Finnish (Group 1, G1) and Finnish–Swedish bilingual (Group 2, G2) university students in Finland. The two research questions focused on differences in speech fluency across the three languages between the groups and correlations across speech fluency measures in the different languages. Ninety speech samples in Finnish (L1), Swedish (L1/L3), and English (L2) from 30 participants were analyzed in the present study. The speech samples consist of short picture narrations based on comic strip prompts. The fluency analyses focused on temporal fluency and stalling mechanisms. The data were analyzed quantitatively with Mann-Whitney U-tests and Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficients. The results demonstrated minor differences between the groups in their Finnish (L1) and English (L2) productions, but a higher level of fluency in Swedish for G2 (their L1) than G1 (their L3). For G1, the correlations were strongest between their L1 Finnish and L2 English, whereas for G2, mostly moderate to strong correlations were found between the different language pairs. The results suggest connections in fluency across the languages in a multilingual speaker’s repertoire, but the strength of the correlations varies depending on the participants’ L1(s) and proficiency level in the additional languages. Based on the findings, further research on fluency among multilingual speakers is needed. The results have implications for L2 teaching and assessment.</p

Exploring the Potential to Improve the Estimation of Boreal Tree Structural Attributes with Simple Height- and Distance-Based Competition Index

In many cases, the traditional ground-based estimates of competition between trees are not directly applicable with modern aerial inventories, due to incompatible measurements. Moreover, many former studies of competition consider extreme stand densities, hence the effect of competition under the density range in managed stands remains less explored. Here we explored the utility of a simple tree height- and distance-based competition index that provides compatibility with data produced by modern inventory methods. The index was used for the prediction of structural tree attributes in three boreal tree species growing in low to moderate densities within mixed stands. In silver birch, allometric models predicting tree diameter, crown height, and branch length all showed improvement when the effect of between-tree competition was included. A similar but non-significant trend was also present in a proxy for branch biomass. In Siberian larch, only the prediction of branch length was affected. In Scots pine, there was no improvement. The results suggest that quantification of competitive interactions based on individual tree heights and locations alone has potential to improve the prediction of tree attributes, although the outcomes can be species-specific.Peer reviewe

Power-law estimation of branch growth

We demonstrate the efficacy of power-law models in the analysis of tree branch growth. The models can be interpreted as allometric equations, which incorporate multiple driving variables in a single scaling relationship to predict the amount of growth within a branch. We first used model selection criteria to identify the variables that most influenced (1) the length of individual elongating annual shoots and (2) the total length of all elongating annual shoots in the individual branches of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). We then applied the two resulting power-law equations as dynamic models to predict the trajectories of crown profile development and accumulation of branch biomass during tree growth, using total branch length as a proxy for biomass. In spite of the wide size range and geographical distribution of the study trees, the models successfully reproduced the dynamic characteristics of crown development and branch biomass accumulation. Applying the model to predict long-term growth of a single branch that was initiated at the crown top generated a realistic crown profile and produced a final basal branch size that was well within the range of field observations. The models also predicted a set of more subtle and non-trivial features of crown formation, including the increased rate of growth towards the tree apex, decrease in growth towards the lowest branches, the effect of branching order on the amount of elongation, and the higher vigour of thick branches when the effect of branch height was controlled. In contrast, a simple allometric model of the form Y = aX(b) was incapable of capturing all the variability in growth of individual branches and of predicting the features of crown shape and branch size that are associated with the slowing-down of growth towards the crown base. We conclude that power-law models where the parameter a is refined to include spatial information on branch features shows good potential for identifying and incorporating actual crown construction processes in dynamic models that utilize the structural features of tree crowns.Peer reviewe

Kontraktiokuvaukset metrisessä avaruudessa

Tässä tutkielmassa tutkitaan kontraktiokuvauksia. Kontraktiokuvaukset ovat erikoistapaus Lipschitz-kuvauksista. Kontraktiokuvauksessa kahden pisteen etäisyys pienenee aina vähintään jonkin vakiokertoimen verran. Tämän lisäksi tutkitaan kiintopisteitä eli pisteitä, joissa kuvaus ei muuta saamaansa arvoa. Tutkitaan myös kiintopisteiden ja kontraktiokuvausten välistä suhdetta. Kontraktiokuvauksia tutkitaan metrisissä avaruuksissa. Metriset avaruudet ovat avaruuksia, joissa kahden pisteen etäisyys voidaan laskea, sekä kolmioepäyhtälö pätee. Tutkielman alussa esitetään valmistelevia tarkasteluja, joita käytetään myöhemmin tulevien lauseiden todistamiseen. Tässä määritellään metriikka, metrinen avaruus sekä metrisen avaruuden ominaisuuksia. Esitetään myös myöhemmin tarvittavia lauseita ja annetaan esimerkki metriikasta, jota käytetään myöhemmässä todistuksessa. Tutkielman kolmannessa luvussa määritellään kontraktiokuvaus sekä kiintopiste, ja tutkitaan näiden ominaisuuksia. Näitä ominaisuuksia käytetään todistamaan Banachin kiintopistelause. Lause kertoo, että täydellisessä metrisessä avaruudessa kontraktiokuvauksella on täsmälleen yksi kiintopiste. Todistuksen jälkeen sovelletaan kontraktiokuvausten ominaisuuksia sekä Banachin kiintopistelausetta esimerkissä, jossa arvioidaan neliöjuuri kahden arvoa. Esimerkin jälkeen todistetaan Banachin kiintopistelauseen seurauksia. Näiden seurauksien avulla voidaan laskea esimerkissä tehdyn arvion tarkkuuttaa sekä nopeutta. Tutkielman viimeisessä luvussa siirrytään yleistyksiin, ja yhtenä suurena kontraktiokuvausten sovelluksena todistetaan Picardin lause. Yleistyksissä todistetaan, että vain kuvauksen jonkin iteraation täytyy olla kontraktiokuvaus, jotta voidaan soveltaa Banachin kiintopistelausetta. Todistetaan myös lause, joka takaa kiintopisteen yksikäsitteisyyden, jos kuvausta käytettäessä jokaisen pisteen etäisyys pienenee, ja avaruus on jonokompakti. Näissä yleistyksissä kuvaus, jolla aloitetaan, ei välttämättä ole kontraktiokuvaus. Näiden yleistyksien jälkeen esitetään alkuarvo-ongelma. Tämän jälkeen esitetään aputuloksia, joiden avulla todistetaan Picardin lause. Picardin lause määrää tavallisten differentiaaliyhtälöiden olemassaolon ja yksikäsitteisyyden. Tutkielman lopuksi käytetään Picardin lausetta löytämään ratkaisu alkuarvo-ongelmalle

Zooming into the L2 Speech Fluency Markers of Anxious and Non-Anxious Advanced L2 Learners – an Extreme Case Sampling Report

The study examines selected temporal markers of L2 utterance fluency in the speech of advanced L2 learners who exhibit high (HLA) and low (LLA) language anxiety levels. Out of the pool of 59 participants, six HLA and six LLA individuals were selected for an in-depth analysis on the basis of their scores on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (the FLCAS) (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Speech samples from a monologue task were examined for selected L2 utterance fluency measures: filled (FP) and silent pause (SP) frequency, mean length of silent pause (MLSP), articulation rate (AR), speech rate (SR), and mean length of run (MLR). The results provided insights into the L2 speech fluency profiles of anxious and non-anxious individuals. The analysis disclosed relatively higher frequency and disparate application of FPs, slower speed of speech, and more varied profiles in MLR in the HLA group as compared to the LLA group. The findings yield pedagogical and methodological implications

Computational analysis of the effects of light gradients and neighbouring species on foliar nitrogen

Foliar nitrogen is one of the key traits determining the photosynthetic capacity of trees. It is influenced by many environmental factors that are often confounded with the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), which alone strongly modifies the nitrogen content and other foliar traits. We combined field measurements and computational estimates of light transmittance in 3D stands with different combinations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and silver birch (Betula pendula) to decouple the effect of PPFD from other potential effects exerted by the species of neighbouring trees on the leaf nitrogen content per unit leaf area (Narea) and leaf mass per area (LMA). Independent of the level of PPFD, silver birch had a significantly lower Narea and LMA when Scots pine was abundant in its neighbourhood compared with the presence of conspecific neighbours. In Scots pine, Narea and LMA were only dependent on PPFD and the branching order of shoots. In both species, the relationships between PPFD and Narea or LMA were nonlinear, especially at intermediate levels of PPFD. The levels of PPFD did not show any dependence on the species of the neighbouring trees. The responses of silver birch suggest that the species composition of the surrounding stand can influence foliar nitrogen, independent of the level of PPFD within the canopy.Foliar nitrogen is one of the key traits determining the photosynthetic capacity of trees. It is influenced by many environmental factors that are often confounded with the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), which alone strongly modifies the nitrogen content and other foliar traits. We combined field measurements and computational estimates of light transmittance in 3D stands with different combinations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and silver birch (Betula pendula) to decouple the effect of PPFD from other potential effects exerted by the species of neighbouring trees on the leaf nitrogen content per unit leaf area (Narea) and leaf mass per area (LMA). Independent of the level of PPFD, silver birch had a significantly lower Narea and LMA when Scots pine was abundant in its neighbourhood compared with the presence of conspecific neighbours. In Scots pine, Narea and LMA were only dependent on PPFD and the branching order of shoots. In both species, the relationships between PPFD and Narea or LMA were nonlinear, especially at intermediate levels of PPFD. The levels of PPFD did not show any dependence on the species of the neighbouring trees. The responses of silver birch suggest that the species composition of the surrounding stand can influence foliar nitrogen, independent of the level of PPFD within the canopy.Foliar nitrogen is one of the key traits determining the photosynthetic capacity of trees. It is influenced by many environmental factors that are often confounded with the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), which alone strongly modifies the nitrogen content and other foliar traits. We combined field measurements and computational estimates of light transmittance in 3D stands with different combinations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and silver birch (Betula pendula) to decouple the effect of PPFD from other potential effects exerted by the species of neighbouring trees on the leaf nitrogen content per unit leaf area (Narea) and leaf mass per area (LMA). Independent of the level of PPFD, silver birch had a significantly lower Narea and LMA when Scots pine was abundant in its neighbourhood compared with the presence of conspecific neighbours. In Scots pine, Narea and LMA were only dependent on PPFD and the branching order of shoots. In both species, the relationships between PPFD and Narea or LMA were nonlinear, especially at intermediate levels of PPFD. The levels of PPFD did not show any dependence on the species of the neighbouring trees. The responses of silver birch suggest that the species composition of the surrounding stand can influence foliar nitrogen, independent of the level of PPFD within the canopy.Peer reviewe

L2 English learners as public speakers: generic and language-specific features in learner narratives

In working-life and especially in academic contexts, a common speech genre is monologic oral presentation. Advanced learners are expected to be able to communicate fluently in their L2 in different settings. Giving presentations is therefore often part of university-level education in foreign languages. This study focused on autobiographical narratives written during a presentation skills course. We analysed narratives written by 83 Finnish advanced learners of English in order to discover whether learners considered oral presentation skills as universal or language-specific, and which features of language were identified as challenging for their L2 speech performance. According to our findings, presentations in L2 were regarded as both similar to and different from presentations in L1. Giving a presentation in L2 both presented a challenge and provided a way of alleviating the pressure of the situation. The most typical level of L2 identified as a cause of concern by the students was pronunciation

Measuring Syntactic Complexity in Spoken and Written Learner Language: Comparing the Incomparable?

Spoken and written language are two modes of language. When learners aim at higher skill levels, the expected outcome of successful second language learning is usually to become a fluent speaker and writer who can produce accurate and complex language in the target language. There is an axiomatic difference between speech and writing, but together they form the essential parts of learners’ L2 skills. The two modes have their own characteristics, and there are differences between native and nonnative language use. For instance, hesitations and pauses are not visible in the end result of the writing process, but they are characteristic of nonnative spoken language use. The present study is based on the analysis of L2 English spoken and written productions of 18 L1 Finnish learners with focus on syntactic complexity. As earlier spoken language segmentation units mostly come from fluency studies, we conducted an experiment with a new unit, the U-unit, and examined how using this unit as the basis of spoken language segmentation affects the results. According to the analysis, written language was more complex than spoken language. However, the difference in the level of complexity was greatest when the traditional units, T-units and AS-units, were used in segmenting the data. Using the U-unit revealed that spoken language may, in fact, be closer to written language in its syntactic complexity than earlier studies had suggested. Therefore, further research is needed to discover whether the differences in spoken and written learner language are primarily due to the nature of these modes or, rather, to the units and measures used in the analysis.</p

Sujuvuustutkimuksen käänteitä: Katsaus sujuvuustutkimuksen menetelmiin

Fluency is a multifaceted concept used in language teaching and language learning research. Fluency is often approached as cognitive, utterance or perceived fluency. This review article focuses on Finnish fluency studies in which fluency has been examined with explicitly defined measures or criteria in a specific language skill. Our goal was to investigate what kinds of methods have been used and which subskills have been studied from the perspective of fluency. We also aimed to identify potential gaps in fluency research. According to our review, Finnish studies on L2 fluency have mostly focused on productive language skills (speaking and writing), while L1 fluency research has mostly focused on reading (dyslexia). Listening fluency has not been studied explicitly. The reviewed studies concerned various languages, populations and employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. We conclude that more research is needed on receptive skills, especially listening, multimodal fluency and fluency in new learning environments.</p

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