1,912 research outputs found
L2 creative writers : identities and writing processes
No full textL2 creative writing research is a relatively unchartered area. Pedagogical
discussions on L2 creative writing activities often focus on manifestations of L2
learners' language learning, writing improvement, or expressions of emotion. There
is a lack of research investigating the underlying identities of L2 creative writers as
social agents. The present research targets the L2 creative writers who are interested
and experienced in certain forms of creative writing. It investigates if and how L2
creative writers' emergent identities enacted in their online cognitive writing
activities under particular tasks are mediated by the writers' 'autobiographical
identities' (Clark and Ivanič, 1997) rooted in their life histories.
Fifteen L2 creative writers from diverse sociocultural and academic backgrounds
participated in the research. Firstly, the participants' 'autobiographical identities'
were explored through eliciting their retrospective life-history accounts in in-depth
interviews. Secondly, the research implemented two think-aloud story-writing
sessions (Autobiographical writing & Prompted story-continuation writing) to
capture the writers' emergent identities instantiated in their cognitive writing
processes. Subsequently, the interconnectedness between these two types of
identities was sought.
Two parallel data analyses were conducted: 1) quantitative data coding targeting
all fifteen L2 creative writers and 2) qualitative discussions concentrating on five
selected focal participants. These two levels of analyses together show that the
participants' cognitive writing processes as evinced through their engagement in
these creative writing activities (i.e. their task-situated emergent identities) are
mediated by the writers’ previous participation in multiple discourses and social
worlds up to the moment of writing (i.e. their autobiographical identities formed
throughout their life histories).
The findings suggest certain directions for theory development in L2 creative
writing research as well as in L2 writer identity research. Regarding L2 creative
writing research, L2 teachers' practice could be enhanced by a deeper understanding
of how creative writing is employed by L2 individuals not only for language or
literacy acquisition purposes, but also as a self-empowering tool to achieve particular
social positioning. Secondly, regarding L2 writer identity research, more research
needs to be done regarding this micro and dynamic view of writer identity which
resides in the movements of the writers' emerging thoughts situated in an immediate
creative writing context and mediated by the writers' previous sociocultural
experiences
Deconstructing comprehensibility: identifying the linguistic influences on listeners' L2 comprehensibility ratings
No full textComprehensibility, a major concept in second language (L2) pronunciation research that denotes listeners’ perceptions of how easily they understand L2 speech, is central to interlocutors’ communicative success in real-world contexts. Although comprehensibility has been modeled in several L2 oral proficiency scales—for example, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)—shortcomings of existing scales (e.g., vague descriptors) reflect limited empirical evidence as to which linguistic aspects influence listeners’ judgments of L2 comprehensibility at different ability levels. To address this gap, a mixed-methods approach was used in the present study to gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic aspects underlying listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. First, speech samples of 40 native French learners of English were analyzed using 19 quantitative speech measures, including segmental, suprasegmental, fluency, lexical, grammatical, and discourse-level variables. These measures were then correlated with 60 native English listeners’ scalar judgments of the speakers’ comprehensibility. Next, three English as a second language (ESL) teachers provided introspective reports on the linguistic aspects of speech that they attended to when judging L2 comprehensibility. Following data triangulation, five speech measures were identified that clearly distinguished between L2 learners at different comprehensibility levels. Lexical richness and fluency measures differentiated between low-level learners; grammatical and discourse-level measures differentiated between high-level learners; and word stress errors discriminated between learners of all levels
Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self
No full textWith contributions by leading European, North American and Asian scholars, this volume offers a comprehensive anthology of conceptual and empirical papers describing the latest developments in L2 motivation research that involves the reframing of motivation in the context of contemporary notions of self and identity.Intro -- Contents -- Contributors -- Chapter 1 Motivation, Language Identities and the L2 Self: A Theoretical Overview -- Chapter 2 The L2 Motivational Self System -- Chapter 3 The Baby, the Bathwater, and the Future of Language Learning Motivation Research -- Chapter 4 The L2 Motivational Self System among Japanese, Chinese and Iranian Learners of English: A Comparative Study -- Chapter 5 Learning Experiences, Selves and Motivated Learning Behaviour: A Comparative Analysis of Structural Models for Hungarian Secondary and University Learners of English -- Chapter 6 Self and Identity in L2 Motivation in Japan: The Ideal L2 Self and Japanese Learners of English -- Chapter 7 International Posture and the Ideal L2 Self in the Japanese EFL Context -- Chapter 8 Motivation and Vision: The Relation Between the Ideal L2 Self, Imagination and Visual Style -- Chapter 9 Links between Ethnolinguistic Affiliation, Self-related Motivation and Second Language Fluency: Are They Mediated by Psycholinguistic Variables? -- Chapter 10 Toward the Development of a Scale to Assess Possible Selves as a Source of Language Learning Motivation -- Chapter 11 A Person-in-Context Relational View of Emergent Motivation, Self and Identity -- Chapter 12 Situating the L2 Self: Two Indonesian School Learners of English -- Chapter 13 Imagined Identity and the L2 Self in the French Foreign Legion -- Chapter 14 The Sociocultural Interface between Ideal Self and Ought-to Self: A Case Study of Two Korean Students' ESL Motivation -- Chapter 15 The Internalisation of Language Learning into the Self and Social Identity -- Chapter 16 Possible Selves in Language Teacher Development -- Chapter 17 Identity and Self in E-languageTeaching -- Chapter 18 Motivation, Language Identities and the L2 Self: Future Research Directions -- Author Index -- Subject IndexWith contributions by leading European, North American and Asian scholars, this volume offers a comprehensive anthology of conceptual and empirical papers describing the latest developments in L2 motivation research that involves the reframing of motivation in the context of contemporary notions of self and identity.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
In search of speech intelligibility: the case of english high front vowels
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Inglês: Estudos Linguísticos e Literários, 2014.A pesquisa que envolve a fala tem abordado a questão da inteligibilidade para entender como determinados aspectos fonológicos afetam a comunicação entre indivíduos que têm línguas-maternas diferentes, e que também usam inglês como uma segunda língua (L2). Assim, pesquisas empíricas são necessárias para informar o ensino, especialmente, no que tange aspectos da pronúncia da L2 que devem constituir o foco de instrução na sala de aula. Portanto, o presente estudo investigou a inteligibilidade das vogais altas anteriores do inglês focando (1) nas características acústicas das vogais altas anteriores do inglês produzidas por aprendizes brasileiros, (2) nos perfis dos ouvintes (proficiência da L2 e tempo de residência no Brasil), e (3) na familiaridade e frequência do léxico. Os falantes foram 20 estudantes brasileiros que gravaram sentenças contendo palavras com as vogais altas anteriores do inglês, /?/ e /?/. Para observar como essas categorias vocálicas organizavam-se na interlíngua dos falantes e, assim, selecionar os dados para o teste de inteligibilidade, plotagens dos dados em versão normalizada e não-normalizada foram obtidas. Para testar os efeitos de proximidade espectral na inteligibilidade dessas vogais, um critério baseado na proximidade espectral do primeiro formante (F1) foi estabelecido. Inteligibilidade foi avaliada com o uso de transcrição ortográfica (Derwing & Munro, 2005), e os ouvintes foram 32 usuários de inglês de 11 línguas-maternas diferentes. A análise acústica demonstrou que as vogais altas anteriores do inglês foram produzidas como vogais equivalentes (Flege, 1995), e tendiam a sobrepor-se. Resultados concernentes à inteligibilidade indicaram que a vogal tensa foi mais ininteligível, pois era inadequadamente transcrita como a vogal frouxa. Em uma análise qualitativa, considerando o item lexical que continha cada vogal, observou-se que processos fonológicos presentes nessas palavras, tais como desvozeamento de consoantes e palatalização, afetaram consideravelmente a inteligibilidade da fala. Além do mais, efeitos da proficiência do ouvinte na L2 foram testados e proficiência demonstrou-se ser uma importante característica individual para aferição da inteligibilidade da fala, pois observou-se que o nível de inteligibilidade aumentava juntamente com o nível de proficiência do ouvinte. O tempo de residência dos ouvintes no Brasil foi investigado como um indicador indireto de familiaridade com sotaque, mas as correlações não indicaram resultados significativos. Para analisar frequência lexical, o Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) foi utilizado. A familiaridade dos ouvintes com o léxico utilizado no teste de inteligibilidade foi também observada. As correlações revelaram que a relação entre frequência lexical, familiaridade com o léxico, e respostas corretas no teste de inteligibilidade eram significativas, demonstrando que quanto mais frequente o item lexical, mais familiar e mais inteligível era esse item também. Em suma, resultados demonstram que as vogais altas anteriores, quando não distinguidas, podem influenciar negativamente a inteligibilidade. Não obstante, existem outras variáveis linguísticas e variáveis relacionadas ao ouvinte que estão propensas a influenciar na decodificação da fala que, em investigações referentes à inteligibilidade, podem ser observadas em diferentes níveis (vogal, consoante, e nível da palavra).<br
The virtuous cycle : the reinforcing relationship between L2 attitudes and L2 use among young Italian-speaking South-Tyrolese
No full textAims and Objectives: The aim of the present study is to address the reciprocal relationship between L2 attitudes and L2 use in a bilingual setting among teenaged L2 learners. Whereas several scholars suggested that L2 attitudes and L2 use mutually facilitate each other, empirical studies have traditionally assessed the relationship between L2 attitudes and L2 use from one direction. Design/Methodology: We propose a complex model that integrates concepts tied to the larger social context surrounding formal L2 teaching, such as attitudes towards L2 speakers and L2 use outside the school, with concepts that are more closely associated with formal L2 teaching, such as L2 motivation and L2 competence. In addition, acknowledging that peers' opinion is a salient issue for teenagers, we also included L2 related peer norms into the model we propose. Based on earlier research we developed six hypotheses regarding the relationships between the theoretical concepts. Self-report questionnaire data were collected among students in Italian language secondary schools in South Tyrol (N = 315). The questionnaire included items from well-established and validated measurement instruments. We tested the proposed model with non-recursive path modelling. Findings/Conclusions: All the hypotheses were substantiated by the data. We found that both L2 attitudes and L2 related peer norms predicted L2 motivation. In addition, a significant interaction emerged between L2 attitudes and peer norms. L2 motivation predicted L2 competence which in turn predicted L2 use. Finally, the results have provided evidence of a reinforcement process, namely, that L2 use can contribute to positive intergroup attitudes. Originality: To the best of our knowledge, the present paper is the first that utilized non-recursive path modelling in exploring patterns of bilingualism. Significance/Implications: In bilingual settings, L2 use can promote better L2 attitudes. Positive peer norms regarding L2 can counterbalance the effect of negative attitudes on second language acquisition.Peer reviewe
An “Author Fluency Task”: Semantic fluency as predictor of L2 vocabulary knowledge
No full textReading experience provides critical input for language learning. This is typically quantified via estimates of print exposure, such as the Author Recognition Test (ART), although it may be unreliable in L2. This study introduces the Author Fluency Task (AFT) as an alternative measure, comparing with ART for assessing knowledge of English discourse connectives and collocations among 60 bilingual French/English speakers, and a comparison sample of 60 L1 English speakers. Participants completed AFT, ART, and LexTALE in both languages. Analysis of L2 measures showed AFT more accurately predicted L2 vocabulary knowledge than ART, even when controlling for proficiency (LexTALE). Conversely, ART was more effective for L1 speakers, showing a striking dissociation between the measures across language groups. Additionally, data showed limited contributions from L1 proficiency and print exposure on L2 vocabulary. These findings recommend AFT as a valuable tool for quantifying the role of L2 print exposure for language learning
An “Author Fluency Task”: Semantic fluency as predictor of L2 vocabulary knowledge
No full textReading experience provides critical input for language learning. This is typically quantified via estimates of print exposure, such as the Author Recognition Test (ART), although it may be unreliable in L2. This study introduces the Author Fluency Task (AFT) as an alternative measure, comparing with ART for assessing knowledge of English discourse connectives and collocations among 60 bilingual French/English speakers, and a comparison sample of 60 L1 English speakers. Participants completed AFT, ART, and LexTALE in both languages. Analysis of L2 measures showed AFT more accurately predicted L2 vocabulary knowledge than ART, even when controlling for proficiency (LexTALE). Conversely, ART was more effective for L1 speakers, showing a striking dissociation between the measures between language groups. Additionally, data showed a limited role for L1 proficiency and print exposure on advanced L2 vocabulary acquisition. These findings recommend AFT as a valuable tool for quantifying L2 print exposure's role in language learning
L2 WRITING PRACTICE: GAME ENJOYMENT AS A KEY TO ENGAGEMENT
No full textabstract: The Writing Pal (W-Pal) is an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) designed to provide students with explicit writing strategy instruction and practice. W-Pal includes a suite of educational games developed to increase writing engagement and provide opportunities to practice writing strategies. In this study, first (L1) (n = 26) and second (L2) language (n = 16) students interacted with W-Pal over eight sessions. We collected students’ daily self- reports of engagement, motivation, and perceptions of performance, as well as their reported game attitudes (difficulty, helpfulness for learning, and enjoyment). Results indicated that, for all students, interactions with W-Pal led to increases in writing performance and more positive attitudes towards the system (engagement, motivation, and perceived performance). For L1 students, game difficulty was a significant predictor of boredom; however, for the L2 students, game enjoyment predicted both their motivation and perceived writing improvement. Notably, the L2 students’ game ratings accounted for more variance in these daily reports than did the ratings of L1 students. This study suggests that L1 and L2 students experience similar benefits offered by game-based strategy practice in an ITS. Further, the link between game attitudes and overall daily perceptions of training may be stronger for L2 students than L1 students
L2-torsion invariants
No full textAbstractWe discuss a generalisation of Reidemeister-Franz torsion which applies to infinite dimensional representations of the fundamental group by utilising the theory of finite von Neumann algebras. Our results apply to a class of closed oriented manifolds which are L2-acyclic in the sense of having trivial L2-cohomology. Evidence is presented for equality of the essentially combinatorial torsion introduced here with an analytic L2 Ray-Singer torsion defined by the second named author
Discrepancies between L2 Teacher and L2 Learner Beliefs
No full textInternational audienceThis state of the art article overviews the literature on discrepancies between foreign language teacher and learner beliefs. In the first section, the author draws the reader's attention to the significance of discrepancies between the L2 teacher and L2 learner perceptions and provides a synopsis of both practical-anecdotal and empirical evidence on the possible consequences of such discrepancies. In the second part of this paper, drawing upon relevant literature, the author suggests some ways of overcoming discrepancies between teachers and learners' understandings concerning foreign language practices
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