A Corpus-Based Study of Adverbial Connectors in Learner Text

An analysis of connective adverbials used in NNS English learners’ writing revealed little correlation between the use of these cohesive devices and raters’ perceptions of the texts. Additionally, the use of connective adverbials did not correlate with measures of writing development. This finding supports arguments in the pedagogical literature that these connective adverbials do not contribute to the overall quality of a text (e.g., Hinkel 2004). Future research will seek to develop a more detailed picture of how connective adverbials are deployed in texts

Interview with Nick C. Ellis

Nick C. Ellis is Professor of Psychology and Linguistics and a Research Scientist in the English Language Institute at University of Michigan. His research interests include usage-based and cognitive linguistic approaches to second language acquisition, emergentism, and dynamic systems and complex systems approaches to language. His influence has been particularly prominent in advocating usage-based accounts of language acquisition and in explaining explicit and implicit learning/knowledge and their interface. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award of 2019 American Association for Applied Linguistics

Online Chinese Reading Behavior with Pinyin and Zhuyin Transcriptions Introduction and Literature Review

The purpose of this study is to analyze eye movements of second language learners of Mandarin Chinese during online reading to determine patterns of attention. I intend to replicate and expand part of Stickler and Shi's (2014) original eye tracking experiments on Chinese second language learners completing an online reading activity with Chinese characters and Pinyin transcription scaffolding. Since Chinese uses characters, reading can prove a daunting task for learners, especially those at the beginning levels (Wang, 2014). I have personally experienced this frustration myself and observed similar difficulties for other students. Although, many characters do contain some phonetic information, it is usually easier for students to learn to read with the help of a phonetic transcription system such as Pinyin, which uses the Roman alphabet “to approximate the pronunciation of Chinese characters” (ibid, p. 53). Often textbooks and reading materials will annotate some or all of the included Chinese characters in such a transcription system, at least for beginner levels, for the benefit of first or second language learners (See Figures 1 and 2)

Review of SpeechInAction (2005). Richard Cauldwell & Mike Beiby. speechinaction.com

The speech of nonnative, late English language learners usually exhibits an accent that results from transferring the phonological rules and segmental or suprasegmental features from their first language (L1) into their English speech. Second language (L2) learners may also create novel pronunciations of English sounds that are not part of their L1 (e.g., Best, 1995; Flege, 1995). Native-like attainment in L2 pronunciation by adult language learners is the exception rather than the rule (Bongearts, 1999), yet most adult learners wish to speak the L2 without an accent

Confucius’s Analects: An advanced reader of Chinese language and culture

Zu-Yan Chen wrote the textbook Confucius’s Analects: An advanced reader of Chinese language and culture (讀論語學中文) for learners with at least three years of university Chinese language courses (Chen, 2010, p. xiii). The main focus of study is excerpts from the Analects, a collection of Confucius’ aphorisms and teachings, written in Classical Chinese, and widely studied by the Chinese population for around two thousand years. These passages are accompanied with translations in modern Chinese and short texts analyzing the underlying ideas. Because this textbook is only in Chinese, with the exception of the preface, some vocabulary definitions or section titles, and the content does not include grammar explanations, the author assumes that the readers are already generally competent in basic Chinese vocabulary and grammar. Based on the fact that the textbook is mostly written in Chinese and on the reviewer’s personal experience in learning Chinese as a second language, it does indeed appear to be suitable for Chinese language learners with at least three years of consistent Chinese study. However, it may not be necessary for the textbook users to have had university language classes as long as they have comparable language skills

The effects of Output-Based Focus on Form on Japanese EFL Learners’ Implicit Knowledge Development through a Text-Reconstruction Story-Retelling Task

This research proposal of a quasi-experimental study aims at exploring the effects of a textreconstruction output task called Story-Retelling (SR) on Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ implicit knowledge development on three types of English relative clauses (RCs). Thirty university students are randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. Each experimental group receives two different form-focused instruction (FFI): the SR task and explicit grammar explanation of the target-linguistic form. Responding to a measuring issue of previous effect-of-instruction studies, an Oral Elicited Imitation (OEI) test and an untimed fill-in-the-blank test will be administered to accurately measure learners’ implicit and explicit knowledge development respectively. Differential effects of the instructional treatments depending on the degree of typological markedness and processing difficulty of the three RC types are also explored. The findings of the study will provide empirical explanations whether and how an output practice conducted through the SR task contributes to L2 learners’ implicit knowledge development. Considering the relative easiness of the practical application of the SR task in L2 teaching, the findings also provide L2 teachers with pedagogical implications on how to effectively conduct focus on form (FonF) instruction in the L2 classroom

Interview with Dr. Judith Kroll

Thank you to Judith Kroll, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, and Women's Studies, Penn State University, for agreeing to be interviewed for these working papers. Dr. Kroll specializes in psycholinguistics, bilingualism, and second language acquisition. She came to Michigan State University to give a plenary talk at the Second Language Studies Symposium on April 3, 2009. For more information about Dr. Kroll, please visit her faculty page: http://www.cls.psu.edu/people/faculty/kroll_judith.shtml. This interview was arranged by Emma Trentman

Interview with Dr. John Norris

Thank you to John Norris, Professor of Second Language Studies, University of Hawai‘i, for agreeing to be interviewed for these working papers. Dr. Norris specializes in assessment and program administration in language education settings. He came to Michigan State University to give a plenary talk at the Second Language Studies Symposium on April 3, 2009. For more information about Dr. Norris, please visit his faculty page: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jnorris/ This interview was arranged by Emma Trentman

Interview with Dr. Jenefer Philp

Thank you to Dr. Jenefer Philp, Senior Lecturer of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics, The University of Auckland, for granting this interview. Dr. Philp’s research focuses on second language acquisition and individual differences, interaction, and oral corrective feedback, as well as on child second language acquisition. She came to Michigan State University to present at the Second Language Research Forum (SLRF) 2009, which was held October 29th through November 1st. For more information about Dr. Philp, please see her faculty page: http://artsfaculty.auckland.ac.nz/staff/?UPI=jphi048. This interview was arranged by Sheila Wheeler and conducted on October 31st