Avizia Yim Long

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Assistant) at San Jose State University

Usage-based theories provide helpful frameworks and tools for the study of language in its various contexts of interaction. This chapter explores the application of these approaches to the study of second language (L2) acquisition. It begins with an overview of usage-based approaches, paying special attention to the way they capture information abo...

This study examines a 30-item Spanish elicited imitation task (EIT) as a measure of global language proficiency for heritage language (HL) learners of Spanish. Results from Rasch modeling suggest that, while EIT scores demonstrated excellent reliability, the ability of much of the HL sample far exceeded the difficulty of the items. Differential ite...

Given the notable increase in participation in short-term (e.g., eight weeks or less) study abroad, especially in the US, recent empirical work on the role of context in second language (L2) learning has sought to investigate the impact of a short-term stay abroad on language development. The present study examined English-speaking learners’ syntac...

This book examines the role of interlocutors and their individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) development from four theoretical lenses: the cognitive-interactionist approach, sociocultural theory, the variationist approach, and complex dynamic systems theory. A theoretical overview to each approach is written by a preeminent scholar i...

The assessment of language proficiency remains a central challenge for research exploring heritage language (HL) acquisition, development, and use. Research on Spanish as a HL in the U.S. largely utilizes a modified version of the Diploma de español como lengua extranjera (DELE) exam (Montrul, 2012), which measures vocabulary and grammar knowledge...

The present study explored development in Spanish vowel production during a short-term study abroad program. The production patterns of a group of learners studying abroad in a 4-week program in the Dominican Republic were compared in terms of overall vowel quality, tendency to diphthongize /e/ and /o/, and vowel duration to those of a similar grou...

For millions of individuals all over the world, speaking in a second language is a daily activity. It is therefore important that research in applied linguistics should contribute empirically to the study of second language spoken interaction. The aim of this volume is to make such a contribution by providing research-based insights into current ap...

In response to the need for examples of test validation from which everyday language programs can benefit, this paper reports on a study that used Bachman’s (2005) assessment use argument (AUA) framework to examine evidence to support claims made about the intended interpretations and uses of scores based on a new web-based Spanish language placeme...

This book presents a set of compelling essays collectively making a persuasive case for why a usage-based perspective on language is fast becoming a leading theoretical framework for investigating second language (L2) learning and the foundation for effective, innovative, engaging pedagogy. Drawing on 20 years of research in psychology, psycholingu...

Research on second language Spanish encompasses a sophisticated and broad-reaching body of work. Nevertheless, there is a bias in this literature toward English-speaking learners. The implication of this bias is that our search for universal trends of acquisition is undermined by an inability to distinguish between challenges that are specific to E...

TBLT AND L2 PRONUNCIATION - Laura Gurzynski-Weiss, Avizia Yim Long, Megan Solon

This study tests the theoretical predictions regarding effects of increasing task complexity (Robinson, 2001a, 2001b, 2007, 2010; Robinson & Gilabert, 2007) for second language (L2) pronunciation. Specifically, we examine whether more complex tasks (a) lead to greater incidence of pronunciation-focused language-related episodes (LREs) and (b) posit...

This book explores the current state of Spanish sociolinguistics and its contribution to theories of language variation and change, from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. It offers original analyses on a variety of topics across a wide spectrum of linguistic subfields from different formal, experimental, and corpus-based standpoints. The...

The present study explores methodological issues related to the growing need to understand the role of lexical frequency (LF) in patterns of language acquisition and use. One specific methodological challenge is determining which measures of LF are appropriate for the study of L2 learners-namely, how do we identify the appropriate comparison for L2...

This study explores the impact of study abroad (SA) on second language Spanish phonetic development. Twenty-seven English-speaking learners of Spanish, 15 who were participating in a 4-week SA program in the Dominican Republic and 12 who were studying at their home (AH) institution, were recorded 5 weeks apart (at the approximate beginning and end...

MOTIVATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE. David Lasagabaster, Aintzane Doiz, and Juan Manuel Sierra (Eds.). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Benjamins, 2014. Pp. viii + 190. - Volume 37 Issue 3 - Avizia Yim Long

Despite myriad changes to language teaching methods over time, university-level classroom spaces have largely remained the same-until now. Recent innovations in classroom space design center on technological advances, include movable furniture and coffee-shop style rooms, and are believed to facilitate language learning in several ways. Specificall...

Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition is a comprehensive textbook that bridges the gap between the fields of sociolinguistics and second language acquisition, exploring the variety of ways in which social context influences the acquisition of a second language. It reviews basic principles of sociolinguistics, provides a unified account o...