Metalinguistic Awareness and Second Language Acquisition
Abstract
Metalinguistic Awareness and Second Language Acquisition is the first book to present an in-depth overview of metalinguistic awareness as it relates to SLA. In this volume, Roehr-Brackin discusses metalinguistic awareness in the context of both child and adult language learning, and outlines the various methods that can be used to measure metalinguistic awareness. The author presents different approaches to metalinguistic awareness, including a cognitive-developmental perspective that explains how the concept relates to literacy, and an applied linguistics perspective that understands metalinguistic awareness as explicit or conscious knowledge about language. Roehr-Brackin explores the role of metalinguistic awareness in language education aimed at young learners, as well as in instructed adult SLA. This book is an excellent resource for those researching or taking courses in second language acquisition, bi- and multilingualism, and language teaching.
... Sin embargo, dada la problemática actual en el campo de la investigación cognitiva en L2 en el que algunos estudios (Bialystok et al., 2014: Roehr-Brackin, 2018Schoonmaker, 2015) sugieren que es factible aumentar los niveles de conciencia metalingüística a través de la implementación de tareas de sensibilización que requieren manipulación y reflexión consciente de estructuras gramaticales específicas, esta investigación busca ayudar a los estudiantes a tomar conciencia del uso de estructuras gramaticales que incluso en niveles intermedios y avanzados causan conflicto, como es el caso de los complementos de infinitivo y los gerundios. ...
... Otro punto importante es que se atiende el discurso de los participantes al responder actividades en equipo y a entrevistas de evocación estimulada para incurrir en los pensamientos recurrentes de los alumnos en momentos clave dentro de las cuatro sesiones consecutivas con ayuda de capturas de pantalla para investigar más en cómo estos estudiantes universitarios mexicanos abordan perspectivas motivacionales colectivas (El Euch, 2010;Roehr, 2007) y exploran la gramática utilizando enfoques cualitativos (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). ...
... Por último, la metacognición requiere que el individuo tenga noción de sus propios procesos cognitivos para poder, de esta manera, analizar y controlar la forma en que piensa y aprende. Gombert (1992), en Roehr-Brackin (2018) señalan que una parte integral de la metacognición son las capacidades metalingüísticas, estando estas relacionadas tanto con aspectos declarativos (facilidad para poder verbalizar lo que se sabe de la estructura del lenguaje) como con tintes procedimentales (facilidad o imposibilidad para verbalizar lo que es gramatical o agramatical en un idioma de destino). Por metacognición (Anderson, 2008;Flavell, 1979;Hacker et al., 1998;Hacker, 1998;Hunt y Ellis, 2004) nos referimos a la capacidad del individuo para generar conciencia introspectiva para controlar y planificar sus procesos de pensamiento mientras se operacionalizan tareas cognitivas; en este contexto, tareas metalingüísticas de carácter meramente gramatical. ...
Las Pruebas de Juicio de Gramaticalidad se consideran un método estandarizado para medir el uso del idioma de los estudiantes porque se les pide que hagan un pronunciamiento intuitivo sobre la precisión de la forma y estructura de oraciones individuales y descontextualizadas. Por lo tanto, existe una investigación limitada sobre las reflexiones metalingüísticas detrás de la emisión de un juicio de gramaticalidad. En este estudio se busca que además de emitir juicios gramaticales, los estudiantes detecten reglas subyacentes de uso para para corregir y justificar errores gramaticales de manera colectiva; ya que esto podría tener un impacto positivo en su aprendizaje del inglés como L2. Apoyada del marco de la Teoría Sociocultural para el desarrollo de la Conciencia Metalingüística entre pares y de la verbalización de los procesos reflexivos involucrados en la cognición mediante tareas gramaticales y la evocación estimulada como técnica metodológica, la presente investigación explora el proceso por el que dieciséis universitarios mexicanos pasaron al crear, editar y aplicar sus propias reglas gramaticales para tratar de entender cómo funcionan los complementos infinitivos y gerundios en inglés; uno de los temas más complejos de adquirir por estudiantes del inglés como L2, por carecer de reglas de uso. El objetivo es el de contribuir al campo de la investigación empírica en el desarrollo de la conciencia metalingüística en la que se atiende al proceso de aprendizaje de estructuras que los estudiantes normalmente memorizan. Los hallazgos señalan la existencia de posibles factores cognitivos que vinculan el aprendizaje de estos complementos con la reflexión metalingüística y el andamiaje cognitivo entre pares. Las actividades que fomentan la reflexión metalingüística, tal como las entrevistas de evocación estimulada, pueden conducir a los estudiantes de nivel intermedio - avanzado a que desarrollen sus propias reglas gramaticales las cuales son generadas con un fundamento sintáctico y posteriormente, semántico; como sucedió en este estudio. Aunado a lo anterior y a partir de un cuidadoso análisis microgenético de los procesos de desarrollo metalingüístico y metacognitivo en los estudiantes, se generó el modelo REBUCREA, en el que se observa la revisión, búsqueda, creación, evaluación y aplicación de las reglas gramaticales.
Palabras clave: complementos infinitivos y gerundios, conciencia metalingüística, inglés como L2.
... Wagner (2020) reports that 4-5-year-olds show awareness of their own languages, are able to express their language preferences and even demonstrate emerging metalinguistic awareness. According to Roehr-Brackin (2018), researchers have found that children between the ages of 5 and 8 show great improvement in their metalinguistic development. As Roehr-Brackin (2018) maintains, children aged 6 to 7 begin to develop metalinguistic awareness by realising that words fundamentally serve as labels for objects, actions, and similar and are therefore able to understand synonymy and grasp the idea that different languages use different words. ...
... According to Roehr-Brackin (2018), researchers have found that children between the ages of 5 and 8 show great improvement in their metalinguistic development. As Roehr-Brackin (2018) maintains, children aged 6 to 7 begin to develop metalinguistic awareness by realising that words fundamentally serve as labels for objects, actions, and similar and are therefore able to understand synonymy and grasp the idea that different languages use different words. In another study on language awareness, in which Kurvers et al. (2006) compared illiterate adults to preschool children and literate adults, it was shown that children demonstrate a considerable level of phonological awareness as they are able to identify and produce rhymes, as well as segment words into syllables; they also show semantic awareness by being able to identify content words. ...
... As we can see from examples in Figure 1, before the intervention, the most common words and phrases reported by the children were in English and Croatian, whereas after the intervention, they offered examples of words in all the languages they were exposed to during the activities. This partly reflects the findings of other researchers (Kurvers et al., 2006;Roehr-Brackin, 2018), who claim that even young children show a certain degree of linguistic awareness by recognising content words and connecting them to their meanings. ...
Developing young learners’ language awareness is becoming an important educational goal in a rapidly globalised world characterised by linguistic and cultural diversity. Drawing upon previous research in the field, the article highlights the importance of promoting language diversity and nurturing language awareness from an early age. We present a qualitative study’s findings to analyse the potential of using pluralistic approaches to language teaching for developing young learners’ language awareness. The study was based on a case study format involving pupils aged five and six years. By exposing the participants to a set of plurilingual activities following the DivCon model, we were able to observe and identify their language awareness development. In addition, the pupils’ responses to language awareness activities and their perceptions of different languages were analysed through a survey in the form of interviews. The results of the study indicate positive outcomes, demonstrating an enhanced level of language awareness among the pupils, as well as an increased appreciation for language diversity.
... Analysis of linguistic processing involves the development of metalinguistic knowledge through which implicit knowledge becomes explicit, while control of linguistic processing refers more to executive control and the ability to focus attention. The present study is most concerned with what Bialystok (2001) and Roehr-Brackin (2018) call metalinguistic ability, or the ability to make use of knowledge about language, and metalinguistic awareness, or i.e. the ability to actively focus attention on the forms and explicit properties of language. Metalanguage, or technical terminology used to describe language, is also a key concept. ...
... A variety of different task types have been used to measure metalinguistic awareness, including metalinguistic labelling (relying on the use of metalanguage), error correction or grammaticality judgments, description or explanation tasks, and rule illustration tasks, to name a few (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). In addition, several specific tests have been designed to measure metalinguistic awareness. ...
... In Norway, the role of metalinguistic awareness in language learning is relevant given that instruction in English is compulsory from the first grade, while other foreign languages are introduced as options in lower secondary school, when students' reflective thinking and metalinguistic abilities are more developed (Gombert, 1992;Roehr-Brackin, 2018). While the number of instruction hours in English is low for the first several years (Dahl & Vulchanova, 2014), English has a high status in Norwegian society, and many students gain significant exposure to English outside the classroom through games and other media (Sunde, 2017), even from as early as 9 years old (see Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2012 on the similar Swedish context for learners aged 11-12). ...
This article compares metalinguistic awareness among emerging bilingual and multilingual learners of English in Norwegian primary school. Participants were 120 students in grades 5-7 (aged 10-13) attending mainstream English classes in Norway and were divided into three groups based on a linguistic background questionnaire: an L1 Norwegian group, a Multilingual group without English at home, and an English group with English at home. All participants completed a test of metalinguistic awareness (using sentences in English, with questions presented in both English and Norwegian), and a statistical analysis was then conducted to compare the performance of the different linguistic groups. While a simple comparison of means showed no significant differences between groups, a multiple regression controlling for grade level and academic achievement showed that linguistic group did significantly predict performance once these variables were accounted for, with the Multilingual group scoring higher than the L1 Norwegian group, and the English group scoring highest. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Bialystok's work on the impact of bilingualism on the brain has revealed that bilingual individuals exhibit enhanced cognitive control, potentially related to the right hemisphere's involvement in language processing (Yang, 2023). Roehr-Brackin (2018) has conducted research on the use of visual input in language learning and has discovered that visual input can aid learners in better comprehending the structure and meaning of new words and phrases, which is crucial in the early stages of language acquisition. Bak's research on the effects of age on language learning has indicated that older learners may benefit from visual input and other techniques that engage the right hemisphere of the brain (Bak, et al., 2016). ...
... Research in neuroscience and psychology suggests that visual and spatial information can enhance language processing by stimulating the right hemisphere of the brain (Nilsson, et al., 2021). For instance, studies have demonstrated that when language learners are exposed to visual stimuli, such as pictures, videos, or diagrams, they are better equipped to remember and utilize new vocabulary and grammar rules (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). Visual stimuli can also assist learners in forming mental connections between words and concepts, thereby enhancing their overall language proficiency. ...
... Bialystok has focused on the effects of bilingualism on the brain and has found that bilingual individuals show enhanced cognitive control, which may be related to the involvement of the right hemisphere in language processing (Yang, 2023). Roehr-Brackin (2018) has researched the use of visual input in language learning and has found that visual input can help learners better understand the structure and meaning of new words and phrases. This is very important in the early stages of language acquisition. ...
... Research in neuroscience and psychology suggests that visual and spatial information can enhance language processing by stimulating the right hemisphere of the brain (Nilsson, et al., 2021). For example, studies have shown that when language learners are exposed to visual stimuli, such as pictures, videos, or diagrams, they are better able to remember and use new vocabulary and grammar rules (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). Visual stimuli can also help learners to form mental connections between words and concepts, which can enhance their overall language proficiency. ...
Recent evidence suggests that right-brain practices play an important role in language learning. However, little is known about the ways in which visual culture can be used to stimulate these practices and increase language knowledge retention in adult second language learners. This study explores the role of right-brain processes through visual culture, focusing on teaching Maltese to international adults. The study conducts a focus group of twenty-seven teachers to investigate various visual culture practices used in language classes. The findings have significant implications for language researchers and teachers beyond the specific context of Maltese language learning. By highlighting the role of right-brain practices and their potential impact on language learning, this study offers pedagogical implications that extend to other language-learning contexts. It provides valuable recommendations for employing specific visual culture practices to facilitate language learning, including drawing, sketching, orthographic mapping, the memory palace approach, wordless picture books, picture-based learning methods, infographics, Face Memory Game, Spot the Difference, Word Search Puzzles, the Hidden Object Game, videos, the Shadow Matching, Find the Differences, and colour-coding methods. These recommendations can inform language researchers and teachers seeking to enhance learning outcomes through visual culture practices in various language learning contexts.
... According to Altman et al. (2018), metalinguistic awareness, which demands the speaker to pay attention to the structure and form of the language, develops in the later stages of language acquisition, around the age of 5-6, and based on previous linguistic information acquired earlier in life. Metalinguistic awareness has been widely researched by a great deal of linguistics and educational researchers (Altman et al., 2018;Bae, 2015;Candry et al., 2017;Roehr-Brackin, 2018). It has been associated with language skills and systems. ...
... Metalinguistic awareness which focuses on both language form and meaning also assists learners in developing the ability to think of language as a thing, to evaluate language as a process or even a system, and to navigate successfully through the use of language in a variety of situations. Multiple researchers around the world pointed out the significance of metalinguistic awareness to English as Foreign Language Learners (EFLL) (Bae, 2015;Candry et al., 2017;Roehr-Brackin, 2018). According to Dong et al. (2020), metalinguistic awareness is a critical component of cognitive skills that predict reading comprehension ability through decoding and word recognition on the single-word or singlecharacter cognition process. ...
The present study assesses the correlation between metalinguistic awareness and language dominance for bilingual Saudi EFL learners as such factors are responsible for successful intercultural communication. The study participants comprise convenience samples, a total of 166 EFL learners, selected by native-speaking EFL teachers from eight sections in the language and translation departments at Qassim University. The study also examines the vocabulary size of these participants who are all from the second and third levels of education by applying a cross-sectional survey approach. The aim is to understand the role of metalinguistic awareness and language dominance in the interactions of the sample who are comparably native in Arabic and English with native English speakers. Results of the study show that Saudi bilingual learners have high positive perceptions in lexical metalinguistic awareness and moderate levels with regard to language dominance. The study also shows that there is a correlation between metalinguistic awareness and language dominance (r=0.78) as the receptive and expressive vocabulary quantity are the significant predictors. Moreover, results show that vocabulary size is not affected by morphological metalinguistic awareness.
... Further analyses await to determine whether the explicit knowledge gained thanks to the treatment received will last over time, considering the short duration of the treatment and the fact that explicit knowledge may be acquired faster but atrophies easily (Shintani & Eltis, 2013). This line of research will also respond to the call made in the literature by different authors (Calzada & García Mayo, 2020;Roehr-Brackin, 2018) for more studies on the durability of the benefits of FFI treatments that incorporate delayed post-tests. In this regard, recent studies conducted with children have unveiled benefits of FFI treatments in delayed post-tests (Li et al., 2018). ...
Recent work conducted in input-limited classrooms with young learners has made a call for the incorporation of form-focused instruction (FFI) in the form of focused tasks and/or additional treatments that could help learners expand their attention to grammar. Current research has also uncovered the need for the examination of the interaction between FFI, individual differences, such as language-analytic ability, and language achievement. Thus, this paper examines the effect of two forms of FFI (dictogloss+self-correction and dictogloss+metalinguistic explanations [ME]) on learners’ accuracy in the use of the possessive determiners his/her in the final product of the dictogloss tasks performed. It also looks into the interface between FFI and languageanalytic ability as measured by the MLAT-ES for child language. To do so, 33 Basque/ Spanish bilingual learners of English (aged 10-11) were split into a dictogloss+selfcorrection and a dictogloss+ME group. Participants were asked to complete three collaborative dictogloss tasks targeting the possessive determiners his/her in three consecutive weeks. The dictogloss+ME group achieved greater accuracy in the use of the possessive determiners his/her than the group with self-correction. Likewise, the benefits observed in the former were independent of participants’ language-analytic ability, all of which suggests a blurring effect of the ME treatment received.
... Reaching language levels does not mean that people are not learning, the metalinguistic is playing the role towards it (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). It is possible that one of the research subjects did not acquire certain Japanese language proficiency levels as the findings because the metalinguistic knowledge of the students is sufficient. ...
This research was conducted to seek the process of Indonesian transnational students to be polyglots and what kind of speech varieties influenced them during that process in Japan. The present research conducted qualitative research with five Indonesian transnational students who settled in Japan for at least 1.5 years. Questionnaires and line phone call interviews were employed to collect data. Purposive sampling was applied to gain the subjects. The result found that four of the subjects reached an advanced level of Japanese language proficiency through numerous exposures, Japanese classes, watching television, and reading newspapers. Yet, a single subject remains at an intermediate level. Those exposures helped them to acquire Japanese and speech variety. Three of the subjects used the Kyoto dialect consciously since they got in touch with society and abandoned it when they moved to that another place. Yet the last two subjects did not use it. They only learned it because they had reasons that they were only students and would leave soon.
... In addition to targeting different phonological features, L2 pronunciation self-assessment studies have employed a variety of instruments to elicit speakers' and listeners' assessments, including Likert scales (e.g., Babaii et al., 2016;Lappin-Fortin & Rye, 2014), think-aloud protocols (e.g., O'Brien, 2019Wrembel, 2015), interviews (e.g., Derwing, 2003;Isbell, 2021), and yes/no or open-ended questionnaires (e.g., Dlaska & Krekeler, 2008;Meritan & Mroz, 2019). These instruments share the characteristic that they allow participants to carefully reflect upon and monitor their performance, processes that are dependent on L2 users' metalinguistic knowledge and abilities (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). However, less skilled performers may provide inaccurate self-assessments due to a deficit in metacognitive skills (Kruger & Dunning, 1999), meaning that they are less able to reflect on their own skills and produce self-assessments that align with those provided by external assessors. ...
Research on second language (L2) pronunciation self-assessment reports a general misalignment between self-and other-assessment. This has been attributed to the object of self-assessment, the self-assessment task, the measures to which self-assessment is compared, and speakers' characteristics. Here, we examined self-assessment of a discrete phonological feature-sentence stress-by L2 English speakers as compared to the assessment of first language English listeners through a timed, forced-choice judgment task with low-pass filtered stimuli, which contained only suprasegmental cues. Additionally, we explored how individual differences among speakers predict self-assessment. Speakers generally overestimated their accuracy in sentence stress assignment in a pattern resembling the Dunning-Kruger effect despite the controlled nature of the task. Speakers with larger vocabulary size judged their sentence stress assignment as correct more often and showed greater overconfidence and miscalibration. Finally, the assessments of speakers with a background in applied linguistics and/or language teaching were more aligned with listeners’ assessments.
... This finding was different from our previous factor analyses, but we noted that our test batteries in those studies did not include L1 measures of working and phonological memory or metacognitive knowledge. Evidence cited by Roehr-Brackin (2018) shows that language aptitude, working memory, and metacognitive knowledge are distinguishable constructs (p. 107). ...
The author examines evidence for relationships among individual differences (IDs) in L1 ability, L2 aptitude, and L2 achievement. He begins by providing an overview of his journey from L1 educator to L2 researcher and explains the development of his Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH). Next, he reviews Peter Skehan’s influential research on language aptitude and L1-L2 relationships and summarizes research showing that IDs in L1 ability are universal, can be identified early, and are stable over time. Then, he reviews his group’s research on L1-L2 relationships and IDs in L2 learning, focusing on their longitudinal studies and reporting two new studies that examine the relationship between L1 achievement and L2 aptitude on the MLAT. He posits that the development of L1 literacy leads to growth in metalinguistic awareness, which enhances L1 literacy skills, and that L1 literacy and metalinguistic awareness provide the foundation for L2 aptitude, the ability to use and understand “decontextualized” material. The author concludes by proposing an answer to the paper’s title.
... xvii). Additionally, there have been recent calls for detailed profiling of learners' L1 backgrounds and metalinguistic awareness to be better incorporated into formal language-teaching repertoires (Ballinger et al., 2020;Roehr-Brackin, 2018;Woll & Paquet, 2021). ...
Previous research has indicated that explicit information (EI) about either the first language (L1) or second language (L2) along with task-essential practice can facilitate L2 learning (e.g., Fernández, 2008; McManus, 2022). However, little research has examined L1–L2 contrastive EI with L1/L2 practice. Targeting plural-marking accuracy, the present study sought to fill this gap by exposing 127 Japanese intermediate learners of English to six online treatment sessions across four conditions: (1) non-contrastive EI (pluralization rule explanation) + L2 practice, (2) contrastive EI + L2 practice, (3) as per Condition 2 + additional L1 practice (application of L2 pluralization to L1 through the Japanese suffix –tachi), and (4) using prepositions as a control, non-contrastive EI (prepositional rule explanation) + L2 practice. Accuracy was tested at pre/post/delayed intervals using an acceptability judgement task (reading) and a picture description task (writing). Statistical analyses demonstrated greater gains from the contrastive variables in the immediate post-test, with L1 practice appearing especially beneficial, despite improvements diminishing in the delayed post-test. Supplementary data from retroactive interviews and questionnaire responses indicated favourable orientations towards the intervention. The study advances understanding of how EI and practice type can be used to maximize L2 learning through web-based practices tailored to the nature of the learning problem.
... While this explanation is enticing, we note that little has been published on the specifics of language instruction in Rwandan educational settings, and we cannot speak with confidence about the methods with which the Kiswahili grammatical system would have been taught to our participants. We also note that while there is a rich literature surrounding the role of metalinguistic awareness in second or additional language acquisition (see Roehr-Brackin (2018) for review), there are relatively few studies which address whether explicit grammatical instruction in an L2 impacts L1 grammatical knowledge directly (although see, for instance, Martínez et al., 2024;van Rijt et al., 2022). What our results do indicate is that this is an area which is in need of much more research, both in terms of the specific educational situation in Rwanda, and the larger question of the impact of L2 instruction on typologically-similar L1 grammatical knowledge. ...
Unlike the gender-based systems of noun categorization in many European languages, numerous semantic categories contribute to Bantu noun class systems. Kinyarwanda, the focus of our study, has a rich inventory of noun class prefixes, but it is unknown to what degree the semantic and morphological systems underlying these noun classes influence how speakers mentally categorize nominals in their language. To investigate this, speakers of Kinyarwanda (n = 46) were recruited to take part in an online triadic comparison experiment. Across 144 trials, participants were asked to identify the item most different from a written list of three nouns. These lists were constructed based on morphological similarity (from noun classes 3, 5, 7, or 9), semantic overlap (from the domains of ‘mammals’ and ‘tools’), or both. Results show an overall preference for semantic grouping in the triads, although the strength of these preferences differed across individuals. This variation turned out to be systematic and predictable: speakers of Kinyarwanda who spoke Kiswahili as an additional language generally preferred categorizing on the basis of noun class, while those who did not speak Kiswahili as an additional language were more likely to base their decisions on the shared semantic domains of the nouns. These data suggest that noun categorization choices in Kinyarwanda can be influenced by knowledge of other linguistic systems, highlighting the impact that learning additional languages may have on first-language lexical knowledge.
... No obstante, dicha deficiencia podría subsanarse si se invita a los estudiantes universitarios a darse cuenta de la función gramatical de la lengua por sí mismos. Estas habilidades analíticas les ayudan a ser conscientes de algo que quizás no noten por sí mismos mediante la reflexión metalingüística (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). De acuerdo con Fazlali y Shahini (2019), las tareas de concientización gramatical ayudan a los estudiantes a observar características particulares del lenguaje, a sacar conclusiones de lo que notan y a organizar su visión del lenguaje a la luz de las conclusiones a las que llegan por sí solos. ...
... No obstante, dicha deficiencia podría subsanarse si se invita a los estudiantes universitarios a darse cuenta de la función gramatical de la lengua por sí mismos. Estas habilidades analíticas les ayudan a ser conscientes de algo que quizás no noten por sí mismos mediante la reflexión metalingüística (Roehr-Brackin, 2018). De acuerdo con Fazlali y Shahini (2019), las tareas de concientización gramatical ayudan a los estudiantes a observar características particulares del lenguaje, a sacar conclusiones de lo que notan y a organizar su visión del lenguaje a la luz de las conclusiones a las que llegan por sí solos. ...
La elección de traductores legales depende de las regulaciones de cada país o estado, mismas que establecen los lineamientos que los candidatos deben cumplir para el nombramiento. El presente estudio compara los procesos y lineamientos para ser un traductor legal con la norma internacional ISO 20771:2020. Se revisaron los requisitos de selección para ser perito traductor en el estado de Querétaro; se determinó si estaban dentro de la norma internacional y se evaluó si eran suficientes para cubrir con el estándar de calidad internacional. Para el estudio, se entrevistó a diferentes peritos traductores del estado de Querétaro con el fin de determinar si esos requisitos son suficientes conforme a la norma. Los hallazgos muestran que la convocatoria no se apega en su totalidad a la norma ISO 20771, pero considera varios de sus criterios. Los traductores cumplen con los requisitos de la norma, a pesar de desconocerla en su totalidad. El estudio permitirá que los poderes judiciales detallen de mejor forma los procesos de elección estatal y desarrollen estrategias para emular la norma ISO 20771; así se garantizaría la calidad de los miembros de cada padrón local.
... There is ample evidence in the research literature on additional or second language (L2) learning that metalinguistic awareness is associated with language learning achievement across the lifespan (for an overview of relevant research, see Roehr-Brackin, 2018). The present article focuses on metalinguistic awareness in young learners. ...
Research into young learners' metalinguistic awareness has led to both definitions of the construct and key findings about its role in children's cognitive and linguistic development. I briefly summarise this research before introducing two established theoretical models that can help us understand the concept of metalinguistic awareness more broadly: Ellen Bialystok's classic dichotomy of analysis of knowledge and control of processing, and Rod Ellis's notion of explicit (second language) knowledge. This is followed by an overview of measures of metalinguistic awareness that have been used in empirical studies to date as well as an illustration and critique of selected measures. As a result, I propose a model that combines features of the two previous frameworks by conceptualising knowledge representations and processes in terms of (1) how implicit/explicit and (2) how specific/schematic they are. I explain this model to illustrate how it can serve as a useful thinking tool. In particular, I argue that the model not only allows us to theorise measures of metalinguistic awareness more clearly and easily, but that it can also capture tasks aimed at assessing other linguistic and cognitive abilities. The article concludes with a brief outlook on future research into metalinguistic awareness.
... Locke 2010) and questions about the value of explicit knowledge in L2 teaching (e.g. Roehr-Brackin 2018). However, in contrast to the controversy surrounding potential effects of metalinguistic knowledge for language learners, there is general agreement that a high level of metalinguistic awareness is useful for L2 teachers. ...
The present study explores Austrian pre-service EFL teachers' language awareness. The negative polarity properties of 'any' are investigated. These are informative since some of the grammatical constraints are taught in EFL instruction while others are not. The research question addresses whether pre-service teachers' knowledge is constrained by pedagogical rules. 66 pre-service EFL teachers rated eight sentence types illustrating varying grammatical constraints on the occurrence of 'any' by means of paced acceptability judgement. Then knowledge of metalinguistic was assessed through untimed sentence pair assessment, open rule verbalisation, and recall of rule teaching. Results suggest that ability to distinguish grammaticality as indexed by judgements was generally high but most robust for taught properties. Metalinguistic knowledge was similarly restricted mainly to the taught pedagogical rules. Based on these results, ramifications for the role of language knowledge in EFL teacher training and avenues for further research are discussed.
... Estas prácticas pedagógicas no se encuentran alejadas de planteamientos metodológicos que fomentan la transferencia entre lenguas en el contexto de la educación multilingüe (Guasch, 2021;Rodríguez-Gonzalo, 2002b; Sanz-Moreno y García-Pastor, este número), por los cuales se anima al alumnado a que utilice todo su repertorio lingüístico para reflexionar sobre las lenguas mediante comparaciones entre las mismas a nivel fonético, léxico, morfosintáctico, discursivo y pragmático en géneros discursivos diversos o situaciones reales de comunicación con el fin último de mejorar su comprensión y su dominio de las mismas (Cenoz, 2019;Cenoz y Gorter, 2020, 2022Guasch, 2008;Ruiz Bikandi, 2008). Así pues, aunque des-IntroduccIón: La enseñanza gramatIcaL en L1 y L2 de perspectivas teóricas diferentes, los trabajos sobre la enseñanza-aprendizaje gramatical mencionados anteriormente y la investigación referida a la educación multilingüe comparten la idea de que pensar o reflexionar sobre la lengua, lo cual implica tratarla como un objeto de observación, inspección, y análisis (Bialystok, 2001), es fundamental para el aprendizaje lingüístico (Gombert, 2017;Roehr-Brackin, 2018). Igualmente, demuestran que esta actividad metalingüística no se deriva de forma directa del aprendizaje del uso (Camps, 2009;Fontich, 2019;Kennedy, 2012), que la interacción es fundamental para que surja dicha actividad y el alumnado construya su conocimiento gramatical y lingüístico, como establecen los postulados interaccionistas cognitivo-psicolingüistas y socio-constructivistas (Long, 1996;Vygotski, 1978Vygotski, , 1986, y, finalmente, que para todo ello se requiere un modelo de intervención pedagógica, que además de centrarse en el alumnado y su aprendizaje, sitúe al docente como agente mediador del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje (Camps, 2009;Camps y Zayas, 2006;Fontich et al., 2020;Rodríguez-Gonzalo, 2022b) e igualmente sirva como instrumento de investigación de los procesos que dicha intervención genera (Ahmadian y García Mayo, 2018;Camps, 2009;Ellis et al., 2019;García Mayo, 2007;Rodríguez-Gonzalo, 2022b). ...
Introducción al monográfico «La enseñanza gramatical en L1 y L2 en distintos grupos de aprendices, materiales y contextos educativos»
... However, given the complex and dynamic nature of multilingual development, there remains a gap in the research on the role of metalinguistic awareness (MeLA), as a central metacognitive property, in relation to the acquisition of a third or additional language. Research on MeLA is often centred on the differences between monolinguals and bilinguals, and although MeLA is generally accepted as a product of language learning (see e.g., Roehr-Brackin, 2018), only a few studies have focused on the development of metacognitive competences, such as MeLA, and their functioning when more than two languages are involved. ...
... Word stress teaching and learning is still at the stage of exploration. Previous studies supported that metalinguistic awareness plays an important role in second and third language acquisition (e.g., Roehr-Brackin, 2018;Thomas, 1988). However, no studies have been discovered on learners' language awareness of English word stress at the metalinguistic level. ...
Previous studies have pointed out that word stress is complex and challenging for English learners to acquire. This study investigated the effects of metaphonological awareness protocol training (MAPT) on English word stress by 40 Chinese EFL learners of two proficiency levels, high (H) and low (L), and how they perform differently in the complexity levels of metaphonological awareness on English word stress. Participants’ accuracy rate in English word stress improved significantly for both groups. L-level group participants’ improvement rate from the pre-test to the post-test was significantly higher than that of H-level group. L-level participants self-repaired more errors that they made in the pre-test than H-level participants. H-level group participants reported more high-level awareness than did L-level group participants. Participants also reported that their English word stress acquisition received less influence from their first language (L1), and cognitive strategies were most commonly used in Chinese EFL English pronunciation learning. The application of metaphonological awareness protocols in English word stress training has great pedagogical value and could be applied in language classrooms.
... If the development of metalinguistic awareness and the development of L1 literacy go hand in hand, is it possible that metalinguistic awareness and language aptitude have the same type of relationship? (See also Bialystok, 2001;Gombert, 1992;Roehr-Brackin, 2018;Yelland, Pollard, & Mercuri, 1993). A similar approach has been taken by other researchers who have been more specific in focusing on language analytic ability, which is similar to metalinguistic ability, i.e., " : : : ability to handle language in a decontextualized manner" (Roehr-Brackin, 2018, p. 87). ...
In this conceptual replication of Sparks and Dale ([2023]. The prediction from MLAT to L2 achievement is largely due to MLAT asessment of underlying L1 abilities. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1–25) utilizing a dataset previously reported by Sparks et al. ([2009]. Long-term relationships among early L1 skills, L2 aptitude, L2 affect, and later L2 proficiency. Applied Psycholinguistics, 30, 725–755.), L1 achievement scores over 1 st –5 th grades and L2 aptitude scores from the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) in 9 th grade were examined as predictors of L2 achievement for U.S. secondary students completing L2 courses in 9 th and 10 th grades. The study’s focus was on the uniqueness and efficiency of MLAT with respect to measuring L1 achievement in predicting L2 achievement. All L1 measures and MLAT predicted L2 literacy and language, and L1 measures predicted MLAT scores. Word decoding was the strongest overall L1 predictor, though there was variation across the L2 measures. The unique contribution of MLAT was modest, as the majority of total prediction (77–86%) was due to L1 measures. The efficiency of MLAT in capturing predictive variance from L1 abilities was moderately high (median ∼73%) but variable across the L1 and L2 measures. Findings are generally consistent with those of Sparks and Dale (2023) showing that prediction from MLAT to L2 is largely due to MLAT’s assessment of L1 abilities, even though a substantial amount of L2 prediction-relevant L1 variance is missed by MLAT.
... We contend that Mr. Chelsea's scaffolds on metalinguistic talk, which include indicating Spanish resources and connecting with existing knowledge, provided students with the opportunity to explore the connection between their metalinguistic knowledge and the linguistic resources at their disposal to make meaning (Swain 1985). Despite the fact that researchers have argued that advanced language learners may exhibit stronger reflective language skills (Nassaji and Fotos 2010;Roehr-Brackin 2018), less advanced students could be more aware of their language use if teachers provided scaffolds for comparing and reflecting on their own language choices (Jimenez et al. 2015;Makakoff and Hakuta 1991). Our students' post-interviews confirmed these findings, illustrating how teacher scaffolding helped them monitor their language use and understand the content. ...
This study examined the forms and functions of collaborative scaffolds used by a monolingual teacher within a translanguaging pedagogy, which we frame as instruction that invites students to draw from their entire linguistic repertoires in ways that honor and sustain their multilingualism. More specifically, it investigates how a 9th-grade teacher of multilingual students fostered collaboration within a literacy activity that leverages strategic translation of grade-level texts. Data sources include ten consecutive video-recorded class periods involving strategic collaborative translation, interviews with the teacher, instructional materials, and translation artifacts. Findings show three major themes that capture teacher approaches to foster learners’ meaning-making. First, the teacher fostered collaboration to support meaning-making within the text by suggesting resources, guiding the collaborative steps, and praising to help students’ meaningful engagement with the text. Second, the teacher fostered collaboration around the text by setting collaborative ground rules and promoting joint construction of meaning to support students’ learning. Lastly, the teacher offered new teacher-student roles to support collaboration, which included affirming aspects of students’ identities during translation. This study offers specific ways that teachers might foster meaningful engagement with texts when they have limited experience with languages other than English, and similarly, emerging proficiencies in engaging in translanguaging pedagogies.
... 44-45, italics added). Roehr-Brackin (2018) makes it clear that LA applies to students (teachers educate students) but also to teachers (teachers are educated). Language is central to human life because it is the medium of communication (social level) and the development of one's linguistic and cultural identity (psychological level) (Byram, 2012). ...
The aim of this contribution is to gain insight into Spanish language student teachers’ Dominant Language Constellations and their beliefs about language awareness. Student teachers’ beliefs are known to pre-structure their future encounters with students at school (Pajares (Rev Educ Res 62(3): 307–332, 1992) https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543062003307). For this qualitative study, five Spanish language student teachers from Hamburg visualised their Dominant Language Constellations and provided insights into their individual Dominant Language Constellations and their beliefs about language awareness as enhancing learning in the Spanish language classroom through in-depth interviews. The results reveal that three patterns of Dominant Language Constellations can be found, differing in the inclusion of heritage languages in the core Dominant Language Constellations or only the majority language and/or foreign languages. The analysis of Dominant Language Constellations may help to understand teachers’ beliefs about language awareness as fostering foreign language learning. This is because individual Dominant Language Constellations and, in most cases, experiences with their languages might determine what types of teaching and learning strategies they value and how teachers promote them.KeywordsLanguage teacher educationStudent teachers’ beliefsStudent’s teacher identityLanguage awarenessDLC maps
... L2 learning (and of course L3 learning, etc.) is another factor that contributes to linguistic awareness (Roehr-Brackin 2018). It is certainly an interesting line for further research to find out to what extent the given unconscious linguistic feeling of the L1 language is influenced by the reflection on the contrasts between L1 and L2. ...
Linguistic feeling or Sprachgefühl is a notion present both in everyday discourse and in linguistic-academic studies. After a survey of the use of this notion in German, English, and Dutch, the place of linguistic feeling in different linguistic theories (structuralism, generative grammar, and usage-based cognitive linguistics) is examined. It is argued that embedding linguistic theory in a more general social theory on norms and habits is helpful for understanding the phenomenon of linguistic feeling. Finally, some additional aspects of linguistic feeling are explored, in particular variation within a community and the conscious versus unconscious status of linguistic feeling.KeywordsHabitIntuitionNorm
Sprachgefühl
Usage-based linguistics
... Sproglig opmaerksomhed, der daekker begreber som language awareness (Hawkins, 1984;van Lier, 1998van Lier, , 2004, linguistic awareness (Jessner, 2006;Masny, 2010) og metalinguistic awareness (Roth et al., 1996;Roberts, 2011), er tidligere undersøgt primaert ud fra en etsproget tilgang i førstesprogsdidaktikken via et isoleret syn på og arbejde med målsproget i forbindelse med literacyudvikling (Myhill et al., 2012;Pinto, 2015;Zipke, 2008) eller som en del af forskning i andetsprogstilegnelse (Bialystok, 1991;Roehr-Brackin, 2018). Flere studier traekker i dag på et mere holistisk (Cook, 1991) og additivt (Cummins, 2000) sprogsyn og undersøger sproglig opmaerksomhed i en flersprogethedsdidaktisk kontekst i krydsfeltet mellem første-, andet-og fremmedsprogsdidaktik (se fx Jessner & Allgäuer-Hackl, 2020). ...
Inden for nordisk uddannelsesforskning har der de seneste årtier været en øget interesse for at undersøge sproglig opmærksomhed i en flersprogethedsdidaktisk kontekst i krydsfeltet mellem første-, andet- og fremmedsprogsdidaktik. Studier peger på, at sprogfagene i nordens skoler bygger på en etsprogethedsnorm og at fagenes læreplaner indeholder et udviklingspotentiale. Grundlaget for at kunne udvikle sprogfagenes læreplaner er dog en klarlægning af, hvilken form for flersprogethedsdidaktik og sproglig opmærksomhed, der allerede er implementeret i og på tværs af læreplanerne for dermed at opdage, hvad der mangler. Med afsæt i en kvalitativ indholdsanalyse af læreplaner for faget dansk, dansk som andetsprog, engelsk, fransk og tysk undersøger artiklen, hvordan flersprogethedsdidaktik og sproglig opmærksomhed er integreret i og på tværs af sprogfagene fra 1.-7. klasse i den danske grundskole. Analysen viser, at både flersprogethedsdidaktik og sproglig opmærksomhed er integreret i læreplanerne, men mens flersprogethedsdidaktik er både sporadisk og usystematisk implementeret primært som et begynderdidaktisk redskab, er sproglig opmærksomhed indtænkt med blik for kontinuitet og progression dog overvejende via en etsprogethedsnorm. Sprogfagenes læreplaner besidder således et stort flersprogethedsdidaktisk udviklingspotentiale, heriblandt at danskfaget i højere grad skal se sig selv som også et sprogtilegnelsesfag og ikke kun som et literacyfag og at et større fokus på dannelsesaspektet i sprogfagene vil kunne legitimere arbejdet med en flersprogethedsdidaktik. Trods en fin implementering af sproglig opmærksomhed indeholder læreplanerne potentiale til i højere grad at koble sproglig opmærksomhed sammen med en flersprogethedsdidaktik samt at den kritiske sproglige opmærksomhed kan indføres allerede fra de mindste klassetrin.
... Metalinguistic skills draw on common underlying proficiencies across languages (Koda 2008;Roehr-Brackin 2018). Although some researchers describe phonological awareness as a metalinguistic skill (Tunmer and Hoover 2017), its relatively early age of acquisition leads other researchers to suggest that phonological awareness measures sensitivity to linguistic structures rather than metalinguistic awareness (Anthony and Lonigan 2004;Gottardo et al. 1996). ...
Although age of acquisition (AoA) is frequently used when examining the endpoint of second language (L2) learning, it is rarely used to examine the initial phases of L2 acquisition. The present study provided a unique look at the role of AoA in early language and literacy acquisition in the L2 by a priori selecting two groups of Arabic-English speakers based on their ages, 6–8-year-olds (N = 43) and 9–13-year-olds (N = 53). These Syrian refugees were matched on English experience, having immigrated to Canada and having learned English for two years or less. Raw scores on language and literacy measures were compared across groups. The older group had higher scores on all first language (L1) variables. The groups did not differ on most L2 variables except for English word reading. Additionally, L1 and L2 variables were examined in relation to English word and pseudoword reading with different patterns of relations found for the two groups. For the younger group, phonological awareness and vocabulary were related to reading, while for the older group phonological awareness and morphological awareness were key predictors. These finding points to the unique relations among age, age of acquisition, L1 skills, and L2 language and literacy skills.
... In proposing the addition of a linguistic engagement dimension, my aim is to increase the applicability of the engagement construct to the study of language learning in various contexts. The extent to which individuals pay conscious attention to linguistic forms during meaning-focused activities-and whether this is necessary or even beneficial to language learning-has been a topic of much debate, both in the field of informal second language learning (e.g., Cole, 2015;Hiver et al., 2021b;Sockett, 2014;Sundqvist, 2011) and in the broader SLA literature (e.g., Roehr-Brackin, 2018). Linguistic engagement thus creates a link to the vast bodies of work on noticing, intentional and incidental language learning (Hiver et al., 2021b), as well as research on language learning strategies (e.g., Oxford, 2016), that is, approaches that individuals employ to help them comprehend or learn new linguistic features. ...
This article reports on the development and validation of the Informal Second Language Engagement questionnaire (ISLE) for capturing various aspects of learner engagement with informal second language practices. Whereas other questionnaires have primarily focused on learner behavior (the frequency, quantity, and diversity of informal activities in which learners engage), the ISLE additionally targets affective, cognitive, and linguistic aspects of engagement. Consequently, this questionnaire has the potential to help second language acquisition researchers better understand individual differences and variability in informal language engagement, how it changes over time, and the ways in which engagement affects language learning. The ISLE was developed and evaluated in three stages with a total of 382 German secondary school learners of English as a foreign language. The initial instrument development was informed by qualitative findings from focus group interviews. Subsequently, the questionnaire was piloted, and Exploratory Factor Analysis was applied to the data to uncover the underlying factor structures and reduce the number of items per construct. Finally, the revised instrument was evaluated further using Confirmatory Factor Analysis.
... L2 aptitude (MLAT) was chosen as a mediator because students with high, average, and low anxiety on the FLRAS have been found to exhibit significant differences in L2 aptitude (Sparks & Ganschow, 2007;Sparks et al., 2018aSparks et al., , 2018b and the FLRAS explains unique variance in students' scores on the MLAT (Sparks, Patton, & Luebbers, 2018a, 2018b. [L1 working memory, metacognitive (literacy), and language aptitude (MLAT) have been found to be distinguishable constructs (Roehr-Brackin, 2018)]. The L1 print exposure measures were included as mediators because more and less anxious L2 learners have been found to exhibit significant differences in L1 print exposure (see Sparks et al., 2018aSparks et al., , 2018b, and L1 print exposure made unique contributions to L2 achievement even after adjusting for the effects of L1 achievement and cognitive ability in elementary school and L2 aptitude on the MLAT (Sparks et al., 2012b). ...
Although studies have consistently found negative correlations between second language (L2) anxiety and L2 achievement, the anxiety concept is criticized for the failure to consider confounding variables, particularly first language (L1) achievement, in the relationship between language anxiety and language achievement. Also, past studies tend to rely on cross-sectional data to conclude causality. To assess long-term causal relationships between L1 and L2 achievement, the study used structural equation modeling to examine pathways by which L1 achievement is associated with L2 reading anxiety after two years via several mediators: L1 working memory, L1 print exposure, and L1 metalinguistic knowledge; L2 aptitude (MLAT); and L2 reading, writing, and listening comprehension. Students (n = 293) in a U.S. secondary school were administered these measures and followed through first-year Spanish. Findings showed the effect of L1 achievement on later L2 reading anxiety was direct and indirect through L2 aptitude, L2 achievement, and L1 metalinguistic knowledge. Effects of L2 achievement and L1 metalinguistic knowledge on L2 reading anxiety were direct. An out-of-sample analysis for model prediction power supported the external validity of the study results. We recommend that teachers and learners deal with L1/L2 skills, rather than anxiety per se, in order to reduce sense of L2 reading anxiety.
... La conciencia metalingüística ha sido estudiada sobre todo desde la perspectiva del lenguaje infantil (Cazden, 1974;Sinclair, Jarvella y Levelt, 1978;Hakes, Evans y Tunmer, 1980;Hakes, 1982;Smith y Tager-Flusberg, 1982;Tunmer, Pratt y Herriman 1984;Forrest-Pressley y Waller, 1984;Karmiloff-Smith, 1986;Gombert, 1992;Sebastián y Maldonado, 1998;Franco y Treuil, 2007) y también desde la perspectiva de la enseñanza de lenguas (Masny, 1985;Thomas, 1992;Pastor Cesteros, 2004;Roehr --Brackin, 2018;Botero Restrepo y Loaiza Villalba, 2020;Quispe Morales, 2022). Finalmente, la conciencia metalingüística ha sido ampliamente estudiada en relación con el humor en el lenguaje infantil (Yuil, 1996;Ashkenazi y Ravid, 1998;Poveda, 2005;Hess-Zimmermann, 2014, 2016Timofeeva Timofeev, 2014, 2017Hilburn, 2017). ...
Humorous discourse uses diverse linguistic strategies and devices to elicit laughter from viewers. This paper studies metalinguistic reflection as a creative and cohesive element of humorous discourse. To this end, we analyze a corpus of 50 examples taken from a well-known Spanish comedy TV show. These examples of metalinguistic reflection are then classified according to the linguistic elements involved in each of them (polysemies, folk etymologies, euphemisms, metalinguistic expressions, etc.). The results show that metalinguistic reflection functions as a device of linguistic creativity with a high degree of dynamism in the creation of humorous situations.
El discurso humorístico utiliza diferentes estrategias y recursos lingüísticos para suscitar la risa de los televidentes. Este artículo estudia la reflexión metalingüística como elemento creador y cohesionador del discurso humorístico. Para ello, se analiza un corpus de 50 ejemplos extraídos de una conocida serie de humor española y se clasifican los ejemplos de reflexión metalingüística según los elementos que operan en cada uno de ellos (polisemias, etimologías populares, eufemismos, expresiones metalingüísticas, etc.). En términos de creatividad lingüística, se comprueba que la reflexión metalingüística opera como un recurso que muestra un elevado dinamismo creador de situaciones humorísticas.
... The concept of explicit knowledge has long received considerable attention by researchers in second language acquisition (SLA), beginning most notably with Krashen's (1981) assertion that it distinguishes learned from acquired knowledge (Ellis, 2009). Researchers in cognitive psychology and SLA grapple to understand its nature, to define what it is (or is not), to identify its role in the learning process, and to capture how it manifests in linguistic behavior (Isbell & Rogers, 2021;Roehr-Brackin, 2018). Its status as a construct is evident in the extensive debate that continues as we aim to clarify such issues in the field of SLA. ...
Research examining rule formation and second language (L2) explicit knowledge during guided inductive instruction has focused on co‐constructed metalanguage or depth of processing (DoP) using think‐aloud protocols, but without analyzing rule features. Studies have not focused on the architecture of the rules that L2 learners create individually. The present study provides a research design that elicits rules in purposeful tasks controlled for uniformity across multiple participants (N = 20), establishing a framework to analyze explicit knowledge according to information structure and its relationship with language processing. Qualitative analyses yielded 4 main findings: (a) L2 explicit knowledge is learnable from guided induction, (b) it can be analyzed for information structure, (c) more complete information structure reflects greater DoP, and (d) explicit knowledge varies in its written information structure based on rule completeness, linguistic features included, and the order in which linguistic features are mentioned. Graphical abstract:
Il est désormais admis qu’encourager les élèves à comparer les langues à l’école peut contribuer au développement de leurs compétences métalinguistiques. Ces compétences métalinguistiques sont à leur tour utiles à la réussite scolaire en améliorant la compréhension et la production écrite et en favorisant l’apprentissage de nouvelles langues. Inspiré par « l’éveil aux langues », des initiatives comparatives se mettent en place progressivement à l’école des collectivités françaises des Outre-mer, entre le français, seule langue officielle et principale langue de scolarisation, et les langues locales lorsqu’elles sont intégrées aux programmes. Parmi les enjeux liés à la démarche comparative dans le cadre scolaire, l’un est peu questionné, c’est celui de la métalangue destinée à comparer les langues. La question peut sembler triviale pour des langues proches, d’un point de vue phylogénétique et typologique, et qui partagent une tradition grammaticale commune d’origine gréco-latine, ce qui est le cas des langues européennes entre elles. Elle l’est moins quand il s’agit de comparer le français à des langues typologiquement très différentes comme peuvent l’être les langues océaniennes. Cet article est consacré plus spécifiquement à la question de la métalangue commune dans le cas de la comparaison du français au tahitien. Il montre, dans le cadre de l’étude de la phrase type, en quoi le concept de prédicat, présenté comme une « complication inutile » du point de vue de la grammaire scolaire française, s’avère indispensable non seulement pour décrire le tahitien, mais aussi pour permettre des ponts comparatifs entre les deux langues.
This study examines the extent to which the VSO word-order is accepted in Italian by Greek-Italian bilingual children, considering that this word-order is possible in Greek and dispreferred in Italian. Furthermore, it investigates whether children's acceptability rate of VSOs in Italian modulates the possibility to prime children's production of this structure in priming experiments, using both within-(Italian-to-Italian) and across-language paradigms. Thirty-six Greek-Italian bilingual children participated in the study. They attended an Italian immersion school in Greece and were slightly dominant in Greek. They were tested with an acceptability-judgement task related to the acceptability of VSO vs. SVO and with two priming experiments, one within languages and one across languages. The results showed that the children accepted VSO sentences in Italian to a low extent. Furthermore, we observed that the children were primed with VSOs in both the within-language experiment and-to a greater extent-the across-language one. Finally, we found an effect of the rate of acceptability of VSOs on children's production of these structures in the across-language priming experiment. The findings suggest that explicit metalinguistic knowledge may affect priming effects at an implicit, subconscious level. 1 We are grateful to the school where we collected the data, its headmaster, the teachers and its students, who participated in this study with great enthusiasm. We are also grateful to the parents, who completed the questionnaires with great interest.
Drawing on international pedagogical discourse on the inclusion of ethnically diverse refugee groups in the educational systems of OECD countries as well as our previous research on the Ukrainian refugee perspectives on primary school in Switzerland, the author examines experiences of second language acquisition by displaced Ukrainian children in Swiss primary schools. The two-year research period allowed for the exploration of dynamics of German language acquisition by displaced children in conditions of full immersion in the target language environment and identification of the factors influencing their second language (German) learning and performance. The involvement of a Ukrainian researcher in the research project ensured accessibility of the target group and effective researcher-respondent communication in the course of longitudinal study carried out within the framework of a qualitative methodology with data collection through narrative inquiry and participant observations as research tools. The study identifies the effects of the two groups of factors: learner-internal (motivation, metacognitive skills, prior knowledge, and learning strategies) and learner-external ones (second language learning context, type of second language instruction available upon displacement, etc.). Metacognitive skills proved to be instrumental in second language learning in the context of the learners’ unexpected transition to a new educational setting and full immersion in the target language environment. Effects of metacognitive skills on second language learning of the studied group of displaced children vary considerably depending on the student’s age, prior knowledge and language learning experiences, and second language instruction available upon the displacement. The multidisciplinary character of the second language acquisition research undertaken by the author allows for diverse practical applications of its results in second language pedagogy, psychology of education, as well as in refugee and primary education.
In today’s global society, an increasing number of people speak a few widely spoken languages enjoying high standardisation and official recognition. Meanwhile, minority and local languages are gaining interest from specialists and society. This volume explores the rich topic of bi(dia)lectal repertoires, focusing on their grammatical as well as attitudinal, social and political dimension. With contributions from the international conference ‘Language Attitudes and Bi(dia)lectal Competence (LABiC)’, held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in September 2022, the volume is suited for linguists, educators, policymakers, and language enthusiasts who strive to support minority languages in a globalised world.
In today’s global society, an increasing number of people speak a few widely spoken languages enjoying high standardisation and official recognition. Meanwhile, minority and local languages are gaining interest from specialists and society. This volume explores the rich topic of bi(dia)lectal repertoires, focusing on their grammatical as well as attitudinal, social and political dimension. With contributions from the international conference ‘Language Attitudes and Bi(dia)lectal Competence (LABiC)’, held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in September 2022, the volume is suited for linguists, educators, policymakers, and language enthusiasts who strive to support minority languages in a globalised world.
This research investigated whether Jolly Phonics enhances pupils' literacy and communication abilities. Thus, the principal objective was to determine how Jolly Phonics improves students' speaking, English proficiency and literacy ability, phonemic awareness, and reading motivation. This study of English competence and reading ability is limited to Jolly Phonics. A qualitative study design was used, and data were sourced through secondary sources. The findings of the study support previous conclusions that Jolly Phonics is crucial to children's literacy development. This article's lack of a statistical evaluation of the strategy was a drawback, even when the results demonstrated that the tactics worked. Notwithstanding these limitations, children's interactions and accomplishments in learning Jolly Phonics' functionality, as explained previously in this article, showed that they are indeed growing and improving their English language proficiency, as they grew up knowing many alphabet sounds, remember many complicated utterances, combined utterances on their own, learned and started writing independently, etc. The fourth technique wrap-up English is the worldwide language of communication. Therefore, children should learn to read and write in it early on. Due to reading's complexity, teaching kids to read took time. The five Jolly Phonics skills, given in various ways as proposed in this study, have been shown to increase young learners' English ability. Teachers must prepare for each student's needs and ability level to succeed.
Dieser Beitrag ist an der Schnittstelle mehrerer Disziplinen verortet, wobei der Fokus auf TILLT, d. h. Translation and Interpreting-oriented Language Learning and Teaching (vgl. Schmidhofer et al. 2021) liegt. Diese spezifische Art akademischer Sprachlehre für angehende Übersetzer:innen und Dolmetscher:innen wird im Zusammenspiel von Angewandter Sprachwissenschaft mit folgenden drei Disziplinen in den Blick genommen: (1) Translationswissenschaft, von Sawyer et al. (2019: 6) als "open-ended discipline without rigid boundaries" bezeichnet, (2) hochschulische Sprachlehr-und-lernforschung sowie (3) fachsensible Hochschuldidaktik. Letztere propagiert, sich bereits in der translationsorientierten Sprachdidaktik, die der Translationsdidaktik meist vorgelagert ist, für die Enkulturation von Studierenden in ein translationswissenschaftliches Studium verantwortlich zu fühlen. Eine solche Enkulturation in TILLT sowie Expertise in akademischer Sprachlehre bilden zentrale Aspekte einer TILLT-Lehrendenidentität (Seidl 2023a). Auf Basis einer solchen Lehrendenidentität zeichne ich im Beitrag Bezugs-und Berührungspunkte zwischen den oben genannten Disziplinen nach, mit Schwerpunkt auf die Bedeutung metalinguistischer Bewusstheit von Studierenden in translationswissenschaftlichen BA-Studiengängen. Ausgangspunkt meiner Überlegungen bildet die Deskription von Nicholas und Starks (2014: 158), wonach sich die Sprachwissenschaft vornehmlich mit der Frage nach dem Was, die Angewandte Sprachwissenschaft mit jener nach dem Wie und die Sprachlehr-und-lernforschung mit dem Wozu befasst. Aufgabe von Sprachlehrenden ist demnach, "to ask questions which have relevance for their own teaching, and for their learners" (S. 159). Diese Doppelperspektive auf (Translations-)Lehrende wie Studierende nimmt auch Massey (2022: 128) ein, denn "teachers must develop in their institutional contexts in the same way that students do in their own situated contexts of learning". Den TILLT-Lehr-Lern-Kontext fokussierend, baut der Beitrag auf Arbeiten) auf. Diese werden unter den reflexive Explizitheit propagierenden Konzepten der Meta-Bewusstheit (Nicholas & Starks 2014) bzw. der metasprachlichen Bewusstheit (Roehr-Brackin 2018) zusammengeführt und diskutiert.
Despite the widespread use and effectiveness of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) composite score in predicting individual differences in L2 achievement and proficiency, there has been little examination of MLAT subtests, although they have potential for illuminating components of L2 aptitude and the mechanism of prediction. Here we use regression commonality analysis to decompose the predictive variance from the MLAT into unique components for each subtest alone and for each possible combination of subtests (duos, trios, etc.) that may have shared variance. The results, from a longitudinal study of 307 U.S. secondary students during 2 years of Spanish learning, provide strong evidence for the role of literacy-related skills in all subtests and in predicting all L2 outcomes. These and other results support a view of L1 literacy and language skills leading to metalinguistic development, which in turn leads to stronger L2 aptitude and achievement.
This chapter combines a perspective on language policy and planning (LPP) as text, discourse and performance with the sociolinguistic account of multilingualism known as DLC, or dominant language constellations (DLC). Drawing on analytical categories developed within the discourse-historical approach of LPP, the chapter investigates the discursive strategies employed by Tunisian school curriculum designers and cultural/social élites to refer to the DLC, or aspects of it, in the General Curriculum (2017) and opinion newspaper articles debating issues of language and national identity (2011–2021). The analysis is grounded within a post Arab-Spring context characterized, inter alia, by a protracted postcolonial language conflict, democratic failure, the upsurge of populism and an acute socioeconomic and educational crisis. The findings indicated that both texts, the official/legal and public, base the DLCs (and therefore national identity) on compartmentalized, hierarchical and parallel linguistic categories as well as a monolingual worldview whose defining discursive features are denial, erasure and ideological mystification of the DLCs. The chapter ends by discussing the heuristic power of the DLC concept to repudiate élites’ essentialist and reductive language ideologies and to act as a framework for adopting a language policy anchored in sociolinguistic facts rather than ideological categories.KeywordsDLCLanguage policy and planningNational identityMultilingualismOfficial textCritical discourse analysisLanguage ideologyLanguage awareness
Increasing globalization presents both challenges and opportunities to the higher education sector. This pioneering book shows how interaction between the two fields of foreign language pedagogy and second language acquisition (SLA) can facilitate more effective language development at an advanced level. Establishing a new research agenda to describe, assess, and study high-level language use, it uses mixed-methods analyses within a sociocognitive framework to explore constructs such as second language (L2) identity and critical language awareness as essential components of multilingualism and global citizenship. It approaches L2 advancedness from multiple perspectives, examining the L2 learner and their understanding of advanced language use, highlighting individual differences among foreign-language professionals regarding high-level language use, positing the need for unified departmental missions, and analysing alternative constructs to assess L2 advancedness. Throughout, analyses of quantitative and qualitative data are used to demonstrate the multiple dimensions of advanced second language use in higher education.
Most usage-based research emphasizes the importance of implicit, input-driven learning in naturalistic environments, but recent studies have adopted usage-based grammatical descriptions for instructed learning in classrooms. These descriptions are intended to draw learners’ deliberate attention to relevant usage patterns in the input and thereby support intake. Most of these studies compare usage-based descriptions to other types of descriptions for their efficiency, while little attention has been paid to the ways in which learners understand and apply such descriptions. This study examines what foreign language learners understand of usage-based grammatical descriptions of target structures. In an experimental forced choice task, Chinese learners of German received usage-based descriptions of case structures and then classified target instances in variable contexts. A multivariate regression analysis indicated that choices were influenced by interactions of the type of description with participants’ target-language proficiency and the semantic and lexical target contexts. This is discussed in terms of noticing and category formation. This study argues that learners are able to use grammatical descriptions as some kind of auxiliary model for recognizing and categorizing target patterns. The descriptions thus make learners aware of the mechanisms underlying implicit learning and help them exploit these mechanisms for explicit learning.
Background
The importance of biliteracy in bilingual children’s development has been widely investigated and discussed for the last several decades, suggesting beneficial effects of writing and reading in two languages for bilingual children as well as for adult second language learners.
Objective
To analyze research on the link between bilingualism and literacy development in two or more languages and the factors that may influence a successful or problematic biliteracy acquisition. RQ (1): What is the relationship between bilingualism and literacy of bilingual children? RQ (2): What strategies are used to develop biliteracy?
Design
The review analyzes 50 studies of literacy development in bilingual children. The selected articles have been separated based on their methodology: 25 articles gave a critical analysis of more than 1,100 studies on the topic, strengthening the theoretical basis of existing research, and 25 other articles were empirical research articles demonstrating practical evidence for the former.
Results
Our analysis revealed that literacy in bilinguals, or biliteracy, can be seen as a necessary condition for fluent development of bilingualism, though it is not a necessary condition (which is explained by the difference between structures of specific languages and writing systems, instruction in literacy, and cognitive baggage invoked by the task used to measure the skill) (Bialystok, 2002). Research suggests that bilingualism impacts children’s ultimate acquisition of literacy via the beneficial effects of bilingualism overall: advanced biliteracy boosts the development of phonological and phonemic awareness and metacognitive abilities. Thus, biliteracy can be considered as an advantage in terms of maintaining bilingual acquisition in general and developing writing skills in particular.
Conclusion
There is a lack of studies on the development of writing skills in different educational contexts, across countries and cultures, which must be addressed and complemented by new empirical research. Research will enable policymakers to improve educational programs in accordance with the needs of bilingual children, who are the majority in the current global population.
The study investigates the acquisition of telicity in L2 English by L1 Slovak speakers as a function of L2 proficiency (measured by a cloze test score), exposure (operationalized as length of stay in an English-speaking country) and instruction type (monolingual vs. bilingual). Telicity judgments were collected from Slovak learners of L2 English ( n = 50) and a control group of American English native speakers ( n = 15) in two offline acceptability judgment tasks. Two types of telicity encoding were examined: (1) the contribution of the [±quantized] feature of the object argument to predicate telicity, which involves processes in narrow syntax; and (2) the contribution of adverbial modifiers to telicity interpretations, including coercion contexts, which involve processes of aspectual reinterpretation. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that the contribution of the [±quantized] feature of the object argument to predicate telicity, which is a syntactic phenomenon, will be easier to acquire than aspectual coercion by means of adverbial modifiers, which relies on pragmatic cues. The results indicate that the most significant predictor of telicity judgments based on syntactic cues is L2 proficiency, while length of stay affects telicity judgments in predicate categories involving coercion contexts.
Widespread use of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) in L2 studies of individual differences implicitly assumes that L2 aptitude is a distinct cognitive facet. There is considerable evidence for prediction from L1 abilities to L2 learning. In this longitudinal study, L1-MLAT-L2 relations were examined in 307 US secondary students based on six L1 and six L2 measures of language and literacy, and the MLAT. Mediation and regression analyses revealed that each L1 measure individually predicted all L2 scores and MLAT; the L1 measures collectively substantially predicted MLAT scores; MLAT is a significant but moderate mediator of prediction from L1 to L2 scores; and prediction from MLAT to L2 scores is significantly and substantially due to variance in L1 abilities captured by MLAT. Overall, prediction from MLAT is due primarily to its functioning as a measure of L1 abilities, although substantial L1 variance which predicts L2 scores is not captured by the MLAT.
This Element aims to address the complexity of metalinguistic awareness to achieve a thorough account of its impacts on second language (L2) reading development and promote an in-depth understanding of the factors regulating the influence of first language (L1) metalinguistic awareness on L2 reading. It is guided by four questions: 1) To what extent do L1 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with L2 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness in L2 readers? 2) To what extent do phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with word decoding intralingually in L2 readers? 3) To what extent do L1 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with L2 word decoding in L2 readers? 4) To what extent do the relations in questions 1–3 vary as a function of linguistic-, learner-, measurement-, and instruction-related factors? This Element is the first to systematically investigate the roles of distinct facets of metalinguistic awareness in L2 reading.