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Textual enhancement, individual differences, and second language learning
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The present research aimed to investigate how field-dependent and field-independent learners perceived and processed information when they were engaged in an implicit foreign language learning task and to explore differences between them in this regard. The majority of studies in the pertinent literature have adopted quantitative methods to date. The present study, however, employed three qualitative data collection techniques, namely retrospective think-aloud method, tests of episodic memory and interviews, to gain a better understanding of field-dependent and field- independent learners’ strategies and performance in different stages of information processing. Twelve Iranian field-independent and field-dependent intermediate language learners participated in this study. The results showed that the field-independent learners were more efficient in directing their attentional resources in the sensory-memory stage and encoding and storing new information in their working memory. Hence, they recalled and retrieved the information from their short- and long-term memory more efficiently. Some educational implications are discussed.
Previous research investigating the effectiveness of textual enhancement as a tool to draw adult second language (L2) learners’ attention to the targeted linguistic form has consistently produced mixed results. This article examines how L2 form recognition and reading comprehension are affected by different types of textual enhancement. Participants (n = 109) in the experimental group read a passage that contained one type of textual enhancement (underline, bold, italics, change in font size, use of capital letters or change of font) on the target structure (Spanish present and preterit tense) morphemes. A control group (n = 16) read the same passage without any type of enhancement. To measure L2 form recognition, all groups completed pre- and post-tests consisting of an L2 to first language (L1) translation task. To assess the effects of enhancement type on L2 reading comprehension, the participants completed a 40 item multiple choice test with questions focusing on form or meaning from the reading. Results for the present study revealed that one type of textual enhancement was better than others with regard to facilitating L2 form recognition, and that comprehension was not hindered by enhancement, regardless of enhancement type.
The Learning Style Survey is designed to assess your general approach to learning. It does not predict your behavior in every instance, but it is a clear indication of your overall style preferences. For each item, circle the response that represents your approach. Complete all items. There are eleven major activities representing twelve different aspects of your learning style. When you read the statements, try to think about what you generally do when learning. It generally takes about 30 minutes to complete the survey. Do not spend too much time on any item – indicate your immediate feeling and move on to the next item.
This report outlines the findings from a Delphi study designed to establish consensus on the definitions of cognitive style and learning style amongst an international style researcher community. The study yields long-needed definitions for each construct that reflect high levels of agreement. In a field that has been criticised for a bewildering array of definitions and a proliferation of terms and concepts, this study represents an important step to address confusion in the meaning of the two terms. New researchers interested in styles are encouraged to draw on these definitions when developing new research agendas aimed at deepening our understanding of style as a core construct in educational psychology.
The input enhancement hypothesis proposed by Sharwood Smith (1991, 1993) has stimulated considerable research over the last 15 years. This article reviews the research on textual enhancement of input (TE), an area where the majority of input enhancement studies have aggregated. Methodological idiosyncrasies are the norm of this body of research. Seven major issues appear to be limiting the generalizability of the findings and holding up further progress in the understanding of the efficacy of TE for learning: (1) noticing and/or acquisition; (2) TE and comprehension; (3) simultaneous or sequential processing; (4) TE and the nature of the enhanced form; (5) TE and prior knowledge; (6) TE and input flood; and (7) TE and overuse. The existing research has nonetheless offered some important insights that future research should seek to build on.
This study investigates the potentially facilitative effects of internal and external attention-drawing devices—output and visual input enhancement—on the acquisition of English relativization by adult English as a second language (ESL) learners. Specifically, the study addresses: (a) whether the act of producing output promotes noticing of formal elements in the target language (TL) input and affects subsequent learning of the form; and (b) whether such output- induced noticing and learning, if any, would be the same as that effected by visual input enhancement designed to draw learners' attention to problematic form features in the input. These questions were examined in a controlled experimental study in which the requirements of output and exposure to enhanced input were systematically varied. A computer-assisted reconstruction and reading task was used as the vehicle of presentation of the target input materials. The major findings are: (a) Those engaged in output-input activities outperformed those exposed to the same input for the sole purpose of comprehension in learning gains; (b) those who received visual input enhancement failed to show measurable gains in learning, despite the documented positive impact of enhancement on the noticing of the target form items in the input; and (c) in view of the above, no support was found for the hypothesis that the effect of input enhancement was comparable to that of output. The subsequent discussion centers on reexamining the construct of noticing and argues for the need to consider levels and types of processing in order to account for how sensory detection can lead to learning.
This paper examines the transferability of successful cueing approaches from text and static visualization research to animations.
Theories of visual attention and learning as well as empirical evidence for the instructional effectiveness of attention cueing
are reviewed and, based on Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning, a framework was developed for classifying three functions
for cueing: (1) selection—cues guide attention to specific locations, (2) organization—cues emphasize structure, and (3) integration—cues
explicate relations between and within elements. The framework was used to structure the discussion of studies on cueing in
animations. It is concluded that attentional cues may facilitate the selection of information in animations and sometimes
improve learning, whereas organizational and relational cueing requires more consideration on how to enhance understanding.
Consequently, it is suggested to develop cues that work in animations rather than borrowing effective cues from static representations.
Guidelines for future research on attention cueing in animations are presented.
This paper briefly reviews the evidence for multistore theories of memory and points out some difficulties with the approach. An alternative framework for human memory research is then outlined in terms of depth or levels of processing. Some current data and arguments are reexamined in the light of this alternative framework and implications for further research considered.
In this article I first briefly survey some enduring legacies of the Craik and Lockhart (1972) article on levels of processing (LOP) and address some common criticisms. In the next section I discuss whether memory can be regarded as "pure processing", the role of short-term memory in an LOP framework, measurement of "depth" in LOP, encoding-retrieval interactions, the concept of consolidation, and the reality of "levels" of processing. In the final section I offer some speculations on future directions, discussing the notion of levels of representation and a possible continuing role for LOP in memory research.
Contains reports on seven research projects split into three sections.
Effects of typographical cues on text memory were investigated. In Experiment 1, college students read a 4-page text, then were tested on memory for specific ''target'' statements. The text contained no underlining (control), or the targets were underlined (light signaling), or the targets and half of the nontarget sentences were underlined (heavy signaling). Cued recall was better in the light condition than in the control or heavy conditions, which did not differ. Experiment 2 replicated the control and light conditions using capitalization to signal targets. Texts were computer-presented to record sentence reading times. Reading was slower and memory was better on capitalized versus uncapitalized targets. The findings demonstrate that effects of typographical cues on memory are mediated by effects on attention during reading. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.
Over the past decade, the focus of inquiry into the psychology of SLA has shifted from the analysis of various characteristics within individuals towards a greater consideration of individuals’ dynamic interactions with diverse contexts. This revisit of the bestselling The Psychology of the Language Learner reflects on these developments by challenging some of the assumptions upon which the original text was based, maintaining the familiar structure of the original, while situating the discussion within a very different theoretical framework.
While previous research has indicated that learners with field-dependence (FD) and field-independence (FI) cognitive styles benefit differentially from different instructional modes, previous corrective feedback studies have ignored the issue of matching error correction strategies to learners’ cognitive style. To shed some light on this issue, the current study examined the hypothesis that learners with FI and FD cognitive styles benefit differently from recasts. Seventy-six intermediate level EFL learners in four intact classes constituted the experimental and control groups, which differed from each other in terms of the presence or absence of recasts for their errors during classroom interactions. The participants were also classified as FD or FI based on their scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). Thus, four groups were formed: recasts–FD, recasts–FI, control–FD, and control–FI. The results of a writing task and a picture description task administered as pretest, posttest and delayed posttest indicated that the recasts–FI group significantly outperformed the other three groups in both posttests and delayed posttests, while no statistical difference was observed among the other three groups. In other words, as the results showed, only FI learners benefited from recasts.
This study investigates the hypothesis that a more field-dependent cognitive style may be adaptive for cer-tain components of second language proficiency. Native English speakers (n = 28) or students of English as a second language (ESL; n = 29) completed measures of language proficiency (formal and communicative) and field dependence–independence (FDI). Native English speakers performed better than ESL students on lan-guage measures, but not on FDI measures. As predicted, measures of FDI correlated negatively with measures of communicative production in the ESL group: A more field-dependent style was associated with better performance on second language communicative measures. FDI scores were not related to native English speakers' language. Results support a bipolar cognitive-style conception of FDI. Theoretical models of the FDI construct are discussed.
Signals are writing devices that emphasize aspects of a text's content or structure without adding to the content of the the text. Findings are reviewed for studies of several different types of signaling devices, including: titles, headings, previews, overviews, summaries, typographical cues, recall sentences, number signals, importance indicators, and summary indicators. Most investigations have examined how the presence of signals in a text affects subsequent memory for the text. Virtually all types of signals produce better memory for information they cue in a text, whereas memory for unsignaled information often is unaffected. Less attention has been directed to signaling effects on other cognitive processes, such as attention, basic reading processes, and comprehension. It is argued that an understanding of how signals influence these processes will contribute to the application of signaling research to reading and writing instruction and to our general understanding of reading.
This special issue addresses the subject of individual differences in language learning, a topic whose complexity has meant little conclusive knowledge and thus need for continuing investigation. This paper offers a brief but broad overview of the field of individual differences in language learning, especially as they are reflected in learning styles, learning strategies, and affective variables, and touches on some areas for further research.
Distinctiveness and bidirectional effects in input enhancement for vocabulary learning
- J Barcroft
Barcroft, J. (2003). Distinctiveness and bidirectional effects in input enhancement for vocabulary learning. Applied Language Learning, 13(2),
47-73.
Attentional processing of input in explicit and implicit conditions: An eye-tracking study. Studies in second language acquisition
- B Indrarathne
- J Kormos
Indrarathne, B., & Kormos, J. (2017). Attentional processing of input in explicit and implicit conditions: An eye-tracking study. Studies in second
language acquisition, 39(3), 401-430.
Group embedded figures test for children
- H Itoi
Itoi, H. (1990). Group embedded figures test for children. Bulletin of Tokyo Gakugei University Sect. I, 41, 227-244.
Cognitive styles: essence and origins (Psychological issues, Monograph 51)
- H A Witkin
- D R Goodenough
Witkin, H. A., & Goodenough, D. R. (1981). Cognitive styles: essence and origins (Psychological issues, Monograph 51). New York:
International Universities Press.