Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition
This study is concerned with L2 Japanese learners’ interpretation of scopally ambiguous sentences containing negation and universal quantifier using prosodic cues. It has been argued, in previous literature, that native adult speakers of English as well as Japanese interpret such sentences both on their surface (total negation) as well as inverse scope (partial negation) readings in the presence of...
The semantically fine-grained ditransitive constructions in Mandarin Chinese show complex interaction between lexical semantics, constructional semantics and syntactic frames. This study examines the acquisition process of the syntax as well as the semantics of these constructions by launching two experiments with French leaners of Chinese. The experiment results reveal a ‘syntax-before-semantics’...
This study explores the dynamic, interactive relationship between teacher identity and authenticity. Through an examination of several socio-cultural (social identity, situated learning, and image text) and psycholinguistic (individual differences) second language acquisition theories, a conceptualization of identity is provided. Subsequently, language teacher authenticity is characterized from both...
Classroom language in EFL classrooms comprises the core of communication between teachers and learners. Teacher talk plays a central role in understanding the nature of classroom language in this respect. According to Krashen input hypothesis, teacher talk also constitutes an important source of comprehensible input for the language acquisition of the learner (Krashen, 1981). To make the input comprehensible,...
This article reports the results of a study of self-perception of their language identity by advanced FL students. The aim of the study is to observe what students’ language choices are and what guides them in these choices. The concepts related to bi/multilingualism are taken into consideration, following Cook’s opinion (1992: 558) that L2 users should be compared to bilinguals rather that monolinguals...
The article presents a philosophical conceptualization of multilingualism. Philosophy’s general task is to subject human experience to reflective scrutiny and the experience of present day society has changed drastically. Multilingualism, as the vehicle of a new linguistic dispensation, plays a central role in it. We apply the metaphor ‘edge’ to explore the way multiple languages are deployed in,...
The paper raises the question of whether the linguistic relativity proposal, also known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, should be used as a frame of reference for modern research into the relationship of language to cognition. The question is discussed in the context of Whorf’s (1956) writings, with emphasis on factors that are crucial to the proposal, i.e. language, thought, and behavior.The second...
The purpose of the study has been an analysis of Polish students’ cued translation of Polish (L1) and English or French (L2) sentences into Portuguese (third or additional language in De Angelis’s (2007) terminology). In particular, the study investigates cross-linguistic interaction (Herdina and Jessner’s (2002) term) in multilingual processing involved in L3 production. In fact, translation constitutes...
Title page and the list of contents of the issue.
The chapter sheds light on new conceptualizations of foreign language aptitude by emphasizing the role of working memory (WM). It is organised into 3 sections. The first section presents a brief historical overview of the research on language aptitude based on John Carroll’s work. The second part elaborates on working memory construct discussing Baddeley’s multi-component model of WM and its functions...
The present study focuses on gender differences in Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) among 1746 FL learners (1287 females, 449 males) from around the world. We used 21 items Likert scale ratings reflecting various aspects of FLE (AUTHORS), and 8 items extracted from the FLCAS (Horwitz et al., 1986). An open question on FLE also provided us with narrative...
The present issue consists of articles in various areas of SLA and also research in multilingualism. The thematic spread starts with the text related to the sociolinguistic variable of age: "The Age Factor in the Foreign Language Class: What Do Learners Think?" by Simone E. Pfenninger and David Singleton, followed by a study of non-native speaker e-mail communication (Jan Pikhart) and another...
The present paper aims to present a qualitative study on code-switching practices among L2 users immersed in the L2 culture. Code-switching practices were measured among 62 Polish L2 users of English who had immigrated to the UK and Ireland and reported using English on everyday basis. The informants of the study were to answer an open question concerning situations in which they switch from their...
The present paper analyzes beliefs about the age factor of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different starting ages (early vs. late starters), in different grades (in Year 7 at the beginning and in Year 12 at the end of secondary school), and with different levels of EFL proficiency (high achievers vs. low achievers). The sample for the study was drawn from a larger sample of 200...
The author has investigated a corpus of informal email messages produced by post intermediate Czech learners of English. The method of analysis draws upon Biber & Conrad (2009) employing primarily a qualitative analysis as part of the author´s dissertation. First of all, the paper touches upon such descriptive terms as style, register and genre. Secondly, the paper presents the results of an analysis...