Language Acquisition and Development

Language Acquisition and Development
Author: Cornelia Hamann
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 615
Release: 2015-10-05
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1443884138

This edited collection contains 34 papers originally presented at the Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (GALA) conference in 2013, held in Oldenburg, Germany. It represents theoretically guided, high quality work, and provides impressive insights into state-of-the-art research in the fields of first and second language acquisition and developmental impairments. The studies brought together here cover a wide variety of different (mainly European) languages, focusing on the areas of phonology, morpho-syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and their interfaces. Since their first publication, the proceedings of GALA have become an invaluable reference for cutting-edge research in First and Second Language Acquisition and its impairments – and this volume continues that tradition.

Generative SLA in the Age of Minimalism

Generative SLA in the Age of Minimalism
Author: Tania Leal
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2022-08-17
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027257566

This volume brings together empirical studies and keynote addresses presented at the 15th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition conference hosted by the University of Nevada, Reno in 2019. The studies selected for the volume reflect how the latest developments in generative syntactic theory and psycholinguistic methodologies have impacted second language acquisition research in the last decade, from the linguistic properties under investigation and L1-L2/Ln language pairings down to the specific research questions in each study. The minimalist view of language architecture is at the center of studies investigating L2 acquisition of raising, scope, definiteness, phonological representations, and interlanguage transfer. The volume also showcases the latest research on interface phenomena, language processing, and working memory. Studies analyze data collected with a variety of L2 populations from adult foreign language learners to adolescent L3 learners and heritage speakers.

Interfaces and Features in Second Language Acquisition

Interfaces and Features in Second Language Acquisition
Author: Jia Wang
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2023-02-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9811986290

This book presents comprehensive and rigorous research on the acquisition of Chinese negation by L1-English and L1-Korean learners within the theoretical framework of the Interface Hypothesis and the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis. The results from grammaticality judgment data (N=182) and learner corpus data (overall scale: 15.19 million characters) reveal multiple factors contributing to the variability in L2 acquisition at the interfaces involved with Chinese negative structures, including L1 influence, the quantity (input frequency) and the quality of the target input (input consistency and regularity), as well as L2 proficiency. These factors also underlie the detectability and reassembly of the [±realis] features encoded with bu and mei, the two primary negation markers in Mandarin Chinese, in different licensing contexts. Task modality (written vs. aural) seems to play a role in L2 learners’ access to explicit and implicit knowledge about Chinese negation, but the effect of task modality is constrained by other factors such as structural/feature complexity, L2 proficiency, and L1-L2 similarity. The approach of employing both elicited experimental data and authentic learner corpus data furnishes new evidence for the acquisition Chinese negation by L2 learners. The findings of this study are of significance to the examination of the Interface Hypothesis and the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis in generative-oriented SLA research.

Proceedings of GALA 2017

Proceedings of GALA 2017
Author: Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 509
Release: 2019-01-08
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1527524418

This volume is a comprehensive, state-of-the-science treatment of the acquisition of different Indo- and Non-Indo-European languages in different contexts (i.e., L1, L2, L3/Ln, bi/multilingual language, heritage languages, pathology and language impairment and sign language acquisition) conducted within the generative framework. It also encompasses the diversity of methodologies and issues that can be found with contemporary research in the field. The different chapters contain original research from several different angles and provide a basis for dialogue between researchers working on diverse projects with the aim to further our understanding of how languages are acquired and, at the same time, refine and propose new theoretical constructs, such as complexity of linguistic features as a relevant factor forming children’s, adult’s and bilingual’s acquisition of syntactic, morphological, lexical and phonological structures.

Second Language Acquisition of Turkish

Second Language Acquisition of Turkish
Author: Ayşe Gürel
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2016-05-25
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027267073

This book brings together the findings of current studies on the second language (L2) acquisition of Turkish, an Altaic language with more than 140 million native speakers around the world. There is now a growing interest in learning and teaching Turkish as an L2, both in and outside Turkey. Coordinated efforts to produce theoretical and empirical work on the acquisition and teaching of L2 Turkish are therefore an urgent need. The compilation in this volume offers eleven L2 studies that explore the representation and/or processing of various linguistic properties in different domains of grammar (phonology, morpho-syntax, pragmatics) and their interfaces. All studies involve adult L2 Turkish learners with various first-language backgrounds at different proficiency levels. With extensive discussions on theoretical and pedagogical issues, this title will appeal to an international readership that includes L2 Turkish researchers, materials designers, and teachers.

Heritage Languages and Their Speakers

Heritage Languages and Their Speakers
Author: Maria Polinsky
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2018-08-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1107047641

A pioneering study of heritage languages, from a leading scholar in this area of study world-wide.

Teaching and Researching Listening

Teaching and Researching Listening
Author: Michael Rost
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2015-11-19
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1317556267

Now in its third edition, Teaching and Researching Listening renews its commitment to provide language educators, practitioners, and researchers in the fields of ESL, TESOL, and Applied Linguistics with a state-of-the-art treatment of the linguistic, psycholinguistic and pragmatic processes underpinning oral language use, and demonstrates how they influence listening in a variety of practical contexts. This revised edition incorporates significantly updated sections on neurological processing, pragmatic processing, automated processing, and pragmatic assessment, as well as coverage of emerging areas of interest in L1 and L2 instruction and research. Boxes throughout, including "Concepts" and "Ideas From Practitioners", help to both reinforce readers’ understanding of the topics covered and ground them in a practical context, while the updated chapter, "Exploring listening", contains an overhauled section on listening technologies that provide readers with a range of tools to explore other perspectives on listening. Combining detailed overviews of the underlying processes of listening with an exhaustive set of practical resources, this third edition of Teaching and Researching Listening serves as an authoritative comprehensive survey of issues related to teaching and researching oral communication for language teachers, practitioners, and researchers.

Addressing Issues of Learner Diversity in English Language Education

Addressing Issues of Learner Diversity in English Language Education
Author: Tran, Thao Quoc
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2024-04-22
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

In the dynamic context of English language education, learners bring many differences in identity, motivation, engagement, ability, and more. Addressing Issues of Learner Diversity in English Language Education recognizes that traditional, one-size-fits-all approaches to language education are insufficient in meeting the needs of a varied and global learner population. It grapples with effectively teaching English to individuals with diverse linguistic backgrounds, learning styles, and cultural contexts. The challenges range from learner autonomy and motivation issues to navigating mixed-level classes and integrating technology into language teaching. Drawing on current research trends and cutting-edge methodologies, this book captures the diverse voices of contributors from various ESL/EFL settings, offering context-specific solutions to the myriad challenges faced in language education. The book illuminates the nuanced phenomena within English language education; it showcases innovative theoretical frameworks and up-to-date research findings. By addressing learners as singular individuals and collectives, the publication guides educators in enhancing individual competencies and maximizing the potential of each learner.

Optimality-theoretic Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics

Optimality-theoretic Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics
Author: Géraldine Legendre
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2016
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0198757115

This book investigates the morphosyntactic, semantic, and pragmatic properties of language, and the interactions between them, from the perspective of Optimality Theory. It integrates optimization processes into the formal and functional study of grammar, interpreting optimization as the result of conflicting, violable ranked constraints. Unlike previous work on the topic, this book also takes into account the question of directionality of grammar. A model of grammar in which optimization processes interact bidirectionally allows both language generation-the process of selecting the optimal form of a given meaning-and language interpretation-the process of optimal interpretation of a given form-to be taken into account. Chapters in this volume explore the consequences of both symmetric (unidirectional) and asymmetric (bidirectional) versions of Optimality Theory, investigating the syntax-semantics interface, first language acquisition, and sequential bilingual grammars. The volume presents cutting edge research in Optimality-Theoretic syntax and semantics, as well as demonstrating how optimization processes as modelled in this formalism serve as a viable approach for linguists and scholars in related fields.

The Grammar of Multilingualism

The Grammar of Multilingualism
Author: Artemis Alexiadou
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2016-10-31
Genre:
ISBN: 2889450120

This volume investigates the nature of grammatical representations in speakers who master multiple languages. Since the early days of modern formal approaches to grammar, most work has been based on the language of monolingual humans. Less work has been conducted based on data from speakers who possess more than one language. Although important insights have been gained from a monolingual focus, there is every reason to believe that bi- and multilingual data can inform linguistic theory. A lot of ongoing work demonstrates that this is indeed the case, and the current volume contributes to this growing literature. Thus, the research topic addresses a number of questions relating to grammatical structures in multilingual speakers as well as the methodological issues that arise in the context of studying such speakers. A better understanding of the grammatical sides of multilingualism is crucial for understanding the human language capacity and in turn for offering better advice to the public concerning issues of language choice for multilingual children and adults, education, and language deficits in multilingual individuals.