Investigating Distribution of Practice Effects for the Learning of Foreign Language Verb Morphology in the Young Learner Classroom
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This is a repository copy of Investigating distribution of practice effects for the learning of foreign language verb morphology in the young learner classroom. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/141710/ Version: Published Version Article: Kasprowicz, Rowena Eloise orcid.org/0000-0001-9248-6834, Marsden, Emma Josephine orcid.org/0000-0003-4086-5765 and Sephton, Nick (2019) Investigating distribution of practice effects for the learning of foreign language verb morphology in the young learner classroom. The Modern Language Journal. pp. 580-606. ISSN 1540-4781 https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12586 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Investigating Distribution of Practice Effects for the Learning of Foreign Language Verb Morphology in the Young Learner Classroom ROWENA E. KASPROWICZ,1 EMMA MARSDEN,2 and NICK SEPHTON3 1University of Reading, Institute of Education, London Road Campus, 4 Redlands Road, Reading RG1 5EX, UK Email: [email protected] 2University of York, Department of Education, York YO10 5DD, UK Email: [email protected] 3University of York, Digital Creativity Labs, York YO10 5GE, UK Email: [email protected] Within limited-input language classrooms, understanding the effect of distribution of practice (spacing between practice) on learning is critical, yet evidence is conflicting and of limited relevance for young learners. For second language (L2) grammar learning, some studies reveal advantages for spacing of 7 days or more, but others for shorter spacing. Further, little is known about the role of cognitive in- dividual differences (e.g., language analytic ability; LAA) in mediating practice distribution effects for L2 grammatical knowledge development and retention. To address this gap, this classroom-based study investigated whether distribution of practice and LAA moderated the effectiveness of explicit, input- based grammar instruction for young first language (L1) English learners of French (aged 8 to 11).The study revealed minimal differences between longer (7-day) versus shorter (3.5-day) spacing of practice for learning a French verb inflection subsystem, at either posttest or delayed posttest. Minimal group- level gains and substantial within-group variation in performance at posttests were observed. Accuracy of practice during training and LAA were significantly associated with posttest performance under both practice schedules. These findings indicated that within an ecologically valid classroom context, differ- ences in distribution of practice had limited impact on learner performance on our tests; rather, indi- vidual learner differences were more critical in moderating learning. This highlights the importance of considering individual learner differences in the development of resources and the potential of digital tools for dynamically adapting instruction to suit individuals. Keywords: distribution of practice; foreign language learning; game-based learning; grammar; lag effects; language analytic ability; young learners ENGAGING IN EXTENSIVE, REPEATED, The Modern Language Journal, 103, 3, (2019) DOI: 10.1111/modl.12586 meaningful practice is an essential component 0026-7902/19/580–606 $1.50/0 of learning, facilitating the transition from initial C 2019 The Authors. The Modern Language Journal reliance on declarative knowledge (e.g., explicit published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of knowledge of a grammatical rule) to procedu- National Federation of Modern Language Teachers ralized and eventually automatized knowledge Associations, Inc. that can be accessed more efficiently under time This is an open access article under the terms of the pressured contexts such as spoken interaction Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits (DeKeyser, 2007, 2015; Lightbown, 2008; Sega- use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, pro- lowitz, 2003). Evidence suggests that practice vided the original work is properly cited. that draws attention to linguistic features can This article has been awarded Open Data and Open Ma- be particularly useful for learning forms that terials badges. All data and materials are publicly acces- sible via the IRIS repository at https://iris-database.org. have low salience, low communicative value, or Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open complex relationships between first (L1) and Science: https://osf.io/tvyxz/wiki. Rowena E. Kasprowicz et al. 581 second (L2) language (e.g., Doughty & Williams, L2 grammar learning by young learners in the pri- 1998; R. Ellis, 2006; Kasprowicz & Marsden, mary school classroom, an underresearched pop- 2018; Marsden, 2006; Marsden & Chen, 2011; ulation and context. McManus & Marsden, 2017, 2018, 2019a, 2019b; Another purpose of the current study is to ex- VanPatten, 2015). However, whilst there has plore the potential of digital language-learning been extensive focus on the nature of practice tools to enable learners to engage in practice required to facilitate L2 learning, an important and “offer a [still largely] unexploited opportu- remaining question concerns the amount and nity to schedule study sessions in ways that op- frequency of practice that is needed to maximize timize long-term retention” (Rohrer & Pashler, its effectiveness (DeKeyser, 2015; Rogers, 2017). 2007, p. 186). Additionally, such tools provide a This question, although relevant to all learn- rich source of data for improving our understand- ing and skill development, is particularly perti- ing in this area, in situ in classrooms, without nent to the foreign language (FL) classroom, compromising control over experimental design where class time is severely limited (Swanson & and internal validity, and can therefore enable Mason, 2018) and there is little exposure out- more robust investigation of causal relationships side of the classroom. For example, the Aus- between training and testing performance under tralian Curriculum recommends 350 hours across different conditions. 7 years of schooling between Foundation (age 4–5) and Year 6 (age 11–12), approximately 1.25 hours per week (Australian Curriculum, As- LITERATURE REVIEW sessment and Reporting Authority, 2011, p. 28). Skill Acquisition and Practice Distribution Similarly, in the United Kingdom, children be- tween the ages of 7 and 11 receive on average 30 to Practice plays a critical role in skill acquisition 60 minutes per week (Tinsley & Board, 2017). theories of learning (DeKeyser, 2015). Deliberate, Teachers must, therefore, decide how to allocate intensive practice enables learners to move from this short time in order to maximize learning. For an initial reliance on declarative, explicit knowl- example, primary schools in the United Kingdom edge to the development of procedural knowl- can either offer two shorter FL sessions per week edge, which may in turn become automatized or one longer session. Anecdotal evidence sug- given sufficient practice opportunities. Such the- gests considerable debate at local and national ories posit that these processes apply to the de- levels about such decisions, and yet there is little velopment of a wide range of skills, including L2 research demonstrating whether one approach is learning. Optimizing not only the nature but also more beneficial than another. thesequenceandspacingofpracticeistherefore The question of how practice should be dis- critical for efficient learning. tributed to facilitate learning and retention Studies from cognitive psychology have consis- of knowledge has received extensive attention tently demonstrated that temporally spacing prac- within cognitive psychology (Cepeda et al., 2006), tice sessions leads to better learning and reten- yet only a handful of studies have addressed this tion than massing practice into a single session question in relation to L2 grammatical knowledge (for a review, see Cepeda et al., 2006); the so- development (Bird, 2010; Rogers, 2015; Suzuki, called spacing effect.Ofevengreaterrelevanceto 2017; Suzuki & DeKeyser, 2017a). Such studies the instructed classroom context, where instruc- have yielded conflicting results, in part due to tion tends to be interspersed over days or weeks, is methodological differences (e.g., length and na- the question of whether varying the spacing (i.e., ture of instruction, nature of tests), and have fo- amount of time) between practice sessions also af- cussed exclusively on adult learner populations. fects how well and for how long learnt informa- Additionally, whilst increasing attention has been tion is remembered; the so-called lag effect.The paid to the role of individual cognitive differ- time between practice sessions is known as the in- ences (e.g., language analytic ability [LAA], work- tersession interval (ISI). A comprehensive com- ing memory) in moderating the effectiveness of parison of multiple