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SLA in Uncertain Times: Disciplinary Constraints, Transdisciplinary Hopes
Working Papers in Educational Linguistics (WPEL) Volume 33 Number 1 Spring 2018 Article 1 Spring 2018 SLA in Uncertain Times: Disciplinary Constraints, Transdisciplinary Hopes Lourdes Ortega Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/wpel Part of the Education Commons, and the Linguistics Commons Recommended Citation Ortega, L. (2018). SLA in Uncertain Times: Disciplinary Constraints, Transdisciplinary Hopes. 33 (1), Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/wpel/vol33/iss1/1 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/wpel/vol33/iss1/1 For more information, please contact [email protected]. SLA in Uncertain Times: Disciplinary Constraints, Transdisciplinary Hopes Abstract We live in uncertain times in an uncertain world. While large-scale efforts exist to end poverty, promote peace, share wealth, and protect the planet, we are witnessing serious deterioration of solidarity and respect for human diversity, coupled with alarming tides of authoritarian populism in the West. Many multilinguals—even more so multilinguals in marginalized communities—are vulnerable in the present climate. Researching bi/multilingualism is the business of second language acquisition (SLA) researchers. How well equipped is this field to respond to the present challenges? In this article I unpack four constraints that I believe hamper SLA’s capacity to generate useful knowledge about multilingualism. One is a disciplinary identity that is built around the language two of learners and the late timing of learning. The second constraint is the adherence to an essentialist ontology of language that considers it a system separate from the act of communication. A third constraint is a teleological view of linguistic development benchmarked against an ideal monolingual native speaker model. -
Matthew H. Ciscel
MATTHEW H. CISCEL CURRICULUM VITÆ (last revised 9/14/2017) Professor and TESOL Coordinator 214 Beacon Street Department of English Hartford, CT 06105, U.S.A. Central Connecticut State University (1-860) 232-5223 1615 Stanley Street personal e-mail: [email protected] New Britain, CT 06050-4010 U.S.A. university e-mail: [email protected] (1-860) 832-2749 URL: http://www2.ccsu.edu/faculty/CiscelM EDUCATION 2002 Ph.D. in Linguistics, Areas: sociolinguistics and second language acquisition theory, University of South Carolina, Columbia (August 1998-December 2002) Dissertation Title: Language and Identity: L2 acquisition in post-Soviet Moldova 1996 M.A. in German, Areas: Germanic linguistics and 20th Century German culture, University of Iowa, Iowa City (August 1993-May 1996) 1991 B.A. cum laude in German, Areas: German and psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Sept 1987-Aug 1991) 1989-1990 Academic exchange to Philipps-Universität, Marburg, Germany (course work in German language and literature, and psychology) ACADEMIC POSITIONS 2012-present Full Professor, Department of English, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT 2007-2012 Associate Professor, Department of English, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT (tenure granted 2008) Spring 2010 Senior Fulbright Scholar, Faculty of Letters and Arts, Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, România 2002-2007 Assistant Professor, Department of English, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT Fall 2001 Visiting Instructor, Faculty of Modern Languages, -
Input, Interaction, and Second Language Development
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Lancaster E-Prints SSLA, 21, 557±587. Printed in the United States of America. INPUT, INTERACTION, AND SECOND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT An Empirical Study of Question Formation in ESL Alison Mackey Georgetown University This study examines the relationship between different types of con- versational interaction and SLA. Long's (1996) updated version of the interactionist hypothesis claims that implicit negative feedback, which can be obtained through negotiated interaction, facilitates SLA. Similar claims for the benefits of negotiation have been made by Pica (1994) and Gass (1997). Some support for the interaction hypothesis has been provided by studies that have explored the effects of interaction on production (Gass & Varonis, 1994), on lexical acquisition (Ellis, Tanaka, & Yamazaki, 1994), on the short-term outcomes of pushed output (see Swain, 1995), and for specific interactional features such as recasts (Long, Inagaki, & Ortega, 1998; Mackey & Philp, 1998). However, other studies have not found effects for interaction on gram- matical development (Loschky, 1994). The central question ad- dressed by the current study was: Can conversational interaction facilitate second language development? The study employed a pre- test-posttest design. Adult ESL learners (N = 34) of varying L1 back- grounds were divided into four experimental groups and one control I am grateful to Susan M. Gass and Charlene Polio for insightful suggestions and help with this paper. I also want to thank Patsy Lightbown, Michael H. Long, Teresa Pica, and Merrill Swain for many helpful comments on the doctoral dissertation from which this paper arose. I am much indebted to Ian Thornton for assistance with the statistical analysis and discussions of many of the issues in- volved in this study. -
Syntactic Complexity in L2 Writing: Progress and Expansion
Journal of Second Language Writing 29 (2015) 82–94 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Second Language Writing journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/seclan Syntactic complexity in L2 writing: Progress and expansion Lourdes Ortega Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University, 1437 37th Street NW, Box 571051, Poulton Hall 250, Washington, DC 20057-1051, USA A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T In this commentary to the Special Issue, I first identify four themes that arise from the Keywords: contributions that each study makes to the study of syntactic complexity in L2 writing. I Syntactic complexity then explore several other themes that stem from the collective findings from the five Crosslinguistic influence studies and which connect with the general landscape of the research domain. Two L2 proficiency Genre questions guide the domain. One question is substantive: What do we know about how Cross-rhetorical transfer syntactic complexity grows, and what factors affect this growth? The other question is L2 development methodological: How can one best measure syntactic complexity? Both, of course, are Writing quality interrelated. An overarching conclusion is that much progress has been made in what is already known, substantively and methodologically. An emerging insight is that we can look forward to several areas of expansion that are imminent in the domain. ã 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Syntactic complexity is understood broadly as the range and the sophistication of grammatical resources exhibited in language production. Synonyms such as variety, diversity, and elaboratedness of deployed grammatical features are also often seen in all contemporary definitions of high currency among second language (L2) researchers. -
The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition Variationist
This article was downloaded by: 10.3.98.104 On: 30 Sep 2021 Access details: subscription number Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG, UK The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition Susan M. Gass, Alison Mackey Variationist perspectives Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9780203808184.ch3 Robert Bayley, Elaine Tarone Published online on: 14 Nov 2011 How to cite :- Robert Bayley, Elaine Tarone. 14 Nov 2011, Variationist perspectives from: The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition Routledge Accessed on: 30 Sep 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9780203808184.ch3 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DOCUMENT Full terms and conditions of use: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/legal-notices/terms This Document PDF may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproductions, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. 3 Variationist perspectives Robert Bayley and Elaine Tarone1 -
Learner Differences in Metalinguistic Awareness: Exploring the Influence of Cognitive Abilities and Language Experience
Learner Differences in Metalinguistic Awareness: Exploring the Influence of Cognitive Abilities and Language Experience Daniel O. Jackson University of Hawai‘i at M ānoa 1. Introduction Recent emergentist views of language propose that its structure is “fundamentally molded by preexisting cognitive abilities, processing idiosyncrasies, and limitations” (Beckner et al., 2009, p. 17). Thus, the psychological characteristics that distinguish us as human contribute to language change at the collective and individual levels. With regard to the latter, it is particularly important for second language professionals to understand the nature of learners’ individual differences (IDs), so that we may appreciate these abilities, adapt instruction to idiosyncrasies, and circumvent limitations to the greatest extent possible. The outlook for research on IDs extends this perspective. For example, Dörnyei (2009) views IDs in second language (L2) research as multi-componential, integrated, dynamic, interacting, and complex. These themes are touched on throughout the following paper, which examines the role of L2 aptitude, working memory, and language experience in metalinguistic awareness stemming from exposure to an artificial language. * 2. Demystifying awareness for L2 research Following Schmidt (1990 and elsewhere), awareness is a form of consciousness implicated in mental processes that are crucial to L2 learning, including perception, noticing, and understanding. Regarding the distinction between noticing and understanding, he wrote: Noticing is related to rehearsal within working memory and the transfer of information to long- term memory, to intake, and to item learning. Understanding is related to the organization of material in long-term memory, to restructuring, and to system learning. (Schmidt, 1993, p. 213) Second language acquisition relies on both item and system learning. -
The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition
ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOKS The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition Edited by Susan M. Gass and Alison Mackey The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition ‘The editors, Susan M. Gass and Alison Mackey, have done a sterling job with this Handbook. The biggest names and rising stars in the fields of second language teaching and language learning have contributed to this “magnum opus”.’ Jean-Marc Dewaele, Birkbeck, University of London, UK The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition brings together fifty leading international figures in the field to produce a state-of-the-art overview of second language acquisition. The Handbook covers a wide range of topics related to Second Language Acquisition: language in context, linguistic, psycholinguistic, and neurolinguistic theories and perspectives, skill learning, individual differences, L2 learning settings, and language assessment. All chapters introduce the reader to the topic, outline the core issues, then explore the pedagogical application of research in the area and possible future development. The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition is an essential resource for all those studying and researching second language acquisition. Susan M. Gass is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Languages at Michigan State University. She is the author of many titles and co-author of Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course, Third Edition (Routledge, 2008), with Larry Selinker. She co-edits the series, Second Language Acquisition Research (with Alison Mackey, for Routledge). Alison Mackey is Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Georgetown University. She is the author of many titles, and co-author of Data Elicitation for Second and Foreign Language Research (Routledge 2007), with Susan M. -
The Emergence and Development of Syntactic Patterns in EFL Writing in a School Context: a Longitudinal Study
languages Article The Emergence and Development of Syntactic Patterns in EFL Writing in a School Context: A Longitudinal Study M. Luz Celaya Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and English Studies, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; [email protected] Received: 21 March 2019; Accepted: 18 June 2019; Published: 19 June 2019 Abstract: The present longitudinal study analyses the emergence and development of syntactic patterns in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) written production. Data were elicited by means of a paper and pencil task from sixteen school learners at three different times over a time span of 6 years. Studies in the area of Second Language Writing (SLW) have mainly focused on English as a second language and very few longitudinal studies have been carried out with low proficiency learners in a school context. To further contribute to the field, we have tried out a new measure of analysis, namely, the production of syntactic patterns. The results show that most learners produce both a wider variety and a higher number of patterns from one time to another, although statistically significant differences vary across patterns in relation to the times of data collection; secondly, it was found that the behaviour of two of the learners differed from that of the rest of the participants. It is concluded that in an instructional setting, the development of syntactic patterns in EFL writing as proficiency increases does not always show progression towards complexity and that it may be learner dependent. Keywords: English as a foreign language; individual variation; syntactic patterns; Second Language Writing 1. -
Books Research Methods
Research methods in linguistics – A bibliography Introductory/overview textbooks, edited volumes and papers (including volumes/papers focusing on linguistic subfields) Blom, Elma & Sharon Unsworth, eds. (2010), Experimental Methods in Language Acquisition Research. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Brown, James Dean & Theodore S. Rodgers (2002), Doing Second Language Research. Oxford: OUP. Dörnyei, Zoltan (2007), Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford: OUP. Harrington, Kate, Lia Litosseliti, Helen Sauntson & Jane Sunderland, eds. (2008), Gender and Language Research Methodologies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Hoff, Erika, ed. (2012), Research Methods in Child Language. A practical guide. Malden/ MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Holmes, Janet & Kirk Hazen (2014), Research Methods in Sociolinguistics. A practical guide. Malden/MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Kasper, Gabriele (2008), Data collection in pragmatics research, in Spencer-Oatey, Helen (ed.), Culturally Speaking. Managing Rapport through Talk across Cultures. 2nd edition. London & New York: Continuum, 279-303. Kortmann, Bernd, ed. (2015), Theories and Methods in Linguistics (Wörterbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft [WSK] Online, Band 11). Berlin: de Gruyter Mouton. http://www.degruyter.com/view/db/wsk Krug, Manfred & Julia Schlüter, eds. (2013), Research Methods in Language Variation and Change. Cambridge: CUP. Litosseliti, Lia, ed. (2010), Research Methods in Linguistics. London: Continuum. Mackey, Alison & Susan M. Gass, eds. (2012), -
Challenging Learners in Their Individual Zone of Proximal Development Using Pedagogic Developmental Benchmarks of Syntactic Complexity
Challenging Learners in Their Individual Zone of Proximal Development Using Pedagogic Developmental Benchmarks of Syntactic Complexity Xiaobin Chen and Detmar Meurers LEAD Graduate School and Research Network Department of Linguistics Eberhard Karls Universitat¨ Tubingen,¨ Germany {xiaobin.chen,detmar.meurers}@uni-tuebingen.de Abstract and identify reading material individually chal- lenging learners, essentially instantiating the next This paper introduces an Intelligent Com- stage of acquisition as captured by Krashen’s con- puter Assisted Language Learning system cept of i+1 (Krashen, 1981) or relatedly, but em- designed to provide reading input for lan- phasizing the social perspective, Vygotsky’s Zone guage learners based on the syntactic com- of Proximal Development (ZPD; Vygotsky, 1976). plexity of their language production. The In terms of structure of the paper, we first locate system analyzes the linguistic complexity our approach in terms of the Complexity, Accu- of texts produced by the user and of texts racy, and Fluency (CAF) framework in SLA re- in a pedagogic target language corpus to search. Then we review approaches adopted by identify texts that are well-suited to foster earlier studies in developmental complexity re- acquisition. These texts provide develop- search, including problems they pose for a peda- mental benchmarks offering an individu- gogical approach aimed at offering developmental ally tailored language challenge, making benchmarks. We propose and justify a solution, ideas such as Krashen’s i+1 or Vygotsky’s before presenting the architecture and functional- Zone of Proximal Development concrete ity of the SyB system. and empirically explorable in terms of a broad range of complexity measures in all 2 Development of Syntactic Complexity dimensions of linguistic modeling. -
Lourdes Ortega Curriculum Vitae
Lourdes Ortega Curriculum Vitae Updated: August 2019 Department of Linguistics 1437 37th Street NW Box 571051 Poulton Hall 250 Georgetown University Washington, DC 20057-1051 Department of Linguistics Fax (202) 687-6174 E-mail: [email protected] Webpage: https://sites.google.com/a/georgetown.edu/lourdes-ortega/ EDUCATION 2000 Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Second Language Studies, USA. 1995 M.A. in English as a Second Language. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Second Language Studies, USA. 1993 R.S.A. Dip., Diploma for Overseas Teachers of English. Cambridge University/UCLES, UK. 1987 Licenciatura in Spanish Philology. University of Cádiz, Spain. EMPLOYMENT since 2012 Professor, Georgetown University, Department of Linguistics. 2004-2012 Professor (2010-2012), Associate Professor (2006-2010), Assistant Professor (2004-2006), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Second Language Studies. 2002-2004 Assistant Professor (tenure-track), Northern Arizona University, Department of English. 2000-2002 Assistant Professor (tenure-track). Georgia State University, Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL. 1999-2000 Visiting Instructor of Applied Linguistics, Georgetown University, Department of Linguistics. 1994-1998 Research and Teaching Graduate Assistant, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature. 1987-1993 Instructor of Spanish, Instituto Cervantes of Athens, Greece. FELLOWSHIPS 2018: Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, Advanced Research Collaborative (ARC). August through December, 2018. 2010: External Senior Research Fellow at the Freiburg Institute of Advanced Studies (FRIAS), University of Freiburg. One-semester residential fellowship at FRIAS to carry out project titled Pathways to multicompetence: Applying usage-based and constructionist theories to the study of interlanguage development. -
The IRIS Repository of Instruments for Research Into Second Languages
Advancing Methodology and Practice: The IRIS Repository of Instruments for Research into Second Languages. Pre-print of Chapter 1. Not intended for wider circulation. Chapter 1: The IRIS Repository of Instruments for Research into Second Languages: Advancing Methodology and Practice Emma Marsden (University of York); Alison Mackey (Georgetown University/University of Lancaster); Luke Plonsky (Northern Arizona University) How we elicit our data is at the heart of empirical research. Debates around theories and constructs very often center around concerns about exactly how data were collected – Did the measure allow access to conscious reflection? Did the stimulus result in learners behaving realistically? Did any unintended factors impact our results and compromise our ability to explain them? Did we take into account the perspectives of targeted stakeholders? Improvements to how we collect our data can often lead to more persuasive tests of theory or constructs and/or more convincing applications in the real world. However, tapping into language processing, learning, use and attitudes clearly poses varied challenges, particularly when the aim is to capture the nature and causes of change over time while using relatively static, ‘one-off’ windows into the phenomenon under investigation. Added to this are many other factors that can affect methodological choices, for example, the mode (input versus output), conscious awareness, age and cultural appropriateness, cognitive and perceptual systems all interact with how language is perceived and produced. The current volume aims to address some of the issues involved in the collection of second language data. It emerged out of discussions at a conference “Eliciting data in second language research: Challenge and innovation”, held in 2013 at the University of York.