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- Volume 6, Issue 1, 2023
Journal of Second Language Studies - Volume 6, Issue 1, 2023
Volume 6, Issue 1, 2023
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Assessing receptive vocabulary using state‑of‑the‑art natural language processing techniques
Author(s): Scott Crossley and Langdon Holmespp.: 1–28 (28)More LessAbstractSemantic embedding approaches commonly used in natural language processing such as transformer models have rarely been used to examine L2 lexical knowledge. Importantly, their performance has not been contrasted with more traditional annotation approaches to lexical knowledge. This study used NLP techniques related to lexical annotations and semantic embedding approaches to model the receptive vocabulary of L2 learners based on their lexical production during a writing task. The goal of the study is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches in understanding L2 lexical knowledge. Findings indicate that transformer approaches based on semantic embeddings outperform linguistic annotations and Word2vec models in predicting L2 learners’ vocabulary scores. The findings help to support the strength and accuracy of semantic-embedding approaches as well as their generalizability across tasks when compared to linguistic feature models. Limitations to semantic-embedding approaches, especially interpretability, are discussed.
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How can we communicate (visually) what we (usually) mean by collocation and keyness?
Author(s): Stephen Jeacopp.: 29–60 (32)More LessAbstractCorpus linguistic methods can now be easily employed in a wide range of studies within sub-disciplines of linguistics and well beyond. In a two-part paper, Gries (2022a, 2022b) challenges some of the most widely used ‘association measures’ of what many might feel to be powerful aspects of text patterning: collocation and key words. While the additional association measure offers some new possibilities, this paper highlights the strong influence of another frequency parameter on odds ratio and Gries’s suggested association measure, and questions the applicability of his cautions for many different kinds of corpus research. Nevertheless, having been inspired to look at different aspects of association and dispersion more carefully, the author presents some new visualizations which were designed to communicate some of the important lessons to be learned from Gries’s papers, especially for learners and teachers using corpus tools in Second Language classrooms.
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Developing and evaluating a contextualized interactional competence rating scale based on a metaphorical conceptualization
Author(s): Reza Neirizpp.: 61–94 (34)More LessAbstractRating scales developed to measure interactional competence (IC) are mainly data-driven which can incur unaffordable costs for assessment practitioners with limited resources, such as universities using this test for placement purposes. A cheaper alternative is to use models proposed in the literature to develop such rating scales. This mixed-methods study evaluates a contextualized analytic IC rating scale developed based on Galaczi and Taylor’s (2018) metaphorical conceptualization of IC. A many-facet Rasch analysis indicated this rating scale could separate examinees into three levels of ability, which was lower than the expected four levels. To explore this finding, raters were interviewed about their experiences of using this rating scale. The findings show the potential and limitations of developing contextualized IC ratings scales based on literature and possible avenues for future research. They also suggest a direct interaction between assessment and instructional practices of IC with implications for language teaching.
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Pitfalls of production data analysis for investigating L2 cognitive mechanism
Author(s): Junya Fukuta, Yoshito Nishimura and Yu Tamurapp.: 95–118 (24)More LessAbstractThis article addresses the pitfalls of performance analysis in investigating cognitive processing during second language (L2) learning. The problems that we discuss in this paper are twofold: (1) Assuming psychological variables to be ontological entities without meeting the criteria for ontological reality and (2) Inappropriateness of assessing abilities based on learner’s speaking or writing performance to investigate cognitive processes. By addressing these problems, we argue that some latent variables postulated by observing L2 performance do not exist in reality and emphasize the difficulty of interpreting cognitive mechanisms through performance analysis. We also enumerate some problems that arise from the epistemological perspectives of previous research practice (e.g., the bifurcation of contradictory hypotheses and their indeterminacy). Finally, two alternative approaches treating L2 performance are proposed. The implications of this line of discussion for future research are also discussed.
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Speech competence and speech performance
Author(s): Peijian Paul Sun and Lawrence Jun Zhangpp.: 119–145 (27)More LessAbstractThis study examined Chinese-as-a-second-language (L2 Chinese) learners’ speech production ability from a dual perspective: speech competence and speech performance. A total of 118 valid L2 Chinese learners finished two developed tests in this study, namely, the Chinese speech competence test and the Chinese speech performance test. The results suggested that L2 Chinese learners’ speech competence and speech performance, as a twofold rendering of their L2 speech production ability, not only showed a significant positive correlation with a large effect size (Pearson’s r = .598) but also significantly predicted each other with a large effect size (Cohen f2 = .555). However, such large effect sizes of the correlation and the prediction between speech competence and speech performance were not supported among the upper-intermediate L2 Chinese learners. This suggested that the development between speech competence and speech performance may be more unbalanced among the upper-intermediate L2 Chinese learners compared with their advanced counterparts. The study adds evidence to the call for a multidimensional evaluation of L2 speech production ability. It is hoped that the dual approach (i.e., speech competence and speech performance) proposed in the present study may contribute to a more comprehensive evaluation of learners’ L2 Chinese speech production ability. Consequently, classroom-based teaching can be tailored to facilitate a more balanced development of L2 Chinese learners’ speech competence and speech performance.
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The neural correlates of second language syntax
Author(s): Soheila Veisi and Reza Ghaffar Samarpp.: 146–182 (37)More LessAbstractAn important dimension that characterizes the contextual differences in second language acquisition (SLA) is the degree to which instruction is implicit or explicit. However, whether these differences in context play a role in determining the neural activity to process L2 grammar has not been well characterized. The present study investigated this issue by comparing the neural regions activated in response to novel L2 syntactic rules acquired under conditions of implicit and explicit instruction. In addition, participants’ declarative and procedural memories were measured to better understand the mediating effect of memory during learning under different conditions. Explicitly and implicitly instructed learners showed statistically indistinguishable behavioral performance. Region of interest (ROI) analysis also revealed that the task activated both declarative and procedural memory structures suggesting that instructional context did not affect the recruitment of memory systems when processing L2 syntax.
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The relationships between individual differences in working memory and language analytical ability and the effectiveness of different types of corrective feedback
Author(s): Yusuke Satopp.: 183–205 (23)More LessAbstractThis study examined the relationships between individual differences in the executive component of working memory, and language analytical ability and the effectiveness of recasts, explicit correction and, metalinguistic prompts on the second-language (L2) development of the English past progressive. Participants were 155 Japanese learners of English, who were divided into recast, explicit correction, metalinguistic prompt, and task-only groups. The treatment groups completed tasks that required past progressive usage and received feedback. The executive component of working memory and language analytical ability were measured by the reading span test and LLAMA F. The outcome measures were an untimed grammaticality judgment test (UGJT) and elicited imitation test (EIT), which measured the participants’ declarative and procedural knowledge, respectively. The participants performed the pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest. Multiple regression analyses showed that the executive component of working memory was significantly associated with the gain scores of the UGJT for the recast group and with the gain scores of the EIT for the metalinguistic prompt group. Language analytical ability was not associated with gain scores regardless of the test type for all groups.
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