Grounded in usage-based accounts of language acquisition, which hold that syntactic development is driven by cumulative exposure to verbs and argument structure constructions in authentic communicative use, this study investigated how absolute-complexity indices and construction-based syntactic sophistication indices differ in their sensitivity to EFL–ESL group contrasts in spoken and written production. Spoken and written production data from 800 intermediate Asian learners were analyzed using separate linear mixed-effects models fitted for six absolute complexity and four syntactic sophistication indices. The clearest group-related effects were observed for the frequency-based indices, with significant differences occurring in the spoken dataset, where ESL learners produced constructions and verb–construction combinations with lower frequency values than EFL learners. Because the spoken and written data came from different learner samples and task conditions, this pattern should be interpreted as a dataset-level difference in the EFL–ESL contrast, not as a modality effect. Within these limits, these findings suggest that syntactic sophistication measures can capture context-related differences in L2 syntactic production that are not fully reflected in absolute-complexity measures.
The role of metalinguistic knowledge in transfer patterns in L3 is unclear. Although several recent studies have provided data on learners’ transfer patterns from L1 versus L2 in L3 French, these largely come from off-line tasks which may rely on metalinguistic knowledge. Thus, learners may not show the same patterns in on-line/real-time measures, where metalinguistic access is more restricted. The present study investigated sensitivity to finite verb placement in three different structures in L3 French using self-paced reading. Participants were L1 Norwegian L2 English learners of L3 French at university level. Our results indicate predominant transfer from L2 English, consistent with previous research on similar structures in similar populations using off-line tasks and also with the same participants, indicating that L2 English acts as the main source of transfer in L3 French. This implies that patterns found previously in off-line measures do not simply reflect participants consulting explicit knowledge but are more likely to reflect learners’ underlying grammatical systems.
This study explored learners’ self-reported intentions to memorize new vocabulary during different language activities. Specifically, we investigated whether intentionality varies across learners, tasks, and words, and how intentionality is related to vocabulary learning gains. Fifty-two English as a Foreign Language students at a Japanese university were randomly assigned to one of four task conditions: reading, gap-filling, sentence-writing, and composition-writing. Subsequently, students rated their learning intentionality for each target word on a 5-point Likert scale. The learning of the target words was assessed using unannounced meaning-recall and meaning-recognition tests. The results showed that, while intentionality varied across words and tasks, the greatest variance was among participants. Sentence-writing tended to elicit higher intentionality than reading and composition-writing. Neither proficiency nor word length was associated with intentionality. Intentionality was strongly related to learning in gap-filling and sentence-writing, but not clearly in composition-writing or in reading. These findings suggest that intention plays an important role in what is perceived as incidental learning.
This study examines gestural timing patterns of nasalization in late learners of Spanish as a second language (L2) whose first language (L1) is English, a language in which vowels tend to have an earlier onset of nasalization and be more nasalized than in Spanish. Previous research has shown that advanced and heritage bilinguals can adjust coarticulatory strategies cross-linguistically, yet much less is known about learners with lower proficiency. Sixteen participants read aloud CVN words in Spanish and English while simultaneous oral and nasal airflow data were collected from the vocalic segment using pressure transducers and a vented mask. Two analyses were conducted: (1) to assess nasalization onset timing, 40 equidistant data points per vowel were analyzed (totaling 32,800 measurements); (2) to evaluate overall degree of nasalization, nasal airflow proportions relative to total airflow were analyzed (totaling 820 measurements). Results suggest that intermediate Spanish learners exhibit a somewhat delayed nasalization onset in L2 Spanish compared to English, yet substantial interspeaker variability was found. Furthermore, although overall nasal airflow magnitude across time and degree of nasalization were similar between L1 English and L2 Spanish, the nasal airflow contours appeared to show differences only towards the end of the vowel, resembling L1 Spanish patterns. These findings indicate partial acquisition, and suggest that coarticulatory adjustment is unlikely at lower proficiency levels, with learners relying on L1 strategies when producing L2 speech.
This study re-examines the well-established negative relationship between foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and foreign language proficiency by testing whether this linear association remains stable across the proficiency continuum. Drawing on cross-sectional data from 413 English Foreign Language learners in Mexico, we used piecewise regression to examine whether the strength of the FLCA-proficiency link changes after a data-driven proficiency threshold. Model comparisons indicated that a segmented model provided a better fit than a standard linear model, identifying a breakpoint at a LEXTALE score of 66.25, roughly corresponding to the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference. Below this threshold, the FLCA-proficiency relationship was weak and non-significant after correction; above it, the association was significantly stronger. These findings suggest that FLCA may become more closely tied to proficiency after learners reach certain proficiency thresholds, such that more proficient learners feel less anxiety (rather than less proficient learners feeling more anxiety). Methodologically, the study demonstrates the value of piecewise regression for testing theoretically motivated discontinuities in otherwise linear emotion-proficiency relationships.
