To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: English language Folklore Second language acquisition.
Journal articles on the topic 'English language Folklore Second language acquisition'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'English language Folklore Second language acquisition.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Yappi, Shierly Novita, and Dina Astriana. "Using Story Telling for Teaching Language Skills to Intermediate Level Students." JournEEL (Journal of English Education and Literature) 1, no. 1 (June 28, 2019): 31–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.51836/journeel.v1i1.39.
Full textAbstract:
Storytelling is a compelling tool for students to learn English through stories. Encouraging students to read or listen to stories sould therefore help them to learn a second language in a way that is not only fun, but memorable.Learners of English should practice and improve their skills in Reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Some materials may promote the completeness of learning this second language acquisition. However, using storytelling for intermediate level students is a creative way to have the students reinforce more on listening the story, re-writing the script, comprehending the chronological order, and speaking the opinion on the content. In addition, telling a folklore or fairytale is interesting and easy to comprehend. These student’s presentation show how they can manage the body movement, facial expression, and inflexion for making the story understandable by the listeners. The activities may be varied for individual or group based on the situation of the classroom teaching and learning. Thus, the teacher should guide them with detail instruction, as consequence, the students know what to do and what to learn. This technique is known as learning by doing in which learners gradually improve the fluency of speaking, the reading comprehension, and writing performance. Furthermore, the analysis shows how the effects of using storytelling enhance the areas of students’ weaknesses in English to be their strengths.
2
Lotze, Nathaniel. "Second Language Acquisition Applied To English Language Teaching." TESOL Journal 10, no. 1 (March 2019): e00414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tesj.414.
Full text
3
Azhar, Shopia. "SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE." ETERNAL (English, Teaching, Learning and Research Journal) 2, no. 2 (December 30, 2015): 331–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.24252/eternal.v12.2015.a12.
Full text
4
Leung, Yan-kit Ingrid. "Verb morphology in second language versus third language acquisition." EUROSLA Yearbook 6 (July 20, 2006): 27–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/eurosla.6.05leu.
Full textAbstract:
This paper reports an experimental study on L2 vs. L3 Spanish morphological representation. A total of 19 Spanish learners (10 Chinese native speakers who are upper intermediate to advanced L2 English users as well as 9 English native speakers who do not speak a prior language without overt morphology) participated in the study. A written production task using Spanish nonce verbs was used to elicit regular and irregular forms of Spanish past participles. The study revealed differences between native and non-native Spanish speakers but ones that are still compatible with an approach which posits a dual mechanism for morphological processing. In addition, no principal difference between the L2 and the L3 Spanish learners was identified. A follow-up experiment on L2 English was therefore carried out testing 26 native speakers of Chinese and 17 native speakers of English using a written production task eliciting English regular and irregular past tense forms for both real verbs and nonce verbs. The findings suggested that native and non-native English speakers’ performances pattern similarly. It seems that L2 English plays a crucial role in Chinese speakers’ L3 Spanish morphological representation and in their similar performance to the L1 English-L2 Spanish speakers.
5
Buckledee, Steve. "Motivation and Second Language Acquisition." ELOPE: English Language Overseas Perspectives and Enquiries 5, no. 1-2 (June 16, 2008): 159–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.4312/elope.5.1-2.159-170.
Full textAbstract:
A feature of Italian universities is the high student drop-out rate in nearly all degree courses. It is likely that among the causes of this phenomenon a significant factor is loss of motivation. This study represents the first stage of a longitudinal research project aimed at monitoring students’ motivation levels over a three-year period. At the beginning of the academic year 2008-2009 a questionnaire was administered to 150 newly enrolled students of English at the University of Cagliari in Italy. The closed-response items were designed to measure the respondents’ instrumental and intrinsic motivation. The responses were then considered in the light of the following variables: age, gender, level of competence in English and choice of degree course. The major finding was that a clear majority of respondents reported a considerably higher level of intrinsic than instrumental motivation, while the most significant variables were shown to be competence level and choice of degree.
6
Olshtain, Elite. "Is Second Language Attrition the Reversal of Second Language Acquisition?" Studies in Second Language Acquisition 11, no. 2 (June 1989): 151–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263100000589.
Full textAbstract:
The study of language attrition, whether it is concerned with first or second languages, focuses on the effects resulting from an individual's reduced use of the attrited language. Such reduction in use can be due to a change in the linguistic environment or to the termination of an instructional program. In either case, some other language (or languages) is or becomes the dominant one.The present article reports on a series of studies, all focusing on individual attrition of English as a second language (ESL) in an environment where Hebrew is the dominant language. The predictor variables discussed are age, sociolinguistic features, input variables, and linguistic variables. The attrition process affecting English as a second language in a Hebrew dominant context seems to exhibit two major trends of change in language use: (a) a greater variability in the application of peripheral and highly marked structural rules, and (b) lower accessibility of specific lexical items. In each of these trends one can identify a limited reversal of the acquisition process, particularly with young children (5–8-year-olds) as well as a typological transfer process from the dominant language.
7
Kalisa, Pasca. "Communication Strategies in English Second Language Acquisition." Language Circle: Journal of Language and Literature 14, no. 1 (October 1, 2019): 93–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/lc.v14i1.21475.
Full textAbstract:
This research aims to describe and analyze communication strategies used by learners in the acquisition of a second language. In this case, this research analyzes the use of communication strategies in which English is the language of instruction.This study involved 21 students at the Department of English Language and Literature, in one of the state universities in Semarang, Indonesia. These students are second year students in the English Language and Literature Department. This research is a case study in the purpose of investigating the communication strategies used when the participants are engaged when the learning activities take place. The participants are given a conversation project in pairs and exposed to a variety of setting such as in the restaurant, in the professor’s room, and in a company. Data collection was carried out through video and audio recordings. The data obtained are then categorized into 13 categories of communication strategies (Dornyei, 1995) and sorted to obtain the frequency of occurrence. The findings indicate that the students mostly use time-gaining strategy (36%) to overcome the problem in their communication with the interlocutors. It is then followed by the use of meaningless words which occurs very frequently (18%) from all utterances, “repetition” strategy which occurs rather frequently about 16% of the total, literal translation (13%), and “use of non-linguistics means” (10%). In conclusion, choices of communication strategies are highly influenced by the level of the conversation tasks given (Wongsawang, 2001). The occurrence of certain types of communication strategies depends on the tasks given to the students and the level of difficulty of those tasks.
8
Lowie, Wander. "Exploring a second language." EUROSLA Yearbook 5 (August 2, 2005): 251–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/eurosla.5.12low.
Full textAbstract:
A dynamic approach to the acquisition of morphologically complex words assumes that, initially, all words are interpreted holistically. At later stages of acquisition, increasingly more words are analyzed and morphological regularities are discovered. When productivity is defined as the chance that a newly formed word is produced on the basis of a particular affix (Baayen and Lieber, 1991), discovering morphological regularity can be interpreted as discovering productivity. This study finds evidence that contradicts an earlier study (Lowie, 2000) which suggested that morphological productivity starts playing a role only at the most advanced levels of acquisition. The current study used response latencies to test productivity cross-sectionally by comparing English native speaker response rates to those of Dutch learners of English at different levels of proficiency. Using this paradigm, productivity was evident from the earliest stages of acquisition and, at advanced levels, awareness was found even of the productivity of marginally productive affixes.
9
Aiking-Brandenburg, Marijke J. T. J., Allan R. James, and Willem J. Meijs. "Suffixation and second Language Acquisition." ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 87-88 (January 1, 1990): 65–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/itl.87-88.04aik.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of the present paper was to find out which learning strategies secondary school pupils of different ages employ to acquire complex words in English as their second language: either by applying rules and analogies or by learning by heart. As a working hypothesis, it was postulated that younger pupils probably preferred the latter approach and older pupils the former. In order to test this hypothesis, a 122-item complex word derivation test was devised, containing three categories of words: (1) words of which both the base-form and the derived form had been studied, (2) words of which just the base-form had been studied and (3) words of which neither form had been studied. The test was administered to pupils in three grades of secondary school and a group of 1st year university students of English. Statistical treatment of the data neither confirmed nor falsified the original hypothesis, but it showed many correlations and gave rise to a large number of additional conclusions. Amongst other things, it was concluded that the presence of the proposed tentative change-over in learning approach, from learning words as whole entities to applying word-formation rules, may or may not have been present, but if it were, it had been completely obscured. It was evident from several different indications that a dominant influence on the pupils' scores was exerted by exposure. In addition, the data collected revealed numerous correlations concerning the influence of education level, word category, regularity, frequency, etc. Finally, suggestions are given for application of the test results in second language education in secondary school in general.
10
Dian Susanthi, I. Gusti Ayu Agung, Anak Agung Istri Manik Warmadewi, Dewa Ayu Kadek Claria, I. Gusti Ngurah Adi Rajistha, and Ni Putu Intan Mayang Sari. "Teaching English for Children Through Translation Perspective." International Linguistics Research 2, no. 4 (December 3, 2019): p1. http://dx.doi.org/10.30560/ilr.v2n4p1.
Full textAbstract:
There are some ways in teaching second language for children, one of them is by introducing folklore in English. The teacher must view that the shifts may occur in teaching second language. There are some famous Indonesian folklore that have been translated into English that can be introduced for the children. In introducing the English language for children, the Indonesian folklore which is translated English is very important to be learnt, in Indonesian, for instance, English as the second language, so that there are various books which are translated into English, Folklore is one important way to learn second language. There are hundreds folklore of Indonesian and some of them are translated into English. An Indonesian language folklore may be translated into various languages like English, Japanese, etc. In teaching English for children, the teacher must understand that every language will have different structure, so that the shift may occur. In the translation, shifts can happen because one language may have different structure, rules or formation. Shifts are the phenomenon which can be found in translation, it is interesting to analyze the shifts occur in Indonesian folklore, because folklore is one media to learn English for Indonesian children. A popular Indonesian folklore entitled Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih Story were chosen to be analyzed in this study.
11
White, Lydia. "Argument structure in second language acquisition." Journal of French Language Studies 1, no. 2 (September 1991): 189–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959269500000983.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis paper investigates the effects of the first language (LI) on second language (L2) argument structure, in two situations: (i) LI sentences form a superset of those permitted in the L2; (ii) L2 sentences form a superset of those permitted in the LI. An experiment was conducted on 55 anglophone children learning French in Canada. Subject completed a perference task, comparing sentences which varied the types of arguments and adjuncts, and their ordering. Result indicate that the subject differed from a native speaker control group in various ways; English argument structure had effects but learners were also sensitve to properties of French which are distinct from English.
12
Mayberry, Rachel I. "First-Language Acquisition After Childhood Differs From Second-Language Acquisition." Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 36, no. 6 (December 1993): 1258–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/jshr.3606.1258.
Full textAbstract:
This study determined whether the long-range outcome of first-language acquisition, when the learning begins after early childhood, is similar to that of second-language acquisition. Subjects were 36 deaf adults who had contrasting histories of spoken and sign language acquisition. Twenty-seven subjects were born deaf and began to acquire American Sign Language (ASL) as a first language at ages ranging from infancy to late childhood. Nine other subjects were born with normal hearing, which they lost in late childhood; they subsequently acquired ASL as a second language (because they had acquired spoken English as a first language in early childhood). ASL sentence processing was measured by recall of long and complex sentences and short-term memory for signed digits. Subjects who acquired ASL as a second language after childhood outperformed those who acquired it as a first language at exactly the same age. In addition, the performance of the subjects who acquired ASL as a first language declined in association with increasing age of acquisition. Effects were most apparent for sentence processing skills related to lexical identification, grammatical acceptability, and memory for sentence meaning. No effects were found for skills related to fine-motor production and pattern segmentation.
13
White, Lydia, Alyona Belikova, Paul Hagstrom, Tanja Kupisch, and Öner Özçelik. "Restrictions on definiteness in second language acquisition." Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 2, no. 1 (February 10, 2012): 54–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lab.2.1.03whi.
Full textAbstract:
In this paper we investigate whether learners of L2 English show knowledge of the Definiteness Effect (Milsark, 1977), which restricts definite expressions from appearing in the existential there-insertion construction. There are crosslinguistic differences in how restrictions on definiteness play out. In English, definite expressions may not occur in either affirmative or negative existentials (e.g. There is a/*the mouse in my soup; There isn’t a/*the mouse in my soup). In Turkish and Russian, affirmative existentials observe a restriction similar to English, whereas negative existentials do not. We report on a series of experiments conducted with learners of English whose L1s are Turkish and Russian, of intermediate and advanced proficiency. Native speakers also took the test in English, Turkish, and Russian. The task involved acceptability judgments. Subjects were presented with short contexts, each followed by a sentence to be judged as natural/unnatural. Test items included affirmative and negative existentials, as well as items testing apparent exceptions to definiteness restrictions. Results show that both intermediate and advanced L2ers respond like English native speakers, crucially rejecting definites in negative existentials. A comparison with the groups taking the test in Russian and Turkish confirms that judgments in the L2 are quite different from the L1, suggesting that transfer cannot provide the explanation for learner success.
14
Almousawi, Sayed Ahmad. "Examining English Language Learning Apps from A Second Language Acquisition Perspective." International Journal of Higher Education 10, no. 5 (May 18, 2021): 166. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v10n5p166.
Full textAbstract:
This study set out to explore dedicated language learning apps pedagogically while focusing mainly on aspects of second language acquisition. A total of 20 English language learning apps were collected for analysis. The study took one model of analysing course book materials and another, computer-assisted language learning model and combined them into one analytical framework with bespoke criteria, ensuring the analysis was most suitable for our case. The analytical framework which was developed reached a number of conclusions about dedicated language learning apps (DLLAs). The findings revealed that DLLAs tend to provide mechanical forms-focused practice without facilitating collaborative learning nor focusing on developing users’ communicative competence, which suggests that DLLAs reflect a behaviouristic view of language learning. The conclusion offers some suggestions to improve DLLAs and proposes that, for the time being, educators should look beyond DLLAs and instead investigate how can apps that are not designed for language learning (generic apps) be used in the manner of DLLAs to avoid the issues that this paper identifies with them.
15
Gholson, Rachel, and Chris-Anne Stumpf. "Folklore, Literature, Ethnography, and Second-Language Acquisition: Teaching Culture in the ESL Classroom." TESL Canada Journal 22, no. 2 (May 1, 2005): 75. http://dx.doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v22i2.88.
Full textAbstract:
Recognizing that to learn about culture will aid the new Canadian in attaining cultural awareness, this article argues that it is imperative to develop strategies for teaching about culture. Using folklore as a critical methodology in the ESL classroom is such a strategy. Because folklore is an intrinsic part of everyday life, its use promotes and enables cross-cultural understandings and the understandings of North American cultures. Moreover, through the use of folklore, students and instructors come to recognize that their expectations are mutable or living elements of culture.
16
Uygun, Serkan, and Ayşe Gürel. "Compound processing in second language acquisition of English." Journal of the European Second Language Association 1, no. 1 (August 1, 2017): 90–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.22599/jesla.21.
Full text
17
Paradis, Johanne. "Individual differences in child English second language acquisition." Internal and External Factors in Child Second Language Acquisition 1, no. 3 (July 29, 2011): 213–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lab.1.3.01par.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigated how various child-internal and child-external factors predict English L2 children’s acquisition outcomes for vocabulary size and accuracy with verb morphology. The children who participated (N=169) were between 4;10 and 7;0 years old (mean = 5;10), had between 3 to 62 months of exposure to English (mean = 20 months), and were from newcomer families to Canada. Results showed that factors such as language aptitude (phonological short term memory and analytic reasoning), age, L1 typology, length of exposure to English, and richness of the child’s English environment were significant predictors of variation in children’s L2 outcomes. However, on balance, child-internal factors explained more of the variance in outcomes than child-external factors. Relevance of these findings for Usage-Based theory of language acquisition is discussed.
18
Park, Hyeson. "When-questions in second language acquisition." Second Language Research 16, no. 1 (January 2000): 44–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/026765800666268444.
Full textAbstract:
It has been observed that when-questions are one of the last wh-questions produced by children learning English either as a first language (L1) or as a second language (L2). Explanations proposed for the late appearance of when-questions in L1 acquisition have been mostly based on cognitive factors. However, the cognition-based approach to when-questions faces problems in explaining L2 acquisition data, which show that L2 children who are cognitively more mature than L1 children follow the same developmental sequence. In this paper, I propose a possible explanation based on internal linguistic factors. According to Enç (1987), tense is a referential expression and temporal adverbials are antecedents of tense. I develop Enç's theory further and propose that in a when-question, tense is a bound variable, which is bound by the quantificational interrogative when. Thus, in order to produce when-questions, children must be at a stage where they understand bound variable readings. According to Roeper and de Villiers (1991), English-speaking children learn a bound variable reading approximately after 36 months, and the learning continues through the kindergarten years. The age at which a bound variable reading first appears corresponds to the point at which when-questions begin to occur. I propose that the complexity of the interaction between the quantificational when and tense, a bound variable, causes the delayed production of when-questions in developing grammars.
19
Slabakova, Roumyana. "THE COMPOUNDING PARAMETER IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 24, no. 4 (October 28, 2002): 507–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263102004011.
Full textAbstract:
This article presents an experimental study investigating the compounding parameter in the L2 Spanish interlanguage of English and French NSs in light of the Subset Principle and its predictions for the process of L2 development. The compounding parameter (Snyder, 1995, 2001) argues that languages permit complex predicate constructions like verb particles, resultatives, and double objects if and only if they can productively form N-N compounds. English exhibits the plus value of the parameter, allowing N-N compounds and the related constructions, whereas in Spanish and French these compounds and constructions are ungrammatical. Because English also allows periphrastic constructions of the same meaning, which are the only option in French and Spanish, English represents the superset parameter value to the Spanish and French subset value. At issue is whether L2 learners are able to acquire the subset value of the compounding parameter based on the naturalistic input they receive. In this case, the learning task involves realizing that some L1 constructions are unavailable in the L2. Results indicate that the learners initially transfer the L1 (superset) value and do not start with the subset value of the parameter. Findings also inform the debate on whether negative evidence can engage UG-related acquisition. Ten of the 26 advanced subjects were able to successfully reset the whole parameter based on negative data for only two of the four constructions in the cluster. This fact suggests that it is not impossible for negative evidence to be utilized in grammar reorganization.
20
Ahmed, Mahdi Aben. "Cross-Cultural Adjustment and Second Language Acquisition." International Journal of Language and Literary Studies 3, no. 2 (June 30, 2021): 290–300. http://dx.doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v3i2.646.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study is to examine how the process of cross-cultural adjustment affects second language acquisition for Saudi students in the American universities. The sample consists of a group of Saudi students studying at one of the American universities in the USA. Interviews were carried out to collect data about daily life experiences of subjects, their feelings, and ways of coping in academic and social community, and also what motivates them to study English, and their attitudes toward the English language, its culture and its people.
The findings of this study suggest that there are several factors for healthier adjustment and greater successful acquisition of second language, and there are other factors that keep a number of the interviewees socially and psychologically distant from the target population, and the target culture. From the findings of the current study, a number of implications and recommendations for future research have been developed to help professionals involved with international students and English as a Second Language field better understand Saudis and their journey towards cross-cultural adjustment, and acquiring a second language.
21
White, Lydia. "Markedness and Second Language Acquisition." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 9, no. 3 (October 1987): 261–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263100006689.
Full textAbstract:
In this paper, various definitions of markedness are discussed, including the difference in the assumptions underlying psychological and linguistic approaches to markedness. It is proposed that if one adopts a definition derived from theories of language learnability, then the second language learner's prior linguistic experience may predispose him or her towards transferring marked structures from the first language to the second, contrary to usual assumptions in the literature that suggest that second language learners will avoid marked forms. To test this hypothesis, adult and child learners of French as a second language were tested using grammaticality judgment tasks on two marked structures, preposition stranding and the double object construction, which are grammatical in English but ungrammatical in French, to see if they would accept French versions of these structures. It was found that the second language learners did not accept preposition stranding in French but did accept the double object construction, suggesting that transfer takes place only with one of the two marked structures. In addition, the children took tests on these structures in their native language to see if they perceived them as in any sense psycholinguistically marked. Results show that they do not treat marked and unmarked structures differently in the native language. It is suggested that the concept of markedness may cover a range of phenomena that need to be further clarified and investigated.
22
Rescorla, Leslie, and Sachiko Okuda. "Modular patterns in second language acquisition." Applied Psycholinguistics 8, no. 3 (September 1987): 281–307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s014271640000031x.
Full textAbstract:
ABSTRACTAnalysis of data from the first six months of acquisition of English as a second language by a 5-year-old Japanese girl illustrates the role of modular “chunking” and coupling in the second language acquisition process. This process was apparent in the child's pre-copula and copula referential utterances. She produced a large number of creative and novel referential sentences by using a small number of patterns or modules. The same small set of patterns was seen in both adult and peer sessions, although advances in acquisition usually appeared in peer conversation before they were evident in adult session data.
23
Aitsiselmi, Farid. "Second language acquisition through email interaction." ReCALL 11, no. 2 (September 1999): 4–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0958344000004900.
Full textAbstract:
This paper deals with the analysis of a communicative activity involving English learners of French, its advantages and drawbacks as well as the outcome that teachers can expect of such an activity. The first part examines some reasons, both theoretical and practical for using communication technology, particularly electronic mail, for promoting language acquisition and developing learner autonomy. The second pan of the paper deals with the theoretical framework within which the activity was carried out, that Is, Stephen Krashen's language acquisition theory which establishes a distinction between language acquisition and language learning. Email interaction offers the possibility of addressing both processes.
24
Slabakova, Roumyana. "The parameter of aspect in second language acquisition." Second Language Research 15, no. 3 (July 1999): 283–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/026765899674229440.
Full textAbstract:
The goal of this article is to present a detailed study of the second language acquisition (SLA) of English aspect by native speakers of Slavic languages. A parameterized distinction between English and Slavic aspect accounts for the subtle differences between English and Slavic telic and atelic sentences. Based on a syntax-theoretical treatment of aspect, the article investigates the process of SLA of aspect in Slavic speakers at three levels of proficiency in English: low intermediate, high intermediate and advanced. Second language (L2) learners are found to be capable of resetting the aspectual parameter value to the English setting, thus successfully acquiring a property of language almost never taught in language classrooms. The article also studies the acquisition of a cluster of constructions, which syntactic research relates to the English value of the aspectual parameter, and which have been found to appear together in the speech of English children (Snyder and Stromswold, 1997): double objects, verb–particles and resultatives. Results indicate that each of these constructions forms part of this aspect-related cluster and that knowledge of aspect and knowledge of the cluster co-occur. The results of the experimental study bring new evidence to bear on the theoretical choice between direct access to the L2 value (Epstein et al., 1996; Flynn, 1996) or starting out the process of acquisition with the L1 value of a parameter (Schwartz & Sprouse, 1994;1996),supporting the latter view.
25
Juffs, Alan. "Semantics-syntax correspondences in second language acquisition." Second Language Research 12, no. 2 (April 1996): 177–221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/026765839601200203.
Full textAbstract:
This article investigates knowledge of semantics-syntax correspondences in SLA within the Principles and Parameters framework. A parameter of semantic structure is used to investigate knowledge of two distinct, but underlyingly related, verb classes: change of state locatives and 'psychologi cal' verbs. Chinese and English contrast in terms of the parameter setting. Experimental evidence indicates that adult Chinese learners of English L2 initially transfer parameter settings, but are able to reset the parameter. However, they only acquire L2 lexical properties and concomitant syntactic privileges with ease when L2 input adds a representation to their grammar. When positive L2 input should pre-empt overgeneralizations based on rep resentation transferred from the L1, for some learners L1 influence persists until quite advanced stages of acquisition. The implications of the results for the parameter-setting model of SLA are discussed.
26
Haerazi, Haerazi. "PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN CHILDREN." Jo-ELT (Journal of English Language Teaching) Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa & Seni Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris IKIP 3, no. 1 (February 28, 2020): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.33394/jo-elt.v3i1.2424.
Full textAbstract:
To understand the principles of second language acquisition, we could adopt a variety of perspective. Research on second language acquisition (SLA) by children and adults is characterized by many different subfields and perspectives, both cognitive and social in orientation. Although children feature as participants in this research, it is relatively rare to find reviews or overviews of SLA that deal specifically with child SLA although there are a few important exceptions. This general lack of focus on children’s SLA is somewhat surprising, considering that data from children as first language learners have often provided a basis and impetus for SLA theorizing. Among the best-known first language studies to prove influential was Brown’s seminal work showing a predictable order of morpheme acquisition by children under the age of three. Many early years settings now welcome children and families from different cultures who use languages other than English. Young children who are starting to learn English as an additional language may also be attending a nursery school, pre-school, day nursery or child-minder perhaps for the first time. They will bring with them many skills and experiences from their home culture and will be both anxious and excited about their new situation. A good foundation for learning English as an additional language is embedded in quality early years practice. To know more about the principle of second language acquisition in children, this paper will present some issues related with it such as the nature and the role of language learning and the logical problem in language learning.
27
Kyeong Pae, Hye, Rose A. Sevcik, and Robin D. Morris. "Cross-language links between English and Korean in second-language reading acquisition." Journal of Multilingual Communication Disorders 2, no. 1 (March 2004): 68–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1476967031000091033.
Full text
28
Hashim, Haida Umiera, and Melor Md Yunus. "English as a Second Language (ESL) Learning: Setting the Right Environment for Second Language Acquisition." Tadris: Jurnal Keguruan dan Ilmu Tarbiyah 3, no. 2 (December 30, 2018): 207. http://dx.doi.org/10.24042/tadris.v3i2.2941.
Full textAbstract:
Early exposure to English is very important as it is crucial for learners to acquire English language at early age as English is a global language that is used not only in the level of primary and secondary school but also in tertiary level of education. Schools can be one of the important roles in influencing second language acquisition, particularly English language. However, most schools did not consider acquiring English from the perspective of learners’ fluency and rarely consider movements or approaches that they can take to improve ESL learning among students. This study intended to investigate the influence of school settings and routines on ESL learning among secondary students. A qualitative method is used in this study as data were collected through the method of observation and interview. The observation period throughout the process of collecting data has been conducted based on a field note specifically prepared for this study. The participants involved in this study were all-girl school students located in Selangor. The gathered data were then interpreted in the findings analysis. Based on this study, it was proven that there are co-relations between the school settings and routines on ESL learning among secondary students. It was found that school settings and routines do influence ESL learning among secondary students. Discussion and recommendations are further explained in this study. Thus, it is hoped for future researchers to conduct further research on related factors that might help to contribute in ESL learning among ESL learners.
29
Gil, Kook-Hee, and Marsden Heather. "Existential quantifiers in second language acquisition." Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 3, no. 2 (May 17, 2013): 117–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lab.3.2.01gil.
Full textAbstract:
Lardiere’s (2005, 2008, 2009) Feature Reassembly Hypothesis proposes that L2 acquisition involves reconfiguring the sets of lexical features that occur in the native language into feature bundles appropriate to the L2. This paper applies the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis to findings from recent research into the L2 acquisition of existential quantifiers. It firstly provides a feature-based, crosslinguistic account of polarity item any in English, and its equivalents — wh-existentials — in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. We then test predictions built on the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis, about how learners map target existential quantifiers in the L2 input onto feature sets from their L1, and how they then reassemble these feature sets to better match the target. The findings, which are largely compatible with the predictions, show that research that focuses on the specific processes of first mapping and then feature reassembly promises to lead to a more explanatory account of development in L2 acquisition.
30
Crossley, Scott A., Stephen Skalicky, Kristopher Kyle, and Katia Monteiro. "ABSOLUTE FREQUENCY EFFECTS IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEXICAL ACQUISITION." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41, no. 04 (January 31, 2019): 721–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263118000268.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractA number of longitudinal studies of L2 production have reported frequency effects wherein learners' produce more frequent words as a function of time. The current study investigated the spoken output of English L2 learners over a four-month period of time using both native and non-native English speaker frequency norms for both word types and word tokens. The study also controlled for individual differences such as first language distance, English proficiency, gender, and age. Results demonstrated that lower level L2 learners produced more infrequent tokens at the beginning of the study and that high intermediate learners, when compared to advanced learners, produced more infrequent tokens at the beginning of the study and more frequent tokens toward the end of the study. Main effects were also reported for proficiency level, age, and language distance. These results provide further evidence that L2 production may not follow expected frequency trends (i.e., that more infrequent tokens are produced as a function of time).
31
Oh, Eunjeong. "Recovery from first-language transfer: The second language acquisition of English double objects by Korean speakers." Second Language Research 26, no. 3 (July 2010): 407–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0267658310365786.
Full textAbstract:
Previous studies on second language (L2) acquisition of English dative alternation by Korean speakers (Oh and Zubizarreta, 2003, 2006a, 2006b) have shown that the acquisition of English benefactive double object (DO) (e.g. John baked Mary a cake) lags behind that of its counterpart goal double object (e.g. John sent Mary the letter). This asymmetry was attributed to grammatical differences between English and Korean benefactive DOs; goal DOs in the two languages have similar grammatical properties. Given the negative first language (L1) influence attested in the acquisition of English DOs by Korean speakers, this article examines the recovery process from these negative effects of L1 transfer and the triggering factors in such a process by investigating L2 learners’ knowledge of semantic properties pertinent to English DOs, using an Acceptability Judgment task with contexts. The present study found that most advanced learners are indeed capable of acquiring semantic properties of both types of English DOs, restructuring their interlanguage grammar in such a way that both types of DOs denote prospective possession. This article suggests that acquisition of the semantics of goal DOs, possibly attributed to L1 transfer, bootstraps acquisition of the semantics of benefactive DOs, and that this generalization from goal DOs to benefactive DOs is made possible by the surface generalization hypothesis (Goldberg, 2002), which states that argument structure patterns sharing the surface forms should be analysed on their own as a class. Furthermore, this article argues that this recovery process can be interpreted as evidence of a tie between syntax and semantics: developing sensitivity to the semantics of English DOs is indispensable for acquiring the syntax of English DOs (compare Lardiere, 2000; Slabakova, 2006). On this view, learning a construction essentially means learning its associated semantics, and acquisition of the syntax of a construction is a consequence of acquisition of the semantics of the construction.
32
Hye Jeong Yu. "Second language acquisition of English intonation: Nuclear peak alignment." Studies in Phonetics, Phonology, and Morphology 25, no. 3 (December 2019): 479–500. http://dx.doi.org/10.17959/sppm.2019.25.3.479.
Full text
33
Hye Jeong Yu. "Second language acquisition of English intonation: Nuclear peak alignment." Studies in Phonetics, Phonology, and Morphology 25, no. 3 (December 2019): 479–500. http://dx.doi.org/10.17959/sppm.2020.25.3.479.
Full text
34
Sun, Ganzhao. "The Acquisition of English Articles by Second Language Learners." SAGE Open 6, no. 1 (January 25, 2016): 215824401663571. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2158244016635716.
Full text
35
Mazurkewich, Irene. "Syntactic Markedness and Language Acquisition." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 7, no. 1 (February 1985): 15–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263100005131.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the role played by linguistic universals in second language acquisition. Research reported here focuses on the acquisition of dative structures and dative questions in a passive context in English by French and Inuit (Eskimo) students. Data were also elicited from native English-speaking students to serve as the norm. The data are interpreted within the theory of markedness and core grammar, as well as Case theory. The results of the testing, showing that unmarked forms are acquired before marked ones, are consistent with the predictions made by the theory of markedness and the property of adjacency which is crucial for Case assignment.
36
Ellis, Rod. "Grammatically Judgments and Second Language Acquisition." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 13, no. 2 (June 1991): 161–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263100009931.
Full textAbstract:
This article takes a critical look at grammaticality judgment tasks in second language acquisition research. It begins by examining the theoretical assumptions that underlie grammaticality judgment tasks, pointing out that previous studies have reported considerable differences between the results obtained from grammaticality judgment tasks and from other, production-oriented tasks. A description of the design features of grammaticality judgment tasks that have been used to date is then provided. There follows an account of a small-scale study designed to investigate the nature of learner judgments. Twenty-one adult advanced Chinese learners of English were asked to judge sentences designed to test their knowledge of dative alternation. The results indicated that the learners rarely used the “not sure” option in the test. Eight of these subjects were then administered a reduced version of the original test as a think-aloud task 1 week later. The results showed that these learners were inconsistent in 22.5% of their judgments. The think-aloud protocols showed that they resorted to a variety of strategies in making judgments. The article concludes by arguing that grammaticality judgment tasks elicit a particular kind of performance that needs to be understood much more thoroughly before it is used as a basis for investigating second language acquisition.
37
Talebinejad, Mohammad Reza, and Aasa Moattarian. "Second Language Acquisition Research and Language Pedagogy: A Critical View." International Journal of Linguistics 7, no. 4 (August 26, 2015): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v7i4.7826.
Full textAbstract:
<p class="1"><span lang="X-NONE">Over the past several decades, a substantial body of research on second language acquisition has been provided. The current study was an attempt to investigate language teachers’ views on applying research findings in their every day practice of language teaching through a critical lens. Data for this qualitative study was collected by means of a semi structured interview with 10 language teachers teaching English at different language institutes in Iran. Analyses of data revealed that, although teachers find second language acquisition research a useful tool for their professional development; they do not usually consult bodies of research in their every day teaching practice. They report problems in applying second language research in their practice due to problems with practicality, particularity, and possibility. The findings suggest that language teachers need to be exposed to insight from SLA research and practice.</span></p>
38
Kostadinova, Viktorija, Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, Gea Dreschler, Sune Gregersen, Beáta Gyuris, Kathryn Allan, Maggie Scott, et al. "I English Language." Year's Work in English Studies 98, no. 1 (2019): 1–166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ywes/maz004.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract This chapter has fourteen sections: 1. General; 2. History of English Linguistics; 3. Phonetics and Phonology (not covered this year); 4. Morphology; 5. Syntax; 6. Semantics; 7. Lexicography, Lexicology, and Lexical Semantics; 8. Onomastics; 9. Dialectology and Sociolinguistics; 10. New Englishes and Creolistics; 11. Second Language Acquisition. 12. English as a Lingua Franca; 13. Pragmatics and Discourse. 14. Stylistics. Section 1 is by Viktorija Kostadinova; section 2 is by Nuria Yáñez-Bouza; sections 4 and 5 are by Gea Dreschler and Sune Gregersen; section 6 is by Beáta Gyuris; section 7 is by Kathryn Allan; section 8 is by Maggie Scott; section 9 is by Lieselotte Anderwald; section 10 is by Sven Leuckert; section 11 is by Tihana Kraš; section 12 is by Tian Gan, Ida Parise, Sum Pok Ting, Juliana Souza da Silva and Alessia Cogo; section 13 is by Beke Hansen; section 14 is by Jessica Norledge.
39
Snape, Neal, and Tanja Kupisch. "Ultimate attainment of second language articles: A case study of an endstate second language Turkish-English speaker." Second Language Research 26, no. 4 (September 24, 2010): 527–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0267658310377102.
Full textAbstract:
An area of considerable interest in second language (L2) acquisition is the difficulties learners face with the acquisition of articles. This article examines the role of prosody in the acquisition of articles by an endstate L2 English speaker focusing on the free morphemes the and a. In order to analyse the articles produced by a Turkish speaker named SD, we used the Praat (Boersma and Weenink, 2006) phonetic analysis software to determine the prosodic shape of each article in article + noun configurations and article + adjective + noun configurations. The aim of the analysis is to see whether a more detailed analysis of the data would be fully consistent with the strong or weak interpretation of the Prosodic Transfer Hypothesis. The findings of our analysis show that SD produces a large percentage of stressed articles, which are non target-like. We discuss the implications of our analysis for the interlanguage representation of articles by SD as well as the Prosodic Transfer Hypothesis.
40
Yusa, Noriaki, Masatoshi Koizumi, Jungho Kim, Naoki Kimura, Shinya Uchida, Satoru Yokoyama, Naoki Miura, Ryuta Kawashima, and Hiroko Hagiwara. "Second-language Instinct and Instruction Effects: Nature and Nurture in Second-language Acquisition." Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 23, no. 10 (October 2011): 2716–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2011.21607.
Full textAbstract:
Adults seem to have greater difficulties than children in acquiring a second language (L2) because of the alleged “window of opportunity” around puberty. Postpuberty Japanese participants learned a new English rule with simplex sentences during one month of instruction, and then they were tested on “uninstructed complex sentences” as well as “instructed simplex sentences.” The behavioral data show that they can acquire more knowledge than is instructed, suggesting the interweaving of nature (universal principles of grammar, UG) and nurture (instruction) in L2 acquisition. The comparison in the “uninstructed complex sentences” between post-instruction and pre-instruction using functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals a significant activation in Broca's area. Thus, this study provides new insight into Broca's area, where nature and nurture cooperate to produce L2 learners' rich linguistic knowledge. It also shows neural plasticity of adult L2 acquisition, arguing against a critical period hypothesis, at least in the domain of UG.
41
Dewey, Dan P., R. Kirk Belnap, and Rebecca Hillstrom. "Social Network Development, Language Use, and Language Acquisition during Study Abroad: Arabic Language Learners’ Perspectives." Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 22, no. 1 (January 15, 2013): 84–110. http://dx.doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v22i1.320.
Full textAbstract:
In this paper, we explore language use, social network development, and language acquisition by second learners of Arabic in Jordan and Morocco. Students in these programs reported speaking, listening to, and writing as much English as Arabic during study abroad, but they reported reading more Arabic than English. While patterns indicated similar levels of use of English and Arabic in general, questions focusing on learners' use of language with more familiar friends and acquaintances indicated learners thought they used Arabic more than English with these native friends. Regarding English language use, learners felt that speaking English with natives often created opportunities to interact in Arabic as well. Students’ Arab social networks tended to be small, but there was considerable variation in these networks. The closer their friendships with natives, the more likely students were to report gains in Arabic. English proficiency of friends and acquaintances in one’s social network, degree of friendship, and time spent speaking with people outside of this network predicted language proficiency development.
42
Gibbs, D. "Second language acquisition of the English modals as predictive of expressive language proficiency." First Language 9, no. 27 (October 1989): 311–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014272378900902712.
Full text
43
EISENSTEIN, MIRIAM R. "Target language variation and second-language acquisition: learning English in New York City." World Englishes 5, no. 1 (March 1986): 31–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971x.1986.tb00638.x.
Full text
44
Schachter, Jacquelyn. "On the issue of completeness in second language acquisition." Interlanguage studies bulletin (Utrecht) 6, no. 2 (December 1990): 93–124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/026765839000600201.
Full textAbstract:
The issue of completeness in adult second language acquisition is critical in the development of a theory of second language acquisition. Assuming the Chomskyan definition of core grammar as being those aspects of the language determined by the interaction of the innately specified Universal Grammar and the input to which the learner is exposed, we need to ask if it is possible for an adult learner of a second language to attain native-speaker competence in the core aspects of the grammar of the second language. This paper examines evidence for presence or absence of one principle of UG, Subjacency, in the grammars of groups of proficient nonnative speakers of English. There are three groups whose native languages - Korean, Chinese, Indonesian - differ from English with regard to Subjacency, Korean showing no evidence of it, Chinese and Indonesian showing partial evidence of it. There is one group whose native language, Dutch, shows the full range of Subjacency effects that English does. If all groups show the same Subjacency effects in English that native speakers do, then it must be the case UG is still available for adult second language learning and completeness in second language grammars is possible; if not, then completeness cannot be included as a possible characteristic of adult second language acquisition. Proficient nonnative university students with the above native languages were given grammaticality judgement tests on a set of sentences containing a variety of structures (islands) and Subjacency violations involving those structures. Analysis showed that though all groups were able to correctly judge grammatical sentences (containing islands) as grammatical, only the Dutch group was able to correctly judge ungrammatical sentences (containing Subjacency violations) as ungrammatical; the Korean subjects performed randomly on this task. This native language effect was shown not to be due to attribute variables, such as age of first exposure to English, number of months in an English-speaking country, number of years of English study, etc. The results support the conclusion that completeness is not a possible property of adult-acquired grammars since adults no longer have access to UG for the second language learning process.
45
Oshita, Hiroyuki. "THE UNACCUSATIVE TRAP IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 23, no. 2 (June 2001): 279–304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263101002078.
Full textAbstract:
The distinction of two types of intransitive verbs—unergatives (with underlying subjects) and unaccusatives (with underlying objects)—may not exist at early stages of L2 acquisition, both being syntactically represented as unergatives. This idea, referred to here as the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis, provides an elegant developmental account for a variety of seemingly unrelated syntactic phenomena in L2 English, Japanese, and Chinese. Target language input, structural constraints on natural language linking rules, and linguistic properties of a learner's L1s shape stages in the reorganization of the lexical and syntactic components of interlanguage grammars. Although nonnative grammars may initially override the structural constraints postulated as the Unaccusative Hypothesis (Burzio, 1986; Perlmutter, 1978) and the Uniformity of Theta Assignment Hypothesis (Baker, 1988), at later developmental stages some may still achieve conformity with the norms of natural languages.
46
MCDONALD, JANET L. "Grammaticality judgments in a second language: Influences of age of acquisition and native language." Applied Psycholinguistics 21, no. 3 (September 2000): 395–423. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0142716400003064.
Full textAbstract:
Native Spanish early and late acquirers of English as well as native Vietnamese early and child acquirers of English made grammaticality judgments of sentences in their second language. Native Spanish early acquirers were not distinguishable from native English speakers, whereas native Spanish late acquirers had difficulty with all aspects of the grammar tested except word order. Native Vietnamese early acquirers had difficulty with those aspects of English that differ markedly from Vietnamese. Native Vietnamese child acquirers had more generalized problems, similar to those of native Spanish late acquirers. Thus, native language appeared to make a difference for early acquirers, whereas a later age of acquisition caused a more general problem. A processing-based model focusing on the difficulty non-native language learners have in rapidly decoding surface form is offered as a possible explanation for both effects.
47
Halwani, Noha. "Visual Aids and Multimedia in Second Language Acquisition." English Language Teaching 10, no. 6 (May 25, 2017): 53. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n6p53.
Full textAbstract:
Education involves more than simply passing the final test. Rather, it is the process of educating an entire generation. This research project focused on language learners of English as a Second Language. This action research was conducted in an ESL classroom in H. Frank Carey High School, one of five high schools in the Sewanhaka Central District of Nassau County. The research project explored the question: “Can visual aids improve English language acquisition in reading and writing for a beginner ESL?” The data analyzed were log observation sheets, pull-out focus groups, checklists, and surveys of students. The basic findings were that reading and writing improved when teachers used visual aids, especially when teachers pulled students out of the classroom for individualized instruction. Therefore, the study concluded that the use of visual aids and multimedia can help the students to absorb the content and become interactive in the classroom with no fear of giving wrong answers or, of having trouble being a participant in the class because of shyness.
48
Flanigan, Beverly Olson. "Anaphora and Relativization in Child Second Language Acquisition." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 17, no. 3 (September 1995): 331–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0272263100014236.
Full textAbstract:
The focus of this study is the development of control over anaphoric reference and relativization by children learning ESL in a pull-out classroom employing little overt grammar instruction. Twenty-three children aged 6.5–14 representing ESL proficiency levels 3–5 on the Bilingual Syntax Measure (BSM)were given paper-and-pencil tests to determine comprehension of anaphoric (reflexive and pronominal)reference in English; in addition, they were tested on both comprehension and production of restrictive relative clause types (SS, SO, OO, and OS)in English. Scores were higher on reflexives than on pronominals, with length of residence significant in ambiguous references. Relative clause interpretation varied significantly with proficiency level, but production was not predictable from general proficiency except at BSM level 5, and then only on SO and SS relativization. Transfer from the L1 was minimal. It is concluded that exposure and overall L2 proficiency, rather than age or L1 background, are the most significant factors in the development of these generally untaught and untested “late-learned” rules.
49
Ershad, Qurratulain, Maria Shiraz, and Shahzada Qaisar. "Language Learning Beliefs of Second Language Learners at Graduate Level in Pakistan." I V, no. I (March 30, 2020): 104–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/glr.2020(v-i).12.
Full textAbstract:
The current research aimed at examining the beliefs of Pakistani graduate students towards English language learning and assessing the stability of their beliefs after six weeks. In the process of language learning beliefs play a pivotal role. Students beliefs about second language acquisition need to be studied so that appropriate approach can be adopted. To collect data, sixty graduate students were selected by purposive sampling. BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, Horwitz, 1987) tool was adopted and administered twice to collect the data. The results showed that the learners are motivated and keen to acquire English language. The respondents were apprised of the significance of foreign language acquisition and highlighted the importance of pronouncing the words correctly, meanings of new words, and the benefits of drills. The results also depicted that there is stability in most of students beliefs after six weeks.
50
Вєтрова, Ірина, Тамара Білоус, and Олена Верьовкіна. "THE BALANCE BETWEEN LANGUAGE ACQUISION AND LANGUAGE LEARNING IN ELC." Інноватика у вихованні 2, no. 13 (June 15, 2021): 82–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.35619/iiu.v2i13.354.
Full textAbstract:
The article is devoted to the to the actual problem of the balanced use of English language teaching methods, some of which are considered by foreign researchers as close to the natural development of the child's language, and others are viewed as purely educational. Based on the analysis of foreign researches, the authors of the study clarified the concepts of " second language acquisition" and "second language learning", outlined their fundamental difference and importance in the process of studying English. It has been observed that some scholars prefer only methods of second language acquisition that resemble the natural process of a child's native language development. There is another vision of successful foreign language learning, whose proponents believe that when teaching a foreign language one should use both exercises that give an idea of the language, and activities that resemble the natural process of language acquisition, where the first can not be ignored and plays an important role. The article suggests the examples of different approaches to the use of educational material at English language classroom. It is noted that their choice depends on the teacher, his understanding of the real language functioning in the community. T has been suggested, that wide exposure to a second language can be provided by extensive reading and listening, in particular out of ELC. This can be assisted by parents and their involvement to students’ studying. The results of a survey of students on their preferences in mastering the English language and observation of the real situation in the classroom are presented. The paper discusses the debatable nature of the problem and need for its further development is emphasized.