Search results for "Second-language attrition"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Learning paths on elementary university courses in Finnish as a second language
2015
Along with the growing degree of internationalisation, Finnish university education needs to address issues related to learning and teaching Finnish as a second language. From the perspective of teaching Finnish and related pedagogical development, it is essential to recognise when, where and for which purposes learners need Finnish at the various stages of the language acquisition process. This article focuses on the learning paths of three international students who studied Finnish on a one-term elementary course at the University of Jyvaskyla Language Centre. The article is based on a socio-cultural and ecological view on language learning and teaching. The data consist of learning diary…
Language Learning Methodology for Adults: A Study of Linguistic Transfer
2014
Abstract The purpose of the present research is to bring together the evidence on transfer in adult L2 and L3 language acquisition and investigate the use and the relationship between languages in contact. The role of linguistic transfer ( Odlin, 1989 ) i.e. the imposition of previously learned patterns onto a new learning situation, has a facilitation or inhibition effect on the learner's progress in mastering a new language (L2 or L3). Our findings reveal that the cross-linguistic influence occurs both from the direction of the L2 to the L3 and from the L3 to the L2 ( Odlin, 2003 , Jarvis and Pavlenko, 2008 ). In the case of our participants, in the acquisition of L2 as the foreign langua…
Processing habits and second language learning: Students’ self‐evaluation of their learning
1994
Abstract This article reports a study of students’ second language learning at the upper stage of the comprehensive school. The aim of the study was to analyse students’ conscious second language learning activity and the kinds of language problems the students themselves recognise. 700 students (14–15 year‐olds), representative of the Swedish‐speaking schools in Finland, answered a questionnaire regarding their learning habits and language problems in Finnish. The differences between successful and less successful students were then analysed. The results show that successful and less successful language learners did not differ from each other in processing intensity and general approach to…
Foreign Language Anxiety in the Context of Foreign Language Oral Performance, Language and Pronunciation Learning Strategies
2016
The aim of this chapter is to provide a theoretical background for the concept of language anxiety, emphasising the context of L2 oral performance and pronunciation. Thus, the construct of general anxiety is first explored and the definition of anxiety is analysed. Subsequently, the term foreign language anxiety is examined for the purpose of establishing its working definition. Next, a typology of causes of language anxiety experienced by L2 learners is proposed in order to fully grasp the complexity of the construct.
Speed in cognitive tasks as an indicator of second/foreign language reading and writing skills
2013
In a cross-sectional study 823 Finnish school children were tested to examine the relation between speed of performance in cognitive and linguistic tasks and second/foreign language reading and writing. Participants were Finnish-speakers with English as foreign language and Russian-speakers with Finnish as second language which made it possible to compare the results across these two language groups. The Finnish group was furthermore divided into three groups by age to see how speed develops with age and education. Groups were tested with a number of cognitive instruments that included measures of speed of performance. Overall, performance on the speed measures improved with age; often, the…
Partial repetitions as other-initiations of repair in second language talk: Re-establishing understanding and doing learning
2014
Abstract This conversation analytical paper examines other-initiated repair sequences in everyday interactions between first and second language speakers of Finnish. More specifically, it focuses on sequences that are initiated by a second language speaker by repeating a part of the trouble source turn and shows that the repetitions are recurrently treated as actions indicating specific language-related problems of understanding. The analysis suggests that the linguistic asymmetry in second language interactions is a resource that is drawn upon in situations in which other resources for action formation and recognition are not sufficient. In addition, the analysis illustrates why and how ce…