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Incidental Nonspeech Auditory Learning Scaffolds Phonetic, Category, and Word Learning in a Foreign Language Classroom

✇Wiley: Language Learning: Table of Contents
By: Seth Wiener， Timothy K. Murphy， Lori L. Holt
11 January 2025 at 07:23

Abstract

There is considerable lab-based evidence for successful incidental learning, in which a learner's attention is directed away from the to-be-learned stimulus and towards another stimulus. In this study, we extend incidental learning research into the language learning classroom. Three groups of adult second language (L2) learners (N = 52) engaged in structured classroom Mandarin learning took part in an 8-week study. One group served as a classroom-only control group. The second group underwent additional intentional auditory training involving Mandarin speech and explicit feedback. The third group underwent additional incidental learning combined with nonspeech “perceptual building block” categories—categories that share critical perceptual dimensions with target L2 speech categories but that are not perceived as speech. We demonstrate that when supplemented with structured classroom learning, incidental learning involving nonspeech analogs promotes phonetic, category, and word learning equivalent to learning from more traditional intentional auditory training.

Meaning‐Inferencing Versus Meaning‐Given Procedures: The Case of Idioms

✇Wiley: Language Learning: Table of Contents
By: Frank Boers， Xi Yu， Xiaofei Wang
9 January 2025 at 12:17

Abstract

Inferring the meaning of words and then verifying one's interpretations is widely believed to create relatively strong memories of the items. According to the available research, it is when the inferences are accurate that the learning outcomes are the most promising. The present study extends this inquiry to idioms. Fifty-six ESL learners were presented with 21 English idioms (e.g., toe the line) in brief contexts and they were either prompted to infer the meaning of each idiom or they were given the meaning directly. After each inferencing attempt, the correct meaning was given as feedback. This initial learning stage was followed in the same session by a meaning-recall task where the learners were again given the correct meanings as feedback. The results of a posttest administered one week later indicate that prompting learners to make inferences is beneficial compared to directly giving the meanings on condition that the inferencing was successful.

Dialect‐Specific Modes Influence Second Language Production: Evidence From Bidialectal Shanghai–Mandarin Chinese Learners of English Within the Second Language Linguistic Perception Model

✇Wiley: Language Learning: Table of Contents
By: Xiaoluan Liu， Lan Bai， Paola Escudero
6 January 2025 at 16:09

Abstract

The present study investigates the impact of bidialectalism on L2 production, focusing on the role of dialect modes. Shanghai–Mandarin Chinese bidialectal speakers were recruited to produce second language (L2) English vowels under the influence of either Shanghai or Mandarin Chinese mode. Results showed that in the Shanghai mode, participants’ English vowel production closely resembled that of native English speakers. Notably, Shanghai Chinese significantly influenced English vowel production in the Shanghai mode, and Mandarin Chinese had a strong impact on English vowel production in the Mandarin mode. This highlights that each first language (L1) dialect—that is, the activated dialect mode—significantly influences L2 English vowel production. The present study reveals that bidialectal speakers have differential L2 production performance depending on the L1 dialect mode that they activate. These results are interpreted within the framework of the second language linguistic perception (L2LP) model, contributing to the theoretical understanding of how L1 dialect modes influence L2 acquisition.

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