The present study focuses on individual differences in levels of communicative anxiety (CA) and foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the first (L1), second (L2), third (L3) and fourth (L4) language of 106 adult language learners. Data were collected about CA / FLA levels when speaking with friends, with strangers, and speaking in public. The analyses revealed that multilinguals do experience more ...

This study explores the construct of lexical sophistication and its applications for measuring second language lexical and speaking proficiency. In doing so, the study introduces the Tool for the Automatic Analysis of LExical Sophistication (TAALES), which calculates text scores for 135 classic and newly developed lexical indices related to word frequency, range, bigram and trigram frequency, a...

We present the case study of MB-a bilingual child with Down syndrome (DS) who speaks Russian (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]) and has learned to read in two different alphabets with different symbol systems. We demonstrate that, in terms of oral language, MB is as proficient in Russian as English, with a mild advantage for reading in English, her language of formal instr...

This study investigated the effects of learners’ L1 on their identification of Japanese phonological vowel length at three speaking rates. Native listeners of Japanese (NJ) and learners of Japanese with L1 backgrounds in Finnish (NFin), American English (NE), Russian (NR), and French (NFr) participated in the study. The results showed that the proportion of “long” responses increased as a funct...

Assimilatory phonetic drift in L1 has been shown to occur in early second language learners when separate L2 categories have not been established. The direction and likelihood of drift is affected by degree of L1:L2 difference [2], and the need to maintain L1 distinctions [10]. We assessed the impact of explicit L2 phonetic training on L1:L2 interaction when novel L2 sounds could lead to a more...

This thesis explores the role of age in second language (L2) acquisition and first language (L1) attrition. The focus is on Voice Onset Time (VOT) in the production and categorical perception of word-initial L1 and L2 stops in highly advanced L1 Spanish learners of L2 Swedish. Using as the point of departure a maturational constraints perspective and the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), Study ...

In this study I examine the construct of aptitude in learningChinese as a second language (L2) to an advanced level. I test 2 hypotheses: first, that L2 aptitude comprises 4 components—working memory, rote memory, grammatical sensitivity, and phonemic coding ability—and second, that L2 aptitude affects learning both directly and indirectly (mediated by strategy use and motivation). Native speak...

Based on the Competition Model (Bates & MacWhinney, 1978; MacWhinney, 2005; MacWhinney, 2012), the present study investigates L2 cue strategies in the acquisition of Chinese notional passives by English-speaking and Japanese-speaking learners. Two experiments were conducted to examine both the comprehension and production of Chinese notional passives. The main findings included: 1) L2 learners’...

An important area of development for second language (L2) students is learning how to share ideas with an audience through writing. Some researchers suggest that writing is a primary language skill that holds greater challenges for L2 learners than speaking, listening, or reading (Bell & Burnaby, 1984; Bialystok, 1978; Brown & Yule, 1983; Nunan, 1989; White, 1981). Writing skills are especially...