Cross-linguistic influences in the phonetic and lexical component in English, Baque and Spanish: Contextual and individual factors in language acquisition and attrition.

350 p.

Neurolinguistic measure of typological effects in multilingual transfer: introducing an ERP methodology

This article has two main objectives. First, we offer an introduction to the subfield of generative third language (L3) acquisition. Concerned primarily with modeling initial stages transfer of morphosyntax, one goal of this program is to show how initial stages L3 data make significant contributions toward a better understanding of how the mind represents language and how (cognitive) economy constrains acquisition processes more generally. Our second objective is to argue for and demonstrate how this subfield will benefit from a neuro/psycholinguistic methodological approach, such as event-related potential experiments, to complement the claims currently made on the basis of exclusively behavioral experiments. Palabras clave

Kohesio anaforikoa. Adinaren eta testu generoaren araberako azterketa

[EN] The main focus of this paper is the cohesion of the theme. First of all, placing anaphoric cohesion within the theoretical framework developed by Bronckart (1985, 1996), we need to distinguish between cohesion, connection and coherence; and furthermore, within the field of cohesion we need to distinguish between verbal cohesion and cohesion as regards nouns. Similarly, the paper also defines discourse as the linguistic realisation of the text, and talks about different types of discourse and textual genres. Next, the paper focuses on the different approaches to cohesion. Since anaphoric cohesion is the cornerstone of the study, some limits of this concept are defined and its main indicators specified. Studies carried out from four different perspectives are taken into consideration: those that focus on understanding pronominal anaphora; those that seek to analyse the discursive side of language acquisition; those that look at anaphora and written texts; and those that concentrate on the didactic side of anaphora. From the model offered by Bronckart’s theory and the aforementioned studies, the following hypothesis is extracted: in Basque, language development is something which takes a long time, and textual genre plays an important role in defining and determining this development.

Word frequency cues word order in adults: cross-linguistic evidence

[EN] One universal feature of human languages is the division between grammatical functors and content words. From a learnability point of view, functors might provide entry points or anchors into the syntactic structure of utterances due to their high frequency. Despite its potentially universal scope, this hypothesis has not yet been tested on typologically different languages and on populations of different ages. Here we report a corpus study and an artificial grammar learning experiment testing the anchoring hypothesis in Basque, Japanese, French, and Italian adults. We show that adults are sensitive to the distribution of functors in their native language and use them when learning new linguistic material. However, compared to infants’ performance on a similar task, adults exhibit a slightly different behavior, matching the frequency distributions of their native language more closely than infants do. This finding bears on the issue of the continuity of language learning mechanism.

La ansiedad en el aprendizaje de segundas lenguas

[SPA] El objetivo de este Trabajo de Fin de Grado es realizar una investigación sobre cómo afecta la ansiedad en el proceso de aprendizaje de segundas lenguas y posteriormente ofrecer técnicas o estrategias para combatir dicha ansiedad. CASTELLANO

El clima de aula. Un factor decisivo en el aprendizaje de lenguas

[spa] Se ha propuesto una guía didáctica para realizar en sesiones de euskera que profundice en el conocimiento mutuo entre los alumnos para que se fomente así la creación de vinculos interpersonales basados en el diálogo, la negociación y la comprensión. Todo ello supone la generación de un ambiente de aula cálido en el que todos los alumnos (gitanos y no gitanos) se sientan respetados, reconocidos y valorados, lo que garantiza el desarrollo óptimo y el acercamiento de los alumnos a la segunda lengua

Elebitasuna eta bigarren hizkuntzaren ikaskuntzarekiko jarrera: Ama-hizkuntzaren eta jatorriaren eragina

LABURPENA: Lan enpiriko honen helburua Lea-Artibaiko hiru ikastetxetako ikasleen jarrerak aztertzea izan da, jatorria eta ama-hizkuntza bezalako faktoreek ezberdintasunik eragiten duten ikusteko. Horretarako, Likert eskalako galdetegien bidez informazioa bildu, ikasleen motibazioak -integratzailea eta instrumentala-, bigarren hizkuntza ikasteari eskaintzen dioten garrantzia eta haien gurasoen laguntza neurtu eta ondoren talde ezberdinen arteko konparaketa gauzatu da. Parte-hartzaile guztiek emaitza onak erakutsi badituzte ere, ama-hizkuntza euskara dutenek eta jatorriz euskal herritarrak direnek eskuratu dituzte emaitzarik baxuenak jarrerak deskribatzeko erabili diren aspektu horietan. Hala, ondorioztatu da testuinguru honetan etxeko hizkuntzak eta jatorriak badakartela desberdintasunik bigarren hizkuntzaren ikaskuntzarekiko jarreran.

Discriminating languages in bilingual contexts: the impact of orthographic markedness

Does language-specific orthography help language detection and lexical access in naturalistic bilingual contexts? This study investigates how L2 orthotactic properties influence bilingual language detection in bilingual societies and the extent to which it modulates lexical access and single word processing. Language specificity of naturalistically learnt L2 words was manipulated by including bigram combinations that could be either L2 language-specific or common in the two languages known by bilinguals. A group of balanced bilinguals and a group of highly proficient but unbalanced bilinguals who grew up in a bilingual society were tested, together with a group of monolinguals (for control purposes). All the participants completed a speeded language detection task and a progressive demasking task. Results showed that the use of the information of orthotactic rules across languages depends on the task demands at hand, and on participants' proficiency in the second language. The influence of language orthotactic rules during language detection, lexical access and word identification are discussed according to the most prominent models of bilingual word recognition.

Project work in a Basque L2 classroom: students’ perceptions

[EN] Project Work has been acknowledged as an efficient medium for language learning for more than two decades (Stoller, 2006) according to the numerous successful applications of project-based programmes that have been reported. In spite of the lack of sufficient controlled studies to assess the benefits of project work, and the existence of some studies giving evidence of students discontent with project work, the reports given by second language (SL) and foreign language students (FL) who have experienced project based instruction give support to the success attributed to project-based learning, as they recognised having improved language skills, learnt content, developed real life skills, as well as gained in self-confidence and motivation (Sierra, 2008 and 2011; Stoller, 2006). The aim of the present study is to explore some key issues involved in implementing a project-based programme focusing on the students’ perceptions of learning gains, their views on the collaborative assessment scheme used in the programme, and the students’ overall evaluations of the implementation of project work in a post-compulsory secondary education context in Navarre, Spain, with students learning Basque as a second language. A group of 12 students enrolled in a project work based programme participated in the study. Results showed that the students’ perceptions were very positive concerning doing projects, learning gains and group work, although more grammar instruction and teacher-fronted activities were requested by the students. However, the collaborative assessment process and the use of a Notebook/Diary as a reflection tool bore mixed evaluations.

Corrective feedback in oral interaction: A comparison of a CLIL and an EFL classroom

[EN] Since Long's Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1983) multiple studies have suggested the need of oral interaction for successful second language learning. Within this perspective, a great deal of research has been carried out to investigate the role of corrective feedback in the process of acquiring a second language, but there are still varied open debates about this issue. This comparative study seeks to contribute to the existing literature on corrective feedback in oral interaction by exploring teachers' corrective techniques and students' response to these corrections. Two learning contexts were observed and compared: a traditional English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom and a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classroom .The main aim was to see whether our data conform to the Counterbalance Hypothesis proposed by Lyster and Mori (2006). Although results did not show significant differences between the two contexts, a qualitative analysis of the data shed some light on the differences between these two language teaching settings. The findings point to the need for further research on error correction in EFL and CLIL contexts in order to overcome the limitations of the present study.