Tracking 'Learning Behaviours' in the Incidental Acquisition of Two Dimensional Adjectives by Japanese Beginner Learners of L2 English
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| Title: | Tracking 'Learning Behaviours' in the Incidental Acquisition of Two Dimensional Adjectives by Japanese Beginner Learners of L2 English |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Shintani, Natsuko, Ellis, Rod |
| Source: | Language Teaching Research. Oct 2014 18(4):521-542. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 22 |
| Publication Date: | 2014 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Form Classes (Languages), Incidental Learning, Behavior, Vocabulary, Second Language Instruction, Young Children |
| Geographic Terms: | Japan |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1362168813519885 |
| ISSN: | 1362-1688 |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this article is to examine both the process and product of vocabulary learning in a task-based instructional context. The article reports a study that investigated the acquisition of two dimensional adjectives ("big" and "small") by six-year-old Japanese children who were complete beginners. It tracked the "learning behaviours" that occurred in the classroom interactions involving the use of these adjectives in nine task-based lessons to show how these behaviours developed over time. It also collected test data to establish whether the learners had developed the receptive and productive knowledge required for the independent use of two adjectives. In this way, the study shows how second language (L2) learning evolves through interaction by exploring the relationships between the learners' different learning behaviours and the differences in their test performance. The main finding was that differences in the success of the individual learners in acquiring productive control over the dimensional adjectives--as shown in the tests--was directly traceable to their learning behaviours in the task-based interactions. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Number of References: | 36 |
| Entry Date: | 2014 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1041299 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this article is to examine both the process and product of vocabulary learning in a task-based instructional context. The article reports a study that investigated the acquisition of two dimensional adjectives ("big" and "small") by six-year-old Japanese children who were complete beginners. It tracked the "learning behaviours" that occurred in the classroom interactions involving the use of these adjectives in nine task-based lessons to show how these behaviours developed over time. It also collected test data to establish whether the learners had developed the receptive and productive knowledge required for the independent use of two adjectives. In this way, the study shows how second language (L2) learning evolves through interaction by exploring the relationships between the learners' different learning behaviours and the differences in their test performance. The main finding was that differences in the success of the individual learners in acquiring productive control over the dimensional adjectives--as shown in the tests--was directly traceable to their learning behaviours in the task-based interactions. |
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| ISSN: | 1362-1688 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1362168813519885 |
