Research on textual enhancement (TE) has given rise to several factors that may play a role in generating learners' noticing of target forms, one of which pertains to the nature of the target form(s). In particular, results have suggested that learners are more likely to notice more meaning-bearing forms than less meaning-bearing forms. Motivated by such insight, the present study investigated the effects of TE on two Arabic structures: the comparative form (which carries substantive semantic weight), and the dual pronoun (which is mostly grammatical in its function). The results indicated that TE did not play a facilitative role in promoting learners' noticing of the target forms, and that it actually interfered with learners' comprehension of the text when targeted at the less meaningful form. Results are discussed with suggestions for future TE research targeting Arabic as a second language.
Multidialectal use of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Colloquial Arabic (CA) has become standard practice among Arabic speakers. Therefore, a question facing Arabic instructors and curriculum planners is what methods to adopt to raise learners’ awareness of this sociolinguistic reality. Some programs introduce MSA and one variety of CA from the beginning of Arabic instruction. However, the question of how learners who receive multidialectal training use MSA and CA simultaneously in their speech productions and how their MSA–CA use evolves over their years of Arabic study remains under-researched. The current study addressed these questions by studying the speech productions of 51 second language (L2) Arabic learners enrolled in three years of Arabic instruction. The data show that the participants consistently code-switched between MSA and CA, and seemed to conform to sociocultural norms designating MSA as more formal and CA as more personal and intimate. As learners’ proficiency levels increased, a wider range of sociolinguistic functions was observed. The study reinforces the importance of L2 Arabic curricula decisions that embrace the multidialectal use of Arabic in the L2 Arabic classroom and asserts learners’ ability to use MSA and CA simultaneously.
This study investigated the effect that the salience of an L2 form has on learner noticing and production of the form. The study also explored the effects that task type (output vs. input) has on form noticing and production. The study targeted three Arabic forms: a low salient form (the future tense) and two salient ones (time telling and time connectors). Eighty beginning‐level learners of Arabic were assigned to two treatment conditions: output and input. The output group described a picture story; listened to, read, and underlined an Arabic speaker's description of the story; and redid the picture description. The input group answered pre‐text exposure questions; listened to, read, and underlined the same model description; and answered posttext exposure questions. There was an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest and interviews two weeks later. The findings suggest that the salience of the target forms affected form noticing and production, but task type only had a mediating effect on production; output did not promote learner noticing of L2 forms better than input, but it did lead to partial gains in form production.
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