Does competent bilingualism entail advantages for the third language learning of immigrant students?

Edele, Aileen; Kempert, Sebastian; Schotte, Kristin

doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.07.002

Cited by 39 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Second, by discussing the mediation of FLE, this paper enhances our understanding of how motivation exerts influence on second foreign language proficiency, thus not only enriching the literature on FLE and positive psychology, but also adding to our understanding of the process of language learning. Finally, while previous TLA studies have generally focused on multilingual immigrants [26,28], the current study has examined the second foreign language learning of English majors in mainland China, thus extending the research context of TLA studies and contributing to research on the English major curriculum as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extant literature on TLA mainly covers the influence of L1 and L2 on TLA [12], the differences between SLA and TLA [8,10], and cross-language interactions in TLA [25][26][27]. It must be noted that such studies usually focus on the TLA of immigrants [26,28], but the TLA of L2 language majors has been underexplored.…”

Section: Third Language Acquisition and Second Foreign Language Acquimentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Motivation and Second Foreign Language Proficiency: The Mediating Role of Foreign Language Enjoyment

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Inadequate research attention has been paid to the learning of a third language. For this reason, this study explores senior English major students' learning of additional foreign languages in seven universities in Shaanxi Province, China. The study examines the relationship between the participants' motivation and language proficiency through a questionnaire, and the collected data are analyzed using hierarchical linear regression analysis. The results identify that the participants' instrumental and integrative motivations positively influence their second foreign language proficiency. Further analysis reveals that the connection between the participants' motivation and language proficiency is mediated by foreign language enjoyment. These findings form the basis of our suggestions for the sustainable learning and teaching of foreign languages in universities.Sustainability 2020, 12, 1302 2 of 13 the field of positive psychology have pointed out the importance of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) in language acquisition [22][23][24], more work is needed to elaborate the role of FLE in foreign language learning. Considering FLE's connection with mental activity, we assume in this paper that it mediates the relationship between motivation and foreign language proficiency, and we try to examine this mediating effect in the TLA context. Therefore, the present study uses survey data from seven universities in Shaanxi Province, China, to explore the process of second foreign language acquisition, examining and explicating the relationship between motivation and language proficiency as well as the mediating role of FLE on the focal relationship. Theoretically, this paper enriches our understanding of how motivation influences second foreign language proficiency, facilitates further interest in TLA in terms of individual differences, and highlights the importance of positive psychology in learning a second foreign language. Practically, it suggests important implications for the sustainability of second foreign language teaching and learning.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Third Language Acquisition and Second Foreign Language Acquimentioning

confidence: 99%

Motivation and Second Foreign Language Proficiency: The Mediating Role of Foreign Language Enjoyment

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…5 Sixth, the influence of the majority language generally seems to be stronger. In regard to linguistic interdependence, the majority language exerts a positive influence (Edele et al, 2018). Positive influence from the heritage languages appears more difficult to observe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…We here probe into the widely held assumption that previous language experience qua bilingual or multilingual upbringing fosters the acquisition of additional languages. Such a 'multilingual boost' (Berthele and Udry, 2019) 1 could be evidenced for balanced bilinguals acquiring English, especially in the Basque Country and Catalunya (Agustín-Llach, 2019;Cenoz, 2003Cenoz, , 2013Cenoz and Valencia, 1994;Lasagabaster, 1998Lasagabaster, , 2001Safont Jordà, 2003;Sagasta Errasti, 2003;Sanz, 2000), and more recently also for bilingual heritage speakers in their acquisition of English, most prominently in the context of Germany but partially also other countries (Edele, Kempert and Schotte, 2018;Fleckenstein, Möller and Baumert, 2018;Göbel, Rauch and Vieluf, 2011;Hirosh and Degani, 2018;Hopp et al, 2019;Klieme et al, 2006;Maluch et al, 2015;Maluch, Neumann and Kempert, 2016;Sanders and Meijers, 1995;Schwartz et al, 2007;Siemund and Mueller, 2020;van Gelderen et al, 2003). 2 It is especially this latter context of bilingual heritage speakers that we are interested in here.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does bilingualism correlate with or predict higher proficiency in L3 English? A contrastive study of monolingual and bilingual learners

Lorenz

Rahbari

Schackow

et al. 2020

JMTP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigates whether English in instructed settings is more successfully acquired by learners who are already bilingual in comparison to those with a monolingual background. There remains substantial controversy regarding potential advantages of bilingual speakers in their acquisition of additional languages, especially in heritage speaker contexts. We here contribute to this discussion by analysing the English C-test results of 1,718 bilingual and monolingual students of grades 7 and 9, sampled in schools across Germany. The bilingual students speak either Russian or Turkish (heritage language) and German (majority language). The monolingual control group was raised in German only. The main predictor variables are reading fluency and comprehension in German and the heritage languages. Additional predictor variables include school type, school year, socioeconomic status, cognitive ability, amongst others. Using correlation and regression analyses we test if reading fluency and comprehension impact proficiency in English and if bilingual students enjoy advantages over their monolingual German peers. The results reveal no systematic advantage of bilingual students, although we find significant correlations between reading fluency and comprehension and C-test results. School type, cognitive skills, among others, are predictors for English performance, whereas socioeconomic status returns no significant effect.

show abstract

“…The results of recent surveys engaging international students in other foreign countries emphasise that language learning in a naturalistic setting is driven by meaningful interaction and a sense of belonging (Deygers, 2018;Mitchell, Del Fabbro, & Shaw, 2017) and that cultural and linguistic construction are influenced by local linguistic contexts (Lin, 2018). The findings of the research made by Edele, Kempert, & Schotte (2018) indicate that the advantages of immigrant bilinguals in third language learning mainly depend on their competence in the language of instruction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning the Language of Instruction in Ukraine: International Students’ Attitudes

Zabolotna

Gut

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Involvement of international students plays an important role in the process of every university development. This article presents the research conducted at Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, one of the leading pedagogical universities in the central part of Ukraine. It considers language education of international students and their attitudes to learning the Ukrainian language as the language of instruction. The main tasks of this work were to study the organisation of educational process within the academic subject "Ukrainian language (as a second language)"; to examine international students' attitudes towards learning the Ukrainian language; to monitor students' satisfaction with the result of learning the Ukrainian language; to find out the difficulties that can affect the quality of language acquisition. 75 international students studying at non-linguistic faculties of the University who come from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, The Republic of Serbia, Uzbekistan were involved in the study. The purpose of the research was accomplished with the help of the questionnaire consisting of 9 closed-ended questions with an introductory section for indicating a participant's age, speciality and year of study etc. The preliminary results of the research show that students of different years of study initially have different ideas about the Ukrainian language as an academic discipline, but those with more developed language skills are more confident and motivated. Consequently, students are optimistic about their future development within the study and learning the Ukrainian language in higher education. The article also addresses the issues of mastering basic language skills in a relatively short period of time, the gap between the level of language proficiency and the volume of information students must learn in other disciplines, the language barrier. Finally, based on the results obtained and the reflection on their experience the authors suggested some recommendations to overcome possible difficulties in language acquisition.

show abstract

Does competent bilingualism entail advantages for the third language learning of immigrant students?

Cited by 39 publications

References 43 publications

Motivation and Second Foreign Language Proficiency: The Mediating Role of Foreign Language Enjoyment

Motivation and Second Foreign Language Proficiency: The Mediating Role of Foreign Language Enjoyment

Does bilingualism correlate with or predict higher proficiency in L3 English? A contrastive study of monolingual and bilingual learners

Learning the Language of Instruction in Ukraine: International Students’ Attitudes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About