Facing the challenges of learning English as a foreign language in Israel: in response to Ganschow, Sparks and Schneider

Kahn-Horwitz, Janina; Roffman, Naomi; Teitelbaum, Tova

doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0909(199809)4:3<169::aid-dys108>3.0.co;2-n

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…As mentioned earlier, English proficiency was assessed by a test used internally at the university where the study was conducted to assign immigrant students to English as L2 courses. The test was chosen because it reflects well the goals of English teaching in Israeli schools (Kahn‐Horwitz, Roffman, & Teitelbaum, ). To establish test validity, we asked the participants to provide their scores on the English subtest of the Psychometric Entrance Test, which is the Israeli equivalent of the American Scholastic Aptitude Test.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native Language Phonological Skills in Low‐Proficiency Second Language Learners

Borodkin

Faust

2014

Language Learning

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This study investigated the link between low second language performance and difficulties with native language phonological processing. Participants were native Hebrew speakers, 19–31 years of age, who learned English as a second language in a school setting. Individuals with dyslexia performed below high‐proficiency second language learners on each of four tasks assessing native language phonological processing, whereas low‐proficiency second language learners were disadvantaged compared to high‐proficiency second language learners on only two of the tasks: pseudoword repetition and tip‐of‐the‐tongue naming. These results indicate that both individuals with dyslexia and low‐proficiency second language learners have a weakness in native language phonological processing. The weakness in low‐proficiency second language learners, however, is evident in a more limited set of skills compared to individuals with dyslexia.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native Language Phonological Skills in Low‐Proficiency Second Language Learners

Borodkin

Faust

2014

Language Learning

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“…L2 proficiency was assessed by the English Proficiency Test , which is used in Bar-Ilan University internally to assign immigrant students to English as a L2 course. This test was chosen because it reflects well the goals of English teaching in Israeli schools (Kahn-Horwitz, Roffman, & Teitelbaum, 1998). Internal reliability calculated based on sample data using split-half odd-even reliability coefficient corrected by the Spearman–Brown formula was adequate, α = .82.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Naming Abilities in Low-Proficiency Second Language Learners

Borodkin

Faust

2012

J Learn Disabil

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Difficulties in second language (L2) learning are often associated with recognizable learning difficulties in native language (L1), such as in dyslexia. However, some individuals have low L2 proficiency but intact L1 reading skills. These L2 learners experience frequent tip-of-the-tongue states while naming in L1, which indicates that they have a weakness in retrieval of phonological codes of words. The authors hypothesized that if naming ability is shared across languages, this difficulty would reemerge in L2 naming, which was tested using the tip-of-the-tongue experimental paradigm. Consistent with this hypothesis, low-proficiency L2 learners (n = 15) reported more tip-of-the-tongue states, more frequently mispronounced correctly retrieved words, and benefited less from phonological cuing compared to high-proficiency L2 learners (n = 23). It is notable that low-proficiency L2 learners performed worse than individuals with dyslexia (n = 16) on some of these measures, despite the same level of L2 proficiency. These results indicate that L2 naming difficulties of low-proficiency L2 learners are a manifestation not merely of their low L2 proficiency but rather of a general weakness in phonological word form retrieval, which is shared across languages. More broadly, the study provides further evidence for the existence of a distinct profile of cognitive weaknesses characteristic of the behavioral phenotype of low-proficiency L2 learners.

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Reflections on foreign language study for students with language learning problems: research, issues, and challenges

Ganschow

Sparks

2000

Dyslexia

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The study of foreign language (FL) learning for individuals who have found learning to read and write in their first language extremely problematic has been an under-researched area throughout the world. Since the 1980s, Leonore Ganschow and Richard Sparks have conducted pioneering research into the nature of difficulties, why they are encountered and how they can be minimized. In this paper the authors trace the development of their research on foreign language difficulties for students with language learning problems. They provide a summary of their findings and suggest new questions and directions for the field.

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Facing the challenges of learning English as a foreign language in Israel: in response to Ganschow, Sparks and Schneider

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Native Language Phonological Skills in Low‐Proficiency Second Language Learners

Native Language Phonological Skills in Low‐Proficiency Second Language Learners

Naming Abilities in Low-Proficiency Second Language Learners

Reflections on foreign language study for students with language learning problems: research, issues, and challenges

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