Joanna White

First and second language knowledge in the language classroom

This feasibility study investigated how language instruction can be designed to help learners build on first language (L1) knowledge in acquiring a new language. It seems likely that learners will benefit from activities that draw their attention to features of their L1, but attempts to bridge the first and second language (L2) curricula often break down because the teachers typically work in isolation and are uncertain how to proceed. We attempted to address these problems by designing a series of cross-linguistic awareness (CLA) activities to be implemented on a trial basis with 48 young francophone learners of English (age 9—10 years) at a school in Montreal, Quebec. We observed language instruction in their French (L1) classes and identified features and themes that lent themselves to reinvestment in their English (L2) classes. Then 11 CLA teaching packages were developed and piloted with in an intensive year-long English as a second language (ESL) program. Classroom observations, interviews with both L1 and L2 teachers, and learner journal responses indicated that the activities were well received and that CLA instruction can usefully address a wide variety of linguistic features. Problems highlighted by the study are discussed; we also outline new research that will explore whether this promising experimental pedagogy leads to distinct language learning benefits.

Cognate awareness -raising in late childhood: teachable and useful

This study is part of a larger investigation of the usefulness of instruction designed to raise cross-linguistic awareness in young Francophone learners of English in Quebec. In the research reported here, the focus is on cognates. Since previous research shows that learners typically fail to recognise many helpful similarities between words in a new language (in this case, English) and languages they already know, the instructional activities we designed emphasised strategies for identifying ‘good friend’ resemblances, though false friends were also discussed. The impact of the activities was assessed in three ways: learners’ performance on a measure of French–English cognate recognition ability; their written responses to a question that probed developing cognate awareness; and interviews that explored teachers’ experiences after using the activities in their classes. Findings suggested that learners benefited from the activities. Gains on the recognition test pointed to an advantage for ‘pattern’ instruction that addresses resemblances that are not readily detected (e.g. English screen = French écran). Learners who received the experimental instruction outperformed control groups on the cognate awareness measure. Furthermore, teachers were positive about the cross-linguistic comparisons. We conclude that the activities were effective and even enjoyable.

Language awareness: a world of perspectives

We are pleased to present this special issue of Language Awareness. The papers in this issue reflect the wide variety of presentations given at the 11 International Conference of the Association for Language Awareness, held at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, July 2012. The theme, “Language Awareness for our Multicultural World”, attracted over 225 participants from around the world, with a significant number of firsttime participants from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, several of whom were supported financially by the Association for Language Awareness (ALA). The conference was also supported by grants from ALA, Concordia University, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. We would like to thank the conference participants and volunteers for a wonderfully stimulating and enjoyable three days. The papers in this special issue cover a range of perspectives on language awareness. Patsy Lightbown opened the conference with the Eric Hawkins Lecture, dedicated to one of the founders of the Association for Language Awareness. In her paper, she describes how her extensive program of research has informed her insights into the acquisition of other languages. She reviews a variety of instructional approaches and contexts for secondand foreign-language acquisition. These approaches are examined for their different characteristics, especially with respect to distribution of time. Finally, Lightbown identifies features of effective programs for learning a second or foreign language. In the paper based on her plenary talk, Carmen Mu~noz examines the language awareness of young Catalan-Spanish learners of English. Bringing together cross-sectional and longitudinal interview data, Mu~noz explores changes in their beliefs about themselves as learners, about language learning, and about the learning situation as they moved through primary school. Her paper makes an important contribution to our understanding of young learners’ views about foreign language learning. The next three papers are concerned with the awareness of adult learners of English. To investigate the relationship between the meanings and the use of common conventional expressions, Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig modified the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale and administered it to university students enrolled in four levels of intensive English. She describes the development of the instrument and explains how it can be used to supplement other tasks in pragmatics research. Joan Carles Mora, Youssef Rochdi, and Hanna Kivist€o de Souza explore the phonological side of language awareness. Mora et al. use a delayed mimicry task to show that, when asked to produce English, Spanish, and English-accented Spanish, first language (L1) Spanish learners of English can produce language-appropriate values for voice onset time, thus showing implicit phonological awareness of this non-distinctive phonetic difference between English and Spanish. Zhoulin Ruan presents his study of metacognitive awareness with participants who have been under-represented in language awareness research to date: Chinese university students writing in English. Using a metacognition framework with three elements, Ruan interviews over 50 students prior to an English writing course and finds that the students view writing in English as a structured task to complete rather than as a process of regulating their own cognition and effort.

Motivation Research and SLA: Bringing it into the Classroom

This study addresses the variable of motivation, which is of prime concern to EFL/ESL teachers. Specifically, it was undertaken to assess the hypothesized association between student-perceived course usefulness and interest/motivation level in mandatory general and specific purposes (ESP) English second language courses. The study was conducted at one Canadian post-secondary institution over three semesters (N = 615). The participants were enrolled in four course levels and two fields of study. Data collection was undertaken using a one-page questionnaire consisting of ten Likert-scale questions and two-short answer questions. The results indicate that ratings of usefulness and interest are significantly higher for ESP than general ESL courses. Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between usefulness and interest. This relationship varies significantly by level, but not by field of study. The confirmation of a connection between usefulness and interest is pertinent to any adult ESL/EFL situation, particularly in situations where the courses are mandatory and the students therefore not necessarily intrinsically motivated. As interest has already been established as a precursor for motivation, it follows that increasing the usefulness of content would also increase motivation for this target population.