刊讯｜SSCI期刊 The Modern Language Journal, Issue 1, 2021

Volume 105, Issue 1, Spring 2021

The Modern Language Journal 2021年第1期共发文10篇，其中研究性论文9篇，评论1篇。研究论文涉及二语习得研究、二语教学研究、对华英语教学研究等方面。主题包括多语交际对话、词汇习得、二语写作教学、智能手机交互等。

目录

Commentary

■Small Samples in Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research

, by SHAWN LOEWEN, BRONSON HUI, Pages 187–193.

■Sustaining Dual Language Immersion: Partner Language Outcomes in a Statewide Program, by JOHANNA WATZINGER–THARP, DOUGLAS S. THARP, FERNANDO RUBIO, Pages 194–217.

■Effect-Driven Sample Sizes in Second Language Instructed Vocabulary Acquisition Research, by CHRISTOPHER NICKLIN, JOSEPH P. VITTA, Pages 218–236.

■Cognitive and Socioaffective Predictors of L2 Microdevelopment in Late Adulthood: A Longitudinal Intervention Study, by MARIA KLIESCH, SIMONE E. PFENNINGER, Pages 237–266.

■Exploring Evolving Motivation to Learn Two Languages Simultaneously in a Study-Abroad Context, by HARUNA FUKUI, TOMOKO YASHIMA, Pages 267–293.

■The Smartphone as a Personal Cognitive Artifact Supporting Participation in Interaction, by LAURA E. EILOLA, NIINA S. LILJA, Pages 294–316.

■A Control–Value Theory Approach to Boredom in English Classes Among University Students in China, by CHENGCHEN LI, Pages 317–334.

■Construction Learning by Child Learners of Foreign Language: Input Distribution and Learner Factors, by CHIEH–FANG HU, CHEYENNE MAECHTLE, Pages 335–354.

■Translingual and Transcultural Reflection in Study Abroad: The Case of a Vietnamese-American Student in Guatemala, by TRACY QUAN, JULIA MENARD–WARWICK, Pages 355–370.

■Performance Profiles on Second Language Speaking Tasks, by FRANCINE PANG, PETER SKEHAN, Pages 371–390.

摘要

Small Samples in Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research

SHAWN LOEWEN, BRONSON HUI

Abstract This commentary discusses the issue of small samples in instructed second language acquisition research.We discuss the current state of affairs, and consider the disadvantages of small samples. We also explore other considerations regarding sample size, such as research ethics and ecological validity. We present a range of recommendations for researchers to address the issue of small samples. Recommendations include (a) engaging in sample size planning, (b) opting for appropriate designs and analytical approaches, (c) reporting the constraints that sample size places on the interpretation of findings, and (d) cultivating a culture of collaboration and open science.

Sustaining Dual Language Immersion: Partner Language Outcomes in a Statewide Program

JOHANNA WATZINGER–THARP, DOUGLAS S. THARP, FERNANDO RUBIO

Abstract  Dual language immersion (DLI) as an alternative model to monolingual English-medium education hascontinued to expand rapidly over the past decade. As this model continues to grow across the United States, stakeholders look to research to demonstrate sustainability and scalability of dual language programs. Drawing on 224 schools, the statewide study reported in this article investigated whether students’ growth in a non-English DLI partner language sustained into the secondary level, to what degree students met performance benchmarks for these partner languages, and whether targeted outcomes were attained during program expansion. The longitudinal analysis of assessment data shows that middle school students performed at Intermediate Mid to High levels on the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency scale in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and that a segment of students raised their performance levels from 8th to 9th grade. Furthermore, a considerable portion of DLI students in French and Spanish dual language programs reached the Advanced level in 9th grade. Finally, 3rd- and 4th-grade data show that targeted performance outcomes held from one testing year to another, 4 years later, and after a substantial increase in enrollments. The article concludes with a discussion of curricular and policy implications.

Effect-Driven Sample Sizes in Second Language Instructed Vocabulary Acquisition Research

 CHRISTOPHER NICKLIN, JOSEPH P. VITTA

Abstract The present study involved the analysis of 81 second language instructed vocabulary acquisition (L2 IVA) studies over 2 phases. In Phase I, we categorized and coded the effect sizes of the studies. Observing that the basic between and within-subject design dichotomy lacked the sensitivity to capture the heterogeneity of observed effects, we employed a more granular approach. In both between- and within-subject designs, treatment versus comparison contrasts best represented comparisons of most interest in L2 IVA experiments, with median effect sizes (g) of .62 (between-subject) and .25 (counterbalanced within-subject). In Phase II, the aggregated effect sizes observed in Phase I were utilized in a priori power simulations to suggest approximate sample sizes for common L2 IVA analyses. For conservatively powered between-subject designs, the simulations suggested sample sizes ranging from 292 to 492 participants. Counterbalanced within-subject designs required 95 to 203 subjects depending on the assumed correlation between the repeated measures. The overarching implication of these simulations suggests that future L2 IVA experiments require larger samples that reference effect sizes from previous research, and we offer 3 potential solutions to the problem of obtaining larger samples.

Cognitive and Socioaffective Predictors of L2 Microdevelopment in Late Adulthood: A Longitudinal Intervention Study

MARIA KLIESCH, SIMONE E. PFENNINGER

Abstract The question of cognition in second language (L2) acquisition later in life is of importance inasmuch as L2 learning is largely mediated by domain-general cognitive capacities. While a number of these capacities have been shown to decline with age, individual differences in cognition increase over the lifespan. This microdevelopment study investigates the L2 trajectories of 28 older German-speaking adults (age 64+) who participated in a combined computer-assisted and classroom-instructed 7-month Spanish training for beginners. We made use of generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to quantify linear and nonlinear learner trajectories as well as any predictors thereof. Participants were assessed on a range of behavioral, L2, socioaffective, and background variables. We found a significant (linear and nonlinear) increase across all measures of L2 proficiency. Between-subject cognitive, socioaffective, and background variables significantly predicted the overall level of L2 proficiency as well as developmental patterns over time. Daily variances in cognitive performance and socioaffect had little impact on fluctuations in L2 performance. Findings are discussed against the backdrop of complex dynamic systemstheory and highlight the necessity for dense longitudinal research designs to capture nonliearity in third-age L2 learning.

Exploring Evolving Motivation to Learn Two Languages Simultaneously in a Study-Abroad Context

HARUNA FUKUI, TOMOKO YASHIMA

Abstract Studies focused on motivation to learn languages other than English or more than 1 language simultaneously have been gaining attention in recent years. However, there are far fewer than those related to second language (L2) English learning. To all this gap, this article explores the evolving motivation of 2 Japanese students who spent 1 academic year learning both English and Chinese on a study-abroad program in Taiwan. The data consist of semistructured interviews conducted before and during the program along with motivation graphs drawn by the students. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and categorized. The L2 motivational self system and the concept of the ideal multilingual self are used as frameworks to capture the complex experience of learning multiple languages simultaneously. To capture the dynamic and complex nature of motivation, this article also applies three different timescales (microgenetic, mesogenetic, and ontogenetic) to analyze learners’ experiences. The results show how ideal and ought-to second- and third-language selves emerged along with an ideal multilingual self in 1 of the students while abroad. The interviews also revealed multiple learning experiences and struggles in maintaining balance, with both languages competing for limited cognitive resources and study time.

The Smartphone as a Personal Cognitive Artifact Supporting Participation in Interaction

LAURA E. EILOLA, NIINA S. LILJA

Abstract This article uses multimodal conversation analysis to investigate how the smartphone as a personal cognitive artifact features in second language (L2) use and learning. The data come from a pedagogical intervention that was organized as part of an integration learning course for adult L2 students with emerging literacy. The purpose of the intervention was to guide the students to participate in everyday interactions outside the language classroom and to learn from them. The analysis concentrates on a focal student's smartphone use during different phases of the intervention and offers a detailed account of how the smartphone provides affordances for the student to formulate recognizable social actions and participate in different phases of the pedagogical activity. The analysis adds to our current understanding of the role of mobile technology in L2 learning and illustrates how experiential pedagogy supports language learning as social activity. The findings can be used in designing pedagogical practices that support L2 students to develop their interactional competences on the basis of their own needs and goals.

A Control–Value Theory Approach to Boredom in English Classes Among University Students in China

CHENGCHEN LI

Abstract There is a growing research interest in a variety of emotions in foreign and second language (L2) classrooms, especially since the introduction of positive psychology. However, research on the ubiquitous emotional experience of boredom is scant. Building on its prevalence and documented deleterious effects, I argue that research on the antecedents for the instigation of boredom is needed. Based on the control–value theory (CVT) of achievement emotions in educational psychology, this study took a mixed methods approach to examine control–value appraisals as antecedents of boredom in English-as-a-foreign-language learning among Chinese university students. In line with CVT assumptions, Pearson correlation analyses and regression analyses (N =2,002) showed that different control–value appraisals predicted boredom uniquely or interactively. Qualitative data from interviews with 11 students and 11 English teachers expanded the quantitative results by including more complexities in the associations between control–value appraisals and boredom. These findings provide further support for the CVT and help to elucidate the instigation of boredom in the L2 learning context. Directions for future research and implications for L2 educational practice are discussed.

Construction Learning by Child Learners of Foreign Language: Input Distribution and Learner Factors

CHIEH–FANG HU, CHEYENNE MAECHTLE

Abstract Two studies examined the role of input distribution in English construction learning, by child learners from a Mandarin first-language background, and the extent to which phonological short-term memory and awareness predicted such learning. In the first study, 4th-grade students of Mandarin Chinese (N =121) learned the English object-cleft construction under skewed or balanced input conditions. In the skewed condition, the construction was instantiated by exemplars with a high token-frequency verb; in the balanced condition, the exemplars were evenly distributed. The second study (N =117) replicated the first study, except that the argument nouns of the verbs in the exemplars also varied. The 2 studies yielded similar results in that children’s comprehension of new sentences of the construction and use of the construction to infer new words were not affected by input distribution but were associated with phonological awareness and short-term memory. The results suggest that while child learners of a foreign language could abstract a new pattern from input without direct instruction, their performance was more consistently associated with individual learner factors than with input-related factors.

Translingual and Transcultural Reflection in Study Abroad: The Case of a Vietnamese-American Student in Guatemala

TRACY QUAN, JULIA MENARD–WARWICK

Abstract How multilinguals reflect on and interpret their experiences abroad as they acquire an additional language has been undertheorized in study abroad research. Multilinguals navigate multiple identities, cross linguistic and social boundaries, and employ an array of resources to make meaning—that is, they engage in translingual practice. This article presents the case of Terry—a Vietnamese-American learner of Spanish—during a 13-week stay in Guatemala as she navigates and reflects on her sense of self. Employing translingual practice and symbolic competence as theoretical frameworks, this study examines how Terry drew on her cultural and linguistic background to understand her experiences abroad and in turn, how an abroad experience encouraged critical self-reflection. Through a thematic analysis of interviews, course assignments, and audio-recorded classroom observations, the findings illustrate how an abroad curriculum that emphasized structured critical reflection and local engagement encouraged Terry’s development of critical translingual competence; an awareness of the symbolic significance of meaning-making resources across contexts; and the inextricable connections among identity, language, and culture.

Performance Profiles on Second Language Speaking Tasks

FRANCINE PANG, PETER SKEHAN

Abstract This study use s acomplexity–accuracy–lexis–fluency(CALF) framework to explore performance on 2 speaking tasks: a narrative picture-based task and an interactive decision-making task. A preliminary aim is to compare performance on the 2 tasks, using a wide range of CALF measures to explore where scores are similar and where they are different. However, the research design is within-subjects, and so it is also possible to look at performance by participants across the 2 tasks to explore whether particular CALF measures show more consistency than others, and whether any such consistency is related to hypothesised stages in the process of speaking. The main focus of the study is to use the technique of cluster analysis to examine whether there are performance profiles across CALF measures that go beyond consistency with the individual performance variables. The data suggest that there is something of a tension between a discourse-oriented style—emphasising speed, fluency, and subordination—and a clause-oriented style—emphasising longer clauses, dysfluency, and slow performance. In addition, it is reported that there is some limited style consistency across the 2 tasks, with just under half of the 47 participants using the same style in each task.

期刊简介

The editorial mission of The Modern Language Journal is to publish “research and discussion about the learning and teaching of foreign and second languages.” The MLJ is an international refereed journal that is dedicated to promoting scholarly exchange among researchers and teachers of all modern foreign languages and English as a second language. The journal is particularly committed to publishing high quality work in non-English languages. Its publication focus is further defined by linking the findings of research to teaching and learning in a variety of settings and on all educational levels. Article contributions are expected to meet the highest standards of scholarly excellence, advance theoretical knowledge, and explore clearly stated and well supported implications for teaching.

In each of the four regular issues that comprise a volume, The Modern Language Journal publishes 8-10 research studies. At times, a regular issue may also be guest edited, in which case it focuses on a particular topic. A supplementary issue of the journal, usually published in January, offers a variety of formats, from guest edited issues to monograph-length publications. Guidelines for proposing guest edited issues and monographs are posted here on the journal’s Web page.

The MLJ also offers Perspectives, a column that appears in the summer issue and presents timely professional concerns for discussion from various perspectives. From time to time, the MLJ also publishes invited critical review essays that consider topically related publications written in any language (e.g., monographs, edited volumes, empirical research articles, essays, reports, policy documents) by placing them into a broad context of scholarly inquiry.

The journal is indexed in “Linguistics” and “Education and Educational Research.”

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