In this thesis I explore the phonological nature of newly acquired perceptual representations by highly proficient late-learners of English whose L1 is Spanish, specifically in the case where two different L2 sounds are being initially mapped onto the same L1 category. I claim that these perceptual representations are not phonemic; rather, what these learners acquire are phonetic representations that can be discriminable under certain conditions in a manner similar to that of native speakers, but that are nevertheless identified as tokens of the same L1 category. Since speech perception is a categorisation process where the acoustic input is mapped onto the existing phonemic categories, then late-learners will use their L1 representations when perceiving acoustic input; and will therefore have no need to create new perceptual categories. An alternative hypothesis holds that late-learners can bootstrap new perceptual categories by means of UG access, which allows them to bypass the default categorisation process and notice the difference between their L1 categories and the actual L2 input, so that new perceptual categories can be created. This thesis focuses on the acquisition of the perceptual contrast between the open-mid back unrounded vowel /2/ and the low back unrounded vowel /A/, both of which are mapped onto the same L1 perceptual category /a/. Two experiments were conducted. Subjects were divided in three groups: one of native speakers (NS), a group of highly proficient nonnative speakers of English with Spanish as L1 (NNS-A), and a group of L1 Spanish speakers who were nonproficient in English (NNS-B). The experiments included identification, discrimination and rating tasks along synthesised /A - 2/ vowel continua (7-step and 5-step). The results showed that unlike the NS group, both groups of nonnative speakers categorised the tokens along the /2 - A/ continuum randomly when using L2-like labels; and showing a strong preference towards /a/ when using L1-like labels. Discrimination, on the other hand, differed according to the task: discrimination of adjacent tokens yielded similar results across the three groups, but nonadjacent tokens showed that the NNS-A group is more sensitive than the NNS-B group and less sensitive than the NS group. Finally, prototypicality ratings showed that while NS considered the endpoints of the continuum as good exemplars of the categories /A/ and /2/, both groups of nonnative speakers rated all tokens along the continuum as equally good instances of /a/. From these results I conclude that while late-learners of L2 English do not create new phonemic categories for /A/ and /2/, they are able to perceive a difference that nevertheless does not seem to be enough to create a category split. These findings have implications for a theory of learnability in SLA, since it suggests that latelearners have partial access to UG insofar as input alone leads to learning within the phonetic domain but not to creation of new phonemic categories.

Notre travail se focalise sur deux phénomènes observés dans le cadre de l'apprentissage de l'anglais langue seconde (L2) chez des adultes francophones: d'une part, l'usage non conventionnel de verbes, et d'autre part, l'importance du taux de production des verbes génériques (vs spécifiques). Notre population est constituée d'un groupe d'étudiants universitaires francophones en situation d'apprentissage de l'anglais de niveau B1 (population cible), ainsi que d'un groupe de locuteurs d'anglais L1 (population de référence), placés en situation de dénomination orale de 42 vidéos d'actions de type cut et break. Nos résultats montrent des différences significatives entre la manière dont les deux groupes catégorisent ces types d'actions, avec un taux plus élevé de descriptions non conventionnelles et de verbes génériques chez les locuteurs de l’anglais L2. A l'appui de ces résultats, nous soulignons l'importance de l'usage des verbes non conventionnels et génériques, qui constitue des stratégies de communication permettant aux apprenants L2 de pallier leurs lacunes lexicales. / Our work focuses on two phenomena that appear in the language of English L2 learners: the use of unconventional verbs, and the production of generic, high-frequency verbs (rather than specific verbs). Our study involves a group of Francophone university students learning English as a second language, with a B1 level (experimental group), as well as a group of native English speakers (control group), both placed in a naming task using 42 videos that show cut- and break-type actions. Results show significant differences in the way that the two groups categorize these types of actions, with a higher frequency of unconventional and generic verbs used by the L2 learners. Based on these results, we highlight the importance of the use of these types of verbs as a communication strategy, allowing L2 learners to compensate for gaps in their lexicon.

La comparaison des enfants qui acquièrent une langue seconde (L2) à des enfants avec trouble spécifique du langage (TSL) a montré des similarités entre les performances morphosyntaxiques des deux groupes. Cette étude vise à mieux comprendre l’acquisition L2 enfantine typique afin de permettre l’identification d’un TSL chez les enfants L2. Une étude longitudinale de taux de propositions enchâssées et d’erreurs ont été a été faite à partir d’échantillons de langage spontané en français de 22 enfants anglophones âgés de 6;9-12;7 et de 19 enfants monolingues francophones avec TSL âgés de 6;5 à 12;11. Les résultats révèlent que les L2 font plus d’enchâssées que les enfants avec SLI, mais les deux groupes ont eu des taux d’erreurs comparables. La discussion porte sur l’implication de ces résultats sur l’identification des TSL chez les enfants L2. / Research on children acquiring a second language (L2 children) and children with SLI has revealed similarities in their morphosyntactic performance. This study seeks to better understand how children acquire an L2 in order to distinguish typical from atypical L2 acquisition. A longitudinal study of clausal embedding and error rates was made based on spontaneous language samples of 22 English-speaking children (aged 6;9-12;7) acquiring French as an L2 and 19 monolingual French-speaking children with SLI (aged 6;5-12;11). The results revealed that L2 children used clausal embedding more often than the children with SLI, but the SLI and L2 had similar error rates. Analyses of the frequency of embedding and errors revealed correlations that were positive in the L2 group and negative in the SLI. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for the identification of SLI in L2 children.

Cette thèse porte sur l'introduction des entités dans un discours narratif dans deux langues cibles différentes, le français et l'anglais, par des apprenants libanais de 10, 13 et 16 ans. Nous nous intéressons a l'ordre d'acquisition des langues cibles considérées. Ainsi, nous avons analysé les récits de film à l'oral produits par deux groupes d'apprenants, un groupe ayant reçu l'enseignement du français (L2) avant celui de l'anglais (L3) et inversement, un autre groupe ayant etc. d'abord scolarise en anglais (L2) et ensuite en français (L3). Nous abordons donc la question de l'impact des langues sources, l'arabe libanais (L1), le français (L2 ou L3) et l'anglais (L2 ou L3) dans l'acquisition des moyens linguistiques nécessaires pour construire la référence aux entités dans un discours narratif, notamment en ce qui concerne l'introduction de la référence. Pour pouvoir mieux évaluer le rôle des langues sources en question, nous avons recueilli et analyse les productions issues de la même tache communicative effectuées par 3 groupes de contrôle composes des locuteurs natifs de l'anglais, du français et de l'arabe libanais. Cette recherche s'inscrit dans l'approche fonctionnaliste (Klein et Perdue 1997) et s'appuie sur le modèle de la quaestio (Klein et von Stutterheim 1991) qui permet d'examiner l'interaction entre la structure discursive et la structure phrastique des énoncés. L'analyse fait apparaitre les spécificités des langues étudiées et la variation de leurs procédés linguistiques nécessaires à l'introduction des entités. Cette étude contribue a la meilleure compréhension du processus d'acquisition en ce qui concerne l'impact des langues sources, le facteur de l’âge et l'ordre d'acquisition de différentes langues étrangères. Par ailleurs, nos résultats permettent d'aborder la question de l'apport de la recherche en acquisition à la didactique des langues. Et finalement, l'analyse du corpus en libanais du groupe de contrôle ouvre des perspectives nouvelles pour la description de cette langue dans une approche relativement peu adoptée dans les travaux en linguistique arabe. / The present study concerns the introduction of entities in a narrative discourse in two different target languages, French and English, by Lebanese learners of 10, 13 and 16 year old. The main purpose is to observe acquisitional sequences in the two mentioned target languages. We analyzed the oral production – a story of a film – of two groups of learners, one group who first received French (L2) instruction at school before English (L3) instruction and inversely, the other group who initially attended school in English (L2) and later in French (L3). Therefore, we are investigating the impact of source languages, Lebanese Arabic (L1), French (L2 or L3) and English (L2 and L3) on the acquisition of the linguistic means essential for the construction of the reference to entities in a narrative discourse, especially as regards introduction of the reference. In order to evaluate the role of the specified source languages better, we collected and analyzed productions from the same verbal task performed by three control groups, French English and Lebanese Arabic of adult native speakers. We adopt a functionalist approach (Klein & Perdue 1997), building on the quaestio model (Klein & von Stutterheim 1991) that allows us to analyze the relationship between informational/discourse structure and the phrasal structure of utterances. Our analysis shows the specificity of studied languages and the variation of their linguistic processes necessary for the introduction of entities. This study contributes to a better comprehension of the acquisition process regarding sources languages impacts, age factors and sequences of acquisition of different foreign languages. Moreover, our results enable us to approach the question of contribution of research in acquisition of the languages’ didactic. Finally, the analysis of the Lebanese corpus of the control group offers new and promising prospects for the description of this language, in an approach only rarely adopted in Arabic linguistic research.

Notre travail se focalise sur deux phénomènes observés dans le cadre de l'apprentissage de l'anglais langue seconde (L2) chez des adultes francophones: d'une part, l'usage non conventionnel de verbes, et d'autre part, l'importance du taux de production des verbes génériques (vs spécifiques). Notre population est constituée d'un groupe d'étudiants universitaires francophones en situation d'apprentissage de l'anglais de niveau B1 (population cible), ainsi que d'un groupe de locuteurs d'anglais L1 (population de référence), placés en situation de dénomination orale de 42 vidéos d'actions de type cut et break. Nos résultats montrent des différences significatives entre la manière dont les deux groupes catégorisent ces types d'actions, avec un taux plus élevé de descriptions non conventionnelles et de verbes génériques chez les locuteurs de l'anglais L2. A l'appui de ces résultats, nous soulignons l'importance de l'usage des verbes non conventionnels et génériques, qui constitue des stratégies de communication permettant aux apprenants L2 de pallier leurs lacunes lexicales.

This paper is dedicated to the investigation of receptive transfer with a special focus on the comprehension of spoken utterances in nonfamiliar Slavic languages. It investigates the possibility of applying the concept of passive multilingualism to the field of Slavic languages. It is often assumed that closely related languages provide ideal conditions for mutual intelligibility. By means of positive transfer from a previously known language of the group, one can achieve a certain degree of passive knowledge in related languages, even if these have never been learned consciously. In this paper, however, it will be shown that spontaneous intercomprehensibility of spoken utterances within the group of Slavic languages is rather restricted. After a short outline of the peculiarities of receptive and auditive transfer phenomena, as opposed to productive and written transfer, the paper provides empirical evidence for the failure of comprehension at different stages of the perception process. / Series: WU Online Papers in International Business Communication / Series One: Intercultural Communication and Language Learning

Les recherches qui se sont intéressées à l’étude des événements de mouvement ont démontré que, pour les coder, les langues utilisent des stratégies de lexicalisation différentes. Selon la proposition de Talmy (1985), les langues romanes correspondent au type ‘verb-framed’(VF), tandis que les langues germaniques sont considérées ‘satellite-framed’(SF). Cette classification qui permet d’identifier des distinctions intéressantes au niveau macro-typologique, mais sa rigidité ne consent pas d’observer la variabilité inter- et intra-typologiques. La thèse étude les événements de mouvement de deux perspectives complémentaires. D’un côté, du point de vue de la typologie, on observe les différences existantes entre les langues appartenant au même groupes typologique et à la même famille génétique. De l’autre côté, du point de vue acquisitionnel, on analyse l’impact des facteurs typologiques sur l’acquisition du français L2 chez apprenants italophones. Dans ce but, on a été construit un corpus de productions sur la base d’un support qui montre des mouvements volontaires et provoqués soumis auprès quatre groupes d’informateurs: deux groupes de natifs (francophones et italophones) et deux groupes d’italophones apprenant le français L2 de deux niveaux de compétence. Les résultats montrent qu’il y a des différences intratypologiques entre les langues génétiquement proches, comme l’italien et le français. De même, ces mêmes différences intratypologiques engendrent des transfert en influençant la restructuration du penser pour parler. / Recent research is interested in studying motion events in different languages by showing that, they follow different lexicalization strategies to code motion events. In light of Talmy’s proposal (1985), romance languages are classified as ‘verb-framed’ (VF), while the Germanic ones are considered as ‘satellite-framed’ (SF). The Talmy’s classification legitimated a large number of studies that confirm the validity of this dichotomy, which is the identification of interesting distinctions on a macro-typological level. Nevertheless its rigidity does not allow to observe the inter- and intra-typological variability. The study investigates motion events from two complementary perspectives. On the one hand, the differences within languages of the same typological group and the same genetic family are observed from the point of view of the semantic type On the other hand, the impact of typological factors on French acquisition as L2 by Italian speakers is analyzed from the acquisitional point of view. For this purpose, a corpus of productions was collected in a controlled situation on the basis of a support containing voluntary and caused movements submitted to four groups of informants: two groups of native (French and Italian speakers) and two groups of Italian learners of French L2 of two different skill levels. The results show that there are differences between intra-typological languages which are genetically very close, such as Italian and French. Similarly, these same intra-typological languages generate some transfer that influences the restructuring of thinking for speaking. / Le recenti ricerche in psicolinguistica e in linguistica cognitiva si sono interessate allo studiodegli eventi di movimento in diverse lingue del mondo dimostrando che, per codificare glieventi di movimento, le lingue seguono strategie di lessicalizzazione differenti. Alla luce dellaproposta di Talmy (1985, 2000), le lingue romanze sono classificate nel tipo ‘verb-framed’(VF), ovvero a quadro verbale, mentre le lingue germaniche sono considerate ‘satelliteframed’(SF), ossia lingue a quadro satellitare. I due tipi si differenziano essenzialmente per ildiverso locus di codifica delle componenti semantiche: le lingue a quadro verbale, come ilfrancese e l’italiano, tendono a lessicalizzare l’informazione semantica della Traiettoria nelverbo principale, mentre la Maniera è omessa o espressa in una proposizione subordinata.Invece, le lingue a quadro satellitare come l’inglese, esprimono la Maniera nella radiceverbale e la Traiettoria mediante dei satelliti, ovvero degli elementi associati al verbo(avverbi, prefissi, particelle, etc). La classificazione di Talmy ha giustificato un gran numerodi studi che hanno confermato la validità di questa dicotomia, che permette di individuaredelle interessanti distinzioni a livello macro-tipologico, ma la sua rigidità non consente diosservare la variabilità inter- e intratipologica (Ibarretxe-Antuñano, 2004b,d, 2009a; Slobin,2004). La variabilità tipologica che le lingue mostrano nella concettualizzazione degli eventidi movimento, condiziona il modo in cui i locutori selezionano le informazioni semantiche(Traiettoria e Maniera) e, di conseguenza, il modo in cui un apprendente esprime lecomponenti di un evento di movimento in L2. La tesi studia gli eventi di movimento da dueprospettive complementari. Da un lato, dal punto di vista della tipologia semantica, siosservano le differenze esistenti tra le lingue appartenenti allo stesso gruppo tipologico e allastessa famiglia genetica. Dall’altro lato, dal punto di vista acquisizionale, si analizza l’impattodei fattori tipologici sull’acquisizione del francese L2 di apprendenti italofoni. A questoscopo, è stato costruito un corpus di produzioni raccolte in una situazione controllata sullabase di un supporto che mostra dei movimenti volontari e provocati sottoposti a quattrogruppi di informatori: due gruppi di informatori nativi (francofoni e italofoni) e due gruppi diapprendenti italofoni di francese L2 di due livelli di competenza (intermedio e avanzato).I risultati mostrano che vi sono delle differenze intratipologiche tra lingue geneticamentemolto vicine, come l’italiano e il francese. Analogamente, queste stesse differenze intratipologiche generano dei transfert influenzando la ristrutturazione del pensare perparlare.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] Esta tesis tiene como objetivo promover la colaboración entre profesores de L2, profesionales de las Tecnologías de la Información y estudiantes de L2 que abordan la tecnología del siglo XXI con una mentalidad digital. Específicamente, busca proporcionar soluciones prácticas para la memorización y el compromiso eficientes del vocabulario SL/LE/L2 mediante el uso mnemónico de memoria espacial y entornos inmersivos. Metodológicamente cuenta con la recopilación de datos numéricos analizados estadísticamente y con la exploración subjetiva compartida por los participantes. El texto es un compendio de artículos publicados que destacan diferentes aspectos del contenido de la tesis. El autor tuvo en mente una pregunta común para los estudios cuantitativos: si el enfoque experimental demostraría resultados estadísticamente significativos en comparación con las técnicas de control donde las preguntas abiertas eran la base para las investigaciones cualitativas. Además, se utilizaron encuestas para obtener opiniones en un formato estandarizado. Todos los estudios realizados demostraron la efectividad de la espacialización mnemotécnica en combinación con AR, VR y dentro de un videojuego exploratorio, y reunieron información valiosa de los participantes individuales. Investigaciones complementarias confirmaron la predilección de los estudiantes por cursos personalizados y la necesidad de innovaciones didácticas. / [CA] Aquesta tesi té com a objectiu promoure la col·laboració entre professors de L2, professionals de les Tecnologies de la Informació i estudiants de L2 que aborden la tecnologia del segle XXI en una mentalitat digital. Específicament, persegueix proporcionar solucions pràctiques per a la memorització i el compromís eficients del vocabulari SL/L1/L2 mitjançant l'ús mnemònic de memòria espacial i entorns immersius. Metodològicament compta amb la recopilació de dades numèriques analitzades estadísticament i amb l'exploració subjectiva compartida pels participants. El text és un compendi d'articles publicats que destaquen diferents aspectes del contingut de la tesi. L'autor va tindre en ment una pregunta comuna per als estudis quantitatius: si l'enfocament experimental demostraria resultats estadísticament significatius en comparació a les tècniques de control on les preguntes obertes eren la base per a les investigacions qualitatives. A més, es van utilitzar enquestes per a obtenir opinions en un format estandarditzat. Tots els estudis realitzats van demostrar l'efectivitat de l'espacialització mnemotècnica en combinació amb AR, VR i dins d'un videojoc exploratori, i van reunir informació valuosa dels participants individuals. Investigacions complementàries van confirmar la predilecció dels estudiants per cursos personalitzats i la necessitat d'innovacions didàctiques. / [EN] This thesis is aimed at promoting collaboration among L2 teachers, IT professionals, L2 students tackling 21st century technology, and the modern digitally minded public. Specifically, it seeks to provide practical solutions for efficient SL/FL/L2 vocabulary memorisation and engagement via the use of visuospatial mnemonics in immersive environments. Methodologically it counts on a collection of numerical data analysed statistically and by exploring a subjective perspective shared by the participants. The manuscript is a compendium of published papers that highlight different aspects of the thesis content. The author kept in mind a common question for quantitative studies which was if the experimental approach would demonstrate statistically significant results in comparison to control techniques while open-ended questions were the base for qualitative inquiries. In addition, surveys were used to obtain opinions in a standardized format. All the studies conducted both demonstrated the effectiveness of mnemonic spatialization in combination with AR, VR and within an explorative videogame, and collected valuable insights from individual participants. Supplementary research confirmed students' predilection for tailor-made courses and the need for didactic innovations. / Larchen Costuchen, A. (2023). Spatial Mnemonics for L2 Vocabulary Recall. Customized Training for 21st Century Students [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/195731 / Compendio

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Este estudio analiza las percepciones de mejoría en el español y de conocimiento cultural de los participantes en un programa de ayudantes de inglés, Auxiliares de Conversación, mientras trabajaron en escuelas primarias y secundarias en varias regiones de España. Los participantes provenían de varios países anglófonos, entre ellos los Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido, Canadá, Nueva Zelanda, Australia. Varios participantes rellenaron encuestas a través de internet para evaluar su crecimiento lingüístico y cultural durante el programa, experiencia en los centros educativos y alojamiento. Además, plantearon varias sugerencias para el programa para futuros auxiliares y profesores. Seis auxiliares fueron entrevistados sobre los mismos temas en mayor profundidad.