It is debated what exactly Elicited Imitation Tasks (EITs) measure; more specifically, it is not ... more It is debated what exactly Elicited Imitation Tasks (EITs) measure; more specifically, it is not clear to what extent language ability and working memory capacity are involved. Some researchers note that language abilities are more prevalent in those tasks, since participants focus on the meaning of the sentence in order to retrieve it (DeKeyser, 2003; Ellis, 2005; Erlam, 2006). Furthermore, language proficiency affects task performance (Bley-Vroman & Chaudron, 1994; Munnich, Flynn & Martohardjono, 1994). On the other hand, there is a debate regarding the role of memory in EITs. Some studies argue that the contribution of memory, either working memory (WM) or short-term memory (STM) is critical for accurate performance (Alloway & Gathercole, 2005; Alloway, Gathercole, Willis & Adams, 2004). Others point out the involvement of further cognitive abilities, such as episodic buffer (Baddeley & Wilson, 2002) or metalinguistic awareness (Bialystok 1991). Few studies claim that EITs do not...
International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 2021
Previous studies have shown that the role of learning strategies (LS) is pivotal in foreign langu... more Previous studies have shown that the role of learning strategies (LS) is pivotal in foreign language learning. Nevertheless, many other factors affect the use of LS. More specifically, gender, educational level/age, language proficiency, along with motivation influence the use of LS. Our knowledge about the use of LS by dyslectic learner is limited and it rather focuses on the role of motivation of this group. The purpose of the present study is to extend our knowledge on underexamined factors (i.e. gender, educational level, self-perceived proficiency and motivation) that may drive the use of LS of (non-)dyslectic foreign language learners. To this end, 129 EFL (9-15 years old) were tested (55 dyslectic learners and 74 non-dyslectic learners). LS were tested by means of a questionnaire (translated and adapted Greek version of the SILL; cf. Oxford, 1990). The results revealed that a medium strategy use was found in all learners, regardless of their group. Nevertheless, non-dyslectic learners used significantly more and more efficient strategies than dyslectic learners. Gender and educational level did not seem to affect LS use. By contrast, self-rated proficiency and motivation affect the successful use of LS. The findings are also discussed in light of implications for classroom practices.
This study (a) examines the role of cognitive abilities, age and vocabulary on the development of... more This study (a) examines the role of cognitive abilities, age and vocabulary on the development of definitions and (b) compares the development of definitions (in content and form) by children with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Definitions have been extensively studied in (non-)impaired populations. So far, no studies have tested the impact of cognitive abilities on the development of definitions. To address this gap, ten children with DLD and ten non-impaired peers were tested through a definition task and two cognitive tasks. The results exhibited that the control group produced more accurate definitions, albeit only in content, than the impaired group. Regressions showed that, in the impaired group, the younger the participants the better the scores. For the non-impaired group, age and verbal working memory found to predict the performance on definitions. Thus, we deduce that (a) the development of definitions is driven by different mechanisms in (non-)impaired children and (b) the role of early intervention seems to be important for atypical populations.
The present study investigates the comprehension of perfective and imperfective aspect in Greek-E... more The present study investigates the comprehension of perfective and imperfective aspect in Greek-English bilingual children. Previous work on L2 acquisition of aspect indicates that imperfective aspect appears later than perfective aspect in the marking of past events across various languages (Andersen & Shirai 1996; Bardovi-Harlig 2000) and that the [+ habitual] feature of imperfective aspect, appears later than the [+ continuous] feature (Bardovi-Harlig & Reynolds 1995; Shirai 2002); the same pattern also holds for adult learners of L2 Greek (Mattheoudakis et al. 2011; Papadopoulou 2005). Sixty children, thirty Greek-English bilinguals and thirty Greek monolinguals, completed a forced choice oral task, in which they had to select between the perfective and imperfective aspect of a specific verb. The task consisted of short stories which tested three experimental conditions: perfective, [+ continuous] imperfective and [+ habitual] imperfective; for each condition individual stories with and without temporal conjunctions were provided. The results revealed that the perfective aspect was successfully acquired, while problems with the imperfective aspect are evident, especially when the imperfective sentences denote habituality. The participants' performance suggests no association between the presence of conjunctions and the decoding of aspect. Interestingly, a significant correlation was found between children's vocabulary level and their performance on aspect.
It is debated what exactly Elicited Imitation Tasks (EITs) measure; more specifically, it is not ... more It is debated what exactly Elicited Imitation Tasks (EITs) measure; more specifically, it is not clear to what extent language ability and working memory capacity are involved. Some researchers note that language abilities are more prevalent in those tasks, since participants focus on the meaning of the sentence in order to retrieve it (DeKeyser, 2003; Ellis, 2005; Erlam, 2006). Furthermore, language proficiency affects task performance (Bley-Vroman & Chaudron, 1994; Munnich, Flynn & Martohardjono, 1994). On the other hand, there is a debate regarding the role of memory in EITs. Some studies argue that the contribution of memory, either working memory (WM) or short-term memory (STM) is critical for accurate performance (Alloway & Gathercole, 2005; Alloway, Gathercole, Willis & Adams, 2004). Others point out the involvement of further cognitive abilities, such as episodic buffer (Baddeley & Wilson, 2002) or metalinguistic awareness (Bialystok 1991). Few studies claim that EITs do not...
International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 2021
Previous studies have shown that the role of learning strategies (LS) is pivotal in foreign langu... more Previous studies have shown that the role of learning strategies (LS) is pivotal in foreign language learning. Nevertheless, many other factors affect the use of LS. More specifically, gender, educational level/age, language proficiency, along with motivation influence the use of LS. Our knowledge about the use of LS by dyslectic learner is limited and it rather focuses on the role of motivation of this group. The purpose of the present study is to extend our knowledge on underexamined factors (i.e. gender, educational level, self-perceived proficiency and motivation) that may drive the use of LS of (non-)dyslectic foreign language learners. To this end, 129 EFL (9-15 years old) were tested (55 dyslectic learners and 74 non-dyslectic learners). LS were tested by means of a questionnaire (translated and adapted Greek version of the SILL; cf. Oxford, 1990). The results revealed that a medium strategy use was found in all learners, regardless of their group. Nevertheless, non-dyslectic learners used significantly more and more efficient strategies than dyslectic learners. Gender and educational level did not seem to affect LS use. By contrast, self-rated proficiency and motivation affect the successful use of LS. The findings are also discussed in light of implications for classroom practices.
This study (a) examines the role of cognitive abilities, age and vocabulary on the development of... more This study (a) examines the role of cognitive abilities, age and vocabulary on the development of definitions and (b) compares the development of definitions (in content and form) by children with and without Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Definitions have been extensively studied in (non-)impaired populations. So far, no studies have tested the impact of cognitive abilities on the development of definitions. To address this gap, ten children with DLD and ten non-impaired peers were tested through a definition task and two cognitive tasks. The results exhibited that the control group produced more accurate definitions, albeit only in content, than the impaired group. Regressions showed that, in the impaired group, the younger the participants the better the scores. For the non-impaired group, age and verbal working memory found to predict the performance on definitions. Thus, we deduce that (a) the development of definitions is driven by different mechanisms in (non-)impaired children and (b) the role of early intervention seems to be important for atypical populations.
The present study investigates the comprehension of perfective and imperfective aspect in Greek-E... more The present study investigates the comprehension of perfective and imperfective aspect in Greek-English bilingual children. Previous work on L2 acquisition of aspect indicates that imperfective aspect appears later than perfective aspect in the marking of past events across various languages (Andersen & Shirai 1996; Bardovi-Harlig 2000) and that the [+ habitual] feature of imperfective aspect, appears later than the [+ continuous] feature (Bardovi-Harlig & Reynolds 1995; Shirai 2002); the same pattern also holds for adult learners of L2 Greek (Mattheoudakis et al. 2011; Papadopoulou 2005). Sixty children, thirty Greek-English bilinguals and thirty Greek monolinguals, completed a forced choice oral task, in which they had to select between the perfective and imperfective aspect of a specific verb. The task consisted of short stories which tested three experimental conditions: perfective, [+ continuous] imperfective and [+ habitual] imperfective; for each condition individual stories with and without temporal conjunctions were provided. The results revealed that the perfective aspect was successfully acquired, while problems with the imperfective aspect are evident, especially when the imperfective sentences denote habituality. The participants' performance suggests no association between the presence of conjunctions and the decoding of aspect. Interestingly, a significant correlation was found between children's vocabulary level and their performance on aspect.
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