Definiteness and Specificity in EFL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15359/rl.2-74.3Keywords:
definiteness, specificity, SLA, spaced learning, explicit instructionAbstract
This article explores the application of English parameter settings to mark specificity and definiteness by Costa Rican Spanish-speaking, L2 English young adults. A Forced Elicitation Task (FET) was used to analyze the participants’ choices. The data were analyzed in comparison to native speaker responses. The results show that these EFL learners find it particularly difficult to decide on the correct articles for specific nouns, even more so if they are indefinite NPs. Indefinite and definite non- specific NPs are assigned articles with less difficulty. The results point to the consideration of spaced learning practice in the context under study.
References
Azar, Betty S. and Susan A. Hagen. Basic English Grammar. New York: Pearson, 2014.
Azar, Betty S. and Susan A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. New York: Pearson, 2009.
Carpenter, Shana K., Nicolas J. Cepeda, Doug Rohrer, Sean H. Kang and Harold Pashler. “Using Spacing to Enhance Diverse Forms of Learning: Review of Recent Research and Implications for Instruction,” Educational Psychology 24 (2012): 369-378. DOI: 10.1007/s10648-012-9205-z.
Castro-García, Damaris. “Spaced Learning: Its Implications in the Language Classroom,” Revista de Lenguas Modernas 20 (2014): 241-257.
Deprez, Viviane, Petra Sleema and Hakima Guella. “Specificity Effects in L2 Determiner Acquisition: UG or Pragmatic Egocentrism?,” Selected Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America (GALANA 2010). Somerville: Cascadilla Press, 2011. 27-36.
García-Mayo, María del Pilar. “Article Choice in L2 English by Spanish Speakers: Evidence for Full Transfer,” Second Language Acquisition of Articles: Empirical Findings and Theoretical Implications. María del Pilar García-Mayo and Roger Hawkins, eds. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2009, 13-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.49.
Hawkins, Roger. Second Language Syntax: A Generative Perspective. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2001.
Ionin, Tania, Ko Heejeong and Kenneth Wexler. “Article Semantics in L2 Acquisition: The Role of Specificity,” Language Acquisition 12 (2004): 3-69. DOI: doi.org/10.1207/s15327817la1201_2.
Ionin, Tania, Ko Heejeong and Kenneth Wexler. “Specificity as a Grammatical Notion: Evidence from L2-English Article Use,” Proceedings of WCCFL 22. Gina Garding and Mimu Tsujimura, eds. Somerville: Cascadilla Press, 2003. 245-258.
Ionin, Tania, María L. Zubizarreta and Salvador B. Maldonado. “Sources of Linguistic Knowledge in the Second Language Acquisition of English Articles,” Lingua 118, 4 (2008): 554-576. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2006.11.012.
Kang, Sean H. K. “Spaced Repetition Promotes Efficient and Effective Learning: Policy Implications for Instruction,” Instructional Strategies 3, 1 (2016): 12-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732215624708.
Nasaji, Hossein. “Grammar Acquisition,” The Routledge Handbook of Instructed Second Language Acquisition. Shawn Loewen and Masatoshi Sato, eds. New York: Routledge, 2017, 205-223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315676968.
Snape, Neal. “Definite Generic vs. Definite Unique in L2 Acquisition,” Journal of European Second Language Association 2, 1 (2018): 83-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22599/jesla.46.
Snape, Neal. “The Acquisition of Articles: The Story So Far,” Second Language 18 (2019): 7-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11431/secondlanguage.18.0_7.
Snape, Neal, Maria del P. García-Mayo and Ayse Gürel. “L1 Transfer in Article Selection for Generic Reference by Spanish, Turkish and Japanese L2 Learners», International Journal of English Studies 13, (2013): 1-28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2013/1/138701.
Snape, Neal, Mari Umeda, John Whiltshier and Noriaki Yusa. “The Long-Term Effect of Explicit Instruction on Learners’ Knowledge on English Articles,” Language Teaching Research 29, 2 (2016): 179-199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2F1362168817739648.
Suzuki, Yuichi and Robert DeKeyser. «Effects of Distributed Practice on the Proceduralization of Morphology», Language Teaching Research 21, 2 (2017): 166-188. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168815617334
Versteeg, Marjolein, Renée A. Hendriks, Aliki Thomas, Belinda W. C. Ommering and Paul Steendijk. “Conceptualising Spaced Learning in Health Professions Education: A Scoping Review,” Medical Education 54 (2020): 205-216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14025.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Principios básicos:
a) Los autores conservarán los derechos de propiedad intelectual de sus aportes o artículos;
b) Cada autor deberá indicar expresamente que ese artículo lo entrega, en calidad de exclusividad, a la revista LETRAS; y
c) La revista Letras se reservará el derecho de autorizar para fines académicos no lucrativos la reproducción y uso de ese material por parte de terceros, siempre que éstos indiquen expresamente la procedencia del artículo. Todo ello se postula en concordancia con la normativa de "Creative Commons Atribution License", recomendada.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Costa Rica License.
