Màster Oficial - Lingüística Aplicada i Adquisició de Llengües en Contextos Multilingües

URI permanent per a aquesta col·leccióhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/48105

Treballs finals del Màster de Lingüística Aplicada i Adquisició de Llengües en Contextos Multilingües del Departament de Filologia Anglesa i Alemanya de la UB.

Estadístiques

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Mostrant 1 - 20 de 67

Noticing and intake of formulaic sequences in L2 subtitles: an eye-tracking study on the effects of genre and input enhancement
(2017-07) Moskvina, Natalia; Gilabert Guerrero, Roger
[eng] The present study explores the effects of input enhancement and genre on the noticing and intake of formulaic sequences in the context of captioned videos. It involves 31 Catalan-Spanish English learners. Highlighted groups outperformed non-highlighted ones at the posttest, showing that input enhancement leads to the increase in intake. The non-fiction groups showed higher degree of noticing, suggesting that participants tend to focus on the textual part more for this genre. It is further inferred that genre and highlighting can have an impact on participants behavior in terms of noticing and potentially, intake. The results are interpreted in terms of the Cognitive Load Theory and the Noticing Hypothesis.
Students' perceptions of mobile-mediated corrective feedback and oral messaging in a WhatsApp chat group
(2021-09) Green, Jasmine; Tragant Mestres, Elsa; Pinyana Garriga, Àngels
[eng] This study has been carried out in response to the scarcity of research dedicated to corrective feedback provision on mobile devices and the tendency for investigators and educators alike to overlook the multi-modal features of mobile instant messaging platforms, such as oral-based messages. The present study, attempts to bridge this gap by examining a class of 17 intermediate EFL learners and their perceptions towards receiving corrective feedback in a WhatsApp chat group (supplemented with a weekly feedback session on Zoom), which ran for the duration of 6 weeks. Screenshots of the chat were analysed to provide a comprehensive overview of interaction and participation with a special focus on oral messages. A semi-structured questionnaire was also administered to glean information regarding students' perceptions of the corrective feedback they received in the two modalities, in addition to their perceptions of oral-based messages. Findings revealed positive attitudes towards receiving corrective feedback in this manner, with a preference towards receiving more explicit corrective feedback. The production of oral messages was scarce, although students highly rated having the opportunity to use this feature.
Corrective feedback in a MIM application: Organization, timing and students' participation
(2022-09) Pérez Rodríguez, Keren; Tragant Mestres, Elsa
Due to globalization and the exponential development of smartphone technology, MALL (Mobile-Assisted Language Learning) has received crucial attention in the context of foreign language teaching and the way in which corrective feedback is given in this context. The following study aims to analyze the role of corrective feedback in a WhatsApp chat group, focusing the attention on the interactions during a corrective feedback episode and the factors (timing and type of correction) that influence students' participation. The corpus includes 31 feedback episodes that are analyzed in detail to identify the different strategies used by the teacher and the different interactions. Also, a Mann-Whitney U Test is carried out in order to identify if timing is a factor that promotes students' participation during corrective feedback provision. Overall results show that interactions during a corrective feedback episode in a WhatsApp context follow an informal pattern, and the use of strategies that indicate location and different alternatives to repair the mistake increase students' participation. However, time is not a factor that influences students' participation. Corrective feedback provision seems to be appropriate in a MALL context if the strategies are adequate for the context.
Was That a Bag or a Bug? Perceptual Measures, Euclidean Distance, Mahalanobis Distance, and Pillai Scores in the Assessment of L2 Pronunciation
(2021-09-02) Waltz, James; Mora Bonilla, Joan Carles
[eng] Researchers employ a variety of techniques to measure accuracy of second-language pronunciation. Little research has been done on certain measures that have been used more in recent studies, such as Mahalanobis distance and Pillai scores, and how they compare to perceptual measures. Using pre- and post-test recordings of 23 Spanish/ Catalan learners of English that were obtained using a delayed word repetition task in a previous, high-variability phonetic training study on the English phonemes /æ/ and /ᴧ/, this thesis examines the relationship between native-speaking judges’ word identification and goodness ratings, Euclidean distances, Mahalanobis distances, and Pillai scores in their evaluation of pronunciation accuracy and improvement between test times. For each acoustic metric, measures between native- and non-native speakers’ productions are taken as well as measures between non-native speakers’ realizations of /æ/ and /ᴧ/. An experimental way of computing perceptual ratings for items that are incorrectly identified by raters is also investigated and compared to existing measures.
Do you eat 'pasta' for dessert and 'tender' your clothes? A comparison of cross-language activation in Turkish and Spanish learners of English
(2022-06-28) Kelly Iturriaga, Lara Maite; Mora Bonilla, Joan Carles
[eng] The present study investigates whether L1 Turkish and L1 Spanish learners of English experience cross-language activation when recognising words that share spelling but differ in meaning across languages, i.e., interlingual homographs (IHs). Two primed lexical decision tasks in English were employed to examine if primes semantically related to the target IH’s L1 meaning – e.g., arena (sand in Spanish) preceded by beach – would entail shorter reaction times. Additionally, this study examines if typological differences between participants’ L1 (Turkish or Spanish) and L2 (English) influence L2 word recognition, a rather understudied relationship. Results from both experiments revealed dual-language activation, as participants recognised interlingual homographs significantly slower than control words. However, no significant differences were found between the Turkish and Spanish group, thus, language typology did not have a significant effect on L2 visual word recognition. Moreover, no cross-language semantic priming effects were found, as IHs were processed slower than control words, which did not hold a semantic relationship with their primes. Importantly, the results from this study support the language-non-selective hypothesis, i.e., the notion that L2 word recognition entails co-activation of languages, even in monolingual settings.
Examining individual differences of L1 English senior learners of Spanish: A multiple-case study
(2022-09-05) Montañés Ballesté, Júlia; Celaya Villanueva, Ma. Luz (María Luz), 1962-
[eng] Research studies support the idea that language learning is an activity that enhances cog-nition, social relationships, and subjective positive feelings among older populations. However, little research has investigated how older people learn languages, especially if and how their psychological individual differences can shape their process of acquisition. Moreover, most studies conducted so far deal with L2 English senior learners, but very few explore the study of other languages. In this regard, the present study aims at explor-ing L2 Spanish senior learners’ psychological individual differences, namely beliefs, mo-tivation, and strategies used. The participants were 9 L1 English senior learners who were learning Spanish as a foreign language. A mixed-methods approach was followed, con-sisting of a background questionnaire, a questionnaire that encompassed 36 statements on beliefs, motivation, and strategies to be rated on a Likert Scale, and a fifteen-minute semi-structured interview. Results show a variety of positive emotions linked to foreign language learning, an increasing desire to travel, which constitutes the primary motivation to learn Spanish, and the high use of metacognitive, cognitive, compensation and social strategies as a means to build their own learning process and self-motivation.
A Task-Based Needs Analysis of Primary School-Aged Children with Migrant or Refugee Backgrounds in Austria
(2022-06-14) Trager, Vera; Gilabert Guerrero, Roger
[eng] In the last decade, Austria was among the European countries that received a high number of young refugees and learning German has been crucial for their successful integration. However, their language needs had not yet been analysed systematically. In this study, we report on a task-based needs analysis (TBNA) for primary school-aged newcomers to Austria, which aimed at detecting target tasks and describing them in terms of multiple task dimensions, as per Gilabert & Malicka (2021). Semi-structured interviews with field experts and former newcomers were conducted and a survey inquiring about the frequency and the need for training of 38 target tasks was distributed. Results show general, academic, social, and family-oriented tasks that newcomers need to perform in their L2 German and their rankings regarding perceived frequency and the need for training. The study demonstrates how the triangulation of multiple sources and methods facilitates such an identification of target tasks in various life domains, as well as the development of detailed task descriptions along multiple task dimensions. Collectively, the results provide a well-informed basis for task selection, task sequencing, and the development of a meaningful and effective syllabus for refugee/migrant populations at the primary school level in Austria.
Phonological Representations in the Mental Lexicon of Second Language Learners: A Synthesis
(2021-06-27) Elkuch, Lea; Mora Bonilla, Joan Carles
[eng] Being able to perceive the difference between two sounds can be difficult for L2 learners. This synthesis aims at analyzing the processes that occur during the encoding of phonological representations into the mental lexicon of an L2 learner. Recently, the topic of how L2 phono-lexical representation are updated has gained more attention; therefore, it is timely to revisit previous findings and evaluate opportunities for further research. Through an analysis of findings across 13 primary studies, this synthesis presents some preliminary answers on two core topics 1) the source of asymmetries in learners lexical decision patterns, as well as 2) the question of whether and how initially inaccurate phono-lexical representations can be updated. Numerous reports confirm asymmetries in lexical access of L2 learners. We argue that inaccurate perception alone cannot explain the reported asymmetries, while they may indicate non-target-like encoding of difficult contrasts in the lexical representations. Based on recent evidence (Darcy & Thomas, 2019; Llompart, 2021), we suggest that old and new phono-lexical representations seem to co-exist, while new representations are more target-like. Finally, drawing on the findings from this synthesis, we will propose some pedagogical implications.
It’s not just what we say but also how we say it: How non-native English-speaking teachers use their linguistic repertoire in the EFL classroom
(2021-06-21) Schefers, Sarah; Celaya Villanueva, Ma. Luz (María Luz), 1962-
[eng The primary goal of this study was to shift the geographical focus of research away from Europe and North America and into Asia. This was done to highlight the unique struggles faced and strategies employed by non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in Thailand while providing them with the opportunity to engage with theoretical frameworks that originated in Europe. This was done through a small, ethnographic study that focused on two teachers and how they use their linguistic repertoires in the classroom. It was found that while teachers are partially aware of the factors that impact what language they choose for specific classroom tasks, it is often their perceptions of their own proficiency that plays the largest role. It was also found that students often respond in the language that the teacher used to engage them in a communicative task. This leads to the conclusion that more should be done to promote NNESTs sense of identity as L2 users as well as their sense of agency as professional language instructors to promote greater use of the target language (TL) in the classroom.
"Really? Thanks, I got it at the mall": How EFL Learners Perceive Compliment Responses and the Role of Proficiency
(2022-09-05) Botey Riaza, Athenea; Barón Parés, Júlia
[eng] This study aims to investigate the interface between proficiency and second language (L2) pragmatics by focusing on the pragmatic awareness of the speech act of compliment responses (CRs). The research centred around a teenage population of Spanish learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Their perceptive pragmatic knowledge was tested via a pragmatic awareness video elicitation task (PAVET) where they had to rate the appropriateness of 15 CRs from 1 (inappropriate) to 6 (very appropriate). Subjects were divided into high and low proficiency groups according to their vocabulary sizes to see in what ways their responses to the task differed. Their ratings were then compared to a native speaker (NS) benchmark to obtain a sameness score and results indicate a moderate inverse correlation between proficiency level and near-nativeness. Findings suggest the first language (L1) plays an important role in pragmatic awareness and that proficiency alone is not a determinative factor in order to acquire pragmatic knowledge as there are several other factors that can influence pragmatic development.
The Effects of Regular and Enhanced Captions on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition
(2021-06-29) Finger-Bou, Rebeca; Muñoz Lahoz, Carme
[eng] This study explores the effects of regular and enhanced captions through short exposure to a documentary on incidental vocabulary acquisition by L1-Spanish/Catalan learners of English. This research work also analyses how the potential vocabulary learning might be affected by individual differences such as previous vocabulary knowledge or language learning aptitude as measured by the LLAMA B and D subtests. Two randomly distributed groups were formed. Group 1 was provided with regular captions, whereas group 2 viewed the same audio-visual material with enhanced captions. Vocabulary gains were assessed through pre-, immediate post- and delayed post-tests that tapped into meaning recall, meaning recognition and form recognition knowledge. Results showed a significant advantage of enhanced captions over regular captions only in within-group scores. Vocabulary size emerged as the most significant predictor, whereas LLAMA B and D had a non-significant contribution. Level of proficiency in which participants were enrolled at the language school had a significant interaction with time at testing for meaning recall, regardless of experimental condition. Retrospective questionnaires on participants’ focus of attention reported an almost unanimous emphasis on captions and comprehension. Participants from the EC group described mixed opinions about the amount of distraction typographically enhanced items provoked in their attention.
The Provision of English as a Foreign Language during Transition from Primary to Secondary School in the Classrooms of Catalonia
(2013-07-18) Camuñas Avalos, Marisa; Tragant Mestres, Elsa
In the field of education, transition from primary to secondary school has been a matter of concern for many years because it is usually followed by a drop in student achievement and motivation. It has been claimed that this drop in attainment is more likely to be related to the nature and quality of primary and secondary schooling and to the organization of the transition process than to students’ ability. The focus of this research is on the provision of English as a foreign language during the transition from primary to secondary school in the context of Catalonia and aims at analyzing and discussing how first year English secondary teachers and first year secondary students experience transition. 28 EFL students were interviewed during their last year of primary education (2011/12) and two to three months after transfer to secondary school (2012/2013). The 28 EFL students’ primary English teachers and their secondary English teachers were also interviewed. It was found that there is insufficient contact between primary and secondary education in order to discuss and ensure curriculum continuity and build on pupils’ previous attainment. The teacher interviews also revealed the existence of very different teaching cultures in the two phases, going from a focus on oral skills and vocabulary in primary education to a focus on the explicit teaching of grammar and written accuracy in secondary education. The analysis of the student interviews also showed that pupils experience this change of teaching focus as too abrupt.
Longitudinal Classroom-Based Research: A Synthesis of L2 studies
(2020-09-08) Bridgewater, Christina; Tragant Mestres, Elsa
Classroom spaces are common contexts second language acquisition. In addition, they provide congenial and manageable contexts for study of the second language acquisition process. Because that process is inherently extended through time, classroom-based longitudinal studies should provide credible and useful information about the conditions, and trajectories over time, of second language learning. This thesis Is a research synthesis of such studies included in nine journals from 2017 through 2020. Using Ortega and Iberri Shea’s (2005) chapter on longitudinal research in second language acquisition as a reference, results of analysis of the 27 qualifying studies are presented : with a focus on five dimensions: design, duration, focus change over time, methodological innovations and role of teachers and researchers. Further examination of these studies, categorized by their quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies, is conducted in order to determine whether, within the context of classroom-based research, trends noted by Ortega and Iberri- Shea have remained constant, or have evolved. Noteworthy studies within each methodology are highlighted and innovation of design or methodology are discussed. We close with a bottom-up definition of longitudinal research and summary of some trends observed as well as possible implications for future research.
Digital flashcards for English grammar: A pilot study in rural Cambodia
(2019) Serfaty, Jonathan; Serrano Serrano, Raquel
Digital flashcards are widely used and studied for vocabulary memorisation, but there has been no previous research into using this tool for grammar learning. This study aims to address this gap by examining whether full-sentence flashcard training could cause learners to notice grammatical patterns in their output and apply these inferred rules to novel sentences. The participants were school-aged students in rural Cambodia, where English proficiency is highly valued but difficult to obtain. In a pre-test / post-test design, students spent eight days typing translations from their L1 Khmer to English using the smartphone app Cram.com Flashcards, with each item repeating in a cycle until answered without errors. Post-tests of trained and untrained items took place one day, two weeks, and eighteen weeks after treatment. Results showed high relative gains for all students (M = 81%) and minimal losses at the final post-test. Equal results between trained and untrained items demonstrated that participants had indeed inferred grammar rules from the training, and a refresher session for one group fully mitigated losses. The findings are discussed in terms of the facilitating effect of output on form acquisition, and it is recommended that further research into digital flashcards for grammar is conducted under different conditions, to better understand which factors influence gains. It is further recommended that apps be used in environments where trained teachers and other resources are unavailable.
The impact of complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) on comprehensibility and perceived fluency in the case of L2-Greek: a partial replication study
(2020-07-01) Defto, Katerina; Gilabert Guerrero, Roger; Andria, María
The present Master thesis aimed to partially replicate the article by Suzuki and Kormos (2019) on the linguistic dimensions of comprehensibility and perceived fluency. The distinguishability among the two constructs as well as their associations to complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) were investigated in the case of L2-Greek picture/descriptive speech. Speech stimuli from 68 Spanish/Catalan L2-Greek learners was presented to 8 naïve native judges to be evaluated with regards to comprehensibility and perceived fluency in a 9-point scale and was objectively analysed in terms of CAF measurements. Correlation analysis showed that most of the CAF variables are more or less correlated with both comprehensibility and perceived fluency and confirmed a strong association among the two constructs. However, judges were stricter when judging fluency than when judging comprehensibility. Furthermore, a series of multiple regression analyses revealed that within-clause pause ratio, grammatical accuracy and lexical complexity are the strongest predictors of comprehensibility, while grammatical accuracy, within-clause pause ratio, lexical complexity and lexical error rate best predict perceived fluency.
It’s not whether you win or lose: investigating the use of serious games and L2 reading development
(2020) Israelsson, David S.; Gilabert Guerrero, Roger
With the reliance on technology becoming increasingly prevalent in the classroom, educational administrators and educators have begun to consider how to effectively incorporate serious games into their curriculums and lessons. Published research supports that early mathematics and reading development are areas in which serious games have proven to be beneficial in both the short and long-term. This longitudinal study investigates the effectiveness and mechanisms involved in the development of L2 reading skills through the use of the novel serious game iRead. Hoover and Gough’s (1990) simple view of reading demonstrates that the dual components of word reading accuracy and fluency form a measure of word recognition, which, along with listening comprehension is responsible for explaining differences in reading comprehension. iRead is a EU-funded project that seeks to create adaptive technologies that will contribute to improvements in reading skills. By collecting measures of word reading accuracy and fluency from 72 ESL learners prior to and following four months of iRead use, this study sought to tie overall accuracy and fluency gains to game use and performance. We also consider differences in game use and performance based on initial proficiency measures in listening, reading, and vocabulary. We link gains in word reading accuracy to the use and performance of a specific iRead feature and also show evidence of iRead’s adaptivity, drawing conclusions about its role in overall gains and gameplay. Finally, we tie gains in fluency to number of books read and number of tricky words saved during iRead use. This study contributes to the body of existing research investigating the effectiveness of personalized and adaptive serous games and provides evidence for their efficacy when used in conjunction with traditional methods of L2 reading development.
Materials and resources for teaching Italian pragmatics
(2020-09-05) Bicciato, Stella; Barón Parés, Júlia
This study aims to describe the materials and the resources employed for the instruction of Italian pragmatics, in both foreign and second language contexts. 139 teachers of Italian answered an online questionnaire which elicited information about the materials and resources they used in the classroom as well as information regarding their teaching techniques. Their answers were clustered into five main categories. The results revealed that the most commonly used materials were printed, audiovisual, self-produced, students’ oral production and digital materials. Within these categories, textbooks (printed materials) and videos (audiovisual material) were considered as the most preferred materials by the teachers. Regarding teaching techniques, the most frequently used by teachers were role plays, watching videos and listening exercises. The findings of the present study suggest that textbooks, the main resource for teaching pragmatics, should be implemented with specific activities on this topic. By receiving guidelines teachers could appropriately teach pragmatics in their classes, without the need to create their own materials.
The crosslinguistic role of morphological awareness in reading: a state-of-the-art review
(2019) Hurrell, Benjamin J. E.; Gilabert Guerrero, Roger
Language learners and developing bilinguals may draw on morphological awareness from one language when reading in another, and the past two decades have seen a surge in research investigating when this occurs, and which factors affect it. This master’s thesis provides a review of the literature on the topic to date. I begin by describing the theoretical background and methodological approaches used in morphological awareness research, followed by an overview of findings on the development of morphological awareness and similarities and differences in its role in reading in L1 and L2. I then turn to morphological awareness transfer in reading, synthesizing recent research findings, before what results show us about the nature of morphological awareness and factors which have been identified as affecting its transfer during reading. This review shows that, while language characteristics, typological distance, L1 literacy skills, L2 knowledge and print exposure are all important, a series of theoretical and methodological issues limit the generalizability of findings to date. I conclude by providing recommendations for future research on the topic.
Bilingualism effects on executive functioning: the case of Irish-English and Catalan-Spanish bilinguals
(2019) Gambicchia, Elisa; Mora Bonilla, Joan Carles
Based on the extensive research addressing the beneficial effects of speaking multiple languages, this study explored the impact of bilingualism on the executive functions of interference and switching. We did so by examining the role of interactional contexts of language switching (Green & Abutalebi, 2013), language typological distance and onset of bilingualism (early vs late bilinguals). We compared three groups of adults, (i) Catalan-Spanish bilinguals (ii) Irish-English bilinguals and Irish monolingual speakers of English (iii), on two interference tasks (Flanker and Multi-Source Interference Task) and two switching tasks (Trail-Making Test and Global-local task). Bilingual advantages in both interference and switching tasks were observed for Irish-English bilinguals compared to Irish monolinguals. However, the two bilingual groups performed similarly in interference tasks. In the switching tasks, we found that (a) Catalan high-switchers outperformed Irish high-switchers in the TMT, but (b) Irish bilinguals experienced reduced mixing costs compared to the Catalan bilinguals in the Global-local task. Finally, within the Irish high-switchers, late-sequential bilinguals had greater switching skills than early-sequential bilinguals. These findings suggest that the diversity of bilingual experiences affects different aspects of executive functions.
“Welcome to America”: Immigrants’ perceptions of welcomeness as a factor in L2 acquisition
(2019) Montgomery, Ian; Tragant Mestres, Elsa
The present study seeks to gain new insights into the L2 acquisition process of immigrants learning English in the United States by investigating the hypothesized role of a new construct in SLA: Welcomeness. Welcomeness refers to the L2 learner’s perceptions of the L2 community’s attitudes toward the learner—particularly the extent to which the L2 learner feels respected, accepted, and supported by the L2 community. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Gardner’s (1985b) Integrative Motivation complex, the investigation aimed to explore whether Welcomeness is a distinct construct, whether it can be reliably measured, and what its relationship might be to other factors in L2 acquisition. Data were collected via a sociolinguistic questionnaire specifically developed for this study, which was distributed to 29 immigrant English learners in Nashville, Tennessee. Factor analysis and assessment of internal reliability found evidence that Welcomeness is a distinct, measurable construct. Further statistical analysis found a positive relationship between Welcomeness and learners’ self-reported English proficiency, as well as their intention to continue residing in the United States for the foreseeable future. The directionality of these relationships, however, was unable to be assessed. The paper concludes with several caveats and ideas for future research into the impact of Welcomeness on immigrants’ L2 acquisition.

El CRAI romandrà tancat del 24 de desembre de 2025 al 6 de gener de 2026. La validació de documents es reprendrà a partir del 7 de gener de 2026.

El CRAI permanecerá cerrado del 24 de diciembre de 2025 al 6 de enero de 2026. La validación de documentos se reanudará a partir del 7 de enero de 2026.

From 2025-12-24 to 2026-01-06, the CRAI remain closed and the documents will be validated from 2026-01-07.

Màster Oficial - Lingüística Aplicada i Adquisició de Llengües en Contextos Multilingües

Examinar

El CRAI romandrà tancat del 24 de desembre de 2025 al 6 de gener de 2026. La validació de documents es reprendrà a partir del 7 de gener de 2026.

El CRAI permanecerá cerrado del 24 de diciembre de 2025 al 6 de enero de 2026. La validación de documentos se reanudará a partir del 7 de enero de 2026.

From 2025-12-24 to 2026-01-06, the CRAI remain closed and the documents will be validated from 2026-01-07.

Examinar

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