Startseite The role of language aptitude probed within extensive instruction experience: morphosyntactic knowledge of advanced users of L2 English
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The role of language aptitude probed within extensive instruction experience: morphosyntactic knowledge of advanced users of L2 English

  • Elifcan Öztekin EMAIL logo und Ecehan Candan
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 18. November 2022

Abstract

This study investigated the role of language aptitude for participants with extensive instructed L2 English learning experience in judging the grammaticality of sentences in auditory and written modalities. Partially replicating a naturalistic L2 learning study, we administered written and auditory grammaticality judgement tests in L2 English and the LLAMA aptitude tests to 37 students at an English-medium state university in Turkey. The participants were divided into higher and lower aptitude groups based on LLAMA scores, and their accuracy/response time scores in early/intermediate/late-acquired structures were examined. The results showed that aptitude was significantly associated with performance only in late-acquired structures in the written modality. Additionally, aptitude distinguished response time rather than accuracy scores, suggesting a qualitative processing difference. The explicit and analytic nature of language aptitude was discussed for adult learners, which is more relevant for the Turkish context where English is taught as a foreign language in academic settings.


Corresponding author: Elifcan Öztekin, Department of Foreign Language Education, Boğaziçi University, 34342, Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey, E-mail:

Appendix

The items adapted and reproduced based on Ellis (2009) in the auditory and written grammaticality judgement tasks:

Verb complements

*Liao says he wants buying a car next week.

*Lucy says she wants studying abroad.

Keum wants to buy a computer this weekend.

Nancy wants to write a new book.

*Joseph wants finding a new job next month.

*James wants getting married next year.

Martin says he wants to get married next year.

Michael says he wants to visit Japan next year.

Regular past tense

*Martin completed his assignment and print it out.

*Mary finished her work and submit it online.

*Joseph miss an interesting party last weekend.

*Justine visit her parents yesterday.

Hiroshi received a letter from his father yesterday.

Luigi watched a good movie last night.

Liao stayed at home all day and finished the book.

Larry travelled a lot all summer and shared lots of photos.

Question tags

*We will leave tomorrow, isn’t it?

*We will stay here tonight, isn’t it?

That book isn’t very interesting, is it?

That pen isn’t yours, is it?

*The boys went to bed late last night, is it?

*The children finished their meal, is it?

She is working very hard, isn’t she?

He is acting very well, isn’t he?

Yes/no questions

*Did Keiko completed her homework?

*Did you finished your work?

Did Cathy cook dinner last night?

Did Claire accept your offer?

Does Keum live in Auckland?

Does Bill love Marry?

*Did Martin visited his father yesterday?

*Did you started doing your homework?

Modal verbs

*I must to brush my teeth now.

*I must to go to school now.

*I can to speak French very well.

*She can to play the guitar very well.

I must finish my homework tonight.

She must leave the room now.

I can cook Chinese food very well.

He can cook Italian food very well.

Unreal conditionals

*If he had been richer, she will marry him.

*If he had been wiser, he will finish the study program.

If she had worked hard, she would have passed the exam.

If I had met her before, I would have remembered her name.

*If he hadn’t come to New Zealand, he will stay in Japan.

*If she hadn’t visited him in Berlin, he will be upset.

If he had bought a ticket, he might have won the prize.

If she had finished the program, she would have become an engineer.

Since and for

I haven’t seen him for a long time.

She hasn’t visited her parents for a long time.

*He has been living in New Zealand since three years.

*She has been working at this company since five years.

*I have been studying English since a long time.

*He has been working on that project since a long time.

Keiko has been studying in Auckland for three years.

Justine has been learning Russian for six months.

Indefinite article

*They had the very good time at the party.

*I had the very good day at school.

*I saw very funny movie last night.

*We saw very good movie yesterday.

Japan is a very interesting country.

India has a very colourful culture.

They did not come at the right time.

They started studying at the same time.

Ergative verbs

*Between 1990 and 2000 the population of New Zealand was increased.

*Within the last decade the population of the country was increased.

Her English vocabulary increased a lot last year.

His English proficiency increased a lot last year.

*An accident was happened on the motorway.

*An interesting event was happened during the concert.

Something bad happened last weekend.

A horrible accident happened yesterday.

Possessive -s

*Liao is still living in his rich uncle house.

*Mark is still living in his rich aunt house.

*Keum went to the school to speak to her children teacher.

*Giuglia went to the meeting to discuss the company offer.

Keiko spoke to the professor’s secretary.

Kelly spoke to her sister’s children.

Joseph flew to Washington to meet the President’s advisor.

Jane went to Florida to attend her friend’s wedding ceremony.

Plural -s

Hiroshi found some keys on the ground.

Luigi found some coins on the ground.

*Keum bought two present for her children.

*Giuglia bought two book for her mother.

Liao left some pens and pencils at school.

Mark left some erasers and pencils on his desk.

*Martin sold a few old coins and stamp to a shop.

*Kelly sold a few old pullovers and shoe to a shop.

Third person -s

Keiko eats a lot of sushi.

Luigi eats a lot of pasta.

*Hiroshi live with his friend Koji.

*Giuglia stay with her boyfriend Federico.

Liao works very hard but earns very little.

Mark drinks lots of coffee but eats very little.

*Keum lives in Hamilton but work in Auckland.

*Kelly speaks a lot but listen very little.

Relative clauses

*The bird that my brother caught it has died.

*The dog that her sister brought it is in the garden.

*The boat that my father bought it has sunk.

*The laptop that my mother bought it is broken.

The book that Mary wrote won the prize.

The painting that Bill did won a prize.

The car that Bill has rented is a Toyota.

The raincoat that Rose has bought is yellow.

Embedded questions

Pam wanted to know what I had told John.

Sue wanted to learn what she told Bradley.

Bill wanted to know where I had been.

Max wanted to see what I had bought.

*Tom wanted to know whether was I going.

*Tom wanted to know whether was she leaving.

*She wanted to know why had he studied German.

*Sally wanted to know why had he studied chemistry.

Dative alternation

The teacher explained the problem to the students

The professor explained the issue to her colleagues.

Rosemary reported the crime to the police.

Claire reported the theft to the police.

*The teacher explained John the answer.

*The doctor explained Mary the treatment.

*He reported his father the bad news.

*She reported her friends the bad news.

Comparatives

I think that he is nicer and more intelligent than all the other students.

We believe that she is nicer and more successful than all the other girls.

Mary is taller than her sisters.

John is shorter than his brothers.

*This building is more bigger than your house.

*This university is more older than the others.

*My car is more faster and more powerful than your car.

*My house is more nicer and more beautiful than hers.

Adverb placement

He plays soccer very well.

She plays the piano very well.

*She writes very well English.

*He sings very well songs.

They enjoyed the party very much.

They love cats very much.

*She likes always watching television.

*He loves always watching movies.

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Received: 2021-11-22
Accepted: 2022-11-05
Published Online: 2022-11-18
Published in Print: 2024-06-25

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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