Specificity and article use
a theoretically informed classroom intervention
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/isla.35617Keywords:
definitiveness, specificity, article choice parameter, fluctuation hypotesis, explicit instructionAbstract
This study reports the findings of a classroom intervention experiment investigating the effectiveness of explicit instruction in teaching the English articles’ semantic properties (definiteness and specificity) to Hejazi Arabic-speaking learners. Additionally, the study explores whether learners fluctuate (use the instead of a/ an and vice versa) in contexts where the taught semantic properties do not match. Fifty-four Hejazi Arabic-speaking participants were divided into two groups (instructed and control/uninstructed). The instructed group received explicit instruction on specificity and definiteness, since specificity is currently not taught to learners of English whereas definiteness is. The control group received traditional English language lessons with no explicit instruction on article semantics. By comparing the participants’ performance with twenty-three native English speakers, the findings of the study show learners’ sensitivity to specificity in article choice. They further show evidence supporting explicit instruction. The instructed group outperformed the uninstructed group and this effect was sustained until the delayed post-test with respect to average effects. The paper concludes that generative linguistics can inform the language classroom by predicting areas of acquisition difficulty. It also stresses that explicit language instruction is more beneficial than standard classroom instruction in teaching articles. On the basis of the findings, theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed.
References
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Ryding, K. C. (2005) A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486975
Sarko, G. (2009) L2 English article production by Arab and French speakers. In M. d. P. Garcia Mayo and R. Hawkins (eds) Second Language Acquisition of Articles 37–66. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Sarko, G. (2011) Second Language Acquisition: The Acquisition of English Article by L1 Syrian Arab and French Learners of English. Saarbrucken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.
Schwartz, B. D. and Sprouse, R. A. (1996) L2 cognitive states and the full transfer/full access model. Second Language Research 12(1): 40–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/026765839601200103
Snape, N. (2006) The acquisition of the English determiner phrase by Japanese and Spanish learners of English. Doctoral dissertation, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
Snape, N. and Yusa, N. (2013) Explicit article instruction in definiteness, specificity, genericity and perception. In M. Whong, K.-H. Gil and H. Marsden (eds) Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom, Volume 16 161–83. London: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6362-3_9
Spada, N. and Tomita, Y. (2010) Interactions between type of instruction and type of language feature: a meta-analysis. Language Learning 60(2): 263–308. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00562.x
Whong, M., Gil, K.-H. and Marsden, H. (eds) (2013) Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6362-3
Akakura, M. (2010) Effect of Instruction on Implicit and Explicit Second Language Knowledge Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.
Almahboob, I. (2009) The L2 acquisition of English articles by LI speakers of Saudi Arabic. PhD thesis, University of Essex.
Andringa, S., de Glopper, K. and Hacquebord, H. (2011) Effect of explicit and implicit instruction on free written response task performance. Language Learning 61(3): 868–903. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00623.x
Bardeas, S. (2009) The syntax of the Arabic DP. PhD thesis, University of York.
Brustad, K. (2000) The Syntax of Spoken Arabic: A Comparative Study of Moroccan, Egyptian, Syrian, and Kuwaiti Dialects. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
Carroll, S. E. and Swain, M. (1993) Explicit and implicit negative feedback. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 15: 357–86. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263100012158
Fodor, J. and Sag, A. (1982) Referential and quantificational indefinites. Linguistics and Philosophy 5(3): 355–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00351459
Garcia Mayo, M. d. P. (2009) Article choice in L2 English by Spanish speakers: evidence for full transfer. In M. d. P. Garcia Mayo and R. Hawkins (eds) Second Language Acquisition of Articles 13–36. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Garcia Mayo, M. d. P. and Hawkins, R. (eds) (2009) Second Language Acquisition of Articles. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.49
Hawkins, R., Al-Eid, S., Almahboob, I., Athanasopoulos, P., Chaengchenkit, R., Hu, Y., Rezai, M. J., Jaensch, C., Jeon, Y., Jiang, A., Leung, Y.-K. I., Matsunaga, K., Ortega, M., Sarko, G., Snape, N. and Velasco-Zarate, K. (2006) Accounting for English article interpretation by L2 speakers. In S. H. Foster-Cohen, M. M. Krajnovic and J. M. Djigunovic (eds) Eurosla Yearbook 6 7–25. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.49
Heim, I. (1991) Articles and definiteness. In A. V. Stechow and D. Wunderlich (eds) Semantics: An International Handbook of Contemporary Research 487–535. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Holes, C. (1995) Modern Arabic: Structures, Functions and Varieties. Essex: Longman.
Housen, A., Pierrard, M. and Van Daele, S. (2005) Structure complexity and the efficacy of explicit grammar instruction. In A. Housen and M. Pierrard (eds) Investigations in Instructed Second Language Acquisition. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110197372.2.235
Ionin, T., Ko, H. and Wexler, K. (2004) Article semantics in L2 acquisition: the role of specificity. Language Acquisition 12(1): 3–69. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327817la1201_2
Ionin, T., Zubizarreta, M. and Philippov, V. (2009) Acquisition of article semantics by child and adult L2-English learners. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 18: 242–80. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728909990149
Lebeau, I. and Rees, G. (2008) Elementary Language Leader Coursebook. Harlow: Pearson Longman.
Long, M. (1991) Focus on form: a design feature in language teaching methodology. In K de Bot, R. Ginsberg and C. Kramsch (eds) Foreign Language Research in Crosscultural Perspective 39–53. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.2.07lon
Lopez, E. (2017) Teaching the English article system: definiteness and specificity in linguistically-informed instruction. Language Teaching Research, 1362168817739649. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817739649
Lopez, E. and Sabir, M. (2017) Article pedagogy: Encouraging links between linguistic theory and teaching practice. RELC Journal, 0033688217730143. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217730143
Lyons, C. (1999) Definiteness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605789
Master, P. (1997) The English article system: acquisition, function and pedagogy. System 25(2): 215–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(97)00010-9
Master, P. (2002) Information structure and English article pedagogy. System 30: 331–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(02)00018-0
Norris, J. M. and Ortega, L. (2000) Effectiveness of L2 instruction: a research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning 50(3): 417–528. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00136
Ryding, K. C. (2005) A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486975
Sarko, G. (2009) L2 English article production by Arab and French speakers. In M. d. P. Garcia Mayo and R. Hawkins (eds) Second Language Acquisition of Articles 37–66. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Sarko, G. (2011) Second Language Acquisition: The Acquisition of English Article by L1 Syrian Arab and French Learners of English. Saarbrucken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.
Schwartz, B. D. and Sprouse, R. A. (1996) L2 cognitive states and the full transfer/full access model. Second Language Research 12(1): 40–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/026765839601200103
Snape, N. (2006) The acquisition of the English determiner phrase by Japanese and Spanish learners of English. Doctoral dissertation, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
Snape, N. and Yusa, N. (2013) Explicit article instruction in definiteness, specificity, genericity and perception. In M. Whong, K.-H. Gil and H. Marsden (eds) Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom, Volume 16 161–83. London: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6362-3_9
Spada, N. and Tomita, Y. (2010) Interactions between type of instruction and type of language feature: a meta-analysis. Language Learning 60(2): 263–308. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00562.x
Whong, M., Gil, K.-H. and Marsden, H. (eds) (2013) Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6362-3
Published
2018-10-09
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Sabir, M. (2018). Specificity and article use: a theoretically informed classroom intervention. Instructed Second Language Acquisition, 2(2), 137-163. https://doi.org/10.1558/isla.35617
