This study examines the L2 pronunciation feedback provided by the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) functionality in Google Translate (GT). We focus on three Quebec Francophone (QF) errors in English: th-substitution, h-deletion, and h-epenthesis. Four hundred and eighty male and female QF recordings of sentences with correctly and incorrectly…

There are multiple reports, in the context of the time taken to read aloud, that the joint effects of stimulus quality and word frequency (a) interact when only words appear in the list but (b) are additive when nonwords are intermixed with words (O'Malley & Besner, 2008). This triple interaction has been explained in terms of the idea that…

This study examined and compared different written corrective feedback techniques used by English as a second language (ESL) teachers in three different educational contexts and levels (primary, secondary, and college) in Quebec, Canada. In particular, it examined whether there were any differences in the types of errors made, the kind and degree…

The contribution of phonological memory to syntactic abilities has been demonstrated in various populations, but its relationship to metasyntactic abilities, defined as the ability to control syntactic aspects of language, remains largely unexplored. This study therefore aims to examine the contribution of phonological memory in the completion of…

Error analyses using a multidimensional measure were conducted on the misspellings of Kindergarten children speaking English as a first (EL1) and English as a second language (ESL) in order to detect any differences in early spelling ability between language groups. Oral vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, phonological processing, letter/word…

We used event-related brain potentials to clarify the role of phonology in activating the meanings of high-frequency words during skilled silent reading. Target homophones ("meet") in sentences such as "The students arranged to meet in the library to study" were replaced on some trials by either a high-frequency homophone mate…

This study was designed to investigate the development of third-person singular (3SG) -"s" in children who learn English as a second language (L2). Adopting the usage-based perspective on the learning of inflection, we analyzed spontaneous speech samples collected from 15 English L2 children who were followed over a 2-year period.…

The study reported on in this paper investigated the concurrent development of spelling in children learning two languages. The study compared over time and between languages the types of spelling errors made in English as a first language and French as a second. Fortyseven grade one English-speaking children completed an English and French…

In a serial recall task, the "Hebb repetition effect" occurs when recall performance improves for a sequence repeated throughout the experimental session. This phenomenon has been replicated many times. Nevertheless, such cumulative learning seldom leads to perfect recall of the whole sequence, and errors persist. Here the authors report…

Most research on language awareness in a second language (L2) has been carried out with adult learners. This research presents data showing that pedagogical techniques can be devised enabling children as young as 8 to develop metalinguistic awareness of their emerging L2 system. Building on existing work by Canadian researchers, this…

French gender marking errors made by 23 Anglophones and 20 Lusophones are analyzed. The observation is made that the errors noted are due to frequent arbitrariness of this particular aspect of the language. It is concluded that the arbitrary portions of this feature of the language are subject to remaining indeterminate in second language…

Four grammar checkers, all of French Canadian origin, were evaluated: "Le Correcteur 101,""GramR,""Hugo Plus," and "French Proofing Tools." Results indicate that "Le Correcteur 101" is the best French grammar checker on the market and worth its premium cost. (two references) (CK)

Describes a think-aloud, oral feedback procedure that English-as-a-Second-Language teachers may use to respond to student writing as interested native-language readers intent on comprehending the written message, and not as editors or proofreaders. (Author/CB)

This paper examines the difference in learning outcomes between two groups of students, one of which used the "French Tutor," a multimedia package, and the other a textbook to learn the formation and use of two French past tense verbs: the perfect and the imperfect. Unlike the textbook, the "French Tutor" included visual…

A discussion of language data suggesting that young bilinguals and monolinguals exhibit a similar sequence of acquisition of standard use of English prepositions and French auxiliaries. Two error analysis studies are summarized, results of them are applied to the Franco-Ontarian and Quebec sociolinguistic contexts, and implications are discussed.…