IRAL – International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 2006
Abstract Many learners, especially those in a foreign-language setting, draw on the classroom as ... more Abstract Many learners, especially those in a foreign-language setting, draw on the classroom as their primary forum for using and experiencing the target language, still for the most part during teacher-led instruction. Nevertheless, communicative language teaching does not provide a decisive definition of “good language use”. Teachers usually take an eclectic approach and, as a result, are likely to vary from each other in classroom-language use practices. This study uses quantitative and qualitative data gathered in a semester-long video project as well as supporting documentation, such as teacher interviews, students’ final course grades, and end-of-course evaluations to describe (1) how three (two female, one male) experienced non-native-speaker teachers of German in an intermediate-level multi-section college course differ from each other in the amount of teacher/student talk; L1/L2 use; class pace; turn-taking; and the basic structure and focus of a class (2) how these differences correspond with the teachers’ self-perceived roles; and (3) how students perceive their particular classroom experiences.
IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 1998
A survey investigated the attitudes of second language learners about authentic texts, written an... more A survey investigated the attitudes of second language learners about authentic texts, written and oral, used for language instruction. Respondents were 186 randomly-selected university students of German. The students were administered a 212-item questionnaire (the items are appended) that requested information concerning student demographic variables, previous experience with German, current enrollment level, target language country travel, and last course grade, and presented 53 scenarios. Respondents rated the scenarios on four levels: authenticity; contribution to language learning; difficulty level; and level of anxiety/enjoyment elicited. Scenario themes included reading a menu, listening to a conversation about the weather, reading a letter, listening to directions, watching the news, and reading a literary story. Each varied with respect to the number and nature of authenticity factors they contained. Analysis of survey results indicate that: (1) certain authenticity factors (immediacy, currency, medium authenticity, native inception, native reception, cue authenticity, intent authenticity, learner inclusiveness, source authenticity, initiative authenticity, setting authenticity, cultural orientation) influence perceptions of authenticity, contribution to language learning, ease/difficulty, and anxiety/enjoyment; (2) perceived authenticity and difficulty are independent of each other; and (3) correlations between authenticity, contribution to learning, ease/difficulty, and anxiety/enjoyment varied by student characteristics. Contains 15 references. (MSE)
This study explored how 296 U.S. learners of five foreign languages (FLs), including German, imag... more This study explored how 296 U.S. learners of five foreign languages (FLs), including German, imagined stereotypical native speakers (NSs) and likely learners of German. Results showed that (a) when...
This questionnaire study analyzed responses of 96 first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year studen... more This questionnaire study analyzed responses of 96 first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year students of College German to the second part of a two-part question, namely, (a) what forms of German grammar are particularly difficult, and (b) why so. Response patterns show that word order, adjective endings, the subjunctive, and the gender/number/case complex were found to be particularly challenging. Students' explanations of difficulty predominantly referred to the nature of “rules” (their complexity, number, opacity – or absence, such as in “exceptions”) and the role of memory, especially memorization. Memorization is named as important by learners in all four years of study but becomes less prominent at the higher levels. Further, explanations differed according to the form under discussion. Memorization figured particularly prominently into explanations of why gender/case/number forms are difficult whereas rule complexity was the leading explanation for the challenges of word order and rule opacity for difficulties with the subjunctive. A lack of frequency of occurrence of or meaningful practice with forms featured only marginally. Students' responses imply a mechanistic view of language learning that deviates from both current research and pedagogy.
Iral International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 1994
et article base sur une etude empirique menee a l'universite de Wisconsin-Madison, montre que... more et article base sur une etude empirique menee a l'universite de Wisconsin-Madison, montre que les etudiants d'allemand (niveau intermediaire) de langue maternelle anglaise eprouvent plus de difficultes semantiques a la lecture d'un texte anglais, et plus de difficultes syntaxiques a la lecture de ce meme texte en allemand. A partir de ces reultats, l'A. formule des propositions pour l'enseignement de l'allemand a des apprenants anglophones
This study investigates how three teachers differed in the amount of first language (L1; here, En... more This study investigates how three teachers differed in the amount of first language (L1; here, English) they used during teacher-led instruction in a foreign language (FL; here, German) class and w...
This study examined the views of college learners of German regarding desired degrees of first la... more This study examined the views of college learners of German regarding desired degrees of first language (L1) versus second language (L2) use, how desired language use related to observed language use for students and teachers, gaps between desired and observed language, tasks for which students expressed strong preference for Li and for L2, how learners at three different levels varied in language preference for specific tasks, and common functions for those tasks for which learners expressed the same language preference (at each level of language study) . Surveys of 330 German learners enrolled at three levels of study indicated that students considered their speech community (the classroom) diglossic. The most pressing and genuine communicative purposes were generally apportioned to the Ll. "Real" L2 communication often involved asymmetric interactions, with the teacher and students playing distinctly different roles. Although participants expressed stronger preference for the L2 as enrollment levels increased, some core functions remained firmly associated with the Ll. Teachers consistently tended toward the L2 more
... the way they do things." Yet others stressed the "how" over the &a... more ... the way they do things." Yet others stressed the "how" over the "why" ("the habits of the ... nominative in English.[... Don't you think that's where you should be spending your time? ... of retro credits and entrance and exit for-eign-language requirements at the University of Wisconsin ...
... Divergent accounts of what language means, how it functions, and how languages relate to each... more ... Divergent accounts of what language means, how it functions, and how languages relate to each other likely ... in films watched by potential learners of German, both in the form of often stereotypical caricature, eg ... Conversely, most recent studies of folk linguistic beliefs focused 1 ...
This study of 134 college-level learners of German, enrolled in four years of instruction, showed... more This study of 134 college-level learners of German, enrolled in four years of instruction, showed them to essentialize German grammar when asked to describe it to a hypothetical friend. Kubota defined the term essentialization to capture learners' views of the target culture. Its main characteristic is the presupposition of “essential, stable, and objective traits” that distinguish one culture from the other. Indeed, analysis indicated that students construct essential differences between the grammars of German and English, thus reducing especially German to features that appear important to the learners but do not do justice to the functional realities of German as a living, organic language. Moreover, many students' descriptions of German grammar marked a strong affective response. The paper concludes with a discussion of these results in terms of (a) students' inability to perceive German as “real”; (b) students' and novice teachers' disorientation vis-a-vis systemic and socio-culturally connoted views of German; (c) a call for not just curricular but also “mind” reform; (d) appropriate objectives for language learning, such as those discussed by Byrnes, Kramsch, Kramsch and Whiteside, Maxim, and Schulz; and (e) the need for graduate programs to make the most of their role as training grounds for future teachers of language and culture.
... Previous research indicates that foreign language learners are much more focused on accuracy ... more ... Previous research indicates that foreign language learners are much more focused on accuracy ... accuracy was needed in certain German forms, particularly case endings and suprasegmentalfeatures. ... in four different years of university instruction assessed the need for accuracy ...
In recent years, issues of gender have gained greater prominence in second language research. How... more In recent years, issues of gender have gained greater prominence in second language research. However, gender has received little or no attention in the study of classroom discourse, despite the fact that communication in the L2 often is both the means and the goal of language instruction. This exploratory study draws on gender-related research in first and second language, as well as on student self-reported data, to outline specific points for further, observational investigations of the effects of student, peer group, and teacher gender.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2013
In dieser Studie ging es darum, herauszufinden in welcher Beziehung Lernereigenschaften zu Lerner... more In dieser Studie ging es darum, herauszufinden in welcher Beziehung Lernereigenschaften zu Lernermeinungen hinsichtlich der Notwendigkeit von morphosyntaktischer, lexikalischer, phonologischer, und pragmatischer Genauigkeit in der oralen Zweitsprachproduktion stehen, wenn als Ziel jeweils die Verstandlichkeit oder Angenehmheit fur muttersprachliche Ohren, die Erreichung der besten Note (A), oder die Zufriedenheit mit der eigenen Leistung vorgegeben wurden. Dreihundertneunundvierzig Deutschlernende im ersten, zweiten, oder dritten Lernjahr an einer amerikanischen Universitat nahmen an der Studie teil. Sie bewerteten 19 morphosyntaktische, lexikalische, phonologische, und pragmatische Formen des Deutschen viermal (jeweils ein Mal fur jedes vorgegebene Ziel) auf einer 5-Punkte Skala, so dass jeder Teilnehmer insgesamt 76 Bewertungen abgab. StudienteilnehmerINNEN sowie Teilnehmer, fur die die intellektuelle Herausforderung im Vordergrund ihres Sprachstudiums steht, und – in geringerem Ausmas – Teilnehmer mit besonders guten Lernerfolgen, neigten generell zu einem starkeren Glauben an die Notwendigkeit von Genauigkeit, taten es aber zur Verfolgung unterschiedlicher Ziele. Erfahrungen im Umgang mit muttersprachlichen Sprechern entweder durch Auslandaufenthalte oder durch lokale Erfahrungen spielten nur eine geringfugige Rolle und waren dann auch entgegen anfanglicher Erwartungen mit einem geringeren Glauben an die Notwendigkeit von Genauigkeit im Umgang mit Muttersprachlern und einem starkeren Glauben an die Notwendigkeit von Genauigkeit zur Zufriedenheit mit der eigenen Leistung assoziiert. Der Umstand, dass sich die Bewertungen von Studierenden mit Auslandserfahrung von denen von Lernern, deren Kontakt zu Muttersprachlern lokal begrenzt war, unterschieden, weist darauf hin, dass die physische Umgebung, in der sogenannte authentische Kontakte geknupft werden, ausschlaggegebend sein konnte. Auserdem unterschieden sich die Antworten von Lernern mit extrem kurzen Auslandsaufenthalten von denen mit langeren oder gar keinen Aufenthalten. Die Bewertungen von Lernern, die angegeben hatten, dass grammatische oder lexikalische Genauigkeit sehr wichtig fur sie sei, unterschieden sich nicht signifikant von denen ihrer Kollegen. This study explores how learner variables interact with beliefs about the need for morphosyntactic, lexical, phonological, and pragmatic accuracy in oral foreign language production for four purposes: comprehensibility and pleasantness (respectively) to native speakers (NSs), a course grade of A, and a sense of personal accomplishment. Three-hundred-and-forty-nine first-, second-, and third-year American college learners of German rated 19 items representing different features of German on four 5-point Likert scales, for a total of 76 ratings. Females, students whose primary motivation was the intellectual challenge, and to a lesser extent, high achievers, were particularly concerned with accuracy although these groups associated the need for accuracy with different purposes. Experiences with NSs, either abroad or resident in the learners’ home country, exercised only a modest influence and, against expectation, were associated with a diminished belief in the need for accuracy when speaking with NSs and mostly, but not exclusively, an increased belief in the need for accuracy so as to achieve a sense of personal accomplishment. Response patterns associated with the variable of time abroad only partially overlapped with those associated with the variable of experience with NSs (which could be on site), suggesting that the context in which authentic experiences happen makes a difference. Moreover, learners with very short times abroad gave distinctly different responses from those who had been abroad for somewhat longer periods or not at all. Learners who said that in class they focus on grammatical and lexical accuracy did not report more stringent beliefs about the need for accuracy in these areas.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1996
This paper describes how performance in three different foreign language (German) tasks varies ac... more This paper describes how performance in three different foreign language (German) tasks varies according to certain learner characteristics. The three tasks are: non-revised (spontaneous) writing, revised writing, and passage-based error-detection. The specific variables and their distribution in the subject population are described in later sections. Evaluation criteria are: syntactic accuracy, morphological accuracy, orthographic accuracy, writing speed, and linguistic complexity. The purpose is to provide learner-specific information on the teaching and testing of intermediate-level writing tasks in which the primary criteria are to write accurately, quickly, and with syntactic variety.
This study explores the ways first-, second-, and third-year college students (n=352) perceived t... more This study explores the ways first-, second-, and third-year college students (n=352) perceived their likely attainment of 19 morpho-syntactic, phonological, pragmatic, and lexical features of German. Analyses further differentiated perceptions by the learner variables of year of enrollment, gender, achievement, motivation for language study, focus in class, experience with native speakers, and travel abroad. Results indicate experiential variables, particularly achievement and authentic experiences, to be of primary importance in shaping learners’ expectations. Grammatical features, especially nominal morphology, subjunctive, and passive were considered particularly difficult to attain, and more advanced learners were overall more optimistic than their less experienced peers. Learners’ belief in their eventual ability to use language in a socially appropriate manner was associated with actual or desired authentic experiences. The study concludes with a discussion of how learners’ imaginings of their future, more proficient selves can benefit from connections with a language-using community.
... Charlotte Melin is associate professor of German at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.... more ... Charlotte Melin is associate professor of German at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Corinne Crane is director of the Basic Language Program in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois, Urbana. ...
IRAL – International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 2006
Abstract Many learners, especially those in a foreign-language setting, draw on the classroom as ... more Abstract Many learners, especially those in a foreign-language setting, draw on the classroom as their primary forum for using and experiencing the target language, still for the most part during teacher-led instruction. Nevertheless, communicative language teaching does not provide a decisive definition of “good language use”. Teachers usually take an eclectic approach and, as a result, are likely to vary from each other in classroom-language use practices. This study uses quantitative and qualitative data gathered in a semester-long video project as well as supporting documentation, such as teacher interviews, students’ final course grades, and end-of-course evaluations to describe (1) how three (two female, one male) experienced non-native-speaker teachers of German in an intermediate-level multi-section college course differ from each other in the amount of teacher/student talk; L1/L2 use; class pace; turn-taking; and the basic structure and focus of a class (2) how these differences correspond with the teachers’ self-perceived roles; and (3) how students perceive their particular classroom experiences.
IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 1998
A survey investigated the attitudes of second language learners about authentic texts, written an... more A survey investigated the attitudes of second language learners about authentic texts, written and oral, used for language instruction. Respondents were 186 randomly-selected university students of German. The students were administered a 212-item questionnaire (the items are appended) that requested information concerning student demographic variables, previous experience with German, current enrollment level, target language country travel, and last course grade, and presented 53 scenarios. Respondents rated the scenarios on four levels: authenticity; contribution to language learning; difficulty level; and level of anxiety/enjoyment elicited. Scenario themes included reading a menu, listening to a conversation about the weather, reading a letter, listening to directions, watching the news, and reading a literary story. Each varied with respect to the number and nature of authenticity factors they contained. Analysis of survey results indicate that: (1) certain authenticity factors (immediacy, currency, medium authenticity, native inception, native reception, cue authenticity, intent authenticity, learner inclusiveness, source authenticity, initiative authenticity, setting authenticity, cultural orientation) influence perceptions of authenticity, contribution to language learning, ease/difficulty, and anxiety/enjoyment; (2) perceived authenticity and difficulty are independent of each other; and (3) correlations between authenticity, contribution to learning, ease/difficulty, and anxiety/enjoyment varied by student characteristics. Contains 15 references. (MSE)
This study explored how 296 U.S. learners of five foreign languages (FLs), including German, imag... more This study explored how 296 U.S. learners of five foreign languages (FLs), including German, imagined stereotypical native speakers (NSs) and likely learners of German. Results showed that (a) when...
This questionnaire study analyzed responses of 96 first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year studen... more This questionnaire study analyzed responses of 96 first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year students of College German to the second part of a two-part question, namely, (a) what forms of German grammar are particularly difficult, and (b) why so. Response patterns show that word order, adjective endings, the subjunctive, and the gender/number/case complex were found to be particularly challenging. Students' explanations of difficulty predominantly referred to the nature of “rules” (their complexity, number, opacity – or absence, such as in “exceptions”) and the role of memory, especially memorization. Memorization is named as important by learners in all four years of study but becomes less prominent at the higher levels. Further, explanations differed according to the form under discussion. Memorization figured particularly prominently into explanations of why gender/case/number forms are difficult whereas rule complexity was the leading explanation for the challenges of word order and rule opacity for difficulties with the subjunctive. A lack of frequency of occurrence of or meaningful practice with forms featured only marginally. Students' responses imply a mechanistic view of language learning that deviates from both current research and pedagogy.
Iral International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 1994
et article base sur une etude empirique menee a l'universite de Wisconsin-Madison, montre que... more et article base sur une etude empirique menee a l'universite de Wisconsin-Madison, montre que les etudiants d'allemand (niveau intermediaire) de langue maternelle anglaise eprouvent plus de difficultes semantiques a la lecture d'un texte anglais, et plus de difficultes syntaxiques a la lecture de ce meme texte en allemand. A partir de ces reultats, l'A. formule des propositions pour l'enseignement de l'allemand a des apprenants anglophones
This study investigates how three teachers differed in the amount of first language (L1; here, En... more This study investigates how three teachers differed in the amount of first language (L1; here, English) they used during teacher-led instruction in a foreign language (FL; here, German) class and w...
This study examined the views of college learners of German regarding desired degrees of first la... more This study examined the views of college learners of German regarding desired degrees of first language (L1) versus second language (L2) use, how desired language use related to observed language use for students and teachers, gaps between desired and observed language, tasks for which students expressed strong preference for Li and for L2, how learners at three different levels varied in language preference for specific tasks, and common functions for those tasks for which learners expressed the same language preference (at each level of language study) . Surveys of 330 German learners enrolled at three levels of study indicated that students considered their speech community (the classroom) diglossic. The most pressing and genuine communicative purposes were generally apportioned to the Ll. "Real" L2 communication often involved asymmetric interactions, with the teacher and students playing distinctly different roles. Although participants expressed stronger preference for the L2 as enrollment levels increased, some core functions remained firmly associated with the Ll. Teachers consistently tended toward the L2 more
... the way they do things." Yet others stressed the "how" over the &a... more ... the way they do things." Yet others stressed the "how" over the "why" ("the habits of the ... nominative in English.[... Don't you think that's where you should be spending your time? ... of retro credits and entrance and exit for-eign-language requirements at the University of Wisconsin ...
... Divergent accounts of what language means, how it functions, and how languages relate to each... more ... Divergent accounts of what language means, how it functions, and how languages relate to each other likely ... in films watched by potential learners of German, both in the form of often stereotypical caricature, eg ... Conversely, most recent studies of folk linguistic beliefs focused 1 ...
This study of 134 college-level learners of German, enrolled in four years of instruction, showed... more This study of 134 college-level learners of German, enrolled in four years of instruction, showed them to essentialize German grammar when asked to describe it to a hypothetical friend. Kubota defined the term essentialization to capture learners' views of the target culture. Its main characteristic is the presupposition of “essential, stable, and objective traits” that distinguish one culture from the other. Indeed, analysis indicated that students construct essential differences between the grammars of German and English, thus reducing especially German to features that appear important to the learners but do not do justice to the functional realities of German as a living, organic language. Moreover, many students' descriptions of German grammar marked a strong affective response. The paper concludes with a discussion of these results in terms of (a) students' inability to perceive German as “real”; (b) students' and novice teachers' disorientation vis-a-vis systemic and socio-culturally connoted views of German; (c) a call for not just curricular but also “mind” reform; (d) appropriate objectives for language learning, such as those discussed by Byrnes, Kramsch, Kramsch and Whiteside, Maxim, and Schulz; and (e) the need for graduate programs to make the most of their role as training grounds for future teachers of language and culture.
... Previous research indicates that foreign language learners are much more focused on accuracy ... more ... Previous research indicates that foreign language learners are much more focused on accuracy ... accuracy was needed in certain German forms, particularly case endings and suprasegmentalfeatures. ... in four different years of university instruction assessed the need for accuracy ...
In recent years, issues of gender have gained greater prominence in second language research. How... more In recent years, issues of gender have gained greater prominence in second language research. However, gender has received little or no attention in the study of classroom discourse, despite the fact that communication in the L2 often is both the means and the goal of language instruction. This exploratory study draws on gender-related research in first and second language, as well as on student self-reported data, to outline specific points for further, observational investigations of the effects of student, peer group, and teacher gender.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2013
In dieser Studie ging es darum, herauszufinden in welcher Beziehung Lernereigenschaften zu Lerner... more In dieser Studie ging es darum, herauszufinden in welcher Beziehung Lernereigenschaften zu Lernermeinungen hinsichtlich der Notwendigkeit von morphosyntaktischer, lexikalischer, phonologischer, und pragmatischer Genauigkeit in der oralen Zweitsprachproduktion stehen, wenn als Ziel jeweils die Verstandlichkeit oder Angenehmheit fur muttersprachliche Ohren, die Erreichung der besten Note (A), oder die Zufriedenheit mit der eigenen Leistung vorgegeben wurden. Dreihundertneunundvierzig Deutschlernende im ersten, zweiten, oder dritten Lernjahr an einer amerikanischen Universitat nahmen an der Studie teil. Sie bewerteten 19 morphosyntaktische, lexikalische, phonologische, und pragmatische Formen des Deutschen viermal (jeweils ein Mal fur jedes vorgegebene Ziel) auf einer 5-Punkte Skala, so dass jeder Teilnehmer insgesamt 76 Bewertungen abgab. StudienteilnehmerINNEN sowie Teilnehmer, fur die die intellektuelle Herausforderung im Vordergrund ihres Sprachstudiums steht, und – in geringerem Ausmas – Teilnehmer mit besonders guten Lernerfolgen, neigten generell zu einem starkeren Glauben an die Notwendigkeit von Genauigkeit, taten es aber zur Verfolgung unterschiedlicher Ziele. Erfahrungen im Umgang mit muttersprachlichen Sprechern entweder durch Auslandaufenthalte oder durch lokale Erfahrungen spielten nur eine geringfugige Rolle und waren dann auch entgegen anfanglicher Erwartungen mit einem geringeren Glauben an die Notwendigkeit von Genauigkeit im Umgang mit Muttersprachlern und einem starkeren Glauben an die Notwendigkeit von Genauigkeit zur Zufriedenheit mit der eigenen Leistung assoziiert. Der Umstand, dass sich die Bewertungen von Studierenden mit Auslandserfahrung von denen von Lernern, deren Kontakt zu Muttersprachlern lokal begrenzt war, unterschieden, weist darauf hin, dass die physische Umgebung, in der sogenannte authentische Kontakte geknupft werden, ausschlaggegebend sein konnte. Auserdem unterschieden sich die Antworten von Lernern mit extrem kurzen Auslandsaufenthalten von denen mit langeren oder gar keinen Aufenthalten. Die Bewertungen von Lernern, die angegeben hatten, dass grammatische oder lexikalische Genauigkeit sehr wichtig fur sie sei, unterschieden sich nicht signifikant von denen ihrer Kollegen. This study explores how learner variables interact with beliefs about the need for morphosyntactic, lexical, phonological, and pragmatic accuracy in oral foreign language production for four purposes: comprehensibility and pleasantness (respectively) to native speakers (NSs), a course grade of A, and a sense of personal accomplishment. Three-hundred-and-forty-nine first-, second-, and third-year American college learners of German rated 19 items representing different features of German on four 5-point Likert scales, for a total of 76 ratings. Females, students whose primary motivation was the intellectual challenge, and to a lesser extent, high achievers, were particularly concerned with accuracy although these groups associated the need for accuracy with different purposes. Experiences with NSs, either abroad or resident in the learners’ home country, exercised only a modest influence and, against expectation, were associated with a diminished belief in the need for accuracy when speaking with NSs and mostly, but not exclusively, an increased belief in the need for accuracy so as to achieve a sense of personal accomplishment. Response patterns associated with the variable of time abroad only partially overlapped with those associated with the variable of experience with NSs (which could be on site), suggesting that the context in which authentic experiences happen makes a difference. Moreover, learners with very short times abroad gave distinctly different responses from those who had been abroad for somewhat longer periods or not at all. Learners who said that in class they focus on grammatical and lexical accuracy did not report more stringent beliefs about the need for accuracy in these areas.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1996
This paper describes how performance in three different foreign language (German) tasks varies ac... more This paper describes how performance in three different foreign language (German) tasks varies according to certain learner characteristics. The three tasks are: non-revised (spontaneous) writing, revised writing, and passage-based error-detection. The specific variables and their distribution in the subject population are described in later sections. Evaluation criteria are: syntactic accuracy, morphological accuracy, orthographic accuracy, writing speed, and linguistic complexity. The purpose is to provide learner-specific information on the teaching and testing of intermediate-level writing tasks in which the primary criteria are to write accurately, quickly, and with syntactic variety.
This study explores the ways first-, second-, and third-year college students (n=352) perceived t... more This study explores the ways first-, second-, and third-year college students (n=352) perceived their likely attainment of 19 morpho-syntactic, phonological, pragmatic, and lexical features of German. Analyses further differentiated perceptions by the learner variables of year of enrollment, gender, achievement, motivation for language study, focus in class, experience with native speakers, and travel abroad. Results indicate experiential variables, particularly achievement and authentic experiences, to be of primary importance in shaping learners’ expectations. Grammatical features, especially nominal morphology, subjunctive, and passive were considered particularly difficult to attain, and more advanced learners were overall more optimistic than their less experienced peers. Learners’ belief in their eventual ability to use language in a socially appropriate manner was associated with actual or desired authentic experiences. The study concludes with a discussion of how learners’ imaginings of their future, more proficient selves can benefit from connections with a language-using community.
... Charlotte Melin is associate professor of German at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.... more ... Charlotte Melin is associate professor of German at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Corinne Crane is director of the Basic Language Program in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois, Urbana. ...
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