The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learners

Abstract Speaking constitutes one of the main goals of learning a second language (L2). Despite the increasing attention on the role of planning and language transfer in L2 learning, the combined effect of using different languages and pre-task planning on language production remains unclear. This s...

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Main Authors: Yingsheng Liu, Pui-sze Yeung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2023-11-01
Series:Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-023-00210-8
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author Yingsheng Liu
Pui-sze Yeung
author_facet Yingsheng Liu
Pui-sze Yeung
author_sort Yingsheng Liu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Speaking constitutes one of the main goals of learning a second language (L2). Despite the increasing attention on the role of planning and language transfer in L2 learning, the combined effect of using different languages and pre-task planning on language production remains unclear. This study investigated whether the use of different languages in planning affects speaking performance and whether the effect differs by language proficiency. A total of 84 students in Chinese universities learning English as a foreign language participated in several speaking tasks after planning using their first language (L1) Chinese or L2 English. Findings showed that using L1 in planning results in significantly higher syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency in speaking performance than using L2 in planning, while the difference in lexical diversity were not statistically significant. Further analysis shows that for speech accuracy, the facilitative effect of L1 was stronger among low-proficient than high-proficient learners. Findings from this study support the use of L2 learners’ entire linguistic repertoire in speaking activities and provides implications on speech production theories as well as translanguaging pedagogies.
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spelling doaj.art-00867dd8e11a4f099e47efe8900fa1eb2023-11-26T12:30:44ZengSpringerOpenAsian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education2363-51692023-11-018112010.1186/s40862-023-00210-8The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learnersYingsheng Liu0Pui-sze Yeung1Faculty of Education, The University of Hong KongFaculty of Education, The University of Hong KongAbstract Speaking constitutes one of the main goals of learning a second language (L2). Despite the increasing attention on the role of planning and language transfer in L2 learning, the combined effect of using different languages and pre-task planning on language production remains unclear. This study investigated whether the use of different languages in planning affects speaking performance and whether the effect differs by language proficiency. A total of 84 students in Chinese universities learning English as a foreign language participated in several speaking tasks after planning using their first language (L1) Chinese or L2 English. Findings showed that using L1 in planning results in significantly higher syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency in speaking performance than using L2 in planning, while the difference in lexical diversity were not statistically significant. Further analysis shows that for speech accuracy, the facilitative effect of L1 was stronger among low-proficient than high-proficient learners. Findings from this study support the use of L2 learners’ entire linguistic repertoire in speaking activities and provides implications on speech production theories as well as translanguaging pedagogies.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-023-00210-8Speaking strategySpeech productionLanguage transferEFLSecond language learning
spellingShingle Yingsheng Liu
Pui-sze Yeung
The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learners
Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education
Speaking strategy
Speech production
Language transfer
EFL
Second language learning
title The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learners
title_full The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learners
title_fullStr The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learners
title_full_unstemmed The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learners
title_short The effects of using L1 Chinese or L2 English in planning on speaking performance among high- and low-proficient EFL learners
title_sort effects of using l1 chinese or l2 english in planning on speaking performance among high and low proficient efl learners
topic Speaking strategy
Speech production
Language transfer
EFL
Second language learning
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-023-00210-8
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