Is the Acquisition of Conceptualizations possible for Foreign Language Students? A Study on the Conceptualization of time in the English Foreign Language Classroom of German
Subjects
education; German; Second Language; Higher Education; quantitative study; conceptualizationAbstract
The purpose of this study was to predict and test the different conceptualization of time in
German as done by German native speaker and L2 German students, who are English native
speakers. The overall aim was to determine the cross-cultural difference of conceptualizing time
in both languages and to predict and test students’ reaction to this difference. Furthermore, the
study questions the possibility of an acquisition of cognitive perspectivization in general. It also
aims to draw some general conclusions for cognition, second language acquisition, and the
foreign language classroom.
The research tested this issue using quantitative measurements and utilized a test of the
“Wednesday’s meeting has been moved forward” scenario in order to determine if American
students of German at an advanced level show the same tendency as German native speakers to
use the intrinsic temporal frame of reference. The results showed that the students followed the
pattern of their native language English instead of German. Once a frame of reference was
chosen, participants consistently used this frame in German and English. Furthermore, there was
not difference in results between students who had a long-term study abroad experience and
students who did not.
The implications of these findings are that while the possibility that students can acquire
the conceptualization of abstract ideas like time still persists, the probability of an acquisition of
the perspectivization behind the conceptualization is very small. In order to acquire a deeper
understanding of the language and the cultural experience inherent to all areas of the language,
students should receive more focused instructions based on an the framework of Cognitive
Linguistic which views language as a set part of cognition that will help train and foster
cognitive abilities.
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Integrating a Graphic Novel in a German Foreign Language Class: Effects on Students' Acquisition, Attitude, and Motivation
Weitzel, Helene A. (2017)Researchers have investigated the effects of reading on foreign language acquisition and have found that reading generally impacts foreign language development positively. However, if learners are not very proficient in ... -
The Effects of Explicit Semantic Radical Instruction on Beginner Level CFL Reading Comprehension: The Third Dimension of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language
Long, He (2017)The present study examined the effects of explicit semantic radical instruction on beginner level Chinese foreign language learners’ overall comprehension by descriptively translating a given Chinese text. The study also ... -
A Study of Motivation in Japanese Language Learners at College
Fukasaku, Miku (2016)For English speakers, Japanese is regarded as one of the most difficult languages. Thus, someone who decided to learn Japanese over other options, such as French, German, and Spanish, are considered to be motivated learners. ...