Questions tagged [reference-request]

For questions asking for a published journal to be included as reference in your answer. Please avoid answering questions tagged [reference-request] without referencing a published journal.

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How to decline Czech words

The following page lists Czech declensions, which can be memorized by heart. Czech declensions However, once I come across a word, and look it up in a Czech dictionary or Czech-English/English-Czech ...
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Resources to learn Samoan

I have recently started to learn some Samoan and wanted to ask about resources to learn the language. I am interested mostly in books. I have found some resources online (although most are limited to ...
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Where to find good Dravidian language sources to translate words like இர்ரேண்டம்? [closed]

I am interested in studying ancient trade between Egypt and India. I found this word to describe the sea as "burn red"? The word is இர்ரேண்டம் Google translate will pronounce it but will ...
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Which linguistics professors, with a PhD in linguistics, have written on how they personally acquired second languages?

Please recommend books or publications by legitimate linguistics professors (anyone with a teaching position), at an accredited university with a PhD in linguistics detailing their own SLA process. ...
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What research is there on the effectiveness of teaching languages without explicit grammar instruction, compared to other teaching methods?

I found that learning a language without explicit grammar instruction works very well (for me at least, and a few other people I know). The people that I have seen being taught in this way seem to ...
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Is there any research on "natural" language learning methods?

All the language learning material I see seems to follow the school example of just throwing information at you. Sure it works but I have seen something that works better. What I mean by better is ...
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How does stopping reading to look up the definition of an unknown word affect the comprehension in general?

Looking up the definition of an unknown word when you read a text is an important part of learning. However, like doing every other task, if you have to switch to do another one, then your performance ...
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Is learning several languages at the same time proven less effective?

I'm learning a whole bunch of different languages at the same time, and I was wondering if there was evidence showing that this would be less efficient than learning them one by one. I found other ...
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What is the best manual (non-program) research-backed SRS spacing?

I am learning Japanese Kanji via Remembering the Kanji, but this question could apply to any vocab or grammar flashcard sets. I know that programs such an Anki have an algorithm that decides the best ...
2 votes
0 answers
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Russian Book Recommendations - Self Study

I’m looking for books to learn Russian, specifically the overall grammar “rules”: conjugations, declensions, etc. Level: Beginner up to advanced. The books should be for self study. For reference, I ...
4 votes
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Is there an observable Dunning-Kruger-style effect whereby the most difficult languages for a student to learn are initially considered easy?

When I started learning Chinese, overconfidence led to me thinking it was "easy". However as I progress, I realize not only how little I know, but also how ignorant I was early on: I was ...
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Can we define a Process describing the way we discover and learn new words in our mother tongue?

Can we define a Process describing the way we discover and learn new words in our mother tongue? This could apply to a child who is learning to speak as well to an adult. Consider that you discover a ...
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Is there any such paper that shows passive listening helps language learning?

I have been searching on Google Scholar to find a paper presenting research results on whether passive listening helps learning a language, but I could not find any. Is there any such work that shows ...
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Is there any evidence based on research that reading certain types of texts can be harmful to your language learning?

I've been learning Italian for some years (at present my level is C1): during that time I've been essentially a self-learner, with the exception of a few months, and I've been a quite active user of ...
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Does the similarity between closely related language contribute to the effectiveness of learning them simultaneously?

Basically what I'm interested in is whether there is any research on whether the linguistic similarity of two languages that are learnt simultaneously contributes to the effectiveness of learning them....
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Based on research, is it better to learn a new language in your mother tongue?

I live in a multilingual country and often people that visit a language course will have the class in one of the languages spoken here, let's say French. But most of these people do not speak a lot of ...
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Is the number of exposures required for retaining new words related to the teaching method?

Recently, Rebecca J. Stones asked, Does it take “about 50 exposures for most words to be retained in long term memory”? The question was about a claim by Terry Waltz that classroom learners need a few ...
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4 votes
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Is there evidence that tongue twisters help with listening and pronunciation?

The motivation for this question is a Chinese.SE answer: Have you tried practicing with tongue twisters (绕口令)? ... They can help with both listening and pronunciation. Repetition is really the only ...
2 votes
2 answers
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What are some of the most useful methods of teaching English grammar?

As a practising English teacher I have observed that teaching of grammar does not help the learners to speak or write fluently or even correctly especially in speech.only a few ...
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0 answers
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Young kids learning L3 (and L4)

I have been trying to locate studies on language learning and younger kids (2 y.o. to 5 y.o.), but so far have only found studies that deal with L2 learning (e.g. https://sites.ualberta.ca/~jparadis/...
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What are the main causes of foreign language anxiety in learners of Chinese?

Wikipedia defines foreign language anxiety as follows: Foreign language anxiety, or xenoglossophobia, is the feeling of unease, worry, nervousness and apprehension experienced in learning or using ...
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6 votes
2 answers
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Are paper flash cards better for retention than digital flash cards (both self made)?

Language Learning Stack Exchange currently has sixteen questions about flash-cards, fifteen questions about anki and twenty questions about spaced-repetition. There is no doubt that spaced repetition ...
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5 votes
0 answers
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Is there any evidence that correcting a learner's oral mistakes in class has a negative impact?

In a comment on the question Is there a scientific evidence of class / teacher importance for adult learners? Gavenkoa makes the following claim: There is evidence that certain teaching activities ...
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6 votes
1 answer
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Is there a scientific evidence of class / teacher importance for adult learners?

The role of a teacher in teaching languages to adults is not clear. By roles, I mean, for example: facilitator, manager, assessor, resources, participant and counselor. Suppose learners concentrate ...
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1 answer
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Do gender differences affect language learning strategies?

As far as I know, there have been many discussions and a considerable amount of research about differences in learning between boys and girls, or men and women. See for example: Gender differences in ...
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2 votes
0 answers
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Are there any studies on the effectiveness of school trips abroad on language learning?

In the UK, stricter health and safety regulations have made school trips abroad harder to organize and this has reduced the number of opportunities for British children to experience a foreign ...
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9 votes
1 answer
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According to research, should related words be taught together?

On this site, we already have a question about learning related words together (or not) as an autonomous learner using a spaced repetition system. At the time of writing, that question does not have ...
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5 votes
0 answers
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What's a Japanese language-learning website with interlinear gloss translations?

I've been trying to find one of these for years. I love the wikipedia examples where they have a sentence, a word-by-word gloss, and an English translation. Like this: 太陽が|東の|空に|昇る。 taiyō ga | ...
7 votes
4 answers
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What are the benefits of intensive reading?

As a corollary to this question, what are the benefits of intensive reading for acquiring a second language? A reference paper would be nice but is not required. Intensive reading refers to reading ...
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11 votes
2 answers
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Which SRS algorithm yields greatest evidence-based remembering

Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS) such as Anki, SuperMemo, Mnemosyne, Memrise, etc, use their own specific algorithms for increasing your ability to remember new words and sentences. Is there evidence ...
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3 votes
0 answers
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Sufficient grammar for a particular purpose

When I travel I enjoy trying to learn as much of the language as possible before I go. However, I often focus strongly on vocabulary, since I find that it's the most useful if I only have a short ...
7 votes
3 answers
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Is there evidence that languages with complex grammar take longer to learn as a mother tongue?

This question is about learning to speak a language as a mother tongue (i.e., from birth (L1), not as a second language (L2)). Some languages have more grammar rules than others (number of cases, ...
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4 votes
1 answer
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How does flow relate to language competency? Can it be taught/learned?

Psychological flow is kind of like going on autopilot, or being completely immersed in an activity, and is also related to high performance levels. I was reading about flow in music, but it reminded ...
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11 votes
1 answer
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Evidence that translating L2 into L1 improves L2 acquisition

I run a project where young bilingual volunteers translate English-language media into the home language for their families. I believe one of the benefits is that, because our volunteers have to ...
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10 votes
4 answers
177 views

Learning language by singing songs?

Learn languages by memorizing rhymed poems is about pro/cons of using poems to learn a language. What about using songs? Songs might use more modern language, avoiding the cons mentioned for poems. ...
15 votes
2 answers
344 views

How useful is passive "background" listening?

I have seen many different opinions regarding the usefulness of, say, having a radio program on in the background while you work, do chores, etc. Some say that simply being able to hear the sounds and ...
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14 votes
1 answer
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Is it more efficient to make flashcards for L3 in L2 and L1?

I'm currently learning Japanese as my L3, using flashcards (Anki) for kanji vocabulary. My L1 is Portuguese and L2 is English (fluent). Is it more efficient to make flashcards for L3 in L2 and L1? ...
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7 votes
1 answer
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Studies on using Kinect for learning or teaching sign language?

In 2013, developers at Microsoft Research worked on sign language recognition in Kinect devices in order to translate sign language (more specifically American Sign Language) into spoken words. ...
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4 votes
0 answers
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Fluent in English and Spanish; according to scientific research, what order of learning other languages is most efficient? [closed]

I am a native speaker of the English language with 6 years of Spanish schooling. After re-establishing a fluent Spanish speaking status what should be the next language to learn? Latin seemed like ...
5 votes
1 answer
146 views

Is there any evidence that online language courses enable you to speak the language?

Many people try to learn a foreign language through an online language course. For example, FutureLearn hosts courses such as Introduction to Norwegian, Introduction to Dutch (three weeks), ...
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10 votes
2 answers
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According to research, how effective is learning an L3 through an L2?

There's a language technique in the polyglot community known as "stacking", which is essentially the process of learning an L3 through an L2. According to research on this topic, what are the benefits ...
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9 votes
1 answer
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When using spaced repetition, do I learn less when tired?

If I use Ankidroid in the evening, I am tired and don't perform very well. If I use it in the morning, my performance is better. Does better performance also imply I am learning the content more ...
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4 votes
1 answer
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What are important external factors in formal language learning?

Language learning is influenced by both internal and external factors. Internal factors include cognitive and affective factors such as intrinsic motivation, intelligence, anxiety, previous language ...
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5 votes
0 answers
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How long does the "priming" effect last for vocabulary study?

I'm looking for studies or other scientifically-solid information on the topic. But first, an explanation. I'm interested in the psychological phenomenon of priming as it relates to vocabulary study. ...
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9 votes
1 answer
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What are the steps to native language acquisition for children?

I've been trying to find literature that talks about steps taken to typically learn a language. I know that based on what I've read that children start from a one-word stage to multi-word stage. What ...
13 votes
2 answers
247 views

Do people fluent in two languages learn a third, unrelated language more easily?

The question in the title is strongly shortened. In full length it goes like this: Do people who speak fluently two languages (which they have learned as a child) that are quite different from each ...
9 votes
1 answer
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Research on benefits of writing by hand when learning foreign languages

In the past, I sometimes did Chinese grammar exercises using pen and paper, and sometimes using a computer. In both cases, I wrote out the entire sentences (not just the answers) and had them reviewed ...
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6 votes
0 answers
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Is it more advantageous to learn the writing system or the spoken form of a language first?

There are several primary aspects of a language, including both the writing system and the spoken form of a language. What does scientific research say about the order to learn these two factors when ...
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9 votes
1 answer
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How effective is induction as a language learning technique?

According to the Encyclopedia of Language Development, Induction is a type of reasoning that involves deriving general principles from specific examples. Induction is most often used to acquire ...
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9 votes
1 answer
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Research papers on improving speaking fluency?

I'm currently looking for scholarly research papers that discuss how speaking fluency is developed, especially for people learning English. If there are any recommended readings, please share them ...