Language Learning Background and Attitudes in ESL Contexts: The Case of Verb Acquisition

Abstract

The educationalbackgroundandpersonalpreferencesoflearnersofa secondlanguage(L2)andtheirinfluence on students' L2 acquisition has been an interest in research in previous decades, but discrepancies may exist between this previous research and actual classroom practice and results. In order to determine how learner background andattitudes affectEnglishasa SecondLanguage(ESL)students’verbproduction,elevenESLlearnersparticipated in both ora l a nd writte n ta sks . They we re give n writte n surveys to de termine if s peaking or writing wa s e mphasized more in learning English in their home countries. Another survey was administered to determine which of these activities theypreferred.Next,theparticipantswatcheda movieclipandcompletedwritingandspeakingactivities. The total amount of written and spoken verbs and the total amount of verbs used correctly were compared and analyzedtodetermineiftherewas arelationshipamongparticipants'learningbackgroundknowledge,correctverb usage, and activity preference. In the end, a variety of demographic differences played the largest role in verb production. Meanwhile,a slight but noticeablerelationshipbetweena preferenceforspeakingandthe numberof correct verbs produced was noted.