Session 6C

The acquisition of multi-word expressions, especially non-compositional ones, has proven particularly challenging in non-native language acquisition (cf. e.g. Schmitt 2004; Siyanova-Chanturia/Van Lancker Sidtis 2019 for an overview). Verbal periphrases, a specific type of multi-verb constructions, have been observed to often cause problems to (at least German-speaking) learners. Consisting of a (partly or fully auxiliarised) conjugated verb form and an infinite verb form, these periphrastic verbal structures are regarded as a characteristic of all Romance languages and are used to express temporal, aspectual, modal and diathetic values. In German, however, some of these values are expressed by different means (e.g. derivational morphology or adverbs) or are not explicitly stated at all. 
In order to investigate which multi-verb structures are most problematic for German-speaking learners, a self-paced reading study was administered to a L1 German experimental group (proficiency level in Spanish B2-C2) and a L1 Spanish control group. A selection of verbal periphrases in Spanish (136 items in total) was presented in a non-cumulative reading paradigm on a computer screen, followed by an acceptability rating on a continuous scale (for a methodological review cf. Marsden et al. 2018). Results from a pilot study (n=10) suggest that gerundival constructions are most challenging – for non-natives as well as natives, interestingly – with highly divergent acceptability ratings and longer reaction times. The reasons for this bias are manifold: On the one hand, the semantics of the respective multi-verb expressions (sp. ir/venir/andar + gerund) are fairly nuanced (expressing shades of cumulativity and distributivity together with modal values; cf. e.g. Yllera 1999). On the other hand, the use of these periphrastic verbal structures is considerably variety-sensitive. In combination with the typological differences between German and Romance, these factors are hypothesised to account for (at least part of) the difficulties in the acquisition of gerundival multi-verb expressions. 
The present study is part of a larger project aiming to contribute to the field by shedding light on an understudied type of multi-word expressions. Results do not only illustrate cross-linguistic influence (cf. e.g. Cenoz et al. 2001; Jarvis/Pavlenko 2010) but also suggest variety-sensitivity as a crucial factor in L2 acquisition. 
References:
Cenoz, Jasone/Hufeisen, Britta/Jessner, Ulrike (eds.) (2001): Cross-Linguistic Influence in Third Language Acquisition: Psycholinguistic Perspectives. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 
Jarvis, Scott/Pavlenko, Aneta (2010): Crosslinguistic Influence in Language and Cognition. New York: Routledge. 
Marsden, Emma/Thompson, Sophie/Plonsky, Luke (2018): "A methodological synthesis of self-paced reading in second language research", in: Applied Psycholinguistics 39, 861-904. 
Schmitt, Norbert (ed.) (2004): Formulaic sequences: Acquisition, processing and use. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins. 
Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna/Van Lancker Sidtis, Diana (2019): "What on-line processing tells us about formulaic language", in: Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna/Pellicer-Sánchez, Ana (eds.): Understanding Formulaic Language: A Second Language Acquisition Perspective. London/New York: Routledge, 38-61. 
Yllera, Alicia (1999): "Las perífrasis verbales de gerundio y participio", in: Bosque, Ignacio/Demonte, Violeta (eds.): Gramática descriptiva de la lengua española. Vol. 2. Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 3393-3441. 

The study examines the implications of Talmy's motion event typology and Slobin's thinking-for-speaking hypothesis for the context of early successive bilingualism. Specifically, it investigates how adult speakers of Uyghur who are exposed to Mandarin Chinese in early childhood encode voluntary motion in their L1 and L2 respectively. Uyghur-Chinese bilinguals and monolingual controls are invited to describe a set of short cartoons depicting a protagonist moving along a certain path trajectory in a particular manner. The production data are analysed in terms of the kind of linguistic devices used to encode key components of motion, the frequency with which the components are expressed together (manner+path) or separately (manner-only or path-only) and how they are syntactically packaged. By systematically analysing and comparing the bilinguals' motion descriptions with those of monolingual speakers, this study aims to establish the extent to which the bilinguals develop language-specific patterns of thinking-for-speaking. Importantly, Uyghur and Chinese represent two genealogically distinct language families (Turkic vs. Sino-Tibetan) that nonetheless share interesting structural/typological overlaps in encoding motion. Therefore, as well as complementing the existing research on bilingual motion expressions that has mostly concerned European languages, the study is uniquely placed to shed fresh light on the role of structural/typological overlap in cross-linguistic influence in this domain. 

Learning a foreign language in a formal setting requires motivation and determination. A particularly consequential personality trait believed to expedite the process is grit (MacIntyre & Gabryś-Barker,2016). Composed of perseverance of effort and long-term consistency of interests, grit facilitates the investment of energy over extended periods of time and the accomplishment of long-term goals despite failures, challenges and obstacles (Duckworth et al.,2007).
Grit has been found to predict academic performance (Eskreis-Winkler et al.,2014), self-efficacy (Wolters & Hussain,2015) and academic engagement (Datu et al.,2016), and turned out to be a domain-specific rather than general trait (Sudina et al.,2020;Teimouri et al.,2020). In the field of SLA, grit is believed to be one of the most important positive personality factors affecting language learning. However, although some studies indicated that it may improve L2 attainment in the context of face-to-face classes (Kramer et al.,2017;Wei et al.,2019), little is known about its determinants, or its influence in the context of remote learning.
This preregistered comprehensive questionnaire study, framed in the positive psychology perspective, investigates how grit and its putative determinants: growth mindset, curiosity, resilience, and autonomy, non-trivially affect the effectiveness of in-class vs online L2 learning. Accordingly, it aims to provide answers to the following overarching questions:
RQ1: Which of the psychological dispositions: i) growth language mindset, ii) curiosity, iii) resilience, and iv) autonomy has the strongest influence on L2 grit?
RQ2: To what extent does L2 grit mediate the influence of each of these factors on the effectiveness of L2 learning in F2F vs online contexts?
RQ3: Are there demographic, motivational, or course-specific variables in the model moderating the relationship between the key variables?
The selected predictors are ones singled out as of plausible import in remote learning settings, where students need to regularly construct knowledge on their own. We use several validated scales: L2 grit scale (Teimouri et al.,2020), Language Mindsets Inventory (Lou & Noels,2017), Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II (Kashdan et al.,2009), Autonomy scale from the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (Chen et al.,2015), as well as a custom-made brand-new scale of readiness for online learning measuring its two dimensions: i) self-directed learning, and ii) online learning motivation. All scales yielded acceptable to high reliability (Cronbach's αs .75–.89).
Multiple linear regression models basing on responses of N=611 participants from 60 countries demonstrate that perseverance of effort is determined by autonomy, motivation for remote learning, and self-directed learning (50% of variance explained;F6,203=36.48,p< .001,ηp²=.52[.43;.57]), whereas consistency of interests depends on curiosity, autonomy, and motivation for remote learning (26 PoV explained;F6,203=13.63,p< .001,ηp²=.29[.18;.35]). Neither component depends on L2 mindset. L2 grit as a holistic construct in turn is the sole significant direct predictor of satisfaction with online learning.
The study significantly contributes to our understanding of factors influencing learners' L2 grit as well as the place of this construct in online-learning scenarios. The results can enable teachers to nurture the development of the crucial characteristics in their students to make language learning a pleasurable, passionate, and successful endeavour.