Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-s7dlb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-18T06:57:03.882Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Listening comprehension of academic and everyday language in first language and second language students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2016

ALEXANDRA MARX ,
BIRGIT HEPPT  and
SOFIE HENSCHEL
ALEXANDRA MARX*
Affiliation:
Humboldt University of Berlin and University of Potsdam
BIRGIT HEPPT
Affiliation:
Humboldt University of Berlin
SOFIE HENSCHEL
Affiliation:
Humboldt University of Berlin
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Alexandra Marx, Department of Education, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24–25, Potsdam 14476, Germany. E-mail: alexandra.marx@uni-potsdam.de
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Listening comprehension in academic contexts is an important prerequisite for the acquisition of school-related skills. However, the concept of academic language is generally the subject of much debate, and there is no consensus yet on what constitutes academic listening comprehension. To date, it remains unclear whether listening comprehension of academic language may be regarded as a distinct construct. The present study investigates the distinction of academic and everyday listening comprehension in 459 ninth-grade students speaking German as a first language or as a second language. Empirical results provide preliminary evidence that academic listening forms a separate facet of listening comprehension. Contrary to theoretical assumptions, second language students were not particularly disadvantaged in terms of academic listening comprehension.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 571 - 600
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Aarts, R., Demir, S., & Vallen, T. (2011). Characteristics of academic language register occurring in caretaker–child interaction: Development and validation of a coding scheme. Language Learning, 61, 1173–1221. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00664.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abedi, J., & Lord, C. (2001). The language factor in mathematics tests. Applied Measurement in Education, 14, 219–234. doi:10.1207/S15324818AME1403_2 Google Scholar
Ahrenholz, B. (2013). Sprache im Fachunterricht untersuchen [Investigating language in content area classrooms]. In Röhner, C. & Hövelbrinks, B. (Eds.), Fachbezogene Sprachförderung in Deutsch als Zweitsprache—Theoretische Konzepte und empirische Befunde zum Erwerb bildungssprachlicher Kompetenzen (pp. 87–98). Weinheim: Beltz.Google Scholar
Ahrenholz, B., & Maak, D. (2012). Sprachliche Anforderungen im Fachunterricht: Eine Skizze mit Beispielanalysen zum Passivgebrauch in Biologie [Linguistic demands in content area classrooms: A draft with exemplary analyses on the use of passive voice in biology]. In Roll, H. & Schilling, A. (Eds.), Mehrsprachiges Handeln im Fokus von Linguistik und Didaktik (pp. 135–152). Duisburg: UBRR Verlag.Google Scholar
Bailey, A. L. (Ed.) (2007). The language demands of school: Putting academic English to the test. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Bailey, A. L., & Butler, F. (2003). An evidentiary framework for operationalizing academic language for broad application to K–12 education: A design document. Los Angeles: University of California.Google Scholar
Bailey, A. L., & Huang, B. H. (2011). Do current English language development/proficiency standards reflect the English needed for success in school? Language Testing, 28, 343–365. doi:10.1177/0265532211404187 Google Scholar
Bailey, A. L., Huang, B. H., Shin, H. W., Farnsworth, T., & Butler, F. A. (2007). Developing academic English language proficiency prototypes for 5th grade reading: Psychometric and linguistic profiles of tasks. CRESST report 727. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, H., & Steenkamp, J.-B. E. M. (1998). Multi-group latent variable models for varying numbers of items and factors with cross-national and longitudinal applications. Marketing Letters, 9, 21–35. doi:10.1023/A:1007911903032 Google Scholar
Berendes, K., Dragon, N., Weinert, S., Heppt, B., & Stanat, P. (2013). Hürde Bildungssprache? Eine Annäherung an das Konzept “Bildungssprache” unter Einbezug aktueller empirischer Forschungsergebnisse [Academic language as an obstacle? Approaching the concept of “academic language” considering recent empirical findings]. In Redder, A. & Weinert, S. (Eds.), Sprachförderung und Sprachdiagnostik: Perspektiven aus Psychologie, Sprachwissenschaft und empirischer Bildungsforschung (pp. 17–41). Münster: Waxmann.Google Scholar
Biber, D. (1995). Dimensions of register variation. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Buck, G. (2001). Assessing listening. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Butler, F. A., Bailey, A. L., Stevens, R., & Huang, B. H. (2004). Academic English in fifth-grade mathematics, science, and social studies textbooks. Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.Google Scholar
Chamot, A. U., & O'Malley, J. M. (1994). The CALLA handbook: Implementing the cognitive academic language learning approach. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Chudaske, J. (2012). Sprache, Migration und schulfachliche Leistung [Language, migration, and school performance]. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.Google Scholar
Clauser, B. E., & Mazor, K. M. (1998). Using statistical procedures to identify differentially functioning test items. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 17, 31–44.Google Scholar
Collier, V. P. (1989). How long? A synthesis of research on academic achievement in a second language. TESOL Quarterly, 23, 509–531. doi:10.2307/3586923 Google Scholar
Corson, D. (1997). The learning and use of academic English words. Language Learning, 47, 671–718. doi:10.1111/0023-8333.00025 Google Scholar
Csomay, E. (2006). Academic talk in American university classrooms: Crossing the boundaries of oral-literate discourse. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5, 117–135. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2006.02.001 Google Scholar
Cummins, J. (1980). The construct of language proficiency in bilingual education. In Alatis, J. E. (Ed.), Current issues in bilingual education (pp. 81–103). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Cummins, J. (2008). BICS and CALP: Empirical and theoretical status of the distinction. In Street, B. & Hornberger, N. H. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education: Vol. 2. Literacy (2nd ed., pp. 71–83). New York: Springer Science + Business Media LLC.Google Scholar
Curenton, S. M., & Justice, L. M. (2004). African American and Caucasian preschoolers’ use of decontextualized language: Literate language features in oral narratives. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 35, 240–253. doi:0161-1461/04/3503-0240 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eckhardt, A. G. (2008). Sprache als Barriere für den schulischen Erfolg: Potentielle Schwierigkeiten beim Erwerb schulbezogener Sprache für Kinder mit Migrationshintergrund [Language-related barriers in educational success: Potential difficulties in the acquisition of academic language in immigrant students]. Münster: Waxmann.Google Scholar
Edelsky, C., Hudelson, S., Flores, B., Barkin, F., Altwerger, B., & Jilbert, K. (1983). Semilingualism and language deficit. Applied Linguistics, 4, 1–22. doi:10.1093/applin/4.1.1 Google Scholar
Feilke, H. (2012). Bildungssprachliche Kompetenzen-fördern und entwickeln [Fostering and developing academic language competencies]. Praxis Deutsch, 233, 1–13.Google Scholar
Ferris, D., & Tagg, T. (1996). Academic oral communication needs of EAP learners: What subject-matter instructors actually require. TESOL Quarterly, 30, 31–58. doi:10.2307/3587606 Google Scholar
Flowerdew, J. (1994). Academic listening: Research perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, J. (1995). Research of relevance to second language lecture comprehension: An overview. In Flowerdew, J. (Ed.), Academic listening: Research perspectives (pp. 7–29). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Flowerdew, J., & Miller, L. (1997). The teaching of academic listening comprehension and the question of authenticity. English for Specific Purposes, 16, 27–46. doi:10.1016/S0889-4906(96)00030-0 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galloway, E. P., Stude, J., & Uccelli, P. (2015). Adolescents’ metalinguistic reflections on the academic register in speech and writing. Linguistics and Education, 31, 221–237. doi:10.1016/j.linged.2014.10.006 Google Scholar
Gantefort, C., & Roth, H.-J. (2010). Sprachdiagnostische Grundlagen für die Förderung bildungssprachlicher Fähigkeiten [Assessment of academic language proficiency in German]. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 13, 573–591. doi:10.1007/s11618-010-0163-2 Google Scholar
Ganzeboom, H. B. G., De Graaf, P. M., & Treiman, D. J. (1992). A standard international socio-economic index of occupational status. Social Science Research, 21, 1–56. doi:10.1016/0049-089X(92)90017-B CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gathercole, V. C. M. (2002). Monolingual and bilingual acquisition: Learning different treatments of that-trace phenomena in English and Spanish. In Oller, D. K. & Eilers, R. E. (Eds.), Language and literacy in bilingual children (pp. 220–252). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Gierl, M. J. (2005). Using dimensionality-based DIF analyses to identify and interpret constructs that elicit group differences. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 24, 3–14. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3992.2005.00002.x Google Scholar
Gogolin, I., & Lange, I. (2011). Bildungssprache und Durchgängige Sprachbildung [Academic language and intergrated language education]. In Fürstenau, S. & Gomolla, M. (Eds.), Migration und schulischer Wandel: Mehrsprachigkeit (pp. 107–128). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.Google Scholar
Gottlieb, M., & Ernst-Slavit, G. (2014). Academic language in diverse classrooms: Definitions and contexts. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.Google Scholar
Haag, N., Heppt, B., Stanat, P., Kuhl, P., & Pant, H. A. (2013). Second language learners’ performance in mathematics: Disentangling the effects of academic language features. Learning and Instruction, 28, 24–34. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.04.001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hakuta, K., Butler, Y. G., & Witt, D. (2000). How long does it take English learners to attain proficiency? Santa Barbara, CA: University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute.Google Scholar
Harklau, L. (1994). Jumping tracks: How language-minority students negotiate evaluations of ability. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 25, 347–363. doi:10.1525/aeq.1994.25.3.04x0149s Google Scholar
Heller, K. A., & Perleth, C. (2000). Kognitiver Fähigkeitstest für 4. bis 12. Klassen, Revision: KFT 4–12+ R [Test of Cognitive Abilities for Grades 4 to 12]. Weinheim: Beltz.Google Scholar
Heller, V., & Morek, M. (2015). Academic discourse as situated practice: An introduction. Linguistics and Education, 31, 174–186. doi:10.1016/j.linged.2014.01.008 Google Scholar
Heppt, B., Stanat, P., Dragon, N., Berendes, K., & Weinert, S. (2014). Bildungssprachliche Anforderungen und Hörverstehen bei Kindern mit deutscher und nicht-deutscher Familiensprache [Academic language demands and listening comprehension in children with German and non-German home language]. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 28, 139–149. doi:10.1024/1010-0652/a000130 Google Scholar
Hoff, E. (2013). Interpreting the early language trajectories of children from low-SES and language minority homes: Implications for closing achievement gaps. Developmental Psychology, 49, 4–14. doi:10.1037/a0027238 Google Scholar
Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118 Google Scholar
Kieffer, M. J. (2010). Socioeconomic status, English proficiency, and late-emerging reading difficulties. Educational Researcher, 39, 484–486. doi:10.3102/0013189X10378400 Google Scholar
Köhne, J., Kronenwerth, S., Redder, A., Schuth, E., & Weinert, S. (2015) Bildungssprachlicher Wortschatz—Linguistische und psychologische Fundierung und Itementwicklung [Academic vocabulary—Linguistic and psychological foundations and development of items]. In Redder, A., Naumann, J., & Tracy, R. (Eds.), Forschungsinitiative Sprachdiagnostik und Sprachförderung—Ergebnisse (pp. 67–92). Münster: Waxmann.Google Scholar
Martiniello, M. (2008). Language and the performance of English-language learners in math word problems. Harvard Educational Review, 78, 333–368. doi:10.17763/haer.78.2.70783570r1111t32 Google Scholar
Mason, A. (1995). By dint of: Student and lecturer perceptions of lecture comprehension strategies in first-term graduate study. In Flowerdew, J. (Ed.), Academic listening: Research perspectives (pp. 199–218). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Meurers, D., Berendes, K., Vajjala, S., & Bryant, D. (2015). Leseanforderungen in der Sekundarstufe: Ein Vergleich der linguistischen Komplexität von Schulbuchtexten [Reading demands in secondary schools: A comparison of the linguistic complexity of textbooks]. Paper presented at the 3rd Tagung der Gesellschaft für Empirische Bildungsforschung, March. Retrieved from http://purl.org/dm/handouts/gebf15.pdf Google Scholar
Morek, M., & Heller, V. (2012). Bildungssprache: Kommunikative, epistemische, soziale und interaktive Aspekte ihres Gebrauchs [Academic language: Communicative, epistemic, social, and interactive aspects of is utilization]. Zeitschrift für angewandte Linguistik, 2, 67–101. doi:10.1515/zfal-2012-0011 Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus users guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles: Author.Google Scholar
Nagy, W., & Townsend, D. (2012). Words as tools: Learning academic vocabulary as language acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 47, 91–108. doi:10.1002/RRQ.011 Google Scholar
Nystrand, M. (2006). Research on the role of classroom discourse as it affects reading comprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 40, 392–412.Google Scholar
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). PISA 2009 results: Overcoming social background—Equity in learning opportunities and outcomes (Vol. 2). Paris: Author.Google Scholar
Reese, L., Garnier, H., Gallimore, R., & Goldenberg, C. (2000). A longitudinal analysis of the antecedents of emergent Spanish literacy and middle-school English reading achievement of Spanish-speaking students. American Educational Research Association Journal, 37, 633–662. doi:10.3102/00028312037003633 Google Scholar
Richards, J. C. (1983). Listening comprehension: Approach, design, procedure. TESOL Quarterly, 17, 219–240. doi:10.2307/3586651 Google Scholar
Roessingh, H., Kover, P., & Watt, D. (2005). Developing cognitive academic language proficiency: The journey. TESL Canada Journal, 23, 1–27.Google Scholar
Rost, M. (1994). Introducing listening. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Roth, H.-J., Neumann, U., & Gogolin, I. (2007). Evaluation des Schulversuchs Bilinguale Grundschulen Hamburg: Abschlussbericht an die Behörde für Bildung und Sport Hamburg [Evaluation of the pilot project Bilingual Elementary Schools in Hamburg]. Hamburg: Universität zu Hamburg.Google Scholar
Saville-Troike, M. (1984). What really matters in second language learning for academic achievement? TESOL Quarterly, 18, 199–219. doi:10.2307/3586690 Google Scholar
Scarcella, R. (2003). Academic English: A conceptual framework. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute.Google Scholar
Scarcella, R., & Rumberger, R. W. (2000) Academic English key to long-term success in school. University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute Newsletter, 9, 1–2.Google Scholar
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2004). The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Shaftel, J., Belton-Kocher, E., Glasnapp, D., & Poggio, J. (2006). The impact of language characteristics in mathematics test items on the performance of English language learners and students with disabilities. Educational Assessment, 11, 105–126. doi:10.1207/s15326977ea1102_2 Google Scholar
Shohamy, E., & Inbar, O. (1991). Validation of listening comprehension tests: The effect of text and question type. Language Testing, 8, 23–40. doi:10.1177/026553229100800103 Google Scholar
Snow, C. E. (2010). Academic language and the challenge of reading for learning about science. Science, 328, 450–452. doi:10.1126/science.1182597 Google Scholar
Snow, C. E., & Uccelli, P. (2009). The challenge of academic language. In Olson, D. R. & Torrance, N. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of literacy (pp. 112–133). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar
Tannen, D. (1982). The oral literate continuum of discourse. In Tannen, D. (Ed.), Spoken and written language (pp. 1–6). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Taylor, L., & Geranpayeh, A. (2011). Assessing listening for academic purposes: Defining and operationalising the test construct. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10, 89–101. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2011.03.002 Google Scholar
Townsend, D., Filippini, A., Collins, P., & Biancarosa, G. (2012). Evidence for the importance of academic word knowledge for the academic achievement of diverse middle school students. Elementary School Journal, 113, 497–519. doi:10.1086/663301 Google Scholar
Uccelli, P., Barr, C. D., Dobbs, C. L., Galloway, E. P., Meneses, A., & Sánchez, E. (2015). Core academic language skills: An expanded operational construct and a novel instrument to chart school-relevant language proficiency in preadolescent and adolescent learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36, 1077–1109.Google Scholar
Uccelli, P., Galloway, E. P., Barr, C. D., Meneses, A., & Dobbs, C. L. (2015). Beyond vocabulary: Exploring cross-disciplinary academic-language proficiency and its association with reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 50, 337–356. doi:10.1002/rrq.104 Google Scholar
Uesseler, S., Runge, A., & Redder, A (2013). “Bildungssprache” diagnostizieren: Entwicklung eines Instruments zur Erfassung von bildungssprachlichen Fähigkeiten bei Viert- und Fünftklässlern [Diagnosis of academic language: Development of an instrument for assessing academic language in four- and fifth-graders]. In Redder, A. & Weinert, S. (Eds.), Sprachförderung und Sprachdiagnostik: Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven (pp. 4–67). Münster: Waxmann.Google Scholar
Vollmer, H. J., & Thürmann, E. (2010). Zur Sprachlichkeit des Fachlernens: Modellierung eines Referenzrahmens für Deutsch als Zweitsprache [Language in learning: Formulating a framework of reference for German as a second language]. In Ahrenholz, B. (Ed.), Fachunterricht und Deutsch als Zweitsprache (pp. 107–132). Tübingen: Gunter Narr.Google Scholar
Wald, A. (1943). Tests of statistical hypotheses concerning several parameters when the number of observations is large. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, 54, 426–482. doi:10.2307/1990256 Google Scholar
Weiß, R. H. (2006). Grundintelligenztest Skala 2, CFT 20—Revision [Culture Fair Intelligence Test—Scale 2]. Göttingen: Hogrefe.Google Scholar
Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing measures: An item response modeling approach. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Wolf, M. K., Crosson, A. C., & Resnick, L. B. (2005). Classroom talk for rigorous reading comprehension instruction. Reading Psychology, 26, 27–53. doi:10.1080/02702710490897518 Google Scholar
Wu, M. L., Adams, R. J., Wilson, M. R., & Haldane, S. A. (2007). ACER ConQuest Version 2: Generalised item response modelling software. Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press.Google Scholar