The NELSON Project - Article Example

A review One can see that second language acquisition is utmost important for the community in the modern society. The article d as Does Training in Second-Language Word Recognition Skills Affect Reading Comprehension? An Experimental Study (published in the year 2005) by Fukkink et al. proves that proper planning and related training can benefit second language learners to an extent. Besides, the authors investigate the scope of reading comprehension (say, computer aided) and second language learning within classroom environment. Thesis statement: The review based on the article named as Does Training in Second-Language Word Recognition Skills Affect Reading Comprehension? An Experimental Study proves that language training with computer aided instruction can help students to grasp a second language with ease and can help them to have enough vocabulary for future use. Explanation: The article makes use of experimental studies (say, classroom oriented), related to NELSON project to investigate the relationship between skill (say, word recognition) within second language training and reading comprehension. Fukkink, Hulstijn, & Simis (2005) stated that, “In one study within the NELSON project, we investigated the role of three components of LI and L2 reading and writing proficiency among high school students in the Netherlands (LI Dutch and L2 English as a foreign language [EFL])” (p.55). The experimental studies were conducted in Netherlands (say, among Grade 8 students), to unearth the influence of training in word recognition. In the introductory section, the authors declare the importance of word meaning while trying to understand the meaning of a text. If an individual knows the word meaning, he/she must be able to retrieve the same while reading a text. So, within the scenario of second language acquisition, training is essential to grasp and retrieve word meaning, and this is the core concept put forth by the authors in the article. Still, planning based upon theoretical support and successful implementation is important in providing training to the second language learners. The authors state that human mind cannot provide importance to different activities within a single time frame. To be specific, this problem affects the reading ability of second language learners. Besides, the authors attract the reader’s attention towards different theories and approaches within language acquisition like Andersons ACT theory, Segalowitz’s approach etc. From a different angle of view, this is important because experimentation and research must be backed up with theories and approaches with particular fields. The research hypothesis includes: Training (say, in written form) in second language enhances word recognition, training enhances performance, training enhances reading speed, and training enhances reading performance. To be specific, direct access to the second language by using different organs can help second language learners to enhance their performance in general. The experiment 1 (consisting of Grade 8 students), related to the first and second hypotheses proves that training can enhance word recognition and performance. The experiment aimed to test the validity of all hypotheses. Besides, tests for word recognition, reading comprehension (English), reading comprehension (Dutch), were conducted and the results proves that the hypotheses are valid within the context of second language acquisition. One can see that research based upon experimentation and theoretical support can help the researchers to compare the result with other research results in the field and can attain acceptable conclusion in general. If not, the study may prove invalid because evidence is important within research, especially within the field of education. The study highlights the fact that training is essential for second language learners because the same can help them to improve their language skills. The discussion/interpretation section of the article deals with the importance of training in second language acquisition. The authors state that known and unusual words were used for reading comprehension, and the results prove that training can help students to be fluent, disregarding difficulty level (say, unfamiliarity) of words. Fukkink et al. (2005) stated that, “The results of this study show that training can enhance students lexical access skills in a L2” (p.68). Still one need to expect that automaticity training can deeply influence the reading and comprehension skills of second language students. For instance, students may face difficulty in grasping the lexical meaning of some unfamiliar words. In short, the article makes use of experimentation related results and pinpoints the importance of training within second language learning. The concluding section dealt with pedagogical issues within the field of education. In this section, the authors point out the importance of NELSON project which can help students to acquire more vocabulary within their second language education. Besides, this project can help students to have independent practice and word fluency. In short, the article pinpoints the importance of computer assisted independent training within second language education. From a different angle of view, vocabulary is important for a student who is trying to have mastery over a language other than his/her mother tongue. Within this scenario, the experiments related to NELSON project prove that proper training can help students to acquire fluency in a second language. To be specific, students will learn how to use newly acquired words in different situations and contexts. In short, second language (say, L2) learners can benefit from the independent access to new words and proper training in the second language. Critique: I consider that the authors’ tried their level best to present their points with accuracy and clarity because the article dealt with the general problems faced by second language learners. The authors know that a valid research design cannot help the researchers to attain a generally acceptable conclusion. First of all, they chose an important subject for their research work. Then they went through available information within the field of second language education and selected some important theories and approaches related to second language learning. This helped the researchers to be in touch with the latest development in the field of second language learning, and to prepare interconnected hypotheses for the research work. On the other side, description of experiments, data analysis, and findings prove the validity of the research design selected by the researchers. The authors’ conclusions are exclusively based upon the data extracted from the experiments. To be specific, the theory (hypotheses) supports the research and the same helps the researchers to attain acceptable findings and conclusions. So, I consider that the authors logically followed the primary steps of research like data collection, experimentation and data analysis. This article and related research work will benefit researchers because the same can be applied within the field of future research. Besides, researchers can rely upon the findings of this research and can make use of the same in the field of education. On the other side, teachers can make use of the findings of the research work in this article within classroom environment. Fukkink et al. (2005) stated that, “Training may be of greatest profit in the early phases of learning a new language” (p.72). This is important because research within the field of second language learning must help teachers to improve their teaching. So, I consider that researchers and teachers can have a number of benefits from this article. I wish to point a few recommendations/ expected improvements on this article, especially some major changes to the article. For example, the elaborate description of the experiments distracts the readers from connecting the same with hypotheses. Similarly, the discussion section points out a few theories and approaches related to second language learning, and the same should have pointed out in the literature section. Besides, the concluding section is too short and does not verify the validity of the hypotheses. In short, the length of the article should be reduced to help the readers to have deeper understanding of the subject matter as a whole. Summing, the article review proves that findings extracted from research within the context of second language teaching can be applied to classroom environments. Besides, the article proves that computer aided learning can help second language learners to have enough vocabulary and to use the same in different situations. In short, the NELSON project is an important step within second language teaching because the same proves that training can transform second language acquisition into an easier task. References Fukkink, R.G., Hulstijn, J., & Simis, A. (2005). Does Training in Second-Language Word Recognition Skills Affect Reading Comprehension? An Experimental Study. The Modern Language Journal, 89(1), 54-75. Read More