Determining the influence of instruction on L2 speech processing

1987 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Pienemann
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Formal Context ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
L2 Development

Abstract In this article it is claimed that there is a set of universal speech processing constraints which applies to all types of second language acquisition. These constraints define the range of possible hypotheses about the structure of the L2 which a learner can create at a given stage of development and cannot be overridden by formal instruction or by other alterations in the linguistic input. These claims, however, do not imply that all types of language acquisition are identical or that teaching has no influence whatsoever on the way a second language develops in a formal context. It has been shown elsewhere (cf. Pienemann, 1984, 1985, 1987a) that under certain conditions teaching can influence formal L2 development. These demonstrable positive effects of teaching, however, remain inside the variational margin left open by the processing constraints. The present paper reports on the interlanguage development of one learner of German as a second language, selected from a broader longitudinal study of one year’s duration. It was found that the learner’s word order development was identical to the natural development of German as a second language despite the progression intended in the teaching. A similar result was obtained in the development of verbal morphology. It is also shown that agreement marking is acquired at the same time as specific word order rules.

Language learning in mindbodyworld: A sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Video Clip ◽  
Continuous Learning ◽  
Computational Process ◽  
Knowledge Representations ◽  
L2 Development

Based on recent research in cognitive science, interaction, and second language acquisition (SLA), I describe a sociocognitive approach to SLA. This approach adopts anon-cognitivistview of cognition: Instead of an isolated computational process in which input is extracted from the environment and used to build elaborate internal knowledge representations, cognition is seen asadaptive intelligence,enabling our close and sensitivealignmentto our ecosocial environment in order to survive in it. Mind, body, and world are thus functionally integrated from a sociocognitive perspective instead of radically separated.Learning plays a major part in this scenario: If environments are ever-changing, then adaptation to them is continuous. Learning is part of our natural ability to so adapt, while retaining traces of that adaptation in the integrated mind-body-world system. Viewed in this way, SLA is adaptation to/engagement with L2 environments.Interactionalso plays a central role in sociocognitive SLA: We learn L2s through interacting with/in L2 environments. Founded on innate, universal skills which evolutionarilyprecededlanguage and make it possible, interaction supports SLA at every turn. Having presented this argument, I illustrate it by analyzing a video clip of an EFL tutoring session, indicating various ‘sociocognitive tools’ for interactive alignment which undergird L2 development.

Prototypical influence in second language acquisition: What now for the Aspect Hypothesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin McManus
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Aspect Hypothesis ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Sentence Interpretation

AbstractThis paper presents empirical evidence on the development of aspect by English- and German-speaking university learners of French L2 collected from a spoken narrative task and a sentence interpretation task. Contrary to the Aspect Hypothesis's predictions, this study's results suggest that increased use of prototypical pairings goes in hand with increased L2 proficiency. Following a small but growing number of studies, this study questions the route of L2 development proposed by the Aspect Hypothesis.

Language Testing-SLA Research Interfaces

1988 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 193-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyle F. Bachman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Language Testing ◽  
Second Language Proficiency ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Longitudinal View

Language testing [LT] research and second language acquisition [SLA] research are often seen as distinct areas of inquiry in applied linguistics. To oversimplify slightly, SLA research takes a longitudinal view, concerning itself primarily with the description and explanation of how second language proficiency develops, while LT research typically observes a “slice of life”, and attempts to arrive at a more or less static description of language proficiency at a given stage of development.

Unlearning V2

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 77-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marit Westergaard
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
School Children ◽  
Word Order ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Norwegian School ◽  
Input Cues

This study investigates how child speakers of a verb second (V2) language acquire the supposedly more basic SVO word order of English. Data comes from approximately 100 Norwegian school children aged 7 to 12 in their acquisition of three related syntactic constructions. The focus of the investigation is the extent of language transfer from the L1, related to questions of markedness. It is shown that there is considerable transfer of Norwegian word order, and the children need to ‘unlearn’ the V2 rule acquired for their first language in the process of learning English. In a cue-based approach to second language acquisition, the input cues that are necessary to reorganize the children’s internalized grammar are identified, and the frequency of these cues is argued to be responsible for the order of acquisition of the various constructions.

Forty years later: Updating the Fossilization Hypothesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZhaoHong Han
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Fortieth Anniversary ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Selection Of

A founding concept in second language acquisition (SLA) research, fossilization has been fundamental to understanding second language (L2) development. The Fossilization Hypothesis, introduced in Selinker's seminal text (1972), has thus been one of the most influential theories, guiding a significant bulk of SLA research for four decades; 2012 marks its fortieth anniversary. This article revisits the Fossilization Hypothesis, starting with the earliest set of questions (still the most comprehensive) (Selinker & Lamendella 1978) and using them as a basis for updating the Hypothesis. The current understanding of fossilization is presented by introducing an alternative hypothesis, the Selective Fossilization Hypothesis (Han 2009) and, in the light of that alternative, reviewing a selection of fossilizable structures documented in the recent literature.

scholarly journals FREQUENCY EFFECTS AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Gass ◽  
Alison Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Input And Output ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Processing Language

In this response to Ellis's target article on frequency in language processing, language use, and language acquisition, we argue in favor of a role for frequency in several areas of second language acquisition, including interactional input and output and speech processing. We also discuss areas where second language acquisition appears to proceed along its own route and at its own pace regardless of the frequency of the input, as well as areas where input is infrequent but acquisition appears to be unimpeded. Our response is intended to highlight the complexity of the task of deciphering the role and importance of frequency.

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