Lexical learning in second language acquisition: optionality in the numeration

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigenori Wakabayashi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Stage Model ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Lexical Learning ◽  
Target Languages

Lardiere suggests that second language acquisition (SLA) researchers should pay more attention to the distribution of a given feature in source and target languages, using the distribution of [plural] in English, Chinese and Korean to illustrate. I argue that the distribution of [definite] in English shows a similar complexity, and that this has largely been ignored in existing second language studies. I propose that it is distributional complexity of this kind that underlies the gradual development and variability observed in second language (L2) performance. A four-stage model is outlined, attributing gradual development/variability (partly) to optionality in the numeration.

Learnability and the Acquistion of Extraction in Relative Clauses andWh-Questions

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Wolfe Quintero
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Learnability Theory ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
Learning Principles

Learnability theory is an investigation of the cognitive principles that determine developmental stages and eventual success in language acquistion. The focus of this study is on the learning principles within learnability theory that account for developmental stages in adult second language acquisition. Three learning principles, cumulative development, continuity, and conservatism, predict a complex sequence of development in the acquisition of relative clauses andwh-questions in English. They predict an early no-prep stage, gradual development through two additional stages of greater embeddedness of the extracted noun, stranded before nonstranded prepositional structures, and the likelihood of resumption at early stages. These predictions are confirmed by data from previous studies and are further investigated in this study by means of elicited production data collected from 35 Japanese learners of English and 17 native speakers of English. The data show the expected stages of development and confirm the relevance of learning principles to a comprehensive theory of learnability in second language acquisition (SLA).

scholarly journals Applied linguistics

2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-44 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
French Language ◽  
School Of Education ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Recent Developments

05–99Hyatt, David (School of Education, U of Sheffield, UK). A Critical Literacy Frame for UK secondary education. English in Education (Sheffield, UK) 39.1 (2005), 43–59.05–100Myles, Florence (U of Newcastle, UK; [email protected]). French second language acquisition research: setting the scene. French Language Studies (Cambridge, UK) 14.3(2004), 211–232.05–101Oiler, J. W. (U of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA; [email protected]). Common ground between form and content: the pragmatic solution to the bootstrapping problem. The Modern Language Journal (Madison, Wl, USA) 89.1 (2005), 92–114.05–102Rule, Sarah (U of Southampton, UK; [email protected]). French interlanguage oral corpora: recent developments. French Language Studies (Cambridge, UK) 14.3 (2004), 343–356.05–103Towell, Richard (U of Salford, UK; [email protected]). Research into the second language acquisition of French: achievements and challenges. French Language Studies (Cambridge, UK) 14.3 (2004), 357–375.

scholarly journals PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN CHILDREN

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Haerazi Haerazi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Nursery School ◽  
First Language ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Home Culture ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
School Day

To understand the principles of second language acquisition, we could adopt a variety of perspective. Research on second language acquisition (SLA) by children and adults is characterized by many different subfields and perspectives, both cognitive and social in orientation. Although children feature as participants in this research, it is relatively rare to find reviews or overviews of SLA that deal specifically with child SLA although there are a few important exceptions. This general lack of focus on children’s SLA is somewhat surprising, considering that data from children as first language learners have often provided a basis and impetus for SLA theorizing. Among the best-known first language studies to prove influential was Brown’s seminal work showing a predictable order of morpheme acquisition by children under the age of three. Many early years settings now welcome children and families from different cultures who use languages other than English. Young children who are starting to learn English as an additional language may also be attending a nursery school, pre-school, day nursery or child-minder perhaps for the first time. They will bring with them many skills and experiences from their home culture and will be both anxious and excited about their new situation. A good foundation for learning English as an additional language is embedded in quality early years practice. To know more about the principle of second language acquisition in children, this paper will present some issues related with it such as the nature and the role of language learning and the logical problem in language learning.

Complexity in Instructed Heritage Language Acquisition

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Julio Torres
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Language Studies

Abstract In this article, I reflect on the role of linguistic complexity in instructed heritage language (HL) acquisition by specifically examining morphosyntactic linguistic complexity as it relates to factors such as transparency, saliency, and communicative value. First, I critically evaluate previous proposals on linking formal HL studies to pedagogy by arguing that learning in instructed contexts is a complex task that requires research on a number of variables including linguistic complexity. Second, I summarize the lessons learned in the field of instructed second language acquisition with regard to complexity in additional language learning. Third, by reviewing an empirical study on the development of Spanish gender assignment and agreement in writing, I provide a few arguments for investigating the interplay between linguistic complexity and the prior language experience that HL learners bring into the learning environment. Informed by findings from instructed second language studies, I propose that instructed HL studies also examine how linguistic complexity is potentially interwoven with type of instruction and individual differences.

The effect of extraversion on oral L2 proficiency

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 213-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siska van Daele ◽  
Alex Housen ◽  
Michel Pierrard ◽  
Luc De Bruyn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
School Students ◽  
Personality Variable ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
L2 Production ◽  
Target Languages

This study investigates the commonly-held belief in the SLA community that second language acquisition is somehow influenced by the learner’s personality. It builds on previous research on the relation between one personality variable, extraversion, and second language acquisition but is innovative in three ways. First, it examines L2 learners’ speech production in two rather than one L2 and thus puts to the test the hypothesis that the effect of extraversion is stable across different target languages (Dewaele and Furnham 2000). Secondly, whereas most previous studies have investigated the effect of extraversion on fluency (e.g. Rossier 1976, Tapasak, Roodin and Vaught 1978, Busch 1982, Dewaele 1998) this study also looks at the potential effect of this variable on the linguistic accuracy and complexity of learners’ L2 speech production. Thirdly, whereas previous studies were mostly cross-sectional in design, this study adds a longitudinal perspective by considering to what extent the effect of the extraversion–introversion dimension on the fluency, complexity and accuracy of learners’ L2 production remains stable over time. Participants were 25 Dutch-speaking secondary school students learning both English and French as foreign languages in Flanders, Belgium.

scholarly journals Introduction

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-115
Author(s):  
Amanda Edmonds ◽  
Pascale Leclercq
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
French Language ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Language Studies

ABSTRACTThis special issue of the Journal of French Language Studies participates in the ‘methodological turn’ (Byrnes, 2013) in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), by presenting five original articles that focus on different methodological issues in studies on various aspects of the acquisition of French as an additional language. We highlight the contributions of the five articles and situate them within the larger discussion on research methodology. We end by arguing for the need for additional attention to methodology in SLA.

FROM MORPHEME STUDIES TO TEMPORAL SEMANTICS

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Scholarly Activity ◽  
Temporal Semantics ◽  
Tense And Aspect ◽  
Lexical Aspect ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
Oriented Approach

This article surveys the development of second language acquisition research in the area of tense and aspect. Research in the area has grown from the incidental investigation of tense-aspect morphology as part of the morpheme-order studies to investigations of the construction of interlanguage temporal semantics. Going beyond verbal morphology, many studies investigate a full range of temporal expression, including the use of pragmatic and lexical means. Much recent research also draws on theories of inherent, or lexical, aspect. An emphasis on the relation of form and meaning characterizes both the form-oriented approach and the semantic-oriented approach, the competing research paradigms that currently guide our work. The increase in scholarly activity in this domain of second language acquisition, as reflected not only in the number of studies undertaken but in the number of target languages investigated, bodes well for the understanding of temporality in second language.

Foreign names into native tongues

Target ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Chao Chris Li
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Syllable Structure ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Loanword Phonology ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
Language Boundaries

The transfer of sound from one language into another is not a uniform process, but rather, takes different forms depending on the orthographies and phonological properties of source and target languages, the less common of which involve processes significantly different from transliteration between European phonetic scripts. This paper pools techniques commonly used in loanword phonology and second language acquisition to illustrate complications that arise when translating names from English into languages such as Japanese and Chinese, which differ significantly from the source language in syllable structure and orthographic convention. Competing strategies of adaptation and accommodation are placed in the context of lexical retrieval and compared with experimental studies of nativization in interlanguage. It will be shown that for names to be perceived as similar-sounding across language boundaries, it would be desirable to look beyond segmental equivalence and consider stress, syllable count and other suprasegmental factors that play a greater role in phonological memory.

SLA AND FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Foster–Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Key Indicator ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Language And Cognition ◽  
Bilingual Individual

In a brief article published some years ago (Foster-Cohen 1993), I suggested that fruitful collaboration between the fields of first and second language acquisition was underexploited. I also suggested that second language researchers were, in general, better at keeping themselves informed of developments in first language studies than first language researchers were at paying attention to second language issues. I think it fair to say that there are some signs this is changing. One is the now established existence of the journal Language Acquisition (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), started in 1990, which publishes work in both first and second language acquisition with a view to understanding the nature of language acquisition in general. Its preference for papers that address issues in formal linguistic theory complements well Applied Psycholinguistics (Cambridge University Press), which has always published material relevant to both fields, but which also goes well beyond acquisition issues in its brief. A second factor seems to be a gentle but insistent re-examination of issues in bilingualism and a growing awareness that bilingual studies, second language studies, and first language studies overlap in important ways in the study of the bilingual individual. One key indicator of this shift is the appearance of a new journal Bilingualism: Language and Cognition (Cambridge University Press).

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