Contributions of the study of Japanese as a second language to our general understanding of second language acquisition and the definition of second language acquisition research

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigenori Wakabayashi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Definition Of

Japanese has figured frequently in second language acquisition (SLA) research, but more often than not it appears as the first language (L1) rather than the target. In this article, first I discuss the problems addressed and the insights obtained in these studies. I then consider two issues. One is what the field of SLA research should include. I suggest that it should include two categories, namely Core SLA Research, where second language (L2) linguistic knowledge is investigated, and Broad SLA research, where researchers study factors that influence the development of L2 knowledge. The other issue is what we can expect in Core SLA research concerning the L2 acquisition of Japanese. This article illustrates how studies of the L2 acquisition of Japanese can contribute to our understanding of SLA.

scholarly journals First and second language acquisition: Towards a reconcillation

2015 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-140
Author(s):  
Nicole Nau
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract For the past two decades, research on first language acquisition on the one side, and on second language acquisition and learning on the other have largely developed separately, probably as a reaction to the failure of earlier attempts to use the same methods or simply transfer insights gained in one of the fields to the other. T his article argues that a reconciliation may be fruitful, provided that different aspects which have often got blurred in the discussion are considered separately. These aspects include the assessment of multilingualism and monolingualism, the age factor and the definition of “first” and “second” language, the understanding of linguistic competence and of completeness of acquisition, different forms of acquisition and learning, and uniformity vs. individual differences in the process of language acquisition. By challenging some widely held views on characteristics of first language acquisition and its differences to second language learning, more fine-grained research questions are revealed, some of which have been addressed in recent studies on language acquisition and multilingualism

Acquisition without evidence: English infinitives and poverty of stimulus in adult second language acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-443
Author(s):  
Jeanne Heil ◽  
Luis López
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Linguistic System ◽  
Poverty Of Stimulus

This article provides a Poverty of Stimulus argument for the participation of a dedicated linguistic module in second language acquisition. We study the second language (L2) acquisition of a subset of English infinitive complements that exhibit the following properties: (a) they present an intricate web of grammatical constraints while (b) they are highly infrequent in corpora, (c) they lack visible features that would make them salient, and (d) they are communicatively superfluous. We report on an experiment testing the knowledge of some infinitival constructions by near-native adult first language (L1) Spanish / L2 English speakers. Learners demonstrated a linguistic system that includes contrasts based on subtle restrictions in the L2, including aspect restrictions in Raising to Object. These results provide evidence that frequency and other cognitive or environmental factors are insufficient to account for the acquisition of the full spectrum of English infinitivals. This leads us to the conclusion that a domain-specific linguistic faculty is required.

Cross-linguistic influence in the interpretation of boundary crossing events in L2 acquisition

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Alonso Alonso
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Horizontal Axis ◽  
Boundary Crossing ◽  
Motion Events ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Bounded Space

This paper analyses the interpretation of boundary-crossing events in second language acquisition (SLA) to determine whether L2 learners are able to select the target-like option for the interpretation of motion events or whether, on the contrary, their choice reflects cross-linguistic influence (CLI) of their L1. The two groups participating in the study – thirty Spanish learners of L2 English and sixteen English first language (L1) speakers – were subjected to an experiment involving an interpretation task with L2 boundary-crossing events pictures. Findings indicate that Spanish L2 learners selected three possible constructions (manner verb + path satellite, path in verb + manner in satellite and a combination of both) in clear contrast to English L1 speakers who only selected one construction (manner verb + path satellite). CLI has also been found to regulate the type of boundary-crossing event selected, primarily in cases of motion INTO a bounded space in the horizontal axis.

Theories of second language acquisition: three sides, three angles, three points

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Bias ◽  
Sociocultural Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Theory Construction ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Point Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Metric

Three recent books take up different positions in the on-going debate about how, and out of what, to construct a theory of second language (L2) acquisition. Johnson (2004) advocates a ‘dialogically based approach’, inspired by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Bakhtin’s ‘dialogized heteroglossia’, with which she would replace what she views as a prevailing ‘cognitive bias’ in the field. Block (2003) similarly supports a ‘more interdisciplinary and socially informed orientation’ to second language acquisition. But Block wants to reform rather than replace certain assumptions of what he represents as the best existing theory of second language acquisition, namely, Susan Gass’ Input-Interaction-Output model (IIO model). Jordan (2004), on the other hand, argues forcefully that theorizing about second language acquisition must be based on a rationalist epistemology. He provides a set of ‘Guidelines’ for theory construction, including six assumptions foundational to rationalist inquiry in general, and a five-point evaluation metric against which rival theories can be judged. He also passes on a list of six ‘practices to be avoided’. Jordan encourages the cultivation of many, varied, theories so long as they observe the rationalist Guidelines. He goes on to criticize a broad sample of L2 research, commenting on whether specific proposals do or do not adhere to the Guidelines. This article reviews all three scholars’ positions in this important debate, which has the potential to sharpen second language theorists’ sense of what they are doing and how they should do it.

Child second language acquisition from a generative perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belma Haznedar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Current Work ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Functional Architecture ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
L1 Acquisition

This chapter reviews current work on child second language acquisition from a generative perspective. The primary goal is to identify characteristics of child L2 acquisition in relation to child first language (L1) acquisition and adult second language (L2) acquisition and to discuss its contribution to these sister fields both in typical and atypical domains. The chapter is organized into three sections, covering L1 influence in child L2 acquisition, the acquisition of functional architecture in child L2 acquisition, and the issue of morphological variability. Also included in the last section are the relatively new and fast developing areas of research in atypical child L2 acquisition research.

scholarly journals First Language Bidialectism and Associative Learning in Second Language Acquisition

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weifeng Han
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Syntactic Awareness ◽  
L2 Learning

<em>The faculty of grammar has long been known to be critical to language acquisition, but recent studies have called into question whether innate capacities included only knowledge of grammatical structure. This paper reports research on language-learning impaired children’s language acquisition and first language (L1) bidialectal children learning a second language. It proposes that learners will benefit from their L1 bidialectal knowledge in second language (L2) learning, since L1 bidialectals exhibit better syntactic awareness of L2 specific structures. It further argues that mechanism of association, rather than rule computation, plays a more important role in L2 acquisition.</em>

The generative study of second language acquisition. S. Flynn, G. Martohardjono, and W. O'Neil (Eds.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1998. Pp. 366.

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-159
Author(s):  
Naomi Bolotin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
First Language ◽  
Functional Categories ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Categories ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Vp Structure

This volume contains all 14 papers and three commentaries from the Recent Advances in the Generative Study of Second Language Acquisition Conference that was held in 1993 at MIT. Eleven of the papers address the acquisition of syntax. Of these, four focus on functional categories in second language (L2) acquisition. Vainikka and Young-Scholten propose that, although lexical categories or content phrases (NP, VP, AP, PP) transfer from the first language to the second, along with the headedness of those categories, functional categories or grammatical phrases (DP, IP, CP) do not. Using longitudinal data from Korean, Turkish, Italian, and Spanish learners of German, they suggest that learners begin by adopting a VP structure for the sentences in the L2 and then subsequently expand this into an underspecified finite phrase (FP), then an agreement phrase (AgrP), and finally a complementizer phrase (CP).

Cross-linguistic influence, input and the young bilingual child

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELIZABETH LANZA
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Young Child ◽  
Language Development ◽  
First Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Bilingual Child

The field of bilingual first language acquisition has focused on several important and interrelated issues: whether or not the young child acquiring two languages simultaneously differentiates his or her two languages from the onset of acquisition, what role the input plays in the acquisition of two languages, and whether the path of acquisition is similar to that of monolingual peers (see De Houwer, 1990). As a member of the DUFDE team, Natascha Müller has in previous work argued forcefully and convincingly for the bilingual child's separate development of his or her two languages, and hence how language-acquiring bilinguals behave like monolinguals. In her keynote article, Müller invokes the notion of transfer, a well-known term from research into second language acquisition, and proposes to consider transfer from the perspective of the input to which the young bilingual child is exposed. When this input is ambiguous, so that is there is variation in the input regarding one of the languages, the child will resort to transfer from the other language as a so-called relief strategy. In the following, I address the issue of cross-linguistic influence in language development and highlight the implications Müller's proposals may have for the field of bilingual first language acquisition. In conclusion I will relate these issues to the complexity of the notion of input in early bilingualism.

Effects of second-language acquisition on character introductions in 5- and 7-year-old bilingual and monolingual children’s Frog story narratives

2021 ◽  
pp. 014272372110242
Author(s):  
Aslı Aktan-Erciyes ◽  
Burcu Ünlütabak ◽  
Betül Firdevs Zengin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Narrative Discourse ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Article System

This study investigates the effects of early second-language (L2) acquisition on introduction of characters in narrative discourse by comparing 5- and 7-year-old monolingual (first-language [L1] = Turkish) and bilingual (L1 = Turkish, L2 = English) children. Turkish does not have a grammaticalized article system like English which enables to investigate specific influences. The findings revealed that monolingual and bilingual children used similar forms while introducing characters; however, for the Frog character, bilingual children used more appropriate referencing compared to monolinguals. These findings were discussed within the effects of L2 on L1 in terms of introducing characters as well as the amount of exposure to L2.

How dynamic is second language acquisition?

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-95
Author(s):  
Karsten Steinhauer
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
On Line ◽  
Developmental Psycholinguistics

Clahsen and Felser (CF) present a thought-provoking article that is likely to have a strong impact on the field, in particular, on developmental psycholinguistics and second language (L2) acquisition research. Unlike the majority of previous work on language acquisition that focused on “competence,” that is, the knowledge basis underlying grammar, CF emphasize the need to approach language acquisition with psycholinguistic measures of processing. Based primarily on behavioral and electrophysiological on-line data, they argue that language acquisition in early first language (L1) and late L2 follows different patterns.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document