`To be a native speaker means not to be a nonnative speaker’

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZhaoHong Han
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Theory Construction ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Language Knowledge

The construct of the native speaker is germane to second language acquisition (SLA) research; it underlies, and permeates, a significant bulk of SLA theory construction and empirical research. Nevertheless, it is one of the least investigated (and for that matter, least understood) concepts in the field. Even a cursory reading of the major SLA literature would not yield one readily available definition that captures the essential uses that have been made of the concept: including, but not limited to, setting the native speaker as a goal or a model for SLA or using the native speaker as a yardstick to measure second language knowledge. As is, the concept remains assumed-based on common sense observation and intuition-rather than exposed to scientific inquiry. In this article I would like to draw attention to this pivotal yet much neglected concept by reviewing Davies (1991; 2003) on the native speaker. A by no means exhaustive account, the books outline principal parameters for considering the native speaker concept, thereby providing a useful basis for further inquiry.

"Die wat Betekent Die?"

2001 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
Jeanine Deen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Relative Distribution ◽  
Interaction Data ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Nonnative Speaker

In conversations between native and nonnative speakers, problems in understanding may occur quite frequently. If one of the speakers tries to repair the trouble, negotiation of meaning will take place. This article describes the roles native and nonnative speakers of Dutch play in negotiating meaning in informal and institutional conversations and the influence of language proficiency and setting on the role distribution. Interaction data were used from a large longitudinal adult second language acquisition project (Perdue, 1993a/b). The relative distribution of the three main negotiation moves (trouble indicators, trouble clarifications and confirmation checks) showed that asymmetry occurs in both types of conversation at all three moments of measurement indicating that language proficiency is indeed a factor causing asymmetry (c.f. Deen, 1997). The nonnative speaker and the native speaker held complementary roles, the former mainly indicating trouble and the latter clarifying and checking. The influence of setting on the asymmetry was less clear because there was little difference between the two settings. The semi-authenticity of the data may partly explain this outcome. Furthermore, it could be shown that the use of confirmation checks by the native speaker could be an indicator of dominance but only when there is competition between the two speakers.

scholarly journals Fundamental issues in the study of second language acquisition

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan H. Hulstijn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Theory Construction ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Near Future

The study of second language acquisition (SLA) forms a young academic discipline, emerging from fundamental paradigm shifts in SLA’s parent disciplines, linguistics and psychology. This paper gives a brief overview of how the study of SLA came into existence, formulates the fundamental questions concerning SLA, reviews some recent developments, and identifies possibilities and challenges for SLA theory construction and empirical research in the near future. To tackle the fundamental issues of SLA successfully, it is mandatory that SLA researchers, of whom the majority currently has a linguistic background, collaborate with researchers in psychology and other disciplines.

Negative Feedback in Child NS-NNS Conversation

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Acquisition Process ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Negotiation Strategies

This paper reports on a study that examines the pattern of interaction in child native speaker (NS)–nonnative speaker (NNS) conversation to determine if the NSs provide negative feedback to their NNS conversational partners. It appears that just as children are able to modify their input for their less linguistically proficient conversational partners in first language acquisition (Snow, 1977), so too are children able to modify their interactions for NNS peers in the second language acquisition process and, in doing so, provide negative feedback. Two forms of NS modification were identified in this study as providing reactive and implicit negative feedback to the NNS. These were (a) negotiation strategies, including repetition, clarification requests, and comprehension checks, and (b) recasts. The results indicated that NSs respond differentially to the grammaticality and ambiguity of their NNS peers' conversational contributions. Furthermore, NS responses (negotiate, recast, or ignore) appeared to be triggered by the type and complexity of NNS errors, although it was more likely overall that negative feedback would be used rather than the error ignored. Additionally, evidence suggested that negative feedback was incorporated by the NNSs into their interlanguage systems. This indicates that not only does negative evidence exist for child second language learners in these types of conversations, but that it is also usable and used by them in the language acquisition process.

(In)Commensurable Discourse: Researchers and Practitioners Bring Pragmatics to Language Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Sykes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Primary Component ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Valuable Role

AbstractThe recent surge in a growing body of empirical research is evidence of a strong theoretical push towards L2 pragmatic acquisition in the field of second language acquisition; yet, the reality is that we see very little evidence of pragmatics instruction in L2 contexts, suggesting a notable disconnect between theory and practice. This viewpoints article explores the valuable role both researchers and practitioners play in bridging the gap between theory and practice with the intention of bringing pragmatics to the forefront of the language classroom. It briefly discusses the importance of including pragmatics as a primary component of second language (L2) learning and then explores various obstacles to pragmatics instruction, paying special attention to the role both researchers and practitioners can play in overcoming them. Examples from current projects related to L2 Spanish pragmatics are presented where relevant.

Raadsels van tweedetaalverwerving

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-159
Author(s):  
Jan H. Hulstijn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
First Language ◽  
Fast Acquisition ◽  
Developmental Sequences

This paper predicts that the study of second language acquisition, as a young discipline of scientific inquiry in its own right, faces a bright future, but only if its scholarly community critically re-examines some notions and assumptions that have too long been taken for granted. First, it is time to reconsider familiar dichotomies, such as second versus foreign language and natural versus instructed language learning. Furthermore, it is worth checking whether and to what extent the puzzling phenomena to be explained by language acquisition theories do really exist (such as uniformity and success and fast acquisition rates in first language acquisition and universal developmental sequences in second language acquisition). The paper furthermore pleas for a multidisciplinary approach to the explanation of the fundamental puzzles of first and second language acquisition and bilingualism, including bridging the divide between psycholinguistic and socio-cultural theories.

The partial availability of Universal Grammar in second language acquisition: the ‘failed functional features hypothesis’

1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Hawkins ◽  
Cecilia Yuet-hung Chan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Operator Movement

A number of studies in the research literature have proposed that Universal Grammar (UG) is partially available to adult second language learners. Attempts to provide a syntactic characterization of that partial availability have only recently begun to appear, however. In this article we will argue that speakers of Chinese (a language without wh-operator movement in overt syntax) learning second language English (a language with wh-operator movement in overt syntax) establish mental representations for English which involve pronominal binding rather than operator movement. It will be suggested that this divergence from native-speaker representations is an effect of the inaccessibility of features of functional categories in second language acquisition, what we will refer to as the ‘failed functional features hypothesis’. Implications are drawn from the findings for the syntactic characterization of accessibility to UG more generally in second language acquisition.

Variation in Native Speaker Speech Modification to Non-Native Speakers

1985 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Gass ◽  
Evangeline Marlos Varonis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Data Bases ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Telephone Interviews

This study builds upon prior research dealing with the nature of discourse involving non-native speakers. In particular, we examine variables influencing native speaker foreigner talk and the form that speech modification takes. The data bases are (1) 80 taped telephone interviews between NNSs at two distinct proficiency levels, (interviewer) and NSs (interviewee), and (2) 20 NS-NS interviews. We consider five variables: 1) negotiation of meaning, 2) quantity of speech, 3) amount of repair (following a specific NNS request for repair), 4) elaborated responses, and 5) transparent responses. We find that the speech of NSs changes as a function of an NNS's ability to understand and be understood. We further suggest a general cognitive principle—transparency—underlying aspects of both foreigner talk and second language acquisition.

scholarly journals Maturational Constraints on the Recruitment of Early Processes for Syntactic Processing

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2752-2765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Pakulak ◽  
Helen J. Neville
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Neural Organization ◽  
Anterior Negativity

An enduring question in the study of second-language acquisition concerns the relative contributions of age of acquisition (AOA) and ultimate linguistic proficiency to neural organization for second-language processing. Several ERP and neuroimaging studies of second-language learners have found that neural organization for syntactic processing is sensitive to delays in second-language acquisition. However, such delays in second-language acquisition are typically associated with lower language proficiency, rendering it difficult to assess whether differences in AOA or proficiency lead to these effects. Here we examined the effects of delayed second-language acquisition while controlling for proficiency differences by examining participants who differ in AOA but who were matched for proficiency in the same language. We compared the ERP response to auditory English phrase structure violations in a group of late learners of English matched for grammatical proficiency with a group of English native speakers. In the native speaker group, violations elicited a bilateral and prolonged anterior negativity, with onset at 100 msec, followed by a posterior positivity (P600). In contrast, in the nonnative speaker group, violations did not elicit the early anterior negativity, but did elicit a P600 which was more widespread spatially and temporally than that of the native speaker group. These results suggest that neural organization for syntactic processing is sensitive to delays in language acquisition independently of proficiency level. More specifically, they suggest that both early and later syntactic processes are sensitive to maturational constraints. These results also suggest that late learners who reach a high level of second-language proficiency rely on different neural mechanisms than native speakers of that language.

ULTIMATE ATTAINMENT IN L2 PHONOLOGY

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alene Moyer
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Several Variables ◽  
L2 Phonology ◽  
Task Types ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

Within both first and second language acquisition research, a critical or sensitive period for complete attainment has largely been substantiated in phonological studies, although it is questionable whether age should be examined in isolation from sociopsychological influences and the extent of exposure to the second language. This study sets out to challenge the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) by examining phonological performance among highly motivated subjects who use German daily as graduate student instructors and who have been immersed in the language through in-country residence, augmented by years of instruction in both language- and content-based courses. The methodology developed seeks to expand the realm of factors that are potentially conflated with age, such as instruction, motivation, suprasegmental training, and self-perception of productive accuracy, and other factors that have not been addressed in previous studies on ultimate attainment. Production tasks target sounds difficult for nonnative speakers (NNSs) according to contrastive analysis, and task types range in complexity from isolated words to sentences, paragraphs, and free speech. A mean rating was computed for each speaker, including native speaker controls, according to native speaker judgments. When averaged across all tasks, nonnative speaker performance did not overlap with native performance. However, several variables correlated significantly with outcome, including suprasegmental training, which indicated performance closer to native level.

scholarly journals Moving Beyond the Native-Speaker Bias in the Analysis of Variable Gender Marking

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aarnes Gudmestad ◽  
Amanda Edmonds ◽  
Thomas Metzger
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Additional Language Learning

In the current study, we respond to calls for reform in second language acquisition that center on the field’s preoccupation with native-speaker and prescriptive targets as a benchmark for additional-language learning. In order to address these concerns, we examine the use and development of grammatical gender marking in additional-language Spanish in a prescriptive-independent manner. Specifically, we depart from previous analyses that have centered on accuracy and targetlikeness and we shift the object of analysis to the linguistic forms (i.e., feminine and masculine modifiers) that additional-language participants use. We adopt a variationist approach to explain how participants vary their use of modifier gender and how this use changes longitudinally. We argue that such an approach to studying additional languages allows us to offer new insights about the acquisition of grammatical gender marking in additional-language Spanish. We end by critically reflecting on some of the challenges that we encountered in trying to integrate this paradigm shift into the examination of a well-studied grammatical structure.

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