scholarly journals Language Mode Influences Language-Specific Categorization

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-123
Author(s):  
Haily Merritt
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Multiple Languages ◽  
Processing Mechanisms

The present study aims to fill a gap at the intersection of the phenomena of language mode—the state of activation of the bilingual’s languages and language processing mechanisms—and the subset problem—issues learners face when the second language has fewer of some kind of contrast than the first language. When the subset problem is present in second language acquisition, learners may struggle to acquire specific contrasts of a language and may map them incorrectly to their first language. By studying advanced learners of Spanish and considering language mode, we are able to investigate whether learners create separate categories for Spanish vowels—as opposed to simply adapting their English categories—and whether the use of such categories depends on the language being perceived. Spanish and English serve as convenient languages for study of these phenomena because Spanish has fewer vowels than English. With this, we ask: “Does language mode influence language-specific categorization?” To investigate this question, we had native English-speaking, proficient Spanish learners perform an AX task in both English and Spanish, where they identified whether two aurally presented vowel stimuli were the same or different. There was no strong effect of language mode across conditions, but we found that reaction times were significantly slower and that error rates were higher in tasks that included stimuli from more than one language. Thus, we conclude that when multiple languages are activated it is more difficult to process a given language.

Psycholinguistic evidence for split intransitivity in Spanish second language acquisition

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
SILVINA MONTRUL
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Verb Classes ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
On Line ◽  
English Speaking

This study investigates the acquisition and on-line processing of unaccusative and unergative verbs in second language (L2) Spanish by English-speaking learners. It asks whether L2 learners make a syntactic distinction between the two verb classes and whether there is an effect of semantic subclass, in accordance with a semantic hierarchy. Participants were 35 native Spanish speakers and 44 English-speaking learners of Spanish ranging from intermediate to advanced proficiency. The main task was an on-line visual probe recognition task. Subjects read sentences on a computer screen and had to decide whether a word had appeared in the sentence. The results of this study showed that native speakers who scan their syntactic representations to find a word contained in a complex subject noun phrase recognized the word faster with unaccusative-verb sentences than with unergative-verb sentences, suggesting that the syntactic presence of a trace in unaccusative-verb sentences facilitates comprehension. The L2 learners showed a similar response pattern, confirming that they differentiated between the two classes of verbs. Analyses of reaction times by verb class indicated that not all of the verbs in each class were responded to consistently: some subclasses induced shorter reaction times than others.

When-questions in second language acquisition

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeson Park
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Reading First ◽  
First Language ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Developmental Sequence ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
L1 Acquisition

It has been observed that when-questions are one of the last wh-questions produced by children learning English either as a first language (L1) or as a second language (L2). Explanations proposed for the late appearance of when-questions in L1 acquisition have been mostly based on cognitive factors. However, the cognition-based approach to when-questions faces problems in explaining L2 acquisition data, which show that L2 children who are cognitively more mature than L1 children follow the same developmental sequence. In this paper, I propose a possible explanation based on internal linguistic factors. According to Enç (1987), tense is a referential expression and temporal adverbials are antecedents of tense. I develop Enç's theory further and propose that in a when-question, tense is a bound variable, which is bound by the quantificational interrogative when. Thus, in order to produce when-questions, children must be at a stage where they understand bound variable readings. According to Roeper and de Villiers (1991), English-speaking children learn a bound variable reading approximately after 36 months, and the learning continues through the kindergarten years. The age at which a bound variable reading first appears corresponds to the point at which when-questions begin to occur. I propose that the complexity of the interaction between the quantificational when and tense, a bound variable, causes the delayed production of when-questions in developing grammars.

Effects of L1 morphological type on L2 morphological awareness

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832199641
Author(s):  
Zhaohong Wu ◽  
Alan Juffs
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Morphological Type ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Advanced Learners

Previous studies on bilingual children have shown a significant correlation between first language (L1) and second language (L2) morphological awareness and a unique contribution of morphological awareness in one language to reading performance in the other language, suggesting cross-linguistic influence. However, few studies have compared advanced adult L2 learners from L1s of different morphological types or compared native speakers with advanced learners from a morphologically more complex L1 in their target-language morphological awareness. The current study filled this gap by comparing native English speakers (analytic) and two L2 groups from typologically different L1s: Turkish (agglutinative) and Chinese (isolating). Participants’ morphological awareness was evaluated via a series of tasks, including derivation, affix-choice word and nonword tasks, morphological relatedness, and a suffix-ordering task. Results showed a significant effect of L1 morphological type on L2 morphological awareness. After accounting for L2 proficiency, the Turkish group significantly outperformed the Chinese group in the derivation, morphological relatedness, and suffix-ordering tasks. More importantly, the Turkish group significantly outperformed the native English group in the morphological relatedness task even without accounting for English proficiency. Such results have implications for theories in second language acquisition regarding representation of the bilingual lexicon. In addition, results of the current study underscored the need to guard against the comparative fallacy and highlighted the influential effect of L1 experience on the acquisition of L2 morphological knowledge.

Input, triggering and poverty of the stimulus in the second language acquisition of Japanese passives

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Hara
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
English Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Conceptual Representation ◽  
Learning Situation ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Semantic Properties

This article adopts an input perspective in examining a poverty-of-the stimulus (POS) learning situation in second language acquisition (SLA). Analysis of grammaticality judgement data from 81 English-speaking and 85 Chinese-speaking learners of Japanese isolates triggering input that informed English learners of subtle semantic properties of the ni direct passive underdetermined by second language (L2) input. The study shows a sufficient correlation in the case of English learners between acquisition of the ni direct passive's triggering properties (available through input) and acquisition of its POS properties (unavailable through input). Importantly, those properties are direct consequences of affectivity, an underlying semantic property of the ni direct passive. That correlation does not obtain in the case of Chinese learners due to a positive first language (L1) effect. Additional corroborating evidence comes from acquisition of another Japanese passive, the ni yotte, for which no correlation was found between its non-triggering and non-POS properties for either English or Chinese learners as those properties are available through input. The article proposes that English learners' computation of a target-like conceptual representation of the triggering input leads to the restructuring of their lexical—conceptual representation of the ni direct passive.

WORD CLASS DISTINCTIONS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve Zyzik ◽  
Clara Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Word Class ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Incomplete Knowledge ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Word Classes

Although the problem of word class has been explored in numerous first language studies, relatively little is known about this process in SLA. The present study measures second language (L2) learners’ knowledge of word class distinctions (e.g., noun vs. adjective) in a variety of syntactic contexts. English-speaking learners of Spanish from third-semester and third-year courses (N= 240) completed a receptive task that presented contrasting forms belonging to the same word family (e.g.,feliz“happy” andfelicidad“happiness”). The results indicate that learners from both groups are often unable to distinguish among word classes. In particular, learners have significant difficulty in discriminating between adjectives and nouns. Although ambiguous surface morphology contributes to word class confusions, the results suggest that L2 learners do not always recognize derivational suffixes that clearly mark word class. These difficulties are interpreted as stemming from weak syntactic morphological knowledge as well as incomplete knowledge of L2 distributional regularities.

Developmental Stages in Advanced SLA

2008 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 53-86
Author(s):  
Estela Ene
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) researchers have yet to map the developmental stages language learners go through as they approach the target language. In studies of English as a Second Language (ESL) writing, the term 'advanced learner' has been applied indiscriminately to learners ranging from freshman ESL composition to graduate students. There is a need to examine the advanced stages of SLA in order to refine SLA theories and pedagogical approaches. A corpus of texts written by non-native English-speaking doctoral students in applied linguistics from several linguistic backgrounds was analyzed to determine the texts’ lexical, morphological and syntactic fluency, accuracy and complexity. A sub-corpus of papers by native-English-speaking peers was used for comparison. The texts were strictly-timed and loosely-timed exams written 2 to 3 years apart. Surveys and interviews were also conducted. Based on findings, the study defines data-based criteria that distinguish four quantitatively and qualitatively distinct developmental stages: the advanced, highly advanced, near-native, and native-like stages. Advanced learners make more frequent and varied errors which can be explained by transfer from the first language. Native-like writers make few errors that can be explained by overgeneralization of conventions from informal English and working memory limitations (similar to native speakers’ errors). The study suggests that SLA is a process of transfer followed by relearning of morpho-syntactic specifications (Herschensohn, 2000), with syntax being used with the greatest accuracy (Bardovi-Harlig & Bofman, 1989) and lexicon with the least. The relationships between accuracy and other social and cognitive factors are considered, and pedagogical recommendations are made.

Transfer and typological proximity in the context of second language processing

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Håkansson ◽  
Manfred Pienemann ◽  
Susan Sayehli
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Intermediate Structure ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L1 Influence

In this article, the issue of cross-linguistic influence in second language acquisition is examined from a processing perspective. Applying Processability Theory as the theoretical framework we claim that second language (L2) learners can only produce forms they are able to process. We thus argue that the first language (L1) influence on the L2 is developmentally moderated. Data were collected from German L2 learners with Swedish as their L1. Twenty informants participated in the study, 10 in their first year of German (13 years of age) and 10 in their second year of German (14 years of age). Both languages involved are typologically very close but not mutually intelligible. The results show that Swedish learners of German do not transfer the verb-second structure from their L1 to the L2 even though this structure is identical in both languages.Instead they start out with canonical word order and subsequently produce an intermediate structure (adv NPsubjV X), which is ungrammatical in the L1 and the L2. These observations support the idea of a developmentally moderated transfer. The results clearly contradict the predictions from the ‘full transfer/full access’ hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994; 1996).

Deriving meaning through context: Interpreting bare nominals in second language Japanese

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Gabriele
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
First Language ◽  
Count Noun ◽  
Verb Phrase ◽  
Count Nouns ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Bare Nominals ◽  
L1 English

Previous studies on the second language acquisition of telicity have suggested that learners can use morphosyntactic cues to interpret sentences as telic or atelic even in cases where the cues differ in the first language (L1) and second language (L2) (Slabakova, 2001, 2005; Gabriele, 2008; Kaku et al., 2008a, 2008b). The present study extends this line of research by focusing on a case in which learners cannot rely on morphosyntactic cues in order to reach the appropriate aspectual interpretation. We examine the acquisition of telicity by English-speaking learners of Japanese, focusing on how learners interpret bare count nouns such as kaado ‘card’ that obligatorily display count noun morphosyntax in English. In Japanese, a bare noun such as kaado is ambiguous with respect to number and therefore a verb phrase such as kaado-o kakimashita ‘wrote card’ can be interpreted as either telic ‘wrote the cards’ or atelic ‘wrote cards’ depending on the context. The results of two studies with both intermediate (Study 1: n = 38; Study 2: n = 38) and advanced (Study 1: n = 7; Study 2: n = 10) learners of Japanese show that there are learners at both levels of proficiency that have difficulty with the interpretation of bare count nouns and assign an exclusively telic reading to a verb phrase such as kaado-o kakimashita ‘wrote card’. We argue that this interpretation is due to the boundedness of count nouns in L1 English and propose that a retreat from negative transfer is difficult when there is variability in the native speaker input and when meaning has to be derived from context in the absence of morphosyntactic cues.

scholarly journals Acquisition of Japanese quantity contrasts by L1 Cantonese speakers

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Lee ◽  
Peggy Mok
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Resultant Data ◽  
Small Set ◽  
Vowel Quantity

This article explores the acquisition of Japanese vowel and consonant quantity contrasts by Cantonese learners. Our goal is to examine whether transfer from first language (L1) is possible when L1 experience is phonemic but restricted to a small set of sounds (short vs. long vowels) and when the experience is non-phonemic, derived only at morpheme boundaries (short vs. long consonants). We recruited 20 Cantonese learners (beginner and advanced learners) and 5 native speakers of Japanese, who produced target stimuli varying in consonant and vowel quantity framed in a carrier sentence. The resultant data were converted into several durational ratios for analyses. Results showed that both the beginners and advanced learners were able to distinguish between short vs. long vowels and consonants in Japanese, but only the native speakers enhanced the contrasts in slower speech. It was also found that in most cases the learners were able to lengthen the vowel before a geminate (i.e. long consonant), a secondary cue to Japanese consonant quantity known to be rare across languages. These results are discussed in terms of current theories of second language acquisition.

Developmental Stages in Advanced SLA

2008 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 53-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estela Ene
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

Abstract Second Language Acquisition (SLA) researchers have yet to map the developmental stages language learners go through as they approach the target language. In studies of English as a Second Language (ESL) writing, the term 'advanced learner' has been applied indiscriminately to learners ranging from freshman ESL composition to graduate students. There is a need to examine the advanced stages of SLA in order to refine SLA theories and pedagogical approaches. A corpus of texts written by non-native English-speaking doctoral students in applied linguistics from several linguistic backgrounds was analyzed to determine the texts’ lexical, morphological and syntactic fluency, accuracy and complexity. A sub-corpus of papers by native-English-speaking peers was used for comparison. The texts were strictly-timed and loosely-timed exams written 2 to 3 years apart. Surveys and interviews were also conducted. Based on findings, the study defines data-based criteria that distinguish four quantitatively and qualitatively distinct developmental stages: the advanced, highly advanced, near-native, and native-like stages. Advanced learners make more frequent and varied errors which can be explained by transfer from the first language. Native-like writers make few errors that can be explained by overgeneralization of conventions from informal English and working memory limitations (similar to native speakers’ errors). The study suggests that SLA is a process of transfer followed by relearning of morpho-syntactic specifications (Herschensohn, 2000), with syntax being used with the greatest accuracy (Bardovi-Harlig & Bofman, 1989) and lexicon with the least. The relationships between accuracy and other social and cognitive factors are considered, and pedagogical recommendations are made.

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