How cognitive typology affects second language acquisition: A study of Japanese and Chinese learners of English

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Spring ◽  
Kaoru Horie
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Learning Curves ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Language Type

AbstractThis study looks at the effect of one's first language type, as proposed by Talmy (2000) and Slobin (2004), on their second language acquisition. Talmy (2000) gives an account of languages as being either verb-framed or satellite-framed based on how path and manner of motion are encoded in motion events. Meanwhile, Slobin (2004) argues for a third language type, which he calls equipollently-framed. This study compares and contrasts the learning curves of equipollently-framed language (Mandarin Chinese) native speakers and verb-framed language (Japanese) native speakers as they learn a satellite-framed language (English). It examines not only the learner's pattern preferences, but also their manner of motion encoding preferences and deictic verb usage to show that there is a clear difference in how the two groups of learners acquire a second language of a different type from their own native language.

Existence and consequences of dormant features: Evidence from L2 acquisition of Chinese object ellipsis

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832110662
Author(s):  
Lulu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Disconfirming Evidence ◽  
L1 English

The current study investigates second language acquisition of Chinese object ellipsis to probe the development of features transferred from learners’ native language without robust confirming or disconfirming evidence in the second language (L2) input. It is argued that Chinese allows object ellipsis licensed by a verb with a [VCase] feature but not by a verb with a [Vnon-Case] feature. In contrast, Korean allows object ellipsis to be licensed by both types of verbs, whilst English prohibits both. An acceptability judgement task was conducted among first language (L1) English and L1 Korean L2 Chinese learners from elementary to advanced levels, with the results showing that the [Vnon-Case] feature was assembled in the Chinese grammars of English and Korean elementary L2 learners; however, it gradually lost its vigour and licensing power for object ellipsis in intermediate L2 grammars and was successfully removed from licensing object ellipsis in advanced L2 grammars. These findings support predictions by Yuan regarding a feature’s dormant status and modify Yuan’s predictions regarding a dormant feature’s consequences.

scholarly journals Influence of Behaviourist and Cognitivist Theories in Adult Language Acquisition

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-44
Author(s):  
V Devaki
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Logical Thinking ◽  
The Difference ◽  
High Level ◽  
Cognitive Influence

Linguistics and psychological schools of thought had a great influence on language acquisition theories It is still under discussion whether second language acquisition is easy or effortless for adults to learn or not.  In non-teaching environments, children can learn their native language quickly, whereas adults cannot. Many researchers believe that adults can quickly acquire a second language due to their high level of cognition clear, logical thinking and strong self-observation skills, while some linguistics researchers consider that it is difficult for adults to develop a second-language acquisition. Therefore, this paper explores to what extent the theories of behavioral and cognitive influence adult acquisition in the second language process. This study considered that these theories have highlighted the difference between the way that children and adults learn to the point that adults appear to “lift the bar” unrealistically when they try to learn an additional language. The novelty of this study is in how the analysis gave a new direction for adult language acquisition theorists to guide adults to mimic children’s way of acquisitioning their first language.

Parameter setting in second language phonology and syntax

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Broselow ◽  
Daniel Finer
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Parameter Setting ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Syllable Onset ◽  
Range Of Variation

This paper reports on studies of second language acquisition in two domains, phonology and syntax. The phenomena investigated were the acquisition by native speakers of Hindi, Japanese, and Korean of two areas of English: in phonology, the mastery of particular syllable onset clusters, and in syntax, the acquisition of the binding patterns of reflexive anaphors. Both these areas are ones for which multi-valued parameters have been posited to account for the range of variation across natural languages. The paper presents evidence that acquisition in these two areas is quite similar: at a certain stage of acquisition learners seem to arrive at a parameter setting that is midway between the native and the target language settings. This effect occurs both when the target language employs a less marked setting than the native language and when the target language setting is more marked than that of the native language.

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.

scholarly journals Important aspects in the assessment of bilingual children with suspected language impairment: The Vienna Model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Eisenwort ◽  
Carolin Schmid ◽  
Maksim Tilis ◽  
Dmitrij Tsoy ◽  
Gabriela Diendorfer-Radner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Diagnostic Dilemma ◽  
Icd 10

Summary Background Due to demographic changes over the last few decades, the number of multilingual children has grown rapidly. Many of them face problems in learning their second language. Similarities between linguistic manifestations of stages of second language acquisition and an impairment of language acquisition cause a diagnostic dilemma. The Vienna Model of language assessment in multilingual children will be presented. Methods A key feature of our procedure is the integration of medical students as native speakers in diagnosing acquisition of the first language. A case study of a boy with Russian as first language illustrates the procedure. Results The Vienna Model of language assessment in multilingual children offers the possibility to evaluate language competence in a differentiated manner with support of medical students as native speakers. Based on the bilingual assessment on different linguistic levels the diagnosis ICD-10 F80.0 is given. The subsequent short therapy showed an improvement regarding phonological competence.

The acquisition of multiple wh-questions by high-proficiency non-native speakers of English

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bley-V roman ◽  
Naoko Yoshinaga
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
High Level

This paper investigates the knowledge of multiple wh-questions such as Who ate what? by high-proficiency non-native speakers of English whose first language is Japanese. Japanese grammar is known to license a wider range of such questions than English – who came why, for example – although the precise theoretical account is not yet clear. Acceptability judgements were obtained on 6 different types of such questions. Acceptability of English examples was rated by native speakers of English, Japanese examples were judged by native speakers of Japanese, and the English examples were judged by high-proficiency Japanese speakers of English. The results for native speakers judging their own language were generally in accord with expectations. The high-level non-native speakers of English were significantly different from native speakers in their ratings of these sentences. However, the ratings were clearly not simply the result of transfer. The consequences of this finding for theories of Universal Grammar (UG) in second language acquisition (SLA) are discussed.

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.

Acquisition of the nominal case system in Russian as a second language

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832098805
Author(s):  
Natalia Cherepovskaia ◽  
Natalia Slioussar ◽  
Anna Denissenko Denissenko
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Case System

Using written texts elicited from students with different proficiency levels, we studied the acquisition of nominal cases in Russian as a second language. We established the order in which cases were acquired (nominative, locative, accusative, genitive, instrumental, and dative), as well as certain characteristics of their acquisition trajectories. We argue that the order of acquisition is determined by two groups of factors: how essential a given case is for successful language use and how complex it is, both semantically and morphologically. Many important differences between first and second language acquisition were identified. The maturation of the case system was observed both in the number of correct forms participants produced and in error rates. The distribution of correct forms changed, gradually approaching that found for native speakers. With growth in proficiency, the incidence of different error types declined, and the relative frequency of errors more characteristic of first language acquisition increased.

scholarly journals Studying individual differences in the social environment to better understand language learning and processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
The Social

AbstractPeople learn language from their social environment. Therefore, individual differences in the input that their social environment provides could influence their linguistic performance. Nevertheless, investigation of the role of individual differences in input on performance has been mostly restricted to first and second language acquisition. In this paper I argue that individual differences in input can influence linguistic performance even in adult native speakers. Specifically, differences in input can affect performance by influencing people’s knowledgebase, by modulating their processing manner, and by shaping expectations. Therefore, studying the role that individual differences in input play can improve our understanding of how language is learned, processed and represented.

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism—ERRATUM

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLGER HOPP ◽  
MONIKA S. SCHMID
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Open Access ◽  
First Language ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
The Impact

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