Chapter 11 Second language acquisition

Question 1

Second language acquisition (SLA)

Answer 1

the process of attaining proficiency in a language other than the first language.

Question 2

bilingualism

Answer 2

Simultaneous acquisition of two languages from birth. This term is also used casually to refer to any strong proficiency in two languages, regardless of how it is attained.

Question 3

interlanguage grammar

Answer 3

L2 learners have a systematic interlanguage grammar, which is influenced by both the L1 and the L2.

Question 4

Transfer

Answer 4

involves carrying over features, words, or rules from the L1 into the interlanguage grammar. can interact with rules from the L2 grammar, showing the influence of both.

Question 5

fossilized

Answer 5

The interlanguage gradually changes as more properties of the L2 are acquired.
• When the interlanguage stops changing, it is said to have fossilized.

Question 6

communicative competence

Answer 6

A speaker’s total proficiency in a second language;
Grammatical competence
Textual competence
Illocutionary competence
Sociolinguistic competence

Question 7

Grammatical competence

Answer 7

knowledge of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.

Question 8

Textual competence

Answer 8

knowledge of how to link grammatical utterances together into a coherent (written or spoken) narrative.

Question 9

Illocutionary competence

Answer 9

knowledge of how language use varies in different discourse contexts, e.g. formal vs. informal

Question 10

Sociolinguistic competence

Answer 10

knowledge of how linguistic expressions are used to achieve different goals, e.g. to express a statement, a request, a command, a wish, etc.

Question 11

Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH)

Answer 11

unmarked structures are easier to acquire in SLA than marked ones.
Unmarked structures are simpler and/or more common cross-linguistically, while marked ones are more complex and/or rarer

Question 12

Markedness can depend on the linguistic environment.

Answer 12

word-final voicing contrasts imply word-medial contrasts, which imply word-initial contrasts.
• Thus, voicing contrasts are less marked word- initially, and more marked word-finally.
The MDH predicts that will be easiest to learn voicing contrasts in word-initial position, since this is the least-marked position for voicing contrasts.

Question 13

Similarity Differential Rate Hypothesis (SDRH)

Answer 13

speakers will be faster to acquire an L2 phenomenon that is unlike their L1 than to acquire one that is like their L1.
Example:
Haitian Creole speaker acquiring English [r]/[l]:
• HC [ʁ]: acquire English [ɹ] quickly
• HC [l]: no problem with English alveolar [l], but acquire English velarized [ł] slowly
English [ł] is harder to acquire because it is more similar to the HC sound than [ɹ] is.

Question 14

Null Subject Parameter.

Answer 14

The subject of a tensed clause {may / may not} be null.
a. *Speaks French. [–NS]
b. (El) habla español. [+NS]
‘S/he speaks Spanish
Null subject languages (like Spanish and Italian) seem to allow postverbal subjects as well, unlike non-null subject languages (like English and French).
also allow wh- movement of an embedded subject past a declarative complementizer, while non-null subject languages do not.

Question 15

Subset Principle

Answer 15

states that the initial or default setting of a parameter will be the subset value, i.e. the one that generates the fewest grammatical options

Question 16

positive evidence

Answer 16

In SLA, to reset a parameter from the subset to the superset value, only positive evidence is required

Question 17

negative evidence

Answer 17

To reset a parameter from the superset to the subset value, negative evidence is required—either direct (information about ungrammaticality) or indirect (noticing the absence of positive evidence for the superset setting).

Question 18

L2 speakers often omit inflectional morphology and function words

Answer 18

Example: Patty (Chinese L1, late L2 learner)
You know, I call Bill this morning and nobody answer. And I start to worry… He either stay in Eliotville, because he said he __ call me last night, and he never did.

Question 19

Impaired Representation Hypothesis

Answer 19

holds that such omissions indicate a deficient interlanguage grammar.

Question 20

Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis

Answer 20

holds that the errors are more superficial.

finite Tense features are responsible for nominative case

Question 21

age of acquisition

Answer 21

of a second language can influence proficiency, with an advantage for younger learners
especially true of phonology; more variation is seen in other areas of communicative competence

Question 22

Universal Grammar (positive evidence)

Answer 22

Evidence that SLA accesses Universal Grammar would be the interlanguage grammar is like the grammar of primary languages, especially languages other than L1 and L2.

Question 23

Universal Grammar (negative evidence)

Answer 23

Evidence that SLA fails to access Universal Grammar would be that the interlanguage grammar has properties not seen in primary languages.

Question 24

individual variation

Answer 24

among late L2 learners: some become near-nativelike, while others do not.
can be influenced by the learner’s degree of motivation
different types of motivation, known as instrumental (driven by a narrow goal) or integrative (driven by a desire to learn more about a culture)

Question 25

instrumental motivation

Answer 25

driven by a narrow goal

Question 26

integrative motivation

Answer 26

driven by a desire to learn more about a culture

Question 27

Field-independent learners

Answer 27

are said to be good with details, and do well on analytic tasks, such as grammar tests

Question 28

Field-dependent learners

Answer 28

are said to be good at seeing the big picture, and do well on tasks requiring broader communicative competence

Question 29

L2 classroom typically involves:

Answer 29

• Modified input: “teacher talk”
• Modified interaction: comprehension checks, repetition, recasts
• Focus on form: explicit grammatical instruction and corrections

Question 30

Bilingual education includes

Answer 30

Minority language maintenance programs

Immersion programs

Question 31

Minority language maintenance programs

Answer 31

help children speaking a minority L1 language to acquire academic skills, including knowledge of a majority language.
usually begin with instruction in the children’s L1, then gradually introduces the (majority) L2.
By grade 6, the kids match the performance of their L1 and L2 peers

Question 32

Immersion programs

Answer 32

usually broaden the linguistic experience of children speaking a majority L1 language.
use the L2 as the medium of instruction.
it is treated as an L2 for all students, so no one is at a disadvantage

Question 33

dual language programs

Answer 33

where (monolingual or bilingual) native speakers of two different languages receive instruction in both languages.

Question 34

submersion

Answer 34

putting minority language L1 speakers in a monolingual L2 school
puts these children at an immediate disadvantage, with lasting negative consequences

Question 35

French Immersion

Answer 35

By grade 6, on average outstrip their monolingual peers in academic performance.
• Their receptive L2 skills—reading and listening—end up virtually nativelike.
• Their productive skills are at an advanced level, though not nativelike.