Development of Learner Language

Question 1

What is an Interlanguage?

Answer 1

A mixture of two languages, especially one used by someone learning a new language, that contains features of the person’s first language mixed with those of the language they are learning.
-The language of the L2 learner, which is not yet fully reached L2 level.

Question 2

What is the Formalist Approach to SLA?

Answer 2

Formalists believe that all humans are born with an innate grammar (basic knowledge that precedes language learning), which ultimately influences second language learning.

Question 3

What is the Functionalist Approach to SLA (Interlanguage)?

Answer 3

Functionalists believe we develop language due to the need to communicate. The same cognitive mechanisms that help us learn any other type of info, also help us learn languages.

Question 4

What are the four interlanguage processes?

Answer 4

Interlanguage processes are what learners use to continually build and refine their interlanguage.

1) Simplification
2) Overgeneralization
3) Restructuring
4) U-Shaped Behavior

Question 5

What is Simplification (Interlanguage Process)?

Answer 5

• This is usually prevalent for earlier learners.
• Essentially it is a one-meaning-one-form mapping.
• Example: Even though a word might have two meanings, the learner will only associate one of them to the word. Likely the less marked one.

Question 6

What is Overgeneralization (Interlanguage Process)?

Answer 6

• Overgeneralization is when a rule or feature is applied to where it does’t belong.
• Example: The overgeneralization of -ing to words in English (Yesterday I didn’t painting).

Question 7

What is Restructuring (Interlanguage Process)?

Answer 7

Restructuring is when the learner reorganizes the grammar representations in their head.

• Knowledge schemata may be altered
• New schemata may be added
• This is not always positive

Question 8

What is U-Shaped Behavior (Interlanguage Process)?

Answer 8

• U-Shaped Behavior is when correct or native-like forms are observed at early stages of learning, followed by a drop in accuracy, and ended with a return to accuracy.
• It is explained that this is the result of early beginners coincidentally being right, because they don’t know and tend to grammar rules as much. As learners gain more instruction and grammar knowledge they become more metalinguistically sensitive, and therefore my fail to apply certain rules. Overtime, this is corrected, and the learners return to a closer native-like level.

Question 9

What are some well-established studied areas in terms of Development of Learner Language?

Answer 9

• Negation
• Word-order
• Morpheme accuracy order
• Questions

Question 10

What was shown by the European Science Foundation (ESF) on Basic Variety?

Answer 10

• They showed that there exist strong universal patterns rather than crosslinguistic particularities.
• All learners eventually learn a rudimentary, but systematic and fully communicative interlanguage, called the Basic Variety.

Question 11

What is shown by the well-established studies of developmental paths? (such as Negation, Word-Order, etc.)

Answer 11

Developmental paths: 
→ occur in stages of development
→ from simpler to more complex contexts
→ are unevenly paced
→ highest stage is not necessarily eventual attainment

Question 12

What is shown by studies of the Morpheme Accuracy Order?

Answer 12

• Similar for all ages
• Similar for naturalistic and instructed learners
• Similar for all L1 backgrounds
• Will go through non-linear increases and decreases in accuracy.

Question 13

What is shown by studies of the Noun-Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy?

Answer 13

• This Hierarchy describes the relativization options across all languages (“Der Mann, den…” = “The man who…”)
• No matter how many options for relativization a language has, it will always follow this hierarchy without gaps.
• Learners also learn these in order. You learn from least to most marked.

Question 14

What does Word Order show about developmental sequences that is different from Negation.

Answer 14

While in Negation, one continually abandons the last stage for the next more accurate stage, Word Order builds on itself.
-The learner learns the first stage and gradually adds the following stages in the order they come.

Question 15

What is fossilization?

Answer 15

• When L2 learning comes to a stop.
• Permanent lack of mastery of a TL, despite continuous exposure, adequate motivation, and sufficient opportunity for practice.
• Very difficult to pin down and demonstrate.

Question 16

What does Pienemann mean in his Teachability Hypothesis by learner readiness?

Answer 16

Learner Readiness is the idea that learners can only teach what learners are developmentally ready to learn.