Second Language Acquisition

Question 1

First language (L1, mother tongue, or native language)

Answer 1

= The language(s) a person learned first, as a child growing up

Question 2

Second language (L2)

Answer 2

= A language learned after initial L1 acquisition (includes third, fifth, …)

Question 3

Second Language Acquisition (SLA or L2A)

Answer 3

= The study of how people learn a language other than their mother tongue, inside or outside a classroom

Question 4

Bilingual L1A

Answer 4

= The study of the simultaneous acquisition of two languages from birth

Question 5

Basic questions and research areas in SLA

Answer 5

1) What exactly does the L2 learner come to know?
→ Linguistics (= The scientific study of a language)
2) How does the teacher best convey this knowledge?
→ Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)
3) Why are some learners more successful than others?
→ Applied Linguistics (= The study of language-related real-life problems in specific situations in which people use and learn languages)

Question 6

Cross-linguistic influence

Answer 6

L2 learners are subject to an influence that is absent from FLA: the L1

Question 7

Transfer

Answer 7

= The process whereby a feature or rule from a learner’s L1 is carried over to his/her L2

Question 8

Positive transfer

Answer 8

= When an L1 structure or rule is used in an L2 utterance and that use is appropriate in the L2

Question 9

Negative transfer

Answer 9

= When an L1 structure or rule is used in an L2 utterance and that use is inappropriate in the L2

Question 10

Interlanguage (IL)

Answer 10

= A system of mental representations influenced by the first and target language (L2) that has features of both

L1 ___ I …Interlanguage… I ___ Target language (L2)

• Intermediate states of a learner’s language as it moves towards the target L2
• Systematic - at any change of development, the IL is governed by rules that constitute the learner’s internal grammar
• Dynamic - the system of rules that learners have in their minds changes frequently
• Fossilisation - may stop changing without reaching the L2 norm

Question 11

Ultimate goal of L2 acquisition

Answer 11

Learners should acquire the communicative competence that involves:

• The knowledge of the core components of the L2 grammar (i.e., phonology, morphology,
• The ability to use the L2 in a way that is appropriate to the situation or context

Question 12

L2 morphological development

Answer 12

L2 morpheme order studies indicated that the order of morpheme acquisition is largely consistent across different groups of L2 English learners (→ There is a natural order of L2 morphological development regardless of L1 and age.)

Question 13

Typical developmental sequence for FLA

Answer 13

L2 English:

1. Progressive -ing
2. Copular be
3. Articles
4. Auxiliary be
5. Plural -s
6. Irregular past
7. Regular past -ed
8. Third person singular –s
9. Possessive -’s

Question 14

L1 vs. L2 morphological development

Answer 14

Although not identical, the order of morpheme acquisition is systematic in L1 and L2.

Question 15

Concept of ‘Natural Order’ and SLA

Answer 15

• L2 morpheme order studies –> There is a natural order in the morphological development of L2 learners.
• Further syntactic studies –> There are regulated sequences in acquisition of syntactic constructions by L2 learners.

–> Universal Grammar (UG)

Question 16

Universal Grammar (UG)

Answer 16

• Inborn knowledge of principles that are the same for the grammars of all human languages
• Learning parameters that may lead to cross-linguistic variation:
  1) Verb movement parameter
  2) Null subject parameter

Question 17

1) Verb movement parameter

Answer 17

= A verb marked for tense raises/does not raise to T (i.e., the head of tense phrase).

E.g.: English → [-verb movement] vs. French → [+verb movement]

Question 18

2) Null subject parameter

Answer 18

= The subject of a clause with a verb marked for tense
may/may not be null.

E.g.: English → [-null subject] vs. Spanish → [+null subject]

Question 19

L2 syntactic development

Answer 19

1) Initial state
2) Intermediate states
3) Subset Principle
4) Feature reassembly
5) Ultimate attainment
6) Factors affecting fossilization

Question 20

1) Initial state

Answer 20

= L2 learners already have knowledge of L1 at the point where SLA begins, so they may transfer L1 parameter settings into the interlanguage grammar in the initial stages of L2 syntactic development

Question 21

2) Intermediate states

Answer 21

= L2 learners reset the parameter settings when the L2 input they receive does not match the L1 settings they have

Question 22

Full Transfer Full Access Hypothesis

Answer 22

• The initial state of L2 entails all parameter values of the L1 grammar
• The L2 grammar has to be restructured in the course of acquisition

Question 23

3) Subset Principle

Answer 23

• a parameter-setting approach to SLA that addresses whether adult L2 learners can reset their parameters, and whether the notion of directionality of difficulty can be captured in a parameter-setting
  → Parameter resetting from superset to subset is more difficult than vice versa.

Question 24

4) Feature reassembly

Answer 24

• an alternative to parameter resetting
  → L2 learners need to compare how features are assembled in L1 and L2, and reconfigure the feature bundles in their L1, in cases where differences exist.

Question 25

Parameter Resetting vs Feature reassembly

Answer 25

Parameter Resetting:

• SLA is a process of feature selection and parameter setting
• L2 learners need to check
  a) whether a certain functional category is present in the L2 grammar
  b) whether the parameter is different from its target-like L2 value

Feature reassembly:

• SLA is a process of assembling L2 feature bundles based on L1 feature configurations
• L2 learners need to compare how features are assembled in L1 and L2, and reconfigure the feature bundles in their L1, in cases where differences exist:
  a) Acquire new features,
  b) Abandon features distinctive in the L1, but not in the L2

Question 26

5) Ultimate attainment

Answer 26

→ The level of proficiency which L2 learners reach is highly variable:

• Native-like competence in L2
• Fossilisation

Question 27

Fossilization

Answer 27

= To become permanently established in the interlanguage of a second language learner in a form that is deviant from the L2 norm and that continues to appear in performance regardless of further exposure to the L2

Question 28

6) Factors affecting fossilization

Answer 28

1) Age
2) Input
3) Motivation
4) Cognitive constraints

Question 29

1) Age

Answer 29

Younger advantage:

• less entrenchment of L1
• brain plasticity
• not analytical
• fewer inhibitions

Older advantage:

• Greater Knowledge of L1
• Learning capacity
• analytic ability
• real-world knowledge
• some decline in the ability to learn language that happens with age –> it is generally harder to learn a second language later in life
• older L2 learners are more likely to fossilise than younger ones
• HOWEVER, there is no current evidence of anything biological that prevents adults from acquiring native-like proficiency in an L2

–> Native-like levels can be attained in a variety of linguistic domains, by individuals who begin to learn an L2 at ages beyond purported critical period

Question 30

2) Input

Answer 30

• L2 learners may lack opportunities for receiving input due to the restrictions from the external development

–> the lack of input may lead to difficulty in overcoming negative transfer effects (from L1) and mastering all linguistic features in a native-like manner, thus resulting in fossilisation

Question 31

3) Motivation

Answer 31

1) Instrumental Motivation:
- involves wanting to learn the L2 for an utilitarian goal or reason
2) Integrative Motivation:
- involves wanting to learn the L2 in order to learn more about a particular culture or fit into it better

• previous studies have shown that degree of motivation is a better predictor of future learning success than type of motivation

–> L2 learners who lack instrumental or integrative motivation are more likely to fossilise than motivated ones