19: second language acquisition in adults

acquisition of grammar

• The result of the acquisition process – in second language (L2) acquisition just as in first language (L1) acquisition – is a system of rules and constraints that govern:

  • the production and patterning of speech sounds;

  • the formation and interpretation of words and sentences.

• But the L2 grammar is not necessarily target-like.

what are L2ers (children and adults) initial advantage over L2 learners

onset of acquisition:

• L1 learners do not have a grammar or lexicon in place when they begin acquiring their native language as infants;

• L2 learners already have a grammar and lexicon in place when they begin acquiring their second language.

  • even though they may not be proficient in the second language they still have a grammar for it

L2 advantage in syntax

• Child and adult L2 learners progress faster than L1 infants:

• they begin L2 acquisition, building longer and more complex sentences, even before they understand much of the L2 grammar;

• they bootstrap from the syntax of their L1.

L2 advantage in lexicon

• Child L2 learners have an advantage in learning new words over L1 learners:

• they have more advanced cognitive abilities;

• they already have a set of concepts with labels in their native language.

study evidence of L2 advantage

• 5-year-old L1 Japanese child acquiring L2 English acquired English vocabulary far more rapidly than an L1 English infant acquiring English natively:

  • The L2 learner acquired her first 75 English words in 7 weeks, and 96 more words over the following 4 weeks (very quick!)

  • The L1 English learner took 14 weeks to acquire his first 75 words

    • 1 year old child

caveat to fast acquisition in L2 learners

• The advantage that (adult) L2 learners have over Ll learners is short- lived;

• Virtually all L1 learners achieve native proficiency in the language to which they are exposed as infants;

• L2 learners, especially adults, rarely attain native proficiency in all aspects of their second language.

**there is evidence for critical period hypothesis in L2 learners

transfer

The incorporation of a grammatical property from one language into the other

• L2 learners initially transfer their L1 grammar into the interlanguage grammar (IL), which is the grammar that they construct for the target L2

• As a consequence of transfer, when learners encounter constructions in the L2 input that are not possible in their L1 grammar, they ‘repair’ them so that they respect L1 constraints.

example of transfer in syntax adverb placement of L2 learners of French and English

1. L2 French learner

   • John quickly drinks his coffee→ *Jean rapidement boit son cafe.

2. L2 English learner

   • Jean boit rapidement son cafe → *John drinks quickly his coffee.

trick for correct adverb placement in English/ French L2ers

• place adverb in sentence-final position—works for both languages

  • Jean boit son cafe rapidement

  • John drinks his coffee quickly

phonetic transfer of english to french

Target French grammar:

[mɛʁ'si] ‘thankyou’
uvular fricative/approximant [ʁ] (made in throat)

Transferred grammar:

[mɛɹ'si]
post-alveolar approximant [ɹ] (smooth and made in the teeth)

**trick: Substitute a low vowel for [ʁ] (in coda position): [mɛa'si]