Camilla Bardel

The role of the second language in third language acquisition: the case of Germanic syntax

In this study of the placement of sentence negation in third language acquisition (L3), we argue that there is a qualitative difference between the acquisition of a true second language (L2) and the subsequent acquisition of an L3. Although there is considerable evidence for L2 influence on vocabulary acquisition in L3, not all researchers believe that such influence generalizes to morphosyntactic aspects of the grammar. For example, Håkansson et al. (2002) introduce the Developmentally Moderated Transfer Hypothesis (DMTH), which incorporates transfer in Processability Theory (PT). They argue against syntactic transfer from L2 to L3. The present study presents counter-evidence to this hypothesis from two groups of learners with different L1s and L2s acquiring Swedish or Dutch as L3. The evidence clearly indicates that syntactic structures are more easily transferred from L2 than from L1 in the initial state of L3 acquisition. The two groups behave significantly differently as to the placement of negation, a difference that can be attributed to the L2 knowledge of the learners in interaction with the typological relationship between the L2 and the L3.

Object Pronouns in German L3 Syntax: Evidence for the L2 Status Factor.

Several studies on L3 lexicon, and recently also some on L3 syntax, have convincingly shown a qualitative difference between the acquisition of a true L2 and the subsequent acquisition of an L3. Some studies even indicate that L2 takes on a stronger role than L1 in the initial state of L3 syntax (e.g. Bardel and Falk, 2007; Rothman and Cabrelli Amaro, 2010). In this article we further investigate syntactic transfer from L1/L2 to L3 in learners at an intermediate level of proficiency in the target language. Data have been obtained from 44 learners of German as L3, testing the placement of object pronouns in both main and subordinate clauses in a grammaticality judgement/correction task (GJCT). The learners constitute two groups (both n = 22): One group has English as L1 and French as L2 and the other group has French as L1 and English as L2. This particular combination of background languages allows us to pinpoint the source of transfer, since object placement is pre-verbal in French and post-verbal in English, this being applied in both main and subordinate clauses. In target language (TL) German, however, the object placement varies between pre-verbal in the sub clause and post-verbal in the main clause. The two groups behave differently as to both acceptance and rejection of the test items (60 grammatical and ungrammatical main and sub clauses with object pronouns). This difference is significant and can be ascribed to their L2s, respectively. Our results thus show that the L2 transfers into the L3 even at an intermediate level, and on the basis of this we claim a strong role for the L2 status factor.

The Study of the Role of the Background Languages in Third Language Acquisition. the State of the Art.

Abstract The aim of this article is to give an up-to-date picture of study of the role of the background languages (the first language, L1, and the second language, L2) in third language (L3) acquisition, mainly in the two areas of vocabulary and syntax. These seem to be the two linguistic levels on which there has so far been most research concerning cross-linguistic influence (CLI). Lexical CLI and syntactic transfer have in most cases been studied separately, but as we will see studies indicate that L3 learners seem to rely on both vocabulary and grammar from their background languages, at least to some extent. The role of the background languages in morphology and phonology has been less investigated in L3 studies, although there are a few studies that indicate that L3 performance can reflect activation of previously acquired languages at these linguistic levels too. The paper also includes a survey of neurolinguistic approaches to multilingualism and discusses how these findings can contribute to the understanding of transfer in L3 acquisition.

Aspects of Lexical Sophistication in Advanced Learners' Oral Production: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use in L2 French and Italian.

This article reports on the design and use of a profiler for lexical sophistication (i.e., use of advanced vocabulary), which was created to assess the lexical richness of intermediate and advanced ...

Chapter 4. The L2 status factor hypothesis revisited: The role of metalinguistic knowledge, working memory, attention and noticing in third language learning

This chapter provides a nuanced view of the L2 status factor model, emphasizing explicit metalinguistic knowledge as the key factor governing transfer, together with individual differences in worki ...

Exploring the Impact of the Proficiency and Typology Factors : Two Cases of Multilingual Learners' L3 Learning

The present study examines lexical crosslinguistic influence (CLI) from L1 and L2 in two cases of L3 learning. It focuses on the role of the proficiency level of the background languages and of typological proximity in the activation of the background languages in L3 oral production. Earlier research has shown that both these factors play a role for CLI. Here we aim at further understanding the role of these factors, and how they are related to the proficiency level of the L3. The first case, which will be summarized briefly and used as a point of comparison in this chapter, concerns a Swedish learner of Italian L3, with English, French and Spanish as L2s (Bardel and Lindqvist 2007). The results showed that low-proficiency Spanish L2 was the background language that was most used in the beginning of the acquisition process of Italian, especially in code-switches of function words. High-proficiency French L2 was also used but in a different way, mostly in word construction attempts. Both the proficiency and the typology factor played a role, but their impact varied at different stages of development in the L3. The second case concerns a bilingual Swedish/Italian L1 speaker learning Spanish L3, with English and French as L2s. The data was gathered following the same procedure as in the first study, and consist of three recordings of interviews and retellings. The results indicate that the proficiency and typology factors are decisive for CLI here too, but in slightly different ways as compared to the first case. Italian L1 is used for both code-switches and word construction attempts, suggesting that a high-proficiency language may well be activated for both purposes, if it is similar enough to the target language. These results show that further investigation of both factors is necessary for our understanding of their interplay.

Approaches to third language acquisition : Introduction

Information about several papers discussed at a conference titled The Role of the Background Languages in Third Language Acquisition. Romance Languages as L1, L2 or L3 which was held in Stockholm, ...

Romance Languages : Multilingualism and Language Acquisition

This volume contains a collection of papers that deal with Romance linguistics from two broad perspectives: multilingualism and language acquisition. Some of the contributions investigate these phe ...

Offering research education for in-service language teachers

Since 2008, the Swedish government has launched occasional offers of funding for graduate schools aimed at practising teachers. The fundamental purpose of this initiative is to enhance quality in t ...

Il lessico nella produzione orale dell'italiano L2 e il Vocabolario di base : studio pilota su due apprendenti universitari svedesi messi a confronto con un parlante nativo

The aim is to privilege the text, analyzed in all its inner characteristics, in its relationships with other literary works and other languages, like those used by reviewers and in visual arts grou ...