EUROSLA Yearbook - Volume 12, Issue 1, 2012

Many heritage speakers (bilinguals in a minority language context) turn to the second language (L2) classroom to expand their knowledge of the heritage language. Critical questions arise as to how their linguistic knowledge compares to that of post puberty L2 learners. Focusing on recent experimental research on grammatical domains typically affected in both L2 learners and heritage speakers, this article addresses whether exposure to the family language since birth even under reduced input conditions leads to more native-like linguistic knowledge in heritage speakers as opposed to L2 learners with a later age of acquisition of the language, how differences in input and language learning experience determine the behavioral manifestations of linguistic knowledge, and whether formal instruction in the classroom is beneficial to heritage speakers. I argue that the extension of theoretical frameworks and methodologies from SLA has significantly advanced the field of heritage language acquisition, but deeper understanding of these speakers will also need more fruitful integration of the psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic factors that contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of heritage languages.

This paper proposes an analysis of 100 narrative texts concerned with English and Italian as L1s and L2s. We will compare the way both native speakers and learners build textual cohesion when faced with a narrative task involving several referential restrictions: contrasts of entity and polarity, maintenance of the same predication, temporal shifts etc. The stimulus used to collect the data is the film retelling The Finite Story by Dimroth (2006). Our results will add to the debate about the learners’ tendency to establish anaphoric linkage according to the specific grammaticised (readily encodable) concepts of their mother tongue. In particular, we will show that even at very advanced and almost native levels learners tend to exploit formal and conceptual means resembling those of their mother tongue, demonstrating by that that they have not completely abandoned the L1 specific “perspective taking”.

This study investigates the effect of learning environment (study abroad vs. at home) on the pragmatic development of Chinese speakers’ L2 English refusals. A total of 20 Chinese Study Abroad (SA) students participated in the study and their L2 refusals were examined over the course of one academic year. These refusals were compared with those of 20 Chinese At Home (AH) students. Data were collected three times by an 8-situation Multimedia Elicitation Task. The results revealed that the SA students’ overall frequency of opt-outs remained consistent throughout a year’s stay in the L2 community but the study abroad experience influenced their choices sociopragmatically. Regarding repertoire of refusal strategies and that of refusal adjuncts, both groups demonstrated significant development, thus indicating no significant benefit of study abroad in these respects. The findings reveal the complexity of L2 pragmatic development and the importance of longitudinal investigations in such research.

While SLA studies on the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation have primarily illuminated the impact of social and socio-biographic factors on such development, this paper is a response to the need for studies of the relationship between sociolinguistic development and other components of the learner’s L2 linguistic repertoire, such as grammatical development, which is the focus of this study. With the aim of exploring the hypothesis that grammatical development is a pre-requisite to sociolinguistic development, the study presents quantitative findings which compare longitudinal development on a number of grammatical and sociolinguistic features in the case of Irish university learners of French. Findings suggest that while grammatical development may be important, it may be not enough, such that it is naturalistic exposure which provides the necessary impetus for such sociolinguistic development. Moreover, the extent of grammatical development in terms of the range of grammatical features which are productively used within the learner’s linguistic repertoire is a further factor which complexifies the issue.

Researchers working on the effects of study abroad are always baffled by the huge individual differences in the development of a target language (TL) among students – who could be considered as temporary immigrants (Kinginger 2011; Regan et al. 2009). Researchers often speculate that these differences are linked to socialization issues, such as the amount of authentic TL interactions that students engage in. What research designs usually lack are the unique psychological characteristics that could predict the frequency with which L2 users’ engage in L2 interactions. The present study investigates this question by looking at the link between personality traits and frequency of use of English L2 as well as self-perceived proficiency in English L2 by 102 adult Polish immigrants living in Ireland and the UK. Participants filled out a Polish version of personality questionnaires (OCEAN and TEIQ) and a sociobiographical questionnaire. Statistical analyses revealed that length of stay was positively correlated with English L2 use and self-perceived proficiency in that language. Linear regression analyses revealed that Openness and Self-esteem were significant predictors of frequency of use of English L2. Openness was the best predictor of self-perceived English L2 proficiency. In sum, our results suggest that progress in the L2 depends not just on the immersion in the L2 but also on the L2 user’s basic inclination to seek out social interactions in the L2.

This paper reports on a study investigating the impact of differences in the learning context on oral L2 fluency outcomes. The study specifically focuses on the effect of different levels of L1 and L2 prominence (as determined by their status, functions roles and domains of use) in the extracurricular context on the speed, breakdown and repair fluency of the L2 speech of German learners of English (ages 8–14). Controlled variation of L1 and L2 prominence is observed across 4 different authentic language learning contexts. The results demonstrate an effect of different levels of L2 prominence on L2 speed and breakdown fluency and grant support to a gradient operationalization of language prominence. We further suggest that L1 prominence is a relevant factor in the operationalization of context. The different dimensions of fluency (i.e., speed, breakdown and repair fluency) are affected differently by elements in the learning context, which confirms the multilayered approach to the construct.

This paper presents the overarching conclusions of three consecutive investigations into task-based L2 performance. It aims at giving a better understanding of how changes in the number of elements referred to in a task affect L2 production, and how this relates to cognitive task complexity. Furthermore, it evaluates differences between monologic and dialogic tasks, and searches for combined effects of the factors ‘± elements’ and ‘± monologic’. Analyses examined the oral task performances of 152 participants by using global measures of linguistic complexity, accuracy, and fluency as well as a task specific measure. Results revealed hardly any effects of the manipulation of the number of elements. Dialogic tasks, however, consistently guided L2 performers towards greater accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency. The discussion compares these findings to native speaker baseline data, reviews the results in light of Robinson’s (2005) Cognition Hypothesis, and highlights the cognitive impact of the factor ‘± monologic’.

The processing of homonyms is complex considering homonyms have many lexical properties. For instance, train contains semantic (a locomotive/to instruct) and syntactic (noun/verb) properties, each affecting interpretation. Previous studies find homonym processing influenced by lexical frequency (Duffy et al. 1988) as well as syntactic and semantic context (Folk & Morris 2003; Swinney 1979; Tanenhaus et al. 1979). This cross-modal lexical-decision study investigates second language (L2) effects on homonym processing in the first language (L1). Participants were monolingual English speakers and Canadian English/French bilinguals who acquired L2 French at distinct periods. The early bilinguals revealed no significant differences compared to monolinguals (p = .219) supporting the Reordered Access Model (Duffy et al. 1988). However, the late bilinguals revealed longer reaction times, syntactic priming effects (p < .001), and lexical frequency effects (p < .001), suggesting a heightened sensitivity to surface cues influencing homonym processing in the L1 due to a newly-acquired L2 (Cook 2003).