Journal of Second Language Studies - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2025

Abstract

This study considers the acquisition of nominal compounding in L2 French and L3 English among L1 Arabic speakers. Arabic N‑N compounds have the structure [NHead-NModifier]; English has the structure [NModifier-NHead]. French uses phrasal compounds [N-PP], also found in Arabic and English. The participants completed a forced-choice selection task. In L2 French, the L2 beginners converged with the L1 French speakers regarding phrasal compounds; however, they significantly transferred the Arabic N-N. L1 Arabic had (non)-facilitative influence on L2 French. In contrast, the advanced L2 learners showed nativelike performance in using both structures. In L3 English, the L3 beginners used phrasal compounds and L1 N‑N forms, supporting the L1 transfer scenario and the Linguistic Proximity Model in early L3 acquisition. In the L3 advanced stage, proficiency overrode native non-facilitative transfer. Overall, the findings support surface overlap and derivation simplicity as predictors of transfer in L2 and L3 acquisition.

Abstract

This paper investigates German speakers of L2 Spanish and assesses their knowledge of (un)interpretable features linked to object drop in Spanish. Object drop involves an interpretable feature (i.e. definiteness) and uninterpretable features abiding by syntactic constraints leading to subjacency restrictions or Phase Impenetrability in recent Minimalist conceptions. Conversely, German argument omission is restricted to the topic position. This paper presents data from a production and grammaticality judgment task bearing on the acquisition of syntactic and semantic features associated with Spanish object drop, testing the plausibility of two prominent hypotheses, the Interpretability and Feature Reassembly Hypothesis. Results suggest that most L2 speakers have sensitivity to the D-related features associated with object-drop phenomena. Evidence lends strong favour to the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis; the main findings suggest a lack of task effect for knowledge of interpretable features which can only be accounted for by said hypothesis.

Abstract

The L1-transfer pattern may be different between bilinguals and monolinguals as the former has multiple L1 candidates to transfer. This study compared how Mandarin monolingual learners (MDN), Shanghainese-Mandarin bilingual learners (SHM), and Japanese natives produce Japanese stops in word-reading and paragraph-reading tasks. The L2 Japanese learners varied in the years of learning (1–3 years). Shanghainese differs from Mandarin in that the word-medial voiced stops are prevoiced, which may allow facilitative transfer to Japanese voiced stops. As a result, SHM in general showed more target-like pronunciation of voiced stops than MDN. Regarding the L2 experience, third-year SHM produced more target-like word-medial voiced stops, whereas first-year SHM produced less target-like word-initial voiceless and word-medial voiced stops. These results suggest that the overlap between the target L2 and one of the learners’ L1s may lead to finer phonetic realization, but the facilitative transfer is subject to bilingual learners’ L2 experience.

Abstract

Previous research has given much attention to how native speakers of English and, to a lesser extent, speakers of World Englishes, choose between will and be going to to talk about the future. There is, however, a lack of research investigating how learners of English as a Foreign Language choose between these future markers at different proficiency levels. We collected 3,616 instances of will and be going to from the Trinity Lancaster Corpus, which consists of spoken language from low-intermediate to advanced learners of English from various mother tongue backgrounds. These future marker observations were annotated for constraints known to probabilistically influence the choice of variant and then analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression. Results show that learners are sensitive to more constraints than native speakers, suggesting that the forms serve more distinct functions. As learners become more proficient, they consider fewer constraints and thereby better approximate native speakers.

Abstract

Although plurilingualism has been extensively researched in the area of foreign-language education and identity formation, no such effort has been equally documented outside the European context. In view of this disparity, the present article focuses on this research area in a context where the mainstream language learning experience ascribes only peripheral importance to the transformational value accentuated by pluringual pedagogies. It is accordingly believed that these alternative pedagogical initiatives, such as the awakening to languages approach, language learning is a space where youngsters undergo intellectual, affective, and attitudinal transformations. The article reports on three studies with different methodological courses, yet all subsumed under the framework of awakening 5-to 8-year-old children to foreign languages. Both quantitative and qualitative results, reported from this experimental triad, attested to the emergence and development of the plurilingual self as a form of identity that is well receptive to intercultural diversity. Aside from the empirical substance accentuating the plurilingual self as a researchable concept, the present findings would give substance to the voices for reshuffling priorities in the early foreign language learning agenda.

Abstract

This study elicits 120 recordings as research data from the Test for English Majors Band 4 (TEM-4) Oral Test. We investigate the distinguishing cohesive devices across and between four pairs of speaking proficiency levels and the predictive cohesive devices for L2 speaking proficiency by examining all cohesion indices in TAACO for an independent speaking task. Results show that 15 local, 3 global, and 6 text cohesion indices distinguish across speaking proficiency levels. Besides, cohesion indices vary in differentiating powers at certain levels. In addition, 7 local, 5 global, and 1 text cohesion indices significantly correlate to L2 speaking proficiency levels. The regression model containing 2 local and 3 text cohesion indices explains 63.8% of the variance in predicting L2 speaking proficiency levels. These findings hold some implications for L2 speaking pedagogy and test assessment.

This article reviews Current Perspectives on Generative SLA — Processing, Influence, and Interfaces: Selected proceedings of the 16th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference