Testing the Interface Hypothesis: The evidence from fossilized errors in the use of Turkish case markers

Sorace & Filiaci (2006) proposed the Interface Hypothesis (IH), according to which interface structures requiring interface between syntax and other cognitive domains are more likely to be vulnerable to incomplete acquisition and fossilization than structures that involve syntactic knowledge only. The aim of this study is to provide a piece of evidence validating or rejecting the IH by investigating the use of case markers in Turkish by native speakers of Russian who are highly proficient speakers of Turkish and have been residing in Turkey for a long period. Fictional narratives are used in the study as the tool for data collection. The findings reveal that the participants demonstrate native-like use of Turkish case markers production of which does not involve external interface. The use of case markers of direct objects, which involves the activation of external interface, is marked with fossilized errors and/or incomplete acquisition in the production of the participants. The findings of the study can be used as a piece of evidence in favor of the IH. Keywords: Interface Hypothesis, case markers, Turkish, native speakers of Russia

Connectivity in Narratives of Turkish-English and Turkish-Russian Bilinguals

The present study draws on the narrative production of the Turkish-English and Turkish-Russian bilingual children in an attempt to examine whether the use of connectivity elements in the oral narratives of the bilingual children diverges from that of monolingual Turkish children. In particular, the study aimed to examine the use of temporal connectivity elements in the oral narratives of the Turkish-English and Turkish-Russian bilingual children in comparison to Turkish monolingual children focusing on the use of tense/aspect markers utilized to anchor narratives, temporal converbs used to link clauses in narratives, and also temporal connectors used to link clauses. The data were collected from two bilingual groups, Turkish-Russian (Group 1) and Turkish-English (Group 2), consisting of five children each and the control group consisting of seven monolingual Turkish children. The analysis of the data revealed that the Turkish-English and Turkish-Russian bilingual children performed differently than their Turkish monolingual counterparts in how consistently they used tense/aspect markers to anchor their narratives and in how they used converbial markers to indicate the sequentiality of the events in their narratives. The results are discussed in relation to prior research and the typological peculiarities of the languages.Keywords: bilingual language acquisition, Russian-Turkish, TurkishEnglish, connectivity, narrative

Can the Pro-Drop Parameter Account for All the Errors in the Acquisition of Non-Referential It in L2 English?

Abstract Numerous studies, examining the acquisition of non-referential it in [-pro-drop] English by learners of [+pro-drop] languages, have revealed that their participants omit non-referential subjects in English if their L1 allows null-subject position. However, due to the specificity of their focus, these studies have not considered other difficulties native speakers of [+pro-drop] languages might encounter when learning non-referential subjects in English settings and have given an impression that omission is the only error L2 learners make while acquiring non-referential subjects. The present study offers a detailed account of the acquisition of non-referential it by native speakers of [+pro-drop] Russian in a classroom setting, investigates which domains of use of non-referential it may cause difficulties for L1 speakers of [+pro-drop] Russian, and examines how error patterns related to the use of non-referential it change with further exposure to the English language. To this end, the data are collected from two groups of Russian students, fourth- and seventh-year learners of English, who are at the pre-intermediate and upper-intermediate levels of English. The participants were asked to undertake comprehension and production tests. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are used in the study. The findings show that all the participants have difficulties related to the use of non-referential it, and error patterns made by the speakers of [+pro-drop] Russian are not limited to omissions of non-referential it. Moreover, error patterns observed in the students’ data differ significantly among the groups. While the pre-intermediate fourth-year English learners mostly rely on their L1 and make literal translations from Russian, the upper-intermediate seventh-year learners, by and large, have problems in distinguishing between non-referential it and there and, due to this, make numerous errors in some domains. Résumé De nombreuses analyses examinant l’acquisition du it impersonnel en anglais [-pro-omission] par des apprenants de langues [+pro-omission] ont révélé que ceux-ci négligeaient les sujets impersonnels en anglais, si leur L1 autorisait l’omission de ce type de sujets. Cependant, à cause de l’accent mis spécifiquement sur l’omission du pronom impersonnel it, ces analyses n’ont pas considéré d’autres difficultés que l’apprenant d’une L1 permettant l’omission de sujets impersonnels pouvait éprouver pendant l’apprentissage de ces sujets impersonnels en anglais L2. Ces analyses donnaient l’impression que l’omission était la seule faute commise par les apprenants de l’anglais L2 pendant l’acquisition du sujet impersonnel it. La présente étude offre une analyse détaillée de l’acquisition du sujet impersonnel it en anglais L2 par des locuteurs dont la L1 est le russe [+pro-omission]. Cette étude, qui s’est déroulée dans le contexte de la salle de classe, a examiné les domaines d’usage du sujet impersonnel it pouvant causer des difficultés aux apprenants de L1 russe [+pro-omission] et comment les patrons d’erreurs se transforment lors d’une plus grande exposition à l’anglais L2. Les participants consistaient de deux groupes d’étudiants russes apprenant l’anglais depuis 4 et 7 ans respectivement. L’un des groupes possédait un niveau préintermédiaire, tandis que l’autre était de niveau intermédiaire élevé. Des analyses quantitatives et qualitatives ont été utilisées pour examiner les résultats obtenus par les deux groupes de participants à des tests de compréhension et de production. Les résultats ont démontré que tous les participants ont éprouvé des difficultés basées sur l’utilisation du it impersonnel et que les patrons d’erreurs effectuées par les locuteurs de L1 russe [+pro-omission] ne se limitaient pas à des omissions du it impersonnel. De plus, les patrons d’erreurs observés dans les données des élèves différaient significativement entre les deux groupes. Pendant que les étudiants du niveau préintermédaire (4 ans d’étude de l’anglais L2) s’appuyaient essentiellement sur leur L1 et traduisaient littéralement du russe, les intermédiaires avancés (7 ans d’étude) éprouvaient de la difficulté à distinguer entre le it et le there. Ainsi, on observait de nombreuses erreurs dans certains domaines

Ana dili Rusça olanların İngilizcenin şimdiki basit zamanında be koşacı edinimleri.

This thesis investigates the acquisition of the copula be in present Simple Tense in English by native speakers of Russian. The aim of the study is to determine whether or not Russian students with different levels of English proficiency encounter any problems while using the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English. The study also identifies the domains related to the use of the copula be that appear to be most problematic for native speakers of Russian. To carry out the current research two diagnostic tests measuring receptive and productive skills related to the use of the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English were developed. The data were collected from three groups of Russian students who were in the first, fourth and eighth years of learning English. The data in each of the domains related to the use of the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English were classified under four main categories: (i) correct use, (ii) omission, (iii) misinformation, (iv) addition. Both, quantitative and qualitative analyses were used in the study. The results of the study indicated that all the native speakers of Russian who participated in the study had difficulties with the acquisition of the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English. The findings of the study revealed that along with the developmental mistakes/errors (i.e., omissions of the copula be and misuse of the forms of the copula be), which seem to disappear with the lasting exposure to English, there are other mistakes/errors in the performance of the native speakers of Russian which are persistent. Negative transfer at the morphological level and incomplete understanding and application of the rule are suggested as the underlying reasons for the persistent mistakes/errors made by the Russian learners.M.S. - Master of Scienc

Testing the impact of formal interpreting training on working memory capacity: Evidence from Turkish-English students-interpreters

The article presents two studies examining the impact of formal interpreting training (FIT) on Working Memory Capacity (WMC) of student-interpreters. In Study 1, we compared the storage and processing WMCs of last-year student-interpreters with the storage and processing WMCs of first-year student-interpreters and last-year Foreign Language Education (FLE) students. In Study 2, we examined the impact of FIT on the WMC of students interpreters via comparing their results on the WM tasks at the beginning and at the end of their FIT. In both studies, Digit Span Task (DST) and Reading Span Task (RST) were utilized to test storage and processing WMCs. The results of Study 1 revealed that the last-year student-interpreters performed better than the first-year students interpreters and the last year FLE students on the RST, but not on the DST. The findings of Study 2 were consistent with Study 1 showing that after FIT, the student-interpreters performed better on the RST but not on the DST. Our findings can be considered as evidence supporting the view that FIT had a beneficial effect not only on the interpreting skills of student interpreters but also on the central executive and processing capacity of their WM