The role of inter- and intralingual factors and compendiums in acquisition of Swedish as a foreign language: the case of Finns’ learning definiteness and the use of articles

This study explores the acquisition of definiteness and article use in written Swedish by Finnish-speaking teenagers (n=67) during three years in secondary school. The studied grammatical phenomena are problematic for all L2 learners of Swedish and are especially difficult for learners, such as Finns, whose L1 lacks expressive definiteness morphologically. The informants produce complex NPs already in their first narratives. The form of NPs poses significantly more problems than the choice of a correct form of definiteness. Hence, it is possible that previous knowledge in English helps informants in the choice of definiteness. The common nominator for problematic expressions is simplification, in both formal aspects and in the relation between form and meaning. Previous research in Sweden has made similar findings. The most central types of NPs build an acquisition explainable by a complexity hierarchy between the different types of NPs. The informants master best NPs without definiteness markers. Definite singulars containing a definite ending are significantly easier than singulars, the indefinite article of which is notoriously difficult for Finns learning Swedish as an L2. This acquisition order, however, profoundly differs from the traditional order of instruction of their compendiums.This study explores the acquisition of definiteness and article use in written Swedish by Finnish-speaking teenagers (n=67) during the three years in secondary school. The studied grammatical phenomena are problematic for all L2 learners of Swedish and are especially difficult for learners, such as Finns, whose L1 lacks expressive definiteness morphologically. The informants produce complex NPs already in their first narratives. The form of NPs poses significantly more problems than the choice of a correct form of definiteness. Hence, it is possible that previous knowledge in English helps informants in the choice of definiteness. The common nominator for problematic expressions is simplification, in both formal aspects and in the relation between form and meaning. Previous research in Sweden has made similar findings. The most central types of NPs build an acquisition explainable by a complexity hierarchy between the different types of NPs. The informants master best NPs without definiteness markers. Definite singulars containing an ending are significantly easier than indefinite singulars, the indefinite article of which is notoriously difficult for Finns learning Swedish as an L2. This acquisition order, however, profoundly differs from the traditional order of instruction of their compendiums.Peer reviewe

Subordinate questions in Swedish by 12- and 15-year-old Finnish immersion students

The present study explores how 12- and 15-year-old immersion students (n=75 and n=73) produce subordinate questions in Swedish on a written test. Previous studies are sparse, but they report difficulties with both subject-verb word order and use of the subjunctor om and the subject marker som occurring in these clauses; informants with varying ages and competence levels struggle with similar problems. However, the acquisition order between these two types of constructions, a central theme in this study, has gained less attention. Analyses of the actual data show significant differences with varying effect sizes in accuracy between the different subcategories of subordinate questions and both informant groups. Insertion of grammatical words was mastered by significantly fewer informants than word order. Also, effect sizes were large in these contexts. Older informants do better than the younger ones, but the differences are not always statistically significant, as certain constructions are already mastered at a high level by the younger informants, whereas other constructions are still difficult for the older ones.The present study explores how 12- and 15-year-old immersion students (n=75 and n=73) produce subordinate questions in Swedish on a written test. Previous studies are sparse, but they report difficulties with both subject-verb word order and use of the subjunctor om and the subject marker som occurring in these clauses; informants with varying ages and competence levels struggle with similar problems. However, the acquisition order between these two types of constructions, a central theme in this study, has gained less attention. Analyses of the actual data show significant differences with varying effect sizes in accuracy between the different subcategories of subordinate questions and both informant groups. Insertion of grammatical words was mastered by significantly fewer informants than word order. Also, effect sizes were large in these contexts. Older informants do better than the younger ones, but the differences are not always statistically significant, as certain constructions are already mastered at a high level by the younger informants, whereas other constructions are still difficult for the older ones.Peer reviewe

Grammatical gender in L2 Swedish in Finnish-speaking immersion students : A comparison with non-immersion students

Swedish grammatical gender is challenging for Finnish-speaking learners of Swedish due to its abstract meaning, the complex nature of Swedish NPs and the low salience of the morphology used to mark gender. Our study compares the expression of gender in texts written in Swedish by Finnish-speaking 12- and 15-year-old immersion students with that of 16-year-old non-immersion students. The results show that NPs with gender agreement, i.e. those with several morphemes marking gender, are more difficult than NPs with only one marker. In all informant groups, uter is significantly easier than neuter, but uter is also overused, as approximately 75% of all Swedish nouns are uter in modern Swedish. Comparisons between different informant groups show that non-immersion students often reach a significantly higher level of accuracy than immersion students, which indicates that formal teaching has a positive effect.Peer reviewe

En svårighetshierarki för inversion? En jämförelse mellan språkbad och traditionell undervisning

Peer reviewe

Species och artikelbruk hos finska språkbadselever i årskurs 6

Species och artikelbruk hos finska språkbadselever i årskurs

Species och artikelbruk i finskspråkiga grundskoleelevers inlärarsvenska. En longitudinell undersökning i årskurserna 7–9

Denna doktorsavhandling utreder hur finska grundskolelever använder de svenska substantivens bestämdhetsformer och artiklar och hur deras kunskaper utvecklas under årskurserna 7-9. Species och artikelbruk är problematiska för alla andraspråksinlärare i svenska, men de är synnerligen svåra för inlärare vars förstaspråk saknar morfologisk species. Det svenska systemet avviker också kraftigt från det motsvarande systemet i engelskan, varför tidigare kunskaper i engelska inte är till någon stor hjälp i inlärningen, låt vara att bestämdheten som begrepp redan är bekant för inläraren. Den teoretiska referensramen bygger på både grammatiska beskrivningar av den svenska grammatiken och på teorierna om grammatikinlärningen i andraspråk. Bland de sistnämnda är teorierna om tvärspråkligt inflytande, explicit respektive implicit inlärning samt helsekvensinlärning (på engelska formulaic language) av relevans. Undersökningsmaterialet består av korta texter samt inspelat muntligt material som med jämna mellanrum insamlats av finskspråkiga grundskolelever (n=67) som läser B-svenska. Undersökningen är i första hand kvantitativ, om än inmatningen av nominalfraserna i materialet samt deras formella och semantiska aspekter i analysprogrammet Microsoft Access också innebar en omfattande kvalitativ analys. Undersökningen bygger på performansanalysen och analysen av obligatoriska kontexter och beräkningen av frekvenser och korrekthetsprocent för de olika nominalfrastyperna. Informanterna använder komplext språk redan i årskurs 7. Korrekthetsprocenten stiger under undersökningstiden i de flesta frastyperna, men skillnaderna är sällan statistiskt signifikanta. Den normativa analysen visar också, att formfelen är i både det skriftliga och det muntliga materialet signifikant vanligare än speciesfelen. Det är med andra ord lättare för informanterna att välja rätt species än att bilda en korrekt nominalfras. I tidigare undersökningar i Sverige har likadana resultat nåtts. De mest centrala frastyperna i undersökningen bildar i båda typerna av materialet en inlärningsgång som upprepas i alla årskurser och kan förklaras med komplexitetsskillnaderna mellan de olika frastyperna. Informanterna behärskar bäst de frastyper, som varken innehåller artiklar eller ändelser. Näst bäst behärskar de substantivets bestämda form singularis och svagast obestämd form singularis, vars artikel är en klassisk svårighetskälla för finska svenskinlärare. Analysen av informanternas läromedel visar dock att den typiska undervisningsordningen i läromedlen inte motsvarar inlärningsgången som upptäckts i denna undersökning.Tämä väitöstutkimus selvittää, miten suomenkieliset peruskoululaiset käyttävät ruotsin kielen substantiivien määräysmuotoja ja artikkeleita ja miten heidän taitonsa kehittyvät peruskoulun vuosikursseilla 7-9. Kyseiset kieliopin ilmiöt ovat haastavia kaikille ruotsia toisena kielenä oppiville. Erityisen haastavia ne ovat kuitenkin niille, joiden äidinkieli ei ilmaise määräisyyttä morfologian keinoin. Ruotsin tapa ilmasta määräisyyttä poikkeaa huomattavasti myös esim. englannin vastaavasta, joten aikaisemmin opituista vieraista kielistä ei ole apua oppimisessa muutoin kuin määräisyyden käsitteeseen tutustumisen kannalta. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys muodostuu sekä ruotsin kieltä koskevista kieliopillisista kuvauksista että kieliopin oppimista käsittelevistä teorioista. Tutkimukseni kannalta keskeisiä ovat teoriat transferista, eksplisiittisestä ja implisiittisestä kielen oppimisesta sekä analysoimattomina kokonaisuuksina opitun kieliaineksen roolista kielen oppimisessa (engl. formulaic language). Tutkimusaineistoni koostuu suomenkielisten, B-ruotsia opiskelevien peruskoululaisten (n=67) vuosikursseilla 7-9 säännöllisin väliajoin kirjoittamista kirjoitelmista ja nauhoitetuista suullisista tehtävistä. Tutkimukseni on pääasiallisesti kvantitatiivinen, mutta tutkimusaineiston sisältämien nominaalilausekkeiden ja niiden semanttisten ja muodollisten aspektien syöttäminen analyysiohjelma Microsoft Accessiin edellytti myös mittavaa kvalitatiivista analyysiä. Tutkimukseni rakentuu performanssianalyysin ja obligatoristen kontekstien analyyseille ja erilaisten nominaalilausekketyyppien frekvensseille ja oikeellisuusprosenteille. Tutkimushenkilöt käyttävät kompleksista kieltä jo 7. luokalla. Oikeellisuusprosentit kohoavat tutkimuksen aikana useimmissa lauseketyypeissä, mutta muutokset ovat vain harvoin tilastollisesti merkittäviä. Normatiivinen analyysi osoittaa myös, että muotovirheet ovat molemmissa aineistoissa tilastollisesti merkittävästi yleisempiä kuin määräisyysvirheet. Tutkimushenkilöiden on siis helpompaa valita oikea määräysmuoto kuin muodostaa nominaalilauseke. Sama havainto on tehty aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa Ruotsissa. Tutkimuksen keskeisimmät lauseketyypit muodostavat kaikilla vuosikursseilla sekä suullisessa että kirjallisessa aineistossa toistuvan oppimisjärjestyksen, joka on selitettävissä eri lauseketyyppien kompleksisuushierarkialla. Tutkimushenkilöt osaavat parhaiten lauseketyypit, jotka eivät sisällä määräysmuotojen päätteitä tai artikkeleita. Toiseksi parhaiten hallitaan substantiivin määräinen muoto yksikössä ja heikoimmin yksikön epämääräinen muoto, jonka sisältämä artikkeli on suomenkielisille ruotsinoppijoille klassinen ongelmien lähde. Tutkimushenkilöiden käyttämien oppikirjojen analyysi osoittaa kuitenkin, ettei oppikirjojen tyypillinen opetusjärjestys vastaa tutkimuksessa havaittua oppimisjärjestystä.This doctoral thesis reports how Finnish-speaking schoolchildren use definite and indefinite forms and articles in Swedish and how their ability to use them develops from the 7th to the 9th grade in comprehensive school. These grammatical phenomena have proved to be problematic for everyone learning Swedish as a second language, but they are especially difficult for those whose first language does not express definiteness morphologically. The Swedish way of expressing definiteness is also different from the English one, which means that a previously acquired knowledge of English cannot help in acquisition even though definiteness as a concept is already familiar. The theoretical background is composed of both grammatical descriptions of Swedish and of theories about the acquisition of grammatical competence. The relevant theories in this study are theories about cross-linguistic influence, explicit and implicit learning, and formulaic language. My study material consists of short written texts and audiotaped oral tasks for Finnish-speaking comprehensive school pupils (n=67) who have begun learning Swedish in the 7th grade. The material was collected at regular intervals from the 7th to the 9th grade. My study is above all quantitative, but inputting all noun phrases in the material and coding their formal and semantic aspects into the analysis programme Microsoft Access has also demanded an extensive qualitative analysis. My study is founded on the principles of performance analysis and analysis of obligatory contexts, and on calculation of the frequencies and percentages of correctness of the various types of noun phrases. The pupils in my study produce complex language already in the 7th grade. The percentages of correctness rise from the 7th to 9th grade in most types of noun phrases, but the changes are seldom statistically significant. The normative analysis also shows that formal errors are significantly more common in both materials than errors in the choice of a correct form of definiteness. In other words, the choice of a right form of definiteness is easier than the formal aspects of the Swedish noun phrases. Similar findings have been done in previous research in Sweden. The most central types of noun phrases in the study build an acquisition order which is similar in both written and oral material and can be explained with a complexity hierarchy between the different types of noun phrases. The pupils in my study master best noun phrases without definite endings or articles. The second easiest is definite singular form containing a definite ending and the most difficult is indefinite singular form, which with its indefinite article is notoriously difficult for Finnish-speaking learners of Swedish as a L2. An analysis of the study materials used by the pupils shows, however, that the order of instructing in them does not correspond to the order of acquisition discovered in this study.Siirretty Doriast

Mastering complex Swedish NPs: A comparison of non-immersion pupils and immersion L1 Finnish pupils

The aim of this article is to study the extent to which some of the most complex types of Swedish noun phrases (NPs) have been mastered in a grammaticality judgement test in L2 Swedish of Finnish-speaking 16-year-old non-immersion pupils (n = 44) compared with 15-year-old immersion pupils (n = 86). The study concentrates on double definiteness, NPs with both 'possessive/genitive and adjective attributes', and NPs with the synonymous demonstrative pronouns 'den här' and 'denna' (“this”). In previous studies, these NPs have been difficult for L2 learners irrespective of their L1, including immersion students. The studied NP types represent two types of complexity: 'formal complexity and complexity of the relationship between form and meaning'.The research questions concern the order in which the studied forms are mastered, the hierarchy of difficulty for the different types of complexity, and the differences between non-immersion and immersion students. Analyses at the individual level show that formally complex NPs are used accurately more often than those with a complex relationship between form and meaning in both groups. This result is similar to the one achieved in a previous study with the same test with 12- and 15-year-old immersion students as informants. The differences between non-immersion and immersion students are small and usually statistically insignificant, i.e., the studied structures were difficult for the informants irrespective of the learning context

Mastering complex Swedish NPs: A comparison of non-immersion pupils and immersion L1 Finnish pupils

The aim of this article is to study the extent to which some of the most complex types of Swedish noun phrases (NPs) have been mastered in a grammaticality judgement test in L2 Swedish of Finnish-speaking 16-year-old non-immersion pupils (n = 44) compared with 15-year-old immersion pupils (n = 86). The study concentrates on double definiteness, NPs with both possessive/genitive and adjective attributes, and NPs with the synonymous demonstrative pronouns den här and denna (“this”). In previous studies, these NPs have been difficult for L2 learners irrespective of their L1, including immersion students. The studied NP types represent two types of complexity: formal complexity and complexity of the relationship between form and meaning.The research questions concern the order in which the studied forms are mastered, the hierarchy of difficulty for the different types of complexity, and the differences between non-immersion and immersion students. Analyses at the individual level show that formally complex NPs are used accurately more often than those with a complex relationship between form and meaning in both groups. This result is similar to the one achieved in a previous study with the same test with 12- and 15-year-old immersion students as informants. The differences between non-immersion and immersion students are small and usually statistically insignificant, i.e., the studied structures were difficult for the informants irrespective of the learning context.</p

Svenska generiska pronomen hos finska språkbadselever. En jämförelse mellan två årskurser

This is a study of the use of generic pronouns in Swedish as a second language (L2) by L1 Finnish immersion students. We compare two groups, 12-year-olds, and 15-year-olds, to see if there is a difference and to identify which the most challenging cases are in both groups. Norm deviations are compared to see if they mainly consist of overuse of generic pronouns or more formal aspects, such as the pronoun which is chosen, and the understanding of the relation between the generic subject, object, possessive and reflexive pronouns. Both groups use generic pronouns in the subject position in a manner which mostly follows the standard, and mainly have problems with possessive pronouns in connection to generic pronouns. It is possible that object generic pronouns would also be problematic, but there are none in our data. Generic pronouns are sometimes left out as subjects, which is ungrammatical in Swedish. There is also occasional overuse of man where it is not idiomatic, and some mixed forms with man and s-passive. Results show possible transfer from the first language (L1) of the learners, but less in the older group. Furthermore, there also appears to be transfer from L3 English, which our informants are learning at school. This seems more present in the older group