The development of subordinate clauses in German and Swedish as L2s: a theoretical and methodological comparison

In this article, we aim to contribute to the debate about the use of subordination as a measure of language proficiency. We compare two theories of SLA—specifically, processability theory (PT; Pienemann, 1998) and dynamic systems theory (de Bot, Lowie, & Verspoor, 2007)—and, more particularly, their addressing of the development of subordinate clauses. Although DST uses measures from the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) research tradition (see Housen & Kuiken, 2009), PT uses the emergence criterion to describe language development. We will focus on the development of subordinate clauses and compare how subordination as such is acquired and how the processing procedures related to a specific subordinate clause word order is acquired in the interlanguage (IL) of second language German and Swedish learners. The learners’ language use shows that the use of subordination (as measured by a subordination ratio) fluctuates extensively. From the beginning of data collection, all learners use subordinate clauses, but their use of subordinate clauses does not increase linearly over time, which is expected by DST. When focusing on processability and the emergence of subordinate clause word order, however, a clear linear developmental sequence can be observed, revealing a clear difference between the nonacquisition and the acquisition of the subordinate clause word order rules. Our learner data additionally reveal a different behavior regarding lexical and auxiliary or modal verbs

Elicited imitation as a window into developmental stages

In the second language acquisition literature, data of naturally occurring language use are considered the most ideal data to make statements about second-language (L2) development. This study examines to what extent experimentally elicited data can provide an equally valid basis for determining L2 development, by testing predictions derived from Processability Theory regarding the L2 acquisition of the German case system. Using naturally occurring language data, previous research on L2 German case acquisition has uncovered three developmental stages. The present cross-sectional study investigates whether the same stages occur in data obtained from an experimental task (i.e., a computer oral elicited imitation task (OEIT). Thirty-six university L2 learners of German participated in the study. The results show that the elicited data prove comparable to the naturally occurring data. As such, this study corroborates a previous validation study on developmental stages in L2 English, which demonstrated the comparability of naturally occurring and experimentally elicited data. In addition, concerning methodological advancement of the OEIT design, the present study proposes to include a direct measure of comprehension

Cross-linguistic activation in bilingual sentence processing: the role of word class meaning

This study investigates how categorial (word class) semantics influences cross-linguistic interactions when reading in L2. Previous homograph studies paid little attention to the possible influence of different word classes in the stimulus material on cross-linguistic activation. The present study examines the word recognition performance of Dutch-English bilinguals who performed a lexical decision task to word targets appearing in a sentence. To determine the influence of word class meaning, the critical words either showed a word class overlap (e. g. the homograph tree [ noun], which means "step" in Dutch) or not (e.g. big [ADJ], which is a noun in Dutch meaning "piglet"). In the condition of word class overlap, a facilitation effect was observed, suggesting that both languages were active. When there was no word class overlap, the facilitation effect disappeared. This result suggests that categorial meaning affects the word recognition process of bilinguals

The acquisition of the English dative alternation by Russian foreign language learners

Ditransitive verbs include a “recipient” and a “theme” argument (in addition to the subject). The choice of putting one argument before the other (i.e., either recipient-theme, or theme-recipient) is associated with multiple discourse-pragmatic factors. Language have different options to code the ditransitive construction. In English, a ditransitive verb can take two alternating patterns (“the dative alternation”): the Double Object Construction (DOC) (John gives Mary a book) and the to-dative construction (to-dative) (John gives a book to Mary). In Russian, theme and recipient are marked by accusative and dative, respectively. In addition, word order is flexible and either the accusative-marked theme (Pjotr dal knigu Marii), or the dative-marked recipient (Pjotr dal Marii knigu) can come first. This article reports on two sentence rating experiments (acceptability judgments) to test whether Russian learners of English transfer their preferences about the theme-recipient order in Russian to the ditransitive construction in English. A total of 284 Russian students were tested. Results for both tests showed a great variability in the ratings. A comparison of the ratings seems to suggest a small positive correlation, but no statistically significant relation was found between the order preferences in both languages. However, we found a small preference for the use of the to-dative, which we relate to the language acquisition process as proposed by Processability Theory

A cross-theoretical and cross-linguistic perspective on the L2 acquisition of case systems = L'acquisition de systèmes casuels en L2 : des études à travers plusieurs théories et langues

B

Vocabulary development in a CLIL context : a comparison between French and English L2

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has expanded in Europe, favored by the large body of research, often showing positive effects of CLIL on L2 development. However, critical voices have recently questioned whether these positive findings apply to any language, given that most research focuses on English. Taking into account this concern, the present study investigated the (productive and receptive) vocabulary development in L2 English and L2 French of the same group of learners within a CLIL context. The aim was not to evaluate the benefits of CLIL over non-CLIL, but, instead, to examine whether vocabulary gains in CLIL learning are language-dependent. More specifically, this study included 75 Flemish eight-grade pupils who had CLIL lessons in both English and French. The results show that although the pupils have a larger English vocabulary, the level of improvement (from pretest to posttest) is not different across the languages. The findings indicate that within CLIL vocabulary knowledge also develops in languages other than English

An exploratory study of predictors of vocabulary knowledge of Vietnamese preschool-age children in a city

This study explores the effects of child-external and child-internal factors on vocabulary skills of Vietnamese pre-schoolers. Thirty-nine Vietnamese children (54–77 months) were tested on vocabulary and cognition skills. Their parents completed a questionnaire on background information. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to explore the contribution of multiple factors to the variability in vocabulary skills. Results showed that the effects of multiple factors varied across modality and domain. Productive vocabulary was individually sensitive to more factors than receptive vocabulary; and phonologically-based vocabulary was more sensitive than semantically-based vocabulary. The strongest predictor of receptive vocabulary, productive vocabulary, semantically-based vocabulary and phonologically-based vocabulary was child intelligence, child pre-schooling length, household income and child age, respectively. The findings seem to support the multidimensional views of language with evidence that different domains or modalities of vocabulary skills respond to the effects of multiple factors differently; and components of verbal ability should be examined separately

Die Wechselpräpositionen im DaF-Unterricht

Der Beitrag referiert und interpretiert eine Umfrage unter flämischen Deutschlehrern zu didaktisch-methodischen Problemen der Vermittlung deutscher Präpositionen mit den Kasus Dativ und Akkusativ. Besprochen werden die von den Befragten angegebenen Methoden (explizit - implizit, deduktiv - induktiv), die verwendeten Regeln zur Distinktion (wo?- wohin?; Ruhe - Richtung; entstehendes Verhältnis - bestehendes Verhältnis), die mögliche Erklärung durch die Unterscheidung Focus on Forms - Focus on Form sowie die Einbettung der Vermittlung dieser Präpositionen in Überlegungen zur Grammatikprogression

Processability theory and German case acquisition

This article represents the first attempt to formulate a hypothetical sequence for German case acquisition by Dutch-speaking learners on the basis of Processability Theory (PT). It will be argued that case forms emerge corresponding to a development from lexical over phrasal to interphrasal morphemes. This development, however, is subject to a correction factor due to the principle of direct mapping. In addition, the unmarked alignment hypothesis allows for a differentiation between similar case contexts (e.g., preverbal and postverbal nominative or accusative arguments). A cross-sectional study was performed in order to examine whether the German case system is indeed acquired according to the hypotheses derived from PT. "Fill-in-the-blanks-exercises" were analyzed from 704 Flemish second-language learners of German. The results of the study do indeed suggest a development in line with PT

A study on explicit instruction and its relation to knowing/using linguistic forms and individual learner readiness

This paper reports the results of a study on the effects of explicit instruction, which examined the L2 development of the German case system. The study investigated to what extent the effects of instruction, if any, depend on (i) the type of linguistic performance (knowledge vs. use) and (ii) the developmental readiness of the learners. The pretest-posttest study involved 18 first-year university students of German (L1 Dutch), who were administered a grammatical judgment task (which examined their knowledge of the case rule) and an oral production task (which examined their case use). The findings uncover differences between pretest and posttests, which shows that explicit instruction improves linguistic performance in general. Further analysis reveals that the effect does not depend on ‘type of performance’, but that it does depend on ‘developmental readiness’