Representational Deficits in SLA

Representational Deficits in SLA

Author: Neal Snape

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 9027253080

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The main focus of this collection is to explore the question of “representational deficits” in second language acquisition, currently a much-debated topic. The volume is intended as a tribute to Roger Hawkins, a leading scholar in generative second language acquisition, whose research has been devoted to explaining lack of native-like success in terms of representational deficits. The papers in this volume feature a range of studies, all undertaken within a generative linguistic framework, which investigate various properties of L2 grammar bearing on the question of whether or not there are representational deficits in the post-critical-period L2 learners' grammar. The significance of such deficits, if their existence can be confirmed, is that they provide support for the claim, at least for the type of L2 learner under investigation, that there are insurmountable obstacles to ultimate attainment.


Second Language Acquisition of Articles

Second Language Acquisition of Articles

Author: María del Pilar García Mayo

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2009-07-29

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 9027289115

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The studies in this collection address a topic that has recently become the focus of considerable interest in second language acquisition (SLA) research: the acquisition of articles. Languages appear to vary in whether they have articles (English, German, Norwegian do, but Chinese, Japanese, Russian do not). Languages that have articles also appear to divide into those that realise definiteness (e.g. English) and those that realise specificity (e.g. Samoan). When speakers of one type of language learn an L2 of a different type, issues of central concern to SLA research arise: the nature of L1 influence, the time course of development, ultimate attainment, the relationship between performance and competence, and the role of Universal Grammar. These issues are considered in nine studies, written by researchers whose work is at the forefront of enquiry, that offer new data, new perspectives and new insights into the way L2 speakers acquire articles.


The Second Language Acquisition of French Tense, Aspect, Mood and Modality

The Second Language Acquisition of French Tense, Aspect, Mood and Modality

Author: Dalila Ayoun

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2013-07-04

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 902727178X

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Temporal-aspectual systems have a great potential of informing our understanding of the developing competence of second language learners. So far, the vast majority of empirical studies investigating L2 acquisition have largely focused on past temporality, neglecting the acquisition of the expression of the present and future temporalities with rare exceptions (aside from ESL learners), leaving unanswered the question of how the investigation of different types of temporality may inform our understanding of the acquisition of temporal, aspectual and mood systems as a whole. This monograph addresses this question by focusing on three main objectives: a) to contribute to the already impressive body of research in the L2 acquisition of tense, aspect and mood/modality from a generative perspective, and in so doing to present a more complete picture of the processes of L2 acquisition in general; b) to bridge the gap between linguistic theory and L2 acquisition; c) to make empirical findings more accessible to language instructors by proposing concrete pedagogical applications.


Discontinuity in Second Language Acquisition

Discontinuity in Second Language Acquisition

Author: Stefano Rastelli

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1783092467

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With a focus on the morphosyntactic features of second language, this book discusses the idea that language acquisition is a discontinuous and 'quantized' process due to the existence of two different - albeit interconnected - ways of learning: Statistical Learning and Grammatical Learning. It describes how the switch between ways of learning could take place and its developmental implications for adult SLA.


Movement and Clitics

Movement and Clitics

Author: Linda Escobar

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2010-01-08

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 1443818763

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This volume gathers selected papers from the workshops Facing Movement and Meeting Clitics held in the context of the Barcelona Linguistic Institute. The authors explore a wide variety of languages, from Icelandic to Mayan, from Japanese to Russian and Italian, from various data sources: adult grammar, first and second language acquisition, developmental language disorders and language change. The papers on movement address the issues of reconstruction in parasitic gaps; the alternation between short and long distance movement in Germanic; subextraction from subjects; wh- in situ in Greek; word order alternations derived by movement in bilingual acquisition; intervention effects in L2 acquisition of Chinese; multiple wh- fronting in L2; and production of wh- questions in L1, L2 and SLI in French. In the papers on clitics, the theoretical issues considered include: the affixal character of subject clitics in L1; the morphological complexity of clitics; proclisis versus enclisis; the restrictions on cooccurrence of clitics in causative and other constructions; clitic placement in relation to L2 and language change; clitics as demarcative markers; and the acquisition of pronominal clitics in European Portuguese.


Salience in Second Language Acquisition

Salience in Second Language Acquisition

Author: Susan M. Gass

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-31

Total Pages: 492

ISBN-13: 1315399008

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Salience in Second Language Acquisition brings together contributions from top scholars of second language acquisition (SLA) in a comprehensive volume of the existing literature and current research on salience. In the first book to focus exclusively on this integral topic, the editors and contributors define and explore what makes a linguistic feature salient in sections on theory, perpetual salience, and constructed salience. They also provide a history of SLA theory and discussion on its contemporary use in research. An approachable introduction to the topic, this book is an ideal supplement to courses in SLA, and a valuable resource for researchers and scholars looking for a better understanding of the subject.


The Role of Formal Features in Second Language Acquisition

The Role of Formal Features in Second Language Acquisition

Author: Juana Liceras

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-25

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 1351540815

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Using Chomsky's minimalist program as a framework, this volume explores the role of formal (or functional) features in current descriptions and accounts of language acquistion. In engaging, up-to-date articles, distinguished experts examine the role of features in current versions of generative grammar and in learnibility theory as it relates to native, non-native, and impaired acquisition.


Arabic Second Language Learning and Effects of Input, Transfer, and Typology

Arabic Second Language Learning and Effects of Input, Transfer, and Typology

Author: Mohammad T. Alhawary

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Published: 2019-02-25

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 162616648X

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Despite the status of Arabic as a global language and the high demand to learn it, the field of Arabic second language acquisition remains underinvestigated. Second language acquisition findings are crucial for informing and advancing the field of Arabic foreign language pedagogy including Arabic language teaching, testing, and syllabus design. Arabic Second Language Learning and Effects of Input, Transfer, and Typology provides data-driven empirical findings for a number of basic and high-frequency morphosyntactic structures with two novel typological language pairings, examining Arabic second language acquisition data from adult L1 Chinese- and Russian-speaking learners of Arabic as a foreign language. Alhawary’s study examines the different processes, hypotheses, and acquisition tendencies from the two learner groups, and documents the extent of the successes and challenges faced by such learners in their L2 Arabic grammatical development during the first three years of learning the language. In addition, the book offers both theoretical and practical implications related to input exposure, L1 and L2 transfer, and typological and structural proximity effects. This book serves as a valuable resource for both second language acquisition experts and foreign language teaching practitioners.


Research in Second Language Processing and Parsing

Research in Second Language Processing and Parsing

Author: Bill VanPatten

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 9027253153

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This volume is the first dedicated to the growing field of theory and research on second language processing and parsing. The fourteen papers in this volume offer cutting-edge research using a number of different languages (e.g., Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, English) and structures (e.g., relative clauses, wh-gaps, gender, number) to examine various issues in second language processing: first language influence, whether or not non-natives can achieve native-like processing, the roles of context and prosody, the effects of working memory, and others. The researchers include both established scholars and newer voices, all offering important insights into the factors that affect processing and parsing in a second language.


Second Language Acquisition

Second Language Acquisition

Author: Susan M. Gass

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-05-28

Total Pages: 775

ISBN-13: 1351723138

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Now in a fifth edition, this bestselling introductory textbook remains the cornerstone volume for the study of second language acquisition (SLA). Its chapters have been fully updated, and reorganized where appropriate, to provide a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the field and its related disciplines. In order to reflect current developments, new sections and expanded discussions have been added. The fifth edition of Second Language Acquisition retains the features that students found useful in previous editions. This edition provides pedagogical tools that encourage students to reflect upon the experiences of second language learners. As with previous editions, discussion questions and problems at the end of each chapter help students apply their knowledge, and a glossary defines and reinforces must-know terminology. This clearly written, comprehensive, and current textbook, by Susan Gass, Jennifer Behney, and Luke Plonsky, is the ideal textbook for an introductory SLA course in second language studies, applied linguistics, linguistics, TESOL, and/or language education programs. This textbook is supported with a Companion Website containing instructor and student resources including PowerPoint slides, exercises, stroop tests, flashcards, audio and video links: https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9781138743427/