The acquisition of relative clause structures in L2 French
Date
2018
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Anecdotal evidence as well as research with second-language French learners (for example, Hollerbach 1994 and Walz 1981a) show that learners struggle to properly acquire the complex system of relativization in French. This study analyzes the acquisition of relative clauses in the context of Universal Grammar. Universal Grammar proposes that language acquisition relies on an innate, abstract linguistic system that helps language learners—in both first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) contexts—develop intuitions about grammaticality and create novel utterances. In the L2 context, the question of the influence of the pre-existing L1 grammar on the development of the mental grammar in the L2, a phenomenon known as L1 transfer, remains open. ☐ The present study describes the order of acquisition of several relative clause types for instructed learners across several levels of L2 French at a medium-sized Mid-Atlantic research university based on the results of a grammaticality judgment task and a short production task. The possible role of L1 transfer is considered at each stage, along with other variables such as experience abroad. In the final chapter, the pedagogical implications of these results and instructional strategies to improve learners’ acquisition of relative structures at each level of instruction are discussed.
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Keywords
Language, literature and linguistics, Education