Cover not available
Article published In:
CLIL and Bilingual Education in the Netherlands
Edited by Tessa Mearns and Rick de Graaff
[Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics 7:2] 2018
► pp. 227–245

The influence of L2 English on L3 French acquisition in bilingual education

| University of Amsterdam
| University of Amsterdam
| University of Amsterdam
In the present paper, we compare L2 English influence on French third language acquisition (L3A) in first-year and third-year bilingual stream secondary school students and in third-year mainstream secondary school students by means of a gap-filling task. We found that the influence of L2 English on French L3A increases from first- to third-year bilingual students, which is not the case in the mainstream group. This raises the question if L2 influence on L3A in bilingual education is the result of the increased L2 exposure or of a higher L2 proficiency, factors that both have been claimed to play a role in L3A-research (Hammarberg, 2001; Tremblay, 2006; Jaensch, 2009). The results of this study show that there is no individual correlation between L2 English proficiency and influence of English in L3 French learning. Therefore, we suggest that it is L2 exposure rather than L2 proficiency that leads to more influence of the L2 in L3 French.
Keywords: bilingual education, L3 acquisition, L2 exposure, transfer, syntax
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Bilingual education and further language learning
    • 2.2The L2 in L3 learning: L2 exposure vs L2 proficiency
  • 3.Design of this study
    • 3.1Research questions
    • 3.2Finite verb placement in Dutch, English and French
    • 3.3Context and participants
    • 3.4Experiments
      • 3.4.1The French GFT
      • 3.4.2The L2 proficiency test
    • 3.5Procedure and analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Adv-V word order in French
    • 4.2English proficiency and the use of the English word order in French
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 January 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.18006.sta
References (34)
References
Anglia. (2015). <[URL]> (1 September, 2018).
Beacco, J.-C., Byram, M., Cavalli, M., Coste, D., Egli Cuenat, M., Goullier, F., & Panthier, J. (2016). Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar
Benati, A., & Schwieter, J. (2017). Focus on form. In J. Schwieter & A. Benati (Eds), The Cambridge handbook of language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cenoz, J., & Valencia, J. F. (1994). Additive trilingualism: Evidence from the Basque country. Applied Psycholinguistics, 151, 195–207. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cook, V. (1992). Evidence for multicompetence. Language Learning, 42(4), 557–591. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1995). Multi-competence and learning of many languages. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 8(2), 93–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Council of Europe. (2001). Common European framework of reference for language learning, teaching and assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. (2017). Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe: 2017 Edition. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
European Platform. (2013). Bilingual education in Dutch schools: A success story. Haarlem: European Platform.Google Scholar
Eyckmans, J. (2004). Measuring receptive vocabulary size. Utrecht: LOT.Google Scholar
Grosjean, F. (2010). Life and reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hammarberg, B. (2001). Roles of L1 and L2 in L3 production and acquisition. In J. Cenoz, B. Hufeisen, & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: Psycholinguistic perspectives (pp. 21–41). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009). Processes in third language acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Hilton, H. (2008). The link between vocabulary knowledge and spoken L2 fluency. Language Learning Journal, 36(2), 153–166. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Housen, A., & Kuiken, F. (2014). Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in second language acquisition, Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 1–13.Google Scholar
Hulstijn, J. H. (2010). Measuring second language proficiency. In E. Blom & S. Unsworth (Eds.), Experimental methods in language acquisition research (pp. 185–199). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jaensch, C. (2009). L3 acquisition of the German determiner phrase: The role of L1 Japanese and L2 English. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag.Google Scholar
Jessner, U. (2006). Linguistic awareness in multilingualism: English as a third language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008). A DST model of multilingualism and the role of metalinguistic awareness. The Modern Language Journal, 92(2), 270–283. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kellerman, E. (1977). Towards a characterization of the strategy of transfer in second language learning. Interlanguage Studies Bulletin, 2(1), 58–145.Google Scholar
(1979). Transfer and non-transfer: Where are we now? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 37–58. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kellerman, E., & Sharwood Smith, M. (1986). Cross-linguistic influence in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Klein, E. C. (1995). Second versus third language acquisition: Is there a difference? Language Learning, 451, 419–465. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meara, P. (2010). EFL vocabulary tests (2nd ed.). College Swansea: Centre for Applied Language Studies.Google Scholar
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rivers, W. P., & Golonka, E. M. (2009). Third language acquisition theory and practice. In M. H. Long, & C. J. Doughty (Eds.), The handbook of language teaching (pp. 250–266). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rose, P. (2016). Engels in het basisonderwijs. Domeinbeschrijving ten behoeve van peilingsonderzoek. Enschede: SLO.Google Scholar
Rutgers, D., & Evans, M. (2015). Bilingual education and L3 learning: Metalinguistic advantage or not? International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sánchez, L. (2015). L2 activation and blending in third language acquisition: Evidence of crosslinguistic influence from the L2 in a longitudinal study on the acquisition of L3 English. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18(2), 252–269. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stadt, R., Hulk, A., & Sleeman, P. (2016). The influence of L2 English and immersion on L3 French in the Netherlands. In J. Audring, & S. Lestrade (Eds.), Linguistics in the Netherlands (pp. 152–165). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
(2018a). The role of L2 exposure in L3A: A comparative study between third- and fourth-year secondary school students in the Netherlands. In J. Berns, H. Jacobs, & D. Nouveau (Eds.), Romance languages and linguistic theory (pp. 279–297). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018b). The influence of L1 Dutch and L2 English on L3 French: A longitudinal study. In S. Liszka (Ed.), Journal of the European Second Language Association, 1(1). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, M.-C. (2006). Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: The role of L2 proficiency and L2 exposure. Cahiers Linguistiques d’Ottawa/Ottawa Papers in Linguistics, 341, 109–119.Google Scholar
Unsworth, S., Persson, L., Prins, T., & De Bot, K. (2015). An investigation of factors affecting early foreign language learning in the Netherlands. Applied Linguistics, 361, 527–548.Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Tribushinina, Elena, Betül Boz, Vera Aalbers & Elma Blom
2024. Revisiting bilingual foreign language learning advantages: The role of extramural exposure. International Journal of Bilingualism DOI logo
van Tessel, Evi & Marco Bril
2021. French as a foreign language in the Netherlands. Linguistics in the Netherlands 38 ► pp. 114 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 august 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.