Article published In:
ITL - International Journal of Applied LinguisticsVol. 74 (1986) ► pp.63–105
The Role Of L1 Influence On the Learning Of a Target Language In a Non Target Language Environment
Sophie Hsia | Institut de Phonétique Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) Harvard Graduate School of Education Cambridge, (U.S.A.)
In recent studies on the acquisition of a second or foreign language in a non target language environment, environmental factors such as lack of native peer input, a formal language learning situation and pressure on the learner to produce the required target language structures have been considered to have attributed to a high incidence of L1 induced or interlingual errors.
In order to investigate this problem, I collected spontaneous speech samples from some eighty francophone students enrolled at the Faculté de Sciences Economiques and the Ecole de Solvay who were learning English at the Institut de Phonétique at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The data represented two levels of learning, the first degree level when students entered the course and the third degree level which marked the end of the course. My hypothesis was that given a difference in emphasis within the TL syllabus from that of TL forms (communicative English) to that of TL content (business English) and given also that the same methodological approach was adopted with native teacher input and optimal corrective feedback, students might progress beyond Ll-induced to somewhere approximating TL rule formation.
The error samples were broken down into categories representing syntax, word order, morphology, semantic concepts and lexis. They were examined and compared across levels for examples of interlingual (Ll-induced) and organisational (non Ll-induced) errors.
An anamysis of the data indicated a decrease in interlingual errors but an increase in organisa-tional errors at the third degree level, suggesting the existence of a continuum that accommodates possibilities of fossilization due to lack of native peer input. My data also suggested the role of L1 in its influence on the formation of semantic concepts in TL and in organising, comparing and hypothesizing lexical domains in the two languages.
References (13)
Bruck, M. Lambert W. & Tucker, R. (1975): Assessing functional bilingualism within a bilingual program: the St. Lambert Project at grade eight. Paper presented at TESOL Convention, Los Angeles.
Corder, S.P. (1983): A role for the mother tongue. In S. Gass & L. Selinker (eds) Language Transfer in Language Learning. Newbury House Publishers, 1983.
D'Anglejean, A. & Tucker, R. (1975): The acquisition of complex English structures by adult learners. In: Language Learning 251, 281–296. 
Dulay, H., Burt, M. & Krashen, S. (1982): Language Two. Oxford University Press.
Krashen, S. (1983): Newmark's “Ignorance Hypothesis” and current L2 acquisition theory. In S. Gass & L. Selinker (eds) Language Transfer in Language Learning
Milon, J.P. (1975): Dialect in the TESOL program. If you never you better. In M. Burt & H. Dulay (eds) New Directions in L2 Learning, Teaching and Bilingual Education. Washington, D.C., TESOL, 159–167.
Newmark, L. (1966): How not to interfere with language learning. In Language Learning: the Individual and the Process. International Journal of American Linguistics, 401, 77–83.
Plann, S. (1977): Acquiring a second language in an immersion classroom. In H.D. Brown, C.A. Yorio & R. Crymes (eds) Teaching and Learning English as a Second Language: Trends in Research and Practice. Washington, D.C. TESOL 213–222.
Saegert, J. Scott M. Perkins, J. & Tucker, G. (1974): A note on the relationship between English proficiency, years of language study and medium of instruction. In Language Learning 241, 99–104.
Tarone, E. (1977): Communication strategies. In On TESOL '771. Washington D.C. TESOL.
Wong Fillmore, L. (1977): Indivudal differences insecond language acquisition. In C. Fillmore, D. Kempier, W. Wang (eds) Individual Differences in Language Ability and Language Behaviour. Academic Press, N.Y. 203–241.
(1983): The language learner as an individual: implications of research in individual differences for the ESL teacher. In M. Clarke & J. Handscombe: >On TESOL '821. Pacific perspectives in language learning and Teaching. TESOL Washington, D.C. 157–173.
Zobl, H. (1980b): Developmental and transfer errors: their common bases and (possibmy) differential effects on subsequent learning. TESOL Quartermy, 14, 4, 469–479.
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
[no author supplied]
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 6 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.