Second Language Acquisition

Second Language Acquisition

1. Similarities between L1 and L2 acquisition

   • Both require great deal of time
   • Each type of acquisition includes automatic and monitored processes
   • Comprehension generally precedes production of language forms
   • Each involves a process of figuring out language rules
   • Language is learned through observation and practice in communicative interactions 
   • Some aspects of language are learned before others
   • Errors are natural part of language acquisition

2. Differences between L1 and L2 acquisition

   • L2 acquisition is built on a prior understanding of how language works
   • L2 learners may learn languages for many different reasons, unlike L1 learners who need to learn for survivale
   • L2 learners may start the process of language acquisition at any age
   • L2 acquisition involves more conscious thoughts than L1 acquisition
   • Errors made by L1 acquirers are generally accpeted and frequently not corrected whereas errors made by L2 acquires are often corrected

3. Parameter resetting

   • In Principles and Parameters framework it is assumed that in the process of L1 acquisition the principles of UG and a set of unfixed parameters are available for the learner to set the appropriate value with a certain amount of triggering data. 
   • L2 learning is qualitatively different from L1
     • Use of inductive learning strategies  
   • UG is available and parameter-resetting eventually takes place in L2
     • Parameters already set by L1 lead to what are known as transfer errors. L1 values affect L2 learning which is evident when the parametric value of L2 is other than the one adopted by L1 grammar. 
   • Parameters are not associated with UG principles but with lexical items and in particular, functional categories
     • Parametric variation is exclusively determined by different values associated with functional categories 
     • UG lexicon
   • Lardiere's Feature Re-Assembly Hypothesis
     • The biggest L2 learning task is not to reset parameters but to reconfigure features from the way they are represented in the L1 into the way they are encoded in the L2. 
     • When there are mismatches the feature configurations -when two features are encoded together in an L1 functional morpheme but scattered in different pieces of morphology in the L2, difficulty is predicted. 

4. UG availability

   • The Direct Universal Grammar Access Hypothesis
     • The universal grammar that works in L1 is active in the same way in an L2. Learners are unconscious of what they are learning since their mind is working as if it were the mother tongue. They need external reinforcement to set the principles they are using. This theory does not distinguish which aspects are universal and which are proper of the specific L1. 
   • Indirect Universal Grammar Access
     • UG that guides child acquisition is only partially activated when learning a second language. 
     • Adults resort to universal principles of his native tongue in order to apply them in his learning. Some L2 learners may have problems setting certain parameters. 
   • No Universal Grammar Access
     • Principles of UG does not work for L2 learning. Other cognitive systems must work instead and learners turn to general learning strategies
   • A Maturational Universal Grammar Approach
     • The obstacle for an adult learning L2 is the rise of formal operations in his cognitive system due to an excessive learning. His developed problem-solving skills interfere with natural language acquisition

5. L1 interference or transfer

   • How L1 input interferes in L2 acquisition.  The Indirect UG Access puts forward the hypothesis that "UG remains active in the adult via the L1 grammar otherwise UG interacts with L1 input indirectly, just as a set standard to learn other languages and develop learning strategies at the same time".