scholarly journals Abstract Lexical Structure in Second Language Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure ◽  
Different Sources

<em>Different from most previous studies of language transfer phenomena in second language learning which remain at an observational and descriptive level, this study proposes that the major source of language transfer is the interference of first language abstract lexical structure. It assumes that any interlanguage system, like other linguistic systems, has an abstract lexical structure containing several discrete but interacting subsystems: lexical-conceptual structure, predicate-argument structure, and morphological realization patterns. Unlike abstract lexical structures in other linguistic systems, the abstract lexical structure in second language learning has different sources. This study claims that any abstract lexical structure in second language learning contains more abstract elements than surface configurations of language, that is, language-specific lemmas underlie lexical entries, and such language-specific lemmas are in contact in second language learning, which can be split and recombined in novel, yet constrained ways in constructing the developing interlanguage system. Some typical instances of language transfer indicate that parts of the abstract lexical structure from first language lexical entries may influence that of the incompletely acquired L2 lexical entries. Thus, successful second language acquisition is driven by the complete acquisition of the abstract lexical structure underlying second language lexical entries.</em>

scholarly journals Interlanguage as an Outcome of Bilingual Systems in Contact

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. p33
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
Abstract Level

Most previous studies of interlanguage regarded commonly observed learner errors as a universal or developmental phenomenon and related language transfer in second language learning to the developing interlanguage system itself. Though language transfer is often defined as one of the processes responsible for interlanguage, the relationship and interaction between the learner’s first language and the target language is largely ignored. This study assumes that any interlanguage system is “composite” in nature because in second language learning several linguistic systems come into contact, and each contributes different amounts to the developing interlanguage system. It further assumes that the bilingual mental lexicon contains abstract elements called “lemmas” about individual lexemes, and lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are language-specific and are in contact in interlanguage production. Based on some research findings, this study concludes that language transfer or learner errors in interlanguage production should be understood as lemma transfer of the learner’s first language abstract lexical structure; the developing interlanguage system is driven by an incompletely acquired abstract lexical structure of a target language item. This study treats interlanguage as an outcome of bilingual systems in contact at a rather abstract level to provide an explanatory account of second language acquisition.

scholarly journals The Bilingual Mental Lexicon and Lemmatic Transfer in Second Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. p43
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Abstract Approach ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

There have been numerous studies of first Language (L1) transfer in second Language (L2) learning. Various models have been proposed to explore the sources of language transfer and have also caused many controversies over the nature of language transfer and its effects on interlanguage. Different from most previous studies remaining at a surface level of observation, this study proposes an abstract approach, which is abstract because it goes beyond any superficial observation and description by exploring the nature and activity of the bilingual mental lexicon in L2 learning. This approach adopts the Bilingual Lemma Activation Model (BLAM) (Wei, 2006a, 2006b) and tests its crucial assumptions and claims: The bilingual mental lexicon does not simply contain lexemes but abstract entries, called “lemmas”, about them; lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are language-specific; language-specific lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are in contact in L2 learning, lemmas underlying L1 abstract lexical structure may replace those underlying L2 abstract lexical structure. Lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are about three levels of abstract lexical structure: lexical-conceptual structure, predicate-argument structure, and morphological realization patterns. The typical instances of L1 lemma transfer in L2 learning are discussed and explained in support of the BLAM.

scholarly journals Usage-based Approaches to Second Language Acquisition: Cognitive and Social Aspects

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 473
Author(s):  
Yaghoob Javadi ◽  
Fakhereh Kazemirad
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Learning Language

Usage-based approaches focus on learning language through engaging in the interpersonal communicative and cognitive processes. They consider language as the best accomplishment of our social and cognitive competences which bridges society and cognition. Based on usage-based approaches, language can be learned from language use, by means of social skills and generalizations over usage events in interaction. These approaches actually explore how language learning occurs through language experience. Therefore, usage-based approaches are input-dependent and experience-driven and assume frequency of usage as an inseparable part of language learning which plays an important role in the language production, language comprehension, and also grammaticality of the patterns. While usage-based approaches have been successful in showing how first language is learnt from the input, it is still less clear how these approaches can be made use of in second language learning. The present study provides an overview of the usage-based approaches to second language acquisition and their cognitive and social underpinnings. Firstly, the notion, underlying tenets, and major constructs of usage-based approaches are summarized. Then usage-based linguistics is described in detail. Finally, cognitive and social aspects of usage-based approaches are taken into account.

scholarly journals SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND THE CRITICAL PERIOD

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1769-1771
Author(s):  
Hristina Miteva Tanaskoska
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Older Learners ◽  
New Community ◽  
The Brain

Is there a critical period for second language acquisition? When should one begin learning a second language? These are questions that have always been present and they stiil have not become any less controversial or complex. There is not any specific age that could be determined or proclaimed to be the most appropriate. A lot of things must be taken into consideration with spesific emphasis on the goals of the learner. Whether reaching a native -like accent and proficency is the ultimate aim or obtaining a certain level that will enable an everyday communication? Since a great number of experiments and research have shown that both younger and older students can achieve high levels in their second language, a fair atribute and attention should be paid to both theories respectfully.It has been hypothesized that there is a critical period for second language acquisition as well as for first language acquisition. According to this theory there is a time in human development when the brain is predisposed for success in language learning. It is belived that some developmental changes in the brain affect the nature of language acquisition. Therefore, any language learning that occurs after the end of the critical period may not be based on innate biological structures belived to contribute to first language acquisition or second language acquisition in early childhood. The general learning abilites that the older learners depend on, are claimed to be less efective than the innate capacities available to young children. Most studies of the relationship between age of acquisition and second language development have focused on learners’pronounciation. It is frequently observed that most children from immigrant families eventually speak the language of their new community with native –like fluency and accent, while their parents quite often fall behind in this mastery even long after they had been living and working in the new community. Nevertheless, some researches argue that older learners may have one advantage: they appear to be able to learn faster in the early stages of second language learning. Age is one of the characteristics that determine the way in which an individual approaches second language learning. But the opportunities for learning (inside the classroom and outside), the motivation to learn , and individual differences in aptitude for language learning are also important determining factors that affect both rate of learning and eventual susscess in learning. It must be acknowledged that achieving native-like mastery of the second language is neither a realistic nor a neccessarilya desired goal for many second language learners in many educational contexts.

TOWARD A NEW NATIVISM

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
William O'Grady
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
General Character ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Radical Shift

The field of language acquisition is divided over the question of whether the inborn mechanisms underlying linguistic development include actual grammatical categories and principles or are of a more general character. Recent proposals suggest a possible convergence of views on this matter, with implications for the study of both first language acquisition and second language learning. This paper explores this possibility by examining the evolution of grammatical nativism with particular emphasis on a radical shift in the generality of the inborn principles that have been posited in recent work. The nature and implications of this shift are illustrated with the help of developmental data involving gap-containing structures in first and second language acquisition.

scholarly journals Interlanguage Driven by Bilingual Abstract Lexical Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
First Language ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic System ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure ◽  
Developing System ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Study Offer

This study explores the nature of interlanguage (IL) in terms of bilingual abstract lexical structure and its role in the formulation and development of IL as learners’ developing linguistic system. Adopting the Bilingual Lemma Activation Model (BLAM) (Wei, 2002, 2003), it assumes that IL is a composite developing linguistic system because at different times different linguistic systems are in contact, such as learners’ first language (L1), the developing IL, and the target language (TL), and each contributes different amounts to the developing system of IL. The important claim of this study is that the mental lexicon contains abstract entries, called “lemmas”, which contain pieces of information about particular lexemes, and the bilingual mental lexicon contains language-specific lemmas, which are in contact in IL speech production. The other important claim of this study is that IL is fundamentally driven by bilingual abstract lexical structure, which contains several discrete but interacting subsystems: lexical-conceptual structure, predicate-argument structure, and morphological realization patterns, and such an abstract lexical structure in IL may have different sources, such as those from learners’ L1 and/or the TL. The typical instances of learner errors discussed in this study offer some evidence that IL is a composite developing linguistic system.

scholarly journals The Composite Nature of Interlanguage as a Developing System

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 5-30
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
First Language ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Composite Nature ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure ◽  
Developing System

This paper explores the nature of interlanguage (IL) as a developing system with a focus on the abstract lexical structure underlying IL construction. The developing system of IL is assumed to be ‘composite’ in that in second language acquisition (SLA) several linguistic systems are in contact, each of which may contribute different amounts to the developing system. The lexical structure is assumed to be ‘abstract’ in that the mental lexicon contains abstract elements called ‘lemmas’, which contain information about individual lexemes, and lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are language-specific and are in contact in IL production. Based on the research findings, it concludes that language transfer in IL production should be understood as lemma transfer of the learner’s first language (L1) lexical structure at three abstract levels: lexical-conceptual structure, predicate-argument structure, and morphological realization patterns, and IL construction is driven by an incompletely acquired abstract lexical structure of a target language (TL) item.

Critical Praxis and Teacher Language Awareness

2022 ◽  
pp. 159-178
Author(s):  
Arthur McNeill
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Teacher Language ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Acquisition Processes

Within the field of TESOL, opinions often differ about the role of learners' first language (L1) in second language learning. When teachers are aware of their students' L1, this awareness can increase their understanding of second language acquisition processes and issues. It can also provide teachers with insights into learners' backgrounds and cultures that may influence their approach to studying English and attitudes towards multilingualism. Specifically, the chapter proposes that the notion of teacher language awareness (TLA) should be expanded to include awareness of students' language backgrounds. TLA is regarded as an important component of the knowledge base of a language teacher. Two questionnaires are provided to assist teachers with the elicitation of information about students' L1: (1) a language-focused set of questions to allow comparison between a learner's L1 and English and (2) a sociolinguistic-oriented questionnaire that explores issues related to status and use.

Rules and similarity processes in artificial grammar and natural second language learning: What is the “default”?

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-33
Author(s):  
Peter Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Artificial Grammar ◽  
Grammatical Knowledge ◽  
Grammar Learning ◽  
The Many

Are rules processes or similarity processes the default for acquisition of grammatical knowledge during natural second language acquisition? Whereas Pothos argues similarity processes are the default in the many areas he reviews, including artificial grammar learning and first language development, I suggest, citing evidence, that in second language acquisition of grammatical morphology “rules processes” may be the default.

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