chapter3introduction古丽微拉(1)

1、 Interlanguage and the natural route of developmentlBackground theory and research in L1 acquisition (a fixed order are based on a theory of learning that stresses the learner-internal factors )lThe notion of interlanguage (theoretical construct used to identify the stages of development )lnatural r

2、oute of development (The principal goal of this chapter )lDiscussion of the L2=L1 hypotesislCaveats ( regarding the centrality of learner-internal processes in accounts of SLA)lChomsky lLenneberglMcNeillChomsky assumes that children are born with a language acquisition device( LAD). This LAD is made

3、 up of a set of general principles called universal grammar. These general principles can be applied to all the languages in the world.lAcquisition can be broadly defined as the internalization of rules and formulas which are then used to communicate in the L2. In this sense the term acquisition is

4、synonymous with the term learning. However, Krashen (1981) uses these terms with different meaning. Acquisition for Krashen, consists of the spontaneous process of rule internalization that results from natural language use, while learning consists of the development of conscious L2 knowledge throug

5、h formal study.lNativist theories of language acquistion emphasize the importance of the innate capacity of the language learner at the expence of environmental factors. Each learner is credited with an acquisition device which directs the process of acquisition. This device contains information abo

6、ut the possible form that the gramar of any language can take.lChomskys (1959) stressed the active contribution of the child and minimized the importance of imitation and reinforcement.lChomsky claimed that the childs knowledge of his mother tongue was derived from a Universal Grammar which specifie

7、d the essential form that any natural language could take.lThis view of FLA was represented in the form of a model (e.g. Chomsky 1966):l l primary linguistic data AD G lPrimary linguistic data served only as a trigger for activating the device. It did not shape the process of acquisition, which was

8、solely the task of the AD.lAD contained the UG to work and required the learner access to primary linguistic data.lFor Chomsky the task of the linguist (or psychologist) was to specify the properties of the AD that were responsible for the grammar.lCook (1985) summarizing the Chomskyan position, def

9、ines universal grammar as the properties inherent in the human mind. Universal grmmar consists of a set of general priciples that apply to all languages rather than a set of particular rules. lUniversal Grammar existed as a set of innate linguistic principles which comprised the initial state and wh

10、ich controlled the form which the sentences of any given language could take. Also part of the Universal Grammar was a set of discovery procedures for relating the universal principles to the data provided by exposure to a natural language.l普遍语法在母语与第二语言习得过程中所起的作用?l 普遍语法的两大组成部分是普遍原则(principles)和参数(pa

11、rameters), 两者合称为核心语法(core grammar)是语言中最本质的部分,是不用学的,天生的。要学的是具体的语法和词汇知识, 这些知识因母语的不同而不同,它们的习得是通过参数值的设定。儿童由于具有这种习得机制, 在广泛接触语言素材中,通过假说验证与先天的普遍语言相比较, 认识到母语的语言规则, 即取得了语言能力。l 第二语言习得就是在已有的语言参数的基础上习得另一种可能与现有语言参数相同或不同的语言。语言习得过程就是根据所接触的语言材料建立语言参数值的过程。例如,任何一种语言都具有核心词和修饰词(如形容词+名词),这是一个普遍规律.但是有的语言修饰词在核心词之前,有的则在核心词

12、之后。比如,中文说“红色的书”,而法语则说:“Le livre rouge”(书红色的)。在习得过程中,如果所接触的语言是修饰词在核心词之前,学习者对这一规律的参数值即定位修饰词+核心词;如果接触相反的语言材料,参数就定在相反值上。l 第二语言习得与第一语言习得二者的相同点:a.它们的发展模式相同;b.均受年龄因数的影响; c.语言输入与输出不对称;l 不同：第一语言和第二语言不一致的前提下,普遍语法通过第一语言做用在第二语言习得上。l 第二语言习得不同于第一语言习得。第一语言习得是在大脑的初始状态下进行的。所谓初始状态是指普遍语法还没有转化为具体语言的语法,因此第一语言的习得过成是参数值的确

13、立过程;第二语言习得是在大脑的稳定状态下进行的,在这种状态下,普遍语法已经转换为具体语言的语法,因此第二语言的习得过程是参数值再确立(parameter-resetting)的过程。正因为有这种差别,第一语言习得是无意识的,而第二语言习得是有意识的。在结果上,第一语言习得是百分之百的成功、圆满,而第二语言习得很难达到圆满。l 普遍语法一定是处于初始状态的，被具体语法代替后自然消失。二语学习中，学员接触第二语言实例时会不由自主地将其与第一语言具体语法作比较，发现两者不一致时，修正参数，建立第二语言具体语法，储存大脑。l 大脑处于初始状态时参数是原则的限制范围，儿童通过假设验证过程确定某个具体语法

14、后，参数与原则相对稳定结合。lLenneberg(1967) emphasized the biological prerequisites of language. Only homo sapiens was capable of learning language.lLenneberg argued that the childs brain was specially adapted to the process of language acquisition, but that this innate propensity was lost as maturation took pla

15、ce.lHe argued that there was an age of resonance, during which language acquisition took place as a genetic heritage.lMcNeill believes that the child built up his knowledge of his mother tongue by means of hypothesis testing.lMentalist views of L1 acquisition:l1 Language is a human-specific faculty.

16、 l2 Language exists as an independent faculty in the human mind i.e. although it is part of the learners total cognitive apparatus, it is separate from the general cognitive mechanisms responsible for intellectual development.l3 The primary determinant of L1 acquisition is the childs acquisition dev

17、ice. Which is genetically endowed and provides the child with a set of principles about grammar.l4 The acquisition device atrophies with age.l5 the process of acquisition consists of hypothesistesting, by which means the grammar of the learners mother tongue is related to the principles of the unive

18、rsal grammar.lThe first is that many of the childrens early utterances were unique, in the sense that no native speaking adult could have produced them. lIf the childs linguistic output does not match the input the explanation must lie in the internal processing that has taken place.lThe second is t

19、hat development was continuous and incremental, but could be characterized as a series of stages.la) the length of childrens utterances gradually increases.lb) knowledge of the grammatical system is build up in steps.(P46)lAccording to mentalist accounts of FLA, language acquisition is a universal p

20、rocess.lThe term process is used with two related meanings. 1.refers to the stages of development that characterize the route the child follows; it is a descriptive term. 2.concerns how the child constructs internal rules and how he adjusts them from stage to stage; it is an explanatory term. l Inte

21、rlanguage is the term coined by Selinker(1972) to refer to the systematic knowledge of a second language which is independent of both the learner first language and the target language. The term has come to be used with different but related meanings:l 1) to refer to the system that is observed at s

22、ingle stage of development (i.e. an interlanguage). l2) to refer to the series of interlocking systems which characterize acquisition, (i.e. the interlanguage continuum) 3) to refer to particular mother tongue/target language combinations (e.g. French mother tongue/English target langue vs German mo

23、ther tongue /English target language)lNemser approximative systems Corder-idiosyncratic dialects, transitional competencelThe assumptions underlying interlanguage theory -Nemser(1971)l1) at any given time the approximative system is distinct from the L1and L2.l2) the approximative systems form an ev

24、olving series.l3) in a given contact situation, the approximative systems of learners at the same stage of proficiency roughly coincide.lThe concept of hypothesis-testing was used to explain how the L2 learner progressed along the interlanguage continuum, in much the same way as it was used to expla

25、in L1 acquisition.lCoder (1967) made this comparison explicit by proposing that at least some of the strategies used by the L2 learner were the same as those by which FLA takes place. lParticularly, Corder suggested that both L1 and L2 learners make errors in order to test out certain hypotheses abo

26、ut the nature of the language they are learning. He saw the making of errors as a strategies, evidence of learner-internal processing.lFive principal processes operated in interlanguage-Selinkerl1) language transferl2)overgeneralization of target language rulesl3) transfer of trainingl4) strategies

27、of L2 learningl5) strategies of L2 communicationlThen interference was seen as one of several processes responsible for interlanguage.lFive processes together constitute the ways in which the learner tries to internalize the L2 system. l The five processes are the means by which the learner tries to

28、 reduce the learning burden to manageable proportionsl Widdowson(1975b) suggested that the five processes can be subsumed under the general process of simplification. (This concept on Page 304)lFossilization(P48):lSelinker noted that many L2 learners( perhaps as many as 95 per cent) fail to reach ta

29、rget language competence. That is, they do not reach the end of the interlanguage continuum. They stop learning when their interlanguage contains at least some rules different from those of the target langue system. He referred to this as fossilization.lFossilized structures can be realized as error

30、s or as correct target language forms.lWhen fossilization occurs, the learner has reached a stage of development in which feature x in his interlanguage has assumed the same form as in the target language, then fossilization of the correct form will occur.lIf the learner has reached a stage in which

31、 feature y does not have the same form as the target language, the fossilization will manifest itself as error.lFossilized structures may not be persistent.lSelinker and Lamendella (1978a) argue that the causes of fossilization are both internal and external.lAccording to Chomsky and others, the tru

32、e determinant of L1 acquisition was the childs acquisition device, but this changed with the age such that automatic, genetically-endowed language acquisition was not possible after puberty.lThe question for SLA, then, was this: how did adults succeed in learning a L2 at all if resource to the acqui

33、sition device responsible for L1 acquisition was not possible?lSelinker suggested that those adults who successfully achieve native-speaker proficiency in the TL do so because they continue to make use of the acquisition device, or, as Lenneberg put it, latent language structure.lRelatively few adul

34、t L2 learners reach native-speaker competence.lSelinker explained this by suggesting that these adult L2 learners fall back on a more general cognitive mechanism, which he labelled latent psychological structure, which is still genetically-determined, but does not involve resource to UG.lTherefore,

35、according to Selinker, SLA can proceed in two different ways.lIt can utilize the same mechanisms as FLA, or it can make use of alternative mechanisms, which are presumably responsible for other types of learning apart from language. (cognitive organizer)lLanguage-learner language is permeable.lThe L

36、2 learners interlanguage is permeable, in the sense that rules that constitute the learners knowledge at any one stage are not fixed, but are open to amendment.lLanguage-learner language is dynamic.lThe L2 learners interlanguage is constantly changing. However, he does not jump from one stage to the

37、 next, but rather slowly revised the interim systems to accommodate new hypotheses about the target langue system.lLanguage-learner language is systematic.lDespite the variability of interlanguage, it is possible to detect the rule-based nature of the learners use of the L2.lError analysis is a proc

38、edure used by both researchers and teachers. It involves collecting samples of learner language, identifying the errors in the sample, describing these errors, classifying them according to their hypothesized causes, and evaluating their seriousness. Early interlanguage theory was closely associated

39、 with Error Analysis, which constituted an attempt to explain errors. In mentalist theory errors serve as evidence of the learners active contribution to acquisition.lContrastive Analysis was devised to justify procedures for predicting errors. In accordance with Behaviourist learning theory, the pr

40、evention of errors was more important than the identification of errors. In behaviorist accounts errors were treated as evidence of non-learning.l1. A corpus of language is selected.l2. The errors in the corpus are identified.l3. The errors are classified.l4. The errors are explained.l5. The errors

41、are evaluated.lThe context for the new interest in errors was the recognition that they provided information about the process of acquisition.This term has two meanings. Thus two questions can be asked therefore. l 1. what light can the study of learner errors throw on the sequence of development th

42、e interlanguage continuum through which learners pass? l2. What light can shed on strategies that the learner uses to assimilate the rules of L2?l These two questions are of central importance to the main theme of this chapter natural order of developmentlError Analysis provides two kinds of informa

43、tion about interlanguage;lLinguistic types of errorslPsycholinguistic type of errors:l overgeneralization (comed)l Ignorance of rule restrictionsl Incomplete application of rulesl False concepts hypothesized( he is speaks French)lThe most significant contribution of EA, apart from the role it played

44、 in the reassessment of the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, lies in its success in elevating the status of errors from undesirability to that of a guide to the inner workings of the language learning process.lAs a result of interlanguage theory and the evidence accumulated from Error Analysis, erro

45、rs were no longer seen as unwanted forms, but as evidence of the learners active contribution to SLA.lEmpirical evidence for the interlanguage hypothesis from:lCross-sectional researchlLongitudinal studieslWhat evidences for the interlanguge hypothesis do the researchers try to find?lcreative constr

46、uction interpretation of the interlanguage continuum.lClaims that SLA follows a natural route of development.lWhat are the difference between restructuring continuum and recreation contunuum?(54)lWhat is order of development?lWhat is sequence of development?lWhat is the purpose of Cross-sectional re

47、search?lWhat is the purpose of Longitudinal studies?lWhat are the difference between restructuring continuum and recreation contunuum?(54)1. Was the continuum to be conceived as stretching from the learners mother tongue to the target language? Corder(1978a) refers to this view of the continuum as a

48、 restructuring continuum. In this view the learner is seen as gradually replacing features of his mother tongue as he acquires features of the target language.l2. Alternatively, was the continuum to be conceived as the gradual complexification of interlanguage knowledge? Corder refers to this as the

49、 recreation continuum. This means that the learner is seen as slowly creating the rule system of the target language in a manner very similar to the childs acquisition of his first language.lEarly statements of the interlanguage hypothesis tended to assume that the continuum was mainly a restructuri

50、ng one (see for instance Nemser 1971).lHowever, as the role of the L1 began to be questioned, this view fell out of favor and interlanguage was viewed as a recreation continuum (see, for instance, Dulay and Burt 1977).lEmpirical research played an important part in this shift of viewpoint.lA number

51、of studies, commonly referred to as the morpheme studies, were carried out to investigate the order of acquisition of a range of grammatical functors in the speech of L2 learners. They were motivated by the hypothesis that there was an invariant order in SLA which was the result of universal process

52、ing strategies similar to those observed in L1 acquisition.lFirst, data (oral and later written) were elicited from a sample of L2 learners, using some kind of elicitation device such as the Bilingual Syntax Measure (Burt et al. 1973). l The next step was to identify the grammatical items which were

53、 the target of the investigation. The procedure followed here involved identifying the obligatory occasions (P301) for each item in the speech corpus. lEach item was scored according to whether it was correctly used in each context, and an accuracy socre of its total use by all the learners in the s

54、tudy was calculated. It was then possible to rank all the items in order of their accuracy scores.lThis produced an accuracy order, which was equated with acquisition order on the grounds that the more accurately an item was used, the earlier it was acquired.lWhat are obligatory occasions?lWhen the

55、linguistic context necessitates the use of a particular morpheme, it is said to constitute an obligatory occasion, For example the context created by There are two _ playing in the garden requires the use of a plural morpheme. The first step in establishing the accuracy level of individual morpheme

56、is to identify all obligatory occasions for the morphemes in the data.lLearners produce L2 morphemes such as the third person s or the articles, a and the, with varying levels of accuracy at different stages of development. Accuracy orders can be obtained by ranking a number of morphemes according t

57、o their accuracy level. Some SLA researchers have hypothesized that the accuracy order corresponds to the acquisition order.lWhat are the findings of Cross-sectional research?(56-57)lThe general picture that emerges is that the acquisition order for the various grammatical functors is more or less t

58、he same, irrespective of the subjects language backgrounds, of their age, and of whether the medium is speech or writing. lThe only time that a different order occurs is when the elicitation instrument required the subjects to focus specifically on the form rather than the meaning of their utterance

59、s, as in some of the tasks in Larsen-Freemans study.lBut as Krasen(1977:148) puts it, where the data represented a focus on meaning theres an amazing amount of uniformity across all studies.lHowever, it should be noted that the standard order that was reported was different from the order of morphem

60、e acquisition reported for L1 acquisition.lThe order was not entirely invariable across studies.lDulay and Burt (1975) proposed that rather than list the morphemes in order of accuracy, it was better to group them together. Each group would reflect a clear developmental stage, with the morphemes wit