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- Agebjörn, Anders, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Cross-linguistic influence and language-learning aptitude in L3 acquisition of functional morphology
- 2021
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cross-linguistic influence and language-learning aptitude in L3 acquisition of functional morphologyTwo factors suggested to influence second-language acquisition are cross-linguistic influence (CLI) and language-learning aptitude. However, the relationship between the two has rarely been investigated, and it is unclear to what extent the relative importance of CLI and aptitude depends on the degree of similarity between source and target language (cf. Bokander 2021; Skehan 1998; Tolentino & Tokowicz 2014). The present study addresses this issue by examining the longitudinal development of definiteness marking in Russian-speaking learners of Swedish who had previously acquired English. Unlike Russian, English and Swedish obligatorily express definiteness using dedicated functional morphology. While the English indefinite article (a park) is structurally similar to its Swedish counterpart (en park ‘a park’), the English definite article (the park) is structurally dissimilar to its Swedish counterpart, a nominal suffix (park-en ‘the park’). This enables us to investigate the role of cross-linguistic influence and aptitude in third-language acquisition of functional morphology.Definite and indefinite noun phrases were orally elicited from native speakers of Russian (n=18) during two terms of a beginner-Swedish course. At data point 1, their use of English articles and their aptitude were also tested (Meara 2005). Further, data were collected from native speakers of Swedish (n=26) and English (n=17). The participants’ use of indefinite and definite morphemes was analysed separately. Two linear mixed-effects models revealed that the learners’ developing use of the Swedish indefinite article was associated with their command of the English indefinite article, which is structurally similar. By contrast, their developing use of the Swedish definite nominal suffix, which is structurally dissimilar to its English counterpart, was moderated primarily by aptitude. This suggests that learners may capitalise on previously acquired linguistic knowledge primarily when source and target languages are similar, while language-learning aptitude appears to play a more important role in the acquisition of qualitatively new morphology.ReferencesBokander, Lars (2021). Language aptitude and crosslinguistic influence in initial L2 learning. Journal of the European Second Language Association 4(1), s. 35–44. Meara, Paul (2005). LLAMA Language Aptitude Tests: the manual. Swansea: Lognostics. Tolentino, Leida C. & Natasha Tokowicz (2014). Cross-language similarity modulates effectiveness of second language grammar instruction. Language Learning 64(2), s. 279–309. Skehan, Peter (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford University Press.
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| 2. |
- Agebjörn, Anders, 1984
(författare)
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Learning of Definiteness by Belarusian Students of Swedish as a Foreign Language : Inlärning av bestämdhet hos svenskstuderande i Belarus
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Through a series of studies, this thesis investigates the learning of definiteness in Russian-speaking students of Swedish. A communicative, oral-production task elicited modified and non-modified noun phrases in indefinite and definite contexts. Study I describes the development of the morphosyntactic structure through which Swedish encodes definiteness, the association between this structure and its meaning, and the relationship between those two tasks over time. Using an English version of the elicitation task and a test of metalinguistic knowledge, Study II examines the relationship between the learners’ explicit knowledge of article semantics and their actual use of English articles. Adding a test of language-learning aptitude, Study III then explores both the influence of second-language English and that of aptitude on the development of Swedish. Finally, Study IV discusses the role of complexity and input frequency. The main findings include that, at the onset of Swedish study, the learners had minimal knowledge of the morphosyntactic structure but were generally sensitive to the meaning of definiteness. However, knowledge of form developed over time while knowledge of meaning did not, and the two learning tasks did not appear to be directly related to each other. In addition, the learners were seldom aware that choosing between indefinite and definite articles require the speaker to take the hearer’s perspective, but this lack of metalinguistic understanding did not seem to affect their use of articles. Further, previous knowledge of English appeared to facilitate the development of a Swedish morpheme that is structurally similar to its English counterpart, while aptitude was associated with the development of a morpheme whose English counterpart is structurally different. Finally, the learners used high-frequency morphemes more consistently than low-frequency ones, and morphemes were more likely to be supplied in frequent constructions than in infrequent ones. These findings are discussed in relation to a modular, cognitive framework for language learning and use.
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| 3. |
- Agebjörn, Anders, 1984-
(författare)
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Learning of definiteness in Belarusian students of Swedish as a foreign language
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Through a series of studies, this thesis investigates the learning of definiteness in Russian-speaking students of Swedish. A communicative oral-production task elicited modified and non-modified noun phrases in indefinite and definite contexts. Study I describes the development of the morphosyntactic structure through which Swedish encodes definiteness, the association between this structure and its meaning, and the relationship between those two tasks over time. Using an English version of the elicitation task and a test of metalinguistic knowledge, Study II examines the relationship between the learners’ explicit knowledge of article semantics and their actual use of English articles. Adding a test of language-learning aptitude, Study III then explores both the influence of second-language English and that of aptitude on the development of Swedish. Finally, Study IV discusses the role of complexity and input frequency. The main findings include that, at the onset of Swedish study, the learners had minimal knowledge of the morphosyntactic structure but were generally sensitive to the meaning of definiteness. However, knowledge of form developed over time while knowledge of meaning did not, and the two learning tasks did not appear to be directly related to each other. In addition, the learners were seldom aware that choosing between indefinite and definite articles requires the speaker to take the hearer’s perspective, but this lack of metalinguistic understanding did not seem to affect their use of articles. Further, previous knowledge of English appeared to facilitate the development of a Swedish morpheme that is structurally similar to its English counterpart, while aptitude was associated with the development of a morpheme whose English counterpart is structurally different. Finally, the learners used high-frequency morphemes more consistently than low-frequency ones, and morphemes were more likely to be supplied in frequent constructions than in infrequent ones. These findings are discussed in relation to a modular, cognitive framework for language learning and use.
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| 4. |
- Agebjörn, Anders, 1984-
(författare)
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Swedish noun-phrase structure in Russian-speaking learners: An explorative study of L1 influence and input-frequency effects
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of the European Second Language Association. - : White Rose University Press. - 2399-9101. ; 5:1, s. 16-29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Articles pose a particular challenge to second-language learners whose first language does not have them. Variability in article production in these learners is often explained in terms of first-language influence, but there are also suggestions that frequency-biased regularities in the target language itself might play a role. While most second-language research on articles has focused on English, a language with a relatively simple article system, the present study explores first-language influence and input-frequency effects by focusing on Swedish. Swedish expresses definiteness using a complex noun-phrase structure including several free-standing and bound morphemes, some relatively frequent in input, others less frequent. An oral-production task elicited adjectivally modified and non-modified noun phrases in indefinite and definite contexts from 23 foreign-language learners of Swedish who were native speakers of Russian, an inflectional language without articles. The analysis revealed that the learners were more likely to supply high-frequency morphemes than low-frequency ones. Furthermore, while the learners were equally likely to supply bound and free-standing morphemes, only their suppliance of free-standing morphemes was negatively affected by adjectival modification; their suppliance of bound morphemes was not. While the role of cross-linguistic influence should not be neglected, these findings suggest that probabilistic regularities in the linguistic input are a key factor in second-language acquisition of functional morphology.
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