Abstract
The process of second language acquisition involves the active construction of interim granmiars or interlanguages (Selinker, 1972) by learners as they progress towards competence in the target language. An interlanguage evolves as a result of the various strategies which learners apply to the task of language learning. The primary aim of this study was to analyse and describe the Interlanguage of two second-language English speakers in samples of interactional spoken language with the goal of identifying the learning strategies being applied and developing appropriate, empirically based inteivention strategies designed to facilitate the acquisition process. A secondary aim of the study was to evaluate ihe appropriacy of the particular descriptive tool employed in this study, namely the Language Assessment, Remediation and Screening Procedure (LARSP) (Crystal, Fletcher and Carman, 1989), in the context of L2 acquisition research. While the LARSP provided a useful initial description it lacked precision in identifying and accounting for the numerous error patterns produced. A detailed error analysis was therefore devised which permitted ideniification of idiosyncratic strategies as well as the more general error patterns that characterised the interlanguage of both subjects in strikingly similar ways. Of particular note was the finding thai the acquisition of the verb phrase and its components was particulariy problematic for both subjects. Numerous errors in the realisation of the argument structure of lexical verbs was noted. As it is generally agreed that the verb phrase plays a central role in the syntactic organisation of the sentence and contributes significantly to conmiunicative efficiency (Fletcher, 1992), this finding has significant implications for second language pedagogy and warrents further investigation
Highlights
Educators in South Africa currently facc a crisis that is by no means unique world-wide but for which they are largely unprepared
While ongoing developmeni of the indigenous languages is essential, it is the second factor that requires the urgent attention of educators the identification of difficulties that L2 learners are experiencing in acquiring English and the development and implementation of appropriate intervention strategies to facilitate and enhance the acquisition process, need to be based on empirical evidence
It is felt thai due to iis limited scope, the error classification on the LARSP profile was unable to fultil this requirement Crystal et al (1989) indicate that it is only intended to constitute a first step in the identification of error patterns
Summary
Educators in South Africa currently facc a crisis that is by no means unique world-wide but for which they are largely unprepared. In order to avoid siicli disadvantage and promote tlie development of bilingualism, it is postulated that a minimal or "threshold" level of linguistic competence is required in both languages (Cummins, 1976) It has been argued that teaching of the second language (L2) should not be commenced until the first language (LI) is properly consolidated. The motivation for providing comprehensive descriptions of the sequence of development of linguistic staictures in the L2 is based on an approach to the learnability of language espoused by Pienemann (19S9) and Schmidt-Schonbein (1988 cited in Dirven, 1994) amongst others, who believe that psycholinguistic constraints determine the hierarchical emergence of language structures They believe thai structured formal input which is in advance of the subject's developmental acquisition level is at best, meflective and at worst, detrimental to the development of the L2 (Duncan, 1989, McLaughlin and Robbins, 1994). Information regarding the expected sequence of development of the L2 is necessary in order for appropriate grading of structures in syllabi as well as for accurate selection of appropriate teaching goals for particular groups of learners
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