On the acquisition of verbal tenses in Mòoré (Gur): a morphology-based approach

The influence of cognitive and conceptual development on language development has been studied most extensively for the acquisition of the lexicon. There is, for example, a large body of research describing the acquisition of object names, and also of temporal adverbials like before and after. Relational terms like verbs, which not only encode semantic content but also establish a grammatical and logical relationship between their arguments, have only recently been explored in greater depth (see Merriman & Tomasello 1995 for a discussion of this negligence). Even less research has been carried out on the relationship between conceptual development and grammatical development. One of the few exceptions is work on the acquisition of temporal morphology. This has been seen as an ideal testing ground because there are clearly a number of cognitive prerequisites for encoding temporally remote events - most saliently, the ability to remember them.

This article considers the relevance of second language acquisition research for the development of pedagogical grammar. As an example it looks at the acquisition of verbal tense and aspect by intermediate-to-advanced level learners of Maltese, and more specifically the extent to which the perfett and imperfett verb forms are used by the learners when compared with L1 users of Maltese. Sixteen adult migrant learners, and 15 L1 Maltese users, took part in the study. All but one of the 16 migrant learners knew at least two other languages. Two of the participants had Arabic as their L1, and three others had learned Arabic as an L2, while the remaining learners spoke a variety of first languages. On a picture interpretation task, L1 speakers of Arabic performed very much like Maltese L1 speakers, predominantly using the perfett, perfective aspect in the past. All the other migrant learners, including those who had learned Arabic well as an L2, used the imperfett, imperfective/unrestricted habitual aspect. This evidence has important implications for the formulation of pedagogical grammar for foreign learners of Maltese. It also sheds light on the relevance of language typology in foreign language acquisition.

A developmental perspective in child language research begins with a focus on the child and the processes that contribute to change in the child's knowledge of language. Developmental change occurs in an organized, systematic way, with later changes influenced at least in part by developments at an earlier time. The acquisition of tense and aspect provides a relevant example. Data previously published by Weist, Wysocka, Witkowska-Stadnik, Buczowska & Konieczna (1984) are reanalysed here to show, statistically, that children learning Polish are influenced by aspect in acquiring verb tense, just as children are in learning English, Italian, Hebrew, Turkish and other languages. Children beginning to learn verb infections find aspectual contour particularly compelling in leading them to learn tense distinctions.

Background: Mastering verbal tenses, especially those expressing aspect, in a second language presents a challenge as learners frequently link the semantic nuances of verbal forms in their second language (L2) to the characteristics of the verbal systems in their native languages (L1). This study explores the impact of L1 on the usage of the English Present Perfect (PP) among non-native speakers. Purpose: In an effort to contribute to the ongoing research on the mechanisms governing the acquisition of English tenses, this study focuses on the variations that affect the usage of the PP in the writing of English learners. The investigation is particularly centered on university students whose L1 is Russian and Spanish, seeking to delve into the ways in which their first language influences the utilisation of the PP in their English writing. Method: Analysis of L2 English by Russian and Spanish learners, based on corpora of argumentative essays written by undergraduate Russian and Spanish learners of English, controlled by a corpus of essays produced by native speakers of English; frequency and distribution of the PP in learner writings; examination of semantic contexts; identification of error types. Results: The findings indicate that, despite a higher occurrence of the PP in texts produced by Spanish learners compared to Russian learners, the rate of errors in its application is nearly identical in both learner corpora. These errors are likely attributable to challenges in comprehending the functions of the PP and in distinguishing its semantics from those of other English tenses, particularly the Past Simple. Conclusion: The study suggests that the increased prevalence of PP usage by L2 learners may be attributed to positive transfer from their L1 when it exhibits structures analogous to the English PP. Conversely, patterns indicative of, for example, undergeneralisation of semantic contexts suggesting the relevance of an action, or of overgeneralisation of adverbs compatible with the PP can be interpreted as evidence of negative transfer. The results of this study hold significance for language pedagogy, as they highlight potential challenges in acquiring the PP that learners from diverse L1 backgrounds may encounter.

Approximately 480 deaf students (age 10 to 19 years) and 60 hearing students (age eight to 10 years) were asked to judge the grammaticality of sentences containing auxiliary verbs, of sentences where the verb had been deleted, and of sentences in which the verb tense was not marked. The results indicated that deaf students have considerable difficulty with the verb system of English. This difficulty was most pronounced in the formation of tense and voice and in agreement in number and tense. A possible ordering for the acquisition of tense did emerge; from earliest to latest it is: simple past, future, present progressive, perfective, and passive. Improvement in grammaticality judgments appeared to come from an increase in recognition that incorrect sentences were ungrammatical.

This study explores whether textual enhancement improves learners' acquisition of prefect tense structures in English. The perfect tense in English was taught explicitly in this study and then reinforced through input enhancement activity. The experiment involved 44 undergraduate students (experimental group 23, control group 21) taking practical English at a local four-year university in Korea. After explicit instruction, the two groups took a pretest, a reading comprehension activity, and then a post-test. After four weeks, the delayed test was conducted. In the experiment, the only difference between the two groups was whether the text was reinforced in the subsequent reading activity after the pretest. In online tests, participants were required to select the correct verb tense from multiple choice questions. The two groups had similar test scores, and there was no difference in the perfect tense acquisition between the two. However, when examining the differences within groups, the experimental group retained relatively high levels of perfect tense knowledge on the delayed posttest, whereas the control group did not. The results of the study demonstrated the synergistic effect of the textual enhancement technique when it is coupled with explicit grammar instruction. Furthermore, this study is important in that explicit grammar instruction is separated from input enforcement to allow the effects of it to be examined independently.