The Effects of Formal Instruction on the Second‐Language Acquisition of Temporal Location*

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to contrast the acquisition of temporal systems in L1 and tutored L2 learners. The research focused on the distinction between absolute and relative temporal location: the former relates event time to speech time and the latter relates event time to reference time. An experiment was conducted using a sentence‐picture matching task with Polish adults learning English and American children ranging in age from 2½ to 6½ years. The comprehension test contained contrasts that required absolute location (e.g., past/future) and relative location (e.g., before/after). L1 learners comprehended problems involving absolute temporal contrasts first and those with a relative component later. Tutored L2 learners follow a different pattern. Their initial temporal system had both absolute and relative dimensions. A second major difference between L1 and tutored L2 learners concerned the acquisition of tense and aspect. L1 learners understood both tense and aspect contrasts from the earliest phase of development evaluated. Tutored L2 learners could understand tense well before aspect. The research emphasizes the relevance of pedagogical practices to the foreign language learning process as opposed to so‐called “natural sequences”.