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L1¡¯s Influence On Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
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L1¡¯s Influence On Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Mary (Ma Chunmei) 20155005 Summary A lot of errors occur when a learner is learning or acquiring a second language. A large percentage of errors are directly related to the learner¡¯s mother tongue. Linguists call this phenomenon ¡°L1 transfer¡±. This paper aims at explaining L1 transfer theoretically and empirically by analyzing the errors Chinese students make while learning English so as to illustrate how L1¡¯s influences L2. Background L1 transfer refers to the influence that the learner¡¯s L1 exerts over the acquisition of an L2. Learner¡¯s L1 can either be one of the sources of error in learner language or facilitates L2 acquisition. L1 transfer can result in avoidance. That is, the learner avoids the use of some grammatical features because his mother tongue does not contain equivalent structures. L1 transfer can also result in overuse of some expressions of L2, in accordance with his mother tongue. Theoretical accounts of L1 transfer have undergone considerable revision since the early days of SLA. Behaviorism argued that errors were largely resulted from interference. That is, the habits of the L1 were supposed to prevent the learner from learning the habits of L2. Hence learning difficulty could be predicted by identifying those areas of the target language that were different from the learner¡¯s L1.But as Larry Selinker¡¯s interlanguage theory was formulated, the behaviorist account of L1 transfer lost its popularity. Since then transfer was reconceptualized within a cognitive framework. Learners were thought to draw on their L1 in forming interlanguage hypotheses and the L1 can be viewed as a kind of ¡°input from the inside¡±. So far SLA has succeeded in identifying some of the cognitive constraints that govern the transfer of L1 knowledge. Among these constraints are learners¡¯ perceptions of what is transferable and their stage of development According to Eric Kellerman, learners have perceptions regarding the linguistic features of their own language.
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