L1 vs. L2
What are the three distinct phases used to characterize the progression of both first and second language acquisition?
The initial state, the intermediate states, and the final state
In Contrastive Analysis, this term is used for words that look or sound similar in two languages but have totally different meanings, like the English word "sympathetic" and the Czech word "sympatický".
False friends
What is the head Direction parameter, and why is it important for a learner moving from a language like English to a language like Japanese?
Verb comes before/after the object, English is head-initial, while Japanese is head-final.
What do functional frameworks believe is the primary purpose of language?
To function as a system of communication, rather than just a set of abstract rules.
What is the final state of L1 development?
Native competence
This term describes what happens when a student stops making progress in their new language and keeps their foreign accent or specific mistakes forever.
Fossilization
What is the difference between linguistic competence and linguistic performance?
Competence: A person's subconscious knowledge of language rules
Performance: How the person actually uses language in real situations
According to the "Systemic Linguistics" model, when L2 learners are communicating, do they usually learn entirely new communicative functions, or do they find new ways to express functions they already know?
They learn new linguistic forms to fulfill the same functions they already know.
What is "fossilization" in the context of L2 development?
A "frozen" state of progress.
This early approach to language learning involves looking at the differences between a student's native language and the new language they are trying to learn.
Contrastive Analysis
Who is the linguist most famously associated with the development of the Universal Grammar theory?
Noam Chomsky
In the context of "Functional Typology," explain the difference between "marked" and "unmarked" features. Which one is generally easier for a learner to acquire?
"Unmarked" features are simple and frequent, while "marked" features are complex or rare. Unmarked features are easier to acquire.
In the initial state of language acquisition, these three specific resources are available to L2 learners due to their cognitive maturity and previous experience, but are entirely absent for children starting their L1.
L1 knowledge, world knowledge, and interaction skills
This process happens when a rule from your first language interferes with the new language and causes you to make a mistake.
Negative Transfer (or Interference)
How do Principles differ from parameters in the Universal Grammar framework?
Principles are abstract rules that are universal to all languages - every phrase must have a "head," such as a noun or a verb.
Parameters are points where languages can choose between a limited set of options - Head direction: English is head-initial (verb comes before object), while Japanese is head-final (the verb comes after the object)
List the three principles which learners make use of for organizing information.
Phrasal constraints, semantic constraints, pragmatic constraints
Which four "facilitating conditions" significantly impact the rate and outcome of L2 development but have little effect on L1 acquisition?
Feedback, aptitude, motivation, and instruction
Windows into the Mind Question: S. Pit Corder argued that these should not be seen as bad habits, but rather as windows into the learner's mind that show how they are processing the new language.
Errors
What does the poverty-of-stimulus argument suggest about the way humans learn language?
The poverty-of-the-stimulus argument addresses the fact that children and L2 learners eventually know much more about a language than they could have learned just from the limited and sometimes messy input they hear.
Within the "Function-to-Form Mapping" approach, what is the specific term for the developmental process where a learner creates or adopts new linguistic structures to express communicative functions they previously conveyed through simple vocabulary or context?
Grammaticalization