The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition

Ethnologue: Languages of the World

Providing a solid foundation in second language acquisition, this book has become the leading introduction to the subject for students of linguistics, psychology and education, and trainee language teachers. Now in its third edition, the textbook offers comprehensive coverage of fundamental concepts, including second language acquisition (SLA) in adults and children, in formal and informal learning contexts, and in diverse socio-cultural settings, and takes an interdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to consider SLA from linguistic, psychological and social perspectives. Each chapter contains a list of key terms, a summary, and a range of graded exercises suitable for self-testing and class discussion. The third edition has been revised throughout, and features new material on the practical aspects of teaching language, along with updated online resources, including new classroom activities to accompany each chapter, as well as updated references and further reading suggestions.

https://repository.bbg.ac.id/bitstream/588/1/Introducing_Second_Language_Acquisition_.pdf

Introducing Second Language Acquisition

Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is a recently described IL-10 family cytokine that is produced by T helper (Th) 17 cells, γδ T cells, NKT cells, and newly described innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Knowledge of IL-22 biology has evolved rapidly since its discovery in 2000, and a role for IL-22 has been identified in numerous tissues, including the intestines, lung, liver, kidney, thymus, pancreas, and skin. IL-22 primarily targets nonhematopoietic epithelial and stromal cells, where it can promote proliferation and play a role in tissue regeneration. In addition, IL-22 regulates host defense at barrier surfaces. However, IL-22 has also been linked to several conditions involving inflammatory tissue pathology. In this review, we assess the current understanding of this cytokine, including its physiologic and pathologic effects on epithelial cell function.

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Interleukin-22: Immunobiology and Pathology

Introduction 1. Explanations and definitions 2. Word difficulty, word frequency and acquisition: lexical profiles 3. Frequency and coverage 4. Measuring vocabulary breadth - passive recognition vocabulary 5. Measuring other aspects of vocabulary breadth 6. Measuring productive vocabulary knowledge 7. Measuring vocabulary depth 8. Vocabulary acquisition and assessments of language level 9. Vocabulary acquisition and classroom input 10. Vocabulary acquisition and informal language input 11. Implications for learning and teaching: theory and practiceBibliography

Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition

In this article, the issue of cross-linguistic influence in second language acquisition is examined from a processing perspective. Applying Processability Theory as the theoretical framework we claim that second language (L2) learners can only produce forms they are able to process.We thus argue that the first language (L1) influence on the L2 is developmentally moderated. Data were collected from German L2 learners with Swedish as their L1. Twenty informants participated in the study, 10 in their first year of German (13 years of age) and 10 in their second year of German (14 years of age). Both languages involved are typologically very close but not mutually intelligible. The results show that Swedish learners of German do not transfer the verb-second structure from their L1 to the L2 even though this structure is identical in both languages.Instead they start out with canonical word order and subsequently produce an intermediate structure (adv NPsubj V X), which is ungrammatical in the L1 and the L2. These observations support the idea of a developmentally moderated transfer. The results clearly contradict the predictions from the 'full transfer/full access' hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994; 1996). (Less)

Transfer and typological proximity in the context of second language processing

Data from ten Swedish-Arabic preschool children with language impairment and ten Swedish-Arabic children with normal language development matched for age and exposure to Swedish were analyzed. Specific tasks for both Swedish and Arabic were designed. By using the hierarchy predicted by processability theory as a yardstick, grammatical development was measured in the two languages of the children. The basic assumption is that there is a developmental sequence that all language learners follow on their way toward a target language. The results show that the bilingual children with language impairment tend to have a balanced low level of language development in both languages, whereas the bilingual children with normal language development show a higher level of language development in at least one language.

Measuring language development in bilingual children: Swedish- Arabic children with and without language impairment

The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between language comprehension and language production in Swedish children. This was done longitudinally with 10 children with specific language impairment (SLI), aged 4;0 to 6;3 at Time I, and 10 children with unimpaired language development, aged 3;1 to 3;7 at Time I. The target structure was subordination, more precisely relative clauses. The children's comprehension was tested with picture pointing, act-out and oral response tests. Their production was tested with elicited imitation and sentence completion tests. Data were collected twice, with an interval of six months. The results from the unimpaired children at Time I showed a difference between comprehension and production. At Time II these children scored higher on production than on comprehension. The children with SLI scored significantly higher on comprehension than on production at Time I. In half of the SLI group there was a clear development between the two data collection sessions, diminishing the dissociation. On neither testing did the children with SLI differ significantly from the unimpaired children in comprehension. At both testings, however, the children with SLI had significantly more responses where they did not insert the complementizer in relative clauses. The results indicate that the relationship between comprehension and production is different at different stages in development. They also show that structures involving dependency relations are particularly difficult to produce for children with SLI.

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Comprehension and production of relative clauses: a comparison between Swedish impaired and unimpaired children.

This paper has two main objectives: (a) to put the vast body of research on Swedish as a second language (SSL) into one coherent framework; and (b) to test the predictions deriving from processability theory (Pienemann, 1998a, 1998b) for Swedish against this empirical database. We will survey the 14 most prominent research projects on SSL covering wide areas of syntax and morphology in longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. This survey is the first to be carried out for Swedish, and it will bring the body of two decades of research into one unified framework. We proceed in the following steps: First, a brief summary of processability theory is given. Then the theory is used to generate a unifying framework for the development of the specific L2 grammatical system (Swedish). Finally, the new framework is tested in the above-mentioned empirical studies. (Less)

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A unified approach towards the development of Swedish as L2: a processability account

Background: There is a need for studies on bilingual language acquisition in combination with language impairment (LI). The speech and language clinician must have tools to differentiate between problems depending on inadequate exposure to a language and problems depending on a LI. Another important issue is the pace of bilingual language acquisition relative to the severity of LI.Aims: To investigate grammatical development over 12 months in both languages in 10 Swedish‐Arabic pre‐school children with severe LI and 10 Swedish‐Arabic pre‐school children without LI.Methods & Procedures: The children were matched for age, gender, exposure to Swedish dialect, and exposure to Arabic dialect. The developmental hierarchy predicted by Processability Theory was used in tests in both Swedish and Arabic. Processability Theory was used as a yardstick to measure grammatical development in both languages.Outcomes & Results: Bilingual children, both with and without LI, developed grammatical structures in Swedish and A...

Gisela Håkansson

Papers

Transfer and typological proximity in the context of second language processing

Measuring language development in bilingual children: Swedish- Arabic children with and without language impairment

Comprehension and production of relative clauses: a comparison between Swedish impaired and unimpaired children.

A unified approach towards the development of Swedish as L2: a processability account

Developmental perspectives on bilingual Swedish-Arabic children with and without language impairment: a longitudinal study.