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Journal ArticleDOI

The additive effect of bilingualism on third language acquisition: A review

01 Mar 2003-International Journal of Bilingualism (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 7, Iss: 1, pp 71-87
TL;DR: This article examined the effects of bilingualism on cognitive development, metalinguistic awareness, and communicative skills of third language learners in the process of second language acquisition and discussed the results of several research studies conducted in different settings and contexts.
Abstract: This article looks at the general effects of bilingualism on cognitive development and highlights the specific effects of bilingualism on third language acquisition. First, it examines the effects of bilingualism on cognitive development, metalinguistic awareness and communicative skills and then, it focuses on the specific effects of bilingualism on third language proficiency by discussing the results of several research studies conducted in different settings and contexts. An important distinction is made between studies focusing on the acquisition of general proficiency in the third language and studies that examine specific aspects of third language proficiency. The effects of bilingualism on third language acquisition are discussed as related to the experience acquired by third language learners in the process of second language acquisition and the effects of bilingualism on metalinguistic awareness and communicative skills. These effects are also discussed with reference to the concepts of additive ...
Citations
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Book
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: Second language acquisition research has been extensively studied in the literature as discussed by the authors, with a focus on second language acquisition in the context of English as a Second Language Learning (ESL) programs.
Abstract: Acknowledgements Introduction PART ONE - BACKGROUND Introduction 1. Second language acquisition research: an overview PART TWO - THE DESCRIPTION OF LEARNER LANGUAGE Introduction 2. Learner errors and error analysis 3. Developmental patterns: order and sequence in second language acquisition 4. Variability in learner language 5. Pragmatic aspects of learner language PART THREE - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: EXTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 6. Social factors and second language acquisition 7. Input and interaction and second language acquisition PART FOUR - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: INTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 8. Language transfer 9. Cognitive accounts of second language acquisition 10. Linguistic universals and second language acquisition PART FIVE - EXPLAINING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 11. Individual learner differences 12. Learning strategies PART SIX - CLASSROOM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 13. Classroom interaction and second language acquisition 14. Formal instruction and second language acquisition PART SEVEN - CONCLUSION Introduction 15. Data, theory, and applications in second language acquisition research Glossary Bibliography Author index Subject index

981 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors conducted a meta-analysis of studies that examined the cognitive correlates of bilingualism and found that bilingualism is reliably associated with several cognitive outcomes, including increased attentional control, working memory, metalinguistic awareness, and abstract and symbolic representation skills.
Abstract: A number of studies have documented the cognitive outcomes associated with bilingualism. To gain a clear understanding of the extent and diversity of these cognitive outcomes, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of studies that examined the cognitive correlates of bilingualism. Data from 63 studies (involving 6,022 participants) were extracted and analyzed following established protocols and procedures for conducting systematic reviews and guidelines for meta-analysis. Results indicate that bilingualism is reliably associated with several cognitive outcomes, including increased attentional control, working memory, metalinguistic awareness, and abstract and symbolic representation skills. Overall mean effect sizes varied from small to large, depending on the cognitive outcomes measured, and were moderated by methodological features of the studies.

845 citations


Cites methods from "The additive effect of bilingualism..."

  • ...A manual search of the reference lists of earlier reviews of the literature on bilingualism (e.g., Bialystok, 2002; Cenoz, 2003) was subsequently conducted....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Spanish learners of Catalan and Korean learners of Spanish were asked to perform a switching task between their first and dominant languages (L1, Spanish or Korean) and their second language (L2, Catalan or Spanish).

788 citations


Cites background or result from "The additive effect of bilingualism..."

  • ...switching cost (e.g., switching to L1 being harder than switching to L2), the latter did not, even when the difference in proficiency levels between the two languages tested in the experiment was large. Furthermore, highly proficient bilinguals were faster when naming the pictures in their less dominant language than in their dominant language. We argued that it is difficult to find a single unitary explanation for the performance of both groups of bilinguals in terms of the reactive inhibitory control proposed by Meuter and Allport (1999). We further argued that such a difference may be revealing differences in the types of mechanisms involved in lexical access for low and highly proficient bilinguals....

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  • ...Some of these studies reveal that even when several important variables such as general intelligence or similarity between languages are controlled for, bilingual speakers show an advantage in learning an L3 (see Cenoz, 2003, for a review)....

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  • ...…not limited to the two languages for which the bilingual is proficient, but they extend to other linguistic contexts, independent of the degree with which those contexts are mastered by the speaker (see Cenoz, 2003, for a review on third language acquisition by bilingual and monolingual speakers)....

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  • ..., Cenoz & Valencia, 1994; Lasagabaster, 2000; Sanz, 2000). Some of these studies reveal that even when several important variables such as general intelligence or similarity between languages are controlled for, bilingual speakers show an advantage in learning an L3 (see Cenoz, 2003, for a review). Furthermore, differences in the acquisition of an L3 seem to correlate with the degree of bilingual proficiency. For example, the study of Sagasta (2003) showed that a higher level of bilingualism in Spanish– Basque bilinguals correlated with a better performance in acquiring English as an L3....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of the learner's first language (L1) in succeeding language acquisition is investigated. But the L1 does not play a privileged role in all subsequent language acquisition.
Abstract: In this paper we argue that investigation of third language (L3) acquisition by adults and children provides essential new insights about the language learning process that neither the study of first language (L1) nor second language (L2) acquisition alone can provide. The focus of this paper concerns the role the learner's L1 plays in succeeding language acquisition. Specifically, does the L1 maintain a privileged role in all subsequent language acquisition or is it possible that all languages known can play a role in subsequent language acquisition? Results from several ongoing L3 acquisition studies investigating adults and children learning English as an L3, whose L1 is Kazakh and whose L2 is Russian, are reported in this paper. We compare the learners' patterns of acquisition in production of three types of restrictive relative clauses. Adults are compared to children; speakers are compared at comparable levels of linguistic competence in the languages. Results indicate that the L1 does not play a pr...

339 citations


Cites background from "The additive effect of bilingualism..."

  • ...We know that other multilingual individuals anecdotally report that language learning ‘gets easier’ the more languages an individual acquires (see Cenoz, 2003 and references therein)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Rothman et al. as discussed by the authors show that syntactic transfer is selective, whereby, at least under certain conditions, it is driven by the typological proximity of the target L3 measured against the other previously acquired linguistic systems.
Abstract: The present article addresses the following question: what variables condition syntactic transfer? Evidence is provided in support of the position that third language (L3) transfer is selective, whereby, at least under certain conditions, it is driven by the typological proximity of the target L3 measured against the other previously acquired linguistic systems (cf. Rothman and Cabrelli Amaro, 2007, 2010; Rothman, 2010; Montrul et al., 2011). To show this, we compare data in the domain of adjectival interpretation between successful first language (L1) Italian learners of English as a second language (L2) at the low to intermediate proficiency level of L3 Spanish, and successful L1 English learners of L2 Spanish at the same levels for L3 Brazilian Portuguese. The data show that, irrespective of the L1 or the L2, these L3 learners demonstrate target knowledge of subtle adjectival semantic nuances obtained via noun-raising, which English lacks and the other languages share. We maintain that such knowledge is transferred to the L3 from Italian (L1) and Spanish (L2) respectively in light of important differences between the L3 learners herein compared to what is known of the L2 Spanish performance of L1 English speakers at the same level of proficiency (see, for example, Judy et al., 2008; Rothman et al., 2010). While the present data are consistent with Flynn et al.’s (2004) Cumulative Enhancement Model, we discuss why a coupling of these data with evidence from other recent L3 studies suggests necessary modifications to this model, offering in its stead the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) for multilingual transfer.

321 citations


Cites background from "The additive effect of bilingualism..."

  • ...Research has shown that at the level of the mental lexicon the L2 plays a key, perhaps dominant, role in L3 transfer (see Hammarberg, 2001; Cenoz, 2003; De Bot, 2004); however, few studies have attempted to model the so-called ‘L2 status factor’ at the level of L3 underlying morphosyntax....

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References
More filters
Book
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: Second language acquisition research has been extensively studied in the literature as discussed by the authors, with a focus on second language acquisition in the context of English as a Second Language Learning (ESL) programs.
Abstract: Acknowledgements Introduction PART ONE - BACKGROUND Introduction 1. Second language acquisition research: an overview PART TWO - THE DESCRIPTION OF LEARNER LANGUAGE Introduction 2. Learner errors and error analysis 3. Developmental patterns: order and sequence in second language acquisition 4. Variability in learner language 5. Pragmatic aspects of learner language PART THREE - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: EXTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 6. Social factors and second language acquisition 7. Input and interaction and second language acquisition PART FOUR - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: INTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 8. Language transfer 9. Cognitive accounts of second language acquisition 10. Linguistic universals and second language acquisition PART FIVE - EXPLAINING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 11. Individual learner differences 12. Learning strategies PART SIX - CLASSROOM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 13. Classroom interaction and second language acquisition 14. Formal instruction and second language acquisition PART SEVEN - CONCLUSION Introduction 15. Data, theory, and applications in second language acquisition research Glossary Bibliography Author index Subject index

6,364 citations

Book
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: Data, theory, and applications in second language acquisition research Glossary Bibliography Author index Subject index
Abstract: Acknowledgements Introduction PART ONE - BACKGROUND Introduction 1. Second language acquisition research: an overview PART TWO - THE DESCRIPTION OF LEARNER LANGUAGE Introduction 2. Learner errors and error analysis 3. Developmental patterns: order and sequence in second language acquisition 4. Variability in learner language 5. Pragmatic aspects of learner language PART THREE - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: EXTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 6. Social factors and second language acquisition 7. Input and interaction and second language acquisition PART FOUR - EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: INTERNAL FACTORS Introduction 8. Language transfer 9. Cognitive accounts of second language acquisition 10. Linguistic universals and second language acquisition PART FIVE - EXPLAINING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 11. Individual learner differences 12. Learning strategies PART SIX - CLASSROOM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Introduction 13. Classroom interaction and second language acquisition 14. Formal instruction and second language acquisition PART SEVEN - CONCLUSION Introduction 15. Data, theory, and applications in second language acquisition research Glossary Bibliography Author index Subject index

4,126 citations

Book
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: The individual and social nature of bilingualism: bilingualism - definitions and distinctions the measurement of bilingualness languages in society language revival and reversal the development of bilingualisms second language acquisition theories of second-language acquisition bilingualism and intelligence bilingualism.
Abstract: Part 1 The individual and social nature of bilingualism: bilingualism - definitions and distinctions the measurement of bilingualism languages in society language revival and reversal the development of bilingualism second language acquisition theories of second language acquisition bilingualism and intelligence bilingualism and thinking cognitive theories of bilingualism and the curriculum. Part 2 Bilingual education and bilingual classrooms: types of bilingual education the effectiveness of bilingual education minority language learning, underachievement and biliteracy second language learning Canadian immersion classrooms a model and a framework of bilingual education the politics of bilingualism multiculturalism and anti-racism.

3,533 citations

Book
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: The authors provided a synthesis of empirical findings on second and foreign language learning by children and adults, emphasising the design and execution of appropriate research, and emphasising that second languages are vitally important to diverse groups of people, ranging from refugees to college students facing foreign language requirements.
Abstract: Understanding how people learn and fail to learn second and foreign languages is increasingly recognised as a critical social and psycholinguistic issue. Second languages are vitally important to diverse groups of people, ranging from refugees to college students facing foreign language requirements. This book provides a synthesis of empirical findings on second and foreign language learning by children and adults, emphasising the design and execution of appropriate research.

2,025 citations

MonographDOI
19 Mar 2001
TL;DR: This book explains the process of starting with one language and adding another, and the extent of the bilingual mind.
Abstract: Bilingualism in Development is an examination of the language and cognitive development of bilingual children focusing primarily on the preschool years. It begins by defining the territory for what is included in bilingualism and how language proficiency can be conceptualized. Using these constraints, the discussion proceeds to review the research relevant to various aspects of children's development and assesses the role that bilingualism has in each. The areas covered include language acquisition, metalinguistic ability, literacy skill, and problem-solving ability. In each case, the performance of bilingual children is compared to that of similar monolinguals, and differences are interpreted in terms of a theoretical framework for cognitive development and processing. The studies show that bilingualism significantly accelerates children's ability to selectively attend to relevant information and inhibit attention to misleading information or competing responses. This conclusion is used as the basis for examining a set of related issues regarding the education and social circumstances of bilingual children.

1,859 citations

Trending Questions (1)
How does bilingualism affect language acquisition?

Bilingualism can have a positive effect on language acquisition, particularly in the acquisition of a third language.