Pinpointing the role of the native language in L2 learning: Acquisition of spatial prepositions in English by Russian and Turkish native speakers
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Elena Antonova Unlu
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the role of L1 in the acquisition of L2 by comparing the acquisition of the three spatial prepositions (in, on, at) in English by native speakers of Russian and Turkish. The study, adopting a comparative approach suggested by Jarvis (2000, Methodological rigor in the study of transfer: Identifying L1 influence in the interlanguage lexicon. Language Learning 50. 245–309), compared interlanguages of L2 learners with Russian and Turkish L1 backgrounds, and examined the interlanguages of the L2 learners in relation to their native languages. The data for the analysis were collected via utilizing two diagnostic tests and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings demonstrated that that the acquisition of the prepositions differed not only quantitatively but also qualitatively between the groups. The study adds to the comparative research examining the role of L1s in the acquisition of L2 and the effect of cross-linguistic influence taking place from background languages.
Abbreviations
- GEN
Genitive
- LOC
Locative
- POSS
Possessive
- PR.C.
Prepositional Case
- 3 SG
Third Person Singular
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Effects of two forms of concept mapping on L2 reading comprehension and strategy awareness
- Exploring the effects of school context on Chinese students’ use of language learning strategies in English learning
- Language choice, identity and social distance: Ethnic minority students in Vietnam
- Linguistic precariat: Judith Butler’s ‘rethinking vulnerability and resistance’ as a useful perspective for applied linguistics
- Multi-modal language input: A learned superadditive effect
- Word knowledge in academic literacy skills among collegiate ESL learners
- Integrating Linguistic Theory and Experimentation in L2 Acquisition: Learning of Spanish Differential Object Marking by Portuguese and English speakers
- Pinpointing the role of the native language in L2 learning: Acquisition of spatial prepositions in English by Russian and Turkish native speakers
- Rethinking perceptions of fluency
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Effects of two forms of concept mapping on L2 reading comprehension and strategy awareness
- Exploring the effects of school context on Chinese students’ use of language learning strategies in English learning
- Language choice, identity and social distance: Ethnic minority students in Vietnam
- Linguistic precariat: Judith Butler’s ‘rethinking vulnerability and resistance’ as a useful perspective for applied linguistics
- Multi-modal language input: A learned superadditive effect
- Word knowledge in academic literacy skills among collegiate ESL learners
- Integrating Linguistic Theory and Experimentation in L2 Acquisition: Learning of Spanish Differential Object Marking by Portuguese and English speakers
- Pinpointing the role of the native language in L2 learning: Acquisition of spatial prepositions in English by Russian and Turkish native speakers
- Rethinking perceptions of fluency
