Transfer and unlearning of topic prominence by Chinese learners of English
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Hui Chang
und
Lilong Xu
Abstract
Chinese allows both gapped and gapless topic constructions without their usage being restricted to specific contexts, while English only allows gapped topic constructions which are used in certain contexts. In other words, Chinese uses ‘topic prominence’, whereas English does not. The contrast between English and Chinese topic constructions poses a learnability problem for Chinese learners of English. This paper uses an empirical study investigating first language (L1) transfer in the case of Chinese learners of English and the extent to which they are able to unlearn topic prominence as they progress in second language (L2) English. Results of an acceptability judgment test indicate that Chinese learners of English initially transfer Chinese topic prominence into their English, then gradually unlearn Chinese topic prominence as their English proficiency improves, and finally unlearn Chinese topic prominence successfully. The results support the Full Transfer Theory (Schwartz, Bonnie & Rex Sprouse. 1996. L2 cognitive states and the Full Transfer/Full Access model. Second Language Research 12. 40–72) and the Variational Learning Model (Yang, Charles. 2004. Universal Grammar, statistics or both? Trends in Cognitive Sciences 8. 451–456), but contradict the proposal that the topic prominence can never be transferred but may be unlearned from the beginning in Chinese speakers’ acquisition of English (Zheng, Chao. 2001. Nominal Constructions Beyond IP and Their Initial Restructuring in L2 Acquisition. Guangzhou: Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Ph.D. dissertation). In addition, the type of topic constructions that is used and whether or not a comma is added after the topic have an effect on learners’ transfer and unlearning of topic prominence. It is proposed that the specification of Agr(eement) and T(ense) as well as the presence of expletive subjects in English input can trigger the unlearning of topic prominence for Chinese learners of English.
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Contribution of English aural vocabulary size levels to L2 listening comprehension
- The effects of extensive reading on young Korean students’ construction development
- Connections between measured and assessed fluency in L2 peer interaction: a problem-solving perspective
- Transfer and unlearning of topic prominence by Chinese learners of English
- The influence of L1 script directionality and L2 proficiency on Hanzi learning among Arabic and English learners of L2 Chinese
- The effects of task types on L2 oral production and learner engagement
- Unlearning the boundary-crossing constraint: processing instruction and the acquisition of motion event construal
- Teaching South African Sign Language as a second language to university students: an integrated pedagogy
- Intra-language: the study of L2 morpheme productivity as within-item variance
- Advanced learners’ responses to Chinese greetings in study abroad
- Individual perceptions of group work environment, motivation, and achievement
- Fossilized mistakes in Spanish relative clauses learned by Chinese students
- Learning phrasal verbs in the EFL classroom: the effect of prior vocabulary knowledge and opacity
- L2 use of pragmatic markers in peer talk: Mandarin utterance-final particles
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Contribution of English aural vocabulary size levels to L2 listening comprehension
- The effects of extensive reading on young Korean students’ construction development
- Connections between measured and assessed fluency in L2 peer interaction: a problem-solving perspective
- Transfer and unlearning of topic prominence by Chinese learners of English
- The influence of L1 script directionality and L2 proficiency on Hanzi learning among Arabic and English learners of L2 Chinese
- The effects of task types on L2 oral production and learner engagement
- Unlearning the boundary-crossing constraint: processing instruction and the acquisition of motion event construal
- Teaching South African Sign Language as a second language to university students: an integrated pedagogy
- Intra-language: the study of L2 morpheme productivity as within-item variance
- Advanced learners’ responses to Chinese greetings in study abroad
- Individual perceptions of group work environment, motivation, and achievement
- Fossilized mistakes in Spanish relative clauses learned by Chinese students
- Learning phrasal verbs in the EFL classroom: the effect of prior vocabulary knowledge and opacity
- L2 use of pragmatic markers in peer talk: Mandarin utterance-final particles
