Language and Linguistics

Pragmatic transfer:  The use of rules of speaking from one’s own native speech community when interacting with members of the host community or simply when speaking or writing in a second language is known as sociolinguistic or pragmatic transfer. (Wolfson, 1989) Speech Act of Refusal TABLE 1 Typical Order of Semantic Formulas in Refusals of Requests                                                                                           Order Refuser status         Group*             1                       2                       3                       4 Lower                     JJ          Apology (cf. regret#)   Excuse       (promise)         Nonverbal                                                                                                                         Avoidance                               JE         Regret                           Excuse              ____                 _____                               AE        Pos. opini

1. Accuracy orders and developmental sequences: Studies show that there is no significant     difference in the accuracy order in which morphemes are acquired, or in the developmental     sequences of phrase structures acquired, between students receiving formal instruction and     naturalistic language learners. (Ellis, 1984; Fatham, 1978; Makino, 1979; Perkins and Larsen-     Freeman, 1975; Pica, 1983) No Effect.  2. Acquisition Processes: "The students' instruction-independent learning strategies demonstrate ...     that the learning process can only be manipulated within narrow limits and that the principles and     regularities of natural language acquisition must also be considered in foreign language     instruction." (Felix and Simmet, 1981 in Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991. p.301) Possibly      Positive. 3. Rate of Acquisition: The speed of second language acquisition is influenced by formal instruction.     The Multidimensional Model (Mesiel, Clahs

Research on the acquisition of second language syntax, morphology, phonology, and semantics abounds, but there is a paucity of studies in the acquisition of pragmatic competence in a second language. This post summarizes some major factors in acquiring native-like competence in second language pragmatics. 1. Transfer: Sociolinguistic and socio-cultural norms often impede the acquisition of second      language pragmatics. Consider, for example, a native speaker of Russian replying to a native      English speaker's greeting "how are you?" The native English speaker expects a response     such as "fine/good/thanks, and you?" However, the Russian speaker follows her socio-     cultural norms and tells a long story of her life, causing both confusion and frustration to      the native English speaker. 2. Linguistic Proficiency: Second language learners may have limited L2 linguistic proficiency. As a      result, they can perform the speech a

Questions to consider when reading a research report When you read a research paper on first and second language acquisition, consider the following questions:    1.      What is the research question (or problem, or hypotheses)? Is it interesting?  2.   W hat is the context of the research? Is it appropriate for the question being asked?  3.   What theoretical framework is used to ground the research question? Does it provide an adequate        foundation?  4.   Who are the subjects? How many are there? How were they selected? What are their        characteristics? Are the subjects appropriate for answering the question?  5.   If the study is quantitative, what are the variables? How are they defined? How are they       measured? Are the measures used valid and reliable? What analyses were done? Are they       appropriate?  6.   If the study is qualitative, what kind of data were collected? How were data collecte