Cross-linguistic Influence And Learner Language c54j

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Cross-Linguistic Influence and Learner Language

Crosslinguistic influence (CLI) is a term used to define the effect that one language has on the usage or knowledge of another language. Also known as linguistic transfer, the study of CLI in cognitive linguistics has provided a vital gateway to the understanding of how languages interact and function in the multilingual mind

1. The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) The CAH is based the behavioristic and structuralist approaches. It claimed that the principal barrier to second language acquisition is the interference of the first language system with second language system. A scientific, structural analysis of th languages in question would yield a taxonomy of linguistic contrasts between them. This would enable the linguist to predict the difficul learner would encounter. Second language learning involves the overcoming of the differences between the two linguistic systems—the native and target languages. With second language learners, there are errors attributable to the negative transfer of the native language to the target language. For example, it is easy to detect certain foreign accents and to infer, from the speech of the learner alone, where the learner comes from; especially German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. We can predict and describe the pattern that will cause difficulty in learning, and those that will not cause difficulty, by comparing systematically the language and the culture to be learned with the native language and culture of the student. Those elements that are similar to the learner's native language will be simple for him and those elements that are different will be difficult. Contrastive analysis involves four different procedures: 1) Description: the linguist or language teacher, using the tools of formal grammar explicitly describes the two languages in question. 2) A selection is made of certain forms—linguistic items, rules, structures—for contrast, since it is virtually impossible to contrast every possible facet of two languages. 3) The contrast itself is the mapping of one linguistic system onto the other, and a specification of the relationship of one system to the other.

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4) A prediction of error or of difficulty is formulated on the basis of the first three procedures. That prediction can be arrived at through the formulation of a hierarchy of difficulty or through more subjective applications of psychological and linguistic theory.

Hierarchy of Difficulty By a hierarchy of difficulty, a teacher or linguist could make a prediction of the relative difficulty of a given aspect of the second language. Through systematic analysis of the properties of the two languages in reference to the hierarchy of difficulty, applied linguists were able to derive a reasonably accurate inventory of phonological difficulties that a second language learner would encounter. This grammatical hierarchy has six categories, discussed in ascending order of difficulty. •

Level 0—Transfer No difference or contrast is present between the two languages. The learner can simply transfer a sound, structure, or lexical item from the native language to the target language. Examples can be found in certain phonemes and their distribution in English and Arabic ( /s/, /z/, /m/, /n/), structures (say, general word order), or words (computer, credit card).

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Level 1—Coalescence Two items in the native language become coalesced into one item in the target language. This requires that learners overlook a distinction they have grown accustomed to. For example, Examples: English third-person possessives require gender distinction (his/her), and in Spanish (hey do not (su); an English speaker learning French must overlook the distinction between teach and learn and use just the one word apprendre in French

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Level 2—Underdifferentiation An item in the native language is absent in the target language. The learner must avoid that item. For example: English learners of Spartish must "forget" such items as English do as a tense carrier, possessive forms of wh- words (whose), or the use of some with mass nouns.

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Level 3—Reinterpretation

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An item that exists in the native language is given a new shape or distribution. Example: An English speaker learning French must learn a new distribution for nasalized vowels.

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Level 4—Over differentiation A new item entirely, bearing little if any similarity to the native language item, must be learned. For Example: An English. speaker learning Spanish must learn to include determiners in generalized nominals (Man is mortal/El hombre es mortal), or, most commonly, to learn Spanish grammatical gender inherent in nouns.

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Level 5—Split One item in the native language becomes two or more in the target language, requiring the learner to make a new distinction. Example: An English speaker learning Spanish must learn the distinction between ser and estar (to be), or the distinction between Spanish indicative and subjunctive moods.

2. Markedness and Universal Grammar Markedness theory s for relative degrees of difficulty by means of principles of universal grammar. of a pair of related forms are distinguished by the fact that a marked member of a pair contains at least one more feature than the th marked one. The unmarked member of the pair is the one with a wider range of distribution than the marked one. In the case of the English indefinite articles (a and an), an is the more complex or marked form (it has an additional sound) and a is the unmarked form with the wider distribution. Marked items in a language are more difficult to acquire than unmarked. Universal grammar (UG) is "Rules” that are shared by all languages. Such rules are a set of limitations or parameters of language. Different languages set their parameters differently, thereby creating the characteristic grammar for that language. By discovering innate linguistic principles that govern what is possible in human languages, we may be better able to understand and describe contrasts between native and target languages and the difficulties encountered by adult second language learners.

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3. Learner Language Second language learning is a process of the creative construction of a system in which learners are consciously testing hypotheses about the target language from a number of possible sources of knowledge. lnterlanguage The intralingual effects of learning are clear in second language acquisition. Second language learning is a creative process of constructing a system in which learners are consciously testing hypotheses about the target language from a number of possible sources of knowledge: of the target language, about the native language, about life, human beings, and the universe. lnterlanguage refers to the separateness of a second language learner's system, a system that has a structurally intermediate status between the native and target languages. By a gradual process of trial and error and hypothesis testing, learners slowly establish closer approximations to the system used by native speakers. The term "approximative system" refers to the same general phenomenon in second language learning but stresses the successive approximation to the target language. The term "idiosyncratic dialect" connotes the idea that the learner's language is unique to a particular individual, that the rules of the learner’s language are peculiar to the language of that individual alone. This is neither the system of the native language nor the system of the target language, but instead falls between the two

4. Error Analysis Human learning is a process that involves the making of mistakes. Success comes by profiting from mistakes and obtaining from the environment. The mistakes a person made in this process of constructing a new system of language needed to be analyzed carefully. They help in understanding the process of second language acquisition.

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1) Mistakes and Errors Mistakes and errors are two very different phenomena. A mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a “slip," in that it is a failure to utilize a known system correctly. All people make mistakes, in both native and second language situations. They are not the result of a deficiency in competence but the result of some sort of breakdown in the process of producing speech. Errors of a second language learner are direct manifestations of a system within which a learner is operating at the time. Error are noticeable deviations from the adult grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner. An example of errors is "Does John can sing?". Yet, the difference between an error and a mistake is not always clear. For example, if an English learner says “John cans sing,” but on other occasions says "John can sing,” it is difficult to determine whether “cans” is a mistake or an error. However, the widespread of such utterances reveals a kind of errors. Error analysis is the examination of errors attributable to all possible sources, not just those which result from negative transfer of the native language. Error arise from several possible general sources: interlingual errors of interference from the native language, intralingual errors within the target language, the sociolinguistic context of communication, psycholinguistic or cognitive strategies, and countless affective variables.

2) Errors in Error Analysis The classroom foreign language teacher ran become so preoccupied with noticing errors that the correct utterances in the second language go unnoticed. Another shortcoming in error analysis is an overstressing of production data; comprehension data is equally important in developing an understanding of the process of second language acquisition. Error analysis fails to for the strategy of avoidance. The absence of error does not reflect competence since learners may avoid the structures that pose difficulty for them. Error analysis can keep us too closely focused on specific languages rather than viewing universal aspects of language. The interlanguage systems of learners may have ele-

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ments that reflect neither the target language nor the native language but rather a universal feature of some kind.

3) Identifying and Describing Errors Systems are in a constant state of flux as new information flows in and, through the process of subsumption, causes existing structures to be revised. They are not stable. That’s why it’s difficult to analyze production and comprehension data. The first step in the process of analysis is the identification and description of errors. A major distinction is made at the outset between overt and covert errors. A number of different categories for description of errors have been identified in research on learner language. a) The most generalized breakdown can be made bu identifying errors of addition, omission, substitution, and ordering, following standard mathematical categories. b) Within each categories, levels of language can be considered : phonology or orthography, lexicon, grammar and discourse. c) Errors may also be viewed as either global or local. d) Lennon suggests that two related dimensions of error, domain and extent should be considered in any error analysis.

4) Sources of Errors By trying to identify sources we can begin to arrive at an understanding of how the learner’s cognitive, and affective self relates to the linguistic system and to formulate an integrated understanding of the process of second language acquisition. Interlingual Transfer The beginning stages of learning a second language are characterized by a good deal of interlingual transfer from the native language, or, interference. English learners may say "sheep" for “ship,” or “the book of Jack” instead of "Jack’s book". Fluent knowledge of a learner’s native language of course aids the teacher in detecting and analyzing such errors.

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Intralingual Transfer Intralingual transfer (within the target language itself) is a major factor in second language learning. Overgeneralization, is the negative counterpart of intralingual transfer. Examples of overgeneralization are “Does John can sing?”; “He goed,” and “I don’t know what time is it,”The teacher or researcher cannot always be certain of the source of an apparent intralingual error, but repeated systematic observations will often remove the ambiguity. Context of Learning Errors may be caused by the context of learning. When you learn English language in the school, your context of learning is the classroom. So, errors may occur by misleading explanation from the teacher. But, in untutored language, the context of learning is sociolinguistic context. E.g. certain dialect such as Japanese immigrant living in a MexicanAmerican area of a U.S. his accent is Mexican-American English mixed with Japanese accent Communication Strategies Learners use production strategies in order to enhance getting their messages across, but at times these techniques can themselves become a source of error. Examples are word coinage, circumlocution, and false cognates. "Let us work for the well-done of our country" had an incorrect approximation of the word welfare. 5. Stages of Interlanguage Development There are many different ways to describe the progression of linguistic development. It is useful to think in of four stages, based on observations of what the learner does in of errors alone. The first stage is random errors or presystematic, in which the learner is only vaguely aware that there is some systematic order to a particular class of items. For example, “John cans sing,” “John can to sing,” and “John can singing,” said by the same learner within a short period of time, might indicate a stage of experimentation and inaccurate guessing. The second is emergent stage in which the learner has begun to discern a system and to internalize certain rules. These rules may not be “correct” by target language standards, but they are nevertheless legitimate in the mind of the learner. The learner is still unable to

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correct errors when they are pointed out by someone else. Avoidance of structures and topics is typical. L: I go New York. NS: You're going to New York? L: [doesn't understand] What? The third stage is the systematic stage in which the learner is now able to manifest more consistency in producing the second language. The most salient difference between the second and third stage is the ability of learners to correct their errors when they are pointed out—even very subtly—to them. Consider the English learner who described a popular fishing-resort area. L: These fish are serving in the restaurants NS: (laughing] The fish are serving? L: (laughing) Oh, no, the fish are served in the restaurants! The fourth stage is the stabilization stage or “postsystem- atic” stage. Here the learner has relatively few errors and has mastered the system to the point that fluency and intended meanings are not problematic. This stage is characterized by the learner’s ability to selfcorrect.

6. Variability In Learner Language Just as native speakers of a language vacillate between expressions, learners also exhibit variation, sometimes within the parameters of acceptable norms, sometimes not. First, incorrect forms coexist with correct. Context has also been identified as a source of variation. Notable among models of variability are Elaine Tarone’s capability continuum paradigm and Rod Ellis’s variable competence model. Tarone chose to focus her research on contextual variability. She suggested four categories of variation: variation according to linguistic context, psychological processing factors, social contest, and language function. The emphasis on context led us to look carefully at the conditions under which certain linguistic forms vary. One of the most fruitful areas of learner language research has focused on the variation that arises from the disparity between classroom contexts and natural situations outside language classes. Ellis drew a sharp distinction between planned and unplanned discourse in order to examine variation.

7. Fossilization

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Some incorrect linguistic form may remain or fossilize in the learner's competence after the four stages of learner language development have completed. Fossiliztion is a common experience in which various errors in a learner's second language persist despite what is otherwise a fluent command of the language. It means the relatively permanent incorporation of incorrect linguistic forms into a person's second language competence. If an incorrect form is given positive followed by a positive cognitive , this will result in reinforcing the incorrect form and accordingly in fossilizing it in the learner's brain. There are two types of : 1) Affective : affective positive affective is when you keep listening to someone talking, neutral is when you are not want to maintain other talking, and negative is when you don’t listen to other talking. 2) Cognitive : positive cognitive is when you say to someone "I understand you message", neutral is when you say to someone "I'm not sure if I understand you or not", and negative is when you say to someone " I don't understand what you are saying, it's not clear. Thus, fossilized items occur when the proper is inappropriately given.

8. Errors in the Classroom 1) Audio-lingual Method: errors were viewed as phenomena to be avoided by overlearning, memorizing, and getting it right from the start. 2) Community language learning, the natural approach: a laissez-faire approach to error, under the assumption that natural processes within the learner will eventually lead the acquisition. CLT Approaches, task-based instruction : advocate an optimal balance between attention to form (and errors) and attention to meaning. Vigil and Oller's model Affective allows the sender to continue attempting to get a message across or the sender to abort such attempts.

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Cognitive : the point at which error correction enters. Noncorrective that says I understand your message or corrective that takes on a myriad of possible forms and causes the learner to make some kind of alteration in production.Cognitive must be optimal in order to be effective. Too much negative cognitive often leads learners to shut off their attempts at communication. Too much positive cognitive serves to reinforce the errors of the speaker=learner (fossilization). The task of the teacher is to discern the optimal tension between positive and negative cognitive .

9. Form-Focused Instruction

From-focused instruction (FFI) means any pedagogical effort which is used to draw the learners’ attention to language form either implicitly or explicitly. On the other end of the continuum are a) implicit, peripheral references to form; b) noticing the learner’s paying attention to specific linguistic features in input, c) the incorporation of forms into communicative tasks, or grammar consciousness raising. The research on this issue addresses a number of questions: 1. Are some types of FFI more beneficial than others? 2. Is there an optimal time to provide FFI? 3. Are particular linguistic features more affected by FFI? 4. Do particular students benefit more from FFI? It is sometimes hard to find enough evidence or studies, but most of the answers for the questions above were yes.

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REFERENCES

Brown, H. D. (1987). Principles of Languages Learning and Teaching. 2 nd ed. New Jersey; Prentice Hall