An Inquiry into the Role of L3 Proficiency on Crosslinguistic influence in Third Language Acquisition.

Abstract

With the rise of multilingualism, studies have proliferated that investigate the interaction of the different languages. The study presented here sets out to examine the role that proficiency plays on the occurrence of a specific interaction, namely interlanguage transfer from a prior non–native language (L2 German) upon another non–native language (L3 English) at the level of syntax in Spanish/ Catalan bilinguals. Data were collected from 80 learners of L3 English who were at different proficiency levels (as indicated by a 30-item cloze test), while data for the analysis of transfer was elicited using a story telling task. Statistical tests revealed significant differences across proficiency levels, i.e. low and pre–intermediate (p= .032), low and intermediate levels (p= .000), and pre–intermediate and intermediate levels (p= .018). Título en español: “Una indagación sobre el papel de la proficiencia en L3 sobre la influencia transversal en la adquisición de terceras lenguas”Resumen: Con el crecimiento del multilingüismo, han proliferado los estudios que investigan la interacción entre diferentes lenguas. El presente estudio se plantea examinar el rol que desempeña la proficiencia en la ocurrencia de un tipo específico de interacción, a saber, transferencia entre interlenguas de una lengua no nativa (L2 Alemán) a otra lengua no nativa (L3 Inglés) a nivel sintáctico en bilingües Castellano/ Catalán. Se recogieron datos de 80 aprendices de L3 Inglés que estaban en diferentes niveles de proficiencia (como indicó un cloze test de 30 ítems), mientras que los datos para el análisis de la transferencia se elicitaron empleando una tarea narrativa. Los tests estadísticos realizados revelaron diferencias significativas entre niveles bajo y pre–intermedio (p= .032), bajo e intermedio (p= .000) y pre–intermedio e intermedio (p= .018).

The influence of L1 Dutch and L2 English on L3 French: A longitudinal study

“…This increased focus on development demonstrates that the field is ready for a 'shift in focus towards understanding L3A more completely' (González Alonso & Rothman, 2016, p. 4). Furthermore, the L3 literature also shows an interest in a less static approach by studying the effect of interfering factors that are to some extent connected to development, such as L2 and L3 proficiency (Jaensch, 2009;Sánchez, 2014;Sánchez & Bardel, 2017), L2 exposure/L2 frequency of use (Dewaele, 2001;Hammarberg, 2009;Stadt et al, 2018) or metalinguistic knowledge attained either in the L1 or in the L2 (Sanz, 2000;Jessner, 2008;Falk, Lindqvist & Bardel, 2015;Bardel & Sánchez, 2017).…”

Exploring intentionality in lexical transfer

“…Moreover, the type of lexical transfer produced has been shown to correlate with target language (TL) proficiency. Borrowings, for example, appear to occur more often at lower levels of TL proficiency, while foreignisings tend to appear more frequently at higher levels of TL proficiency (Bardel & Lindqvist, 2007;Pfenninger & Singleton, 2016;Sánchez, 2014). One might therefore assume that transfer at lower levels of proficiency is more unintentional, as the learner is overwhelmed with the task of producing the TL, and consequently that borrowings are more often unintentional than foreignising.…”

L1, L2 and L3: Same or different?

“…It was already claimed in Williams and Hammarberg (1998) that a background language in which the learner has a high proficiency level is more likely to influence the L3. Sánchez (2014Sánchez ( , 2020, among others, have investigated how various levels of proficiency in the L3, as well as in the L2, affect syntactic transfer in the L3. Sánchez (2014) found a significant difference between three groups of L3 learners that was clearly attributed to their proficiency level.…”