Task and L1 effects

Abstract

Research on tense-aspect phenomena has shown that the type of experimental task can affect the performance of L2 learners. This pilot study on the understudied language combination Dutch-Spanish investigates this issue by focusing on the interaction between known affecting variables (inherent aspect; L1 effects) and different tasks (multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, free production). First findings show that, indeed, both task type and L1 have an influence on the outcome. Generally, Dutch learners seem to prefer the Imperfect over the Preterit. This stands in contrast to previous research but can be explained by the imperfective features of the Dutch Simple Past with which the learners associate the L2 forms. Whereas this L1 effect is not visible in the multiple-choice task where the choice is forced, it manifests itself in tasks where students can choose freely between forms they know. Especially in the free production task, the L1 effect interacts with a high individual variability.

Target Variation as a Contributing Factor in TAML2 Production

“…This points to a clear case of L1 transfer, as the Present Perfect in the Dutch language can refer to any past reference (Van Hout, 2005). Moreover, González and Diaubalick (2019) have found out that, as the Dutch Simple Past is comparable to the Spanish Imperfect form, the L2 use of this form in Spanish seems to function as a default marker of the past tense in the interlanguage of Dutch students.…”

“…Since Andersen (1986), many studies have been written on the acquisition of temporality in a second language. More specifically, the contrast between the two simple pasts in Romance languages has received a lot of attention (Andersen, 1986;Salaberry, 2003;González & Quintana Hernández, 2018;González & Diaubalick, 2019). This particular contrast to mark past temporality is morphologically expressed in the verb in Spanish, but not in many other languages, in the form of grammatical aspect.…”

“…As summarised in González and Diaubalick (2019), most studies on the acquisition of grammatical aspect in a second language refer to the Lexical Aspect Hypothesis (LAH) by Andersen (1986). Following Vendler's (1957) classification of verbs, based on aspectual distinctions, Andersen (1986) describes the uses of the past tenses in the interlanguage of English learners of Spanish.…”

“…Other studies have shown, furthermore, that some consideration should be paid to other aspectual features, such as dynamicity (Domínguez, Tracy-Ventura, Arche, Mitchell & Myles, 2013). The debate on this issue has developed to focus also on the role of L1 transfer (Izquierdo & Collins, 2008;Domínguez et al, 2013;McManus, 2015;González & Quintana Hernández, 2018;González & Diaubalick, 2019). Even learners of very closely related languages, such as English and Dutch, for instance, have differences in their L2 Spanish that can only be explained when observing L1 properties (Domínguez et al, 2013;González & Quintana Hernández, 2018).…”

“…Studies have collected data from learners of various types of classrooms, such as the study abroad classroom (Geeslin et al, 2013), the immersion school in the learner's home country (Mougeon, Nadasdi & Rehner, 2010), or the traditional at-home classroom also in their home country (González & Diaubalick, 2019). These different types of learning contexts have been extensively discussed in Geeslin and Long (2014).…”