THE ACQUISITION OF PROGRESSIVE AND RESULTATIVE MEANINGS OF THE IMPERFECTIVE ASPECT MARKER BY L2 LEARNERS OF JAPANESE: Transfer, Universals, or Multiple Factors?

Abstract

It has been observed that there is a strong association between the inherent (lexical) aspect of verbs and the acquisition of tense-aspect morphology (the aspect hypothesis; Andersen & Shirai, 1994). To investigate why such an association is observed, this study examined the influence of inherent aspect and learners' first language (L1) on the acquisition of Japanese imperfective aspect by using two tasks—an acceptability judgment test and an oral picture description task—with two groups of second language learners of Japanese: 26 native speakers (NSs) of English, which has the obligatory progressive, and 35 NSs of languages that have no obligatory progressive marking (German and Slavic languages). The results from the acceptability judgment test support the aspect hypothesis in that, regardless of L1, the imperfective marker -te i-ru was strongly associated with activity verbs for lower proficiency learners. However, the results from the oral task did not support the prediction, in that lower proficiency L1 nonprogressive learners did not show any such preference. The results suggest that L1 plays a role in the formation of the acquisition pattern predicted by the aspect hypothesis, but that given the complex interaction with task types and proficiency, L1 transfer cannot be the sole reason for the predicted association in the acquisition of Japanese -te i-(ru). It is argued that multiple factors are at work when learners create the form-meaning associations predicted by the aspect hypothesis.This article is based on research conducted as part of Sugaya's doctoral dissertation submitted to Ochanomizu University. We would like to thank Kevin Gregg, Yoshinori Sasaki, and the anonymous SSLA reviewers for their insightful comments on an earlier version of this article. We also thank Manabu Kurosawa for his invaluable advice on statistical analysis. We are grateful to Chie Morizuka, Hiromi Ozeki, Masuyo Sugiyama, Orie Takahashi, Yoko Mukoyama, Yukari Hashimoto, and the other participants of the seminar on SLA at Ochanomizu University for their helpful discussions of this study. We also thank the participants in the study for their cooperation and those who kindly helped us recruit them. This research is partially supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Developmental Index for Japanese L1 and L2 Acquisition and Comparative Research on the Acquisition of English and Japanese, grant No. 13410034, PI-Kiyoshi Otomo, Tokyo Gakugei University). A preliminary analysis of the acceptability judgment test appeared in Nihongo Kyooiku (Journal of Japanese Language Teaching; Sugaya, 2004).

More evidence concerning the Aspect Hypothesis: The acquisition of English progressive aspect by Catalan-Spanish instructed learners

“…Many of these studies, however, have shown no clear agreement as to which theoretical explanations should be given to the predictable patterns of acquisition of tense and aspect. Hence, reasons such as the distribution of input (Ayoun and Salaberry 2008;Rhode 1996;Robison 1995;Andersen and Shirai 1994) to which learners are exposed, the influence of the teaching environment (Bardovi-Harlig 1992), L1 influence (Collins 2002(Collins , 2004Sugaya and Shirai 2007) or alternative universal mechanisms (Slabakova 1999;Gavruseva 2002;and Haznedar 2007 for a counterargument) among others, have been advanced in order to provide an explanation for certain robust patterns of the acquisition of tense and aspect morphology. Within the framework of the AH, the goal of this paper is to provide further evidence from cross-sectional data with regard to the acquisition of progressive aspect by learners of English who are bilingual Catalan-Spanish, a language constellation that has not previously been studied in this domain.…”

The importance of task variability in the design of learner corpora for SLA research

“…Although several researchers (e.g., Bonilla 2013, Shirai 2004, Sugaya & Shirai 2007 have made reference to the role of task type in explaining differential outcomes in research testing the AH, few studies have empirically tested this claim. In a study comparing accuracy rates across tasks in L2 Spanish, Salaberry & Lopez-Ortega (1998) found that only the lower proficiency group's use of past tense morphology varied between a written narrative and a grammar test (either fill-in-the-blank or multiple choice depending on the group), with more mistakes occurring in the grammar test; the more advanced group scored consistently across tasks.…”

Aspect in L2 English

“…To our knowledge, there has been little attention paid to specific areas of grammar in previous L2 attrition studies of Japanese returnees. Tomiyama (1999) looked at Japanese child returnees' L2 attrition, but in a qualitative study. There was no focus on grammar per se.…”

“…This is not usually discussed in relation to L2 acquisition research since one generally assumes that once learners have reached a certain proficiency in the L2, they will retain that proficiency, but studies dating back to Cole (1929) have been concerned with the loss of foreign language skills by high school students during summer vacation after completing a language course. In more recent L2 attrition studies, researchers have been interested in returnees who have spent longer periods abroad (e.g., Yoshitomi, 1992Yoshitomi, , 1999Tomiyama, 1999Tomiyama, , 2009. Typically, people who stay a number of years in an L2-speaking environment gain a certain level of proficiency.…”