When L1 becomes an L3: Do heritage speakers make better L3 learners?

Polinsky, Maria

doi:10.1017/s1366728913000667

Cited by 45 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…As a result, second language (L2) becomes the dominant language of HSs, and their first (L1), heritage, language is reduced to non-native levels of proficiency due to incomplete acquisition and/or attrition ( Montrul, 2008 ; Bylund, 2009 ; Bylund et al, 2010 ; Schmid, 2010 ; Polinsky, 2011 ). The heritage language may also be influenced by L2, the dominant language ( Cook, 2003 ; Polinsky, 2014 ). HSs rely predominantly on auditory input, and often do not go through formal schooling in their first language.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raspberry, not a car: context predictability and a phonological advantage in early and late learnersâ€™ processing of speech in noise

Gor

2014

Front. Psychol.

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Second language learners perform worse than native speakers under adverse listening conditions, such as speech in noise (SPIN). No data are available on heritage language speakers’ (early naturalistic interrupted learners’) ability to perceive SPIN. The current study fills this gap and investigates the perception of Russian speech in multi-talker babble noise by the matched groups of high- and low-proficiency heritage speakers (HSs) and late second language learners of Russian who were native speakers of English. The study includes a control group of Russian native speakers. It manipulates the noise level (high and low), and context cloze probability (high and low). The results of the SPIN task are compared to the tasks testing the control of phonology, AXB discrimination and picture-word discrimination, and lexical knowledge, a word translation task, in the same participants. The increased phonological sensitivity of HSs interacted with their ability to rely on top–down processing in sentence integration, use contextual cues, and build expectancies in the high-noise/high-context condition in a bootstrapping fashion. HSs outperformed oral proficiency-matched late second language learners on SPIN task and two tests of phonological sensitivity. The outcomes of the SPIN experiment support both the early naturalistic advantage and the role of proficiency in HSs. HSs’ ability to take advantage of the high-predictability context in the high-noise condition was mitigated by their level of proficiency. Only high-proficiency HSs, but not any other non-native group, took advantage of the high-predictability context that became available with better phonological processing skills in high-noise. The study thus confirms high-proficiency (but not low-proficiency) HSs’ nativelike ability to combine bottom–up and top–down cues in processing SPIN.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raspberry, not a car: context predictability and a phonological advantage in early and late learnersâ€™ processing of speech in noise

Gor

2014

Front. Psychol.

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“…If, in acquiring the standard variety of their language, heritage speakers display acquisitional patterns that are similar to those of their L2 counterparts, then the question is whether one can consider learning the standard variety as a form of learning a new language, as has been suggested in previous research Iverson, 2009;Polinsky, 2013). If so, there is still the question of whether the colloquial variety plays a role in the acquisition of the standard variety and, if it does, whether this role is positive or negative.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 98%

“…The predictions of these theoretical analyses have been examined in typologically distinct languages and in varieties of the same language, with findings reporting the L1 as being the sole contributor, one of the contributors, or not a main contributor to L3 acquisition (e.g., Berkes & Flynn, ; Hermas, , ; Jaensch, ; Kulundary & Gabriele, ; Montrul, Dias, & Santos, ; Polinsky, ). However, the literature lacks studies on the role of colloquial Arabic in the acquisition of MSA by heritage Arabic speakers.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of the Colloquial Varieties in the Acquisition of the Standard Variety: The Case of Arabic Heritage Speakers

Albirini

2014

Foreign Language Annals

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The study investigated the acquisition of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) by second language (L2) learners and by heritage speakers of the colloquial varieties of Arabic. The study focused on three questions: (1) whether heritage speakers who enroll in college‐level elementary MSA classes have an advantage over their L2 counterparts, (2) whether any potential advantage that heritage speakers may bring into the classroom carries on to a later stage of their MSA learning, and (3) the role of positive or negative transfer from the colloquial variety in the acquisition of MSA in a formal setting. Thirty‐five heritage speakers (19 elementary and 16 advanced), 28 advanced L2 learners, and 16 native‐speaker controls completed five negation tasks. The results indicated that, whereas elementary heritage speakers entered the MSA classroom with an advantage over their L2 counterparts in the area under study, the advanced heritage speakers exhibited patterns that were comparable to those of the L2 learners. Unlike their L2 counterparts, however, the advanced heritage speakers displayed positive and negative transfer effects from colloquial Arabic. The findings are discussed in the framework of three models/hypotheses of first language transfer to a third language, and their pedagogical implications for Arabic language teaching and learning are explicated.

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“…More concretely, an L1 speaker of English acquiring Spanish as an L2 may have a significantly different path to learning Spanish than an L1 English speaker of L3 Spanish who already speaks Italian. An L1 English speaker of L3 Spanish who knows French or a child heritage speaker of Spanish, dominant in English learning the formal register of Spanish as an L3 (see Polinsky, 2015) might each be different from the other learner types despite the fact that English is the first/dominant language and Spanish is always the target. Among other variables that will likely intercede along the path of linguistic development in L2A/L3A, what makes the learnability task potentially different for each of these native speakers of English always acquiring at NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIV on June 4, 2016 ijb.sagepub.com Downloaded from standard Spanish as a non-native language, is how the initial transferred representations, predicted to be (somewhat) unique in each case, translate into differences in learnability for interlanguage development.…”

Section: Developmental Stages Data: Drawbacks and Advantagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coming of age in L3 initial stages transfer models: Deriving developmental predictions and looking towards the future

Alonso

Rothman

2016

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims: Over the past decade in particular, formal linguistic work within L3 acquisition has concentrated on hypothesizing and empirically determining the source of transfer from previous languages-L1, L2 or both-in L3 grammatical representations. In view of the progressive concern with more advanced stages, we aim to show that focusing on L3 initial stages should be one continued priority of the field, even-or especially-if the field is ready to shift towards modeling L3 development and ultimate attainment. Approach: We argue that L3 learnability is significantly impacted by initial stages transfer, as such forms the basis of the initial L3 interlanguage. To illustrate our point, the insights from studies using initial and intermediary stages L3 data are discussed in light of developmental predictions that derive from the initial stages models. Conclusions: Despite a shared desire to understand the process of L3 acquisition in whole, inclusive of offering developmental L3 theories, we argue that the field does not yet havealthough is ever closer to-the data basis needed to effectively do so. Originality: This article seeks to convince the readership of the need for conservatism in L3 acquisition theory building, whereby offering a framework on how and why we can most effectively build on the accumulated knowledge of the L3 initial stages in order to make significant, steady progress. Significance: The arguments exposed here are meant to provide an epistemological base for a tenable framework of formal approaches to L3 interlanguage development and, eventually, ultimate attainment.

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When L1 becomes an L3: Do heritage speakers make better L3 learners?

Cited by 45 publications

References 64 publications

Raspberry, not a car: context predictability and a phonological advantage in early and late learnersâ€™ processing of speech in noise

Raspberry, not a car: context predictability and a phonological advantage in early and late learnersâ€™ processing of speech in noise

The Role of the Colloquial Varieties in the Acquisition of the Standard Variety: The Case of Arabic Heritage Speakers

Coming of age in L3 initial stages transfer models: Deriving developmental predictions and looking towards the future

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