Jump to ContentJump to Main Navigation
Show Summary Details
More options …

 

Language Learning in Higher Education

Journal of the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS)

Editor-in-Chief: Szczuka-Dorna, Liliana / O’Rourke, Breffni

Online
ISSN
2191-6128
See all formats and pricing
Online
Institutional Subscription
€ [D] 233.00 / US$ 350.00 / GBP 191.00*
Individual Subscription
€ [D] 49.00 / US$ 74.00 / GBP 40.00*
Print
Institutional Subscription
€ [D] 233.00 / US$ 350.00 / GBP 191.00*
Individual Subscription
€ [D] 233.00 / US$ 350.00 / GBP 191.00*
Print + Online
Institutional Subscription
€ [D] 277.00 / US$ 420.00 / GBP 227.00*
Individual Subscription
€ [D] 277.00 / US$ 420.00 / GBP 227.00*
*Prices in US$ apply to orders placed in the Americas only. Prices in GBP apply to orders placed in Great Britain only. Prices in € represent the retail prices valid in Germany (unless otherwise indicated). Prices are subject to change without notice. Prices do not include postage and handling if applicable. RRP: Recommended Retail Price.
More options …

Multilingual learners and foreign language acquisition: Insights into the effects of prior linguistic knowledge

Anahí Alba de la Fuente
  • Corresponding author
  • Université de Montréal, Pavillon Lionel Groulx, Département de littératures et de langues modernes, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7, Canada
  • Email
  • Other articles by this author:
  • De Gruyter OnlineGoogle Scholar
 / Hugues Lacroix
  • Université de Montréal, Pavillon Lionel Groulx, Département de littératures et de langues modernes. C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7, Canada
  • Email
  • Other articles by this author:
  • De Gruyter OnlineGoogle Scholar
Published Online: 2015-04-30 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2015-0003

30,00 € / $42.00 / £23.00

Get Access to Full Text

Abstract

In foreign language classrooms we often find that, in addition to their mother tongue (L1), learners already speak – or are learning – at least one other language. As a result, they already have an array of linguistic and cognitive skills that may prove very useful if they are adequately exploited during the language learning process. However, in contrast with the growing interest displayed by researchers in the processes involved in the acquisition of a third or subsequent language (e.g. Cenoz 2001; De Angelis 2007; Rothman 2011), the particular characteristics of multilingual learners often go unnoticed by foreign language teachers (Pauwels 2014). In light of this, we present a survey of key concepts in the field of third language acquisition (TLA) and make a number of suggestions for classroom practice based on current research in the area. We first analyze concepts such as psychotypology (Kellerman 1978, 1983) and cross-linguistic influence. Then, drawing on work done by authors such as Thomas (1988), Jessner (1999, 2006, 2008a) and Carvalho and Silva (2006), we propose that teachers should take advantage of multilingual learners’ metalinguistic awareness, for example by adopting strategies such as reactivating prior linguistic knowledge and exploring the formal differences and similarities between the languages present in the classroom.

Keywords: third language acquisition; foreign language teaching; multilingual learner; metalinguistic awareness; psychotypology; cross-linguistic influence

References

  • Auger, Nathalie. 2005. Comparons nos langues: démarche d’apprentissage du français auprès d’enfants nouvellement arrivés (ENA). Montpellier: CRDP.Google Scholar

  • Bardel, Camilla & Ylva Falk. 2007. The role of the second language in third language acquisition: The case of Germanic syntax. Second Language Research 23(4). 459–484.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Bardel, Camilla & Christina Lindqvist. 2006. The role of proficiency and psychotypology in lexical cross-linguistic influence. A study of a multilingual learner of Italian L3. In Marina Chini, Paola Desideri, M. Elena Favilla, & Gabriele Pallotti (eds.), Atti del VI Congresso di Studi dell’Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata, Napoli, 9–10, February 2006, 123–145. Perugia: Guerra Editore.Google Scholar

  • Candelier, Michel, Antoinette Camilleri-Grima, Véronique Castellotti, Jean-François de Pietro, Ildikó Lörincz, Franz-Joseph Meissner, Anna Schröder-Sura & Artur Noguerol. 2007. Cadre de Référence pour les Approches Plurielles des Langues et des Cultures. Graz: Centre européen pour les langues vivantes (Conseil de l’Europe).Google Scholar

  • Carvalho, Ana M., Juliana Luna Freire & Antonio J. B. da Silva. 2010. Teaching Portuguese to Spanish speakers: A case for trilingualism. Hispania 93(1). 70–75.Google Scholar

  • Carvalho, Ana M. & Antonio Jose Bacelar Silva. 2006. Cross-linguistic influence in third Language Acquisition: The case of Spanish-English bilinguals’ acquisition of Portuguese. Foreign Language Annals 39(2). 185–202.Google Scholar

  • Cenoz, Jasone. 2001. The effect of linguistic distance, L2 status and age on cross-linguistic influence in L3 acquisition. In Jasone Cenoz, Britta Hufeisen & Ulrike Jessner (eds.), Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: Psycholinguistic perspectives, 8–20. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Cenoz, Jasone. 2003. The additive effect of bilingualism on third language acquisition: A review. International Journal of Bilingualism 7(1). 71–87.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Cenoz, Jasone & Fred Genesee. 1998. Psycholinguistic perspectives on multilingualism and multilingual education. In Jasone Cenoz & Fred Genesee (eds.), Beyond bilingualism: Multilingualism and multilingual education, 16–32. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Cenoz, Jasone & Ulrike Jessner. 2009. The study of multilingualism. In Larissa Aronin & Britta Hufeisen (eds.), The exploration of multilingualism: Development of research on L3, multilingualism and multiple language acquisition (AILA Applied Linguistics Series 6), 121–138. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Google Scholar

  • Cook, Vivian J. 1991. The poverty-of-the-stimulus argument and multicompetence. Second Language Research 7(2). 103–117.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Cook, Vivian J. 1992. Evidence for multicompetence. Language Learning 42(4). 557–591.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Cook, Vivian J. 1999. Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching. TESOL Quarterly 33(2). 185–209.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Cook, Vivian J. 2001. Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes 57(3). 402–423.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • De Angelis, Gessica. 2007. Third or additional language acquisition. Clevendon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • De Bot, Kees. 2004. The multilingual lexicon: Modelling selection and control. International Journal of Multilingualism 1(1). 17–32.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Dewaele, Jean-Marc. 2001. Activation or inhibition? In Jasone Cenoz, Britta Hufeisen & Ulrike Jessner (eds.), Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: Psycholinguistic perspectives, 69–89. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Falk, Ylva & Camilla Bardel. 2010. The study of the role of the background languages in third language acquisition: The state of the art. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 48(2–3). 185–219.Google Scholar

  • Falk, Ylva & Camilla Bardel. 2011. Object pronouns in German L3 syntax: Evidence for the L2 status factor. Second Language Research 27(1). 59–82.Web of ScienceCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Flynn, Suzanne, Claire Foley & Inna Vinnitskaya. 2004. The Cumulative-Enhancement Model for language acquisition: Comparing adults’ and children’s patterns of development in first, second and third language acquisition of relative clauses. International Journal of Multilingualism 1(1). 3–16.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Franceschini, Rita. 2009. The genesis and development of research in multilingualism. In Larissa Aronin & Britta Hufeisen (eds.), The exploration of multilingualism: Development of research on L3, multilingualism and multiple language acquisition (AILA Applied Linguistics Series 6), 27–61. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Google Scholar

  • García-Mayo, María del Pilar. 2012. Cognitive approaches to L3 acquisition. International Journal of English Studies 12(1). 1–20.Google Scholar

  • Grosjean, François. 1997. Processing mixed language: Issues, findings, and models. In Annette M. De Groot & Judith F. Kroll (eds.), Tutorials in bilingualism: Psycholinguistic perspectives, 225–254. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar

  • Grosjean, François. 1998. Studying bilinguals: Methodological and conceptual issues. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 1(2). 131–149.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Grosjean, François. 2001. The bilingual’s language modes. In Janet Nicol (ed.), One mind, two languages: Bilingual language processing, 1–22. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar

  • Jessner, Ulrike. 1999. Metalinguistic awareness in multilinguals: Cognitive aspects of third language learning. Language Awareness 8(3–4). 201–209.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Jessner, Ulrike. 2006. Linguistic awareness in multilinguals: English as a third language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar

  • Jessner, Ulrike. 2008a. A DST model of multilingualism and the role of metalinguistic awareness. The Modern Language Journal 92(2). 270–283.Web of ScienceCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Jessner, Ulrike. 2008b. Multicompetence approaches to language proficiency development in multilingual education. In Jim Cummins & Nancy H. Hornberger (eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education, Vol.5: Bilingual Eduction, 91–103. New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar

  • Kellerman, Eric. 1978. Giving learners a break: Native language intuitions as a source of predictions about transferability. Working Papers on Bilingualism 15. 59–92.Google Scholar

  • Kellerman, Eric. 1983. Now you see it, now you don’t. In Susan Gass & Larry Selinker (eds.), Language transfer in language learning, 112–134. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar

  • Kellerman, Eric. 1995. Crosslinguistic influence: Transfer to nowhere? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 15. 125–150.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Marian, Viorica & Michael Spivey. 2003. Competing activation in bilingual language processing: Within- and between-language competition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 6(2). 97–115.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Pauwels, Anne. 2014. The teaching of languages at university in the context of super-diversity. International Journal of Multilingualism 11(3). 307–319.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Pratt, Chris & Robert Grieve. 1984. The development of metalinguistic awareness: An introduction. In William E. Tunmer, Chris Pratt & Michael L. Herriman (eds.), Metalinguistic awareness in children: Theory, research and implications, 2–11. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar

  • Ringbom, Håkan. 2007. Cross-linguistic similarity in foreign language learning (Second Language Acquisition 21). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Rothman, Jason. 2011. L3 syntactic transfer selectivity and typological determinacy: The typological primacy model. Second Language Research 27(1). 107–127.CrossrefWeb of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Rothman, Jason. 2013a. Cognitive economy, non-redundancy and typological primacy in L3 acquisition. In Sergio Baauw, Frank Drijkoningen, Luisa Meroni & Manuela Pinto (eds.), Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2011: Selected papers from “Going Romance” Utrecht 2011 (Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 5), 217–247. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Google Scholar

  • Rothman, Jason. 2013b. Linguistic and cognitive motivations for the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) of third language (L3) transfer: Timing of acquisition and proficiency considered. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. doi:CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Rothman, Jason & Becky Halloran. 2013. Formal linguistic approaches to L3/Ln acquisition: A focus on morphosyntactic transfer in adult multilingualism. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 33. 51–67.Web of ScienceCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Thomas, Jacqueline. 1988. The role played by metalinguistic awareness in second and third language learning. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 9(3). 235–246.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Williams, Sarah and Björn Hammarberg. 1998. Language switches in L3 production: Implications of a polyglot speaking model. Applied Linguistics 19(3). 295–333.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

About the article

Anahí Alba de la Fuente

Anahí Alba de la Fuente is an assistant professor in the Département de littératures et de langues modernes at the Université de Montréal. Her research interests cover various aspects of language acquisition, bilingualism and multilingualism as well as the interface between language acquisition and teaching. Her current research deals with the native and non-native acquisition of Spanish in multilingual contexts.

Hugues Lacroix

Hugues Lacroix is a Master’s student in Hispanic studies at the University of Montreal. His principal research interests are third language acquisition and foreign language teaching. He is currently working on the transfer processes in the acquisition of Spanish as a third language in both the context of the Northern Basque Country (France) and of Montreal (Canada).

Published Online: 2015-04-30

Published in Print: 2015-05-01

Citation Information: Language Learning in Higher Education, Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 45–57, ISSN (Online) 2191-6128, ISSN (Print) 2191-611X, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2015-0003.

Export Citation

©2015 by De Gruyter Mouton.Get Permission

Citing Articles

Here you can find all Crossref-listed publications in which this article is cited. If you would like to receive automatic email messages as soon as this article is cited in other publications, simply activate the “Citation Alert” on the top of this page.

[1]
Lourdes Ortega
System, 2015, Volume 54, Page 103

Comments (0)

Please log in or register to comment.
Log in