Studies in third language acquisition (L3) add an exciting dimension to the field of language acquisition and present many interesting lines of research. One issue unique to L3 acquisition is the effect of second language (L2) experience on L3 acquisition. Because L3 learners have already experienced the process of language acquisition, it seems likely that the experiences, knowledge, and skills they may have gained while learning an L2 would transfer to, and even enhance, their ability to acquire an L3. It also seems reasonable to believe that the type of language previously studied would have an effect on learners' abilities to acquire additional languages of a similar type. Many research studies have affirmed these theories showing that L3 learners have an advantage in language learning which is absent in L2 learners. Other studies have shown L2 typology, level of proficiency, and extent of L2 experience to be contributing factors in adult L3 learners who had studied French or Spanish as an L2 for varying lengths of time, and were studying French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, or Russian as an L3. Participants' L2 experience, including length of study and language type, was compared to their scores on an L3 speaking assessment consisting of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and fluency ratings. A linear stepwise multiple regression analysis showed a modest trend in which length of L2 experience did have an effect on L3 acquisition. Although this trend did not achieve statistical significance, a hypothetical analysis showed that the trend became significant with the omission of three outliers. An analysis of variance demonstrated that type of language experience did not significantly affect L3 acquisition since participants from all five L3 groups received comparable scores on the speaking assessment. Another analysis of variance, however, showed language type to be a highly significant factor in the acquisition of L3 pronunciation. The results of the study suggest that length of L2 exposure does seem to affect L3 acquisition to some extent, although the trend found from the data was modest. The study also concluded that language typology was not a significant contributing factor in L3 acquisition, with the exception of its effect on the acquisition of L3 pronunciation.

Les mariages exogames, la mobilité de la population, la mondialisation, le bilinguisme social et l’éducation bilingue favorisent le développement du multilinguisme en Occident. La majorité de la recherche sur ce phénomène se réalise dans le cadre du bilinguisme et celui de l’acquisition d’une langue seconde. Pour les fins de cette étude, une personne qui a une connaissance de deux langues – même imparfaite – sera considérée comme étant bilingue. Une personne multilingue a une connaissance de trois langues ou plus. La recherche sur le multilinguisme n’en est qu’à ses débuts, mais elle est notamment parvenue à identifier des caractéristiques distinctes que partagent les personnes multilingues. Certains conçoivent le multilinguisme comme étant une extension du bilinguisme et considèrent que, quoique plus complexes, ses opérations lexicales restent les mêmes. D’autres estiment que la quantité de langues est un facteur qui suffit à créer une façon d’être distincte – un point de départ différent – pour une personne multilingue. L’une des questions importantes que l’on se pose dans le domaine du lexique multilingue est jusqu’à quel point le traitement lexical des langues d’un individu se fait de façon séparée ou conjointe. Cette étude se veut une contribution aux travaux de Peter Ecke, qui a étudié de façon extensive la nature des interactions translinguistiques chez les personnes bilingues et multilingues en utilisant les tests du dans un état « bout de la langue » (BDLL). Notre étude analyse le fonctionnement du vocabulaire de la L3 chez des adolescents ayant le profil suivant : L1 anglais, L2 français à un niveau débutant-intermédiare et L3 à un niveau débutant, acquis dans un contexte scolaire. En utilisant un outil d’élicitation de type BDLLL, nous tenterons d’identifier les caractéristiques des associations de mots alors que le sujet avait un mot sur le bout de la langue ou qu’il faisait une erreur lexicale, tout en étudiant la relation entre les lexiques de la L1, de la L2 et de la L3. Nos résultats indiquent que dans la recherche et l’identification de mots de la L3, lors d’instants où le sujet cherche ses mots ou fait une erreur lexicale, l’identification de l’aspect sémantique fonctionne, alors que l’identification de l’aspect formel échoue. Pour ce qui est des influences translinguistiques, la plupart des sujets cherchaient d’abord dans la L3 et passaient ensuite à une recherche dans la L2. L’influence de L1 s’est avérée faible. Nous attribuons la cause de l’influence translinguistique à la psychotypologie, la compétence, et la récence. In the western world, multilingualism is a growing phenomenon as a result of exogamous marriages, population mobility, globalization, social bilingualism and bilingual education. Most of the research in the field of multilingualism is carried out within the framework of research into bilingualism and second language acquisition. For the purposes of our study a bilingual speaker has knowledge, however imperfect, of two languages. A multilingual speaker has knowledge of three or more languages. Research into multilingualism is still in its early stages but has come far enough for researchers to identify distinct characteristics of the multilingual speaker. Some conclude that multilingualism is an extension of bilingualism, in that lexical operations are the same but more complex. Others believe that the quantity of languages alone creates a distinct state of being - a different starting place - for the multilingual speaker. One key question in the field of the multilingual lexicon to what degree is the lexical processing of the individual’s languages is separate or integrated. This study is a contribution to the research of Peter Ecke who has extensively studied the nature of cross-linguistic interaction in bilingual and multilingual speakers using tip of the tongue (TOT) tests. Our study analysed the processing of L3 vocabulary in adolescents with the following profile: L1 English, L2 French at a low-intermediate level and L3 Spanish at the beginner level in a school setting. Using a TOT elicitation tool, we sought to identify specific characteristics of word associates in TOT states and in lexical errors, as well as the relationship between the L1, L2 and L3 lexicons. Our results indicate that in the search and retrieval of L3 words in TOT states and in lexical errors, the retrieval of the semantic aspect succeeds while the retrieval of the form aspect fails. With regard to the source of cross-linguistic influence, most subjects searched initially within the L3 and failing that, proceeded to a search within the L2. L1 influence was weak. We attribute the cause of cross-linguistic influence to psychotypology, proficiency and recency. / Thesis (Master, French) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-26 21:28:27.802

The purpose of this dissertation has been to get a deeper understanding of how, when and why the English teachers of year 6-9 at a particular multilingual school use Swedish when they teach English in a multilingual classroom. Data were collected through notes taken during observations of two teachers during one lesson each. After observing the teachers I conducted one interview with them each. Swedish was used mostly when grammar was explained and when work was done with vocabulary. If Swedish dominated during a lesson or not, depended on what was being done during the lesson. The main reason given why the teachers used Swedish in teaching English was that they were not trained to teach English in a multilingual classroom where Swedish is not the first language of all the pupils. The teachers felt it was difficult to speak English during a whole lesson when they were teaching a group of pupils who had a low level of English.

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The goal of this thesis is twofold. Firstly, it investigates the actual, native use of spatial-deictic demonstratives in Japanese, Finnish and Swedish. Secondly, it investigates and elucidates the interlanguage of Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking learners of Japanese regarding their use of Japanese spatial-deictic demonstratives in the light of respective native use and, in comparison to the descriptions of demonstratives in the teaching materials used. Thus, the present study deals with analyses of two sets of empirical data: data produced by native-speaking informants (L1 data) and data produced by language learners (L2 data). These were elicited by Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) designed, collected and analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods by the author. The results showed that the actual use of demonstratives by the native informants was not always in accordance with the way described in grammars. The typological similarities between Japanese and Finnish were in this study not reflected in the native use of demonstratives, and some uses were not solely based on the spatial relations between the referent, the speaker and the addressee, but rather on social-interactional factors. The main findings regarding the learner data revealed some differences in the usage rate of the demonstratives between the two Finnish-speaking groups and the one Swedish-speaking learner group studied. There were, however, no particular differences found between them regarding the type of demonstrative used. It is suggested that these differences are first and foremost connected both with the teaching materials used and the more or less heterogeneous linguistic environment in which the learners reside, and only thereafter with the typological similarities or differences between their respective native languages, Finnish and Swedish, and the target language, Japanese. It is further argued that the learners’ use of the different Japanese demonstratives, that is the type of demonstrative used, could be explained in terms of familiarity with the grammar. That is, when the situations used in the DCTs were exemplified in teaching materials and were familiar to them, the learners seemed to use Japanese demonstratives as they are described in the teaching materials and as the native Japanese speakers use them. When the situations used in the DCTs were not exemplified in the teaching materials, the learners seem to rely more on their native language. The results, thus, suggest that the learners’ interlanguage is influenced by the grammar of the target language known to the learners, but also by the number of languages (or varieties) that the learners have contact with at the time of learning. The results of the present study have implications for the teaching of Japanese in at least two ways. Firstly, the importance of grammar instruction must be emphasized since its effect on the learners’ language is apparent. Secondly, the contents of teaching materials should be revised on the basis of the native speakers’ actual use of the grammar.

Diese Arbeit behandelt das Thema, wie schwedische Deutschlehrkräfte über die Lehrpläne des Faches Deutsch denken, ob sich die Einstellung der Lehrkräfte und die der Schüler unterscheidet, wenn es um das Fach Deutsch geht. Das Resultat der Untersuchung zeigt, dass die Lehrkräfte mit den Lehrplänen zufrieden sind. Sie meinen, dass sie alle Kompetenzen, die einen modernen Fremdsprachenunterricht ausmachen, abdecken. Die Lehrpläne legen den Schwerpunkt auf Kommunikation, eine Kompetenz, die auch von den Lehrkräften hoch bewertet wird. Zur Unterstützung des Lernens sei es wichtig, dass Unterrichtsthemen im Mittelpunkt stehen, die für die Schüler relevant sind, und sie sollen mit vielfältigen Methoden vermittelt werden. Eine große Rolle für das Lernen spielt auch die Beziehung zwischen Lehrkraft und Schüler und das Arbeitsklima im Klassenzimmer.    Das Fach moderne Sprachen ist die dritte Sprache, die die Schüler in Schweden lernen, und dazu gehören Spanisch, Deutsch, Französisch und Chinesisch (Skolverket, 2018a). Das Interesse für moderne Sprachen und Deutsch ist im Allgemeinen niedrig. Viele haben die Einstellung, dass Englisch ausreichend ist. Im Schuljahr 2016/2017 haben 75 % der Neuntklässler eine moderne Sprache gelernt, während ein Viertel stattdessen weiter Schwedisch und Englisch gelernt haben (SCB, 2018). Gymnasiasten sagen, dass das Fach Deutsch nicht als Priorität gesehen wird. Wenige Schüler lernen Deutsch weiter, wenn es nicht obligatorisch ist.

The overall aim of this study is to investigate how and why teachers in the subjects of English and Modern Languages use group work in their lessons. This has been done with the help of a survey and interviews. The results indicate that all teachers in the study use at least some group work. Group work is often used to help the students practise their verbal skills as well as in teaching them to work together. The study has also shown that teachers find some parts of using group work in their lessons problematic.

Since the mid 90s, an increasing number of researchers have adopted a sociocultural theory (SCT) of mind to investigate the social and cognitive functions of language during learner-learner interaction (Lantolf & Thorne, 2007). Researchers from an SCT perspective have identified that first languages (L1s) serve important cognitive functions (Alegría de la Colina & García Mayo, 2009; Storch & Aldosari, 2010). Swain and colleagues (Swain, 1995; Swain & Lapkin, 1995, 1998) have also illustrated that languaging, a form of verbalization, facilitates the completion of complex linguistic tasks which leads to second language (L2) development (Swain, Brooks, & Tocalli-Beller, 2002). Moreover, researchers have found that task type impacts language development (Storch & Aldosari, 2010; Storch & Wigglesworth, 2003; Swain & Lapkin, 2001). Due to the growing number of multilingual learners in the world today (Hammarberg, 2010), researchers need to expand the scope of the research to include the role(s) of native and nonnative languages on third language (L3) development. Thus, the purpose of the current multiple case study was to investigate the specific mediating functions of multilingual learners’ languages during four types of collaborative tasks and to explore the relationship between languaging and L3 development. A 16-week classroom-based study was conducted in a university French as a foreign language classroom in Mexico with four focal participants. The language produced during learner-learner interaction was examined using three types of analysis: (1) each turn was coded for language and for their specific functions; (2) each Language-Related Episode (LRE) was coded for type and for resolution; and (3) accuracy on individual tailor-made posttest items. Findings uncovered a complex picture of task type effects on the specific mediating functions of language as well as complementary functions of L1 and L3 mediation. Results from the analysis of LREs show that task type impacts the occurrence and resolution of LREs. Accuracy scores from the posttests suggest that L1 and L3 mediation promotes L3 development. Findings are in line with the focal participants’ beliefs. The findings that languages serve various social and cognitive functions during task completion are discussed in light of current ideas from an SCT perspective.

The main purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of a third language’s possible effect on learners’ second language acquisition. There is research how a first language affects the acquisition of a second language and that research has shown that a first language does affect the learning of an additional language in different ways. Even though  it is proven that languages do influence each other in learning processes there is very little previous research that studies if and how a third language can be affected by or affect a learner’s second language. To investigate possible differences in error-making, the first research question is to investigate what kind of errors the students make. The most common errors that students make are when subject-verb agreement is noncontiguous. The second research question is to see if Swedish students who know Spanish make different errors in English subject-verb agreement than Swedish students who do not know Spanish. This study finds that there are slight differences in how Swedish students who know Spanish and students who do not know Spanish make errors with English subject-verb agreement. The difference is that the students who know Spanish make fewer errors with noncontiguous subject-verb agreement, especially in relative clauses and with coordinated verb phrases. The fact that these students make fewer errors with noncontiguous subject-verb agreement may be an indication that they have a greater understanding of this grammatical feature. / Lokalt ID: 2011vt4810

This dissertation examines the possible influence of language learners' second language (L2) on their perception of phonological contrasts in their third language (L3). Previous studies on Third Language Acquisition (TLA) suggest various factors as possible sources of cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of an L3. This dissertation specifically investigates whether learners' levels of perceptual performance in the L2 is related to their phonological perception of L3 contrasts. In order to examine the perception of Japanese contrasts by non-native learners, I conducted a forced-choice identification experiment (Experiment 1) and AXB discrimination experiment (Experiment 2) with native speakers of English and native speakers of Korean who were learning Japanese at an introductory level. In addition, the Korean participants also participated in a forced-choice English minimal pair identification experiment (Experiment 3). In order to answer the main research question, I examined whether there was any correlation between the Korean participants' perceptual performance in English (L2) and Japanese (L3).There was a positive correlation between the identification of the Japanese word-initial stop voicing contrast and the identification of English minimal pairs. Distinguishing Japanese voiced stops and voiceless stops is widely known to be difficult for native speakers of Korean especially in word-initial position. Therefore, this positive correlation is considered as an indication of a positive influence of learners' L2 on speech perception in their L3. The L2, however, did not influence the perception in the L3 negatively. This result indicates that the participants experienced positive influence from both of their background languages, which supports the idea expressed in the Cumulative-Enhancement Model. Positive correlations were also observed for the discrimination of several other Japanese contrasts and the identification of English minimal pairs. These correlations are considered to indicate an increase in the learners' sensitivity to the speech sounds in general. Different types of correlation results obtained for the identification and the discrimination tasks are considered to reflect the difference in the nature of these perception tasks. All in all, the results suggest that L3 perception is qualitatively different from L2 perception and that the perceptual level in the L2 is related to perception in the L3 at least to some extent.