Universal Grammar In Second Language Acquisition

Table of contents

This book examines child second language acquisition within the Principles and Parameters theory of Universal Grammar (UG). Specifically, the book focuses on null-subjects in the developing grammars of children acquiring English as a second language. The book provides evidence from the longitudinal speech data of four child second language (L2) learners in order to test the predictions of a recent theory of null-subjects, namely, the Morphological Uniformity Principle (MUP). Lakshmanan argues that the child L2 acquisition data offer little or no evidence in support of the MUP s predictions regarding a developmental relation between verb inflections and null-subjects. The evidence from these child L2 data indicates that regardless of the status of null subjects in their first language, child L2 learners of English hypothesize correctly from the very beginning that English requires subjects of tensed clauses to be obligatorily overt. The failure on the part of these learners to obey this knowledge in certain structural contexts is the result of perceptual factors that are unrelated to parameter setting. The book demonstrates the value of child second language acquisition data in evaluating specific proposals within linguistic theory for a Universal principle.

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English - Pedagogy, Didactics, Literature Studies, grade: 2,0, Technical University of Braunschweig (Fachbereich für Geistes- und Erziehungswissenschaft, Englisches Seminar), course: Language Acquisition, 5 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: All students in the seminar “Language Acquisition” (SS 07) are obligated to write a term paper about an issue which fits into the course subject matter. In this case, the topic “The Role of Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition” was chosen. The seminar deals with both, first and second language acquisition. The main focus lies on German and English. However, the course is not supposed to deal with a contrastive view but rather a descriptive way of analyzing language acquisition in general and with a specific concentration on English. The following term paper, primarily, deals with second language acquisition and the Role of Universal Grammar (UG) in the course of the on-going acquisition process. The UG approach is an issue which is often discussed within the linguistic science and the opinions about it are highly diverged. Not only in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), but also in First Language Acquisition the Universal Grammar approach is often seen as not verified, or on the other hand, as opposed to, it is viewed as the only solution to the mysterious question of language acquisition. This term paper defines the essential different sights of UG and its role in the process of SLA. The main question of the paper is:” Does UG plays a role in SLA and if so, what kind of role?” Another issue is whether only UG influences SLA or the first language governs acquisition of a second language. Some researchers even state that there is no UG in language acquisition and others say that UG is ‘dead’ in SLA. There are a bunch of opinions on this topic and all of them show evidence, more or less persuasive. It is not possible to explain all the different aspects of research and all the data and experiments concerning UG and SLA in this term paper. Nevertheless, this paper describes some of the essential views on how UG plays a role in SLA and additionally what kind of influence first language (L1) can possibly have on the process of SLA. Considering L1, UG and L2 is necessary because L1 acquisition is definitely different from SLA. Bilingual aspects are not considered in this context. To describe and define the most important expressions, the paper starts with definitions, before the so-called Logical Problem of Language Acquisition and the differences between L1 and L2 acquisition are portrayed. The main part is about the Role of L1 (transfer) and the access to UG in SLA.

This new edition introduces the reader to Noam Chomsky's theory of language by setting the specifics of syntactic analysis in the framework of his general ideas. It explains its fundamental concepts and provides an overview and history of the theory.

This book proposes that research into generative second language acquisition (GenSLA) can be applied to the language classroom. Assuming that Universal Grammar plays a role in second language development, it explores generalisations from GenSLA research. The book aims to build bridges between the fields of generative second language acquisition, applied linguistics, and language teaching; and it shows how GenSLA is poised to engage with researchers of second language learning outside the generative paradigm. Each chapter of Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom showcases ways in which GenSLA research can inform language pedagogy. Some chapters include classroom research that tests the effectiveness of teaching particular linguistic phenomena. Others review existing research findings, discussing how these findings are useful for language pedagogy. All chapters show how generative linguistics can enhance teachers’ expertise in language and second language development. “This groundbreaking volume ably takes on the gap that currently exists between generative linguistic theory in second language acquisition (GenSLA) and second language pedagogy, by gathering chapters from GenSLA researchers who are interested in the relevance and potential application of their research to second/foreign language teaching. It offers a welcome and thought-provoking contribution to any discussion of the relation between linguistic theory and practice. I recommend it not only for language teachers interested in deepening their understanding of the formal properties of the languages they teach, but also for linguists interested in following up on more practical consequences of the fruits of their theoretical and empirical research.” Donna Lardiere, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA

This book discusses how scholars in the west have conceived that human languages share important properties, and how westerners have understood the nature of second or foreign language learning.

This book explores the relationship between linguistic universals and second language acquisition. Although no knowledge of generative grammar is presupposed, the theoretical framework underlying the work is the principles and parameters approach to Universal Grammar (UG), as realized in Chomsky's Government and Binding theory. In recent research, the question has arisen as to whether the principles and parameters of UG remain available in language acquisition that is non-primary. Within second language acquisition theorizing, hypotheses have ranged from UG playing no role at all to UG operating exactly as in primary language acquisition. In this work the theoretical arguments and data from the whole spectrum are reviewed.

This volume presents studies which approach the relatively new field of third language (L3) acquisition from the generative linguistic perspective. It aims to bring together researchers who are interested in L3 acquisition and who are at the same time working within the generative framework i.e. Chomsky's Universal Grammar (UG) approach to language acquisition. A total of nine contributions are included, reporting research on L3 involving different combinations of source/target languages and investigating various UG-related properties.