ERIC Number: ED184339
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1979-Oct
Pages: 20
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Describing Interlanguage through Interaction: Problems of Systematicity and Permeability. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 19.
Faerch, Claus
To assist language researchers in their analysis of interlanguage, some values for the linguistic variables of Source Language (SL), Interlanguage (IL), and Target Language (TL) are set forth. Although the fundamental assumption underlying interlanguage research is that interlanguages are linguistic systems, it is difficult to describe the systematicity because interlanguages are highly unstable. Since this change is brought about by exposure to the target language, descriptions of the systematicity of interlanguage based on interactional data are particularly problematical. In such descriptions, time, type of communication, and type of elicitation device must be considered. Interactional data must be examined because: (1) it represents one of the stylistic dimensions of interlanguage; (2) it is spontaneous, so it is of special interest since learners do not monitor their performance; (3) it is realistic since it is being used to meet learners' communicative needs; (4) it represents one of the only ways of analyzing related IL discourse rules; and (5) it is useful in studying resource expansion strategies and in elucidating the interrelationship between discourse structure and communication strategies. However, because of exact problems in description, the interactional data should be seen to represent a mini-diasystem rather than one individual system. (PMJ)
Descriptors: Communicative Competence (Languages), Descriptive Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Interlanguage, Language Patterns, Language Processing, Language Research, Language Usage, Language Variation, Research Methodology, Second Language Learning, Sociolinguistics, Speech Communication
Bilingual Education Project, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S1V6
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Ontario Inst. for Studies in Education, Toronto. Bilingual Education Project.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A