ERIC Number: EJ745648
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Nov
Pages: 26
Abstractor: Author
Reference Count: 0
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0019-042X
Native-Like Attainment of Dummy Subjects in Dutch and the Role of the L1
van Boxtel, Sonja; Bongaerts, Theo; Coppen, Peter-Arno
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching (IRAL), v43 n4 p355-380 Nov 2005
In this study, we test the prediction, derived from the Critical Period Hypothesis, that a native level in L2 grammar cannot be attained by learners who start acquiring a second language after childhood. We selected 43 very advanced late learners of Dutch (native speakers of German, French and Turkish) and compared their performance on a grammar test with that of 44 native speakers of Dutch. The test consisted of an elicited imitation task and a sentence preference task. In these tasks, participants were tested on their knowledge of dummy subject constructions. These construction types are known to be very hard to acquire for L2-learners of Dutch and are hardly covered in Dutch grammars or L2 Dutch textbooks. The results show that it is possible to attain a native level of proficiency for learners who start acquiring an L2 after puberty, even for learners with a typologically distant L1.
Descriptors: Indo European Languages, Language Role, Native Speakers, Age, Grammar, Second Language Learning, Comparative Analysis, Language Tests, Imitation, Test Items, Language Proficiency, Puberty
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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