ERIC Number: EJ1155857
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Oct
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0267-6583
EISSN: N/A
Spanish Imperfect Revisited: Exploring L1 Influence in the Reassembly of Imperfective Features onto New L2 Forms
Domínguez, Laura; Arche, María J.; Myles, Florence
Second Language Research, v33 n4 p431-457 Oct 2017
This study investigates the acquisition of the Spanish Imperfect by 60 English learners of Spanish at three different proficiency levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced). Two oral production tasks and one interpretation task show that although the Imperfect is used from early on, the full array of interpretations associated with this form (habitual, continuous and progressive) is not completely acquired even at advanced levels. Learners accept the Imperfect in imperfective contexts but have problems rejecting the Preterit. This problem persists even at advanced levels in continuous contexts. The continuous is conveyed in English by Past Tense, which is used in both perfective and imperfective contexts, whereas in Spanish only the Imperfect is appropriate. We argue that the incorrect low rejection of the Preterit signals a mapping problem of aspect-related features present in both English and Spanish onto a new form (the Imperfect). These results support the problematic nature of feature reassembly in the acquisition of the Spanish Imperfect by English speakers.
Descriptors: Spanish, Verbs, Language Research, Second Language Learning, English, Native Speakers, Oral Language, Language Proficiency, Morphemes, Task Analysis, Accuracy, Prediction, Native Language, Transfer of Training, Statistical Analysis, Secondary School Students, Foreign Countries, Semi Structured Interviews
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A