Language Learning: Age, Environment, and First Language Influence

Lars Anders KulbrandstadHedmark University College, NorwayDepartment of Teacher Education and Science «Because Chinese doesn’t even have letters» – folk linguistic perspectives on second language learning • Paper at the Association for Language Awareness Conference in Le Mans July 1 – 5 2006

”Environments of SLA”

EXTRACT FROM INTERVIEW WITH MY I You he –er- he –er- had learned -er- he hadn’t learned to speak Norwegian from he was little M Mhm I He had learned Norwegian. Is it difficult to learn Norwegian? M Yes, I believe so. For those who are kind of older I O.K. Why is it so? M I -er- I don’t really know, but most of those who I have met like the friends of my mom and like my dad they aren’t very good at speaking Norwegian I No, and how come? Why [is it M [’Cause they don’t speak Norwegain kind of regularly, for instance when they are at home they speak ((missing)) they aren’t very clever

I [If they had M [I mean they haven’t had instruction not like like every day like I’ve had I Yes M And been with Norwegian friends all the time and I Would they have been as good as you are if they had received instruction and been with [Norwegians M [And if they had learned Norwegian when they were young I Why is it more difficult to learn a language when you get older? M I don’t know ((laughter)) I No. Do you have any thoughts about that? M ((Pause) –er- like that they have become used to a language all their lives and then they are to learn a new one

I Yes. O.K. Mhm. You -er- is it equally easy or difficult to learn Norwegian regardless of what language you have as your mother tongue? M ((Pause)) ((missing)) -er- maybe not Chinese= I Why is it more difficult M =and Vietnamese I Why is it [difficult M [Because Chinese doesn’t even have letters I O.K. M And my mom can’t even pronounce /r/ correctly I No M And like that I No M And my dad like like they don’t have the same like grammar and things I No

M For instance when they like you say: /nå skal jeg spise/ ((now shall I eat)) IYes M Then they just say – yes I can’t exactly figure out ((missing)) but then they speak inversely in a way and then they use what they have learned= I Yes M =kind of from their old country from Vietnam and with Norwegian words I Yes M With the same grammar and then it sounds wrong in Norwegian. But they kind of know the words I Yes. O.K. Say are there any other are there any other say persons with another mother tongue that have an easier job when learning Norwegian than Vietnamese and Chinese? M Yes, those who live in the Nordic countries

I O.K. M Like Finnish, Swedish and yes I O.K. Is it easier for Finnish for those you speak Finnish? M Yes I believe so I And what about others – English? M Yes, maybe I Why is it easier for a person who has for instance [English M [Yes I really wonder about that, but I don’t really know ((laughter)) I You don’t know O.K. -Er- are boys and girls equally good at learning languages? M Yes, I believe so I Mhm

EXTRACT FROM INTERVIEW WITH MY I Du han eh han eh hadde lært eh han hadde ikke snakket norsk fra han var liten /You he –er- he –er- had learned -er- he hadn’t learned to speak Norwegian from he was little/ The age factor M Mhm I Han hadde lært norsk. Er det vanskelig å lære norsk? /He had learned Norwegian. Is it difficult to learn Norwegian?/ M Yes, I believe so. For those who are kind of older Active use I O.K. Why is it so? M I -er- I don’t really know, but most of those who I have met like the friends of my mom and like my dad they aren’t very good at speaking Norwegian I No, and how come? Why [is it M [’Cause they don’t speak Norwegain kind of regularly, for instance when they are at home they speak ((missing)) they aren’t very clever

Formal learning I [If they had M [I mean they haven’t had instruction not like like every day like I’ve had Interaction with native speakers I Yes M And been with Norwegian friends all the time and I Would they have been as good as you are if they had receiced instruction and been with [Norwegians Starting age M [And if they had learned Norwegian when they were young I Why is it more difficult to learn a language when you get older? Habit formation I No. Do you have any thoughts about that? M ((Pause) –er- like that they have become used to a language all their lives and then they are to learn a new one

I Yes. O.K. Mhm. You -er- is it equally easy or difficult to learn Norwegian regardless of what language you have as your mother tongue? The role of first language M ((Pause)) ((missing)) -er- maybe not [Chinese= I [Why is it more difficult M =and Vietnamese I Why is it [difficult M [Because Chinese doesn’t even have letters I O.K. Contrastive analysis M And my mom can’t even pronounce /r/ correctly I No M And like that I No M And my dad like like they don’t have the same like grammar and things I No

Syntactic interference. Negative transfer M For instance when they like you say: /nå skal jeg spise/ now shall I eat IYes M Then they just say – yes I can’t exactly figure out ((missing)) but then they speak inversely in a way and then they use what they have learned I Yes M Kind of from their old country from Vietnam and with Norwegian words I Yes M With the same grammar and then it sounds wrong in Norwegian. But they kind of know the words I Yes. O.K. Say are there any other are there any other say persons with another mother tongue that have an easier job when learning Norwegian than Vietnamese and Chinese? M Yes, those who live in the Nordic countries

Linguistic distance between first language and target language I O.K. M Like Finnish, Swedish and yes I O.K. Is it easier for Finnish for those you speak Finnish? M Yes I believe so I And what about others – English? M Yes, maybe I Why is it easier for a person who has for instance [English M [Yes I really wonder about that, but I don’t really know ((laughter)) I You don’t know O.K. -Er- are boys and girls equally good at learning languages The gender factor M Yes, I believe so I Mhm

Topics raised in the interviews • Is it difficult to learn Norwegian? • What is it that is difficult? • SLA by children and adults • Starting age • Length of residence • Aptitude for language learning • Interest, motivation • SLA by girls and boys • Linguistic distance between first language and second language • Writing system Sound inventory Grammar Word resemblanc • Language as habit formation • Influence from the second language on the first language • Interaction with native speakers • Use of the second language at home • Explicit and implicit learning • Formal instruction • Varieties of the target language

Table of topics

IS NORWEGIAN A DIFFICULT LANGUAGE TO LEARN?

HUONG ON EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT LEARNING I Is Norwegian difficult to learn? Do you think so? H No No I H But, grammar is a little difficult. There is so much you have to learn by rote and stuff when we are going to take a test. And we just had such a test, and then we have had a lot about parts of speech and sentence constituents and things. That’s a little difficult I Yes. Do you have to know that to speak Norwegian? H Yes, if not you may like put the words in the wrong place and things I Yes. Do you think you would have put the words in the wrong place if you hadn’t known, if you hadn’t had grammar in school? H No, but – no, I don’t think so I You don’t think so? No

H No I So it’s not necessary to learn grammar in school to be able to speak Norwegian correctly? H No I No, no. O.K. H You just listen to the way other people talk and I Yes, yes. From whom have you learnt how to speak Norwegian? H -Er-, from everybody actually

SALIM DOING CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS I Yes. Is it equally difficult for all, no matter where you come from? Sa If you come from Scandinavia then (((laughter))) it’s not that I Then it’s not so difficult, all right Sa But if you come from – like the Middle East, then there is a very big difference I Yes Sa So then it becomes difficult I Why does it become difficult? Are you thinking of differences in …? Sa Yes, there are no words that are like quite similar I No Sa In any case not the way I hear it. For instance Persian doesn’t ressemble Norwegian at all I Is it only the words that are different? Are there other things? Sa ((Hesitation)) I don’t know…

I If you for instance compare Persian and Norwegian, you say that you don’t recognize any words A Yes I Are there other things that are different? Sa ((Hesitation)) It’s the way we talk and things I Yes Sa I don’t know, maybe I use the tongue a little bit more I Yes, you think so? Sa It goes faster in Persian I You think so, O.K. Sa Well, I’m not 100 % sure I No no. But you believe – faster – the word is different you say Sa Yes, and Norwegian is quite ((missing)) in a way, but in Persian it goes very much continously to put it that way

Very little about this • FOUR BASIC TOPICS IN SLA RESEARCH (Michell & Myles 1998:Second Language Learning Theories) • 1. The importance of internal mechanisms • Language specific •  L2 aquisition = L1 aquistition? •  Innate language aquisition disposition active also in L2 aquistion? •  Modelling of innate language aquisition disposition ? •  Relevance of UG? • Cognitive • Second language learning fundamentally different from other learning? • 2. The importance of L1 •  What kind of influence from L1 during L2 aquistion? • 3. The importance of psychological mechanisms •  Motivation • Personality • Aptitude for second language learning • . • 4. The importance of social and environmental factors More about this Most about this

Niedzielski & Preston: Folk linguistics (2000/2003): Folk-linguistics conceptions about second language learning

Niedzielski & Preston: Folk linguistics (2000): Folk-linguistics conceptions about second language learning

Merci! Kiitos! Giittus! Gracias! Cám ón! Thank you! Danke! Köszönöm! Takk! Efkaristo! Asante!

Language Learning: Age, Environment, and First Language Influence