Testing the current models of third language acquisition

Slabakova, Roumyana and Garcia Mayo, Maria del Pilar (2017) Testing the current models of third language acquisition. In, Angelovska, Tanja and Hahn, Angela (eds.) L3 Syntactic Transfer: Models, New developments, and Implications. (Bilingual Processing and Acquisition, BPA 5) Amsterdam. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 63–84.

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

In this chapter, we argue that another factor should be brought into the general
picture of third and additional language acquisition: the comprehensible
linguistic input. Predictions of current models have been predominantly based
on the cognitive-psychological prominence of the three languages (native or not,
adult-onset or not, naturalistic or instructed, proficient of not) as well as on the
structural linguistic properties to be acquired, which may overlap or contrast.
We argue that even keeping these two factors constant, discrepancies in learning
outcomes still arise, which have to be explained by the linguistic experience of
the learners. We support our arguments with results from two recently published
studies, which document diverging developmental paths for two properties that
should have been acquired in a similar manner.

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