1、Title：Language transfer on SLAAbstract The essay aims to investigate how the language transfer influence the process of SLA,in the field of SLA research, language transfer has long been a controversial research subject. it was initially associated with behaviorist theories of language learning and w
2、as seen as an impediment. It was considered to only hinder the acquisition of a L2. However, the development of Interlanguage Theory and the flourishing of psycholinguistics have finally recognized the significance of the role of the L1 in SLA. Learners L1 is viewed as a resource which the learner a
3、ctively draws in interlanguage development. The positive role of language transfer in SLA has been gradually acknowledged. Based on this , it will make a exploration of both positive and negative transfer between the L1 and the L2 through learners interlanguage.Key words: language transfer; positive
4、 transfer; negative transfer; second language acquisition (SLA)1.Language transfer1.1Definitions of language transfer Language transfer took its root in the Transfer Theory in psychology. Psychologists defined transfer as a type of learning activities by which learners previously acquired knowledge
5、about the learning skills will influence the out come of their learning or training behavior. They maintain that transfer can be both be both positive and negative. Behaviorists defined transfer as a consequence of habit formation, which implies the extinction of the learners primary language when h
6、e or she is learning the new language. However, it is now widely accepted that the influence of the learner;s native language cannot be adequately accounted for in terms of habit formation. Nor is transfer simply a matter of interference or of falling back on the native language. Nor is it just a qu
7、estion of the influence of the learners native language, as other previously acquired second languages can also have an effect (Ellis, 1994). This suggests that the term L1 transfer itself is inadequate. Some scholars have advocated abandoning the term or using it in highly restricted ways. Sharwood
8、 and Kellerman (1986) have argued that a superordinate term that is theory-neutral is needed and suggest crosslinguistic influence. They comment:the term crosslinguistic influence is theory-neutral, allowing one to subsume under one heading such phenomena as transfer, interference, avoidance, borrow
9、ing and L2-related aspects of language loss and thus permitting discussion of the similarities and differences between these phenomena.(1986:1)Odlin(1989) offers this working definition of transfer as basis for his own thoughtful treatment of such pehenomena: transfer is the influence resulting from
10、 the similarities and the differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously acquired91989;27). Many researchers disapprove of the term language transfer, and prefer mother tongue influence proposed by Corder (1983）or cross-linguistic influence by Kellerman inste
11、ad. However, we will stick to the term language transfer throughout this thesis, partly because of its convenience, and partly because of its familiarity to most people, with the understanding that here Language transfer is used in its broad sense, not restricted to the behaviorist notion.1.2The man
12、ifestations of Language Transfer In traditional accounts of language transfer, the research focus was placed on the errors that learners produce. Errors occurred as a result of the negative transfer of mother tongue patterns into learns L2 (Ellis, 1994). It is possible to identify a number of other
13、manifestations of transfer however, three of which are frequently discussed by transfer researchers:negative transfer,positive transfer.1.2.1.Negative transfer(errors) Negative transfer, also known as interference, is the use of a L1 pattern or rule which heads to an error or inappropriate form in t
14、he L2. Negative transfer can be found at all the levels of language structure. A speakers foreign accent in L2 learning is an evidence of negative transfer at the phonological level. Morphological negative transfer is common. For instance, under the influence of Chinese language, some students will
15、say big rain rather heavy rain. Negative transfer at syntactical level also exists. For example, when a learner is asked to translate the sentence 我昨天在家做作业 into English, he or she tends to ignore the tense and word order of an English sentence and would translate it according to the Chinese grammati
16、cal structure I yesterday at home do homework.1.2.2.Positive transfer (facilitation) Positive transfer is transfer which makes learning easier, and may occur when both the L1 and L2 have the same form. Similarities between vocabulary can reduce the time needed to develop good reading comprehension;
17、similarities between vowel systems can make the identification of vowel sound easier; similarities between writing systems can give learners a fast starting in reading and writing the L2; and similarities in syntactic structures can facilitate the acquisition of grammar. For example, when a learner
18、is asked to translate the sentence 我说汉语 into English, he or she can translate it correctly with the help of his or her L1 I speak Chinese because the basic word order of both Chinese and English is S(subject）+ V (verb or predicate) + O (object). So , positive transfer is beneficial while negative tr
19、ansfer is a hindrance to SLA. From the above discussion, we can see it is clearly insufficient to focus exclusively on production errors, since transfer is a complex phenomenon which involves not only L1 knowledge but also other factors that interact with L1 knowledge.2.The Historical Development an
20、d Recent Situation of the Study on LanguageTransfer in SLA Language transfer has exerted considerable effect on SLA. People in the past have conducted detailed investigation and research on transfer phenomena in learning a L2. From the historical point of view, the research of language transfer in S
21、LA has undergone three stages.2.1. Domination of Behaviorist Point of View Early language transfer research can be traced back to the 1940s and 1950s. The first two influential people who systematically studied the role of language transfer in SLA were Charles C. Fries and Robert Lado. Fries (1945)
22、put forward the issue from the angle of the compilation of teaching materials. He formulated the need for contrastive analyses through observations. He states that the most efficient materials are those based upon a scientific description of the language to be learned, carefully compared with a para
23、llel description of the native language of the learner.(1945:9). Robert lado proposed a potentially rigorous model, Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) (Lado.1957), which was based on this assumption: the student who comes into with a foreign language will find some features of it quite easy and o
24、thers extremely difficult. Those elements that are similar to his native language will be simple for him, and those elements that are different will be difficult.(1957:2) During 1950s, behaviorist behaviorist views of language learning and language teaching were predominant. Language transfer was al
25、ways integrated with behaviorism, and thus became the theoretical basis of comparative analysis. For one thing, the behaviorist notions of transfer often implies the extinction of early habits, whereas the acquisition of a L2 need not lead to any replacement of the learners primary language. This an
26、d other considerations suggest that behaviorism may never have been relevant to the study of transfer (Odlin, 1989).2.2.Prevalence of Mentalist Point of View From the late 1960s to the 1970s , the behaviorist point of view was severely criticized due to the influence caused by Chomskys linguistic th
27、eory. Chomsky (1965) advocates a strong version of the innateness hypothesis. He argues that children are born with a specific and unique kind of knowledge which equips them for language learning. This knowledge is embodied in a mechanism called a language acquisition device (LAD). He believes that
28、a child must be predisposed to learn any language as a native language and that the LAD must contain language universals. He then seeks to identify linguistic universals by the in-depth study of a single language. He argues that only in this way is it possible to discover the highly abstract princip
29、les of grammar that constrain the form of any specific grammar. He refers to these principles as Universal Grammar. While Greenberg (1966) and some followers establish universals by examining a wide range of languages from different language families in order to discover what features they have in c
30、ommon, which are referred to as typological universals. Therefore, followeing Chomskys attack on behaviorism, its drawbacks were exposed gradually and the function of language transfer was largely held in contempt in SLA. Both behaviorism and transfer phenomena were treated coldly and ignored, and t
31、he role of L1 was played down. This minimalist view of L1 transfer, however, has not withstood the test of time (Ellis, 2000).2.3.Influence of Cognitive Point of View During the mid-to-late 1970s, the emphasis was on the determination of how and wehn learners used their L1 and on explanations for th
32、e phenomena. Little by little, the study of language transfer has come into a cognitive period. The word language transfer did not merely refer to the meachanical transfer from L1 to L2. It was treated as a kind of important learning strategy in SLA, a complicated cognitive procedure that is influen
33、ced by various factors. Ellis (1994) points out that one clear advance in transfer research has been the reconceptualizaton of the influence of the L1;in behaviorist accounts it was seen as impediment, whereas in cognitive accounts it is viewed as a resource which the learner actively draws in inter
34、language development. The positive role of language transfer in SLA has gradually been acknowledged. 3.Language transfer in SLA It is a popular belief that second language acquisition (SLA) is strongly influenced by the learners first language (L1). The clearest support for this belief comes from fo
35、reign accents in the second language (L2) speech of learners (Ellis, 1985). When a French man speaks English, his English sounds French. When a Chinese speaks English, his English sounds Chinese. In addition to accents, L1 habits also influence the way learners use to express themselves in L2. For e
36、xample, such Chinese expression as *department company(department store 百货公司), *family computer (personal computer 家用电脑) can often be heard (陆效用，2002). Furthermore , there are lots of Chinglish expression in the syntactical level, for instance, 我昨天在家做作业 would be translated into English according to
37、the Chinese grammatical structure *yesterday at home do homework. ( I did my homework at home yesterday.) as far as thinking mode is concerned, Chinglish sentences *His body is very healthy (He is very healthy) and * Good good study, day day up (If you study hard, you will make progress very day) ar
38、e highly likely to be produced by Chinese learners of English. Common Chinese greetings around meal time 吃了吗？ Have you eaten yet? or Have you had your lunch? would be transfered when Chinese learners of English meet native-speaker of English. All these phenomena all show how language transfer influe
39、nce second language acquisition.Traditional linguistics holds that the role of the L1 in SLA is a negative on (陆效用，2002). That is , the L1 gets in the way or interferes with the learning of the L2, such that features of the L1 are transferred into the L2 (Ellis, 1985). For years, most experts and la
40、nguage teachers have emphasized negative transfer in SLA, and neglected the positive role of the L1. In L2 teaching , therefore, they are strongly opposed to the use of L1.Do L1 really play only a negative role in SLA? Does it only hinder the acquisition of a L2? Is there any positive transfer in SL
41、A? Can L1 also benefit the acquisition of a L2? In L2 teaching, can L1 be used?In our opinion, the so-called L1 negative influence hypothesis or L1 interference hypothesis is one-sided, it neither reflects the nature of language learning nor reveals the inner relationship between L1 and SLA. Taken t
42、he above Chinglish expressions for example, superficially, the L1 does influence the L2 expressions, but in fact, it is the L1 that helps the learner finish the communicative task. In the process of SLA, especially in the early stages of proficiency, learners have to fall back on their L1 knowledge
43、in case of emergency in order to communicate effectively. This is a cognitive process, a learners strategy, and also a necessary process in SLA(陆效用，2002）.As a matter of fact, in the field of SLA research, language transfer has lonog been a controversial research subject, especially the influence of
44、learners L1 on L2. Generally speaking, the research of language transfer in SLA has undergone three stages. In the 1950s, it was seen as an impediment and was deemed as playing an important role in L2 learning when Lados Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis dominated the field. Language transfer was cons
45、idered to only hinder the acquisition of a L2. With the popularity of the Chomskyan Universal Grammar which denies the existence of transfer phenomena, the researchers interest in language transfer has declined since the 1960s, and language transfer was regarded as playing a minor role in the proces
46、s of SLA. However, the development of Interlanguage Theory and the flourishing of psycholinguistics have finally recognized the significance of the role of the L1 in SLA. Learners L1 is viewed as a resource which the learner actively draws in interlanguage development. The positive role of language
47、transfer in SLA was gradually acknowledged. As a result, the role of the L1 is not only a negative one but also a positive one; it does not only interfere with the learning of the L2 but also facilitate the learning of the L2.3.1Phonetic transfer Phonetic transfer occurs when the learner tends to tr
48、ansfer similar but phonologically different sounds of his or her L1 to those of the L2. It can be both positive and negative resulting from the learners conventional habit of articulation.3.1.1.Phoneme It is known that the Chinese phonetic alphabet is divided into three categories: sehngmu, yunmu an
49、d diaozi. A shengmu is equivalent to consonant and a yunmu to a vowel. What often happens is that those who have systematically learned the Chinese phonetic alphabet are good at taking in English phonetic knowledge because most English phonemes have similar counterparts in Chinese and thus quite a nu
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