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New Perspectives on Transfer in Second Language Learning

New Perspectives on Transfer in Second Language Learning

Prof. Liming Yu | Dr. Terence Odlin

(2015)

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Book Details

Abstract

When people attempt to learn a new language, the language(s) they already know can help but also hinder their understanding or production of new forms. This phenomenon, known as language transfer, is the focus of this book. The collection offers new theoretical perspectives, some in the empirical studies and some in other chapters, and consists of four sections considering lexical, syntactic, phonological and cognitive perspectives. The volume provides a wealth of studies on the influence of Chinese on the acquisition of English but also includes studies involving Finnish, French, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Spanish, Swedish and Tamil. It will be of great interest to researchers and students working in the areas of crosslinguistic influence in second language acquisition, language pedagogy and psycholinguistics.


This book is a valuable collection of studies on second language learning. It offers insights into the origin and nature of language transfer, and the development, range and methodology of language transfer studies, which helps sort out the achievements, limitations, future directions of language transfer studies.


Renhua Wang, Nanjing Institute of Technology, People’s Republic of China

With its logical categorization of studies as well as accessible writing style, lucid explanation of theories and experiments as well as pedagogical comment, and reflections on transfer in each study, this is undoubtedly an ideal academic volume not only for SLA researchers and language teachers, but for undergraduates and postgraduates involved in SLA research as well.


Pengfei Lei and Jinfen Xu, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing established researchers join forces with lesser known colleagues to push theoretical, methodological and geographical boundaries. Terence Odlin, the grandfather of transfer research, teamed up with Liming Yu and produced this excellent book, including contributions by Western and Chinese scholars who bring in a fresh Asian perspective.


Jean-Marc Dewaele, Birkbeck, University of London, UK

Liming Yu is Professor Emeritus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China and President of the China Educational Linguistics Association. His research interests have focused on language transfer in second language acquisition, the disciplinary nature of second language acquisition and theory and practice in bilingual education. He has published extensively, including Language Transfer in Language Learning (Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press).

Terence Odlin is Associate Professor Emeritus of English, Ohio State University, USA and his research interests focus on language contact and language transfer. He is the author of Language Transfer (Cambridge University Press) and editor or co-editor of four other volumes. He has also published articles and chapters in several journals and edited volumes.


This volume is an interesting and innovative collection of articles on language transfer. It is unique in its presentation of papers on both theoretical perspectives and data-based studies in the context of the interaction between English and Chinese as L1 and L2 (among others). It is essential reading for anyone concerned with the processes of second language acquisition and multilingualism, not just the featured subject of language transfer.


Danuta Gabryś-Barker, University of Silesia, Poland

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Contents v
Contributors vii
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction 1
2 The Scope of Transfer Research 17
Part 1 Lexical Perspectives 49
3 Cross-Lexical Interaction and the Structure of the Mental Lexicon 51
4 L1 Transfer in Chinese Learners’ Use of Spatial Prepositions in EFL 63
5 L1 Influences in L2 Lexical Inferencing 76
Part 2 Syntactic Perspectives 107
6 An Investigation of Topic-Prominence in Interlanguage of Chinese EFL Learners: A Discourse Perspective 111
7 Investigating the Impact of L1 Morphology and Semantics on L2 Acquisition of English Detransitivized Constructions by Chinese and Korean Learners 124
8 The Role of L1 in the Acquisition of Chinese Causative Constructions by English-Speaking Learners 145
Part 3 Phonological Perspectives 169
9 L1 Influence on the Learning of English Lexical Stress Patterns: Evidence fromChinese Early and Late EFL Learners 171
10 SLA Perspectives on Language Contact: An Experimental Study on Retroflexion 187
Part 4 Cognitive Perspectives 205
11 Language Transfer and the Link between Comprehension and Production 207
12 Context and Language Transfer 226
13 Conclusion: A Few More Questions 237
Index of Persons Cited 251