Syntactic Competence of Heritage Speakers at Advanced Levels of Oral Proficiency: Evidence from L2 Korean
0
조회
0
다운로드
4
인용
0
참고문헌
키워드
초록
This study investigates syntactic competence in heritage speakers and second language (L2) learners of Korean. Using a grammaticality judgment task, data were collected on seven different syntactic features of Korean from 28 heritage speakers, 13 L2 learners at 2, 2+ and 3 on the ILR oral proficiency scale (OPI), and 14 native controls. The test battery of the experiment showed high internal reliability in most grammatical domains and significant correlations between mean accuracy scores and ILR proficiency levels. In addition, mean comparisons between heritage speakers and L2 learners within each oral proficiency level indicated that heritage speakers’ advantages in L2 syntax are likely to be found from low to intermediate levels, but not at very advanced, native-like levels of oral proficiency (i.e., ILR 3 in this study). This study provides a new type of evidence that the frequently-found advantage of heritage speakers in syntactic competence in lower proficiency levels in previous studies may not exist at the advanced level of oral proficiency. L2 learners’ syntactic competence becomes as robust as heritage speakers’ at the same level of very advanced oral proficiency. Still, the syntactic competence of these two groups does not reach the level of native speakers’, supporting the previous findings of incomplete acquisition of heritage speakers.
Abstract
This study investigates syntactic competence in heritage speakers and second language (L2) learners of Korean. Using a grammaticality judgment task, data were collected on seven different syntactic features of Korean from 28 heritage speakers, 13 L2 learners at 2, 2+ and 3 on the ILR oral proficiency scale (OPI), and 14 native controls. The test battery of the experiment showed high internal reliability in most grammatical domains and significant correlations between mean accuracy scores and ILR proficiency levels. In addition, mean comparisons between heritage speakers and L2 learners within each oral proficiency level indicated that heritage speakers’ advantages in L2 syntax are likely to be found from low to intermediate levels, but not at very advanced, native-like levels of oral proficiency (i.e., ILR 3 in this study). This study provides a new type of evidence that the frequently-found advantage of heritage speakers in syntactic competence in lower proficiency levels in previous studies may not exist at the advanced level of oral proficiency. L2 learners’ syntactic competence becomes as robust as heritage speakers’ at the same level of very advanced oral proficiency. Still, the syntactic competence of these two groups does not reach the level of native speakers’, supporting the previous findings of incomplete acquisition of heritage speakers.
참고문헌 (18)
- Au. T, "Overhearing a language during childhood", Psychological Science, 13, pp.238~243 (2002)
- Birdsong, D., "Second Language Acquisition and the Critical Period Hypothesis" (1999), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
- Bley-Vroman, R., "The logical problem of foreign language learning", Linguistic Analysis, 20, pp.3~49 (1990)
- DeKeyser, R., "The robustness of critical period effects in second language acquisition", Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 22, pp.499~534 (2000)
- DeKeyser, R., "The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition", pp.313~348 (2003), Blackwell
- DeKeyser, R., "What makes second-language grammar difficult? A review of issues", Language Learning, 55(Supplement 1), pp.1~25 (2005)
- Hyltenstam, K., "The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition", pp.539~588 (2003), Blackwell
- Kanno, K., "Heritage Language Education: A New Field Emerging", pp.165~180 (2008), Routledge
- Larsen-Freeman, D., "An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research" (1991), Longman
- 이선영, "Linguistic Correlates of Proficiency in Korean as a Second Language.", 어학연구, 45(2), pp.319~348 (2009), 언어교육원
- Lee, S-Y, "Linguistic correlates of proficiency in Korean as a second language: production", Proceedings of the 2010 Winter International Conference on Linguistics (2010 WICL) held at Konkuk University, pp.272~277 (2010)
- 이영근, "Variation of the Linguistic Profiles of Advanced English-Speaking Learners of Korean", 어학연구, 41(2), pp.437~456 (2005), 언어교육원
- Long, M. H., "Maturational constraints on language development", Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, pp.251~285 (1990)
- Montrul, S., "Subject and object expression in Spanish heritage speakers : A case of morphosyntactic convergence", Bilingualism : Language and Cognition, 7, pp.1~18 (2004)
- Montrul, S., "Second language acquisition and first language loss in adult early bilinguals : Exploring some differences and similarities", Second Language Research, 21, pp.1~51 (2005)
- Montrul, S., "Inquiries in Linguistic Development. In Honor of Lydia White", pp.335~360 (2006), John Benjamins
- Montrul, S., "Incomplete Acquisition in Bilingualism. Re-examining the Age Factor" (2008), John Benjamins
- Montrul, S., "How similar are adult second language learners and Spanish heritage speakers? Spanish clitics and word order", Applied Psycholinguistics, 31, pp.167~207 (2010)