The Instantiation of the Given-before-New Principle in English Datives by Korean EFL Learners
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This study investigates the instantiation of the given-before-new (GN) principle in the English dative alternation by Korean EFL learners. While native speakers use the prepositional dative (PD) when the theme is given, and the double object dative (DOD) when the recipient is given, L2 learners often struggle with this pragmatic constraint. An elicited written production task was administered to 68 Korean university students categorized as intermediate level (IL) and low level (LL) based on their official proficiency scores. The results show a significant effect of proficiency, with the IL group demonstrating a higher frequency of target GN order responses than the LL group in both the given-theme and given- recipient conditions. However, overall compliance with the GN principle was low, as both groups demonstrated a preference for the PD construction across conditions. Crucially, the LL group exhibited a high frequency of a unique error: the to-drop construction (e.g., sent the pictures ø his wife), accounting for approximately 70% of their non-dative responses. This error, rarely observed in other L2 populations, can be viewed as a distinct developmental path for Korean EFL learners influenced by the characteristics of their L1 Korean dative structures.
Abstract
This study investigates the instantiation of the given-before-new (GN) principle in the English dative alternation by Korean EFL learners. While native speakers use the prepositional dative (PD) when the theme is given, and the double object dative (DOD) when the recipient is given, L2 learners often struggle with this pragmatic constraint. An elicited written production task was administered to 68 Korean university students categorized as intermediate level (IL) and low level (LL) based on their official proficiency scores. The results show a significant effect of proficiency, with the IL group demonstrating a higher frequency of target GN order responses than the LL group in both the given-theme and given- recipient conditions. However, overall compliance with the GN principle was low, as both groups demonstrated a preference for the PD construction across conditions. Crucially, the LL group exhibited a high frequency of a unique error: the to-drop construction (e.g., sent the pictures ø his wife), accounting for approximately 70% of their non-dative responses. This error, rarely observed in other L2 populations, can be viewed as a distinct developmental path for Korean EFL learners influenced by the characteristics of their L1 Korean dative structures.