Interlanguage IL LEC. 9

Interlanguage IL It refers to the type of language produced by 2nd & foreign language learners who are in the process of learning a language

Interlanguage IL In language learning, learners’ errors are caused by several different processes. These include: Borrowing patterns from L1 (language transfer) Extending patterns form L2 (overgeneralization) Expressing meanings using the words & grammar which are already known (communication strategy)

Interlanguage IL Since the language which the learner produces using these processes differs form both the mother tongue & the target language, it is sometimes called an interlanguage, or is said to result from the learner’s interlanguage system or approximative system.

The Beginning of IL A shift in psychology from behavioristic to cognitive theories Dissatisfaction with L1 transfer as the main objective of CA Finding actual errors at a given point in time by the EA approach

The beginning of IL This approach is not based on deviation (errors); it is concerned with the process of L2 development at all levels (phonological, morphological, syntactic, & semantic) as a whole in different stages. Attention is paid to the development processes & how one could for both systematicity & variability in the learner’s language.

Interlanguage IL This approach / linguistic system has been called Approximative systems Interlanguage IL Transitional competence

IL Assumptions Learners internally construct a linguist system, which is different from both the learner’s L1 & the L2, but it is based on L2 input that he receives. At successive stages of learning, learners keep linguistic systems, reconstructing and approximating a certain variety of L2 that rarely becomes identical to the L2 norm.

IL Cognitive Processes psychological & social L1 transfer Transfer of training, which comes from learners’ teachers Strategies of L2 learning, which are approaches by learners to the elements to be learned Strategies of L2 communication, which are ways of communication with the native speakers of the L2 Overgeneralization of L2 rules, which is a process by which a learner extends the L2 rule beyond its acceptable use

IL & Natural Language Similarities IL is assumed to be systematic, i.e. rule governed behavior IL obeys universal constraints at all levels (phonological, morphological, syntactic, & semantic) IL shows evidence of internal consistency

IL & Natural Languages Differences Reduced systems (number & complexity of rules) Permeability (incomplete rules) Fossilization (fixed cognitive representation) Causes of fossilization: Low motivation of L2 learning for psychological and/ or social reasons Age with which old learners usually retain a recognizable foreign accent Limited range of L2 input with respect to its quality & quantity

IL Methodology Selinker (1972) identified the essential components for IL analysis in: L1 utterances produced by the learner IL utterances produced by the learner (the learner’s version of L2) L2 utterances used by its native speakers In this way, IL methodology incorporates the assumptions of EA & CA

IL & L2 Teaching On the basis of IL assumptions, a number of claims have been made in L2 teaching: The teacher of an L2 can get a clear picture of the learner’s transitional competence, not only the errors which are made at a particular time as in the case of EA approach Plans for teaching are done for the different stages of development

IL & L2 Teaching Psychological & linguistic processes of L2 learning may be inferred from the descriptions of the learner’s IL as these descriptions develop & change through various attempts of learning the L2 Our realistic aim in L2 teaching & learning is not to achieve a native speaker competence but something near it

IL Critics No concrete hints are in IL literature on how to describe the changing linguistic systems in L2 A large body of data is needed to ascertain a linguistic rule in the learner’s IL & this is only achieved through longitudinal studies which take a long period of time (i.e. year) in order to follow the development of a language phenomenon

IL Critics Observation of the most truly systematic form of a learner’s IL is not an easy process since it needs a number of considerations related to status of the learners & the researcher, the topic of discourse, the spoken or written language, a naturalistic or experimental task, the physical surrounding (e.g. classroom, home, office), and monitored or unmonitored speech