New Perspectives on Transfer in Second Language Learning

Edited by Prof. Liming Yu, Dr. Terence Odlin

Publication date:

09 October 2015

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781783094332

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.

1. Terence Odlin and Liming Yu: Introduction

2. Scott Jarvis: The Scope of Transfer Research

Part One: Lexical Perspectives

3. David Singleton: Cross-Lexical Interaction and the Structure of the Mental Lexicon

4. Jia Li and Jinting Cai: L1 Transfer in Chinese Learners’ Use of Spatial Prepositions in EFL

5. T. Sima Paribakht and Marjorie Bingham Wesche: L1 Influences in L2 Lexical Inferencing

Part Two: Syntactic Perspectives

6. Shaopeng Li and Lianrui Yang: An Investigation into Topic-Prominence in the Interlanguage of Chinese EFL Learners: In a Discourse Perspective

7. Yusong Gao: Investigating the Impact of L1 Morphology and Semantics upon L2 Acquisition of English Detransitivized Constructions by Chinese and Korean Learners

8. Hui Chang and Lina Zheng: The Acquisition of the Chinese Causative Construction by English-Speaking Learners

Part Three: Phonological Perspectives

9. Hong Li, Lei Zhang and Ling Zhou: L1 influence on the Learning of English Lexical Stress Patterns: Evidence from Chinese Early and Late EFL Learners

10. David Mitchell: SLA Perspectives on Language Contact: An Experimental Study in Retroflexion

Part Four: Cognitive Perspectives

11. Terence Odlin: Language Transfer and the Link between Comprehension and Production

12. Chuming Wang: Context and Language Transfer

13. Terence Odlin: Conclusion: A Few More Questions

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.