The present thesis deals with the lives and languages of twenty-five adolescent
and adult bilinguals. All of them have acquired their languages
consecutively. Through an extensive research programme the subjects
are tested from a cross-linguistic and cross-cultural approach for the quality
of L1 - L2 proximity.
The main research question in the thesis is in what ways do L1 and L2 of
adolescent and adult bilinguals differ regarding the results of verbal
screening tests and selected aspects of written narrative competence?
How and to what extent can the findings be associated to the results of the
analysis of influencing socio-psychological factors?
It is assumed that biological constraints are not the single crucial factors
for high levels of attainment but rather socio-psychological variables such
as culture, identity, perception and attitudes.
The verbal screening tests, namely the PPVT-III (Peabody Picture Vocabulary
Test - III) and EVT (Expressive Vocabulary Test), used to determine
a person’s passive and active vocabulary knowledge of a language
will show that the results of L1 and L2 will not differ significantly of each
other in individuals showing positive affective variables in their bilingualism.
The level of language proficiency and the quality of L1 - L2 proximity is
further investigated through a detailed analysis of written narratives composed
in ScriptLog, a research programme for the online process of writing.
This involves the analysis of five major linguistic variables: productivity,
lexical diversity, the construction of complex motion events, and the
use of evaluative devices. The last two variables give information on the
amount of granularity and the condensation of information and can be
classified between textual structure and the lexicon. Additionally, the time
data of the written narratives recorded by ScriptLog will be evaluated and
discussed.
The question is whether qualitative and quantitative differences between
the five variables of investigation mentioned above are in line with sociopsychological variables, possibly influencing the development of late L2
learners.
Table of Contents
1 PREFACE
2 INTRODUCTION AND AIM OF THE THESIS
2.1 CENTRAL QUESTIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS
2.2 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS
2.3 DEFINING BILINGUALISM
3 LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 AIM OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1.1 BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN SLA
3.1.2 MATURATIONAL CONSTRAINTS
3.1.3 EMPIRICAL STUDIES
3.1.3.1 Natural and Experimental Acquisition Rate Studies
3.1.3.2 Age of Acquisition and Ultimate Outcomes in SLA
3.1.3.2.1 Long-Term AO Effects
3.1.3.3 Nativelike Levels of L2 Proficiency
3.1.3.4 Theories about the Nature of the Critical Period
3.1.3.5 Biological Aspects
3.1.3.6 Socio-Psychological Aspects
3.2 RESUME OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW
3.3 REASSESSING LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION - A DYNAMIC APPROACH
4 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAMME
4.1 AIM
4.2 RESEARCH METHODS
4.2.1 PARTICIPANTS
4.2.2 INSTRUMENTS
4.2.2.1 The Background Questionnaire
4.2.2.2 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III
4.2.2.3 Expressive Vocabulary Test
4.2.2.4 ScriptLog – A Tool for Analyzing Online Writing
4.2.2.4.1 The Frog Story
4.2.3 PROCEDURE
4.2.4 INSTRUMENTS OF ANALYSES
4.2.4.1 TALC – Total Analysis of Language and Culture
5 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMINEES
5.1 AIM
5.2 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF GENERAL DATA
5.2.1 AGE AND SEX
5.2.2 EDUCATION AND OCCUPATIONAL STATUS
5.2.3 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND RESIDENCE
5.2.4 VARIETY OF LANGUAGES
5.2.5 LANGUAGE GROUPS AND AGE OF ACQUISITION
5.2.6 WAY OF ACQUISITION L1 / L2
6 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF VERBAL SCREENING TESTS
6.1 INTRODUCTION AND AIM
6.2 VERBAL SCREENING TESTS
6.2.1 THE PEABODY PICTURE VOCABULARY TEST III
6.2.1.1 Variation Analysis
6.2.1.2 Correlation Analysis
6.2.1.3 Comparative Analysis of L1 and L2
6.2.2 THE EXPRESSIVE VOCABULARY TEST
6.2.2.1 Variation Analysis
6.2.2.2 Correlation Analysis
6.2.2.3 Comparative Analysis of L1 and L2
6.2.3 PPVT-III AND EVT IN COMPARISON
6.2.3.1 Variation Analysis
6.2.3.2 Correlation Analysis
6.3 CASE STUDIES
6.3.1 GENERAL REMARKS
6.3.2 PPVT-III – EXAMINEES
6.3.2.1 PPVT-III - Examinee no. 2
6.3.2.2 PPVT-III - Examinee no. 6
6.3.2.3 PPVT-III - Examinee no. 9
6.3.2.4 PPVT-III - Examinee no. 21
6.3.2.5 PPVT-III - Examinee no. 22
6.3.3 EVT- EXAMINEES
6.3.3.1 EVT - Examinee no.7
6.3.3.2 EVT - Examinee no.14
6.3.3.3 EVT - Examinee no. 15
6.3.3.4 EVT - Examinee no. 19
6.3.3.5 EVT - Examinee no. 21
6.4 RESUME OF THE VERBAL SCREENING TESTS
6.4.1 PPVT III - TEST
6.4.2 EVT - TEST
7 FROG STORY
7.1 INTRODUCTION AND AIM
7.2 ANALYSIS OF THE WRITTEN FROG STORY NARRATIVES
7.2.1 PRODUCTION PROFILES
7.2.1.1 Variation analysis
7.2.1.2 Comparative Analysis of L1 and L2
7.2.2 LEXICAL DIVERSITY
7.2.2.1 Variation analysis
7.2.2.2 Correlation analysis
7.2.2.3 Comparative analysis of L1 and L2
7.2.3 THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMPLEX MOTION EVENTS IN 'THE JOURNEY OFF THE CLIFF'
7.2.3.1 Comparison of the mean number of segments in the 'journey off the cliff'
7.2.3.2 Variation analysis of the journey segments in L1 & L2
7.2.3.3 Examples – The 'journey off the cliff'
7.2.3.4 Analysis of the 'journey off the cliff' by means of ScriptLog
7.2.4 EVALUATIVE DEVICES IN THE FROG STORIES OF L1 & L2
7.2.5 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF EVALUATIVE DEVICES IN L1 AND L2
7.2.5.1 Examples of evaluative devices in L1 and L2 frog story narratives
7.2.6 TOTAL TIME ANALYSIS IN WRITTEN FROG STORIES OF L1 AND L2
7.3 RESUME
8 HYPOTHESES AND THEIR VERIFICATION BY TALC
8.1 INTRODUCTION AND AIM
8.2 HYPOTHESES
8.2.1 HYPOTHESIS 1
8.2.2 HYPOTHESES 2
8.3 VERIFICATION OF THE HYPOTHESES BY TALC
8.3.1 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS OF HYPOTHESIS 1
8.3.1.1 With respect to the age of acquisition and years of L2 usage
8.3.2 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS OF HYPOTHESIS 2
8.3.2.1 With respect to the way of acquisition of L2 and multilingual competence
8.3.2.2 With respect to the personal motivation to use L2 with families and colleagues
8.3.2.3 With respect to cultural identity
8.3.2.4 With respect to linguistic self-confidence and self-evaluation (writing skills)
8.3.2.5 With respect to language and emotion
8.4 CONCLUSION
9 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
9.1 SUMMARY
9.2 CONCLUSION
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis examines the linguistic development and narrative competence of twenty-five consecutive bilinguals through a cross-linguistic and cross-cultural lens. The primary research goal is to determine how L1 and L2 proficiencies differ in adult and adolescent bilinguals, and to what extent these variances correlate with socio-psychological factors such as identity, motivation, and cultural perception.
- Analysis of receptive and expressive vocabulary using standardized psychometric testing (PPVT-III, EVT).
- Evaluation of narrative competence and online writing processes using ScriptLog software and the 'Frog Story' paradigm.
- Investigation of the relationship between language proficiency and socio-psychological variables (age of acquisition, language use, cultural identification).
- Critical review of the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) and maturational constraints in the context of late L2 acquisition.
- Application of the TALC database for cross-correlating empirical language data with subjective questionnaire results.
Excerpt from the Book
6.3.3.5 EVT - Examinee no. 21
The following case study is the most interesting and gripping of the present thesis. Examinee 21 grew up in the German speaking part of Switzerland. Her mother tongue and L1 is German. The family situation of this subject was quite difficult and had a major impact on the language development of this person. The parents of this examinee were very strict and they oppressed their children enormously. The dearest brother of the examinee could not stand the conflict anymore and committed suicide. From that day on, she decided to forget everything that surrounded her: her parents, the region, the culture and even the language. At the age of seventeen the subject emigrated to France. There she started a new life and stayed for a while. Later, she got married to a Suisse from the French speaking part of Switzerland. The tragic experiences made in childhood and adolescence made her search for a new identity and a new language.
German, tested as L1 in this study is spoken randomly. On a scale from 1 to 5 (1 stands for every year, 5 stands for several hours a day) the examinee choose 1. Concerning language proficiency in the four skills the tested person rated herself as follows: speaking (4), comprehension (4), reading (4) and writing (3). Again, the scale ranges from 1 to 5 with 1 signifying least proficient and 5 fully fluent. Additionally, it is indicated that German, which was acquired as a mother tongue has heavily been influenced by French regarding accent and expression. The choice of the subjective statements in the questionnaire clearly shows that the subject has dropped all imaginable relations to the German language. Even feelings, terms of endearment etc. would not be expressed in this language. And finally, the cultural identity was lost as well.
Summary of Chapters
1 PREFACE: Personal background of the author and motivation for conducting research on bilingualism.
2 INTRODUCTION AND AIM OF THE THESIS: Presentation of the research questions concerning adolescent and adult bilingualism and definition of terminology.
3 LITERATURE REVIEW: Overview of theoretical debates on maturational constraints, the Critical Period Hypothesis, and socio-psychological influences.
4 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAMME: Detailed description of the study participants, test instruments, and the TALC analysis database.
5 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMINEES: Statistical analysis of demographic data including age, education, and language groups.
6 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF VERBAL SCREENING TESTS: Statistical and case study evaluation of receptive and expressive vocabulary test results.
7 FROG STORY: Analysis of narrative production, lexical diversity, motion event construction, and evaluative devices in written stories.
8 HYPOTHESES AND THEIR VERIFICATION BY TALC: Discussion and testing of eight research hypotheses against collected empirical data.
9 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: Final synthesis of findings and implications for future research on adult L2 acquisition.
Keywords
Bilingualism, Second Language Acquisition, Critical Period Hypothesis, Multilingualism, Narrative Competence, Psycholinguistics, Socio-psychological factors, Cultural Identity, ScriptLog, PPVT-III, EVT, Language Proficiency, Vocabulary Acquisition, Late Bilinguals, Multi-competence
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores the lives and language proficiency of twenty-five adolescent and adult consecutive bilinguals, focusing on the quality of their L1 and L2.
What are the primary themes discussed in the thesis?
Central themes include the impact of maturational constraints versus socio-psychological factors like cultural identity, personal motivation, and linguistic self-confidence on late L2 acquisition.
What is the main research question of this work?
The study asks how the L1 and L2 of late bilinguals differ regarding verbal test results and narrative competence, and how these findings associate with socio-psychological variables.
Which research methodologies are applied?
The author uses a multi-faceted approach involving standardized vocabulary tests (PPVT-III, EVT), online writing analysis via ScriptLog, and the TALC database for statistical correlation of qualitative soft factors.
What is covered in the main part of the thesis?
The empirical sections analyze participant demographics, verbal screening results, specific narrative structures (the 'Frog Story'), and the verification of hypotheses concerning L2 attainment.
Which keywords define this dissertation?
Key terms include Bilingualism, Second Language Acquisition, Critical Period Hypothesis, Narrative Competence, and Multi-competence.
How did the author's background influence the study?
The author, having grown up in a multilingual environment in Liberia, draws on personal experience and previous master's research to emphasize that identity and positive affect are as critical as age in language mastery.
What specific role does the 'Frog Story' play in the study?
The story acts as a task for analyzing written narrative skills, allowing for the evaluation of lexical diversity, the construction of complex motion events, and the use of evaluative devices.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding the Critical Period?
The author concludes that late L2 learners can indeed achieve high levels of proficiency, suggesting that socio-psychological variables often play a more decisive role than biological constraints.
- Quote paper
- Dr. phil. Daniela Reichholf-Wilscher (Author), 2006, Bilingualism across the lifespan - A cross linguistic and cross cultural approach, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/118305
