Bilingualism reading group

Speaker: Francesca D’Angelo

Title: Instructed vs. Uninstructed Bilinguals: the Role Played by Metalinguistic Awareness in Third Language Acquisition

Abstract: The expansion of research into multilingualism in the past decade has been the result of a growing awareness that acquiring a third language (L3) is a different, more complex, and multifaceted process compared to the acquisition of a second language (L2). Numerous studies on the positive effects of bilingualism on TLA relate the advantages evident in bilingual learners to the influence of bilingualism on cognitive development and, specifically, to metalinguistic awareness (MLA) and communicative skills (Cummins, 1978; Thomas 1988; Cenoz & Genesee, 1998; Jessner, 1999; Jessner, 2006; Jaensch, 2009). This has been considered as an indirect effect of bilingualism, that is, “bilingualism affects cognition, MLA and communicative skills and these factors, in turn, affect TLA” (Cenoz, 2003).

Although it is has been widely acknowledged that MLA is strongly affected by literacy and grammar related activities, only a few studies have attended to the context and method of acquisition of the bilingual learners’ L2. Indeed, it is not clear whether the higher level of metalinguistic awareness responsible for bilinguals’ better performance in TLA is mainly due to the previous instructed, formal learning process in their L2 or if it is the result of the accumulated experience in a naturalistic bilingual setting. The current research aims to investigate the bilingualism specific variables affecting the process and outcomes of TLA, with a particular focus on the relationship between the context and method of acquisition of bilinguals’ L2 (i.e. instructed/uninstructed; formal/informal) and the degree of metalinguistic awareness developed. It is worth looking at how the level of explicit and implicit metalinguistic awareness of “primary” and “secondary” bilinguals (Hoffman, 1991) correlates with a higher level of proficiency attained in a third (or additional) language. In other words, is it the level of bilingualism or the level linguistic knowledge in an L2 that plays a fundamental role to succeed in TLA? (Bialystok & Barac, 2012).

The proposed question will be assessed through the comparison of the general proficiency attained in L3 by bilinguals whose L2 has been added in a naturalistic setting and bilinguals whose L2 is the result of a formal learning process. First, a bio-data questionnaire will report the learners’ previous linguistic history, motivation, and aptitude towards languages as well as their socio-economic background. Second, two cloze tests in their L2 and L3 will be administered in order to assess their degree of bilingualism (i.e. balanced/unbalanced) and their level of proficiency attained in L3. Third, a Self-Paced Reading Task consisting of two parts, i.e. a linear non-cumulative processing of semantically ambiguous sentences and a post-experiment questionnaire focusing on the acceptability of the sentences, will be used in order to provide independent measures of implicit and explicit metalinguistic skills developed in their L2 and information about the participants’ cognitive abilities (Blom & Unsworth, 2010) and anticipation skills (Bonifacci et al, 2011).

References:

Bialystok, E., Barac, R. (2012). “Emerging Bilingualism: Dissociating Advantages for Metalinguistic Awareness and Executive Control.” Cognition. 122(1):67-73. Blom, E. & Unsworth, S. (Eds.) (2010). Experimental Methods in Language Acquisition Research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Bonifacci, P., Giombini, L., Bellocchi, S. and Contento, S. (2011). “Speed of processing, anticipation, inhibition and working memory in bilinguals”. Developmental Science.14: 256–269. Cenoz, J. (2003). “The additive effect of bilingualism on third language acquisition: A review.” International Journal of Bilingualism. 7 (1): 71-87. Cenoz, J. & Genesee, F. (Eds.). (1998). Beyond bilingualism: Multilingualism and multilingual education. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Cummins, J. (1978). “Bilingualism and the development of metalinguistic awareness”. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 9, 131-149. Hoffman, C. (1991). An introduction to Bilingualism. New York: Longman. Jaensch, C. (2009) “L3 enhanced feature sensitivity as a result of higher proficiency in the L2”. Y.-k. I. Leung, (Eds.) Third Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 115-143. Jessner, U. (1999). “Metalinguistic awareness in multilingual speakers: Cognitive aspects of third language learning”. Language Awareness , 8, 201-209. Jessner, U. (2006). Linguistic Awareness in Multilinguals. English as a Third Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Thomas, J. (1988). “The role played by metalinguistic awareness in second and third language learning”. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 9 (3): 235-246.