Bilingualism and the effects of third language acquisition

Bilingualism and the effects of third language acquisition Since the early 1920s, much research has been done on bilingualism, with the earliest investigations finding mainly negative cognitive effects attributed to bilingualism (Pintner Keller, 1922; Saer, 1923). However, ever since Peal Lambert (1962) counter-claimed that bilinguals actually do perform better in certain cognitive tasks (e.g. symbolic manipulation types of non-verbal tasks), more recent studies have solidified the current view that bilingualism enhances ones cognitive flexibility and metalinguistic awareness. Yet, most research on language acquisition only focuses on one target language and neglects other languages already acquired or are being acquired by the learner. Research on third language acquisition (TLA) or the acquisition of additional languages (AAL), which attempts to fill this gap by bringing together the two traditionally detached fields of bilingualism and language acquisition, has only begun to accelerate during the late 1990s (Cenoz, 2008; Falk Bardel 20 10). The effect of bilingualism on TLA is one of the main areas of interest in research concerning third language (L3) studies. In order to sufficiently answer this question, we would have to define what we mean by bilingualism and third language acquisition. Different linguists define bilingualism differently over a broad spectrum, from the maximalist view of equal native-like competency in two languages to the minimalist interpretation of a minimal competency in two languages. For the purpose of this paper, we will define bilingualism as the ability to communicate effectively in two languages. Similarly, henceforth, third language acquisition will be defined as the process of learning and acquiring of a non-native language in a secondary context (i.e. language is acquired in a structured setting) by a learner who have already acquired two other languages previously. General consensus today prescribes to the notion that bilingualism brings about various cognitive benefits. It can be postulated that third language learners have a distinct advantage over second language learners due to their enhanced cognitive capabilities brought about by their bilingualism. Hakuta Bialystok (1994) wrote that the knowledge of two languages is greater than the sum of its parts. Most studies tend to indicate advantages in bilinguals over monolinguals in language acquisition, especially when the learners bilingualism is additive rather than subtractive (Cenoz, 2003). While there are numerous other factors affecting TLA including language similarity, L1/L2 influences, L1/L2 proficiency, recency of use, language status, role of Universal Grammar, cross-linguistic influences, early multilingualism and age of TLA (De Angelis 2007; Cenoz, 2008), we will be focusing solely on the effects of bilingualism on TLA. In particular, we will be discussing the effects of meta-ling uistic and meta-procedural gains on TLA due to bilingualism. Bilinguals have shown to display cognitive flexibility and enhanced metalinguistic awareness over monolinguals, and this in turn enhances bilinguals TLA (McLaughlin Nayak, 1989; Cenoz, 2003). Studies of bilingual children have shown bilinguals to have higher scores in tests targeting creative or divergent thinking. Research has also shown bilinguals to possess better abilities to control and utilise linguistic knowledge and to have an overall predisposition in word awareness tasks (Cummins, 1991; Bialystok, 2001). Furthermore, in Cummins (1991), the interdependence hypothesis was proposed which suggested that skill transfers take place from a bilinguals L1 into L2. One can only assume that these enhanced cognitive and metalinguistic abilities would have a positive effect in a bilinguals acquisition of a L3. It can also be logically deduced that the skill transfers from L1 into L2 based on the interdependence hypothesis can also occur from a L3 learners L1 and L2 into the L3. In an e ffort to further this hypothesis, De Angelis (2007) wrote that TLA differ significantly from second language acquisition (SLA) due to the fact that L3 learners can transfer linguistic elements from their prior knowledge in both L1 and L2, and this gives L3 learners an advantage over L2 learners. Studies have also shown that L3 learners often leverage upon their access to two different linguistic systems during the process of TLA (Herdina Jessner, 2002). All these suggested that the enhanced cognitive and metalinguistic abilities a bilingual possesses positively affects the acquisition of a L3. Enhanced cognitive abilities are not the only skills transferable during TLA. Syntactic transfers have also been shown to occur in L3 leaners. Different languages have different syntactic rules, and most bilinguals would have had access to the different syntactic rules governing the different languages they know (assuming that the two languages are syntactically dissimilar). This knowledge of two different sets of syntactic rules would assist a bilingual in the learning of a L3. Flynn, Foley Vinnitskaya (2004) proposed that language learning is cumulative in the Cumulative-Enhancement Model, suggesting that each language learned previously influences and enhances subsequent language learning, adding to a cumulative advantage for third and additional language learners. However, a more recent study by Bardel Falk (2007) on Swedish and Dutch L3 learners found only positive transfers of syntactic properties from L2 but not L1 in the learning of a L3. It was additionally proposed that i n L3 acquisition, the L2 acts like a filter, making the L1 inaccessible. If the above researches holds true, bilingualism could have either a positive or negative effect on third language acquisition depending on the learners L2. If the L2 is syntactically similar to the L3, the L3 learner would experience positive transfers of the syntactic properties of L2 into L3, aiding the learners acquisition of L3. Conversely, if the L1 but not the L2 is syntactically similar to the L3, the L3 learner would not be able to access the benefits of his knowledge in his L1 that he would otherwise have been able to reap had there not existed an L2 to act as a filter. Nevertheless, both studies while disagreeing on the existence of syntactic transfer from a L3 learners L1, agreed that they both found no negative (only positive or neutral) transfers regardless of the similarity or dissimilarity of the L3 learners L2. Therefore, irrespective of the fact that syntactic transfer from L1 occurs or not, bilinguals would have an advantage (or at least no disadvantage) in languag e learning as compared to monolinguals. Similarly, studies have also proved that transfers in the bilinguals knowledge of different orthographic systems give the bilingual an advantage in TLA. While numerous languages in the world are similar orthographically, many written languages have vastly different orthographic systems. In many cases, a learner of an additional language would need to learn a new orthographic system. Abu-Rabia Sanitsky (2010) compared students with knowledge in two orthographies (Hebrew and Russian) against students with knowledge in only one (Hebrew) in the acquisition of English as an additional language. While the results found that transfers of orthographic skills occurred in both groups of students, the learners who were familiar with two orthographic types outperformed those with knowledge in only one type of orthography. It was also noted that the rich orthographic experience in different orthographies is an advantage for trilingual speakers. However, numerous studies have found limited orthog raphic transfers when two vastly different orthographic systems were involved (e.g. Wang, Perfetti Liu, 2005 on Chinese-English; Wang, Park Lee, 2006 on Korean-English). In particular, Bialystok, Luk Kwan (2005) compared Spanish-English, Hebrew-English and Chinese-English bilinguals with monolinguals, and found that all three groups of bilinguals obtained higher levels of literacy than the monolinguals. They also found that Spanish-English and Hebrew-English bilinguals had a greater advantage than Chinese-English bilinguals (Spanish and Hebrew are both written alphabetically albeit in different scripts; Chinese is written logographically). While evidence shows that bilinguals would have an advantage in TLA due to orthographic transfers, the magnitude of such gains would be dependent on the similarities (if any) of the orthographies involved. It can be assumed that as the benefits of orthographic transfers exist due to the bilinguals enhanced awareness of different orthographic and script systems, bilinguals who use the same orthography and script in both L1 and L2 would find little or no advantage over monolinguals in the acquisition of an additional language which uses a different orthographic system. The same bilingual would however experience benefits in learning a L3 which uses the same or similar orthography and script as both the L1 and L2. However, what remains to be researched is the amount of orthographic transfer when the L3 is orthographically similar to either but not both the L1 and L2. It would also be interesting to find out if the filtering effect as proposed earlier by Bardel Falk (2007) on blocking o f syntactic transfers from the L1 by the L2 likewise holds true for orthographic transfers. TLA is similar to SLA in many ways, but yet it has been reported that language learners benefit from not only meta-linguistic gains but also from meta-procedural gains from prior language learning experiences. A study by McLaughin Nayak (1989) speculated that expert learners use different information-processing strategies and techniques than do more novice learners, and noted that multilinguals use a wider range of strategies and are more flexible in language learning than monolinguals. Similarly, Kemp (2007) showed that multilinguals experience in language learning helps them formulate better learning strategies which speeds acquisition through freeing up working memory. Kemp further noted that the number and frequency of strategies used in language learning is positively related to the number of languages the language learner already knows. From this, we can conclude that the more languages a person knows, the easier it will be for him to acquire an additional language. We can thu s deduce that bilingualism gives the bilingual an advantage in L3 acquisition brought about by the prior language learning experience. However, most studies on L3 learners meta-procedural gains have compared L3 learners with L2 learners, neglecting the differences between L3 learners who are simultaneous or sequential bilinguals. For L3 learners to reap the benefits from meta-procedural gains, logically, the learner must have had prior textbook learning of a language. Simultaneous bilinguals who grew up learning two languages simultaneously in a naturalist setting would not have had prior language learning experiences to tap upon. Further studies on TLA comparing simultaneous and sequential bilinguals would fill this gap and offer additional evidence of such meta-procedural gains if results prove that sequential bilinguals perform better in TLA over simultaneous bilinguals. During the course of this paper, we have discussed how, more often than not, bilingualism has shown to exhibit positive effects on the acquisition of a L3 be it meta-linguistically or meta-procedurally. It has to be noted that while most studies conducted on the effects of bilingualism on TLA tend to claim advantages for bilinguals, not all reports on the effects of bilingualism on third language acquisition is positive. Some studies have instead shown no significant advantages in TLA by bilinguals (Soler, 2008). Cenoz (2003) further pointed out that even if bilingualism has an effect on third language acquisition, it does not have to affect all aspects of third language proficiency in the same way, and different conclusions can be drawn depending on the dimension of language proficiency taken into consideration. Moreover, in Del Puerto (2007), it was pointed out that balanced bilinguals tend to perform better than less balanced bilinguals in third language learning. In other words, the degree of proficiency in L1 and L2 must also be taken into account when evaluating the effects of bilingualism on third language acquisition. Logical reasoning would direct that a bilingual who is less proficient in or is suffering from language attrition in either of his languages would perform less impressively than a balanced bilingual. As Del Puerto (2007) aptly sums it, third language acquisition is an exceedingly complex process and a multicausal phenomenon than can be affected by multifarious factors. We have but discussed some of the effects of bilingualism on third language acquisition, but the multitude of causal factors involved in third language acquisition means that much more can be discussed on this subject.

Analyses of ‘Thank You M’am’ Essay

‘Thank You M’am’ is a short story which is written by Langston Hughes. The story takes place in the USA, in the street and in the woman house, where we meet Mrs Luella and Roger. In this article I am going to analyse this short story. At first I will summarise its plot, then I will discuss the main theme on it, and comment on the main characters and some literary devices. ‘Thank You M’am’ is about a boy called Roger and a large woman Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones. At eleven o’clock at night, the boy tries to snatch the woman’s pocketbook. But as he grabs the purse behind, the strap brakes, he loses his balance and fall son his back on the sidewalk. Mrs Luella simply turns and kicks him, while he lies down. She shakes roger and commands him to pick up her purse. After having a little talk with him, she decides to take him home to her house by dragging him. She gets him washed and fed. Then he admits that he wants to steal money , so he could by a pair of blue suede shoes. Afterwards they have a conversation about her job. Right before Roger leaves, Mrs Luella gives him ten dollars. Roger wants to say something other than Thank you madam, while he tries to find the right words, she shut the door. The story stretches over a few hours, and it is set in a big city in America, most likely New York according picture’s information on p. 163 and the currency dollars are mention too. I will also say that it is probably in the late 1950s or in the beginning of the 1960s, because this story is from a book which was published in 1963, the suede shoes indicate that it was at that period, since they were very popular then. In my view, the main them of the story is life lessons and mentors. The message is treat others the way you want to be treated. In this story Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones is a mentor; she wants to teach and provides advice in a kind manner that he can learn from his mistakes. She takes the role as his mother ‘you aught o be my s on. I will teach you right from wrong’. They had something in common, she understands him and she actually admits to a stranger that she also did things when she was young, and she is not proud of ‘I have done things, too, which I would never tell you, son-neither tell God, if he did not already know’. The main characters, as we see, are Roger and Mrs Luella Bates Washington. On the first paragraph we get to know Roger, he is obviously not a very large or a strong man, nor very skilled in the art of stealing purses. This depicts his size and inexperience as a criminal. He lives along as we know, when he replays Mrs Luella that he gets nobody home. A dirty boy dressed in blue jeans and tennis shoes. An honest person he answers â€Å"Yes†, when Mrs Luella asks him if he is going to run, and that he needs money to buy a pair of blue suede shoes. He wants to be trusted, when he sits away from the purse (p. 165 the second paragraph). Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones, we get closer her in the beginning of the story, especially in the first paragraph, when the author gives a description which makes her seems strong, confident and unafraid of the night, not only a large woman. She lives in a flat with other roomers, but we do not know about her family. She works late in a hotel’s beauty shop. Mrs Luella shows the compassion for the boy, she does not take him to the police, even though he attempts her purse. She is presented as an active and dominant character. The story is told by the third person, a person who observes and describes all things happen in the story. We know just what the protagonists say to each other, no one’s thoughts are declared. The author uses non-standard English in the story to get it more living and more reliable. It is a kind of slang that Americans use especially African American. In my point of view, the climax is in the end of the text, when Mrs Luella Bates gives Roger ten dollars. He simply shocks and gets other thoughts about her. He feels guilty for trying to steal her pocketbook, he apologizes ‘Lady, I am sorry’. She cares and feels sorry about him, although she does not know him. She leads him down the hall and opens the door for him, then she says ’God night, behave yourself, boy.’ In the end, I will simply say that this story is relevant nowadays, because some countries still have this problem. Some people steal to satisfy their needs only. So therefore this story is a good example to these people. It teaches how they can fulfil their wishes without stealing.

How to Distinguish Female Lobsters From Males

Want to know the sex of a lobster you have caught or are about to eat? Here are several ways to tell: Lobster Anatomy Lobsters have feathery appendages called swimmerets, or pleopods, underneath their tails. These swimmerets help a lobster swim and are also where a female lobster  (sometimes called a hen)  carries her eggs. Swimmerets also can clue you in to the sex of a lobster. The first pair of swimmerets (the pair closest to the head) just behind the walking legs point up toward the head. They are thin, feathery, and soft on a female  but hard and bony on a male. Also, the female has a rectangular shield between her second pair of walking legs, which she uses to store sperm after mating with a male. This is where the male inserts those hard swimmerets during mating, releasing sperm that the female stores. When its time to release her eggs, they flow past the sperm and are fertilized. The female stores these eggs under her abdomen (tail) for 10 to 11 months.   Because they carry eggs, females tend to have a wider tail than males. Females carrying fertilized eggs arent usually harvested, but inside a female lobster you might find unfertilized eggs, or roe. They are green when fresh and bright red after the lobster is cooked. (They are also called coral because of the color.) These can be eaten.  Females can carry up to 80,000 eggs at one time.   Courting Ritual Despite their ferocious appearance, lobsters have a complex courtship ritual that is often described as touching.  Males and females mate after the female molts. The males live in caves or dens, and as her molting time draws near, a female visits the dens and wafts a pheromone toward the male via her urine, which is released from openings near her antennae. The male energetically beats his swimmerets. Over a few days, the female approaches the den and checks out the male. They eventually initiate a mock boxing match and the female enters the den. During molting the female is vulnerable—she is very soft and takes at least half an hour to be able to stand—so the male protects her. At this point the male rolls the female over onto her back and transfers the sperm packet, or spermatophore, to the females seminal receptacle. The female holds her eggs until she is ready to fertilize them.   Spiny Lobster Sexing Spiny lobsters (rock lobsters) are usually sold as tails, rather than live, so you might not get a chance to try out your lobster sexing skills at a market that sells spiny lobsters.  However, these lobsters also can be sexed using the swimmerets on the underside of their tails.   In females, the swimmerets on one side might overlap those on the other. You might also see a dark patch, where the spermatophore is located at the base of her last pair of walking legs. They might also have claw-shaped pincers at the end of their fifth pair of walking legs that help hold the eggs.  Roe mmight be found inside whole spiny lobsters. Sources: Lobsters, Gulf of Maine Research Institute Lobster 101: Reproduction and Life Cycle, Maine Lobstermens Community AllianceHow to Determine the Sex of Regulated Invertebrates, State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources Lobster Biology, The Lobster Conservancy

Karl Marx And Marxism - 1229 Words

Karl Marx’s ideology was established to show what would happen if the social classes struggled with each other. Vladimir Lenin however, was more practical in that his ideology carried the changes needed to fit into the country itself. Marx anticipated that his concept would come to carry out a more advanced capitalist state because is where he thought the revolution he talked about would take place. Still, Leninism took place in a country that was not as advanced as Mr. Marx would have imagined. During this time Russia was not economically advanced and had many farmers. Lenin felt he had to change the aspects of Marxism to fit Russia Lenin argued that the capitalists in European countries engaged in a policy of imperialism, or empire†¦show more content†¦In fact, the philosophical basis of the communist movements and regimes of the 20th century, ranging from the Soviet Union to Latin America to China and North Korea, is largely based on Marxism. However, its important to note that while Marxism supports a form of socialism, not all forms of socialism are Marxist in nature. Lenin, developed a Marxist political economy, enhanced by capitalism, imperialism, and of the general crisis of capitalism. It popularized the idea of the socialist revolution, the concept of the possibility of the victory of socialism first in a few countries or even in one country alone. The significance of Marx’s theory of liberty is that the rank and file must be directly involved in the socialist revolution against capitalism. â€Å"The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority in the interest of the immense majority†.1 The Bolsheviks subsequently assumed authority before the working class had prepared for Socialism, all the Bolshevik government could do at this point, was to install state capitalism in Russia. while at the same time imposing their own dictatorship over the proletariat. Distaste for the intellectual capabilities of the proletariat led to their demand that the leading party should rule on their behalf, much against theirShow MoreRelatedKarl Marx and Marxism Essay727 Words   |  3 PagesKarl Marx and Marxism Karl Marx set the wheels of modern Communism and Socialism in motion with his writings in the late nineteenth century. In collaboration with his friend, Heinrich Engels, he produced the The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848. Many failed countries political and socio-economic structures have been based on Marxs theories, for example the USSR, East Germany etc. Many people believe that Marxism is not applicable to todays society, as Karl Marx put forward his ideas notRead MoreEssay on Karl Marx And Marxism710 Words   |  3 PagesKarl Marx and Marxism nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Karl Marx set the wheels of modern Communism and Socialism in motion with his writings in the late nineteenth century. 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