Loading...

Grammar Growth in Child Second Language German

Investigating DP Development in an Immersion Setting

by Christiane Schöneberger (Author)
©2015 Thesis 275 Pages
Series: Inquiries in Language Learning, Volume 11

Summary

This empirical study investigates the acquisition and development of nominal morphology in L1-English-speaking children acquiring German as a second language in an immersion school context. The focus is on accuracy development in the emerging German article system. Embracing theoretical and applied aspects of second language acquisition research, the study brings together educational, cognitive and psycholinguistic dimensions of second language learning and teaching. Results have implications for curriculum design and quality development in language immersion and content and language integrated learning.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the author(s)/editor(s)
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Preface
  • Vorwort
  • Acknowledgments
  • Table of Contents
  • Index of charts
  • Index of examples
  • Index of pictures
  • Index of tables
  • Abbreviations
  • 1 Introduction
  • 1.1 Motivation for the study
  • 1.2 Aims of the study
  • 1.3 Theoretical framework and outline of the study
  • 2 Functional features in language acquisition: The state of the art
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Theory development in language acquisition
  • 2.2.1 Where language acquisition starts
  • 2.2.2 How language acquisition develops
  • 2.2.3 Types of language acquisition
  • 2.2.4 Functional features in L2 acquisition: morphological variability in L2 grammar
  • 2.2.5 Second language acquisition: variables and contexts
  • 2.3 Articles in first and second language acquisition
  • 2.3.1 Articles in German and English: a contrastive analysis
  • 2.3.2 First language acquisition of the nominal system in German and English
  • 2.3.3 Second language acquisition of the German nominal system
  • 2.4 Summary
  • 3 Empirical evidence
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Research questions and hypotheses
  • 3.2.1 The development of nominal accuracy in child L2 German
  • 3.2.2 The role of transfer
  • 3.2.3 Task effects
  • 3.3 Methodology
  • 3.3.1 Immersion education
  • 3.3.2 Data collection
  • 3.3.2.1 Participants
  • 3.3.2.2 Spontaneous production: story retelling
  • 3.3.2.3 Spontaneous production: picture description
  • 3.3.2.4 Spontaneous production: written retelling
  • 3.3.2.5 Controlled production: cloze task
  • 3.3.2.6 Controlled production: untimed oral grammaticality judgment task
  • 3.3.2.7 Controlled production: untimed written grammaticality judgment task
  • 3.3.2.8 Controlled production: timed grammaticality judgment task I
  • 3.3.2.9 Controlled production: timed oral grammaticality judgment task II
  • 3.3.3 Data analysis
  • 3.3.3.1 Data transcription
  • 3.3.3.2 Data coding (TAMS)
  • 3.3.3.3 Statistical analyses
  • 3.4 Summary
  • 4 Findings
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 Results
  • 4.2.1 Measuring proficiency: SOPA results
  • 4.2.2 Describing development: analyzing spontaneous production data
  • 4.2.3 Investigating the development of nominal accuracy in child L2 German
  • 4.2.4 Investigating the role of L1 transfer in the acquisition of L2 grammar
  • 4.2.5 Investigating task effects in L2 production
  • 4.3 Revisiting the research questions and hypotheses
  • 4.4 Summary
  • 5 Discussion
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Contributing to theory development in L2A research
  • 5.3 The German determiner system in second language acquisition
  • 5.3.1 Explaining morphological variability in L2A
  • 5.4 Quality management in language learning
  • 5.4.1 Input modifications
  • 5.4.2 Task design, attention to speech and focus on form
  • 5.5 Outlook and research desiderates
  • 5.6 Summary
  • 6 Conclusion
  • 7 References
  • 8 Appendix
  • 8.1 German gender paradigms
  • 8.2 Experiments and testing materials
  • 8.3 Results and statistics

| XVII →

Index of charts

| XIX →

Index of examples

Details

Pages
275
Publication Year
2015
ISBN (PDF)
9783653051353
ISBN (MOBI)
9783653976175
ISBN (ePUB)
9783653976182
ISBN (Hardcover)
9783631657287
DOI
10.3726/978-3-653-05135-3
Language
English
Publication date
2015 (January)
Keywords
Zweitspracherwerb Deutsch als Zweitsprache Immersion
Published
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2015. 277 pp., 4 coloured fig., 14 b/w fig., 64 tables

Biographical notes

Christiane Schöneberger (Author)

Christiane Schöneberger studied English Language and Literature as well as Spanish Language and Literature at the Universities of Cologne, St. Andrews (United Kingdom) and Salamanca (Spain). She is a research assistant at the University of Cologne. Her research interests include early multilingualism, language and literacy development as well as child first and second language acquisition.

Previous

Title: Grammar Growth in Child Second Language German