Societal Responses to Adult Difficulties in L2 Acquisition
Toward an Evolutionary Perspective on Language Acquisition
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7900627 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John H Schumann (University of California, Los Angeles, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | s1 |
| Pages | 190-209 |
| Publication date | 2013-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language Learning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0023-8333 • E-ISSN: 1467-9922 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00744.x |
| OpenAlex | W1561641761 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
It is generally accepted that second language (L2) acquisition becomes more difficult as one grows older and that success in adult L2 acquisition is highly variable. Nevertheless, humans in language contact situations have to cope with intergroup communication. This article examines the ways society has responded to this challenge. It describes eleven strategies or workarounds that humans use to deal with this problem: developing lingua francas, forming Sprachbunds, practicing exogenous marriage, undergoing language shift, learning the target language imperfectly, developing a pidgin or creole, shifting the learning burden to children, relying on individual differences in aptitude among learners, developing the art and practice of translation, developing machine translation technology, and providing instruction. The eleven strategies can be understood as involving four broad societal responses to the burden of SLA: to simplify the learning task, to create a simpler language, to leave it to a special set of learners, and to provide special training. Finally, the article offers some speculations about the evolutionary reasons for the difficulties experienced in adult L2 acquisition
Cognitive psychology · Creole language · First language · Language acquisition · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Perspective (graphical) · Pidgin · Second-language acquisition · Set (abstract data type) · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Language and cultural evolution · Psychology · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning (Oxford Applied Linguistics)
The Ecology of Language Evolution
The Rise and Fall of Languages
Theorising and updating aptitude
The language bioprogram hypothesis
From Usage to Grammar
Frequency Effects in Language Processing
Radical Construction Grammar
Language Contact Systems and Human Adaptations
Language Interrupted
Interpreting Dragomans
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,09 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2015 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |