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First language education provisions in a second language environment : the effects of learning L1 English as an L2 in Catalonia, Spain

Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In Catalonia, Spain, native English-speaking children attending state schools are not provided with native language classes, and consequently continue to develop their native language in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. This poses the question: how is a child’s first language (L1) affected if taught as a second language (L2)? This research examines the effects of language provision on the acquisition of the L1, with a hypothesis that one of the key factors in this process could be the teaching of L1 as an L2. To examine the effects of the variability in L1 teaching provisions, this study uses the recordings of 26 child Frog Story (Mayer, 1969) narratives, a methodological tool attested in numerous studies of both first and second language acquisition (Frog Story narrative elicitation; Berman and Slobin, 1994). For the purpose of our central comparison, the narratives were provided by native English-speaking children who attend state schools, where no L1 instruction is offered, and private schools, where L1 instruction is offered. Monolingual data was taken from the CHILDES database (MacWhinney, 1984) for comparison with typically developing native English-speakers. Other factors of the children’s home environment were also taken into consideration, for example the language(s) spoken at home, the age of acquisition and parent nationality. The study examines the variability in performance in the linguistic domains of the lexicon and morphosyntax, and the semantic domain of lexicalisation patterns, and the results show that, when all other relevant factors are controlled, there is indeed a difference due to the nature of the L1 instruction received. This is apparent across all investigated domains. These results are further discussed in the context of the current research on multilingualism, language acquisition, cross-linguistic influence and the bilingual mind.
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2911760120
Cites: 302
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Related to: 10