THE ROLE OF INPUT PROCESSING INSTRUCTION IN THE L2 ACQUISITION OF COMPLEX SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES

THE ROLE OF INPUT PROCESSING INSTRUCTION IN THE L2 ACQUISITION OF COMPLEX SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES

Trenc, Andreja

This paper is concerned with the applicability of psycholinguistic findings made in the process of acquisition of complex syntactic structures in Spanish as a Second Language. It is argued that the observed errors which occur in impersonal structures in the Spanish Language in foreign learners' interpretation and production can be related to certain default principles which focus the learner's conscious attention on syntactical forms in a preferred, yet not always grammatically correct order. It has been claimed that assignation of the first noun as a subject or agent by default (this is known as First Noun Strategy) may explain the great difficulties which a learner encounters when attempting to correctly interpret the role of the first noun in impersonal and passive structures (such as the impersonal »se« structures in Spanish, the Passive Voice in English, subject-object shifts in languages with flexible word order, etc.). The paper proposes that a didactic means which is found in the input processing model (first introduced by VanPatten, 1996) can be used for the creation of a counter algorithm to this natural strategy. This enables the learner to correctly assign the order of syntactic functions in complex structures during the early stage of acquisition. Empirical observations based on pilot-testing of the input processing model with university undergraduates are presented which argue in favour of the benefits of the use of such an algorithm for the acquisition of impersonal structures in Spanish as a Second Language, as well as its methodological relevance for English Passive Structures and a more learner-centred approach.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2014

3364