Lec 4 Impglication of IL Fossilization in Second Language Acquisition

8/10/2019 Lec 4 Impglication of IL Fossilization in Second Language Acquisition

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Implication of IL Fossilization in Second Language Acquisition

The ultimate goal of second language acquisition research is to come to an understanding of what is acquiredandthe mechanisms that bring second language knowledge about.

One of the most enduring and fascinating problems confronting researchers of second language acquisition (SLA) iswhether adults can ever acquire native-lie competence in a second language (L!)"

One of the most enduring and fascinating problems confronting researchers of second language acquisition (SLA) is

whether this is an accomplishment reserved for children who start learning at a relativel# earl# age .

$or most of us the acquisition of second language is less spectacular. %f we are past the age of around &-' #ears the

acquisition of an L!" in mared contrast to the wa# we acquired our first language (L')" can turn out to be rather

slow" laborious and" even in talented L! learners" tends to stop short of native-lie proficienc#.

This stopping short has been referred to as fossilization(Seliner" '*&!) or incompleteness(Schachter" '**). %t

is one of the noticeable characteristics of second language acquisition.

How do the researchers define Fossilization?

$ossili+ation is the process whereb# the learner creates a cessation (stop) of interlanguage learning" thus

stopping the interlanguage from developing" it is h#pothesi+ed" in a permanent wa# ,. The argument is thatno adult can hope to ever spea a second language in such a wa# that she is indistinguishable from nativespeaers of that language. (Selinker !""#$

$ossili+ation" as presented in much of the literature" is understood to be the inabilit# of a person to attain

native lie abilit# in the target language. (Lowther !"%&$

$ossili+ation -- according to observations -- is a process that ma# occur in the second language acquisition

contet as opposed to first language acquisition. H'ltenstam (!"%%$

%t has long been noted that foreign language learners reach a certain stage of learning - a stage short of

success - and that learners then permanentl# stabili+e at this stage le')*roman (!"%"$

A central characteristic of an# interlanguage is that it fossili+es -- that is" it ceases to develop at some pointshort of full identit# with the target language. +arone (!"",$

/hile interlanguages of speaers of various first language learning 0nglish as a foreign language have

much in common" the# also are distinctive" each constrained b# the strange attractors of their L's" which ma#

be greater than the force of the strange attractor of 0nglish. Thus" the 0nglish pronunciation of a nativespeaer of Spanish will differ from that of a native speaer of 1hinese. Larsen)Freeman (!""-

The notion of fossili+ation has been interpreted differentl# b# different scholars since it was proposed. $or instance"

there are terms lie bacsliding" stabili+ed errors" learning plateau" t#pical error" persistent non-target-lieperformance" de-acceleration of the learning process" ingrained errors" s#stematic use of erroneous forms" cessation

of learning" structural persistence" ultimate attainment" long-lasting free variation" persistent difficult#" and inabilit#

to full# master target language features describing the similar meaning" which lead to confusion for quite a long

time.

.lassification of Fossilization

Indi/idual fossilization and group fossilization

According to Seliner ('*&2)" interlanguage fossili+ation falls into two categories" namel# indi/idual fossilizationand group fossilization0The former is the persistence of individual learner3s %L development" while the latter is the

plateau (variation) in the development of a communit# language.

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6suall#" indi/idualfossilizationconsists of two t#pes7 error reappearance" and language competence fossili+ation.

o 1rrorreappearancerefers to the inappropriate interlanguage structures that are thought to have been

corrected but continue to appear regularl#. %t can be found in %L of beginners or learners with low

proficienc#.

o Language competence fossilization refers to the plateau in the development of L! learners3

phonological" grammatical" leical and pragmatic competence. %t is found in L! learners who have

been learning TL for a long period of time and arrived at a relativel# high level. %n fact" repeated errors

are often the demonstrations of competence fossili+ation.

%f fossili+ed language competence becomes pervasive in a communit#" group fossilizationcomes into being. Such

pervasion often leads to a new dialect. Indian 1nglishand Singapore 1nglishare good cases in point.

+emporar' fossilization and permanent fossilization

Seliner also classified fossili+ation into temporar'fossilizationand permanentfossilization.

+emporar' fossilization also called stabili+ation" indicates that fossili+ed interlanguage consists of

learning plateaus" where development of given TL features is simpl# 8arrested3 or 8inhibited3 for shorter or

longer periods of time.

2ermanent fossilization taes place as a result of social" ps#chological and interactive variables.

+'pes of Fossilization

$ossili+ation is a linguistic phenomenon in its own right and manifested as deviant forms from TL. %t occurs at all

levels" from phonological la#er to pragmatic la#er.

2honological fossilization3

The difference of phonolog# is possibl# the greatest difference between languages. 4honological fossili+ation refersto the repetition of phonological errors which result from the incorrect acquisition of pronunciation of L!" usuall#

affected b# L'. %n 0nglish" there are certain pronunciations such as 9: which do not eist in 1hinese. Therefore" it is

difficult for 1hinese 0nglish learners to pronounce this consonant 9 : correctl#. %t is often heard that 1hinese

students sa# ;Than 9sn: #ou< instead of ;Than 9=>: #ou


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Semantic fossilization

Semantic fossilization refers to the use of language forms that eist in TL but do not represent the meanings L!

learners intend to epress in the contet. $or eample" the word individualism is commendator# in the capitalism

world but derogator# in socialism 1hina" dragon is the s#mbol of evil in the western culture but the s#mbol of

power in 1hina. %f a 1hinese wants to describe a past patient but forget the word die" he ma# usego to the west" theeuphemism form for die" but western listeners ma# feel confused.

2ragmatic fossilization

@ue to the close relationship between pragmatics and semantics" fossili+ation in the two aspects is interrelated and

overlapping. A pragmatic deviance is also termed ;pragmatic failure< b# Thomas. %n her view" pragmatic failure

taes place in the cross-cultural communication and refers to the ;inabilit# to understand what is meant b# what is

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Learning strateg'

%n the process of learning a second language" fossili+ation caused b# the incorrect application of learning strategies

is the most common. Sims suggested that ;someplace along the %L continuum" inappropriate or misapplied learning

strategies could lead to fossili+ation of some features (phonological" morphological" s#ntactic" leical"ps#cholinguistic" or socio-cultural).< Some learners" however" ma# turn to learning strategies to such an etent aso/ergeneralization" simplification" incomplete rule applicationand inadequatedeclarati/eknowledge of L6.

According to Sims" the repeated use of unsuccessful strategies" i.e." those strategies which do not enable competition

of a given language learning tas" could impede a learner3s progress.

.ommunication strateg'

%n real communication" learners ma# turn to communication strateg#" a s'stematicskillthat a speaer resorts towhile having difficulties in epression to eep the communication going on. 6nfortunatel#" sometimes such

;successful use of communication strategies will prevent acquisition


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need to emplo# strategies fleibl# b# selecting those strategies that are appropriate for performing a

particular learning tas.

9eduction of negati/e transfer of L!

%t is quite obvious in beginning learners of 0nglish as a second language because of their insufficient nowledge ofthe target language. Therefore" Jrashen suggested that the learners are not epected to use the target language too

earl# until the learners3 oral competence is facilitated with sufficient input and without rel#ing on their native

language to form s#stems. Otherwise" some inappropriate epressions can be fossili+ed. 1order pointed out that the

native language of the learners offers various h#potheses concerning the target language" and onl# through abundantinput of the target language can the negative transfer of the native language be lessened. The learners should not be

encouraged to read paragraphs or articles and to anal#+e the grammar or the usage of the words in each sentence" for

the reason that contet is ver# important in mastering vocabular#" and the sufficient input of the target language is

the effective method to overcome the negative transfer of native language.

18posure to +L and +L culture

atural eposure to TL has similarl# been proposed as a factor that promotes L! learning and therefore helpslearners overcome fossili+ation . One wa# to epose learners to the natural target language is b# allowing them to

sta# for some time in the native environment abroad. /hile this is not possible for the maEorit# of L! learners" the#

need to see eposure to TL and TL culture in other wa#s.

As suggested b# Jrashen" providing sufficient and optimal input from the ver# beginning should be the right wa#

to reduce fossili+ation .

o First" multimedia instruments are highl# recommended. Those materials not onl# contain standard

pronunciation" but also reflect target culture.

o Second" tetboos with original passages b# foreign authors should be adopted in that its wa# of

thining and epression can help L! learners better understand and master the

#0 .onclusion

$ossili+ation is an inevitable state in and has significance influence on second language acquisition. %t deserves our

attention and research to solve fossili+ation problems in all aspects of language. Onl# in this wa# can the level of

0nglish teaching and learning be improved. $urther investigation can be carried out on the role of achievement

motivation on the interlanguage fossili+ation of 0nglish-as-a-second-language learnersK

Source3

0llis" G. (!). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Shanghai7 Shanghai $oreign Language 0ducation 4ress.

Jrashen" S. @. ('*2B). Study of Second Language Acquisition and Study of Second Language Learning. Oford74ergamon.

Seliner" L. ('*&!).Interlanguage. %GAL '(!)7 pp. !*-B'.

Seliner" L. ('**5). Fossilization: hat e Think e !now. London7 Longman Droup 6J Limited.

Sims, W. R. (1989).Fossilization and Learning Strategies in Study of Second Language Acquisition.Minne TESOL Journal,

7.

4repared b# 7 ohd. Masin Sharif" Associate 4rofessor" @ept. of 0LL" %%61" for class discussion.

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Lec 4 Impglication of IL Fossilization in Second Language Acquisition