ERIC Number: EJ807532
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Sep
Pages: 51
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8333
EISSN: N/A
Gender Agreement in Adult Second Language Learners and Spanish Heritage Speakers: The Effects of Age and Context of Acquisition
Montrul, Silvina; Foote, Rebecca; Perpinan, Silvia
Language Learning, v58 n3 p503-553 Sep 2008
This study investigates knowledge of gender agreement in Spanish L2 learners and heritage speakers, who differ in age and context/mode of acquisition. On some current theoretical accounts, persistent difficulty with grammatical gender in adult L2 acquisition is due to age. These accounts predict that heritage speakers should be more accurate on gender agreement than L2 learners, because their Spanish language acquisition started in infancy. Sixty-nine heritage speakers, 72 second language (L2) learners, and 22 native Spanish speakers were tested on their oral production, written comprehension, and written recognition of Spanish gender agreement. Results showed advantages for L2 learners in written tasks but advantages for heritage speakers in the oral task. We discuss the significance of these findings for SLA and heritage language acquisition.
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Spanish, Language Acquisition, Age, Context Effect, Grammar, Heritage Education, Native Speakers, Oral Language, Comprehension, Writing Skills, Task Analysis, Language Research, Comparative Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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