Journal of Applied Languages and Linguistics

Research Article

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TITLE: Transfer and Shift Processes in Second Language Acquisition: a Connectionist Account

Author: Dr Baaziz Termina

LALT Lab- Institute for Studies and Research on Arabization                         

Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco    

Email: terminabaziz@gmail.com

Published online: 24 December 2019, pp. 20-30

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Citation:

Termina, B. (2019) Transfer and Shift Processes in Second Language Acquisition: a Connectionist Account, Journal of Applied languages and Linguistics, 3(2), pp. 20-30.

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Abstract

The aim of the present paper, which falls within the purview of cognitive study to language learning and acquisition, is twofold:  accounting for the process of transfer in the early stages of learning English as a second language in an Arabic-speaking environment and that of shift in later stages. Drawing on connectionist modelling tenets, we take English grammatical collocations produced by Native Arabic speakers as an example for highlighting such two cognitive aspects. In connectionist approaches, language is conceived to be a cognitive network of interconnected units (i.e., nodes).  Seemingly, acquisition of English as a second language requires from Arab students a piecemeal establishment of such a linguistic network, and this is taken to be heavily dependent on frequency of use.

© Applied Language Studies House Publications 2019. All rights reserved.

 

Keywords:  connectionism, collocations, transfer, shift, acquisition, second language

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