No abstract

The article reports on the fourth study in a series of four designed to test the prediction that a nativelike accent is unattainable for those who start to acquire an SL after the close of the critical period. Sentences read out by late learners, who acquired Dutch in an immersion setting, were rated for accent by native speakers of Dutch. The results from this study, in combination with those from three previous studies, suggest that, in spite of the claims of the critical period hypothesis, late learners can achieve a nativelike accent in an SL, and that a combination of input, motivational, and instructional factors may compensate for the neurological disadvantages of a late start.Studia Linguistica 54 (2)

Many people speak more than two languages. How do languages acquired earlier affect the learnability of additional languages? We show that linguistic distances between speakers' first (L1) and second (L2) languages and their third (L3) language play a role. Larger distances from the L1 to the L3 and from the L2 to the L3 correlate with lower degrees of L3 learnability. The evidence comes from L3 Dutch speaking proficiency test scores obtained by candidates who speak a diverse set of L1s and L2s. Lexical and morphological distances between the L1s of the learners and Dutch explained 47.7% of the variation in proficiency scores. Lexical and morphological distances between the L2s of the learners and Dutch explained 32.4% of the variation in proficiency scores in multilingual learners. Cross-linguistic differences require language learners to bridge varying linguistic gaps between their L1 and L2 competences and the target language

This article reports on a large-scale longitudinal study into the development of language proficiency of Dutch primary school pupils aged 7-10. Data on language proficiency and a range of background variables (home language, level of education and occupational status of parents, language background, migrants' length of residence) from 4419 pupils were analysed. The main outcomes of the study are that, although children with an immigrant language background (Turkish/Moroccan) develop their skills in Dutch considerably over two years, they are nonetheless lagging behind compared to the Dutch reference group. As other groups with a home language other than standard Dutch (Frisian, Limburgish, dialects) do not show a similar trend, it is concluded that the use of the Dutch language in itself is not a crucial factor in the development of language proficiency in primary school. With respect to the background variables, one interesting finding was that the same structural equation model applies to all linguistic groups. The outcomes are discussed in the light of the current debate on school performance of children with migrant backgrounds.

Certain first languages (L1) seem to impede the acquisition of a specific L2 more than other L1s do. This study investigates to what extent different L1s have an impact on the proficiency levels attained in L2 Dutch (Dutch L2 learnability). Our hypothesis is that the varying effects across the L1s are explainable by morphological similarity patterns between the L1s and L2 Dutch. Correlational analyses on typologically defined morphological differences between 49 L1s and L2 Dutch show that L2 learnability co-varies systematically with similarities in morphological features. We investigate a set of 28 morphological features, looking both at individual features and the total set of features. We then divide the differences in features into a class of increasing and a class of decreasing morphological complexity. It turns out that observed Dutch L2 proficiency correlates more strongly with features based on increasing morphological complexity (r = -.67, p < .0001) than with features based on decreasing morphological complexity (r = -.45, p < .005). Degree of similarity matters (r = -.77, p < .0001), but increasing complexity seems to be the decisive property in establishing L2 learnability. Our findings may offer a better understanding of L2 learnability and of the different proficiency levels of L2 speakers. L2 learnability and L2 proficiency co-vary in terms of the morphological make-up of the mother tongue and the second language to be learned.