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Fernandez-Berkes, Eva
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Official Name
Fernandez-Berkes, Eva
Alternative Name
Berkes, Eva
Main Affiliation
Akademische Titel
Prof.(FH) Dr.
Email
eva.fernandez-berkes@fh-burgenland.at
Scopus Author ID
55943957000
Status
staff
Research Outputs
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
- PublicationFurther evidence in support of the Cumulative-Enhancement Model: CP structure developmentThe Cumulative Enhancement Model proposed by Flynn et al. (2004) seeks to provide an explanatory model for multiple language acquisition. Results reported in this paper present further evidence in support of this model. Results of an elicited imitation task comparing the production of relative clauses by learners of German L1 and Hungarian L1/German L2 acquiring L2 and L3 English respectively at three levels of proficiency indicate, on the one hand, an increased facilitation in subsequent acquisition with each new language learned and, on the other hand, development of syntactic knowledge in L3 acquisition that cannot be explained in terms of an astructural transfer from the last language learned.
252 913 - PublicationSyntactic development evidenced via DLC(ISB11-International Symposium on Bilingualism, Limerick, Ireland, 2017-06-14)
; Flynn, SuzanneSyntactic knowledge, understood as an implicit and unconscious computational knowledge, is essential to define what multilingual development consists of. In order to explore how learners integrate innate linguistic and language-specific knowledge for a new target language in acquisition, we will employ a Dominant Language Constellation (DLC) approach (Aronin 2016) and examine production data at two levels of English proficiency of groups of multiple language learners whose DLC differs only minimally: DLC of Hungarian/German/English and DLC of Hungarian/Spanish/English. The fact that multilingual language learners necessarily own and retain more than one grammar leads us to assume that such individuals represent the languages of their Dominant Constellation in fundamentally similar ways. One of the logical consequences of such an approach is the need to reinterpret unidirectional language influence, i.e. ‘transfer from a source to a target language’, to allow for a more creative progress learners go through within their language constellation. We will compare and contrast production data related to the acquisition of different empty categories: wh-movement and relative clauses. Participants in all experimental groups consist of Hungarian learners of L3 English whose L2 is either German or Spanish. Our results of the DLC analysis do not support the claim that development is mainly due to non-linguistic mechanisms, such as distance and processing ease, but rather that development has to be reinterpreted as a cumulative process in the sense of Flynn et al. (2004). Due to the minimal difference in learners’ background languages, we could detect nuanced differences in acquisition patterns. More precisely, where learners could not rely on previously acquired syntactic knowledge, they seemed to map features of simple structures to more complex ones to construct the new target grammar, giving further support to the claim that development is modular (Flynn et al. 2005). On the other hand, where learners’ DLC provided knowledge of a fully-fledged English-like CP structure, learners seemed to be induced to skip a more ‘primitive’ stage to build up complex structures in the target language. We conclude then that learners’ syntactic fluency (Berkes and Flynn 2016) can be enhanced in principled and selective ways according to the prior linguistic experience of the learner.442 1 - PublicationEnhanced L3…Ln Acquisition and its Implications for Language TeachingThis paper seeks to provide further evidence in support of the Cumulative Enhancement Model for Language Acquisition by analyzing the acquisition of an L3 in which the CP properties match in the L1 and the L3 but not the L2. Results of an elicited imitation task comparing the production of relative clauses by a group of Hungarians learning L2 English and another group (HungarianL1/GermanL2) learning L3 English at three levels of proficiency indicate that a more accurate description of the development of syntactic knowledge in L3 acquisition cannot be clearly traced back to either L1 or to the influence of the last learned language. Learners were tested on three types of restrictive relative clauses: headed (specified and unspecified) and free relatives, each type including four variants according to function of head NP and gap. Results seem to support an exponential development in multiple language acquisition, i.e. syntactic knowledge acquired in the course of learning more languages does not simply add up but rather has a multiplying effect on further language learning. Syntactic knowledge accumulated through language learning experience in the course of L1…Ln rearranges the UG guided language development in a new and economical way. Such a result has important consequences for teaching, primarily because it informs us about what does not have to be taught. Giving enough input on the series of such syntactic primitives by the language teacher may be enough to facilitate the construction of the new grammar for the learner, making learning thus more effective.
494 1531Scopus© Citations 13 - PublicationMulti-competence and syntaxAs the present volume suggests, multi-competence is not restricted to the knowledge of syntax in the mind of multilinguals; nevertheless, the growth of syntactic knowledge in acquisition plays an undoubtedly leading role in language development. The role of syntax in language development is precisely what we try to explore here in this chapter. In doing so we present some essential research findings to claim for a cumulative enhancement of linguistic knowledge to facilitate language acquisition, as proposed by Flynn et al. (2004), and dwell upon the syntactic implications such a proposition has on the Faculty of Language and related processes. The chapter intends to show that the proficient use of multiple languages enhances learners to develop "syntactic fluency" which, we argue, is to be understood as a certain syntactic sensitivity to detect target-specific feature setups for functional categories and combinatorial ease in integrating and mapping them into the new grammar.
262 2499Scopus© Citations 5