The Positive Role of L1 in the Acquisition of a Second Language

[a]Changchun University of Science and Technology， Changchun， China.

* Corresponding author.

Received 17 April 2013； accepted 20 Augutst 2013

Abstract

L1 not only plays a negative role in SLA， but also a positive role， it will be helpful if we make use of the positive effect， for the reason that there are some common characteristic among all languages， and L1 and L2 may be have similar syntax， vocabulary， and phonetics. Besides， the thinking model developed in L1 is also helpful in learn a foreign language.

Key words： Ll； SLA

HAO Yu， CHI Ren （2013）. The Positive Role of L1 in the Acquisition of a Second Language. Studies in Literature and Language， 7（2）， -0. Available from： http：///index.php/sll/article/view/j.sll.1923156320130702.H862

DOI： http：///10.3968/j.sll.1923156320130702.H862

INTRODUCTION

People’s language ability is combined with thinking ability， it develops as thinking develops. L1 is the first language reaction system in people’s thinking system， it is formed in the condition that no other language system was set up before. Anyone who begins learning new knowledge or skills tends to make use of their original cognitive structure， include of the L1 knowledge and abstract thinking ability learned through the L1， which constitute the original cognitive structure of SLA； this is the source of information processing. Therefore， when learners learning the L2， they will consciously or unconsciously make use of their former information to think， analysis， comparison and comprehend， so they will use the experience gained in the process of learning their L1 to direct them to master a new language. Therefore， a correct understanding of the the role of L1 in the acquisition of a second language is of great significances.

Almost everyone who learns English could have experienced the effect of SLA from L1. The most common phenomenon is the affect of pronunciation of foreign language from their native language. In other words， when a German speaks English， he may somehow speak with a German accent. In addition to the accent， in actual situations， L1 could also affect a student’s method to express a second language， which gives rise to the “one country English”. Take a Chinese student as an example， when he using English， “run car” and “family computer” would appear， instead of “sports car” and “personal computer”. The Chinese way to express English is called “Chinese English”. It is apparent out of the ordinary exercise of English and accurately the result from the affect of thinking patten in native language.

4. L1 AS A TOOL FOR SLA

Broadly speaking， most of people use L1 as an assistant tool； they should know what is the meaning of a word or a sentence of L2 in his L1， especially for early stage learners. But the question is how to deal with L1， foreign language and the referring things. The aim of learning and using a foreign language is to coordinate the relations of two languages and tries to equally exchange language code. For example， when teacher want explain some abstract L2 words， L1 is the best choice， for students will be confused with the L2 explanation.

Enlightened by Lay’s study， Friedlandere mainly focus on the function of L1 in the conceiving period. He made 28 Chinese students write a article about Chinese festivals articles in English and Chinese separately， and found that they can catch up with more details in Chinese than in English， it shows that L1 thinking can help students meditate topics about their native culture. Kobavashi and Rinnert compared two methods of the Japanese students’ English compositions writing. One is translation method， firstly written in Japanese and than translate it into English. The other one is directly written in English. The results show that the translation method has great advantages over the direct method.

We can see that， L1 as a tool to express thinking， to explain new words is necessary for SLA.

The Possible Suggestions

According to the above academicals research and empirical discussion， it could be deduced that foreign language teachers should take advantage of positive transfer， similarities between languages and L1 thinking， overcome differences between L1 and L2 and the negative transfer as much as possible in teaching practice. In order to help Chinese English learners to learn more effective with regard to cross-linguistic distinction， as Lado （1957） noticed that English teachers could achieve better teaching results in the classroom if they can pay more attention to the comparison between the L1 and L2 and accurately identify students’ problem， it seems that proper number of the comparison of the Chinese and English are very beneficial for Chinese English teachers and learners to get a better understanding of the language differences and thus， pay more attention to the language knowledge which are unique for English， such as the principle of contiguity and different kinds of composite sentences. For example， teachers would make summarize the features of English syntax and simplify them with doggerels for Chinese students to remember. Classifying errors following by abundant exercises meticulously designed is a good method for students to realize and have a deep impression of some difficult features of English composite sentences. It is thought that according to the method of language character comparison， differences realizing， more vividly explanation， abundant exercise would make language learning more easily. Difficult English language rules which disaccord Chinese and difficult to Chinese English students. What’s more， it is requisite for teachers to realize not only the language differences but also similarities， and pay attention to both sides. Although English is different from Chinese， there are many sides that they have in common. It is advisable for teachers to guide student to find more similarities between Chinese and English， which ar the bases for positive transfer， and apply the Chinese rules into English acquisition. Hence， Chinese learners would feel it easier to understand and digest those hits of English. It could also he helpful for Chinese students to decrease their anxiety created by language differences and increase learning driving force and enthusiasm on English learning， which could contribute to improving the learning results.