Towards a description of trilingual competence (original) (raw)
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THIRD LANGUAGE LEARNING, TRILINGUALISM AND MULTILINGUALISM: A REVIEW
Ever since the importance of multilingualism has been largely acknowledged more and more research is being conducted on the acquisition and learning of a third language (L3). This is mainly because of the vast mobility of populations between countries and mixed marriages (Barnes 2005). Since multilinguals are far more compared to monolinguals in the world (Tucker 1998) it is just as important to investigate the way bilinguals use their languages while still in the process of learning their third language. A child's ability to communicate in more than one language is surely a more complex ability and thus represents a complex phenomenon too. This phenomenon entails acquiring more than one grammatical system as well as language learning processes that are not part of a single vacuum.
Acquiring a third language: What role does bilingualism play?
International Journal of Bilingualism, 2003
The aim of this theme issue is to add a further dimension to the language acquisition literature by providing some detailed accounts of third language acquisition as observed in bilinguals. The authors of the contributions all address the question of whether bilingualism plays an influential role when it comes to acquiring a third language and, if this is the case, what the nature of its mediating role is. Three of the contributions do this with regard to the acquisition of distinct competencies of a third language, whereas the fourth provides a comprehensive overview of issues raised in the literature on the subject. Third language acquisition is a very common phenomenon all over the world, in natural as well as formal contexts. It takes place in a large number of diverse sociolinguistic situations. One might think, for instance, of children growing up in multilingual communities in African countries where different family and tribal languages plus a lingua franca and / or a national language come together. Another example is that of the child of a bilingual family (speaking 2 languages that are not used in the wider community) who is exposed to a third language outside the home. In countries such as South Africa school is often the place where bilingual children acquire a third language that is also one of the national languages. In European countries there are established linguistic minorities that have achieved status and support for their languages, for instance in the N etherlands, Spain and F inland, and in these countries language policies include bilingual programs as well as foreign language programs which encourage the acquisition of a third language starting at primary school level. Of course, it is not only the children of older linguistic minorities who are exposed to a first foreign language at school. Especially in the countries of the European U nion, new minorities are becoming established, frequently forming sizeable bilingual communities in predominantly urban areas. Whereas the children in most of the sociolinguistic contexts mentioned so far are likely to have two well established
Productive Trilingualism in Infancy: What Makes it Possible?
World Journal of English Language, 2013
This article summarizes the results of a case study on the development of three languages in a child exposed to Tagalog, Spanish, and English from birth. The paper brings together findings from phonology, lexicon, word order, and language choice, providing a detailed picture of the emergence of the four components of three languages in infancy. The paper further explores the possible mechanisms upon which multiple language representations could be built, and then, it examines what characteristics of the environment and of the individual child might lead to the development and active use of three languages in infancy. The results suggest that the build-up of multiple language systems might follow naturally from trilingual exposure; yet, factors such as quantity and quality of language exposure, linguistic relatedness among languages, the child's personality, and the nature of the social context may dramatically influence trilingual competence in infancy and early childhood.
The influence of bilingualism on third language acquisition: Focus on multilingualism
Language Teaching, 2011
This paper focuses on the advantages that bilinguals have over monolinguals when acquiring an additional language. Bilinguals are more experienced language learners and have potentially developed learning strategies to a larger extent than monolinguals. They also have a larger linguistic and intercultural repertoire at their disposal. In this paper the methodology and results of studies on the influence of bilingualism on third language acquisition (TLA) will be reviewed and their contribution to the study of multilingualism discussed. A new perspective, focus on multilingualism, is presented as a more appropriate way to analyse the effect of bilingualism on TLA. This perspective is holistic and focuses on multilingual speakers and their linguistic repertoires, including the interaction between their languages.
Cognitive consequences of trilingualism
International Journal of Bilingualism, 2017
Aims and objectives: The objectives of the present research were to examine the cognitive consequences of trilingualism and explain them relative to the cognitive consequences of bilingualism. Approach: A comparison of cognitive abilities in trilinguals and bilinguals was conducted. In addition, we proposed a cognitive plasticity framework to account for cognitive differences and similarities between trilinguals and bilinguals. Data and analysis: Three aspects of cognition were analyzed: (1) cognitive reserve in older adults, as measured by age of onset of Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment; (2) inhibitory control in children and younger adults, as measured by response times on behavioral Simon and flanker tasks; and (3) memory generalization in infants and toddlers, as measured by accuracy on behavioral deferred imitation tasks. Results were considered within a framework of cognitive plasticity, which took into account several factors that may affect plasticity including the age of learning a third language and the extent to which additional cognitive resources are needed to learn the third language. Findings: A mixed pattern of results was observed. In some cases, such as cognitive reserve in older adults, trilinguals showed larger advantages than did bilinguals. On other measures, for example inhibitory control in children and younger adults, trilinguals were found to exhibit the same advantages as bilinguals. In still other cases, such as memory generalization in infants and toddlers, trilinguals did not demonstrate the advantages seen in bilinguals. Originality: This study is the first comprehensive analysis of how learning a third language affects the cognitive abilities that are modified by bilingual experience, and the first to propose a cognitive plasticity framework that can explain and predict trilingual-bilingual differences. Significance: This research shows that the cognitive consequences of trilingualism are not simply an extension of bilingualism's effects; rather, trilingualism has distinct consequences, with theoretical implications for our understanding of linguistic and cognitive processes and their plasticity, as well as applied-science implications for using second and third language learning in educational and rehabilitative contexts to foster successful cognitive development and aging.
International Journal of Bilingualism, 2007
This article reports on a study of the code-switches produced by two children who acquired their three languages in early childhood. We compared formal and functional aspects of their switches recorded at two different stages of their development. Of particular interest was the consideration of sociolinguistic variables that have intervened in the children's environment. We undertook a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the children's code-switches to ascertain the frequency of switching, the use of each of the three languages employed for switching and the linguistic complexity of the switches. We assumed that the sociolinguistic conditions that changed the linguistic landscape in which these children operated would be reflected not only in the development of each of their languages, but also in the kind of switches that they produced. We tried to establish whether it is the case that certain forms and functions of code-switches constitute a "core" of trilingual language behaviour while others are prone to change. Ultimately, our aim was to gain an insight into the specific trilingual language production processes over a given period of time that can shed light on the development and nature of trilingual competence.
This article highlights the fact that learning a third language in school contexts is a common phenomenon all over the world and poses several questions specifically related to the characteristics of third language acquisition. It also considers the relationship between third language acquisition and the research traditions of bilingualism and second language acquisition. Third language acquisition in school contexts and trilingual education are regarded as multidisciplinary phenomena associated with the sociolinguistic context in which they take place, the psycholinguistic processes involved in acquiring more than two languages, the linguistic characteristics of the languages involved and the pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning several languages.