Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Exploring the degree of nativelikeness in bilingual acquisition

本论文将探讨双语习得中的母语相似度的梯度多因素的语言现象，需要复杂的随机模式的内隐知识，并提出了许多学习者的可学性问题。它将探讨单语和双语学习者如何获得隐含的知识，什么时候省略，什么时候不省略的情况下，在韩国（“情况省略”），以及双语者是否可以成功地获得敏感性的现象，涉及到相互作用的句法，语义和话语原则的多个线索。它还将比较第二语言（L2）学习者和传统语言（HL）学习者，以调查习得年龄和输入的类型和数量如何有助于发展母语能力。 本研究通过一系列口头和书面的诱发产出实验，测试了二语成人、汉语成人、韩语成人和儿童对格标记和格省略的认知和使用情况。本研究采用一个跨焦点、生命性和确定性因素的口头图片描述任务和一个书面强迫选择任务，考察说话人在口头和书面会话中的格标记模式。这些实验将有助于比较比其他人更容易获得的线索类型，并确定潜在的发展阶段。 本研究不仅有助于加深我们对双语习得本质和不同类型双语者特征的理解，而且有助于我们了解单语习得和双语习得在句法界面和其他语言领域的差异。因此，本研究的结果将解决习得理论中的重要理论问题，并有助于确定第二语言和第二语言学习者的教学需求。研究结果将有助于揭示母语学习者和二语学习者在语言知识上的质的差异，并为语言课堂中的母语学习提供支持。

The dissertation project will explore the degree of native-likeness in bilingual acquisition of a gradient multi-factor linguistic phenomenon that requires implicit knowledge of complex stochastic patterns and poses many learnability problems for the learners. It will investigate how monolingual and bilingual learners acquire implicit knowledge of when to omit and when not to omit case in Korean ('case ellipsis') and whether bilinguals can successfully acquire sensitivity to multiple cues in a phenomenon that involves the interaction of syntactic, semantic, and discourse principles. It will also compare second language (L2) learners to heritage language (HL) learners to investigate how age of acquisition and the type and amount of input contribute to developing native-like competence. By using a set of oral and written elicited production experiments, the present project will test L2 adults, HL adults, and Korean-speaking adults and children on their knowledge and usage of case marking and case ellipsis. An oral picture description task and a written forced choice task that cross the factors of focus, animacy, and definiteness will be conducted to observe the speakers' patterns of case-marking in oral and written conversations. The experiments will help compare the types of cues that are more readily accessible than others and identify potential developmental stages. The present study will not only help increase our understanding of the nature of bilingual acquisition and characteristics of different types of bilinguals but will also contribute to the knowledge of the differences between monolingual and bilingual acquisition in interfaces of syntax and other linguistic domains. The results of this research will thus address theoretically significant questions in acquisition theory and also help identify L2 and HL learners' instructional needs. The results are expected to shed light on qualitative differences in the underlying linguistic knowledge of HL and L2 learners and help provide support for HL tracks in language classrooms.