FIRST LANGUAGE/AGE/INTERVENTION 2nd LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

描述（由候选人提供）：该项目解决了三个基本问题：1）在学习第二语言时，母语的语法知识在多大程度上影响英语成绩？2)儿童和成人学习语言的方式是否有内在的差异？3)结构化的干预能在多大程度上提高第二语言学习成绩？英语的亚美尼亚和土耳其第二语言（L2）学习者将在WH问题上进行测试。英语、土耳其语和亚美尼亚语在构成疑问句的形态和句法特征上既有共性又有差异。在语法性判断任务和诱发性模仿任务中探讨了疑问句的形成。第一语言在第二语言学习中的作用将在两个在习得研究中很少研究的语言群体中进行研究。此外，许多证据表明，儿童二语学习者比成人二语学习者更成功，这意味着儿童可以很容易地访问特定领域的概念。比较初学者和成人二语学习者的表现将有助于确定他们在英语学习方面是否相似以及如何相似。本项目的一个新的重点是使用一种新开发的短期干预方法，试图提高学习者的wh-问题的表现。将比较该技术在两个语言组和两个年龄组中的有效性。如果有效，干预措施将是一个重要的教学工具，在课堂教学的第二语言学习者，也可能有好处的语言延迟的个人。

DESCRIPTION (provided by candidate): This project addresses three fundamental questions: 1) in learning a second language, to what extent does grammatical knowledge from the native language influence performance in English? 2) are there inherent differences in the way children and adults learn a language? 3) to what extent can a structured intervention improve performance in second language learning? Armenian and Turkish second language (L2) learners of English will be tested on Wh-questions. English, Turkish and Armenian have unusual commonalities and differences in their morphological and syntactic properties in wh-question formation. Wh-question formation will be approached in grammaticality judgment tasks and elicited imitation. The role of L1 in L2 learning will be studied in two language groups seldom studied in acquisition research. Further, much evidence suggests that child L2 learners are more successful than adult L2 learners, implying that children can easily access domain-specific concepts. Comparing the performance of beginning child and adult L2 learners will help determine whether and how they are similar in acquiring English. A novel focus of this project is the use of a newly developed short-term intervention method to try to improve the performance of learners' wh-questions. The efficacy of the technique for the two language groups and for the two age groups will be compared. If effective, the intervention measure will be an important pedagogical tool in classroom teaching of L2 learners and may also have benefits for language-delayed individuals.