Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T10:07:23.828Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Beyond advanced stages in high-level spoken L2 French*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2013

FANNY FORSBERG LUNDELL*
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
INGE BARTNING
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
HUGUES ENGEL
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
ANNA GUDMUNDSON
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
VICTORINE HANCOCK
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
CHRISTINA LINDQVIST
Affiliation:
Uppsala University
*
Address for correspondence: Department of French, Italian and Classical Languages, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden e-mail: fanny.forsberg.lundell@fraita.su.se

Abstract

The aim of this study is twofold: first, to find evidence for additional advanced stages in L2 French. The continuum of Bartning and Schlyter (2004) is taken as a point of departure. It is hypothesized that a number of linguistic criteria will account for high-level proficiency. It was earlier found that besides morpho-syntax, formulaic sequences and information structure are interesting phenomena for highly proficient learners (Bartning, Forsberg and Hancock, 2009). Three more measures are now added, i.e. perceived nativelikeness, lexical richness and fluency.

The second aim of this study is to contribute to the debate on the possibility of nativelike attainment. The study shows that several measures are prone to characterise nativelike performance in highly proficient users among whom some attain nativelikeness.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The authors would like to thank the editor of this volume and the three anonymous reviewers for valuable contributions which have strengthened and clarified this article. Thanks are also due to Alan McMillion and Nicholas Faraone for improving our English.

Acknowledgements: This research was funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, The Bank of Sweden Tercentary Foundation, contract nr 2005–0459:1. (http://www2.biling.su.se/~AAA/).

References

REFERENCES

Abrahamsson, N. and Hyltenstam, K. (2009). Age of L2 acquisition and degree of nativelikeness – listener perception vs. linguistic scrutiny. Language Learning, 58.3: 249306.Google Scholar
Agren, M. (2008). A la recherche de la morphologie silencieuse. Sur le développement en français L2 écrit. Études romanes de Lund 84. Lund: Lund University Press.Google Scholar
Agren, M., Granfeldt, J. and Schlyter, S. (2012). The growth of complexity and accuracy in L2 French. Past observations and recent applications of developmental stages. In: Housen, A., Kuiken, F. and Vedder, I. (eds), Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 95119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arevart, S. and Nation, P. (1991). Fluency improvement in a second language. RELC Journal, 22: 8494.Google Scholar
Bardel, C. and Lindqvist, C. (2011). Developing a lexical profiler for spoken French L2 and Italian L2. The role of frequency, thematic vocabulary and cognates. Eurosla Yearbook, 11: 7594.Google Scholar
Bardel, C., Gudmundson, A. and Lindqvist, C. (2012). Aspects of lexical sophistication in advanced learners’ oral production: Vocabulary acquisition and use in French L2 and Italian L2. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2012, 34.2: 269290.Google Scholar
Bartning, I. (1997). L'apprenant dit avancé et son acquisition d'une langue étrangère. Tour d'horizon et esquisse d'une caractérisation de la variété avancée. AILE, 9: 950. http://aile.revues.orgGoogle Scholar
Bartning, I. (2009). The advanced learner variety: 10 years later. In: E. Labeau and F. Myles (eds), pp. 11–41.Google Scholar
Bartning, I. (to appear). Late morphosyntactic and discourse features in advanced and very advanced L2 French – a view towards the end state. In: Haberzettl, S. (ed.) The End State of L2 Acquisition. New York/Berlin. Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Bartning, I. and Kirchmeyer, N. (2003). Le développement de la compétence textuelle à travers les stades acquisitionnels en français L2. AILE 19: 939.Google Scholar
Bartning, I. and Schlyter, S. (2004). Itinéraires acquisitionnels et stades de développement en français L2. Journal of French Language Studies, 14: 281299.Google Scholar
Bartning, I. and Hancock, V. (to appear). Morphosyntax and discourse at high levels of second language acquisition. In: Hyltenstam, K. (ed.), High-level Proficiency in SLA. New York/Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Bartning, I, Forsberg, F. and Hancock, V. (2009). Resources and obstacles in very advanced L2 French. Formulaic language, information structure and morphosyntax. EUROSLA Yearbook, 9: 185211. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Bartning, I., Forsberg Lundell, F. and Hancock, V. (2012). On the role of linguistic contextual factors for morphosyntactic stabilisation in high-level L2 French. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34.2: 243267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birdsong, D. (1992). Ultimate attainment in second language acquisition. Language, 68: 706755.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birdsong, D. (2003). Authenticité de prononciation en français L2 chez des apprenants tardifs anglophones: analyses segmentales et globales. AILE, 18: 1736.Google Scholar
Birdsong, D. (2007). Nativelike pronounciation among late learners of French as a second language. In: Bohn, S-O. and Munro, M. (eds), Second Language Speech Learning: The Role of Language Experience in Speech Perception and Production. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 99116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanche-Benveniste, C. (1997). Approches de la langue parlée. Paris: Ophrys.Google Scholar
Boers, F., Eyckmans, J., Kappel, J., Stengers, H. and Demecheleer, M., (2006). Formulaic sequences and perceived oral proficiency: Putting a Lexical Approach to the test. Language Teaching Research, 10.3: 245261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bulté, B. and Housen, A. (2012). Defining and operationalizing L2 performance complexity. In: Housen, A., Kuiken, F. and Vedder, I. (eds). Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency: Investigating Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Carroll, S. (2005). Input and SLA: Adults’ sensitivity to different sorts of cues to French gender. In: DeKeyser, R. (ed.), Grammatical Development in Language Learning. Malden: Blackwell, pp. 70138.Google Scholar
Chambers, F. (1997). What do we mean by fluency? System, 25.4: 535544.Google Scholar
Conway, A. (2005). Le paragraphe oral en français L1, suédois L1 et français L2. Études romanes de Lund 73. Lund: Lund University Press.Google Scholar
Coppieters, R. (1987). Competence differences between native and non-native speakers. Language, 63: 544573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dechert, H. and Raupach, M. (eds). (1980). Temporal Variables in Speech. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
De Jong, N.H., Steinel, M.P., Florijn, A., Schoonen, R. and Hulstijn, J. (2012). The effect of task complexity on functional adequacy, fluency and lexical diversity in speaking performances of native and non-native speakers. In: Housen, A., Kuiken, F., and Vedder, I (eds), Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency. Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA, pp. 121–142.Google Scholar
Ekberg, L. (2003). Grammatik och lexikon i svenska som andra språk på nästan infödd nivå. In: Hyltenstam, K. and Lindberg, I. (eds), Svenska som andraspråk: i forskning, undervisning och samhälle. Lund: Studentlitteratur, pp. 259276.Google Scholar
Erman, B. and Warren, B. (2000). The idiom principle and the open choice principle. Text, 20.1: 2962.Google Scholar
Erman, B., Fant, L., Forsberg Lundell, F. and Denke, A. (submitted). Nativelike selection in long-residency L2 users: A study of multiword structures in the speech of L2 English, French and Spanish.Google Scholar
Forsberg, F. (2008). Le langage préfabriqué – formes, fonctions et fréquences en français parlé L2 et L1. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Forsberg, F. (2010). Using conventional sequences in L2 French. IRAL, 48: 2550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forsberg Lundell, F. and Lindqvist, C. (2012). Vocabulary development in advanced L2 French – do formulaic sequences and lexical richness develop at the same rate? LIA: Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 3.1: 7392.Google Scholar
Foster, P. and Skehan, P. 1996. The influence of planning on performance in task-based learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18:3, 299324.Google Scholar
Foster, P., Tonkyn, A. and Wigglesworth, G. (2000). Measuring spoken language. A unit for all reasons. Applied Linguistics 18:3, 299324.Google Scholar
Franceschina, F. (2005). Fossilized Second Language Grammars. The Acquisition of Grammatical Gender. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Frenck-Mestre, C.M., Foucart, A., Carrasco, H. and Herschenson, J. (2009). Processing grammatical gender in French as a first and second language. EUROSLA Yearbook, 9: 76106.Google Scholar
Granfeldt, J. (2003). L'acquisition des categories fonctionnelles. Étude comparative du développement du DP français chez des enfants et des apprenants adultes. Études romanes de Lund 67. Lund University.Google Scholar
Granger, S. (1998). Prefabricated patterns in advanced EFL writings: Collocations and formulae. In: Cowie, A. P. (ed.), Phraseology: Theory, Analysis and Applications. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 145160.Google Scholar
Granger, S. and Pacquot, M. (2008). Disentangling the phraseological web. In: Granger, S. and Meunier, F. (eds), Phraseology: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 2749.Google Scholar
Hancock, V. (2007). Quelques éléments modaux dissociés dans le paragraphe oral dans des interviews en français L2 et L1. Journal of French Language Studies, 17: 2347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, R. (2004). The contribution of the theory of Universal Grammar to our understanding of the acquisition of French as a second language. Journal of French Language Studies, 14: 233245.Google Scholar
Hawkins, R. and Franceschina, F. (2004). Explaining the acquisition and non acquisition of determiner-noun gender concord in French and Spanish. In: Prévost, P. and Paradis, J. (eds), The Acquisition of French in Different Learners: Focus on Functional Categories. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 175205.Google Scholar
Hincks, R. (2010). Speaking rate and information content in English lingua franca oral presentations. English for specific purposes, 29.1: 418. http://www.speech.kth.se/~hincks/papers/Effectlangchoice.pdfGoogle Scholar
Holmes, V. and Segui, J. (2006). Assigning grammatical gender during word production. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 35, 1: 530.Google Scholar
Hopp, H. (2010). Ultimate attainment in L2 inflection: performance similarities between non-native and native speakers. Lingua, 120: 901931.Google Scholar
Housen, A., Kemps, N. and Pierrard, M. (2009). The use of verb morphology of advanced L2 learners and native speakers of French. In: E. Labeau and F. Myles (eds), pp. 40–61.Google Scholar
Housen, A. and Kuiken, F. (2009). Complexity, accuracy and fluency in second language acquistion. Applied Linguistics 30.4: 461471.Google Scholar
Howard, M. (2009). Short versus long term effects of naturalistic exposure on the advanced instructed learner's L2 development: a case study. In: E. Labeau and F. Myles (eds), pp. 93–124.Google Scholar
Hyltenstam, K. (1992). Non-native features of near-native speakers: on the ultimate attainment of childhood L2 learners. In: Harris, R.J., Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals. Amsterdam: North-Holland, pp. 351368.Google Scholar
Hyltenstam, K., Bartning, I. and Fant, L. (2005). High level proficiency in second language use. Stockholm University. www.biling.su.se/~AAA.Google Scholar
Ife, A., Vives Boix, G. and Meara, P. 2000. The impact of study abroad on the vocabulary development of different proficiency groups. Spanish Applied Linguistics 4: 5584. Accessed on May 6, 2011 at http://www.lognostics.co.uk/vlibrary/Ife2000.pdfGoogle Scholar
Ioup, G., Boustagui, E., Eltigi, M. and Mosette, M. (1994). Reexamining the critical period hypothesis. A case of successful adult second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 16, 7398.Google Scholar
Labeau, E. and Myles, F. (eds) (2009). The Advanced Learner Varieties: The Case of French. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Lardiere, D. (2000). Mapping features to forms in SLA. In: Archibald, J. (ed.), Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 102129.Google Scholar
Lambert, M., Carroll, M. and von Stutterheim, C. (2003). La subordination dans les récits d'apprenants avancés francophones et germanophones de l'anglais. AILE 19: 4269.Google Scholar
Lardiere, D. (2007). Ultimate Attainment in Second Language Acquisition. A Case Study. Mahwaw, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Laufer, B. and Nation, P. (1995). Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production. Applied Linguistics, 16.3: 307322.Google Scholar
Lenneberg, E. (1967). Biological Foundations of Language. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Lindqvist, C., Bardel, C. and Gudmundson, A. (2011). Lexical richness in the advanced learner's oral production of French and Italian L2. IRAL, 49.3: 221240.Google Scholar
Lindström, J. (2008). Tur och ordning. Introduktion till svensk samtalsgrammatik. Stockholm: Norstedt Akademiska Förlag.Google Scholar
Milton, J. (2009). Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Montrul, S. and Slabakova, R. (2003). Competence similarities between native and near-native speakers: An investigation of the Preterite/Imperfect contrast in Spanish. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 25: 351398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morel, M.-A. and Danon-Boileau, L. (1998). La grammaire de l'intonation. L'exemple du français. Paris: Ophrys.Google Scholar
Muñoz, C. and Singleton, D. (2011). A critical review of age-related research on L2 ultimate attainment. Language Teaching, 44.1: 135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nation, P. (1989). Improving speaking fluency. System 17/3, 377384.Google Scholar
Nesselhauf, N. (2005). Collocations in a learner corpus. Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 14. Amsterdam: Benjamins.Google Scholar
Norris, J.M. and Ortega, L. (2009). Towards an organic approach to investigating CAF in instructed SLA: The case of complexity. Applied Linguistics, 30: 555578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ovtcharov, V., Cobb, T. and Halter, R. (2006). La richesse lexicale des productions orales: mesure fiable du niveau de compétence langagière. La Revue Canadienne des Langues Vivantes, 63.1: 107125.Google Scholar
Poplack, S. (2001). Variability, frequency, and production in the irrealis domain of French. In: Bybee, J. and Hopper, P. (eds), Frequency and Emergence of Linguistic Structure. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 405428.Google Scholar
Raupach, M. (1984). Formulae in second language speech production. In: Dechert, H.W., Möhle, D. and Raupach, M. (eds), Second Language Production. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, pp. 114137.Google Scholar
Read, J. (2000). Assessing Vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Robinson, P., Cadierno, T. and Shirai, Y. (2009). Time and motion: Measuring the effects of the conceptual demands of tasks on second language speech production. Applied Linguistics 30:4, 533554.Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1992). Psychological mechanisms underlying second language fluency. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 14: 357385.Google Scholar
Segalowitz, N. (2000). Automaticity and attentional skill in fluent performance. In: Riggenbach, H. (ed.), Perspectives on Fluency. Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Press, pp. 200219.Google Scholar
Skehan, P. (2009). Modelling Second Language Performance: Integrating Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency, and Lexis. Applied Linguistics, 30 (4): 510532.Google Scholar
Stengers, H., Boers, F., Housen, A. and Eyckmans, J. (2011). Formulaic sequences and L2 oral proficiency: Does the type of target language influence the association? IRAL, 49.4: 321343.Google Scholar
von Stutterheim, Chr. (2003). Linguistic structure and information organization. The case of very advanced learners. EUROSLA Yearbook, 3: 183206.Google Scholar
Tidball, F. and Treffers-Daller, J. (2008). Analysing lexical richness in French learner language: what frequency lists and teacher judgement can tell us about basic and advanced words. Journal of French language Studies, 18.3: 299313.Google Scholar
Tonkyn, A. (2012). Measuring and perceiving changes in oral complexity, accuracy and fluency: Examining instructed learners’ short-term gains. In: Housen, A., Kuiken, F., F. and Vedder, I., (eds), Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 221246.Google Scholar
Towell, R., Hawkins, R. and Bazergui, N. (1996). The development of fluency in advanced learners of French. Applied Linguistics, 17.1: 84119.Google Scholar
Treffers-Daller, J. (2009). Language dominance and lexical diversity: how bilinguals and L2 learners differ in their knowledge and use of French lexical and functional items. In: Richards, B., Malvern, D., Meara, P., Milton, J. and Treffers-Daller, J. (eds.), Vocabulary Studies in First and Second Language Acquisition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 7490.Google Scholar
Van Daele, S., Housen, A. and Pierrard, M. (2008). Fluency, accuracy and complexity in the manifestation and development of two second languages. In: Van Daele, S., Housen, A., Kuiken, F., Pierrard, M., and Vedder, I. (eds), Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in Second Language Use. Wetteren: Universa Press, pp. 301316.Google Scholar
Vermeer, A. (2004). The relation between lexical richness and vocabulary size in Dutch L1 and L2 children. In: Bogaards, P. and Laufer, B. (eds), Vocabulary in a Second Language. Selection, Acquisition and Testing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 173189.Google Scholar
Véronis, J. (2011). Fréquences des mots en français parlé. http://sites.univ-provence.fr/veronis/data/freq-oral.txt).Google Scholar
Wood, D. (2006). Uses and functions of formulaic sequences in second language speech: An exploration of the foundations of fluency. Canadian Modern Language Review, 63.1: 1333.Google Scholar