introduction
Many factors come into play when one is learning a second language. Aspects of the first language are often used as a template, or reference point for the acquisition of a second language. This is when multilingual interference becomes an important factor. Multilingual interference is the intrusion, or interconnections of one language into another that occurs in circumstances when a second language is being learned, or when two languages are being used. Multilingual interference most often presents itself when an individual is learning a second language and aspects of their first language becomes an “interference” in their acquisition of a second language. This type of language interference can present itself in many forms, including phonological, lexical, and grammatical. This means that certain words can carry different meanings across languages and also that the grammatical structure of a second language can be very different from that of the first language, all making multilingual interference a difficult obstacle to overcome. The identity of the learner also plays a significant role in the acquisition of a second language. After reading a literary narrative by my classmate, Abheek, in which he analyzes how the two languages that he speaks, Hindi and English, would interfere with each other I was drawn to ponder the question: How does multilingual interference affect the acquisition of a second language? The three sources that I use give a full understanding of this topic by analyzing the effects of multilingual interference, both positive and negative, from the points of both language groups from around the world and expert analysis in the form of case studies.
source 1
This article provides an in-depth look at how multilingual interference impacts the learning of a second language by students in Nigerian schools and highlights the fact that how skilled these students are in English is now being used to determine the Nigerian students’ capability and potential in school. The article then jumps into the study, in which observation and interviews are the means by which information and data is collected. The study delves into the reasons why learning English was something extremely difficult for the Nigerian students. This study also highlights the many different types of multilingual interference that these students face when learning English, which include phonological, lexical, and syntactic. The summary given in the introduction and abstract of this article closely matches my interpretation of the source.
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The research findings in this article give a great insight into how multilingual interference impacts acquisition of a
second language because this article highlights the fact that there is a greater weight given to the sociolinguistic aspects that play a role in making it difficult for students to learn English. This means that the social factors in connection with the inherent language barrier are being considered as a major obstacle these students face when learning English (Abdul 320). For example, poverty in Nigeria, as well as the obsession with electronic media are some of the factors highlighted. This way of approaching an understanding of multilingual interference in the acquisition of a second language is important because the interference of languages is also an interference of cultures because one does not exist without the other. The language specific to
a country is built off of the culture that language originates from. So, by highlighting the social factors that impact the acquisition of language, a broader understanding of how multilingual interference impacts the learning of a second language is achieved.
“Nigerian English” is the term often used to describe the type of English used by the students, as well as the general public in Nigeria in which the people often speak English from a Nigerian perspective (Abdul 320). This results in the misuse of English grammar, as well as the mispronunciation of words. For example, English has 44 phonemes for the sounds of consonants and
vowels and many of these are not present in the Nigerian languages (Abdul 321). Furthermore, this article highlights lexical interference, meaning that certain words carry very different meanings across languages, making it very difficult to decipher between the two. The grammatical patterns in each language also differ which can result in the improper use of English by bilinguals in Nigeria. This coincides with Abheek's narrative in that his tutor had difficulties speaking full English, so he would have to switch back to Hindi, displaying a mixing of languages just like “Nigerian English”.
The results of the study are significant because they highlighted the negative impact of multilingual interference when learning a second language. Thirty out of the thirty student participants admitted that they cannot speak English without having to switch between Nigerian, that they preferred to speak in their Nigerian language, and that they preferred not to speak English because of this (Abdul 324). Although these findings may be caused by other factors, including poor teaching, the fact that all thirty students interviewed had significant struggles with their multilingualism illustrates the negative effect that multilingual interference has on the learning of a second language. The findings in this source can be used as evidence to support the
needed improvements in the education system. What is currently being done is obviously not effective and by understanding the aspects of learning a second language that are impacted by multilingual interference, beneficial improvements can be made. For example, if it were made clear to the learner the phonological, lexical, and syntactic differences between the languages and more time was spent studying the complexities of the foreign language, then moving forward, the learners would likely acquire the second language more effectively.
This source is very similar to source 3 in that it highlights the importance of grammatical differences between languages in the acquisition of a second language.
second language because this article highlights the fact that there is a greater weight given to the sociolinguistic aspects that play a role in making it difficult for students to learn English. This means that the social factors in connection with the inherent language barrier are being considered as a major obstacle these students face when learning English (Abdul 320). For example, poverty in Nigeria, as well as the obsession with electronic media are some of the factors highlighted. This way of approaching an understanding of multilingual interference in the acquisition of a second language is important because the interference of languages is also an interference of cultures because one does not exist without the other. The language specific to
a country is built off of the culture that language originates from. So, by highlighting the social factors that impact the acquisition of language, a broader understanding of how multilingual interference impacts the learning of a second language is achieved.
“Nigerian English” is the term often used to describe the type of English used by the students, as well as the general public in Nigeria in which the people often speak English from a Nigerian perspective (Abdul 320). This results in the misuse of English grammar, as well as the mispronunciation of words. For example, English has 44 phonemes for the sounds of consonants and
vowels and many of these are not present in the Nigerian languages (Abdul 321). Furthermore, this article highlights lexical interference, meaning that certain words carry very different meanings across languages, making it very difficult to decipher between the two. The grammatical patterns in each language also differ which can result in the improper use of English by bilinguals in Nigeria. This coincides with Abheek's narrative in that his tutor had difficulties speaking full English, so he would have to switch back to Hindi, displaying a mixing of languages just like “Nigerian English”.
The results of the study are significant because they highlighted the negative impact of multilingual interference when learning a second language. Thirty out of the thirty student participants admitted that they cannot speak English without having to switch between Nigerian, that they preferred to speak in their Nigerian language, and that they preferred not to speak English because of this (Abdul 324). Although these findings may be caused by other factors, including poor teaching, the fact that all thirty students interviewed had significant struggles with their multilingualism illustrates the negative effect that multilingual interference has on the learning of a second language. The findings in this source can be used as evidence to support the
needed improvements in the education system. What is currently being done is obviously not effective and by understanding the aspects of learning a second language that are impacted by multilingual interference, beneficial improvements can be made. For example, if it were made clear to the learner the phonological, lexical, and syntactic differences between the languages and more time was spent studying the complexities of the foreign language, then moving forward, the learners would likely acquire the second language more effectively.
This source is very similar to source 3 in that it highlights the importance of grammatical differences between languages in the acquisition of a second language.
source 2
This book emphasizes the importance of second language learning from social interactional and the socio-cultural perspectives of the learner. It also gives an in-depth look into how the identity that a learner constructs for themselves plays a significant role in the acquisition of a second language. The authors stress the importance that identity plays in approaching multilingual interference and how it provides for a framework that the learner uses in second language situations. Some of these identities are helpful in the acquisition of a language, while others make learning more difficult.
According to Hua, the identity a learner constructs in the acquisition of a second language as a result of multilingual interference can be broken up into three overlapping categories: habitus, genre, and frame. Habitus refers to the learner’s socially acquired predispositions which can be presented as linguistic phenomena in the form of speaker’s accent, ethnicity, and social class (Hua 254). This shows that the traits of a learner, including their own accents and ways of talking impact their acquisition of a second language. If the second language provides for difficult pronunciation or aural comprehension, then multilingual interference has a negative effect. Genre refers to the features and structures of a learner’s first language that provide a framework for the production and reception of a second language (Hua 256). This illustrates how multilingual interference can either assist or hinder the acquisition of a second language. If the second language is similar to the first, then the matching frameworks will be advantageous for the learner and vice-versa. Finally, frame is defined as the interaction of both social and cognitive factors coming together to construct a cognitive frame after any interaction, linguistic or otherwise (Hua 257). This means that when a learner is exposed to a second language, their expectations form an inference that may be very different from language to language. This further illustrates how the identity of a learner can either positively or negatively impact their acquisition of a second language on account of multilingual interference. |
The impact that a learner’s identity has on multilingual interference in the acquisition of a second language relates to Abheek’s
narrative because he struggled with the different connotations of words between English and Hindi. His “identity” as a learner had a negative impact on how he reacted to multilingual interference in the acquisition of the second language.
The information found in this book is significant because it can be used as a framework to better understand why learners have difficulties acquiring certain foreign languages. These details can be used to create methods or learning a second language that are more specific to each learner. For example, if an individual has a certain accent, then learning from someone with
the same accent would most likely be advantageous because it would identify with what the learner is familiar with, as well as make the second language easier for them to understand.
Although this source is rich in information about the learner’s identity, it lacks in identifying specific aspects of languages that would provide difficulty for the learners. Source 1 identified several aspects of language that impact learning, while this source only touched on how the learner’s identity in multilingual interference impacted the acquisition of a second language.
narrative because he struggled with the different connotations of words between English and Hindi. His “identity” as a learner had a negative impact on how he reacted to multilingual interference in the acquisition of the second language.
The information found in this book is significant because it can be used as a framework to better understand why learners have difficulties acquiring certain foreign languages. These details can be used to create methods or learning a second language that are more specific to each learner. For example, if an individual has a certain accent, then learning from someone with
the same accent would most likely be advantageous because it would identify with what the learner is familiar with, as well as make the second language easier for them to understand.
Although this source is rich in information about the learner’s identity, it lacks in identifying specific aspects of languages that would provide difficulty for the learners. Source 1 identified several aspects of language that impact learning, while this source only touched on how the learner’s identity in multilingual interference impacted the acquisition of a second language.
source 3
This article is about a study done on children adopted from Russia and brought to live in the United States and the effect that this had on the acquisition of their second language, English. This study gives an in-depth look into the effect that multilingual interference had on the time it took for them to master certain grammatical complexities in the English language. These grammatical complexities were broken into three categories: the morphological concepts that exist in Russian and are structurally similar in English, the morphological concepts that exist in Russian and are structurally different in English, and the morphological concepts nonexistent in Russian but existent in English (Glennen 70).
The findings in this study are significant because they bring to light just the central role that multilingual interference plays in the acquisition of a second language. The results of the study showed that the morphological concepts that were mastered the fastest were those that were present in both languages (Glennen 73). This illustrates the advantage multilingual interference can play in the acquisition of a second language as the knowledge and background of the first language provided an understanding of the second language that the learner could use to their advantage. The morphological concepts that were mastered the slowest were those that were not present in Russian, but were present in English (Glennen 73). These findings display the negative impact that multilingual interference can have on the acquisition of a second language. Since these children had no previous knowledge to pull from, the interference between Russian and English in this case was extremely difficult for them to overcome.
The findings in this study are significant because they bring to light just the central role that multilingual interference plays in the acquisition of a second language. The results of the study showed that the morphological concepts that were mastered the fastest were those that were present in both languages (Glennen 73). This illustrates the advantage multilingual interference can play in the acquisition of a second language as the knowledge and background of the first language provided an understanding of the second language that the learner could use to their advantage. The morphological concepts that were mastered the slowest were those that were not present in Russian, but were present in English (Glennen 73). These findings display the negative impact that multilingual interference can have on the acquisition of a second language. Since these children had no previous knowledge to pull from, the interference between Russian and English in this case was extremely difficult for them to overcome.
This source is very similar to source 1 in that they both touch on the influence of differing grammatical structures across languages and the effect that this had on the acquisition of a second language. In both cases, the negative effects of multilingual interference on learning were shown, in source 1 with regards to the grammatical differences between Nigerian languages and
English and in source 3 with regards to the grammatical differences between Russian and English. Source 3 does talk about the positive influence of multilingual interference in terms of morphological concepts, though. Having grammatical similarities in both languages facilitated the adopted children’s acquisition of English. On the other hand, source 3 is very limited in that it
only encompasses the impact that grammatical structure has on the acquisition of a second language which makes the findings very narrow. Also, there is no way of knowing with certainty the actual reason that certain grammatical complexities
were learned before others and if they could have just been by chance.
This findings in this study relate to Abheek’s narrative because the differences in grammatical structure across languages coincides with the differences in connotations of certain words between English and Hindi.
This information is significant because it can also give great insight into how improving learning strategies to overcome negative multilingual interference can be used to better one’s chances of becoming proficient in a second language. Like mentioned in the first source, if more time was spent studying the complexities of the foreign language, then moving forward, the learners would likely acquire the second language more effectively.
English and in source 3 with regards to the grammatical differences between Russian and English. Source 3 does talk about the positive influence of multilingual interference in terms of morphological concepts, though. Having grammatical similarities in both languages facilitated the adopted children’s acquisition of English. On the other hand, source 3 is very limited in that it
only encompasses the impact that grammatical structure has on the acquisition of a second language which makes the findings very narrow. Also, there is no way of knowing with certainty the actual reason that certain grammatical complexities
were learned before others and if they could have just been by chance.
This findings in this study relate to Abheek’s narrative because the differences in grammatical structure across languages coincides with the differences in connotations of certain words between English and Hindi.
This information is significant because it can also give great insight into how improving learning strategies to overcome negative multilingual interference can be used to better one’s chances of becoming proficient in a second language. Like mentioned in the first source, if more time was spent studying the complexities of the foreign language, then moving forward, the learners would likely acquire the second language more effectively.
conclusion
Multilingual interference plays a vital role in the acquisition of a second language. One must overcome phonological, lexical, and grammatical differences, as well as have awareness of learner’s identity in learning a foreign language. These interferences are for the most part a negative in that it is difficult for the learner to decipher between the two languages, making
errors in the language being learned very frequent. The problems associated with multilingual interference can be overcome however by having a greater awareness of the foreign language. By spending time studying the structures of the language, as well as the culture it originates from, this negative multilingual interference can be overcome. With greater understanding of the complexities associated with multilingual interference and language acquisition, new teaching and learning strategies can be applied to how language is taught in school. If more emphasis is put on the awareness of a foreign language, then overcoming
multilingual interference and acquiring a second language can be much more effective.
errors in the language being learned very frequent. The problems associated with multilingual interference can be overcome however by having a greater awareness of the foreign language. By spending time studying the structures of the language, as well as the culture it originates from, this negative multilingual interference can be overcome. With greater understanding of the complexities associated with multilingual interference and language acquisition, new teaching and learning strategies can be applied to how language is taught in school. If more emphasis is put on the awareness of a foreign language, then overcoming
multilingual interference and acquiring a second language can be much more effective.
Works Cited
Abdul Ghani, Che Ann. "Theory and Practice in Language Studies." The Sociolinguistic Drawbacks in the English Learning Environment in a Multilingual Society 2.2 (2012): 319-25. Print.
Glennen, Sharon, Ariella Rosinsky-Grunhut, and Rachel Tracy. "Linguistic Interference between L1 and L2 in Internationally Adopted Children." Seminars in Speech and Language 26.01 (2005): 64-75. Print.
Hua, Zhu. Language Learning and Teaching as Social Inter-action. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.
Abdul Ghani, Che Ann. "Theory and Practice in Language Studies." The Sociolinguistic Drawbacks in the English Learning Environment in a Multilingual Society 2.2 (2012): 319-25. Print.
Glennen, Sharon, Ariella Rosinsky-Grunhut, and Rachel Tracy. "Linguistic Interference between L1 and L2 in Internationally Adopted Children." Seminars in Speech and Language 26.01 (2005): 64-75. Print.
Hua, Zhu. Language Learning and Teaching as Social Inter-action. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print.