Long-Term Crosslinguistic Transfer of Skills From L1 to L2

This study investigated the relationship of first language (L1) skills in elementary school and second language (L2) learning in high school. Students classified as high‐, average‐, and low‐proficiency L2 learners were compared on L1 achievement measures of reading, spelling, vocabulary, phonologica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Language learning 2009-03, Vol.59 (1), p.203-243
Main Authors: Sparks, Richard, Patton, Jon, Ganschow, Leonore, Humbach, Nancy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement Tests
Classification
Cognition & reasoning
Comparative Analysis
crosslinguistic transfer
Decoding (Reading)
Education. Teaching
Elementary Education
Elementary School Students
Elementary Schools
French
German
Grade 9
High School Students
High Schools
Intermediate Grades
L1 skills
L2 aptitude
L2 learning
L2 proficiency
Language Acquisition
Language Aptitude
Language Proficiency
Language Skills
Linguistics
Listening Comprehension
Oral Language
Outcome Measures
Phonological Awareness
Production and comprehension processes
Psycholinguistics
Psychology of language
Romance Languages
Second Language Learning
Skills
Spanish
Spelling
Transfer of Training
Written Language
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Summary:This study investigated the relationship of first language (L1) skills in elementary school and second language (L2) learning in high school. Students classified as high‐, average‐, and low‐proficiency L2 learners were compared on L1 achievement measures of reading, spelling, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and listening comprehension administered in the first, second, third, and fifth grades. An L2 aptitude measure was administered in ninth grade and L2 word decoding and L2 spelling measures were administered at the end of the first‐ and second‐year L2 courses. Outcome measures were oral and written L2 proficiency measures in Spanish, French, and German administered at the end of 2 years of L2 study. Results showed overall differences among the three proficiency groups on the L1 achievement measures from second through fifth grades, the L2 aptitude measure, and the L2 word decoding and spelling measures. High‐proficiency L2 learners exhibited stronger L1 skills and L2 aptitude than the average and low‐proficiency L2 learners. Findings showed that L1 skill differences emerged early in elementary school and are related to L2 proficiency and achievement several years later in high school. The findings provide support for long‐term crosslinguistic transfer of L1 to L2 skills.
ISSN:0023-8333
1467-9922
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00504.x