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Investigating the Acquisition of the German

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Investigating the Acquisition of the German INVESTIGATING THE ACQUISITION OF THE GERMAN PASSIVE BY ADULT LEARNERS WITH L1 ENGLISH IN A FORMAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: A LEARNER CORPUS APPROACH Sheena Caroline Elizabeth Thoday Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Heriot-Watt University School of Management and Languages November 2014 The copyright in this thesis is owned by the author. Any quotation from the thesis or use of any of the information contained in it must acknowledge this thesis as the source of the quotation or information. ABSTRACT This cross-disciplinary study draws on theories of linguistics, second language acquisition and language pedagogy in order to investigate the acquisition of the German passive by learners in a formal learning environment whose first language is English. This construction has hitherto received little attention from researchers, possibly because of the complexity of the available means of expressing it. The study focuses on the two periphrastic syntactic alternatives, each of which has a different semantic interpretation. With the general aim of identifying patterns in the learners’ usage of the construction over time, both synchronically and diachronically-collected data are assembled in a learner corpus and examined in a multi-method, multi-level study which differs from the single case study approach to language acquisition investigations which has often prevailed in the past. A quantitative, electronically-driven analysis is followed by a qualitative, judgement-based commentary. A comparative analysis of data from native speakers of German adds a further dimension to the discussion. Results of the analyses indicate differences between the written production of the two research populations and variation in the sequence of development and usage of the two German passives in the formal learning context which, it is suggested, may in part be due to the role played by instruction. DEDICATION To my family and to lifelong learning ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A large number of people have been of immense help during the period since this project began. Dr Agnes Bryan, Dr Sonja Eisenbeiß, Dr Teresa Parodi, Professor David Reibel, Professor Martha Young-Scholten and Professor Alison Wray all responded to my initial request on the British Association for Applied Linguistics list-serve for information on studies of the passive. I thank them for taking the time to offer advice to a novice. The support I received at the outset from former senior colleagues Professor Anthony Stanforth, Professor Ian Mason and Dr Chris Ross has been matched by recent Heads of School and particularly by the current Head of Department, Professor Isabelle Perez. I am extremely grateful to them all for their continued interest in this study. In addition I must acknowledge the important contribution of Dr Verena Jung for her help in assembling the local corpus data and Professor Dr Monika Schmid and Dr Svenja Wurm for facilitating the collection of the native speaker German texts. It would not have been possible to construct the corpus without their help and without the cooperation of the students who contributed their writing to it. I extend my thanks to all of them. Dr Paul Schmidt generously carried out a preliminary automated analysis on a data sample during my early methodological deliberations and I would like to record my gratitude for his input. Colleagues patiently and frequently enquired about the progress of the project. Dr Ann McFall and Dr Yvonne McLaren-Hankin, in particular, offered encouragement and practical advice. Dr Bernie O’Rourke and Dr Nick Pilcher provided an introduction to qualitative methods. Dr Kerstin Pfeiffer and my long-standing friend and revered Germanist Carole Boothman gave their time to complete the interrater questionnaires. Phil Booth’s expertise in media production played a key role. Library personnel were instrumental in the process of gathering information and invaluable IT tips were received from Information Services. Given the longevity of this project, my supervisory team has undergone several changes; Professor Mike Sharwood Smith has been the one constant factor throughout. No matter how naïve the question, Mike always provided an encouraging and instructive response. Benefitting from his knowledge and experience has been both humbling and immensely rewarding. In comparison, my association with Dr Maggie Sargeant has been relatively short but no less valuable. I have very much appreciated her incisive and supremely fair commentaries and her attention to detail, not to mention her boundless optimism. I feel enormously privileged to have been associated with them both. Mike and Maggie have had the unenviable task of combining the roles of colleague and friend with that of supervisor and I owe them a debt of gratitude for always striking the best balance. Of course, without support from my family I would never have started this study. Sarah and Hannah and their husbands have never stopped encouraging me in these endeavours. Keith’s constant and invaluable contribution, including the countless cups of tea, spurred me on; he has gallantly done his own thing in recent months so that I could do mine. Without his help and advice along the way I would never have reached the end. I am indebted to you all for believing in me. Thank you. ACADEMIC REGISTRY Research Thesis Submission Name: SHEENA CAROLINE ELIZABETH THODAY School/PGI: SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LANGUAGES Version: (i.e. First, FINAL Degree Sought DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Resubmission, Final) (Award and SECOND LANGUAGE Subject area) ACQUISITION Declaration In accordance with the appropriate regulations I hereby submit my thesis and I declare that: 1) the thesis embodies the results of my own work and has been composed by myself 2) where appropriate, I have made acknowledgement of the work of others and have made reference to work carried out in collaboration with other persons 3) the thesis is the correct version of the thesis for submission and is the same version as any electronic versions submitted*. 4) my thesis for the award referred to, deposited in the Heriot-Watt University Library, should be made available for loan or photocopying and be available via the Institutional Repository, subject to such conditions as the Librarian may require 5) I understand that as a student of the University I am required to abide by the Regulations of the University and to conform to its discipline. * Please note that it is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that the correct version of the thesis is submitted. Signature of Date: Candidate: Submission Submitted By (name in capitals): Signature of Individual Submitting: Date Submitted: For Completion in the Student Service Centre (SSC) Received in the SSC by (name in capitals): Method of Submission (Handed in to SSC; posted through internal/external mail): E-thesis Submitted (mandatory for final theses) Signature: Date: TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables v List of Figures vii Glossary of Terms viii Abbreviations x Publication xii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 The Background to the Study 1 1.2 Introducing the Concepts 3 1.3 The Linguistic Context 5 1.4 The Pedagogical Context 6 1.5 The Second Language Acquisition Context 7 1.6 The Methodological Context 8 1.7 The Research Aims and Research Questions 9 1.8 Naming and Formatting Conventions 11 1.9 Review of Chapter 1 11 2 LINGUISTICS, SECOND LANGUAGE 13 ACQUISITION AND LEARNER CORPORA: THE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CONTEXT 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 The Passive 15 2.2.1 Passive Taxonomy and Typology 15 2.2.1.1 Salience 18 2.2.1.2 The Passive as a Construction 19 2.2.2 Studies of the Acquisition of the Passive 20 2.2.2.1 Studies of the Passive in English L1 20 2.2.2.2 Studies of the Acquisition of the German Passive 22 2.3 Studies of Language Acquisition by Advanced Learners 28 2.4 Preliminary Hypothesis Generation 30 2.5 Second Language Acquisition and Second Language 30 Pedagogy 2.5.1 Language Teaching Methodology 31 2.5.2 The Work of Pit Corder 33 2.5.2.1 Input 33 2.5.2.2 Interlanguage 34 2.5.2.3 Formulaic Language 34 2.5.2.4 Corpus Studies 34 2.5.2.5 Error Analysis 35 2.5.3 Aspects of Instruction: Input and Output 35 2.5.3.1 Input 36 2.5.3.2 Form-focused Instruction 37 2.5.3.3 Developmental Sequences 38 2.5.3.4 Interlanguage 42 2.5.3.5 Acquisition and Emergence 45 2.5.3.6 Formulaic Language 46 2.5.3.7 Optionality 48 2.5.3.8 Fossilization 49 2.5.3.9 Transfer 50 i 2.6 Contrastive Analysis, Contrastive Interlanguage 52 Analysis and Learner Corpora 2.6.1 Contrastive Analysis 52 2.6.2 Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis 54 2.6.3 Learner Corpora 56 2.6.3.1 Definition of Learner Corpora 56 2.6.3.2 Existing Learner Corpora 57 2.7 Review of Chapter 2 60 3 THE PASSIVE: RELATING GRAMMATICAL 61 DESCRIPTION TO PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE 3.1 Introduction 61 3.2 The Passive in a Pedagogical Context 61 3.2.1 What do Learners with L1 E Mean by ‘the Passive’? 62 3.2.2 The Passive in English Syntax 65 3.2.2.1 Agent ‘by’ Phrases 66 3.2.2.2 Verb Types 66 3.2.2.3 ‘Get’ Passives 67 3.3 Defining the German Passive for Learners with L1 E 68 3.3.1 The German Periphrastic Passive 69 3.3.1.1 Verb Types 71 3.3.2 Subjectless Passives 73 3.3.3 Agent ‘by’ Phrases 73 3.3.4 Word Order and Sentence Structure 74 3.3.5 The bekommen/kriegen Passive 75 3.4 Alternatives to the Passive in German 76 3.5 Frequency of the German Passive Construction 78 3.6 Teaching the German Passive: an Instructional Example 79 3.7 Review of Chapter 3 79 4 IDENTIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING A 82 METHODOLOGY 4.1 Introduction 82 4.2 Data Sharing in Learner
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