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KNOWLEDGE OF NATIVELIKE SELECTIONS IN A L2

The Influence of Exposure, Memory, Age of Onset, and Motivation in Foreign Language and Immersion Settings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2013

Pauline Foster ,
Cylcia Bolibaugh  and
Agnieszka Kotula
Pauline Foster*
Affiliation:
St. Mary’s University College
Cylcia Bolibaugh
Affiliation:
St. Mary’s University College
Agnieszka Kotula
Affiliation:
St. Mary’s University College
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Pauline Foster, St. Mary’s University College, School of Arts and Humanities, Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, Middx TW1 4SX, U.K. E-mail: pauline.foster@smuc.ac.uk
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Abstract

It is well established that part of native speaker competence resides in knowledge of conventionalized word combinations, or nativelike selections (NLSs). This article reports an investigation into the receptive NLS knowledge of second language (L2) users of English in both the United Kingdom and Poland and the influence of a variety of independent variables on this knowledge. Results indicate that only an early start (< 12 years old) in an immersion setting guarantees nativelikeness. Long exposure in late starters brings moderate gains in both settings but not to nativelike levels; positive feelings toward the L2 and motivation to interact in it bear little to no relationship with NLS; phonological short-term memory (pSTM) is the only predictor of NLS ability in immersion late starters, with no effect found in a foreign language setting. Our results suggest that NLS is subject to age effects and that, for late starters, a good pSTM and L2 immersion are necessary for the acquisition of this dimension of L2 knowledge.

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Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 101 - 132
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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