An empirical examination of the 'distance' hypothesis in second and foreign language learning.

摘要

The purpose of this study is to explore some effects of language and cultural distance (including transfer) on the acquisition and production of lexical items in second/foreign language. This study investigates lexical/semantic output of learners of English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) whose first language, Arabic, is significantly distant from their second-foreign language, English, in both linguistic and cultural terms.;Two prevailing assumptions in second-language acquisition underlie this research. (1) The greater the distance between two cultures the greater the difficulty learners will have in learning the lexical/semantic structure of second/foreign language. (2) Post-adolescent second/foreign-language learners bring to second-language learning tasks a fully developed lexical system based on their native-language lexical/semantic competence. This system may dispose second-language learners to try to use one-to-one mappings between the two languages to produce lexical items in the target language, mappings influenced by at least two important factors as the learners' perception of distance between the languages and cultures involved, and the actual dissimilarity of the two cultures. In this study two groups, a USA (ESL) group and Overseas (EFL) group were given five tests.;The results of this research show that residence in the target-language culture is a major factor in learners' success in the acquisition and production of lexical/semantic items, and in bridging the linguistic and cultural gap between two distant languages, Arabic and English. "Distant" language condition strategies--media exposure, interaction with native speakers, and visits to the target-language culture--are largely ineffective, despite the fact that these same language condition strategies have been shown to be effective in "close" conditions (Kellerman, 1979). Because of cultural distance the Overseas group, particularly, failed to recognize the conceptual and cultural structure of the second language, and transfer was predominant. Apparently, in the Arabic-English context, even good formal language teaching has limits and constraints in the lexical/semantic dimension.