The effect of L2 input quality & quantity on early English L2 acquisition

Abstract

The introduction of English L2 in primary schools is currently expanding rapidly in The Netherlands. The current study investigates factors affecting L2 English acquisition in formal learning contexts such as the Dutch primary school classroom, focusing on acquisition two phonemes, one of which is also found in Dutch phonology ([i]), and another that is new to early English L2 learners ([æ]). Assessment of receptive vocabulary development is also carried out, using a native English Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4 (PPVT4), to determine whether or not pupils (age 4-8 yrs.) show improvement across a three-month period with a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 12 hours of English L2 input during that period. PPVT-4 results suggest an effect of age and amount of L2 contact, where higher age groups show better performance and a greater number of hours of L2 input also yields higher PPVT-4 scores. The phoneme discrimination experiments show more accurate discrimination of the /æ/ phoneme after 5 to 12 hours of exposure than before, while no pattern was discerned for the /i/ phoneme. The phoneme discrimination experiments suggest that early English L2 learners have difficulty in discerning small acoustic differences. In this view, the findings recorded here are supported by findings from other studies (Heeren 2006, Gerrits 2001, de Brasileiro 2009, Werker & Logan 1985).