台灣學生英語進行式之第二語言習得

Abstract

本研究旨在探討以中文為母語的英語學習者對英語進行式之習得狀況，研究議題包括第一語言轉移現象、習得次序、主事者效應、題型效應以及語言程度效應。為了避免潛在的實驗效應，本研究採用兩種測驗題型：文法接受度測驗與看圖填充題。本研究的受試者為八十位以中文為母語的大一學生，依據其英文程度分為低、中低、中高、高四組。 實驗結果發現，受試者對英語進行式的理解與表達確實受其第一語言的影響。在五種動詞中，受試者首先習得將動作動詞及成就動詞使用於英語進行式中，其次是反覆動作動詞，而後是瞬成動詞；受試者感到最困難的是將狀態動詞與進行式連用。此外，受試者在主詞為主事者的題目上表現較好，顯示主事者效應對英語進行式的習得有所影響。在題型效應方面，受試者在文法接受度測驗與看圖填充題的表現大致相同。在語言程度效應方面，受試者英語程度越高表現越好，顯示學習者對英語進行式的理解與表達能力會隨著英語能力的提升而有所增進。The present study aims to probe into second language acquisition of the English progressive aspect by Taiwanese students. The issues addressed in the study include L1 transfer, the acquisition order of English progressives with different verb types, agency effects, task effects, and proficiency effects. To avoid potential bias caused by a single task, this study employed a comprehension task (i.e., an acceptability judgment task) and a production task (i.e., a blank-filling task) to elicit data. The subjects consisted of eighty college freshmen and they were further divided into four groups, i.e. low, low-intermediate, high-intermediate, and high, based on their English proficiency. The results indicated effects of L1 transfer in the acquisition of L2. Our subjects performed better on verb types that share the same patterns of interaction with the progressive marker in L1 and L2. It was also found that the combination of the progressive marker and different types of verbs exhibited different degrees of learning difficulties for the subjects. Progressives with activities and accomplishments were found the easiest type, followed by semelfactives. Achievement progressives were more challenging and state progressives were the most difficult to acquire. With regard to agency effects, progressives with an agentive subject were easier to acquire than those with a non-agentive subject. As for task effects, verb types that received higher acceptability ratings in the comprehension task also received higher scores in the production task, indicating that the development of comprehension and production ability followed the same sequence. Finally, L2 proficiency was found influential in our L2 learners’ comprehension and production of the English progressive aspect. The two higher proficiency groups generally performed better than the two lower proficiency groups on both tasks.