PV And Second Language Acquisition

As will be further discussion in Chapter II, there is no agreement on classification of PVs, although different scholars have attempted to classify them on the basis of different criteria (Liao & Fukuya 2004). Many terms are used in the literature to describe PVs, such as literal, transparent, semitransparent, systematic, completive, opaque, figurative, and idiomatic. Celce-Murcia and Larsen Freeman (1999) classify PVs into literal, idiomatic, and aspectual. Literal PVs are those whose elements keep much of their meaning. An example of a literal PV is to look for such as, he is looking for his keys. However, in idiomatic PVs, the regular meaning of separate words is lost. An example would be the idiomatic PV to make up, meaning, to reconcile. …show more content…
Gass and Selinker (2008) discuss the impact of previously studied languages on acquiring a target language and language transfer. Schachter (1974) argues second language learners form a hypothesis about second language learning on the basis of knowledge of the first language. Consequently, first language (L1) learning strategies are employed during the learning of L2. Students learn constructions similar in L1 and in L2 easily. This process is called “facilitation” in second language acquisition, and it is a positive transfer (Gass & Selinker, (2008). In cases of constructions that are “radically different, learners reject them or use them only with extreme caution” (Schachter, 1974, p. 212). Schachter suggests, in addition to the forms the learners produced while studying the second language, forms they are avoiding and do not produce should also be studied. Since Schachter’s study, in 1974, numerous studies have focused on avoidance behavior related to reading, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Such studies are important for finding the best approaches to improving both language learning and teaching and raising teacher awareness of the hardships students