Learners’ reflections on their narratives on L2 and L3 learning

Abstract

The research in this chapter builds on two previous studies reported in Singleton and Ó Laoire (2006a), Singleton and Ó Laoire (2006b); Laoire and Singleton (2009), both of which indicated that in learning an L3, learners tend to draw on the language(s) they perceive as being closer to the target language (pyschotypology). Following a recent study by Markey (2011) into the nature of crosslinguistic influence and transfer from Irish as L2 to French as L3, this study investigates the extent to which the study of Irish as an L2 is facilitative of instructed acquisition of an L3. It also examines whether L3 learners of French, German and Spanish can consciously exploit the language awareness that the L2 learning experience confers. This qualitative-type study yields data from 15 learners of an L3 who have Irish as a long-standing L2 in four different educational contexts in Ireland. Specifically, it analyses the extent to which Irish can or otherwise promote conscious involvement in language learning and metalinguistic awareness, which are generally believed to be facilitative of instructed language acquisition.