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Regular version of the site
Master 2023/2024

Language Interference: Theory and Practice

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'
Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'
Area of studies: Fundamental and Applied Linguistics
Delivered by: School of Linguistics
When: 1 year, 3 module
Mode of studies: offline
Open to: students of all HSE University campuses
Master’s programme: Russian as a Foreign Language in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Perspective
Language: English
ECTS credits: 3
Contact hours: 32

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course explores the concept of language interference in different approaches to Second Language Acquisition. As part of the course, students will learn how typological differences, language input, and proficiency in foreign languages affect language transfer strategies. The course also gives students the opportunity to work with real language data obtained from students of Russian as a foreign language, including pre-processing skills for automatic GEC tasks.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • Language differences between heritage speakers and foreign language learners;
  • The influence of language transfer on bilingual and foreign language learners' speech production and its significance for general linguistic analysis;
  • Developing practical skills in analyzing non-standard speech and using corpora;
  • Developing students' skills in preprocessing non-standard data to solve GEC tasks, including those that involve machine learning;
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Differentiates between types of non-native speakers
  • Differentiates between SLA approaches to language interference
  • Describes language interference at different language levels
  • Describes language transfer if it does not violate the rules of the target language
  • Operates the notion of compositionality
  • Distinguishes between the strategies in using constructions by natural and artificial bilinguals
  • Carries out comparative analysis of linguistic data
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Introduction. Learners of foreign languages compared with other types of speakers.
  • Language Interference: terminology and approaches
  • Types of language interference
  • Positive and Negative Transfer
  • Constructional Violations under Language Interference
  • Language Interference and Lexical Typology
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Classroom activity
  • non-blocking Assignment
  • non-blocking Test
  • non-blocking Exam
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2023/2024 3rd module
    0.2 * Assignment + 0.2 * Classroom activity + 0.4 * Exam + 0.2 * Test
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Ellis, R., Loewen, S., & Erlam, R. (2006). Implicit and Explicit Corrective Feedback and the Acquisition of L2 Grammar. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263106060141
  • Rakhilina, E., Vyrenkova, A., & Polinsky, M. (2016). Linguistic Creativity in Heritage Speakers. https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.90
  • Selinker, L., & Gass, S. M. (1992). Language Transfer in Language Learning. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=385648
  • Selinker, L., & Gass, S. M. (2008). Second Language Acquisition : An Introductory Course (Vol. 3rd ed). New York: Taylor & Francis [CAM]. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=216961

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Rod Ellis. (2013). Corrective feedback in teacher guides and SLA. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 1(3), 1–18.