The Present Perfect category represents a significant hurdle for learners of L2 English (Bardovi-Harlig 1997, 2000, 2002; Wulff et al. 2009). This is due to its semantic ambiguity and rich pragmatic contour as well as to the fact that the structure of the various Present Perfect forms resembles that of analogous periphrastic constructions in other languages, which, however, do not always serve the same purposes. Italians are notorious for extending the use of the Present Perfect to preterit contexts due to L1 transfer, since the Passato Prossimo is formally very similar to it (Bertinetto 1997). But there are also areas of partial overlap from a semantic-pragmatic perspective. Yet, the scenario is much more multi-faceted than this. Learners also tend to erroneously replace the Present Simple with the Present Perfect and struggle with the use of adverb(ial)s and their position in the sentence as well as with auxiliary verbs, diathesis alternations etc. The present work thus intends to provide, first of all, a thorough picture and an empirically grounded assessment of the critical points in the production of Present Perfect sentences by Italian learners of EFL. An in-depth understanding and statistically based knowledge of the actual difficulties faced by this learner population with respect to this broad and internally variegated language category is still missing. Such an awareness can help researchers to better investigate the relation between the parameter of structural/cognitive complexity and that of learning difficulty, which lacks a clear definition in the analysis of interlanguage. The Present Perfect category in English lends itself particularly well to such discussion. However, the link between the two interrelated but distinct parameters of complexity and difficulty (Merlini Barbaresi 1988b, 2003b) deserves to be studied with respect to many other phenomena in language acquisition and learning. Although difficulty can be the result of uncontrollable subjective and contextual factors (e.g. students’ motivation and involvement, past learning experiences, teacher’s preparation, lesson delivery methods and so on), I will attempt to demonstrate that in the specific case under scrutiny it can be seen as emerging from concretely definable conditions pertaining to the intrinsic complexity of the English Present Perfect system (Franceschi 2008, Franceschi & Bertacca 2008). The ultimate aim here is not just the study of performance data per se, but also and above all of the processes underlying competence. Language learning is a matter of change in an individual’s internal mental representations. As such, research in this field inevitably belongs to the branch of cognitive science.
Franceschi, D. (2010). Where cognitive and structural complexity meet: the use of the Present Perfect by Italian University learners of EFL. TEXTUS, 23, 619-644.
Where cognitive and structural complexity meet: the use of the Present Perfect by Italian University learners of EFL
Daniele Franceschi
2010-01-01
Abstract
The Present Perfect category represents a significant hurdle for learners of L2 English (Bardovi-Harlig 1997, 2000, 2002; Wulff et al. 2009). This is due to its semantic ambiguity and rich pragmatic contour as well as to the fact that the structure of the various Present Perfect forms resembles that of analogous periphrastic constructions in other languages, which, however, do not always serve the same purposes. Italians are notorious for extending the use of the Present Perfect to preterit contexts due to L1 transfer, since the Passato Prossimo is formally very similar to it (Bertinetto 1997). But there are also areas of partial overlap from a semantic-pragmatic perspective. Yet, the scenario is much more multi-faceted than this. Learners also tend to erroneously replace the Present Simple with the Present Perfect and struggle with the use of adverb(ial)s and their position in the sentence as well as with auxiliary verbs, diathesis alternations etc. The present work thus intends to provide, first of all, a thorough picture and an empirically grounded assessment of the critical points in the production of Present Perfect sentences by Italian learners of EFL. An in-depth understanding and statistically based knowledge of the actual difficulties faced by this learner population with respect to this broad and internally variegated language category is still missing. Such an awareness can help researchers to better investigate the relation between the parameter of structural/cognitive complexity and that of learning difficulty, which lacks a clear definition in the analysis of interlanguage. The Present Perfect category in English lends itself particularly well to such discussion. However, the link between the two interrelated but distinct parameters of complexity and difficulty (Merlini Barbaresi 1988b, 2003b) deserves to be studied with respect to many other phenomena in language acquisition and learning. Although difficulty can be the result of uncontrollable subjective and contextual factors (e.g. students’ motivation and involvement, past learning experiences, teacher’s preparation, lesson delivery methods and so on), I will attempt to demonstrate that in the specific case under scrutiny it can be seen as emerging from concretely definable conditions pertaining to the intrinsic complexity of the English Present Perfect system (Franceschi 2008, Franceschi & Bertacca 2008). The ultimate aim here is not just the study of performance data per se, but also and above all of the processes underlying competence. Language learning is a matter of change in an individual’s internal mental representations. As such, research in this field inevitably belongs to the branch of cognitive science.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
