The Influenee Of L2Proficiency On L3Acquisition Of The Uygur College Students In Xinjiang

Most minority English learners in ethnic enclaves of Xinjiang have to experience a trilingual process which starts from their mother tongue via Chinese to English. However, few studies focus on minority students’English acquisition. Among the few numbers of studies on minority students’English learning, the scholars are concerned only about the influence of minority students’mother tongue on their English learning. The situation is even worse in the remote areas of Xinjiang. Although cross-linguistic transfer between L2and L3runs through the whole process of foreign language learning among Uygur college students, very few studies have been conducted to explore the language learning process of these students under the horizon of third language acquisition. Previous researches on third language acquisition have demonstrated that language transfer between L2and L3shows different characteristics at different stages while inadequate attention is paid to the features and complexities of English learning as a third language by teachers and researchers. Hence, it is necessary to conduct in-depth and systematic research into the cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition in minority areas of our country in order to reveal the essence of transfer in multilingual learning, deepen the understanding of the process of multilingual acquisition and promote multilingual teaching in our country, especially in the ethnic minority areas.Based on transfer theory in third language acquisition, the researcher organized a teaching experiment on some minority students in Tarim University, a comprehensive university in South-Xinjiang, and investigated the language learning background and the linguistic proficiency of the bilingual learners and the difficulties confronted in the process of English learning, especially in English writing. The study aimed at investigating the influence of L2proficiency on the Uygur non-English major college students’L3acquisition, concentrating on their English writing ability. It was expected to answer the following questions:1) How will bilingual Uygur college students’ Chinese listening ability influence their English Writing?2) How will bilingual Uygur college students’Chinese reading competence influence their English writing?3) How will bilingual Uygur college students’Chinese writing capability influence their English writing?116bilingual Uygur non-English majors were chosen from various colleges and departments of Tarim University to take part in the research. Through linguistic proficiency tests, questionnaires and interviews, it could be concluded that Uygur students’Chinese language proficiency can have an effect on their English learning: the analysis of the statistics got from the Chinese language assessment and the four English writing tests shows that subjects’English writing performance is highly correlated with their Chinese listening, reading and writing proficiency, subjects who got higher scores in the Chinese listening, reading and writing test also scored high in the English writing tests.Thus, in minority students’English classes, the teachers of English should take into consideration of the cognitive factors that influence students’bi-foreign languages acquisition and help students adjust to the situation of concentrated linguistic interaction by organizing teaching activities according to students’learning characteristics, learning psychology and linguistic requirements, give full play to superiority and potential of bilingual minorities’multi-language learning, create a teaching system and environment based on the characteristics of minority students and accelerate English teaching and learning among ethnic minorities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.