| The purpose of this study is to investigate the ways in which peer interactions facilitate second language (L2) acquisition. Many studies in the past have focused on teacher-student discourse or mother-child discourse, but few studies analyze child-child conversations in a bilingual context. The goal of this dissertation is to analyze the functions of second language speech used by four year olds in the context of a Spanish-English dual-immersion setting. The L2 speech functions are compared with the use of the same functions in the native language. The analysis takes into account the subtleties of individual and group personalities. In addition, the research addresses the differences between learning English as a second language (ESL) versus learning Spanish as a second language (SSL) in New Mexico. Attentional language, private speech, word play, and invented speech were found to be specific L2 linguistic functions. Furthermore, in comparison to the SSL group, the ESL speakers have more exposure to and more opportunity to use their L2, English, which is evident through their use of a broad range of linguistic functions. The findings suggest that a bilingual peer group can be used in an effort to generate to L2 production for multiple purposes with peers. |
