An Empirical Study Of L2 Transfer In L3 Learning

The phenomenon of transfer in language learning——also called cross-linguistic influence——has mostly been investigated with reference to first language (L1) and second language (L2). This thesis describes the case of transfer from second language to third language, specifically the influence of English (L2) on the learning of German (L3). The participants in this study are continuing with their learning of L2 while learning their L3 from scratch. In order to find out how learners'level of L2 proficiency and amount of L2 exposure will influence the L2 transfer in their L3 learning at such levels as phonetics, lexicon, syntax and discourse, the participants are divided into three groups with regard to their level of L2 proficiency and amount of L2 exposure. The errors they make in an oral test and a written test are collected, categorized and then analyzed using STATA software. Hopefully, the result of this study can help L3 teachers get a better understanding of their students, thus enhancing the teaching efficiency.