The Prediction Of The Fossilizable Tendency Of English Definite Ariticle Of Chinese L2 Learners

The concept of'fossilization'was first introduced into the field of second language acquisition by Selinker in 1972, which aroused more and more researchers'interest in this phenomenon. Fossilization is so universal in interlanguage development that most L2 learners will experience it during their L2 acquisition. It means that when L2 learners reach a certain stage of L2 acquisition, they can not progress any further. No matter how great the effort they make, the study slows down or even ceases, if not falls back. It seems unavoidable and irreversible.Recently, several researchers such as Selinker(2008), Zhaohong Han(2009) and so on propose that fossilization is selective. That is to say, fossilization appears to affect particular structures, modules, domains, etc., rather than the whole interlanguages. As Han states that the process of learning a second language (L2) is characteristically non-linear and fragmentary, marked by a mixed landscape of rapid progression in certain areas but slow movement, incubation or even permanent stagnation in others(Han, 2009:137). Selinker (2008) even comments that'To me, the evidence is so compelling that the idea that fossilization is selective has moved from hypothesis to fact'.Zhaohong Han(2009) advanced her creative hypothesis—Selective Fossilization Hypothesis, by which we can judge whether a linguistic item is fossilizable or not. The formation of this hypothesis is mainly a composition of two variables, L1 markedness and L2 input robustness. These two variables consist of two sub-variables respectively, frequency and variability. L1 markedness is the L1 feature exerting an influence on interlanguage, which can be marked or unmarked. An unmarked feature is one that is both frequent and invariable. L2 input robustness is mainly based on the nature of the input, the potential triggering data, which can be robust or non-robust. Input that is robust is frequent and invariable (Han, 2009). Since it can make predictions on fossilization or acquisition, this hypothesis provides a new path to effective learning and teaching.To test the new hypothesis, the author makes an empirical research on definite article. This research reveals that the Selective Fossilization Hypothesis is reliable to some extent. Whether it can be used widely for the whole interlanguage is still to be tested. This rough research may provide a reference to future studies.Regarding the unique characteristics of fossilization, it is important to prevent fossilization from occurring than de-fossilization. What's more, if this hypothesis were tested reliable and valid, fossilization is no longer inevitable as was defined before. At least, this newly-advanced hypothesis can make L2 acquisition more effective to some extent.