A Study Of L1 Transfer In The Acquisition Of Light Verb+ Noun Collocation By Chinese Learners Of English As A Second Language

Light verbs are verbs that have lost their semantic contents to a certain degree, such as“make” and “take”. Because of their high frequency and strong word-building capacity, light verbs play an important role in English learning. Among the acquisition studies of light verbs,studies on the acquisition of light verb+ noun collocations have become one of the hottest topics in Second Language Acquisition in recent years. At the same time, the literature review of the present study shows that L1 transfer can affect the acquisition of light verb+ noun collocations.As a result, the present study tries to investigate L1 transfer on the acquisition of light+ noun collocations, which includes two aspects: in the acquisition of light+ noun collocations, which light verb students will choose which light verb in “make” “have” “do” “take” and “give”; in the acquisition of light+ noun collocations, which structure students will choose: the light verb+noun structure or the main verb structure. At the same time, the present study explores the relationship between L1 transfer and students’ language proficiency in the acquisition of light+noun collocations.Based on the previous studies, the present thesis is devoted to answer the following four questions:(1) In the acquisition of light+ noun collocations, how does the L1 transfer affect students’ use of light verbs?(2) In the acquisition of light+ noun collocations, how does the L1 transfer affect students’ use of light verb+ noun collocations?(3) In the choices of light verbs, does the L1 transfer on students’ choices of light verbs change with the students’ improvement of English proficiency?(4) In the use of light verb+ noun collocations, does the L1 transfer on students’ use of light verb+ noun collocations change with the improvement of English proficiency?The present study uses two different tests in order to get the data of students’ choices of light verbs and their use of light+ noun structures. Test A intends to explore L1 influence on student’ choices of light verbs. Test B intends to find out under the influence of students’ mother tongue, in the light+ noun structure and main verb structure, which structure students would like to use. And in order to investigate the relationship between language transfer and language proficiency, students at three different levels of English proficiency are asked to take part in the project.From the research results, such conclusions can be drawn:(1) L1 transfer can affect students’ choices of light verbs. Because of the differencesbetween Chinese and English, many students have difficulties in choosing the appropriate light verbs. On average, 45% students made errors. The reason for this is that students understand L2 words on the basis of the meaning of L1 equivalents. But students have no difficulties in choosing light verbs for some light verb+ noun collocations such as “make a phone call” “take a taxi” and “have a dream”, because these light verb + noun collocations have already been stored and retrieved as a whole chunk in students mind. Light verbs in these collocations can be easily acquired by students.(2) In terms of structural transfer, differences between Chinese and English do not necessarily lead to negative transfer. The reason for this is that students tend to use their native language as a reference point in the learning process. As a result, errors did not appear in learner’language output as predicted. Instead, differences that are easily perceivable can make English easier for students to acquire.(3) In the choices of light verbs, with their increasing language proficiency, students tend to make fewer mistakes in choosing the appropriate light verbs. 34% of students at low proficiency level made mistakes. 26% of students at intermediate proficiency level made mistakes. 20% of students at high proficiency level made mistakes. The influence of L1 on the acquisition of different light verbs decreases linearly with the development of students’ English proficiency.(4) In the use of light verb+ noun collocations, a plateau phenomenon occurs in the structural acquisition of light verb + noun collocations when students’ language proficiency moves from the intermediate to the advanced level. L2 learners show the similar acquisitional patterns in terms of language structure and L1 transfer on students’ use of light verb+ noun collocations don’t change with the improvement of English proficiency.The present study has both theoretical implications and pedagogical implications. It has done some break-through work in presenting light verb+ noun collocations and enriching understanding of transfer in the process of foreign language study.