A Study Of The Tendency Of Fossilization Of Chinese English Learners’ Consonant Acquisition

Fossilization is one of the most prominent characteristics of interlanguage. It will be difficult to eradicate once it occurs, so much attention has been paid to the causes of fossilization. Researchers have studied the causes of fossilization from various perspectives. Findings show that causes of fossilization are complex, including both inter-learner causes and intra-learner factors. On the basis of analyzing previous studies, Han Zhaohong proposed her Selective Fossilization Hypothesis(SFH) in2009, according to which L1 markedness and L2 input robustness are the two main variables that lead to interlanguage fossilization. Each variable contains two sub-variables. One is frequency and the other is variability. This hypothesis can predict the degree of fossilization and show us a dynamic explanation. However, the validity of it has not been fully confirmed.In order to test the validity of this hypothesis, the present study investigates Chinese EFL learners’ consonant acquisition by focusing on fossilizable tendency of onset consonant clusters and coda consonant. It aims to explore:(1) Chinese EFL learners’ fossilizable tendency of onset consonant clusters;(2) Chinese EFL learners’ fossilizable tendency of coda consonant;(3) Causes leading to Chinese EFL learners’ fossilizable tendency in consonant acquisition.The participants of the study are 30 freshmen from non-English majors. It takes a reading word list task, a reading passage task and an interview task as the research instruments to elicit data. Words are chosen from high school textbook, totally containing 200 words. Among them, one hundred words are used to elicit 33 onset consonant clusters. The other 100 words are used to elicit 17 coda consonants. Thereading passage, which is on the topic of youth, contains 242 words. The interview contains five questions about learning and life. The research findings are:(1) Chinese EFL learners’ onset consonant clusters are not fossilized;(2) Chinese EFL learners’ coda consonant is likely to be fossilized;(3) Causes of fossilizable tendency of Chinese EFL Learners’ consonant acquisition are L1 markedness and L2 input robustness. Meanwhile, the research finds some regularities of Chinese EFL learners’ consonant fossilization.These research findings confirm the validity of Selective Fossilization Hypothesis. This can facilitate L2 teaching and learning. Teachers can make predictions of their teaching items according to SFH beforehand. This can help the teachers grasp the teaching items that are likely to be fossilized. It will help the teachers know what they should pay attention to in second language teaching and take measures to prevent fossilization. In addition, the research findings of some regularities of consonant fossilization will shed light on consonant teaching.