Cross-Linguistic Influence in Third Language Acquisition

Research in third language acquisition (TLA) has primarily focused on identifying the sources of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) between learners’ first language (L1) and second language (L2), and how these influences impact the learning process of a third language (L3). One important aspect of this learning process is the understanding of how complex grammatical structures, particularly morphosyntactic elements, are transferred from languages that have been previously acquired. This research explored the acquisition of two morphosyntactic properties: object pronoun placement and verb with that-clause structure, as well as the effects of cross- linguistic influence on morphosyntax, in the context of three languages: Arabic first language (L1), French second language (L2), and English as third language (L3). This study employed a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative data to examine how learners’ linguistic backgrounds influence the learning of L3. A total of 54 participants were involved, divided into two main groups: university students and university teachers. The student cohort (N=46) consisted of learners with L1 Arabic, L2 French, and L3 English. These students were further classified into a lower-intermediate group (N=21) and an advanced group (N=20) based on their French proficiency. A control group of 5 native English speakers was also included. The teacher group (N=8) participated in interviews to provide expert insights on cross-linguistic influence. The study employed a range of research instruments to investigate how Algerian learners' knowledge of Arabic (L1) and French (L2) influences their use of specific English (L3) morphosyntactic structures, namely object pronoun placement and verb with that-clause. Data were collected through a grammaticality judgment test (GJT), a writing task, a language perception questionnaire, and semi structured interviews with both students and teachers. The findings support the idea that structural similarities play an important role in cross-linguistic influence (CLI), as suggested by Flynn et al. (2004), Slabakova (2016), and Westergaard et al. (2017). Results indicate that both Arabic (L1) and French (L2) serve as sources of transfer in the acquisition of English (L3), regardless of the learners’ level of proficiency in French. Moreover, the patterns of transfer confirm Ben Abbes’ (2016) claim that influence occurs on a property-by-property basis, depending on structural similarities and differences between the languages, even when they are not closely related. The findings contribute to the understanding of third language learning by showing how learners draw on their first and second languages when learning a third one. They demonstrate that structural similarities and differences shape the transfer of grammatical features, particularly in the initial phases of learning a new language.