Role of L1 in L2 Acquisition According to Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis and Error Analysis

Abstract

In the changed context of a globalized world where English language continues to grow as a second or third language in many parts of the world, acquiring two primary languages simultaneously gains an increasing popularity. In this case, reviewing the influence of L1 on second language acquisition, i.e. language transfer, is of great importance. Though the theory of language transfer has experienced a long time of ups and downs since 1940s, up to now, it is still a central issue in applied linguistic, second language acquisition and language learning. Much of the history of this central concept has been tied in with the varying theoretical perspectives on SLA. The acceptance and/or rejection of language transfer as a viable concept has been related to the acceptance or rejection of the specific theory with which it has been associated. The article aims to compare and contrast views of the role of L1 in L2 acquisition according to Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis and Error Analysis approaches to reinvestigate how the views of L1's contributions to SLA changed in the early approaches.