Underlying principles of organizational competence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v3.i3.259Keywords:
second language acquisition, competence, relevance theory, basic varietyAbstract
We argue that a cognitive perspective provides an understanding of the principles underlying the communication of L2 learners. Specifically we propose that learners’ knowledge of organizational competence, the ordering of information in sentences to construct texts, is principled and underlain by language and communicative universals. We assume that knowledge of language is modular; there are two basic principles that all learners have access to. There is a universal pragmatic principle based on Relevance Theory and universal principles of ordering based on the Basic Variety. We show how these assumptions provide insight into the non-target-like structures in texts composed by low-level L2 learners
References
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Cumming, A. (1998) Theoretical perspectives on writing. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 18: 61–78.
Firth, A. and Wagner, J. (1997) On discourse, communication, and some fundamental concepts in SLA research. Modern Language Journal 81 (5): 285–300. doi:10.2307/329302
Foster-Cohen, S. (2000) Review of Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. 1995: Relevance: Communication and Cognition. 2nd Edition. Second Language Research 16: 77–92.
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Givón, T. (1984) Universals of discourse structure and second language acquisition. In R. Rutherford (ed.) Language Universals and Second Language Acquisition 109–136. Philadelphia, PA: Benjamins.
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Grabe, W. and Kaplan, R. (1997) The writing course. In K. Bardovi-Harlig and B. Hartford (eds) Beyond Methods: Components of Second Language Teacher Education 172–197. New York: MacGraw-Hill.
Graddol, D. Cheshire, J. and Swann. J. (1994) Describing Language. 2nd Edn. Bristol: Open University Press.
Haegeman, L. (1995) Root infinitives and truncated structures in Dutch. Language Acquisition 4 (3): 205–255. doi:10.1207/s15327817la0403_2
Hendricks, H. (2000) The acquisition of topic marking in L1 Chinese and L1 and L2 French. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 22: 369–397. doi:10.1017/S0272263100003041
Herschensohn, J. (2000) The Second Time Around: Minimalism and L2 Acquisition. Philadelphia, PA: Benjamins.
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Lasser, I. (1997) The interpretation of root infinitive constructions in adult and child German. In J. C. Schaeffer (ed.) The Interpretation of Root Infinitives and Bare Nouns in Child Language 26–64. [MIT Occasional Working Papers 12.] Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
McCarthy, M. and Carter, R. (2002) Ten criteria for a spoken grammar. In E. Hinkel and S. Fotos (eds) New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms 51–76. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Meisel, J. (1997) The L2 Basic Variety as an I-language. Second Language Research 13 (4): 374–385. doi:10.1191/026765897675365945
Muchisky, D. and Tangren, N. (1999) Immigrant student performance in an academic intensive English program. In L. Harklau, K. Losey and M. Segel (eds) Generation 1.5 Meets College Composition 211–234. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Mel’cuk, I. (2001) Communicative Organization in Natural Language. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Newmeyer, F. (1994) A note on Chomsky on form and function. Journal of Linguistics 30 (1): 245–251. doi:10.1017/S0022226700016248
Perdue, C. and Klein W. (1992) Why does the production of some learners not grammaticalize? Studies in Second Language Acquisition 14: 259–272. doi:10.1017/ S0272263100011116
Pennington, M. (2002) Grammar and communication: New directions in theory and practice. In E. Hinkel and S. Fotos (eds) New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms 77–98. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rutherford, W. (1987) Second Language Grammar: Learning and Teaching. New York: Longman.
Sato, C. (1986) Conversation and interlanguage development: Rethinking the connection. In R. Day (ed.) Talking to Learn 23–45. Cambridge: MA: Newbury.
Sato, C. (1988) Origins of complex syntax in interlanguage development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 10 (3): 371–393. doi:10.1017/S027226310000749X
Sato, C. (1990) The Syntax of Conversation in Interlanguage. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
Schwartz, B. (1997) On the basis of the Basic Variety. Second Language Research 13 (4): 386–402. doi:10.1191/026765897670070857
Selinker, L. (1972) Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics 10 (3): 209– 231.
Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. (1986) Relevance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Taylor, D. (1988) The meaning and use of the term ‘competence’ in linguistics and applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics 9 (2): 148–168. doi:10.1093/applin/9.2.148
Trévise, A. (1986) Is it transferable, topicalization? In E. Kellerman and M. Sharwood Smith (eds.) Crosslinguistic Influence in Second Language Acquisition 186–206. New York: Pergamon.
Zuengler, J. and Miller, E. (2006) Cognitive and sociocultural perspectives: Two parallel SLA worlds? TESOL Quarterly 40 (1): 35–58.
Bachman, L. (1990) Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing. New York: Oxford University Press.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G. Conrad, S. and Finegan, E. (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman.
Block, D. (2003) The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Bley-Vroman, R. (1983) The comparative fallacy in interlanguage studies: The case of systematicity. Language Learning 33 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1983.tb00983.x
Carson, J. (2001) Second language writing and second language acquisition. In T. Silva and P. Matsuda (eds) On Second Language Writing 191–199. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Chomsky, N. (1957) Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton.
Chomsky, N. (1965) Aspects of a Theory of Syntax. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. (2000) New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Comrie, B. (1997) On the origin of the Basic Variety. Second Language Research 13 (4): 367–373. doi:10.1191/026765897668475347
Cumming, A. (1998) Theoretical perspectives on writing. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 18: 61–78.
Firth, A. and Wagner, J. (1997) On discourse, communication, and some fundamental concepts in SLA research. Modern Language Journal 81 (5): 285–300. doi:10.2307/329302
Foster-Cohen, S. (2000) Review of Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. 1995: Relevance: Communication and Cognition. 2nd Edition. Second Language Research 16: 77–92.
Foster-Cohen, S. (2004) Relevance Theory, Action Theory and second language communication strategies. Second Language Research 20 (3): 289–302. doi:10.1191/ 0267658304sr242oa
Givón, T. (1984) Universals of discourse structure and second language acquisition. In R. Rutherford (ed.) Language Universals and Second Language Acquisition 109–136. Philadelphia, PA: Benjamins.
Grabe, W. (2001) Notes toward a theory of second language writing. In T. Silva and P. Matsuda (eds) On Second Language Writing 39–57. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Grabe, W. and Kaplan, R. (1996) Theory and Practice of Writing. New York: Longman.
Grabe, W. and Kaplan, R. (1997) The writing course. In K. Bardovi-Harlig and B. Hartford (eds) Beyond Methods: Components of Second Language Teacher Education 172–197. New York: MacGraw-Hill.
Graddol, D. Cheshire, J. and Swann. J. (1994) Describing Language. 2nd Edn. Bristol: Open University Press.
Haegeman, L. (1995) Root infinitives and truncated structures in Dutch. Language Acquisition 4 (3): 205–255. doi:10.1207/s15327817la0403_2
Hendricks, H. (2000) The acquisition of topic marking in L1 Chinese and L1 and L2 French. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 22: 369–397. doi:10.1017/S0272263100003041
Herschensohn, J. (2000) The Second Time Around: Minimalism and L2 Acquisition. Philadelphia, PA: Benjamins.
Hopper, P. (1998) Emergent grammar. In M. Tomasello (ed.) The New Psychology of Language 155–175. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Huebner, T. (1983) A Longitudinal Analysis of Acquisition of English. Ann Arbor, MI: Karoma Publishers.
Jackendoff, R. (2002) Foundations of Language. New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198270126.001.0001
Kaplan, R. and Grabe, W. (2002) A modern history of written discourse analysis. Journal of Second Language Writing 11 (3): 191–224. doi:10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00085-1
Klein, W. (1998) The contribution of second language acquisition research. Language Learning 48 (4): 527–550. doi:10.1111/0023-8333.00057
Klein, W. and Perdue, C. (1992) Utterance Structure: Developing Grammars Again. Amsterdam: Benjamins. doi:10.1191/026765897666879396
Klein, W. and Perdue, C. (1997). The Basic Variety or: Couldn’t natural languages be much simpler? Second Language Research 13 (4): 301–347.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching Language: From Grammar to Grammaring. Boston, MA: Thomson/Heinle.
Lantolf, J. and Thorne, S. (2006) Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lantolf, J. and Thorne. S. (2007). Sociocultural theory and second language learning. In B. VanPatten and J. Williams (eds) Theories in Second Language Acquisition 201–224. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lasser, I. (1997) The interpretation of root infinitive constructions in adult and child German. In J. C. Schaeffer (ed.) The Interpretation of Root Infinitives and Bare Nouns in Child Language 26–64. [MIT Occasional Working Papers 12.] Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
McCarthy, M. and Carter, R. (2002) Ten criteria for a spoken grammar. In E. Hinkel and S. Fotos (eds) New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms 51–76. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Meisel, J. (1997) The L2 Basic Variety as an I-language. Second Language Research 13 (4): 374–385. doi:10.1191/026765897675365945
Muchisky, D. and Tangren, N. (1999) Immigrant student performance in an academic intensive English program. In L. Harklau, K. Losey and M. Segel (eds) Generation 1.5 Meets College Composition 211–234. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Mel’cuk, I. (2001) Communicative Organization in Natural Language. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Newmeyer, F. (1994) A note on Chomsky on form and function. Journal of Linguistics 30 (1): 245–251. doi:10.1017/S0022226700016248
Perdue, C. and Klein W. (1992) Why does the production of some learners not grammaticalize? Studies in Second Language Acquisition 14: 259–272. doi:10.1017/ S0272263100011116
Pennington, M. (2002) Grammar and communication: New directions in theory and practice. In E. Hinkel and S. Fotos (eds) New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms 77–98. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rutherford, W. (1987) Second Language Grammar: Learning and Teaching. New York: Longman.
Sato, C. (1986) Conversation and interlanguage development: Rethinking the connection. In R. Day (ed.) Talking to Learn 23–45. Cambridge: MA: Newbury.
Sato, C. (1988) Origins of complex syntax in interlanguage development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 10 (3): 371–393. doi:10.1017/S027226310000749X
Sato, C. (1990) The Syntax of Conversation in Interlanguage. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
Schwartz, B. (1997) On the basis of the Basic Variety. Second Language Research 13 (4): 386–402. doi:10.1191/026765897670070857
Selinker, L. (1972) Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics 10 (3): 209– 231.
Sperber, D. and Wilson, D. (1986) Relevance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Taylor, D. (1988) The meaning and use of the term ‘competence’ in linguistics and applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics 9 (2): 148–168. doi:10.1093/applin/9.2.148
Trévise, A. (1986) Is it transferable, topicalization? In E. Kellerman and M. Sharwood Smith (eds.) Crosslinguistic Influence in Second Language Acquisition 186–206. New York: Pergamon.
Zuengler, J. and Miller, E. (2006) Cognitive and sociocultural perspectives: Two parallel SLA worlds? TESOL Quarterly 40 (1): 35–58.
Published
2015-09-14
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Articles
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Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Yates, R., & Kenkel, J. (2015). Underlying principles of organizational competence. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 3(3), 259-279. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v3.i3.259
