Valuing variability: dynamic usage-based principles in the L2 development of four Finnish language learners

The general aim of this study is to trace the second language (L2) development of four beginner learners of Finnish over one academic year from a dynamic usage-based perspective. Contrary to many previous studies, this study starts out from meanings that the learners convey, not forms. The aim is to investigate what kind of expressions the learners use to express 1) evaluation (something is good or bad) and 2) existentiality (there is something in somewhere) and how these expressions develop over time. The data consist of written and spoken texts collected weekly from four university students over a nine-month period. The findings reveal that learning to express evaluation using verbs affects learning to express evaluation using adjectives and the other way around. This kind of interaction in learner language is called competition. It was also found that learner language exhibits a lot of variability and trying out both in terms of how, and how often they express evaluation/existentiality. This finding confirms the commonly held assumption in complex dynamic systems theory that learners need to explore how the new language works before they can find the most effective strategies to different communicative situations. Finally, the findings also show that some learners rely on rote-learned expressions at the beginning of their learning process, while others are more creative already from the start. This study shows that learning a new language is a highly individual process, but following some very general principles in L2 development (competition, variability at times of progress). More case studies are needed to describe the process of L2 development.

Dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/11370/b021929c-eb1e-4b5b-8d1d-52bc6a5e6b99