Constrained L2 communication and the role of L1: A process-based approach
(2026) Translation in Transition Conference 8 (TT8) — Location: RWTH Aachen University, Germany (9.September.2026)
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- Abstract
- The production of learner language (L2), just like translation, involves the activation of another language, typically the learner’s native language (L1). This phenomenon is referred to as bilingual language activation in the framework of constrained communication (Kruger & van Rooy, 2016; Kotze, 2022). The difference between L2 production and translation is that, in the former case, bilingual language activation is not triggered by a source text, but simply by the learner’s knowledge of the other language. Because L2 learning builds on existing L1 linguistic and cognitive structures (see, e.g., Ortega, 2009), learners are likely to be influenced by their L1 in various ways when producing texts in the L2. In the field of second language acquisition and learner corpus research, the impact of bilingual language activation has mostly been studied through the concept of transfer or cross-linguistic influence (Odlin, 1989) by examining texts produced by learners in the L2 and trying to identify linguistic features that resemble those of the L1 and that may therefore be the result of transfer (e.g. Osborne, 2008). Sometimes, converging evidence is gathered to strengthen the hypothesis that transfer has actually taken place (cf. Jarvis, 2000). In this talk, the role of the L1 is considered in a broader sense thanks to the analysis of writing process data, which show how writers go about composing a text. The data come from the Process Corpus of English in Education (PROCEED; Gilquin, 2022), a corpus of argumentative essays written by university students in L2 English and in their L1 (mostly French). In addition to the final texts, PROCEED includes keystroke log files and screencast videos, which reproduce the writing process as it unfolds. Different aspects of learners’ writing process will be analysed based on PROCEED to illustrate some of the ways in which L1 can play a role in L2 production. First, the annotation of the screencast videos in L2 English makes it possible to investigate the use of online writing tools during the composition process, some of which involve the L1 such as bilingual dictionaries (see Gilquin & Laporte, 2021). The extent to which learners rely on bilingual tools will be considered, together with the purposes for which they use them and the effect (positive or negative) that these tools have on their writing. Next, linguistic items in the learners’ L1 can be extracted from the keystroke log files corresponding to the L2 texts. On this basis, one can observe cases where learners use their L1 in L2 writing, even if these items are not kept in the final text. The stimulated recall interviews available for some of the PROCEED texts can be used as a complement to the keystroke log files to explore learners’ explanations for the use of L1 or references to the L1 that are not immediately visible in the keystroke log files. Different reasons for learners’ use of the L1 will be illustrated, including the use of L1 as a writing strategy (e.g. in the form of placeholders) and as an error (to be corrected or not). The trajectory of some L1 words during the writing process will be exemplified. Finally, the keystroke log files can also help investigate the “more subtle effects” of bilingual language activation, namely those that are “associated with the more limited cognitive processing capacity of users in contexts of cognitive demand, such as where more than one language is cognitively activated” (Kotze & van Rooy, 2024, p. 6). With this aim in mind, writing fluency in the L2 texts will be compared to that in the L1 texts, written by the same students but with no (obvious) bilingual language activation. Fluency measures such as pausing time and length of bursts (i.e. segments of text produced without pausing) will be compared across the two contexts. Through these analyses, it will be shown that the impact of bilingual language activation, and in particular the role of L1, is more widespread, more diverse and perhaps also more complex than suggested by the study of transfer in finished texts, though some caveats will be introduced. The talk will end with some implications for research on second language acquisition as well as constrained communication in general.
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Gilquin, G. (2026, September). Constrained L2 communication and the role of L1: A process-based approach. Translation in Transition Conference 8 (TT8), RWTH Aachen University, Germany. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/278177