The Challenges of Multilingual English Speakers Learning Catalan as a Third or Additional Language

Abstract

This study investigates the CLI of various linguistic backgrounds of L1 English speakers on L3/Ln Catalan learning to better understand the acquisition of Catalan by English speakers. We analyzed 52 texts of learners from three different linguistic backgrounds: English-Spanish-Catalan (n=18), English-Spanish-Romance Language-Catalan (n=22), English-Spanish-Multiple Other Languages-Catalan (n=12), in order to explore the written production in the target language (errors and tendencies). We analyzed different aspects of language production in writing: the linguistic aspects of errors, the modification types, intralinguistic causes, interlinguistic influences and communicative consequences (James 2013; Corder 1971; Ellis 2008). Results show various tendencies in terms of error types (linguistic aspects and modification types) depending on the learning path and previously learned languages. These results shed new light on the challenges of English speakers in the acquisition of minority languages such as Catalan.