Second Language Acquisition - Assignment Example

Speech patterns of a non-native speaker can also be determined and studied by using the native language of an interviewer or interlocutor (Susan 304). The interlocutor can be a native English speaker or a non-native English speaker trying to teach a non-native English speaker how to speak English.

            The first graph examines the effects of a non-native speaker and a native speaker on a learner's plural, irregular past, past -ed, progressive -ing, person singular, and progressive Aux. The graph shows that the percentages of the native speaker interlocutor were higher in all the categories above. The findings are that a native speaker interlocutor achieves greater accuracy and systematicity with the learner since the interviewer's native language shares the same bound morphemes as those of the learner. The native speaker achieves a higher percentage in the plural and person singular over the non-native speaker. The percentages mean that a learner will learn to pronounce plural and singular words better when a native interlocutor teaches them to pronounce the words.

            The second graph depicts the effects of NNS and NS interlocutors on target language utterances of free morphemes on a learner in copula, the indefinite article, and definite article categories. The NNS interlocutor achieves higher percentages in all categories as compared to the NS speaker. An NNS interlocutor will enable a learner to link sentences accurately better using joining verbs or copula.