Language Transfer
Language transfer (also called cross-linguistic influence) is the effect of a learner's first language (or other previously acquired languages) on their production, comprehension, and development in the target language. It is one of the most consistently documented phenomena in SLA.
Types of Transfer
Positive transfer occurs when an L1 feature matches the L2, facilitating acquisition. A Spanish speaker learning Italian benefits from shared vocabulary and similar syntax. Learners often underestimate positive transfer because it is invisible — things that go right do not draw attention.
Negative transfer (interference) occurs when an L1 feature differs from the L2, causing errors. A Vietnamese speaker may drop English articles because Vietnamese has no article system. A Japanese speaker may produce "I think it is difficult" for situations requiring hedging because Japanese discourse norms transfer into English.
Beyond Simple Habits
Early SLA research (the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Lado 1957) treated transfer as L1 habit interference — predict L1/L2 differences and you predict errors. This was too simplistic. Modern research recognizes transfer as a complex, multi-level phenomenon:
| Level | Example |
|---|---|
| Phonological | Thai speakers struggle with English consonant clusters because Thai syllables do not end in clusters |
| Lexical | False cognates: actuellement (French) does not mean "actually" |
| Syntactic | Korean/Japanese speakers place verbs at the end of English sentences initially |
| Conceptual | Russian speakers (who have no articles) process definiteness differently, not just produce it differently |
| Pragmatic | Japanese learners may avoid direct refusals in English, transferring L1 politeness norms |
| Discourse | Chinese academic writing may use an inductive rhetorical pattern unfamiliar to English readers |
Key Findings
- Transfer is selective, not wholesale. Learners do not transfer every L1 feature — they transfer features they perceive as similar (Kellerman's "psychotypology").
- Transfer interacts with proficiency level. Beginners transfer more from L1; advanced learners may transfer from other L2s.
- Transfer can be facilitative at one level and interfering at another. Spanish-English lexical overlap helps vocabulary but can cause false-cognate errors.
- Markedness matters. Learners are more likely to transfer unmarked (simple, common) L1 features than marked (complex, rare) ones.
Why It Matters for Teaching
- Know your learners' L1. Anticipating transfer errors is not about Contrastive Analysis revivalism — it is about being prepared for predictable difficulties. Vietnamese learners of English will struggle with articles, final consonants, and verb tenses in systematic, predictable ways.
- Make transfer conscious. Helping learners notice where L1 patterns are helping or hindering them accelerates development. This connects to the Noticing Hypothesis.
- Build on positive transfer. Cognates, shared structures, and transferable skills (reading strategies, discourse knowledge) should be explicitly leveraged.
- Address conceptual transfer, not just surface errors. A learner who drops articles is not just forgetting a word — they may not have the concept of definiteness as a grammatical category. Teaching needs to address the underlying concept, not just drill the form.