Cover not available
Article published In:
International Journal of Learner Corpus Research
Vol. 4:1 (2018) ► pp.23–53

Does the passé composé influence L2 learners’ use of English past tenses?

A semantic exploration of the present perfect in French-English interlanguage

| Michigan State University

This study explores the uses of the present perfect (PP) and simple past (SP) by French learners of English and assesses how those uses differ from those in native English and those of the passé composé (PC) in native French which, semantically, overlaps with PP and SP. Methodologically, the study is based on over 3,000 contextualized occurrences of PP, SP and PC, and includes cluster and collostructional analyses. Overall, relatively native-like form-function mappings in interlanguage emerge from the analyses, suggesting that, semantically, advanced learners have integrated the uses of past tenses and that the influence of the PC is relatively weak. Further, at an upper-intermediate to advanced proficiency level, learners have integrated the fine-grained contextual information characteristic of the use of English past tenses. Ultimately, the study shows how different methodological designs can lead to varying conclusions on the (non-)nativelike usage patterns of PP in interlanguage.

Keywords: present perfect, simple past, passé composé, French-English interlanguage, cluster analysis, collostructional analysis
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Setting the stage
    • 1.2The relevance of French-English interlanguage to exploring past tense usage patterns in advanced learner English
    • 1.3Present perfect vs. simple past: (Some) constraints behind the use of L2 tense morphology
    • 1.4Methodological considerations
  • 2.Methodology
    • 2.1Corpora and data extraction
    • 2.2Semantic annotation
    • 2.3Statistical evaluation: Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and (Multiple) Distinctive Collexeme Analysis
      • 2.3.1Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
      • 2.3.2(Multiple) Distinctive Collexeme Analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1(Cross-linguistic) cluster analysis
    • 3.2Collostructional analysis
      • 3.2.1Collostructional results for lemmas
      • 3.2.2Collostructional results for lexical aspect
      • 3.2.3Collostructional results for semantic domains
  • 4.Discussion and concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 31 May 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.17007.des
References
Andersen, R. W.
1990 “Models, processes, principles, and strategies: second language acquisition in and out of the classroom”. In B. VanPatten & J. F. Lee (Eds.), Second Language Acquisition/Foreign Language Learning. Multilingual Matters: Clevedon, 45–78.Google Scholar
Andersen, R. W. & Shirai, Y.
1996 “The primacy of aspect in first and second language acquisition: The pidgin-creole connection”. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 527–570.Google Scholar
Ayoun, D. & Salaberry, R. M.
2008 “Acquisition of English tense-aspect morphology by advanced French instructed learners”, Language Learning 58(3), 555–595. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bardovi-Harlig, K.
1992 “The relationship of form and meaning: a cross-sectional study of tense and aspect in the interlanguage of learners of English as a second language”, Applied Psycholinguistics 131, 253–278. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1994 “Reverse-order reports and the acquisition of tense: Beyond the principle of chronological order”, Language Learning 441, 243–282. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1995 “A narrative perspective on the development of the tense/aspect system in second language acquisition”, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 171, 263–291. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1998 “Narrative structure and lexical aspect: Conspiring factors in second language acquisition of tense-aspect morphology”, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 201, 471–508. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1999 “From morpheme studies to temporal semantics: Tense-aspect research in SLA”, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 21(3), 341–382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2000 Tense and Aspect in Second Language Acquisition: Form, Meaning and Use. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Bergström, A.
1996 “Acquisition of tense and aspect in second language and foreign language learning: learner narratives in ESL and FFL(FN1)”, Canadian Modern Language Review 52(2), 308–330. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Reynolds, D. W.
1995 “The role of lexical aspect in the acquisition of tense and aspect”, TESOL Quartely 29(1), 107–131. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brinton, L. J.
1988 The Development of English Aspectual Systems: Aspectualizers and Post-verbal Particles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Collins, L.
2002 “The role of L1 influence and lexical aspect in the acquisition of temporal morphology”, Language Learning 52(1), 43–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2004 “The particulars on universals: A comparison of the acquisition of tense-aspect morphology among Japanese- and French-speaking learners of English”, The Canadian Modern Language Review/La revue canadienne des langues vivantes 61(2), 251–274. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comrie, B.
1985 Tense. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Davydova, Julia
2011 The Present Perfect in Non-native Englishes: A Corpus-based Study of Variation. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Deshors, S. C.
2015 “A multifactorial approach to linguistic structure in L2 spoken and written registers”, Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory 11(1), 19–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Deshors, S. C. & Gries, S. Th.
2016 “Profiling verb complementation constructions across New Englishes: A two-step random forests analysis of -ing vs. to- complements”, International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 21(2), 192–218. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Divjak, D. & Gries, S. Th.
2009 “Corpus-based cognitive semantics: a contrastive study of phasal verbs in English and Russian”. In K. Dziwirek & B. Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk (Eds.), Studies in Cognitive Corpus Linguistics. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 273–296.Google Scholar
Elsness, J.
1997 The Present and the Preterite in Contemporary and Earlier English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Fan, H.
2005 Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology by English Learners of French and Chinese. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida.Google Scholar
Fuchs, R., Götz, S., & Werner, V.
2016 “The present perfect in learner Englishes: A corpus-based case study on L1 German intermediate and advanced speech and writing”. In V. Werner, C. Suárez-Gómez & E. Seoane (Eds.), Reassessing the Present Perfect in English: Corpus Studies and Beyond. Berlin: de Gruyter, 297–337. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garside, R.
1987 “The CLAWS Word-tagging System”. In R. Garside, G. Leech, & G. Sampson (Eds.), The Computational Analysis of English: A Corpus-based Approach. London: Longman, 30–41.Google Scholar
Gilquin, G. & Paquot, M.
2008 “Too chatty: Learner academic writing and register variation”, English Text Construction 1(1), 41–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, A.
2006 Constructions at Work. The Nature of Generalization in Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Granger, S.
1998 “The computer learner corpus: A versatile new source of data for SLA research”. In S. Granger (Ed.), Learner English on Computer. London: Longman, 3–18.Google Scholar
2007 Corpus d’apprenants, annotatin d’erreurs et ALAO: une synergie prometteuse. Cahiers de lexicologie 91(2), 117–132.Google Scholar
Granger, S., Dagneaux, E. & Meunier, F.
2002 The International Corpus of Learner English and CD-ROM. Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses Universitaires de Louvain.Google Scholar
Gries, Stefan Th.
2010 Behavioral Profiles 1.01. A program for R 2.1.7 and higher.Google Scholar
Granger, S.
2003 “The International Corpus of Learner English: A new resource for foreign language learning and teaching and second language acquisition research”, TESOL Quarterly 57(3), 538–546. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gries, S. Th.
2014 Coll.analysis 3.5. A script for R to compute perform collostructional analyses. [URL]> (9 January 2017).
Hawkins, J. A.
2004 Efficiency and Complexity in Grammars. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hundt, M. & Smith, N.
2009 “The present perfect in British and American English: Has there been change, recently?”, ICAME Journal 331, 45–63.Google Scholar
Housen, A.
2002 “A corpus-based study of the L2 – acquisition of the English verb system”. In S. Granger, J. Hung, & S. Petch-Tyson (eds.), Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 77–116. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lénko-Szymańska, A.
2007 “Past progressive or simple past: The acquisition of progressive aspect in Polish advanced learners of English”. In E. Hidalgo, L. Quereda, & J. Santana (Eds.), Corpora in the Foreign Language Classroom. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 253–266. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levin, B.
1993 English Verb Classes and Alternations: A Preliminary Investigation. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Michaelis, L.
1998 Aspectual Grammar and Past-tense Reference. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J.
1985 A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.Google Scholar
R Development Core Team
2016 R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available at: [URL].
Radden, G. & Dirven, R.
2007 Cognitive English Grammar. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rautionaho, P.
2014 Variation in the Progressive: A Corpus-based Study into World Englishes. Tampere: Tampere University Press.Google Scholar
Salaberry, R. & Ayoun, D.
2005 “The development of L2 tense-aspect in the Romance languages”. In D. Ayoun & R. Salaberry (Eds.), Tense and Aspect in Romance languages. San Diego: Academic Press, 1–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shirai, Y.
2009 “Temporality in first and second language acquisition”. In W. Klein & P. Li (Eds.), The Expression of Time. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 167–193.Google Scholar
Stefanowitsch, A.
2006 “Distinctive collexeme analysis and diachrony: A comment”, Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory 2(2), 257–262. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stefanowitsch, A. & S. Th. Gries
2003 “Collostructions: Investigating the interaction of words and constructions”, International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 8(2), 209–243. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vendler, Z.
1957 “Verbs and times”, The Philosophical Review 66(2), 143–160. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Werner, V.
2014 The Present Perfect in World Englishes: Charting Unity and Diversity. Bamberg: University of Bamberg Press.Google Scholar
Wulff, S., Ellis, N. C., Römer, U., Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Leblanc, C. J.
2009 “The acquisition of tense-aspect: converging evidence from corpora and telicity ratings”, The Modern Language Journal 93(3), 354–369. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yao, X. & Collins, P.
2012 “The present perfect in World Englishes”, World Englishes 311, 386–403. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 9 other publications

Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen & Llorenç Comajoan-Colomé
2020. THE ASPECT HYPOTHESIS AND THE ACQUISITION OF L2 PAST MORPHOLOGY IN THE LAST 20 YEARS. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 42:5 ► pp. 1137 ff. DOI logo
Crowther, Dustin, Susie Kim, Jongbong Lee, Jungmin Lim & Shawn Loewen
2021. Methodological Synthesis of Cluster Analysis in Second Language Research. Language Learning 71:1 ► pp. 99 ff. DOI logo
Deshors, Sandra C
2021. Contextualizing Past Tenses in L2: Combined Effects and Interactions in the Present Perfect versus Simple Past Alternation. Applied Linguistics 42:2 ► pp. 269 ff. DOI logo
Fuchs, Robert & Valentin Werner
2018. Tense and aspect in Second Language Acquisition and learner corpus research. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 4:2 ► pp. 143 ff. DOI logo
Fuchs, Robert & Valentin Werner
2020. Tense and aspect in Second Language Acquisition and learner corpus research. In Tense and Aspect in Second Language Acquisition and Learner Corpus Research [Benjamins Current Topics, 108], ► pp. 2 ff. DOI logo
Gries, Stefan Th., Santa Barbara, Justus Liebig & Sandra C. Deshors
2020. There’s more to alternations than the main diagonal of a 2×2 confusion matrix: Improvements of MuPDAR and other classificatory alternation studies. ICAME Journal 44:1 ► pp. 69 ff. DOI logo
Luk, Zoe Pei-sui
2022. The Effect of Lexical Aspect on the Use of English Past Marking by Cantonese ESL Learners and Its Pedagogical Implications. In Challenges Encountered by Chinese ESL Learners, ► pp. 87 ff. DOI logo
Skałba, Anna, F. Neveu, S. Prévost, A. Steuckardt, G. Bergounioux & B. Hamma
2022. Que peut révéler la traduction de la représentation mentale des structures syntaxiques ? Le cas dupassé composéet dupresent perfect. SHS Web of Conferences 138 ► pp. 09009 ff. DOI logo
Werner, Valentin, Robert Fuchs & Sandra Götz
2020. L1 Influence vs. Universal Mechanisms: An SLA-Driven Corpus Study on Temporal Expression. In Learner Corpus Research Meets Second Language Acquisition, ► pp. 39 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 31 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.