Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 June 2016
Perhaps the most pervasive issue in the study of adult second language (L2) acquisition concerns the relative contribution of prior first language (L1) experience — the contrastive component — and universal grammatical principles — the constructive component — to this language learning process. Concern with this issue stems in part from basic linguistic and psychological questions about the nature of language learning in the adult and in part from the desire to integrate these two components within a framework that can provide for a unified theory of language learning in general. Current research within the field endeavors to isolate and quantify each of these two components in the adult L2 learning process.
Within this context, this paper reports results of an experimental study of the acquisition of anaphora in structures such as in (1) and (2).
(1) Alice helped Mary when she walked through the garden.
(2) Alice helped Mary when walking through the garden.