Usage-based account of constructional development: from item-based learning to abstract constructions via language experience¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Usage-based approaches explain language development as a gradual process of generalizing constructions through language experience. The article applies this framework to L2 learning, predicting that beginners rely on individual verbs and frequent patterns while advanced learners form abstract constructional representations. It states that "usage-based constructional approaches characterize the acquisition of the constructions as a gradual process of formulating abstract representations through language experience", with light verbs serving as cues in early stages.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Repeated meaningful exposure to target constructions in the input

Constraints¶

• In this study, grade level served only as a proxy for language experience, and the EFL input environment is described as impoverished relative to L1 contexts

Target Learners¶

• Korean EFL learners from elementary school to college

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Development of constructional knowledge of English argument structure constructions

Claims¶

• Construction Based Sorting Increases With Grade Level [+M]
• Light Verbs Modulate Intermediate Sorting [+M]
• Translation Accuracy Varies By Construction [+M]
• Learners’ proficiency correlates with constructional sorting and translation performance, countering a purely age-based explanation [+W]
• The transitive construction is acquired earliest while the resultative construction poses difficulty even for advanced learners [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Usage-Based Second Language Acquisition — the canonical page for this theory

Examples¶

• Allocate more teaching time to difficult constructions and select light verbs for beginner and intermediate learners

Key Sources¶

• Kim, Hyunwoo, Rah, Yangon, & Hwang, Haerim. (2020). Testing usage-based approaches to assessing EFL learners’ development of English argument structure constructions. English Teaching, 75(s1), 55-78. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.75.s1.202006.55