Cross-linguistic influence and language switches in L4 oral production

Abstract

This study examines cross-linguistic influence and language switches in the oral production of English by Catalan-Spanish bilingual learners who have learned French as the first foreign language at school. The research questions consider the sources of borrowing, the choice of language for borrowings and code switched utterances, the type of transfer material (content and function words), as well as the effect of learners’ TL proficiency level on cross-linguistic influence. The results highlight the effect of proficiency level and contextual factors. It is also suggested in the discussion that the different patterns of language choice in borrowing and code switching may be explained in terms of the different stages in the speaking process.