34.3765, Review: Teaching and Learning Third Languages: D'Angelo (2023)

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Subject: 34.3765, Review: Teaching and Learning Third Languages: D'Angelo (2023)

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Date: 14-Dec-2023
From: Jeanne McGill [jeagilbe at indiana.edu]
Subject: Applied Linguistics: D'Angelo 2023


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.998

AUTHOR: Francesca D'Angelo
TITLE: Teaching and Learning Third Languages
SERIES TITLE: Second Language Acquisition
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Jeanne McGill

SUMMARY

Teaching and Learning Third Languages, by Francesca D'Angelo, is meant
for anyone involved in teaching or learning third languages (L3). The
book explores aspects of L3 from an interdisciplinary perspective,
discussing the differences between L2 and L3 learning, various factors
affecting L3, the research on why bilinguals might be better at
language learning, and ends by discussing how translanguaging could be
helpful in multilingual educational contexts. It uses the acronym TLA
to mean “third language acquisition” instead of the more common L3.

Chapter 1, “Second vs Third Language Acquisition,” reviews the
evidence that acquiring a third language is fundamentally different
from acquiring a second one and goes over various models offered in
the literature. It points out that while learning two languages can
only happen two ways, simultaneously or sequentially, L3/TLA can
happen in four: all sequentially, two then one more, one then two
more, or all simultaneously if a child is raised trilingually.
Historically, within the field of SLA, anyone learning a non-native
language was considered an L2 learner, despite these differences.

The models discussed include several older models ( Levelt's 1989
speaking model, De Bot’s 1992 bilingual production model, and Green’s
model from 1986/1998), and then more formal approaches like the
Cumulative Enhancement Model (Flynn et al., 2004), the L2 Status
Factor Model (Bardel and Falk, 2007), and the Typological Primacy
Model (Rothman, 2011), which D'Angelo mistakenly calls the
“Typological Proximity Model,” perhaps influenced by another recent
model not discussed in the book, the Linguistic Proximity Model
(Westergaard et al., 2017). It continues with Grosjean’s Language Mode
Hypothesis (1998), the Factor Model by Hufeisen (1998), which is also
discussed in Jessner (2008a) and is argued to be particularly relevant
for TLA because it centers on the differences between L2 and L3, the
Multilingual Processing Model by Meißner (2004), the Dynamic Model of
Multilingualism (Herdina and Jessner, 2002), a no boundaries approach
by De Bot and Jaensch (2015), and finally ending with the Interface
Hypothesis (Sorace, 2006, 2011).

Chapter 2 is entitled “The Role of Prior Formal Language Learning and
Mediating Factors in Third or Additional Language Acquisition.” It
starts by discussing the huge change in attitude that has occurred
towards bilingualism over the last few decades, from the negative view
that learning two languages would cause confusion and delays, likely
caused by prejudice and flawed research on immigrants in the US
(Edwards, 2004), to the positive one that bilinguals have advantages
in language learning and other areas. It goes on to explore the
individual differences that may help explain those advantages.
D’Angelo states,”Nowadays, there is overwhelming evidence for the
notion that bilingualism fosters cognitive development and also
facilitates the acquisition of additional languages,” (p. 35);
however, there are documented disadvantages in domains like lexical
access. She then discusses work from a cognitive standpoint, such as
Bialystok (2009), that has found that the various advantages and
disadvantages likely stem from the continual need to choose between
languages, suppressing one and calling up the other.

The chapter goes on to explore specific individual differences and
their effects on L3/TLA. These are organized using the psychological
concepts of cognition (how information is processed and learned),
conation (free will in making choices), and affect (how one feels
about information), through a discussion of working memory, language
aptitude and ways of measuring it, and motivation. Of these,
motivation is perhaps the largest influence on language learning
success, as motivation encompasses attitudes, orientations towards the
TL community, interest, reasons for learning, and emotional
investment.

Overall, bilinguals appear to have advantages in acquiring additional
languages, but it is not completely understood why or even if this
holds. Proficiency in the L2, literacy, and type of bilingualism all
play a role, as well as whether the previous learning is implicit or
explicit. D’Angelo concludes that “all these considerations taken
together suggest that what supports bilinguals in additional language
learning is the knowledge of previous languages both in terms of the
learning process, strategies and the transfer of lexical and
morphosyntactic patterns between L1/L2 and L3/Ln…particularly evident
when the languages…belong to the same typological category” (p. 55).

Chapter 3, “Metalinguistic Awareness and Third or Additional Language
Acquisition,” discusses the concept of metalinguistic awareness (MLA).
After reviewing various ways it has been understood, D’Angelo offers
her definition as “both a cognitive and a linguistic factor that
allows individuals to objectify language and better understand the
working mechanisms beyond it. Thus, the development of MLA can be
considered both a cause and an effect of language learning” (p. 58).
It may be subject to the context of L2 acquisition and level of
proficiency, but knowledge of how language works is an “advance
organiser [sic] and focuses learners’ attention on the relevant
features” (p. 59).

An important question, briefly discussed here, is the difference in
MLA when the L2 has been learned in formal vs. informal contexts.
Sequential bilinguals who have learned the L2 in a classroom and have
reached some level of proficiency probably do have increased MLA
compared to simultaneous bilinguals, as one does tend to have more
explicit knowledge when learning in a classroom context. More research
needs to take into account the context of learning and the type of
bilingual. D’Angelo concludes the chapter with the essential point
that research on bilingualism/multilingualism cannot possibly provide
consistent results - “in other words, there is not one single
phenomenon called bilingualism which ought to influence the mental
lives of all bilinguals in the same way” (p. 78).

Chapter 4, “Multilingual Education and Translanguaging: A ‘Practical
Theory of Language’,”
delves into how the languages interact within the individual - are
they discrete entities such that they can be transferred or are they
integrated? It then presents translanguaging as a linguistic theory
that can inform how languages are taught, learned, and supported,
which could be especially helpful for minority/heritage languages and
in multilingual areas. D’Angelo argues that in TLA, the focus turns to
learners and not idealized monolinguals. In other words, we are now
more concerned with what is happening inside the learners than we are
within SLA, where the approach has traditionally been to take a
monolingual and try to have them learn a new language to a native
speaker's monolingual level.

D’Angelo describes how translanguaging can be seen as an overall
theory of language where languages are not just something one speaks
but are embedded in an entire culture and connected to all the other
languages one speaks. She prefers the term linguistic repertoire over
communicative competence, as it can take into account more than one
language at a time and focuses more on what has been achieved than
what is lacking. Translanguaging recognizes that a multilingual or
budding multilingual is not and never will be several ideal
monolinguals in one body.

At this point the chapter shifts into discussing areas in which
multiple languages are spoken, such as Wales and the Basque Country,
suggesting that a translanguaging approach in education is advisable
in such places, because, based on Berthele (2021), “monolingualism in
education is an ideology that is related to nationalism and racism”
(p. 84). Translanguaging makes code-switching obsolete, because there
aren’t separate “codes” to switch. This chapter also discusses
identity and the constructions and definitions of heritage learner and
minority language.

Chapter 5, entitled “From Bilingual to Multilingual Education:
Teaching, Assessing, and Testing Trends,” focuses on emergent
bilinguals, bilinguals, and multilinguals learning content in an
educational context that is in the majority language, not language
classes per se. It examines what actually happens in schools, pointing
out that tests must take into account students’ linguistic repertoires
and not compare multilingual students with monolinguals by, for
example, having minority language students take the same tests as
majority language students if they are not fluent in the majority
language. The chapter suggests activities that can “soften the
boundaries” between home and school languages and make “all the
languages visible” (p. 115), by, for example, encouraging minority
language students to do research in their home languages on the topic
being studied. Teachers should respect and show interest in the
languages their students speak, and make space for the languages
within the dominant framework. The chapter ends with a call for
researchers and teachers to work together to merge theory and
practice.

EVALUATION

The first part of the book (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) focuses on
establishing that L2 and L3 are different processes, while the second
part (Chapters 4 and 5) focuses more narrowly on multilingual
educational situations where minority languages are stigmatized,
presenting translanguaging as a way to overcome that bias. However, at
the end of Chapter 5, the author seems to backtrack by saying,
“Nonetheless, although translanguaging has been considered an
effective practical theory of languages to fully exploit the
multilingual and multicultural repertoire and give voice to minority
language students, it is crucial to point out that it is not the only
solution available…instead, multiple approaches…are advisable…” (p.
125). Since this is the last line of the last chapter, and since
translanguaging has seemingly been the focus of at least one-third of
the book, the reader is left wondering what these approaches might be
or if they haven’t been mentioned because they are yet to be
discovered in the “never-ending dialogue between research and
teaching” (p. 125).

There is an inherent contradiction if one accepts translanguaging as
discussed in Chapter 4, where D’Angelo writes “the translanguaging
approach questions concepts of crosslinguistic influence (CLI) and
transfer because such notions assume the existence of different
subsystems that have been overcome by this view. In other words, the
notion of code-switching is abandoned by supporters of translanguaging
since, by definition, there are no codes left in this theory” (p. 83).
But if that is the case, how can the advantages and disadvantages
which bilinguals have in language learning, as discussed in Chapter 2,
be attributed to the continual need to use one code and suppress the
other?

Another issue, not addressed in this book, is that translanguaging, or
using one’s entire linguistic repertoire, seems to contradict what has
been assumed to be best practices in language classes for some time
now: over 90% target language (TL) use, encouraging students to do
everything in TL and minimizing use of non-TLs. Furthermore, the idea
has been to encourage implicit learning, whereas it appears that the
translanguaging movement encourages the development of metalinguistic
awareness by using, comparing, and contrasting known languages. The
logic might be: bilinguals have more MLA, and they are better at
learning languages, so perhaps we should encourage MLA. Perhaps other
translanguaging sources do discuss this complication and aren’t
referenced here, but it does feel like it should be addressed.

While the first chapter undoubtedly contains a long list of models and
approaches, it is not exhaustive, nor is it entirely clear why they
have been presented in this order, which is not chronological. The
conclusion briefly comments on them, saying that the models represent
linguistic, psycholinguistic, and cognitive perspectives, “[f]irst, to
highlight the complex cognitive nature of multilingual minds which
supports the claim that TLA is…a different process from SLA…Second, to
account for the phenomena of transfer, crosslinguistic influence,
attrition and other potential factors that can influence the outcome
of TLA” (p. 32). What is meant by “account for” is not clear. If these
are the reasons for discussing these specific models, perhaps it would
have made more sense to organize this chapter differently, rather than
just listing each model with a brief discussion. I would have at least
liked to see more overall analysis and commentary on the models in a
discussion section, in order to understand possible areas of consensus
and the author’s own viewpoint better.

It is frustrating that the last two chapters seem to detour into
learning educational content in multilingual areas but don’t seem to
discuss language classes. The title of the book is Teaching and
Learning Third Languages, not something like Supporting Minority
Languages through Translanguaging or Supporting Multilingual Students.
Several times, D’Angelo refers to “emergent bilinguals” towards the
end of the book, as in “Particularly for emergent bilinguals, teachers
make use of translanguaging approaches as scaffolding…” (p. 118), but
why are we even discussing them, when this book should be about
students who are already bilingual?

In the previous quote and this one, it seems as though we are
basically talking about using the L1: “As Williams (2002) points out,
translanguaging means using one language to reinforce another to
increase learners’ understanding and activities in multiple languages”
(p. 90). And when we are talking about language classes, i.e.,
learning a new language, instead of learning content, it could be
counterproductive. D’Angelo mentions an analysis (Muguruza et al.,
2020) of an English medium course on Language Planning taught in the
Basque Country which had a flexible three-language policy allowing
Basque, Spanish, and English. As reported in the original publication,
even though scores on the Oxford placement test of English showed a
statistically significant increase between the beginning and end of
the course, students remained at B1 level and their English production
was very limited. D’Angelo attributes this increase to
“translanguaging support[ing] them in the development of general
comprehension skills” (p. 120). But the instructor spoke English while
teaching, and the readings were in English, which seems like a
significant amount of practice that could have led to the increase on
its own. However, without a comparison class that required English
output as well, we don’t know enough to say. Again, this was not a
language class.

I would have liked to see more analysis from the author. While I
recognize that she chose the topics, models, and references, thereby
shaping the chapters, her own voice does not come through clearly in
that it reads more like summarizing and less like analyzing. The book
also needed its citations to be checked more clearly, as I found
multiple errors such as years differing between in-text citations and
the reference list, and of course, the aforementioned wrong name for
the TPM. With that said, however, it is a valuable volume with a
helpful reference list that would be interesting to many that are
involved with multilingual language learning and teaching. Most
valuable, in my opinion, is the attention paid to delineating the
difference between L2 and L3 in the beginning of the book, which I
could see using in graduate or even undergraduate courses on language
acquisition. In conclusion, I would like to repeat D’Angelo’s
important point that “there is not one single phenomenon called
bilingualism which ought to influence the mental lives of all
bilinguals in the same way” (p. 78), which future work in the field of
L3 should take into account carefully.

REFERENCES
Bardel, C., & Falk, Y. (2007). The role of the second language in
third language acquisition: The case of Germanic syntax. Second
Language Research, 23 (4), 459-484.
Berthele, R. (2021). The extraordinary ordinary: Re‐engineering
multilingualism as a natural category. Language Learning, 71(S1),
80-120.
Bialystok, E. (2009). Bilingualism: The good, the bad, and the
indifferent. Bilingualism: Language and cognition, 12(1), 3-11.
De Bot, K. (1992). A Bilingual Production Model: Levelt's 'Speaking'
Model Adapted. Applied linguistics, 13(1), 1-24.
De Bot, K., & Jaensch, C. (2015). What is special about L3
processing?. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18(2), 130-144.
Flynn, S., Foley, C., & Vinnitskaya, I. (2004). The
cumulative-enhancement model for language acquisition: Comparing
adults’ and children’s patterns of development in first, second and
third language acquisition of relative clauses. International Journal
of Multilingualism, 1 (1), 3-16.
Green, D. W. (1986). Control, activation, and resource: A framework
and a model for the control of speech in bilinguals. Brain and
language, 27(2), 210-223.
Green, D. W. (1998). Mental control of the bilingual lexico-semantic
system. Bilingualism: Language and cognition, 1(2), 67-81.
Grosjean, F. (1998). The on-line processing of speech: Lexical access
in bilinguals. The Linguistic Brain, Toronto, Canadian Scholar Press
Inc, 3-12.
Herdina, P., & Jessner, U. (2002). ADynamic Model of Multilingualism:
Perspectives of Change in Psycholinguistics. Multilingual Matters.
Hufeisen, B. (1998). L3 - Stand der Forschung - Was bleibt zu tun? In
B. Hufeisen and B. Lindemann (eds) Tertiärsprachen: Theorien, Modelle,
Methoden (pp. 169-183). Tübingen: Stauffenberg Verlag.
Jessner, U. (2008a). Teaching third languages: Findings, trends and
challenges. Language teaching, 41(1), 15-56.
Levelt, W. J. (1993). Speaking: From intention to articulation.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Meißner, F. J. (2004). Transfer und transferieren. Anleitungen zum
Interkomprehensionsunterricht. In H.G. Klein and D. Rutke (eds) Neuere
Forschungen zur Europäischen Interkomprehension (pp. 39-66). Aacher:
Shanken.
Muguruza, B., Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2023). Implementing
translanguaging pedagogies in an English medium instruction course.
International Journal of Multilingualism, 20(2), 540-555.
Rothman, J. (2011). L3 syntactic transfer selectivity and typological
determinacy: The typological primacy model. Second language research,
27(1), 107-127.
Sorace, A. (2006). Gradience and optionality in mature and developing
grammars. In Gradience in Grammar: Generative Perspective (pp.
106-123). Oxford University Press.
Sorace, A. (2011). Cognitive advantages in bilingualism: Is there a
‘bilingual paradox'? (pp. 335-358). In P. Valore (ed.)
Multilingualism: Language, Power, and Knowledge (pp. 335-358). Pisa:
Edistudio.
Westergaard, M., Mitrofanova, N., Mykhaylyk, R., & Rodina, Y. (2017).
Crosslinguistic   influence in the acquisition of a third language:
The Linguistic Proximity Model. International Journal of Bilingualism,
21 (6), 666-682.
Williams, C. (2002). Ennill iaith: Astudiaeth o sefyllfa drochi yn
11–16 oed [A language gained: A study of language immersion at 11–16
years of age]. Bangor, UK: School of Education.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Jeanne McGill is a Doctoral Candidate at Indiana University
Bloomington who is currently writing her dissertation in the area of
third language acquisition, entitled Do Words Matter? How Lexical
Input Influences German/English Bilinguals’ Syntax in Beginning
Swedish, which more deeply investigates leading models of L3.
Multilingual herself, she previously reviewed for the Linguist List
the edited volume Multilingualism and third language acquisition:
Learning and teaching trends, Jorge Pinto and Nélia Alexandre,
editors, available at: https://linguistlist.org/issues/33/33-1916/.
Her other research interests include language policy and
revitalization, textbook design, L2 phonology, and German and Nordic
literature.



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