LINGUIST List 13.1412

Mon May 20 2002

Jobs: Applied Ling/2nd Lang Acquisition: Netherlands

Editor for this issue: Heather Taylor <heatherlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Prof.Peter Jordens, Applied Ling, 2nd Lang Acquisition:PhD researcher, Vrije U,Netherlands

Rank of Job: PhD researcher
Areas Required: Applied Linguistics, 2nd Language Acquisition
Other Desired Areas: Knowledge of Dutch
University or Organization: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Department: Research Focus 'The Architecture of the Human Language
Faculty'
State or Province: North-Holland
Country: Netherlands
Final Date of Application: 1 June 2002
Contact: Prof. Peter Jordens p.jordenslet.vu.nl

Address for Applications:
Dr. B. Weltens, directeur bedrijfsvoering, Faculteit der Letteren, Vrije
Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam
North-Holland 1081 HV
Netherlands

In teaching Dutch as a second language, it is claimed that more
attention should be paid to the so-called 'lower' skills. These are
related above all to the formal and structural aspects of the target
language. However, there is no linguistic analysis of these phenomena.
It is questionable whether they can be explained in terms of an
information structure model of the type proposed by Lambrecht (1994)
or a second language acquisition model such as Klein & Perdue (1997)'s
Basic Variety. There is the added question why these aspects of the
target language do not pose any problems for children acquiring it as
their mother tongue, while such unproblematic learning is the
exception rather than the rule for adult learners of a second
language. The questions to be researched relate to the so-called 'age
factor' and the role of the mother tongue in second language
learning.

Further information (in Dutch) at http://www.vu.nl/vacatures/ .