Examining Models of Second Language Knowledge

This study, utilizing structural equation modeling, examines the plausibility of several competing models of second language (L2) knowledge in order to narrow the number of plausible models and to better understand the nature of relationships among the theoretical constructs posited in the models and their hypothesized components. The focus of the investigation, however, was placed on the nature of grammatical knowledge with respect to relative clauses. The data were collected from 685 students learning English in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. The participants were given a relative clause test, which is based on a linguistic theory known as the noun phrase accessibility hierarchy. With respect to the nature of L2 grammatical knowledge, the results suggested that: (1) grammatical knowledge involves knowledge of both grammatical form and meaning; (2) grammatical form and meaning may be highly related, but this does not necessarily mean that they are identical; and (3) the relationship that holds between grammatical knowledge and the sociolinguistic dimension of pragmatic knowledge (i.e., register) appears to be non-hierarchical and non-directional (i.e., mutual).