Sensitivity to ungrammatical object drop in English by Korean young and adult L2 learners

This study looks at age effects in second language acquisition by exploring whether child L2 learners have an advantage over adult L2 learners in learning target language knowledge. The study focuses on ungrammatical object drop in English (e.g., *Kim is beating), which is a type of error that Korean learners of English often make. Korean adult (n = 49) and child (n = 30) L2 learners' knowledge of the ungrammaticality of incorrect English null object sentences was assessed via an acceptability judgment task manipulating (i) verb type (obligatorily transitive verbs vs. intransitively-biased, optionally transitive verbs) and (ii) sentence type (transitive vs. intransitive). A high proficiency adult L2 group-but no child L2 group-showed a native-like pattern, rejecting the ungrammatical intransitive sentences with obligatorily transitive verbs. These results raise doubts about the claim that children have an advantage over adults in language acquisition, which is the basis of the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis. (Gyeongin National University of Education)