Motion event construal in L2 French and Italian: from acquisitional perspectives to pedagogical implications

Abstract

Abstract This study explores motion event construal in a story-telling task produced by learners of L2 French and Italian (intermediate vs advanced), whose L1 is typologically close to (Italian or French) or distant (English) from the TL. English, characteristically classified as S-language, contrasts with Italian and French, both typically considered as V-languages. Nevertheless, Italian is more satellite-framed than French. We examine (a) the extent to which learners get closer to the target preferences in coding motion, (b) the role of cross-linguistic influence, (c) the implications of our typological and acquisitional results in the language class. The findings show that L2 intermediate productions are similar across L1s’ (no specific L1 effect in L2), whereas cross-linguistic influence is evident at the advanced level when SL-TL have analogous formal structures (verb-particle constructions). L1 Romance learners look for similarities in the L2 rather than for L2-specific alternatives, despite the partial proximity between French and Italian.