Learning Multiple Foreign Languages in Research: the Example of German (L3) after English (L2)
Vera Janikova
DOI: 10.18355/XL.2015.08.02.54-71
Abstract
In recent decades, the processes of explicit learning of foreign languages have been subject to intense research, which reflects the desire of deeper understanding them. The results of this research then not only lead to the formation of theory, i. e. in our case, the theory of learning a foreign language, but also provide the teaching with empirical findings which – given their implementation into didactic concepts – result in making it more efficient. At the beginning of the new millennium, the demand of the modern society on multilingualism increases rapidly, which has been the impetus for the rapid development of research in the area of learning multiple foreign languages, which is anchored in research on multilingualism and reflects the existing theories of learning a second foreign language, or models of learning multiple languages. This article briefly introduced the development in this field of research, and focuses on the research on processes of learning a second foreign language, which individuals are learning in a certain period of time together with their mother tongue and first foreign language. Examples of selected studies are focused on the following constellation of languages, English as a first foreign language (L2) and German as a second foreign language (L3). These two foreign languages are currently taught at primary and secondary schools in the Czech context to the largest number of learners.
Key words
learning multiple foreign languages, individual multilingualism, German (L3) after English (L2), research