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In:Applying Corpora in Teaching and Learning Romance Languages
Edited by Henry Tyne and Stefania Spina
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 122] 2025
► pp. 89–112

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Chapter 4
Crosslinguistic influences and L3/Ln teaching

A corpus-based analysis of L3/Ln Catalan intermediate learners’ errors in writing

 | TÉLUQ University
 | TÉLUQ University
Published online: 20 November 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.122.04gag
Abstract
This study set out to investigate the potential crosslinguistic influence (CLI) of related and unrelated languages on written production errors of learners of a third (L3) or additional language (Ln). Using texts written by L1 French intermediate (B1) adult learners of Ln Catalan (French-English-Catalan [n = 9], French-Romance languages-English-Catalan [n = 23], French-Spanish-Catalan [n = 9]) in a standardized exam of Catalan, the analysis used different perspectives: The linguistic aspects of errors (orthographic, morphological, syntactic and semantic), the modification types (overinclusion, omission, misordering, misselection), the intralinguistic causes and interlinguistic influences (Corder 1971; Ellis 2008; James 1998, 2013). Results show that the nature of errors in writing varies for all three paths. Pedagogical implications for supporting L1 French learners at this proficiency level are discussed.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Multilingualism and classroom challenges
  • 3.What is crosslinguistic influence?
  • 4.CLI and learner corpus research
  • 5.Method
    • 5.1Participants and tasks
    • 5.2Corpus analysis
    • 5.3Statistical analyses
  • 6.Results
  • 7.Discussion
    • 7.1Linguistic aspects and modification types
    • 7.2Interlinguistic influences and intralinguistic causes
    • 7.3CLI and the L3/Ln learning context
  • 8.Conclusion
  • References
References (90)
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