Unlearning Modal Existential Constructions in L2 English: Implicational Universals and Frequency

For many years, the problem of preemption has been discussed in second language acquisition research, i.e., how a learner ‘unlearns’ an initially transferred representation when the input does not provide contradictory evidence. In this study we examine how Yang’s (2002) Variational Learning model can account for cases of preemption. To do so, we address the expungement of Modal Existential Constructions (MECs) from the L2 English Interlanguage grammar of L1 Spanish and French learners. Using an acceptability judgement task, we analyze participants’ retreat from non-facilitative transfer considering two implicational universals associated with MECs and frequency effects. We find that the more marked an element is on an implicational hierarchy, the easier it is to remove. However, there is also evidence that frequency interacts with markedness to affect the rate of restructuring. These findings suggest a need to more seriously consider how domain-specific (language universals) and domain-general learning mechanisms (frequency) interact during second language acquisition and grammar restructuring.