The role of explicit meaning-based instruction in foreign language pedagogy: Applications of cognitive linguistics to teaching the German dative case to advanced learners

Theoretical and empirical research in second language (L2) acquisition predicts that learning conceptual structures of grammatical phenomena that are absent in learner first languages (L1) is exceptionally difficult for adults, particularly when lexical patterns similar to those in L1 are also available (Carroll & von Stutterheim, 2003; Slobin, 1993, 1996). The dissertation investigates this presumed learning difficulty by examining the potentially facilitative effects of concept-based instruction that incorporates metalinguistic awareness for the acquisition of the meanings of the German Dative case. Based on the analysis of the German Dative conducted in the framework of Cognitive Linguistics (Smith, 1987), pedagogical materials were developed to teach four major semantic roles coded by the Dative (Recipient, Possessor, Beneficiary/Maleficiary, and Experiencer) during one semester.; The study addressed the following questions: (1) can advanced, adult L2 learners develop an understanding of conceptual constructs containing polysemous networks of linguistic concepts that are encoded by different grammatical means in their L1 and L2; and (2) does a meaning-based explicit instructional treatment lead to greater scope and appropriateness of Dative use in non-prepositional environments than a traditional form-based explicit treatment?; Findings include: (1) after participating in concept-based instruction, learners were able to recognize and understand linguistic concepts inherent in the Dative's semantic structure and use them to appropriately produce and interpret sentences containing clausal Dative constructions; (2) learners who participated in concept-based instruction demonstrated a greater scope and greater appropriateness of case use on posttest measures than learners participating in a traditional form-based instruction; (3) in contrast to the traditional-instruction group, learners in the concept-instruction group demonstrated decreased reliance on inappropriate use of prepositional phrases and possessive pronouns (instead of clausal Datives) as well as reduced instances of incorrect use of Accusative.; Findings point to the need to reformulate Slobin's (1993) hypothesis that organization of semantic concepts that adult L2 learners inherit from their L1 s is exceptionally resistant to restructuring in the process of L2 acquisition. Such a reformulation would include the crucial role of meta-linguistically and meta-cognitively based semantic instructional approaches that take into account the long-term nature of the acquisition of meanings inherent in grammatical concepts.