The Roles of L1 Influence and Lexical Aspect in the Acquisition of Temporal Morphology

Two cross-sectional studies (N= 70; N= 91) used a replication design to investigate the degree to which adult Francophone ESL learners’ use of tense/aspect markers in past contexts supported the predictions of the aspect hypothesis (Andersen & Shirai, 1994; Bardovi-Harlig, 1994) and the degree to which it showed L1 influence. Consistent with the aspect hypothesis, the learners were significantly more successful in using simple past with telics, struggled most with statives, and, in their nontarget responses, preferred progressive for activities and present for statives. The Role of the L1 was restricted to the learners’ association of nontarget perfect (a French-influenced form) with telics. The interpretation of the findings takes into account methodological issues and developmental constraints.