Ch.+12+by+Dennis+Preston

Dennis R. Preston
 * CHAPTER 12**
 * A VARIATIONIST PERSPECTIVE ON SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: PSYCHOLINGUISTIC CONCERNS**

Main claims of a monolingual program of research called //**variationist**// are psycholinguistically plausible and are focused on //correlation of linguistic forms and social facts (LEVEL I), the influence of linguistic forms on each other (LEVEL II), and the place of variations within the study of language changes (LEVEL III).//

There is a certain model of level I, in the first step of which selection or distribution of linguistic forms takes place. When learner intends to utter a sentence first, s/he highlights information and begins to set grammar adequately. But in this stage //sociocultural aspect// is taken into account, afterwards the utterance is produced. This process depicts linguistic competence of learners (Chomsky, 1988). The same model can be implemented in case of the selection of two different grammars (of different languages). This model is called "variable competence level".
 * Level I**

Searches of the influencing factors within the elements of grammar represent the second level of variationist approach. This model suggests considering the influence of internal factors (extragrammatical feature) other that sociocultural one.
 * Level II**

This level deals with continuing linguistic changes, referring to both sociocultural forces of Level l and internal forces of Level II. To explain this in a simpler way, there are different changes in language depending on age or generation. As it is known teenagers and old generation use more vernacular language. Whereas in adult period people elaborate more of a postvernacular changes, which are "imitative" in nature. Latter sometimes might not have implementation at all.
 * Level III**

Despite considering "internal" and "external" factors required for general psycholinguistic account of competence, variationist approach overlooks the abilities of learners such as memory, accessibility, processing, and the like.

The author tries to find a connection between the language variation from psycholinguistic point of view he has already suggested, and the one accepted by SLA practitioners. He suggests the elaborated psycholinguistic model. This is a diagram which itself reflects the factors affecting second or foreign language acquisition. There one can see the first language and as the author mentions, the first language represents Grammar 1. The universal grammar is the only input in the first language. Parts of second language are also short term memory and long term memory. The author also speaks about germination, and says that as L2 students go on learning the the language, by the time they geminate closer to the native speakers.
 * An Elaborated Psycholinguistic Model **