earticle

영어

Multilingual acquisition is not a special phenomenon, but is becoming a universal aspect of language learning. In East Asia, including Korean society, the acquisition of various foreign languages beyond English is becoming an increasingly natural phenomenon. In this flow of the times, a field that is particularly notable is the acquisition of a third language, so now is the time when such research is needed. This research aimed to understand how learners utilize and transfer accumulated languages and to uncover what the factors of transfer are. To find answers to the research question, the researcher will first briefly summarize the study conducted directly by her related to the learning of a third language as well as existing previous studies. By systematically comparing and analyzing the characteristics, research methods, and main results of the first, second, and third languages covered in each study. In chapter 1 of part II, this research focused on the transfer patterns observed in the process of third language acquisition among East Asian learners, particularly those whose first languages are Japanese and Chinese. In the following chapter 2, this research examined the phenomenon of transfer in the cases of learners from the Western context, exploring the possibility that transfer may be influenced more by 'linguistic agency' than by simple linguistic affinity. Finally, Chapter 3 compared and discussed how cultural and educational contexts, particularly teaching methods and learners' attitudes, motivations, and engagement, affect these transfer patterns. The results of this study show that in the process of acquiring a third language, the first and second languages function in different ways, and that language transfer is not a simple automatic phenomenon based on similarity, but a complex strategy that combines the learner's cognitive judgment and cultural sensitivity. This insight will serve as an important theoretical and practical foundation for establishing a multilingual education model suitable for learners in the Northeast Asian region.