Vocabulary is an area of frequent transfer. Particular problems arise when the way the target language maps out words is different from that of the L1. For example, anglophone learners have problems distinguishing connaître and savoir in French, since English expresses both ideas with know. While similarity of vocabulary can help learners with general guesses at meaning, it can also hinder accurate usage - and sometimes cause considerable hilarity, as, for example, when English guests comment favorably on the lack of préservatifs (condoms, not preservatives) in French food, or German learners of English declare they wish to become a hamburger! (bekommen = to get).

But it isn't just the first language which influences vocabulary usage in a second. Singleton (1987) studied 'Philip', an anglophone student with a good knowledge of Spanish, as he learned French from scratch. Spanish had a stronger influence on Philip's French interlanguage than his L1 English, as revealed in his phrase pour le matin, (Spanish por la mañana) instead of le matin, a case whether many English learners use dans le matin (in the morning).

Scandinavian researchers, Sjoholm (1979) and Ringbom (1987), both reviewed in Ellis, R (1994: 328), investigated the influence of first and second languages more closely by studying learners of English in Finnish secondary schools. Finnish is the official language of Finland, but a significant part of the population are bilingual Finnish-Swedish, with a significant number having Swedish as their L1 or dominant language.

Reflective task 10