Page 43 - Diversity in Action

Transfer in Early Multilingual Acquisition

Marco Magnani Katharina Salzmann
University of Trento, Italy University of Trento, Italy
m.magnani@unitn.it katharina.salzmann@unitn.it
Federica Ricci Garotti
University of Trento, Italy
f.riccigarotti@unitn.it

© 2025 Marco Magnani, Federica Ricci Garotti, and Katharina Salzmann
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-523-8.2

Chapter Objectives
• Defining transfer and distinguishing between positive and negative
instances of transfer
• Understanding the role of transfer in the acquisition process
• Discussing positive transfer as a fruitful strategy in the learning process
• Interpreting errors not necessarily as instances of negative transfer but as
a creative strategy
• Suggesting possible ways of reacting to language transfer in the teaching
process

Language Transfer: Old Misconceptions, New Definitions
Language learning is often surrounded by misconceptions, one of the most
persistent being the belief that second or foreign language acquisition (L2,
from now on) is entirely shaped by the learner’s first language (L1, from now
on). According to this view, structural similarities between the two languages
should result in error-free learning, while structural differences would in-
evitably lead to mistakes. However, linguistic research has challenged this
assumption, demonstrating that language transfer is a more complex phe-
nomenon. In this chapter, we will explore how modern research has de-
bunked this myth and how an understanding of both positive and negative
transfer can provide valuable insights for plurilingual education.

Interpreting Transfer in Language Acquisition: Does the Contrastive
Hypothesis Still Hold?
The following short dialogue took place between a four-year-old Italian girl
(G) who was involved in a German language contact programme in a kinder-
garten in Trentino, a province in northern Italy, and the teacher (T):

Bratož, S., & Irsara, M. (Eds.). (2025). Diversity in action: Training teachers through
multilingual and multicultural experiences. University of Primorska Press.