Leiden University Student Repository

Schouten, Lisanne (2015)

Acquiring English in Bilingual Friesland: A Study on the Influence of Lexical Closeness and Attitudes on the Acquisition

Master thesis | Linguistics (MA)

In this thesis, two factors were examined that could have an influence on the acquisition of English for bilinguals in the Dutch province of Friesland: lexical closeness and held attitudes. First, it is examined whether knowledge of Frisian helps children acquire English lexicon and, second, whether there is a correlation between the attitude towards English and the (self-perceived) proficiency in this language. This was examined on the basis of a vocabulary test and a questionnaire. The results have indicated that the lexical closeness between Frisian and English does not (necessarily) facilitate the lexical acquisition process of English, but that a positive attitude towards English does positively influence the acquisition of English.

Bilingualism

Friesland

Lexical Closeness

Attitudes

English

Language acquisition

Author

Schouten, Lisanne

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Language & Communication

Supervisors

Smakman, Dick

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en