i
Language L e a r n i n g , 1976, -
26, 321-351.
A CASE STUDY OF A JAPANESE CHILD LEARNING
ENGLISH AS A SECOND
3
4: Kenji Hakuta3
Harvard University
w:
t
Major findings are reported here of a longitudinal, natural-
istic study of the acquisition of English as a second language by a
five-year old Japanese girl. The emphasis is on empirical findings
based on careful distributional analyses performed on the data,
rather than on any particular theoretical orientation. The major
content areas discussed are 1)the problem of prefabricated
patterns (Hakuta 1974b); 2 ) the order of acquisition of gram-
matical morphemes; and 3) the problem of language transfer. It is
argued that there is still great need for a broader empirical data
base before any serious attempts at theoretical formulations of the
second language acquisition process are made.
This paper summarizes some of the major data gathered in a
longitudinal, naturalistic study of a Japanese girl learning English as
a second language (Hakuta 1975b). The subject in this study is
Uguisu, 'nightingale' in Japanese. Her family came to the United
lportions of this article are reprinted by permission from Hakuta, Kenji.
1975. Learning t o speak a second language: what exactly does the child learn?
In Daniel P. Dato (ed.), Developmental Psycholinguistics: Theory and
Applications. Georgetown Round Table on Languages and Linguistics,
Georgetown University .
2This research was supported during i t s first year by Grant GS 37931 X
and its second year by Grant GSOC-7309150, from the National Science
Foundation t o Dr. Roger Brown.
3I thank Roger Brown, Jill devilliers, Peter devilliers, Helen Tager
Flusberg, John Schumann, Ellen Rosansky, Herlinda Cancino, Courtney
Cazden, Bruce Fraser, Lucy Winslow, and Lee Williams for encouragement and
C' excellent advice during the entire course of this study. I also thank Esther
5 Sorocka and Sarah Goldston for help at most strategic moments on
administrative ends. I also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of John
Schumann, Ellen Rosansky, and Herlinda Cancino in allowing me t o use some
d,
of their original data collected from native Spanish speakers acquiring English,
for purposes of comparison with Uguisu. And, finally, my great indebtedness
t o Uguisu and her wonderful family, who were always courteous and
accepting, cannot be overemphasized. Requests for reprints should be sent to
the author, Department of Psychology and Social Relations, William James
Hall, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
02138.
321
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Figure 2. Acquisition curves for the three allomorphs of
(open squares), (closed triangles), and (closed squares), as
auxiliaries t o the catenative scored for percent supplied in
obligatory contexts. Samples are bi-weekly. The number of
obligatory contexts for each data point is greater than in most
cases between and
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