Corpus and experimental datasubjects in second language research

Resumo

This paper shows how corpus and experimental data can be combined to gain an insight into the processes that shape and constrain second language (L2) acquisition, by focusing on the L1 Spanish - L2 English acquisition of preverbal vs. post-verbal subject position: S-V vs. (XP-)V-S. The initial corpus study (Lozano & Mendikoetxea 2010) revealed that subject position in L1 Spanish - L2 English is constrained by the same principles as in native English (verb type, information structure and phonological weight), but learners show difficulties with the preverbal XP constituent: even advanced learners overuse it as the generic expletive (It occurred many important events) or omit XP (i.e., they use Ø as in Exist other means of obtaining money), while the use of there with verbs other than be is highly limited (There exist about two hundred organizations). To (dis)confirm these corpus findings, a follow-up online experiment was designed to test learners' (N=250) knowledge of the preverbal XP element in XP-V-S structures whose design was structurally similar to those produced in the corpora (Ø/it/there/PP-V-S). The experimental results show a very robust pattern, which mostly confirms the corpus results. In the conclusion we advocate for the combined use of naturalistic and experimental data in a cyclic fashion.