The effect of L2 onset on L2 and L3 learning: The case of native speakers of burkinabe languages

L1 Burkinabe speakers generally become nativelevel speakers of French by adulthood, as Frenchis the official second language of their countryand is used in their daily life, but learn English asa foreign language is later in their lives.However, as their L2 and L3 containgrammatical markings that are sometimes moresimilar to each other and sometimes more similarto the L1, such as with progressive/perfectiveconstructions, it is unclear how this multi-lingualenvironment will influence the acquisition ofsuch constructions. In the present paper, weexamine a number of factors thought to influenceL1 Burkinabe learners' ability to acquireprogressive constructions in L2 French and L3English to see if onset age (as proposed by thecritical period hypothesis) or the number of yearsspent learning (often offered as an alternativeexplanation) influences acquisition, as well as ifthe acquisition of L2 French influences that ofL3 English (as per L3 acquisition research).Multi-variate regression analyses showed that thenumber of years studying French was the bestpredictor of French progressive marking ability,but that onset age of L2 French was the bestpredictor of L3 English progressive markingability, having a strong negative effect due tonegative transfer from L2 French.