Review of Domestic and International Studies on the Third Language Acquisition
The research on the third language acquisition involves two fields: first,the factors that affect the third language acquisition such as negative transfer,cross language distance,learning motivation and strategies,and acceptability of the third language culture;second,the factors that facilitate acquisition such as positive transfer,code switch,pluralistic cultural values,and the development of teaching faculty.It is found that theories weigh more than empirical studies in previous research.It is argued that more efforts should be made in empirical studies on the complex relationships between L1,L2 and L3 and the application of research achievement to China's minority areas' foreign language teaching faculty development.