A semiotic perspective on the positive transfer of L1 structure in second language instruction

Language educators are re-examining the benefits of positive transfer. As the usage of the term language interference is misleading, the benefits of positive transfer have not been fully recognized until recently. When considered from a semiotic perspective with reference to language acquisition, neurolinguistic and applied linguistic theories, language interference can be perceived as a symptom of equivocal signs. It is proposed that student's learner errors may be attributed to a phenomenon called `semiotic confusion', which is a specific state of disorientation caused by a misinterpretation of signs. Consequently, language interference is redefined as a symptom of `semiotic confusion'. A hypothetical model, the Personal Semiotic Cultural Consciousness/ Semiotic Cultural Consciousness (PSCC/SCC), which is composed of two competing states of consciousness that correspond with synthetic and analytic brain functioning provides instructors with insights about the importance of activating their students' internal and external semiotic cultural consciousness through somatosensory signs such as colour.