Stop production of L1 Chinese - L2 English - L3 Spanish learners: The source and direction of crosslinguistic influence

Previous research has provided valuable insights into third language speech acquisition, yet the results regarding the direction and source of cross-linguistic influence remain inconclusive. This study examines the production of stops by L1 Chinese - L2 English - L3 Spanish speakers across all three languages and compares their voice onset time (VOT) values to those of monolingual speakers in each language. The results revealed the mutual influence between L1 and L2 and a progressive transfer pattern following an L1 → L2 → L3 trajectory. Accordingly, L2, rather than L1, may serve as the primary source of transfer to L3. These findings have important implications for language teaching, suggesting that teachers should consider learners’ existing L2 knowledge in syllabus design.