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Recognizing the leaRnability pRoblem that the English article system presents for second language (L2) learners, the SLA field has taken a particular interest in documenting its acquisition, especially among learners whose first languages (L1) lack articles. To date, much of the research focuses on the patterns of article use in L2 English as well as the extent of mastery achieved by the learners. The majority of L2 article studies report considerable omission of articles, regardless of L2 learners’ proficiency. Although a number of hypotheses have been proposed to account for both omission and its patterns (cf. Jarvis 2002; Sharma 2005; Trenkic 2009; Robertson 2000), little attention has been devoted to determining how, in the absence of articles, objects are tracked and definiteness is expressed in L2 discourse. The present study helps to fill this gap by examining the overt patterns of referent identification and tracking with another set of definiteness markers, non-article determiners, in a series of narratives produced by ESL learners whose L1, Polish, does not make use of articles. With no article forms to carry over from their L1, L2 learners exhibit unique yet systematic interlanguage-use patterns.

Introduction: What Happens When a Language Lacks Articles?