Il primo confronto con una norma: percezione e analisi dell'input iniziale in L21

On the background of Coseriu's notion of norm, the elaboration of native input by second language learners is considered with respect to the processes of perception, comprehension and grammatical analysis. These processes allow the learner to make assumptions about the target system. Within the VILLA project (Varieties of Initial Learners in Second Language Acquisition), a controlled input of the target language Polish was presented as the norm to learners during a specially designed fourteenhour course. This input is discussed with respect to three major parameters: 1. transparency of word forms, 2. frequency of word forms and 3. modality of presentation, with or without focalization on grammatical forms. Learners appear to be sensitive to the modalities of presentation. Paradoxically, however, the learners' attempt to adjust to the norm presented in the focus-on-form modality results in a greater number of errors, while learners who were administered meaning-focused input tend to more easily recognize units of meaning in the sound chain. This evidence is relevant for the processes of acquisition of the target system beyond the norm presented in the input.