The Field of Second Language Acquisition

The Field of

SLAGregg Brekke

Assistant Professor

SLA Vocabulary

• L1 = Mother tongue(s) learned from birth

also a NS = Native Speaker

• L2 = second language; sequential multilingualism (not learned at a young age)

NNS = non native speaker

• TL = Target / goal language being learned (1st, 2nd, etc.)

SLA Vocabulary

• Bilingualism = speaking more than one language

• Communicative competence = the ability to use language in a variety of settings, relationships

• ELL = English Language Learner

Types of Second Languages

• L2 = official or socially dominant language needed for education, employment, etc.

• Foreign language = not widely used in the learner’s environment; instructed language

• Library language = functions primarily as a tool for further learning through reading

• Heritage language = language of ancestors learned as an L2

Related fields

Bilingualism

1. Children before age three or four

2. Mature language competence and behavior of children and adults

3. Interaction of all languages of an individual

SLA

1. Late starting learners = 6 yrs. – adult

2. Pathways to becoming competent in L2

3. Incipient stages

4. Oriented toward L2 as target language rather than L1

What does SLA try to answer?

• Second = Why = sociology, anthropology

• Language = What = linguistics

• Acquisition = How = psycholinguistics, psychology, education

What does SLA try to answer?

The Language

What exactly does the L2 learner come to know about the language system and its use?

• Linguistic competence (underlying knowledge)

• Linguistic performance (production/use)

SLA investigates the similarities and differences between child language acquisition and L2 learning

•Do older kids and adults learn the same way as children?

•Are children always better and faster learners than teens and adults?

•Can adults learn an unaccented natural L2?

SLA investigates

L2

L1Interlanguage

Inter-language transfer

Cross-linguistic influences

SLA investigates

Acquisition orders

Third person singular -s

Plural -s

What does SLA try to answer?

The Acquisition process

How do learners acquire/learn second languages?

Psychologists and psycholinguists emphasize the mental or cognitive processes involved in acquisition and the representation of languages in the brain.

grammar

meaning

SLA InvestigatesCognitive Processes

Procedural language knowledge(unconscious)

Declarative language knowledge (conscious)

Learning rates L2 variations Ultimate states of L2

SLA investigates a probabilistic system for systematic explanations

Fossilization ?

SLA investigates Learner Characteristics

• Intelligence/aptitude

• Learning styles

• Personality

• Motivation and attitudes

• Learner beliefs

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What does SLA try to answer?

Why are some learners more successful than others?

Sociolinguists and social psychologists emphasize the variability of a L2’s linguistic performance in social settings, including identity and social motivations, and larger social contexts of learning.

Communicative competence

SLA investigates Socio-cultural and Political contexts

*Identity and ethnic group affiliation

*School culture: programs, attitudes, peers, teachers

Community and family

*National and state attitudes toward immigrants and language

SLA investigates Learning Contexts

learners in formal settings

learners in informal settings

Explicit Instruction of forms (grammar) with focus on accuracy

“Natural learning” with focus on meaning