ENGLISH 344Week 2: Foundations of SLA

Class Agenda Overview of SLA

Key words

Discussion facilitation by Don and Josh

Class activity

Free writing and discussion

Write down two new concepts you have learned from this week’s readings (3-4 minutes)

Walk around the room and share what you have learned with at least two people (5 minutes)

YOUR VOICES…

Isabel says… “linguistic competence” and “linguistic performance” are

the two aspects that leap off of the page. As I continue to teach basic level Spanish in the target language (GA here at ISU), I am confronted by these distinctions day in and day out, especially since our students and professors are required to speak 90-95% in Spanish. At a beginning level, this can be overwhelming. The language learner has a wealth of underlying knowledge but struggles greatly with actual production. I don’t think I would have much empathy and understanding with my students if I would not have suffered from this distinction in my own linguistic endeavors years ago.

Angie says… I also wanted to point out something that the author states that truly

stood out to me. “Regrettably, there is a common attitude among educators, sometimes pursued with almost religious fervor, that socially “inferior” or “uneducated” varieties of a language are a moral threat and should be completely eradicted” (12). As a future educator, I think that these “inferior languages” are something I will most likely encounter with many students, and I think that teachers need to realize that these are not inferior languages at all, but simply languages of other cultures. While it is important to teach proper grammar of standard English, who is to say that standard English is in fact the “superior” language. The acceptance, appreciation and acknowledgement of other dialects per say, is very important to a student. Additionally, language is always changing. This is to say that a very proper and grammatically correct standard English sentence today, could have been slang one hundred years ago.

Melissa’s example of

simultaneous multilingualism…

Now that Isaiah is 5 years old he only understands English and only speaks English. I only speak to him in Spanish, as well as his Grandmother and all of his Aunts. When I ask him "Isaiah, por que no hablas espanol (why dont you speak spanish?)" he replies, "I dont like to talk Spanish!" and he gets frustrated.

Su’s experience with multilingualism

I’d like to explain my own situation and relationship with languages. I grew up speaking Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) and when I was 3 years old, I started to learn Swedish. My parents moved from Malaysia, to Sweden, and I was born and raised there, which explains why I grew up speaking two languages. When I was 10, I started learning English in school and when I was 12, I decided that I wanted to be good at it so I practiced every day. I started to read, write and speak in English. I watched American TV shows and movies.

Elise’s experience with error

correction and multilingualism

VanPatten and Williams wrote “repetitions of correct models, as well as immediate and consistent negative feedback, or error correction, were seen as the best way to eradicate errors before learners developed bad habits” (2007, p. 21). I completely see eye-to-eye with this statement. I have spent summers teaching Norwegian as a foreign language to children between the ages of 7-18 years old and this is a model that we follow at the camp. The counselors always have to be correct models to the students. Our dean always makes sure that we are speaking Norwegian when we are around the villagers and when we are socializing with each other. This helps the villagers to see the correct form of the language. We also immediately try to correct errors because habits form. There are always counselors around the villagers. Even when we are not in language lessons, the counselors are still helping the villagers to form good habits when speaking. This sentence in the article was something that I could really relate to with my own teachings and experiences.

What’s the scope of SLA?

The scope of SLA is to understand the process of learning a second language within formal or informal learning environments.

Formal learning: Takes place in classroom settings (e.g. ESL classes, ELI, ESP, EAP, ESL pull-out)

Informal learning (e.g. submersion, picking up the language without specialized language instruction)

Behaviorist account of SLA

Learning is equated with habit formation (see the Pavlov’s dog example). Learning means acquisition of new behavior. One develop responses to environmental stimulus.

Classic conditioning through Stimulus-response (e.g. when the dogs heard the sound (the stimulus), they anticipated a meal, and they would begin salivating (the response). Because of the repeated association of the sound with food, after a series of trials the sound alone caused the dogs to salivate.)

Continuous repetition is a crucial factor for learning.

With reinforcement and punishment animals learn new behavior.

No mental process. Learning is a result of a respond to a stimulus.

Behaviorist approaches to SLA

Second language acquisition takes place if the learner:

1. Imitate the language repeatedly.

2. Reinforcement of accurate forms of language (e.g. catcats, dog dogs)

3. “Good habits required repeated engagement in the target behavior-in this case, the production of the L2.”

Differences between L1 and L2 acquisition

according to behaviorist accounts

For L2 learning, individuals have already acquired certain set of language skills.

Models should be accurate and abundant.

Reinforcement by a large number of language models.

Students imitating the model repeatedly.

Teachers giving positive feedback for accurate imitations, and correction of inaccurate ones (negative evidence vs. positive evidence)

Differences between L1 and L2 were detected via CA.

CA: Wherever languages were similar, there would be positive transfer; that is, learners would have little difficulty because they would simply be able to use their old habits in a new context. If the two languages were different-or two seemingly comparable structures were different-there would be negative transfer, resulting in learner difficulty and error.

Behaviorism applied in SLA

Second language learning is variable in its outcome: Learners who experience different environmental stimuli will experience different levels of eventual attainment. If learners have different level of exposure or receive different levels of feedback, they may differ in their level of language attainment

Exposure to input is necessary for SLA: Input as stimulus for habit formation. Environment was seen as a controlling factor in language learning.

Behaviorism applied to SLA

Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis focused on the similarities and differences of learners’ first and second language.

According to this perspective, learners whose L1 is similar to L2 will have less difficulty in learning in second language.

Larsen-freeman(1991) states where two languages are similar, positive transfer would occur; where they were different negative transfer, or interference, would result.”

Structural LinguisticsThe main question that the structural linguists try to

address: Why do the language operate as it does

Language is portrayed as based on a discrete and finite set of patterns (matches well with behaviorism, which viewed learning as the acquisition of set of behaviors)

The field of SLA at this time viewed language learning as the imitation and internalization of language patterns.

Unsuccessful learning took place because of language transfer from L1: Negative transfer resulted in learners’ committing language errors.

Criticism towards behaviorism

Behaviorism is viewed as an ability to inductively discover patterns of rule governed behavior from the examples provided by the learners’ environment—

Comparing languages to predict learners’ errors did not help teachers in the class.

Corder (1967)—importance of errors: errors do not need to be treated or surprised as bad habits but they need to be analyzed carefully since they are evidence of learning

Selinker (1972)– learners generate unique grammar: interlanguage. Unique linguistic system that learners create as they attempt to produce the target language.

Chomsky’s revolutionary views on language: LAD includes UG which is indispensible for the child’s ability to acquire his or her native language”

Monitor Theory by Stephen Krashen

First theory to be developed specifically for SLA in 70s and 80s.

Influenced by Chomsky’s Universal Grammar (humans are biologically wired to learn a language. They have an innate access to grammar rules)

Consist of 5 hypothesis: The acquisition-learning, the natural order, input, the monitor.

Acquisition

Takes place naturally, outside of awareness

SLA is much like L1 acquisition

Learning

Takes place with a language instruction

Conscious and effortful process

Gaining explicit knowledge

***formal instruction on SLA, including feedback on errors, are peripheral, suggesting that such pedagogical approaches should be abandoned in favor of one based on the provision of copious input and the opportunity for meaningful interaction.

Krashen believes that…

The effects of formal instruction on SLA, including feedback on errors, are peripheral, suggesting that such pedagogical approaches should be abandoned in favor of one based on the provision of copious input and the opportunity for meaningful interaction.

Important concepts about L1 acquisition from

Seville-Troike

L1 as an innate capacity: language is programmed and each human being is wired with a system to acquire language

The rate of progression in childhood can vary while the order of acquisition is invariant.

Cut-off point for L1 acquisition: Critical Age Hypothesis

Class Activity: Sharing your linguistic history

In groups, share your linguistic history. Some guiding questions you can use are:

1) What’s your native language? What’s your second language? How did you learn your second language? Distinguish between the ways you learned your foreign languages?

2) Do you have exposure to your second language in your daily life? If so, how?

3) Do you think you are good or poor L2 learner? Why do you think so? Do you think your own relative level of success is due primarily to linguistic, psychological, or social factors?

4) Reflect on the facilitating conditions to language learning in Ch. 2. Have you had any of these experiences facilitate your learning L2? Have there been other factors?

Assignments See me after class if you have problems

with your blogs.

Read, reflect, blog (blog entries due every Tuesday noon)