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Unit 2. SLA

Individualfactors in SLA

Krashen’stheory of

SLA

Noticinghypothesis Silent

period

SLacquisition

or SLlearning?

Affectivefilter

Languagetransfer

Input +1

Interlanguage& Fossilization

Second languagelearning (SLL)

orsecond language

acquisition (SLA)?

Theories of SLL

SLA Processes &Order of

Acquisition

Individualdifferences in SLL

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Theories ofSLL/SLA(Littlewood 2004)

Krashen’s

Hypothesis

Chomsky’s

UniversalGrammar(UG)

Long’s

InteractionHypothesis

Swain’s

OutputHypothesis

Schmidt’s

NoticingHypothesis

Ullmann’s

Declarative /ProceduralModel

or?

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[…] is very similar to the process children use inacquiring first and second languages. It requires inthe target language--natural communication--in which speakers areconcerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages theyare conveying and understanding […]

and are not relevant tolanguage acquisition […] but caretakers and native speakers can modify theirutterances addressed to acquirers to help them understand, and thesemodifications are thought to help the acquisition process.

So… is it SL learningor SL acquisition?

On the other hand, […] is thought to be helped[…] by and the[…]. Error correction […] helps the learner come to the correctmental representation of the linguistic generalization. Whether suchfeedback has this effect to a significant degree remains an openquestion[…]. No invariant is claimed, althoughsyllabi implicitly claim that learners proceed from simple to complex,a sequence that may not be identical to the acquisition sequence(Krashen 1981).

Um, I see…

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Age L1 Culture Gender Aptitude Attitude(s) Learning styles Learning strategies Affective variables

Individual differences

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Age

Differences beyond teachercontrol:

1. The younger the better? Critical period

2. The older the better? SLL vs FLL

3. Pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary

Thus: Physiological basis of the age-factor: YES,

but also:

- Amount & type of L2 input

- Amount of verbal analytical ability

- Motivation

Age

Aptitude

1. Highly important for LL effectiveness

2. Determines rate of LL

3. Determines effort necessary for LL

However:

4. Does not determine LL absolutely

(ability, gift, feel, knack, flair for LL)

High motivation Effective L strategies

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Learning style

1. Different learners, different L styles

2. Even, different L styles within same

learner

3. Though L styles tend to be stable,

teachers can bring L tasks that cater for

different L styles

(how a learner approaches learning)

‘Style-stretching’

1. Sensory/perceptual L styles1.1. Visual

1.2. Auditory

1.3 Kinaesthetic (hands-on)

2. Cognitive styles2.1. Global/Particular (detail-oriented)

2.2. Synthesizer/Analytic

2.3. Deductive/Inductive

3. Personality-related styles3.1. Introverted/Extroverted

3.2. Abstract & intuitive/Concrete, step-by-step

3.3. Keep all options open/closure-oriented

Taxonomy of L styles(Reid, 1995; Ehrman 1996)

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Learning strategies

Definition:

“… conscious or semi-conscious thoughts

and behaviors used by learners with the

explicit goal of improving their

knowledge and understanding of a

target language” (Cohen 2010:164)

Taxonomy 1 (Oxford, 1990)

1. Cognitive: processes or mental

manipulations learners go thru in

learning and using TL

2. Meta-cognitive: processes which learners

consciously use in order to supervise or

manage their LL […] planning what

they will do, checking how it is going,

evaluating how it went

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3. Affective: regulate emotions, motivation

and attitudes (e.g., reduction of

anxiety, self-encouragement…)

4. Social: actions which learners choose to

take in order to interact with other

learners and with native speakers […]

usually directed at increasing the

learners’ exposure to L2 communication

and interactive practice

Looking at LL strategies…

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Taxonomy 2 (By skill area) (Cohen, 2010)

1. Listening strategies

2. Reading strategies

3. Writing strategies

4. Speaking strategies

5. Grammar strategies

6. Vocabulary strategies

Strategies…

are useful under 3 conditions:

a) Relationship strategy-L2 task

b) Match strategy-learning style

c) Effective use of the strategy

Strategies that fulfill these conditions make learning easier,faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective,and more transferable to new situations (Oxford, 1990) andenable more independent, autonomous, lifelong learning(Allwright, 1990; Little, 1991).

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Affective factors

1. Motivation

2. Anxiety

3. Self-efficacy

4. Tolerance of ambiguity

5. …

Motivation

Motivation is a desire to achieve a goal,

combined with the energy to work towards

that goal […] One of the main elements

that determine success in developing a SL

or FL; it determines the extent of active,

personal involvement in the learning of

the TL.

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Motivation and SLL research:

- Beginnings: 1950s

R. Gardner

W. Lambert

- More recent:

Z. Dörnyei

…

Social nature of L2 motivation

• A L2 represents a C2 (that/those where the

language is spoken)

• To some degree at least, learning a L2

involves learning a C2:

The learning of a foreign language involves far more thansimply learning skills, or a system of rules, or a grammar;it involves an alteration in self-image, the adoption of newsocial and cultural behaviours and ways of being, andtherefore has a significant impact on the social nature ofthe learner (Williams, 1994:77)

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Theories of motivation in SLL

1. Socio-Educational Model of Lg Learning(Gardner, 1985, 1988, 2000a, b)

Integrative motivation: positiveattitude toward the FC and a desire toparticipate as a member of it

Instrumental motivation: goal ofacquiring the L2 to use it for a specificpurpose, such as career advancedment oraccess to higher education

Which type ofmotivation affects

SLL morepositively?

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Early research:

Integratively motivated SLLs moresuccessful than instrumentally motivatedones

However:

a) FL settings , integration virtuallyimpossible

b) highly ethnocentric individualsachieve high levels of proficiency

2. Deci & Ryan’s model (1985)

Intrinsic motivation: from within;related to own identity and sense of well-being

Students are intrinsically motivated if learning is the goalin itself.

Extrinsic motivation: from outside;

Students are extrinsically motivated when learning is donefor rewards (grades, praise, etc.)

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Which type ofmotivation affects SLL

more positively?

Research seems to point outthat, although intrinsic

motivation correlates moreclosely with LL success, a

student’s total motivation isusually a combination of

both

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In conclusion:Motivation…

- complex factor in SLL- must be considered in

the light of non-affective factors(learning styles,personality type,

general cognitiveabilities, demographic

factors, languageaptitude, learning

strategies…)

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Other important notions in SLA research:

Interlanguage & fossilization

Sylent period(s)

Input + I (Krashen’s Theory of SLA)

Affective filter

Noticing hypothesis

Learning a FL is a gradual process, starting with simplewords and grammar constructions to proceed to morecomplex items. LT methodology stresses that certain factorsin the SLL process resemble those of the L1 acquisition.Thus, errors are often perceived as a natural indication thatthe process of the SLA occurs. As in the acquisition of theL1, certain errors are predictable and determined by thecurrent level of proficiency. However, other errors cannot beaccounted for as negative transfer, because the forms useddo not exist in learners’ L1, but neither do they exist in theTL, which supports the idea that learners create a sort of in-between system of their own while learning a foreignlanguage called interlanguage.

Interlanguage

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Studies show that the earlier the process of SLA begins thebetter the results will be. Although there are someexceptions, usually people who started learning a SL asyoung children become more competent than those who didnot. Most FLLs reach a certain level of fluency, or use somephrases that would not be used by the native users of thetarget language. Thus it is said that learners’ interlanguagefossilizes, which means that it does not improve anymore.Fossilization is most likely to occur in pronunciationas after puberty it is difficult to learn to sound like a nativespeaker.

Fossilization

A stage in SLA during which learners donot attempt to speak.

More common in children than in adultlearners (due to pressure on adults to speakduring early stages of SLA, because of the LTmethodology or external demands , such asneeding the SL for work reasons).

Silent period

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Stephen Krashen’s theory of SLA:

Acquisition/Learning hypothesis

Monitor hypothesis

Natural order hypothesis

Input hypothesis

Affective filter hypothesis

Input + 1

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Books and articles:

• Cohen, A.D. 2010. ‘Focus on the Langauge Learner: Styles, Strategies andMotivation.’ In Schmitt, N (Ed) An Introduction to Applied Lingustiics.Hodder Education.

• Ehrman, M.E., Leaver, B.L., Oxford, R.L., 2003. ‘A Brief Overview ofIndividual Differences in Second Language Learning’. System 31, 313-330.

• Littlewood, W. 2004. ‘Second Language Learning.’ In Davies, A. & Elder, C.The Handbook of Applied Linguistics. Blackwell Publishing.

• Oxford, R.L. 1990. Language Learning Strategies. What Every TeacherShould Know. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

• Palacios Martinez, I. 1996. ‘The Importance of Language LearningStrategies in Foreign Language Teaching’. Cuadernos de Filología Inglesa5/1, 103-120.

•Robinson, P. 2001. ‘Individual Differences, Cognitive Abilities, AptitudeComplexes and Learning Conditions in Second Language Acquisition’.Second Language Research 17/4, 368-392.

Websites and pages:

• Affect in Language Learning: http://www.nadasisland.com/motivation/

• S. Krashen’s Model of SLL/SLA: http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html

• SLA (Overview): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language_learning

• Krashen’s Input hypothesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquisition-learning_hypothesis