PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING

BY KARINA PÉREZ

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

CHAPTERS1. Language, Learning, and Teaching

2. First Language Acquisition

3. Age and Acquisition

4. Human Learning

5. Styles and Strategies

6. Personality Factors

7. Sociocultural Factors

8. Cross-Linguistic Influence and Learner Language

9. Communicative Competence

10. Theories of Second Language Acquisition

Language, Learning, and Teaching

Current Issues in Second Language Acquisition

Language Learning and Teaching Schools of Thought in Second Language Acquisition

Structuralism/Behaviorism Rationalism and Cognitive

Psychology Constructivism Language Teaching

Methodology In the Classroom: The Grammar Translation Method

First Language Acquisition

Theories of First Language Acquisition Competence and Performance Comprehension and Productions Nature or

Nurture Universals Systematicity and Variability

Language and Thought Imitation Practice Input Discourse In the Classroom: Gouin and Berlitz The First Reformers Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry

Age and Acquisition

Dispelling Myths Types of Comparison and Contrast The Critical Period Hypothesis Neurological Considerations Hemispheric Lateralization Biological Timetables Right-Hemispheric Participation Anthropological Evidence The Significance of Accent Cognitive Considerations Affective Considerations Linguistic Considerations Bilingualism Interference Between First and Second Language Interference in Adults Order of Acquisition Issues in First Language Acquisition Revisited In the Classroom: The

Audiolingual Method Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion

Human Learning

Learning and Training

Pavlovs Classical

Behaviorism Skinners

Operant Conditioning

Ausubels Meaningful

Learning Theory

Systematic Forgetting

Rogerss Humanistic Psychology

Types of Learning Transfer, Interference, and Overgeneralization

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Aptitude and Intelligence In the Classroom: The Designer Methods of the 1970s

Styles and Strategies

Process, Style, and Strategy

Learning Styles

Field Independence

Left- and Right-Brain

Functioning Ambiguity

Tolerance Reflectivity and Impulsivity

Visual and Auditory Styles

Strategies Learning

Strategies Communication S

trategies Avoidance

Strategies Compensatory

Strategies-Based Instruction In the Classroom: Styles and Strategies in Practice

Personality Factors

The Affective Domain

Self-Esteem

Inhibition

Risk-Taking Anxiety Empathy

Extroversion

Myers-Briggs Character

Types Motivation

Instrumental and Integrative Orientations

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

The Neurobiology of Affect

Measuring Affective Factors In the Classroom: Putting Methods into Perspective Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion

Sociocultural Factors Culture: establishes for each person a context of cognitive and

effective behavior, a template for personal and social existence. Stereotype: If people recognize and understand differing world

views, they will usually adopt a positive and open-minded attitude toward cross-cultural differences.

Attitudes: like all aspects of cognitive development, develop in early childhood and are a result of parents’ and peers’ attitudes, of contacts with people from different life styles.

Second Culture Acquisition: Most learners of a second language learn the language with very little sense of the culture of its speakers. A foreign language course should present culture as a list of facts to be cognitively consumed.

Acculturation: Second language learning involves the acquisition of a second identity. Creation a new identity is in the very heart of culture learning, Acculturation.

Culture in the Classroom: Stevick learners can feel alienation in the process of learning a second language, alienation from people in their home, culture, the target culture, and from themselves.

Cross-Linguistic Influence and Learner Language

Deeply rooted in the behavioristic and structuralist approaches, the CAH claimed that the principal barrier to L2 is the interference of L1system with the 2nd system.

Categories of hierarchy of difficulty:

Level 0. No difference or contrast is present between the two languages. Level 1

–coalescence two items in the native language become coalesced into essentially

one item in the target language.

Level 2 Underdifferentiation –an item in the native language is absent in the

target language. Level

3 Reinterpretation –an item that exists in the native language is given a new

shape or distribution. Level

4. Overdifferentiation –a new item entirely, bearing any similarity to the native

language item, must be learned. Level

5. Split –one item in the native language becomes two or more in the target

language requiring the learner to make a new distinction.

From the The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis to Cross-Linguistic Influence Predictions of difficulty by means of contrastive procedures had many

shortcomings. The process could not account for all linguistic problems or situations not even with the 6 categories. Lastly, the predictions of difficulty level could not be verified with reliability.

Syntactic , lexical, and semantic interference show far more variation among learners than psycho-motor-based pronunciation interference.

It accounted for degrees of principles of universal grammar. Eckman showed that marked items in a language will be more difficult to acquire than unmarked, and that degree of markedness will correspond to degrees of difficulty

The most obvious approach to analyzing interlanguage is to study the speech and writing of learners –learner language

The matter of how to correct errors is exceedingly complex. Research on error correction methods is not at all conclusive

about the most effective method or technique for error correction.

It seems quite clear that students in the classroom want and expect errors to be corrected.

Flow chart as an example of error treatment in a classroom

Communicative Competence

Communicative Competence: Is a term in linguistics which refers to a language user’s grammatical knowledge of syntax, morphology, phonology and the like, as well as social knowledge about how and when to use utterances appropriately.

Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency: a language-related term which refers to formal academic learning.

Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills: A language skills needed to interact in social situations, primarily to context bound, face-to-face communication.

Subcategories of C. C.: Grammatical competence, Discourse competence, Strategic competence, Sociolinguistic competence.

Language Functions: Bachman-Illocutionary competence. Canales & Swain-discourse and sociolinguistic competence.

Michael Halliday’s 7 Functions of Language: Instrumental Function, Regulatory Function, Representational Function, Interactional Function, Personal Function, Heuristic Function, Imaginative Function.

Topis & Language Functions Syllabus: Topics: Personal identification, personal opinions, hobbies/free time, environment, places and building, food and drink, travel and holidays, shopping/clothes, weather.

Nonverbal Communication: Kinesics, Eye contact, Proxemics, Artifacts, kinesthetic, Olfactory Dimensions

The Communicative Language Teaching: Focuses on helping learners to communicate meaningfully in a target language. Emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language.

Classroom activities: Role play, interviews, information gap, games, surveys, pair works.

Task-based instruction: is an approach that focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks using the target language.

Types of Task: Target tasks, Pedagogical Tasks

Advantages: Student-centered, allows for more meaningful communication. The tasks are likely to be familiar to the students. Students are free to use what grammar constructs and vocabulary they want.

Theories of Second language Acquisition EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING:

Different theories have been proposed:

1. The behaviorist perspective

2. The innatist perspective

3. The cognitive/developmental perspective

4. The sociocultural perspective

THE BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE: Learning is explained in terms of imitation, practice, reinforcement, and habit formation. The Audiolingual method. Students memorized dialogues and sentence patterns by heart. Contrastive Analysis hypothesis.

THE INNATIST PERSPECTIVE: Humans are born with innate knowledge of the principles of Universal Grammar: UG. UG allows all children to acquire the language of their environment during a critical period of their development Critical Period Hypothesis.

THE COGNITIVE/DEVELOPMENTAL: GENERAL THEORIES OF LEARNING Information processing: Paying attention and practicing. Declarative

knowledge becomes Procedural knowledge. Language becomes automatic.

The interaction hypothesis: Modified input, opportunity to interact. Conversational modification

Connectionism: The competition model: frequency of encountering certain language features in the input allow learners to make connections. The competition model.

THE SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

• Vygotsky’s theory proposes:

• Cognitive development, including language development, arises as a result of social interaction.

• Learning occurs how?

When an individual- Interacts with an interlocutor

- Focus on input and output in the interaction. - Cognitive development starts from the social context then

become internalized.