SLA Position Paper Final

7/30/2019 SLA Position Paper Final

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WhereIStand 1

LinaShehu

LING8630:SecondLanguageAcquisition

Dr.HeekeyongLee,Ph.D

May16th,2013

Title:WhereIStand


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WhereIStand 2

Myfriendandclassmate,David,toldmerecentlyaboutarewardingexperience

teachingadultimmigrantsatthePeaceResourceCenterinSeaside,buthesitatedto

describethestudentsasgratefulforhisvolunteerteaching.Wearebothcarefultonot

essentializetheimmigrantexperienceasthatofadowntroddenindividual,butmust

remainaware,however,thatasteachersofthelinguafrancaofglobalization,weareina

sensegatekeeperstowhatBourdieu(1977)coinedassymboliccapital;i.e.iflearners

investinEnglishtheywouldinturnacquireawiderangeofsymbolicandmaterial

resources,whichwouldincreaselearnersculturalcapital.(CitedinNorton,B.p.353).

Investmentinthetargetlanguage(TL)isaconceptintroducedbyNorton,(1995)andone,

whichalongwithBourdieusrepresentationoflanguageassymbolicpower,should,I

believe,informeveryESLteacherspedagogy.Forwhereasinvestmentconsidersthe

complexrelationshipoflanguagelearnerstothetargetlanguageandtheirsometimes

ambivalentdesiretospeakittheoriesofmotivationtendtoviewthelanguagelearneras

ahistoricalandunidimensional.(Norton,2010,p.9)

Drawingonmyownexperienceasasecondlanguagelearner,Iproposethat

learningandteachingcannottakeplaceunlessweconsiderstudentspossiblecomplex

relationshiptotheTL,andtheirindividuallifehistories.Here,IargueforUshiodas(2009)

viewofapersonincontextrelationalviewoflanguagemotivation,whichfocusesonreal

personsratherthanlanguagelearnersastheoreticalabstractions.Furthermore,Iargue

thatempathyisateachersmostvaluableasset.Wecannotpossiblyknowallthevariables,

thedifferencesandchallengesthatcomewitheveryclassroom.Empathyfostersasafe


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WhereIStand 4

Thefunctionsoflanguagearemany,andgivenitspoliticalandideologicalnature,

thereareinanygivensociety,legitimatespeakers;i.e.aspeakerwhohasthepowerto

imposereceptionbecausehe/sheisinaprivilegedposition.(Bourdieu,P.1977.Citedin

NortonPeirce,B.1995)Bourdieu,(1977)writesaboutthemayorofPau(towninFrance)

addressingtheinhabitantsintheBearnaislocallanguage,asanexampleofstrategiesof

condescension;i.e.onlyapersoninpower,suchasamayor,canusealanguageotherthan

theofficialFrench,andbepraisedforit,insteadofderided.ThemayorofPauisthus,a

legitimatespeakerbecauseofhisprivilegedpositioninsocietyandhasthepowerto

imposereception.NortonPeirce,(1995)extendsBourdieuslabeloflegitimatespeakerto

includenativespeakersofaTL.InherworkwithimmigrantwomeninCanada,Norton

(2011)detailsanexchangebetweenEva,aPolishimmigrant,andhercoworker,Gail,who

asanativespeakerofEnglishistheonewhocoulddeterminethegroundsonwhich

interactioncouldproceedandwhohadthepowertobringclosuretotheconversation.

(p.13)TheinteractionreferredtohereisGailsrhetoricalquestiontoEvadontyouknow

whoBartSimpsonis?(p.13)andthereforebypointingoutEvasignoranceoverBart

Simpsonsidentity,Gailisrobbinghertherighttoaddtotheconversation.CitingBourdieu,

Norton(2010)writes,thevalueascribedtospeechcannotbeunderstoodapartfromthe

personwhospeaks,andthepersonwhospeakscannotbeunderstoodapartfromlarger

networksofsocialrelationships.(p.350)TheimplicationhereisthatGailwasclaiminga

superiorpositiontoEva,simplybecausetheformerisanativespeakerwhoiswellversed

inpopularculture,andthelatterisanimmigrant.

PreviouslyImentionedthattheoriesoflanguageassymbolicpowerandinvestment

shouldinformanESLteacherspedagogy.IbelievethisbecausemanyofourESLstudents


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WhereIStand 5

areimmigrantsorchildrenofimmigrantsandwouldhavehadexperiencessimilartoEva;

experiencesthatmayinhibittheirmotivationtoacquiretheTL.AccordingtoUshioda,

(2003)motivationcomesnotonlyfromwithintheindividual,butisalsoasocially

mediatedprocess.Astudentotherwisehighlymotivatedmayfeelambivalenttowardthe

TLdependingonnumerousfactorsinsideandoutsidetheclassroom.Fornoclassroom

standsapartfromsocietal/pressures/challengesthatinfluenceandshapeit,andeach

studentandteacherispartofhis/hersocioculturalmilieu,andcannotbeunderstood

outsidethatcontext.AsateacherIwouldpaycloseattentiontoclassroomdynamicsand

createanatmospherethatisopenandencouraging.Ithinkitispossibletofosterpassion

forlearninginourstudents,butforthattohappenitisessentialtofirstdeveloparapport

witheachstudent,remainappreciativeoftheiruniqueness,andrespectfuloftheircultural

background.Obviously,asteachers,wecannotcontrolorfixchallengesourstudentsface

outsidetheclassroom,butcertainlyitiscrucialtounderstandhowtheirrelationshipand

investmentintheTL,influencestheirlearning.

TheLanguageLearningProcess

Cook(2008)writes,thetermL2userwasoriginallyintendedtocounteractthe

implicationthatpeoplewithasecondlanguagearelearnersforlifeandtogivetheman

equalstatuswithpeoplewithanL1.(p.23)AnotherimplicationwhenreferringtoL2

usersasL2learnersisthattheultimategoalmustbenativelikeattainmentandanything

shortofthatisconsidereddeficient.PersonallyIlikethetermL2userbecauseit

emphasizesanotherimportantaspectoflanguage:thatitisasocialtoolweuse.And

whetheronesgoalisnativelikeattainmentorsimplywantingtogetby,usinglanguageis

crucialtolearninglanguage.Ifirmlybelievethatnoamountofclassroominstructionwill


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WhereIStand 6

leadtolanguagelearningwithoutopportunitiesforactualuseoflanguage.Ellis(2006)

principle8states:TheopportunitytointeractintheL2iscentraltodevelopingL2

proficiency.(p.219)IlearnedEnglishbecauseIhadnootherchoicebuttointeractwith

nativespeakerswhenIimmigratedtotheUS.IhaveyettodevelopaproficiencyinGerman

becauseIrarelyseekinteractionsinGerman.Ihavehad5yearsofGermanclassroom

instruction,butverylittleinteractioninthelanguage.Now,IamapassiveGerman

languagelearner,andbythisImeanthatIunderstandmostofwhatissaidinGerman,but

amunabletocarryacomplexconversation.SwainandSuzuki(2006)write,fewwould

doubtthatparticipationincommunicativeinteractionisasourceofL2acquisition.(p.

576)Theauthorsclaimthatwhenlearnersparticipateincommunicativeinteractionthey

engageinlanguagingdefinedastheuseoflanguagetomediatecognitively

demanding/complexactivities,(p.565)i.e.,learnerstalkaboutlanguagethroughlanguage

inordertotesthypotheses,solveproblemsandsoforth.Producinglanguageplaysarole

instimulatinglearnersawarenessoflinguisticforms,encouraginglearnerstopay

attentiontoL2grammar.(Swain&Suzuki,p.565)Theultimategoalinlearninganew

languageistheabilitytoproducethatlanguage.Interactionandlanguagingarecentral

processesinL2acquisition.

Thenextsectionwilladdresshowinteractionandlanguagingwillbeusedinthe

classroomthroughtaskbasedinstruction.

TeachingLanguage

Elliswrites,(2010)tasksconstituteanimportantpedagogictoolforpromotingL2

acquisition,becauselearnerswilldeveloplinguisticknowledgeiftheyexperiencetryingto

usethatknowledgeunderrealconditions.Andfurthermore,learnersinterlanguage


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developmentoccursasaproductofcommunication.(p.39)Atask,accordingtoEllis,must

satisfythefollowingcriteria:

1. Thereisprimaryfocusonmeaning.2. Thestudentschoosethelinguisticandnonlinguisticresourcesneededtocompletethetask.3. Thetaskshouldleadtorealworldprocessesoflanguageuse.4. Successfulperformanceofthetaskisdeterminedbyexaminingwhetherstudents

haveachievedtheintendedcommunicativeoutcome.(p.35)

Ibelievethattaskspromoteinteractionandlanguaging.Tasksadditionallyengage

studentsinproblemsolving,collaboration,andprovideascloseofanauthenticsituationas

possible.Tasksenablestudentstodevelopcontrolovertheirlinguisticknowledgewhile

theyuselanguageunderrealoperatingconditions.Furthermore,trueinterlanguage

development(i.e.,theprocessofacquiringnewlinguisticknowledgeandrestructuring

existingknowledge)canonlyhappenwhenacquisitionhappensincidentally,asaproduct

oftheefforttocommunicate.(Ellis,2010.pp.3839)OnetypeoftaskthatIbelieve

satisfiestheabovecriteriaisadictogloss.Dictoglossisakindofoutputtaskthat

encouragesstudentstoworktogetherandproducelanguageformscollaborativelyby

reconstructingatextpresentedtothemorally.(Ellis,R.CitedinNasaji&Fotos)During

suchatasktheteacherwouldreadatextwhilestudentswrotedownkeyphrases.Oncethe

teacherhasfinishedreading,studentswouldworkcollaborativelytoreconstructand

reproducetheoriginaltext.Thistypeoftask:

promotesverbalinteractioninarealisticcommunicativecontext.Tocompletethe

dictoglos,learnersneedtocommunicateandhelpeachothertoreconstructthe passagethisrequiresthemtoengageinextensivediscussionabouttheappropriate

lexicalandgrammaticalformsthetaskpusheslearnerstoreflectontheirown

languageoutputortalkaboutlanguageitraiseslearnersconsciousnessof specificaspectsoflanguageuse.p.109


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WhereIStand 8

AnothertypeoftaskthatIwoulduseinmyclassroomisgrammarconsciousness

raisingtasks.AccordingtoEllis(2003)grammarconsciousnessraisingtasksrequires

learnerstocommunicatedirectlyaboutgrammarstructuresThesetasksmaypresentthe

structureimplicitly,embeddedincommunicativecontextsorpresentthegrammar

structureexplicitlyastaskcontent(Ellis,R.CitedinNassaji&Fotos.p.91)Onegreat

example,adaptedfromEllis(2002)ofanexplicitstructuredgrammarfocusedtaskis

presentingstudentswithsentencesandaskingthemtodeterminewhenforisandwhen

sinceisused,thegroupsthendeveloprulestoexplainwhenforandsinceareusedand

presenttheirrulestotherestoftheclass.(Ellis,R.CitedinNassaji&Fotos.p.98)

Ibelieveinapplyingtaskbasedinstructionintheclassroombecausetheysimulate

anauthenticsituation,theyraiselearnersawarenessofmeaningandform,promote

collaborationandbecausemyownexperienceoflearningEnglishexemplifiessomeofthe

featuresoftaskbasedinstruction.IhadlivedinSeattleforhardlyamonthwhenIbegan

myjunioryearofhighschoolwithonlyanintermediateEnglishproficiency,butwasstill

enrolledinclasseswithnativespeakers.Thefocusoftheseclasseswasonmeaning:the

meaningofatext,ofaformulaandsoforth.SincethesewerenotESLclasses,students

wereexpectedtochoosethelinguisticandnonlinguisticresourcestocompletean

assignment.Mostofourassignmentsrequiredreallanguageuse.Ofcourse,emphasiswas

onacademicgenrenonetheless,idiomsandculturalreferencesalwaystookpart.Andlastly,

ourperformancewasmeasuredbywhateveritwasweproduced:apresentation,agroup

project,orapaper.IamnotproposingthatwedoawaywithESLclasses,andcertainly,

whatworkedforme,willnotworkforanother.ButIdobelievethattasksgivestudentsthe

opportunitytoproducesomethingmeaningfulandtangible.


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Inconclusion,Iwanttostate,thatnoamountoftaskbasedinstruction,languaging

andinteractionwillleadtoL2acquisition,unlesseducatorspaycloseattentiontostudents

investment,individualdifferences,theirrelationshiptotheTLandwhattheyperceivetobe

assymboliccapital.Theworstwecandoistodismissaseeminglydisinterestedstudentas

unmotivatedbecauseitispossiblethatthisstudentisnotinvestedinacquiringtheTLfora

varietyofreasons.Perhapshe/shelivesinacommunitywhereEnglishisneverused,or

perhapshe/shehasnotbeenwelcomedbythenativeEnglishspeakingcommunitybecause

ofthecolorofhis/herskin.AndthusIfirmlystate,thatbeforewearetodevelopa

curriculum,whethertaskbasedorcontentbased,weoughttodeveloparapportwithour

students.Understandwhotheyareashumanbeingsfirst,thenasstudents.Askyour

studentstowriteanaccountoftheirlanguagelearninghistoriessothatyoumay

understandwheretheycomefrom,whattheywantandexpect.Andmostofallhave

empathyforeachone.Seetheworldfromtheireyes,andbekind,forthatisthebare

minimumrequiredforabetterclassroom.


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WhereIStand 10

References:

Bourdieu,P.(2006).Languageandsymbolicpower.InA.Jaworski(Ed.),TheDiscourse

Reader (pp.480490).Routledge.

Cook,V.J.(2008).Multicompetence:Blackholeofwormholeforsecondlanguage

acquisitionresearch?InZ.Han,(Ed.),Understandingsecondlanguageprocess(16

26)Clevedon;Buffalo:MultilingualMatters.

Ellis,R.(2005).Principlesofinstructedlanguagelearning.System,33,209224.

Ellis,R.(2010).Secondlanguageacquisitionresearchandlanguageteachingmaterial.InN.

Harwood(Ed.),Englishlanguage-teachingmaterials.(pp.3356)NewYork,NY:

CambridgeUniversityPress.

Gee,J.P.(2011)AnIntroductiontoDiscourseAnalysis:TheoryandMethod.NewYork,NY:

Routledge.

Nassaji,H.,&Fotos,S.(2011).Teachinggrammarinsecondlanguageclassrooms:

Integratingform-focusedinstructionincommunicativecontext.NewYork,NY:

Routledge.

NortonPeirce,B.(1995).Socialidentity,investment,andlanguagelearning.TESOL

Quarterly,29,931

Norton,B.(2010)LanguageandIdentity.InV.Edwards(Ed.),NewPerspectiveson

LanguageandEducation(pp.349369).MultilingualMatters.


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Norton,B&McKinney,C.(2011).Anidentityapproachtosecondlanguageacquisition.InD.

Atkinson(Ed.),Alternativeapproachestosecondlanguageacquisition.(pp.7294).

NewYork,NY:Routledge.

Pinker,S.(1994)TheLanguageInstinct:HowTheMindCreatesLanguage.NewYork,NY:

HarperCollinsPublishers.

Swain,M.(2000).Theoutputhypothesisandbeyond:Mediatingacquisitionthrough

collaborativedialogue.InJ.P.Lantolf(Ed.),Socioculturaltheoryandsecond

languagelearning(pp.97114).Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.

Swain,M.,(2006).Languaging,agency,andcollaborationinadvancedlanguageproficiency.

InH.Byrnes,H.(Ed.),Advancedlanguagelearning:ThecontributionofHallidayand

Vygotsky(pp.95108).London:Continuum.

Ushioda,E.(2003).Motivationasasociallymediatedprocess.InD.Little,J.Ridley,andE.

Ushioda(Eds.),Learnerautonomyinthelanguageclassroom(pp.90102).Dublin:

Authentik.

Ushioda,E.(2009).Apersonincontextrelationalviewofemergentmotivation,selfand

identity.InZ.Drnei&E.Ushioda,(Eds.),Motivation,languageidentityandtheL2

self (pp.215228).Bristol,UK:MultilingualMatters.

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SLA Position Paper Final