The Linguistics of Second Language Acquisition Essential Questions

The Linguistics of Second Language Acquisition

Essential Questions ¨ How have theorists defined languages and the language learning experience? ¨ What has their research shown? ¨ Do theorists agree or disagree with each other? ¨ What are we learning when we are learning a language?

The Nature of Language ¨ In your opinion, how would you describe the nature of language? Languages are…

What Linguists have said… Languages are… ¨ Systematic. ¨ Symbolic. ¨ Social. What do you think they mean?

Languages are systematic… ¨ Elements which occur in regular patterns of relationships. ¨ Unconscious rules or principles which speakers are unaware of knowing or using ¨ Understand the principles by using the language to express meaning.

Languages are symbolic… ¨ Sequences do not inherently possess meaning. ¨ The meanings of symbols come through the agreement of speakers. ¨ It is meaningful for the speakers who use or say that language.

Languages are social… ¨ Reflects the society that uses it. ¨ The only way to learn that language is to use it with others. ¨ No standard to judge which language is more effective for communication than another. ¨ Use language to communicate, to categorize and catalogue the objects, events, and processes.

Vocabulary What do these words mean? Can you give some examples? ¨ Lexicon ¨ Phonology ¨ Morphology ¨ Syntax ¨ Discourse

Lexicon= Vocabulary ¨ Word meaning ¨ Pronunciation (and spelling for written languages) ¨ Part of speech ¨ Word combinations and idioms

Phonology= Sound System ¨ Phonemes= speech sounds that make a difference in meaning ¨ Syllable structure= sequences of consonants and vowels ¨ Intonation patterns/tone ¨ Rhythmic patterns (pauses and stops)

Morphology= Word Structure ¨ Morphemes= parts of words that have meaning ¨ Inflections= number or tense that carry grammatical information ¨ Prefixes and suffixes

Syntax= Grammar ¨ Word order ¨ Subject/verb agreement ¨ Ways to form questions, to negate assertions, and to focus or structure information within sentences

Discourse ¨ Ways to connect sentences ¨ How to structure stories and engage in conversations ¨ Scripts for interacting and for events

Contrastive Analysis (1950’s 1960’s) ¨ Robert Lado ¨ Involves predicting and explaining learner problems based on comparing L 1 and L 2 with each other to determine similarities and differences. ¨ Make learning and teaching more efficient.

Contrastive Analysis (continued) ¨ Believe that learning a language is like learning a habit. ¨ Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement (S-R-R); imitate and repeat the language and the response is reinforced. ¨ “Practice makes perfect”

Contrastive Analysis (continued) ¨ Transfer in learning (positive and negative) ¨ We analyze the language in order to predict the problems that are most likely to occur. ¨ We create language lessons based on those “predicted difficulties” and we sequence our lessons in order of difficulty.

Contrastive Analysis Practice ¨ Based on your practice, what do you think of this method? Is it useful? Effective? ¨ What is good about this method? ¨ What are some problems with this method?

Problems with Contrastive Analysis ¨ Cannot explain how learners know more than they have heard or have been taught (“the logical problem of language learning”). ¨ The predictions were not accurate. Sometimes different problems appeared. ¨ How can you do this approach when you have multiple students with different language backgrounds?

Error Analysis ¨ Internal focus on learners’ ability to construct or create language. ¨ Based on actual learner errors in L 2, not on predictions.

Assumptions of Error Analysis (EA) ¨ Inner forces (interaction with the environment) push or promote learning. ¨ The learner is an active and creative participant in the process rather than a passive recipient. ¨ Examine the output in their own right instead of how deficient the language is. ¨ Sources of insight into the learning process. “Windows into the mind of the learner”. How the learner is exploring the language.

Error Analysis Procedure ¨ Collect a sample of learner language ¨ Identify the errors ¨ Describe the errors (according to language level, category, or specific language elements). ¨ Explain the errors (interlingual “between languages”, intralingual “within the language” or developmental). ¨ Evaluate the errors

Error Analysis Practice ¨ Based on your experience, what do you think of error analysis? Is it helpful? Useful? ¨ What are the good features of this method? ¨ What are some problems with this method?

Problems with Error Analysis ¨ Ambiguity in classification (Is the error because of a L 1 influence or is it part of the developmental process? ) ¨ Lack of positive data (does not explain what the learner has acquired) ¨ Potential for avoidance (the learner may not say it because the language structure is difficult).

Homework ¨ #1 - “Interlanguage experts” (pages 40 -42) ¨ #2 - “Krashen experts” (pages 45 -46) ¨ #3 - “Chomsky experts” (pages 46 -47)