The Linguistics of Second Language Acquisition

1. The Linguistics of Second Language Acquisition

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

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

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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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

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

10. 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)

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

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

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

14. Contrastive Analysis (1950’s-1960’s) • Robert Lado • Involves predicting and explaining learner problems based on comparing L1 and L2 with each other to determine similarities and differences. • Make learning and teaching more efficient.

15. 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”

16. 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.

17. 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?

18. 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?

19. Error Analysis • Internal focus on learners’ ability to construct or create language. • Based on actual learner errors in L2, not on predictions.

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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?

23. Problems with Error Analysis • Ambiguity in classification (Is the error because of a L1 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).

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