Second Language Acquisition

1. Second Language Acquisition

2. Is L1 similar to L2? How? • Both require communicative input • Both have developmental stages • Both exhibit growth from one-word utterances to phrases to sentences • Both seem resistant to external manipulation

3. How are L1 and L2 different? • There is considerable variation in how proficient L2 learners become; whereas everyone is proficient in their L1 (under normal circumstances) • L2 learners already have one linguistic system; L1 learners do not • L2 learners don’t go through “babbling” stage • L1 learners spend first five years of life playing and interacting

4. PEPSI-Ahh… Pre-production Early Production Speech emergence Intermediate fluency Advanced fluency

5. L2: Stages Stage I: Pre-production • This is the silent period. ELLs may have up to 500 words in their receptive vocabulary but they are not yet speaking • Some students will, however, repeat every thing you say; they are not really producing language but are parroting

6. L2: Stages Stage II: Early production • May last up to six months • Students will develop a receptive and active vocabulary of about 1000 words • Students can usually speak in one- or two-word phrases; they can use short language chunks that have been memorized although these chunks may not always be used correctly

7. L2: Stages Stage III: Speech emergence • Have developed a vocabulary of about 3,000 words • Can communicate with simple phrases and sentences • They will ask simple questions, that may or may not be grammatically correct, such as “ May go to bathroom? ”

8. L2: Stages Stage IV: Intermediate fluency • Have a vocabulary of 6000 active words • Beginning to use more complex sentences when speaking and writing • Willing to express opinions and share their thoughts • They will ask questions to clarify what they are learning in class.

9. L2: Stages Stage V: Advanced Fluency • It takes students from 4-10 years to achieve native-like proficiency in a second language • Most ELLs at this stage have been exited from ESL and other support programs • At the beginning of this stage, however, they will need continued support from classroom teachers especially in content areas such as history/social studies and in writing.

10. Academic English v. Conversational English An important concept for ESOL is Cummin’s Academic English v. Conversational English. ELLs gain proficiency in conversational English in 6 months to 1 year. Academic English proficiency takes far longer—3-10 years! Conversational English also known as: BICS– Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills Academic English also known as: CALP – Cognitive Language Academic Proficiency How much time elapses before ELLs are transferred to the mainstream classroom with no support?

12. What about using the L1 in the classroom? • Use of L1 in early stages of English development is necessary as a tool for learners to manage their environment and learning tasks • Research shows that as learners gain familiarity with a task, their use of the L1 drops dramatically • Use of L1 dissipates as learners gain control over English usage

13. How do we best help our ELL students sitting in our classroom?