Second Language Acquisition

Teacher: Kari Miller

(April 16 – May 19)

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How we learn language?

1. Using dynamic classes to engage the students.

2. Get involved with the language giving more effort on speaking and listening.
3. Helping them to develop all different skills trusting the environment and the teacher.
4. The best way to learn a language is being exposed to comprehensible input and a lot of practice.
5. The best way to learn English is by interaction and speaking.
6. The best way to learn is living in the place where we want to learn the language.
7. The best way for us is to create a good environment, develop skills, teacher could create
students confident, listening music, reading a book, improve our vocabulary and develop the
skills in our students.
8. The best way for us is to practice speaking in a real situation without matter errors or mistakes.
9. Learning English like babies do, first just listening and speaking.
10. We considered that the environment is really important and the main point to improve the
language, also the age takes a big influence to award the language.

UNIT 1: (SLA) Theories

The best methods are therefore those that supply 'comprehensible input' in low anxiety situations,
containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in
the second language, but allow students to produce when they are 'ready', recognizing that
improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing
and correcting production.

Krashen's theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses:

the Acquisition-Learning hypothesis;

the Monitor hypothesis;

the Input hypothesis;

the Affective Filter hypothesis;

and the Natural Order hypothesis.


  Acquisition-Learning hypothesis

Acquisition

It is a subconscious process and the learner is unaware of the process taking place. Once the new
knowledge has been acquired, the learner is actually unaware of processing such knowledge; this is
analogous to the way children learn their native language.

According to Krashen there are two independent systems of foreign language performance: 'the
acquired system' and 'the learned system'. The 'acquired system' or 'acquisition' is the product of a
subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first
language. The "learned system" or "learning" is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a
conscious process which results in conscious knowledge 'about' the language, for example knowledge of
grammar rules.


  Monitor hypothesis

The Monitor hypothesis explains the relationship between acquisition and learning and defines the
influence of the latter on the former. The monitoring function is the practical result of the learned
grammar. According to Krashen, the acquisition system is the utterance initiator, while the learning
system performs the role of the 'monitor' or the 'editor'. The 'monitor' acts in a planning, editing and
correcting function when three specific conditions are met:

1. The second language learner has sufficient time at their disposal.

2. They focus on form or think about correctness.
3. They know the rule.


  Input hypothesis

The Input hypothesis is Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a second language, how
second language acquisition takes place. The Input hypothesis is only concerned with 'acquisition', not
'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses along the 'natural order'
when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic
competence.

Comprehensible input is a verbal or written message to the language learner that should be easy to
understand. It’s necessary for language acquisition.
  Affective Filter hypothesis

According to the affective filter hypothesis, certain emotions, such as anxiety, self-doubt, and mere
boredom interfere with the process of acquiring a second language. They function as a filter between
the speaker and the listener that reduces the amount of language input the listener is able to
understand.

This theory states that language learning is BLOCKED by boredom, embarrassment, anxiety, fear of
judgement, low self-confidence. The Affective Filter is like a psychological fence. To overcome the filter,
MOTIVATION is important. So as teachers, let’s create a POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIROMENT.

Krashen claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, a low level of
anxiety and extroversion are better equipped for success in second language acquisition.

1. Engage all students.

2. Value unique cultural backgrounds.
3. Get to know our students as individuals.
4. Promote a positive viewpoint and respect for all learners.
  Natural Order hypothesis

Natural Order hypothesis states the order in which learners acquire the grammar skills of a language.
Krashen says that there is a natural sequence in which we learn specific grammar skills before others.

According to Krashen's theory, what you teach may not be acquired if the student is not ready. It is
important that teachers know where their students are in the learning process.

Teachers must be patient with their ELL students, because according to the Natural Order Hypothesis
this process of learning cannot be changed or sped-up. Example:

1. English language learners pick up how to use the present tense -ing, as in "She likes typing"
before the possessive 's, as in "Amy's dress is red".

What is CEFR?

The CEFR describes six broad levels of ability, with A1 being the lowest and C2 the highest. Learners are
classified in three distinct groups: the Basic User (levels A1 and A2), the Independent User (B1 and B2)
and the Proficient User (C1 and C2). As these titles suggest, learners develop not just in terms of the
actual language they have available, but also in terms of their strategies for communicating. For
example, in moving from basic to independent, learners will gain compensation strategies, enabling
them to make the most of the language they already know; proficient learners will be operating at a
higher level, where they can be both fluent and spontaneous, and able to draw on exactly the language
they need for a specific situation.

The CEFR describes what learners can do across five language skills: Spoken Interaction, Spoken
Production, Listening, Reading and Writing. For all five skills at each level, there are sets of detailed ‘Can
Do’ statements. By dividing Speaking in two, the CEFR focuses both on the learner’s production and their
ability to take part in conversations and discussion. So, for example, under Spoken Interaction there is
information about Turntaking: a Basic A2 learner Can use simple techniques to start, maintain or end a
short conversation, whereas a Proficient C1 learner Can select a suitable phrase to preface their remarks
appropriately in order to get the floor, or to gain time and keep the floor whilst thinking.
Concept presentation topics:

 Simultaneous vs Successive

Simultaneous language learning occurs when exposure to multiple languages occurs at the same time
from birth. Successive takes place when learning an additional language after learning much of a native
language.

 Interlanguage

Interlanguage is the learner's current version of the language they are learning. Interlanguage changes
all the time but can become fossilized language when the learners do not have the opportunity to
improve.

Example, a learner who has lived in an English-speaking environment for many years but not attended
classes or studied for some time has problems with reported speech and forming tag questions. His
interlanguage has become fossilized.

In the classroom, interlanguage is often heavily influenced by L1 and interference from this may make it
seem perfectly logical to the learner, although it is incorrect. It is important for teachers to understand
this and also to see interlanguage as a series of learning steps.

Interlanguage is the linguistic system that underlies the language our learners produce.

In other words, your learners have their first language, and English is the target language, and the
English they are capable of producing is their interlanguage.

Understanding interlanguage can be useful in many ways. Studying a student’s interlanguage will
emphasize what a learner is producing rather than concentrating on error analysis, which is often what
we do.
  Interference

Interference relates to problems that affect the learning of a new language, specifically caused by the
learner’s first language.

It comes about as a result of the learner transferring aspects of their first language onto the second
language. Even though this mostly happens when the learner is at a low level of the second language, it
can actually happen at any stage in learning, when the learner makes assumptions about the language
they do not know.

This makes sense when the first language and the second language are very different, but it is also a
problem when the two languages are very similar, as learners may assume that words that look or
sound similar have the same meaning or can be used in the same way when in fact they can’t.

False cognates are such an example.

False cognates are words that look and sound similar in two languages but have a completely different
meaning. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in different languages that come from the
same family and so are related.

If you consider milk (English) and melk (Dutch) you can understand that they are cognates because they
look and sound the same and they have the same meaning. However, embarrassed (English) and
embarasado (Spanish) are false cognates. Even though they look and sound similar, embarasado actually
means pregnant!
  Fossilization

Fossilization is when a language error becomes a habit in the second language.

Making mistakes in a foreign language is a natural part of the learning process and is to be expected and
even encouraged. Language learners make mistakes all the time, but sometimes they will be corrected
and other times they won’t. If the mistakes they are making do not impede communication in any way
there is a chance they will go unnoticed, especially if these productions are not taking place in the EFL
classroom. If this happens again and again, over time the learner will adopt this error into their language
production without realizing it is a mistake.

Fossilized errors can be extremely difficult to correct because they have been incorporated into a
learner’s interlanguage. However, bringing a learner’s attention to the error and their production can
help, as can doing activities focused on that particular error.
INTERLANGUAGE VS INTERFERENCE

Interlanguage errors are developmental errors that learners make as they learn and adapt to rules in
both L1 and in L2. So, a (native speaker) child will learn ‘he went’, ‘he came’ but then learn the add –ed
rule and start saying ‘he goed’, ‘he comed’. So, the L1 child will go from right, to over correcting or
misapplying a rule, and then back to correct again. Researchers say that L2 learners do exactly the same
thing and call these interlanguage errors, (internal language acquisition errors).

Interference is where the L2 learner takes a rule from L1 and applies it wrongly to L2. So, a German and
an English child will both make the above interlanguage errors when speaking/learning to speak English
about forming past simple. But the German child will take the rule for making German past simple,
which is have and past participle, and say ‘I have come’ when they mean ‘I came’. The English child, not
knowing German, doesn’t have this interference.

So, interlanguage errors affect ALL speakers, native and non-native and deal with the internal
development of language awareness. Interference can only affect students who have another set of
rules, so a German student learning English. Or an English student learning French and German at the
same time and using German rules to talk French. Or English rules to talk German, which would be L1
interference.
  Constructivism

Constructivism is an important learning theory that educators use to help their students learning.
Constructivism is based on the idea that people actively construct or make their own knowledge, and
that reality is determined by your experiences as a learner. Basically, learners use their previous
knowledge as a foundation and build on it with new things that they learn.

1. Learners construct knowledge.

2. Learning is active and constructivism.
3. Students are the center.
4. Teacher’s the guide for the student’s learning.

 SLA linguistics

A learner studying in an English-speaking country may have more success due to the language they
acquire in their part-time job than with the language they learn in their class.

In the classroom, implications for the language classroom include the ideas that the teacher can create
contexts for communication which facilitate acquisition, that there is a natural order of acquisition of
language, that there are affective filters which inhibit acquisition, especially for adults, and that
comprehensible input is very important.

 Comprehensible output

It states that learning takes place when learners encounter a gap in their linguistic knowledge of the
second language (L2). By noticing this gap, learners become aware of it and may be able to modify their
output so that they learn something new about the language.

1. Noticing
2. Testing
3. Metalinguistic function

 Bloom's taxonomy

It is a classification of teaching organized by levels of complexity.

Lesson Planning: What am I teaching? How will I teach it? Who am I teaching at? Do my students
understand?


  Behaviorism/structuralism

As nouns the difference between structuralism and behaviorism is that structuralism is a theory of
sociology that views elements of society as part of a cohesive, self-supporting structure while
behaviorism is an approach to psychology focusing on behavior, denying any independent significance
for mind and assuming that behavior is determined by the environment.

Behaviorism teaches how to motivate and help students (Stimulus – Response) playing a game, drawing,
writing, coloring, going to recess.

 Innatism

The innateness hypothesis is an expression coined by Hilary Putnam to refer to a linguistic theory of
language acquisition which holds that at least some knowledge about language exists in humans at
birth.

Evolution of language. Unconscious and inductive language learning skill.

 SLA psychology

In this chapter we survey several approaches to SLA that have been heavily influenced by the field of
psychology. They are ordered according to their primary focus of attention: first those that focus on
languages and the brain, then those that focus on the learning processes that are involved in SLA, and
finally those that focus on differences among learners.

Study of languages and the brain is based largely on the framework provided by neurolinguistics, which
seeks to answer questions about how the location and organization of language might differ in the
heads of monolingual versus multilingual speakers, and of multilinguals who acquire second languages
at different ages or under differing circumstances. It primarily addresses what is being acquired in a
physical sense: what is added or changed in the neurological “wiring” of people's brains when they add
another language?

Maintain their motivation, perseverance and resiliency as well as positive emotions necessary for the
long-term undertaking of learning a foreign language.

Cognitive approach, attention, perception, memory, thinking.

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT VS. COMPREHENSIBLE OUTPUT

As Dr. Stephen Krashen stated that comprehensible input refers to messages that people understand
when acquiring a second language. The messages should be slightly above the learner's current
language level (i+1). According to Krashen's theory of second language, comprehensible input helps
learners to acquire a second language through meaningful interaction, which is different from learning a
second language consciously through formal instructions. Many important researchers have clearly
identified that second language acquisition can only take place when comprehensible language input is
provided and understood by learners.

Comprehensible output was developed by Merrill Swain. As much as scaffolding is needed for
comprehensible input, equal opportunities should also be created in order to develop students' ability
to respond and interact in the target language accurately and appropriately within a specific context,
and within a safe learning environment. It's part of the process of second language acquisition, using
language for authentic and meaningful communication. According to Swain, there are three functions of
output: (1) the noticing/triggering function; (2) the hypothesis-testing function; (3) the metalinguistic
(reflective function). The notion of negotiation of meaning plays an important role to explain this
theory. Just as toddlers develop their language, they initially receive comprehensive language input and
after receiving correct linguistic feedback through positive give-and-take interaction, they then begin to
produce the language that can be understood.
 SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

1. The Cognitive School of Thought

The first school of thought we will examine has its roots in cognitive science, a field that studies how
people think. Specifically, cognitive scientists try to fathom what goes on inside our heads when we are
learning. They have contributed two important, wide-ranging ideas that help us understand how people
learn and remember. They are information processing and meaningful learning.

Information processing refers to the study of how we mentally take in and store information and then
retrieve it when needed. If we understand and use what we know about information processing, we
should be able to help our students become better at taking in and remembering information.

Meaningful learning involves the study of how new information can be most effectively organized,
structured, and taught so that it might be used, for example in problem-solving situations. Let’s look at
these two somewhat different and sometimes overlapping ideas.
 2. The Humanistic School of Thought: social and emotional learning

A second school of thought offered to explain how we learn and, therefore, how we should teach comes
from humanistic education and social psychology. Humanists maintain education should be based upon
the needs and interests of learners. After all, needs and interests are what drive or motivate us.
Moreover, they want education to be based upon the needs and interests of individual learners. Thus,
education should be as personal as possible. Social psychologists want us to recognize the importance of
social interactions and social influences on behavior including learning.

Said another way, the humanistic school urges that we teach according to the interests and needs of
children and, furthermore, that we create healthy social and emotional classroom environments
characterized by acceptance and respect. Doing these things enhances learning.

3. The Behavioral School of Thought

The third school of thought about learning, teaching, and education is behaviorism. Behaviorists, as the
name implies, help us understand why we behave as we do. They are interested in finding out how
external, environmental stimuli cause overt or observable learner behavior and how modifying a
learner’s environment can change behavior.

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Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) or Communicative Approach

Communicative language teaching (CLT), or the communicative approach, is an approach to language

teaching that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of study.

Learners in environments using CLT techniques learn and practice the target language by interactions
with one another and the instructor, the study of "authentic texts" (those written in the target language
for purposes other than language learning), and the use of the language both in class and outside of
class.

Learners converse about personal experiences with partners, and instructors teach topics outside of the
realm of traditional grammar to promote language skills in all types of situations. That method also
claims to encourage learners to incorporate their personal experiences into their language learning
environment and to focus on the learning experience, in addition to the learning of the target language.

According to CLT, the goal of language education is the ability to communicate in the target language.
This is in contrast to previous views in which grammatical competence was commonly given top priority.

CLT also focuses on the teacher being a facilitator, rather than an instructor. Furthermore, the approach
is a non-methodical system that does not use a textbook series to teach the target language but works
on developing sound oral and verbal skills prior to reading and writing.

The communicative method is characteristics by being a general teaching approach and not a teaching
method with clearly defined class practices. As such, it is often defined by a list of general principles or
characteristics. One of the best-known lists is that of the five characteristics of the communicative
method, prepared by David Nunan (1996):

1. It emphasizes communication in the foreign language through interaction.

2. Introduce real texts in the learning situation.
3. It offers students opportunities to think about the learning process and not just about the
language.
4. It gives importance to the personal experiences of the students as elements that contribute to
the learning of the classroom.
5. Try to relate the language learned in the classroom with activities carried out outside of it.

Classroom activities:

CLT teachers choose classroom activities based on what they believe is going to be most effective for
students developing communicative abilities in the target language (TL). Oral activities are popular
among CLT teachers, as opposed to grammar drills or reading and writing activities, because they
include active conversation and creative, unpredicted responses from students. Activities vary based on
the level of language class they are being used in. They promote collaboration, fluency, and comfort in
the TL. The six activities listed and explained below are commonly used in CLT classrooms.

Role-play

Role-play is an oral activity usually done in pairs, whose main goal is to develop students' communicative
abilities in a certain setting. Example:

1. Simulation games (role playing)

2. Interviews
3. Exchange of information distributed among students
4. Games
5. Language exchange
6. Surveys
7. Work in pairs
8. Learn by teaching

There are two main approaches to teaching grammar. These are the deductive and the inductive
approach.

A deductive approach is when the rule is presented and the language is produced based on the rule.
(The teacher gives the rule.)

An inductive approach is when the rule is inferred through some form of guided discovery. (The teacher
gives the students a means to discover the rule for themselves.)

In other words, the former is more teacher centered and the latter more learner centered. Both
approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. In my own experience, the deductive approach is
undoubtedly time saving and allows more time for practicing the language items thus making it an
effective approach with lower-level students. The inductive approach, on the other hand, is often more
beneficial to students who already have a base in the language as it encourages them to work things out
for themselves based on their existing knowledge.
 Direct Method

The direct method of teaching, which is sometimes called the natural method, and is often (but not
exclusively) used in teaching foreign languages, refrains from using the learners' native language and
uses only the target language.

 Gestures
 Teacher monologues

Natural Approach

The natural approach is a method of language teaching developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It aims to foster naturalistic language acquisition in a classroom
setting, and to this end it emphasizes communication, and places decreased importance on conscious
grammar study and explicit correction of student errors. Efforts are also made to make the learning
environment as stress-free as possible. In the natural approach, language output is not forced, but
allowed to emerge spontaneously after students have attended to large amounts of comprehensible
language input.

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SLA Principles

Many people assume that learning a second language ought to be very much like learning a first
language. After all, children learn their mother tongues with seeming ease and end up speaking with
"perfect" pronunciation and grammar. However, a closer look reveals that the processes of first
language acquisition (FLA) are not as effortless or fast as they may appear. It takes children years of
listening, practicing sounds, and making mistakes to evolve from simplified "baby talk" to true
proficiency.

Also, trying to fit second language acquisition (SLA) into an FLA model overlooks some of the great
advantages that adult second language learners possess. Since they have already mastered one
language, they have a vast resource of knowledge and concepts that can aid their learning. They can
make useful comparisons between the first language (L1) and second language (L2). They can also apply
study methods that they have gained through their education, which can greatly speed up and facilitate
the learning process.

Another assumption that many people make is that children are better language learners than adults.
While there is some truth to the idea that children acquire native accents more efficiently than older
learners, studies show that this is generally their only significant advantage.

So, if age is not the key factor in determining language learning success, what is?

While the field of SLA research is still searching for definitive answers to this question, several clear
points are emerging. To understand how SLA works and design effective curricula, we must examine the
critical roles of:

 Motivation
 Affect
 Learning context
 Transfer
 Error treatment

Principle 1: Know your Learners

English teachers should understand the students’ personal and educational background so they can
tailor classes according to their students’ needs more effectively. Learning about the students’ culture,
first language, and past experiences are useful while preparing lesson plans, materials, and projects.

Principle 2: Create Conditions for Language Learning

Creating a positive atmosphere in class considering physical space, materials, and student integration
promotes better learning experiences for English students. A pleasant atmosphere makes students feel
comfortable and more confident in participating and expressing themselves in a positive way, which is
essential for learning development. Additionally, setting high expectations, differentiation, and
motivation help learners deepen their English language skills.

Principle 3: Design High-Quality Lessons for Language Development

Creating meaningful and exceptional lesson plans that develop the students’ language acquisition and
their content learning process remains essential. Teachers may engage students in authentic language
practice experiences, supporting their learning strategies and critical thinking development. According
to the 6 Principles manifesto, “gestures, visuals, demonstrations, embedded definitions, audio supports,
and bilingual glossaries make information comprehensible.”
Principle 4: Adapt Lesson Delivery as Needed

Assessing students and adapting lesson plans accordingly remains a must. Reflecting on the students’
performance and development improves the quality of many English lessons. There are several ways to
do so: reteaching content, adapting activities and materials, adjusting instructions and tasks, being
flexible with the students’ response time they allow students.

Principle 5: Monitor and Assess Student Language Development

Outstanding ESL/EFL teachers also monitor and assess students’ language development to measure and
document progress. English students learn in different ways and speed. Therefore, English teachers
should prepare different forms of assessment while providing constructive feedback appropriate for the
students’ ages and levels for continual student improvement.

Principle 6: Engage and Collaborate Within a Community of Practice

This last principle suggests English teachers should collaborate with each other to support their English
language learners. Sharing classroom experiences, reflecting critically on teaching practices, following
current ELT research, joining and engaging in professional groups, attending academic conferences, and
engaging in online learning groups are all ways to be active within a community of practice. This advice
might benefit teachers, their co-workers, their students and the institutions where we work. Is this last
suggestion a tad self-serving for TESOL? Yes, but it’s also a practical suggestion for dedicated ESOL
professionals.

Principle 7: Communication

Activities that involve real communication promote learning.

Principle 8: Real-life Tasks:

Activities in which language is used to carry out tasks (meaningful tasks) promotes learning.

Principle 9: Meaningfulness:

Language that is meaningful (to the learner) supports the learning process

In short, communicative learning activities need to engage students in meaningful and authentic
language use (not mechanical/rote/unauthentic).

The theory of language learning of CLT seems to coincide in thought with many of the principles of SLA
research.
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Comprehensibility Factors:

 Rate of speech: Speech rate is simply the speed at which you speak. It's calculated in the
number of words spoken in a minute (wpm.)
 Choice of vocabulary: Your vocabulary choices can build meaning in your writing and make the
progression of ideas clear. The words you use can also help to carry meaning through your text
so that the relationships between all the ideas and information in it are very clear to the reader.
 Background knowledge: In the context of schools, background knowledge can be defined as the
knowledge students have, learned both formally in the classroom as well as informally through
life experiences.
 Unpredictability factor
 Filler words: A filler word is an apparently meaningless word, phrase, or sound that marks a
pause or hesitation in speech. Also known as a pause filler or hesitation form. Some of the
common filler words in English are um, uh, er, ah, like, okay, right, and you know.
 Cognates: Cognates are those words that have the same root, that is, they come from the same
origin.
 Accent
 Elision: omitting one or more sounds from a word or phrase to make it easier to pronounce.
 Linking: Linker Words or Word Connectors are used to link large groups of words: phrases and
sentences. You can also use them to connect paragraphs to give them coherence.
 Blending: English changes all the time. Often, the language changes in response to what’s
happening in the world, and something that’s becoming more and more popular in English to
blend words together to create new words, like blog (web log).

Concept presentation topics:

 Fluency vs Accuracy: Fluency in language learning is the ability to use the spoken or written form
of the language to communicate effectively. While fluency does require a reasonable knowledge
of vocabulary and grammar, the language produced does not need to be flawless as long as you
are able to be clearly understood. In contrast, accuracy refers to the production of
 grammatically correct spoken or written language. While it is important to learn the correct
forms of the language, accuracy does not guarantee the ability to communicate fluently.
 Satisfy communicative needs vs teach language
 Meaningful exercises vs linguistic
 Testing is a demonstration of performance vs demonstration of knowledge
 Language – social tool vs intellectual activity
 Learner is active vs empty vessel
 Teacher is facilitator vs language authority
 Syllabus based on communicative competence vs linguistic objectives
 Errors judged in context vs penalized
 Speaking/Listening emphasis vs Reading/Writing

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