LING362 - Lesson 2

LING362 – Lesson 2
What does it mean to know a language?

Class announcement
If you would like to do the extra credits, i.e. teaching at PICS, please contact me
ASAP. I’ll arrange it for you. The program starts TONIGHT!!
Did you watch this?
Remember this?
Categorizing
examples of language
into areas of
communicative
competence
How can we categorize these
examples of language into the
4 areas of communicative
competence?
Did you get
it right?
Krashen’s
model of
language
acquisition
(1985)
Highlights of Krashen’s theory
• Listening comprehension is the basic skill that will allow other skills to
develop spontaneously over time, given the right conditions
• Silent first, just listen to meaningful speech & respond nonverbally in
meaningful ways before producing the language
• Speak only when learners are ready to do so
• i +1: learners are exposed to input that’s 1 step beyond their level of
proficiency
• Error correction is unnecessary & counterproductive
Implications of Krashen’s (1985) model?
• Order of acquisition: Learners acquire forms of language in a predictable sequence
independent of their first language and of what is taught in the classroom
• Input hypothesis: Learners need abundant comprehensible input in order for
language acquisition to occur.
• Acquisition vs. learning: Acquisition refers to language picked up by learners
without conscious focus on rules or forms. Learning refers to conscious analysis of
language. Krashen suggests that acquired language is more permanent.
• Monitor hypothesis: The learned language acts as a “monitor,” checking and
correcting language output. Overuse of the monitor can result in stilted, unnatural
speech.
• Affective filter hypothesis: The affective filter represents barriers to learning such
as stress, anxiety, or embarrassment.
Post your thoughts on Google Jamboard  Canvas  Lesson 2
Implications of Krashen’s (1985) model
• In the classroom, this means that not all learners are at the same developmental stage and, as a result, may not
all be ready to acquire certain areas of language at the same time or rate.
• In the classroom, language can be made comprehensible through the use of visuals, realia (real objects such as
fruit, tools, etc.) and gestures. Teachers and more proficient peers need to say things in more than one way;
students need to see the language, hear the language, and “do things” with the language (sorting pictures,
ranking, etc.).
• In the classroom, learners should engage in real-life interactions, and the teacher should use authentic materials
(books, articles, broadcasts, songs, etc.) and authentic contexts for practicing language. According to the
acquisition vs. learning principle, discovery-based learning with little or no emphasis on grammar rules would
more likely lead to “acquisition.”
• We should provide learners with ample opportunities for communicative, spontaneous practice that are not
interrupted by heavy use of the “monitor,” for example, role plays, information-gap activities (tasks that include a
genuine exchange of information), discussions, and skits.
• The teacher can lower the affective filter by providing a classroom that is supportive and free of constraints that
can act as a filter:
• Provide encouragement that is meaningful.
• Allow for mistakes.
• Don’t spotlight learners.
• Allow for different learning styles and needs.
• Show respect for all learners.
First break – 10 mins
The socio-cultural perspectives in L2 learning
Vygotsky’s theory
• Vygotsky argued that children advance best when they collaborate
with others who are more skilled.
• Interested in social constructivism and its impact upon learners’
development.
• Zone of proximal development (ZPD) (how learning is improved
under the influence of ‘experts’)
• Scaffolding (matching the amount of assistance to a learner’s needs)
• Private speech (leading to ‘inner speech’; very relevant to notion of
‘sub-vocalizing’ in L2 reading)
Age of language acquisition
• Lenneberg’s (1967): there’s a
period of time for one to fully
acquire a language and the
cutoff point is commonly agreed
to be puberty.
• Remains controversial
• Genie’s case: Genie was locked in
her father’s house since 20
months old as he thought she’s
mentally retarded.
• When she was found 13 years
later, she had no skills
developed.
But, adults can learn too!
• Many times, adolescents and adults can actually acquire other areas
of language (literacy, grammar, vocabulary) more quickly than
children can (Singleton and Ryan 2004).
• Older learners can bring the experience of learning other things
through formal or informal education to the task of learning a second
language. Developed literacy or learning strategies from their first
language can be transferred to the second language.
• Many adults are able to attain very intelligible pronunciation provided
they have adequate input and opportunities for interaction in the
new language.
What are the factors that contribute to the
learners’ proficiency?
If you were to teach students like the
previous two, what would you
emphasize in your class? Why?
Discuss with your neighbors and be ready to share your thoughts to everyone.
Attitude?
• Crystal (1992): a psychological construct about people’s inner feelings towards
their own L1 or the languages of others.
• Findings about attitude and language learning are somewhat controversial and
inconsistent.
• Cherciov (2012): studies that relied on questionnaires (Hulsen, 2000, Yag ̆mur,
1997) seemed to find no straight correlations between attitude and L1
performance, while the studies that used interviews (Ben-Rafael & Schmid, 2007;
Schmid, 2002) established a clearer link between the two.
L1 attrition: loss of L1 due to the negative attitude
towards it which results in using it less frequently
• In Cherciov (2012), she examined the role of attitude in L1 attrition among
the Romanian immigrants to Canada using both questionnaires and
interviews.
• Major findings
• “…the data indicate that while attitudes towards the L1 play an important role in
shaping language proficiency, the relationship is neither clear-cut nor linear across all
bilinguals”
• “a positive attitude is not in and of itself a guarantee against language attrition”
• “…for some migrants, a new identity has emerged. Identification is not directed to
one language or the other, but to a new bilingual identity. The shift from monolingual
to bilingual identity and the recognition of a complex identity is…implying that
identities are not static, but continuously evolve across the lifespan” (p.730).
Needs analysis practice: advantages &
challenges faced by this learner
• How likely is this learner going to acculturate or assimilate?
• Ahmed came to the U.S. nine years ago as a refugee when he was 19.
Before that, he attended school for three years in a refugee camp after
leaving war-torn Somalia. Due to this interrupted schooling, he has
minimal literacy skills in his first language. He is married and has four
school-aged children. He works as an attendant in a parking garage and
attends ESL classes three mornings a week. Due to his limited literacy
skills, he has been placed in a beginning-level ESL class. At the same
time, he has strong oral skills and is quite confident communicating with
teachers and people in his community. His dream is to one day get his
high school equivalency. He lives in the city that has the highest number
of Somali refugees in the U.S.
Second break – 10 mins
To prepare you for the first assignment…
What does it mean to know a language –
cognitive scientists’ perspectives
Reflection 1:
due next
week!!
Week 3 Pre-view
• ESL pedagogies (1)
• Sign up for class observations
• Reflection 1 due – Sep 29 (23:59:00)

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What does it mean to know a language?

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