Key terminologies in second

language acquasition
Lecture11
Birgul Asadova
 Inputandintake

 Input in second language acquisition refers to the language available from the
environment, including teachers' instructions, materials provided by teachers, and any
other language forms exposed to learners. It's like pouring water from a bucket,
representing the language learners are exposed to. Intake, on the other hand, is the
language that actually makes its way into the learner's competence. For instance, when
students watch a movie in the target language, they receive a lot of input, but what they
learn from it is their intake. This can be likened to pouring water from a bucket into a
bottle, where only some of the water gets into the bottle, representing what learners
absorb and understand. Input typically consists of language that learners hear or read in a
communicative context, which they process for its message or meaning. Various types of
input have been discussed, such as comprehensible input, which learners can readily
understand, and modified input, adjusted to help learners better comprehend the speaker's
meaning.
  Definition: Language available from the environment.
 Examples: Teachers’ instructions, materials provided by the
teacher, language exposed to students (e.g., through movies).
 Analogy: Pouring water from a bucket. The amount of water in
Input the bucket represents the input.
 Characteristics: Language learners are exposed to it in a
communicative context.
 Types: Comprehensible input (language learners can
understand for its meaning) and modified input (language
adjusted for better comprehension).
  Definition: Language that actually makes its way into the
learner’s competence.
 Example: What students learn after watching a movie in the
target language.

Intake  Analogy: Water poured into a bottle from a bucket. Only some
water gets into the bottle, representing intake.
 Characteristics: Language learners process it for its message or
meaning.
  Interlanguage, coined in 1972 by Larry Selinker, describes the
unique language competence of second language learners and
its origins. It suggests that learners develop a distinct language
system, separate from both their native language (L1) and the
target language (L2), though it may be influenced by both.

Interlanguage Interlanguage involves both positive and negative transfer from

the learner's L1. Positive transfer occurs when a feature from
the learner's native language is similar to the target language,
aiding learning. Negative transfer happens when a feature from
the learner's native language is substantially different from the
target language, potentially causing errors or confusion.
 Due to the similar placement of adjectives in both Azerbaijani and
English, Azerbaijani learners of English may find it easier to
construct sentences with adjectives correctly, experiencing a
positive transfer.

Here's an example to Example of Positive Transfer:

illustrate positive
and negative transfer  Azerbaijani: "gözəl qız" (beautiful girl)
in interlanguage:
 Interlanguage English: "beautiful girl" (correct English)
In this case, the learner correctly places the adjective before the
noun in English, as they do in Azerbaijani, leading to
grammatically correct sentences.
Now, let's consider a negative transfer example.
 When the sentence structures differ significantly, learners may incorrectly transfer rules from their native language to the
target language, leading to errors.
 Example:
 Azerbaijani: O kitab oxuyurmu? (Is he/she reading a book?)
 Structure: Subject + Verb + Question Particle

 English: Is he reading a book?

 Structure: Auxiliary Verb + Subject + Main Verb

 Negative Effect: An Azerbaijani speaker might incorrectly form an English question by following the Azerbaijani
structure, resulting in:
 Incorrect English: He reading a book is?
 Analysis: The learner is trying to place the question particle (or its equivalent function) at the end of the sentence, similar to
Azerbaijani structure, leading to incorrect word order in English.
  Stephen Krashen (1970) drew a line between learning and
acquisition. Learning, in his view, involves conscious efforts,
like studying grammar rules from books or teachers. For
instance, if learners are told, "You need to add -s to verbs that
refer to someone else. This is called third-person -s," and then
they practice this rule, Krashen sees it as learning. This type of

Acquisition vs. learning leads to an "explicit" knowledge system.

Learning  On the other hand, acquisition, according to Krashen, happens

when learners internalize language naturally from exposure to
input, without explicit teaching or practice. Unlike learning,
acquisition results in an implicit (unconscious) understanding
of the language system, similar to how native language learners
acquire language.
  Learning:
 Imagine a language learner, Sarah, who is studying English grammar rules
from a textbook. She learns the rule that verbs referring to someone else should
have an -s added in the third person singular form. So, she practices sentences
like "He walks to school" or "She talks to her friends." In this case, Sarah is
consciously learning the grammar rule through study and practice.

Here's an example to  Acquisition:

illustrate the difference  Now, consider another language learner, Alex, who regularly watches English
between learning and TV shows without actively studying grammar rules. Through exposure to the
acquisition based on language in context, Alex naturally starts using phrases like "He walks to
Stephen Krashen's school" or "She talks to her friends" correctly without necessarily being aware
distinction: of the specific grammar rule. Alex's understanding of the language develops
gradually through immersion and exposure, reflecting the process of
acquisition.

 In this example, Sarah's learning involves conscious effort and explicit

instruction, while Alex's acquisition occurs through exposure to language input
without conscious study or practice of grammar rules.
  Mistake: An inaccurate statement that a student can correct if
it's pointed out to them. Usually, students notice their mistakes

Mistake on their own and can self-correct.

 Error: An inaccurate statement that the student doesn't realize is
error wrong or doesn't know how to correct.
  Mistake:
 A student says, "Yesterday I go to the store." After hearing this,
the teacher corrects the student by saying, "Actually, it's
'Yesterday I went to the store.'" The student then realizes the
Here are mistake and self-corrects by saying, "Yesterday I went to the

examples of a store."

mistake and an  Error:

error:  Now, let's suppose a student says, "Yesterday I goed to the
store." The student doesn't recognize the error in the past tense
form of the verb "go" and doesn't know how to correct it. In this
case, the student's statement is an error because they're unaware
of the mistake or don't know how to fix it without assistance.
  Fossilization is the process in second language acquisition where an interlanguage,
which is the learner's developing language system, stops progressing towards the
correct target language (L2) form. Essentially, certain errors or non-native features
become ingrained or "fossilized" in the learner's language system, making them
difficult to eradicate despite continued exposure to the target language.

 Here's an example to illustrate fossilization:

 Imagine a language learner, Maria, who is learning English. When she first started
learning, she struggled with irregular past tense verbs. For example, she consistently

Fossilization said "runned" instead of "ran" and "buyed" instead of "bought." Over time, Maria
received corrections from her teacher and exposure to correct language use through
reading and listening.

 However, despite continued efforts, Maria's incorrect forms of irregular past tense verbs
became fossilized in her interlanguage. Even though she now knows the correct forms
and can use them in controlled exercises or when prompted, she still occasionally
produces errors like "runned" and "buyed" spontaneously in conversation. These errors
persist because they have become ingrained in Maria's language system, representing a
case of fossilization.
  The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is a term coined by Noam
Chomsky in the 1960s to explain how humans naturally acquire language.
Chomsky believed children couldn't learn language solely through imitation
or trial and error. Instead, he proposed that they're equipped with an innate,
biological ability for language acquisition. Initially, he described the LAD as
a specific mechanism in the brain responsible for language learning.

The Language  Later, Chomsky refined his ideas and shifted away from the concept of the

Acquisition LAD. Instead, he emphasized Universal Grammar, suggesting humans have

an inborn knowledge of language structure that guides language acquisition.

Device So, rather than a distinct "device" in the brain, Universal Grammar
represents an innate source of knowledge about language rules and patterns.

 The concept of the LAD was a key component of Innatist Theory, which
posits that language isn't just learned but is an inborn capacity. According to
this theory, language acquisition is a natural process, akin to learning to
walk, that unfolds when infants are exposed to language in their
environment.