CK.0000072386

How Languages are Learned

Patsy M. Lightbown & Nina Spada

O X T O R D

Oxford Handbooks

for Language

Teach

ers

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How Languages are LearnedFourth edition

Patsy M. Lightbown and Nina Spada

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A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

The authors and publisher are grateful to those who have given permission to reproduce the following extracts and adaptations o f copyright material: p. 17 Extract from Language Development and language Disorders by Lois B loom an d M argaret Lahey (1978). M acm illan P ublish ers; p .47 F igure from ‘Som e issu e s re la tin g to th e M onitor M odel' by S teph en K rashen. On TESOL (1977). R eprin ted by p erm issio n ofTESO L In te rn ation al A sso cia tio n ; p .49 Extract from 'C o n stru c tin g a n acqu isition -based procedure for seco n d la n g u a g e a sse s sm e n t' by M anfred P ien em an n . M alcolm Jo h n sto n , and G eo ff Brindley in Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Volume 10/2, p p .2 1 7 -4 3 (1988). R eproduced by perm issio n o f C am b rid g e U niversity Press; p.53 Extract from ‘S p eed in g u p a cq u is itio n o f his/her: Explicit L1/L2 co n trac ts h e lp ’ in Second Language Acquisition and the Younger Learner: Child's Play? by Jo an n a W hite (2008) pp. 193-228. W ith k ind perm issio n of Joh n B en jam in s P ub lish in g C om pany. A m sterd am / P h ilade lph ia ; p .54 Extract fro m ‘Second language in stru c tio n d o es m ak e a d ifferen ce ' by C ath erine D oughty in Studies in Second Language Acquisition. Volum e 13/4, p p .4 3 1 -6 9 (1991). R eproduced by pe rm iss io n o f C am b rid ge U niversity Press; p. 136 R eprin ted fro m International Journal o f Educational Research. V olum e 37 by M errill Sw ain an d Sh aron Lapkin 'T a lk in g it th ro u gh : tw o French im m ersion le arn ers' re sp o n se to re form u la tio n s' p p .285-304 (2002) w ith p erm issio n from Elsevier; p. 139 Extract from 'C orrective feed b ack a n d learn er u p take ' by Roy Lyster a n d Leila Ranta in Studies in Second Language Acquisition. V olum e 19/1 pp .37 -6 6 (1 9 9 7 ). R eproduced by p e rm iss io n o f C am b rid ge U niversity Press.

Cartoons by: So p h ie G rillet © O xford U niversity Press 1993, 2005, an d 2012.

To the teach ers and stu d en ts from w h om w e have learned so m uch

C O N T E N T S

Acknowledgements xiPreface to the fourth edition xiii

Introduction 1

Before we begin. . . 2

1 Language learning in early childhood 5

Preview 5First language acquisition 5

The first three years: Milestones and developmental sequences 6The pre-school years 12The school years 13

Explaining first language acquisition 14The behaviourist perspective 15The innatist perspective 20Interactionist/developmental perspectives 24

Language disorders and delays 29Childhood bilingualism 30Summary 33Suggestions for further reading 34

2 Second language learning 35

Preview 35Learner characteristics 36Learning conditions 38Studying the language o f second language learners 40

Contrastive analysis, error analysis, and interlanguage 41Developmental sequences 45More about first language influence 57

Vocabulary 60Pragmatics 65Phonology 68Sampling learners’ language 72Summary 72Suggestions for further reading 73

v ii i Contents

3 Individual differences in second language learning 75

Preview 75Research on learner characteristics

Intelligence 79Language learning aptitude 80Learning styles 83Personality 84Attitudes and motivation 87Motivation in the classroom 88Identity and ethnic group affiliation 89Learner beliefs 90

Individual differences and classroom instruction 92Age and second language learning 92

The critical period: More than just pronunciation? 94Intuitions o f grammaticality 95Rate o f learning 96

Age and second language instruction 96Summary 99Suggestions for further reading 100

4 Explaining second language learning 103

Preview 103The behaviourist perspective 103

Second language applications: Mimicry and memorization 103The innatist perspective 104

Second language applications: Krashen’s ‘Monitor Model’ 106The cognitive perspective 108

Information processing 108Usage-based learning 110The competition model 111Language and the brain 113Second language applications: Interacting, noticing, processing, and practising 113

The sociocultural perspective 118Second language applications: Learning by talking 119

Summary 120Suggestions for further reading 121

Contents

5 Observing learning and teaching in the second language classroom 123

Preview 123Natural and instructional settings 123

In natural acquisition settings 124In structure-based instructional settings 126In communicative instructional settings 127

Observation schemes 129Classroom comparisons: Teacher-student interactions 129Classroom comparisons: Student-student interactions 135Corrective feedback in the classroom 139Questions in the classroom 145

Ethnography 149Summary 151Suggestions for further reading 152

6 Second language learning in the classroom 153

Preview 153Proposals for teaching 153

1 Get it right from the beginning 1542 Just listen ... and read 1593 Let’s talk 1654 Get two for one 1715 Teach what is teachable 1776 Get it right in the end 182

Assessing the proposals 194Summary 197Suggestions for further reading 198

7 Popular ideas about language learning revisited 201

Preview 201Reflecting on the popular ideas: Learning from research 201Conclusion 212

GlossaryBibliographyIndex

213227249

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

We wish first to thank the readers who responded so positively to the earlier editions o f this book. With each edition, we have benefited from sugges­tions and feedback offered by colleagues and students. O ur thanks to Ahlem Ammar, Alexander Ary, Philippa Bell, Luz Celaya, Laura Collins, Maria Fröhlich, Randall Halter, Zhaohong Han, Marlise Horst, Jim Hu, Phillip Hubbard, Youjin Kim, Roy Lyster, Alison Mackey, Kim M cDonough, Shawn Loewen, PaulMeara, ImmaM iralpeix, Vicki Murphy, Carmen Munoz, Heike Neumann, Howard Nicholas, Paul Quinn, Katherine Rehner, Mela Sarkar, Raquel Serrano, Younghee Sheen, Wataru Suzuki, and YasuyoTomita. Leila Ranta, and Jude Rand made essential contributions to the first edition.

At Oxford University Press, we owe a debt to Henry Widdowson for his early encouragement and to Cristina Whitecross, who was our editor for the first three editions. We are grateful to Catherine Kneafsey, Julia Bell, Hazel Geatches, and Ann Hunter who have worked with us through the development o f this new edition. We thank the English Speaking Union for conferring the 1993 Duke o f Edinburgh book prize for Applied Linguistics on the book.