SLA Refresher

Shawn Boyd27 August 2013

Warm Up

What do L1 and L2 mean?

What does EFL stand for? ESL?

Which term applies to Sias?

What does SLA stand for?

What do you know/remember about SLA?

Second Language Acquisition

5 “Givens” of SLA

1. SLA involves the creation of an implicit linguistic system.

2. SLA is complex and consists of different processes.

3. SLA is dynamic but slow.

4. Most L2 learners fall short of native-like competence

5. Skill acquisition is different from the creation of an implicit system

1. Implicit Linguistic System

Native speakers do not consciously think about grammatical rules.

a) Who do you think Kate met yesterday?b) Who do you think that Kate met yesterday?c) Who do you think arrived with Kate yesterday?d) Who do you think that arrived with Kate yesterday?

Know the rules though (possibly) unable to explain them.

1. Implicit Linguistic System

L2 learners are able to make similar judgments.

L2 learners are able to produce utterances...

a) that they have never heard before

b) for which they they have never been taught the rules

L2 learners are able to make similar judgments.

What about explicit knowledge?

Prescriptive rules have a common place in L1 and L2 teaching.

Explicit knowledge is stored separately from the implicit system.

Used to monitor and correct one’s speech when situation allows enough time.

2. SLA is Complex

Language acquisition includes:

‣ lexicon

‣ phonological system

‣ morphology (inflection, derivation...)

‣ syntax

‣ pragmatics

‣ sociolinguistic information

‣ discourse competence

...

Three Sets of Processes

• Input processing:– “How learners make sense out of language they hear and how they

‘get linguistic data’ from it.” * Involves a) making form-meaning connections and b) parsing

• System Change: –Accommodation- bringing in a new, meaningful grammatical form or

structure into the developing system.–Restructuring- “ripple effects” cause by accommodation

• Output processing:– The manner in which learners (or any speakers) string together

words and formal features of language to create utterances.

(VanPatten, 2003)

3. SLA is Dynamic but Slow

Some parts of this system may be changing while others are at rest.

Development occurs in specific, ordered stages.

Some changes are “U-shaped”

Acquisition order does not always depend on instruction order

3. SLA is Dynamic but Slow

E.g. Negation in English

1. “No” is placed in front (E.g. No have pen, No cup etc.)

2. “No” is placed inside a sentence (E.g. He no have pen.)

3. Use of “don’t” and “can’t” as unanalyzed chunks(E.g. He don’t have pen.)

4. Acquisition of fully analyzed don’t and can’t (auxiliary “do”; placement of not) (E.g. I don’t (do not) have a pen. He doesn’t (does not) have a pen.)

3. SLA is Dynamic but Slow

Some developmental stages are “U-shaped”

Accuracy decreases as the form is acquired before finally increasing after the form is fully acquired.

Example - Past Tense -ed

Learners may learn to use irregular verb forms correctly.

As the learner acquires the -ed regular past tense , they might produce ‘wented’ or ‘goed’

Later learners will be able to produce irregular and regular -ed past tense verbs.

3. SLA is Dynamic but Slow

Acquisition orders: learners acquire certain language features in a sequential order over time.

English language learners always master the -ing form before the regular past tense -ed form of verbs.(VanPatten, 2003)

For many linguistic features, developmental stages and acquisition orders are messy and overlap.

Instructional orders do not alter these acquisition orders.

4. Short of Native-Like Competence

Previously: Non-nativeness was seen as failure in SLA process.

Now: Normal, anticipated outcome.

5. Skill Acquisition ≠ Creating Implicit System

Skill acquisition - “the ability to use language accurately and without effort.”

ExampleA learner might be able to distinguish the vowel sounds in “cook” and “kook” when listening and yet not be able to produce the correct form to say “He’s a good cook”.

(VanPatten, 2003)

“Givens” - True Regardless of...

Learning context

The presence or absence of instruction

(VanPatten, 2003)

SLA and Communication

Acquisition requires input and communicative interaction

What is input?

What is NOT input?

??

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Break

SLA and Communication

Acquisition requires input and communicative interaction

What is input?

What is NOT input?

Language, heard or read, that has communicative intent.

Information about the language (e.g. a grammatical explanation.)

Input Processing

Communication requires input processing:

Parsing

Making form-meaning connections

Input Hypothesis

i+1

Learners will acquire language when the input contains language structures that are slightly beyond their current level.

(Krashen, 1982)

Output

Output is the act of producing the target language.

Noticing/Triggering

Hypothesis testing

Metalinguistic function (reflection)

Input for Acquisition

Acquisition requires both:

comprehensible input

communicative interaction.

How can you make input comprehensible?

How can you create communicative interaction?

Comprehensible Input

How can you make input comprehensible?

Prepare your input.

Use non-linguistic means to help.

Engage in negotiation.

Communication

What is communication?

Is “expression, interpretation and negotiation of meaning”

Is not “rote repetition, the exchange of information in service of a grammar lesson, or simply oral expression.”

“Communicative language ability—the ability to express one’s self and to understand others—develops as learners engage in communication and not as a result of habit formation with grammatical items.”

(Lee & VanPatten,2003, p. 51)

Interaction Hypothesis

“[A] crucial site for language development is the interaction between learners and other speakers.”

Long and Robinson 1998:22

1. Input2. Interactional modification3. Opportunities for output4. Elicitation of feedback

Group Work Interaction

Learner’s get the most interaction (and practice) when everyone is working simultaneously.

(Littlewood, 1981)

– It’s not necessary to always have every group present before the entire class.

– Groups/partners can present to one another– Provide follow-up activities or assessment to keep

students accountable for the interaction.

Review

Comprehensible input and opportunities for interaction are key to acquisition.

Acquisition happens as a byproduct of comprehension within the act of communication.

Communicative Goals

Communicative goals are best achieved by

giving due attention to language use and not

just usage, to fluency and not just to accuracy,

to authentic language and contexts, and to

students’ eventual need to apply classroom

learning to previously unrehearsed contexts in

the real world” (Brown, 2007, p. 79)

Communicative Competence

Communicative Competence

Grammatical competence

Sociolinguistic competence

Discourse competence

Strategic competence

*Strategic Competence

“the strategies that one uses to compensate for imperfect knowledge of rules—or limiting factors in their application such as fatigue, distraction, and inattention”

(Savignon, 1997, p. 45)

Being able to use strategies to overcome weaknesses/obstacles and to find a way to communicate.

Strategies

Reduction Strategies

AvoidanceAchievement Strategies

Code switching/borrowing

Generalizing

Paraphrasing

Circumlocution

Repetition

Teaching Strategic Competence

Teach how to ask for repetition, clarification, confirmation.

Can you please say that again?

Sorry, what does ____ mean?

Did you say ____?

____ means ____, right?

Summary

We want our students to be functional beyond our classroom.

‘Functional’ as described in a model of communicative competence

Understanding SLA will allow you to better interact with your students and teach them how to be more effective learners.

Brown, H.D. (2007) Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3rd Ed.). White Plains, New York: Pearson.

Gorsuch, G. J. (2000) Chapter one: Course design and testing. Unpublished manuscript.

Lee, J.F., VanPatten, B. (2003) Making communicative language teaching happen (2nd Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Littlewood, W. (1981) Communicative language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mariani, L. (1994). Developing strategic competence: towards autonomy in oral interaction. Perspectives, a Journal of TESOL-Italy, 20 (1). http://www.learningpaths.org/papers/papercommunication.htm

Richards, Jack C. (2008) Teaching Listening and Speaking: From Theory to Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Savignon, S. J. (1997) Communicative competence theory and classroom practice. New York: McGraw-Hill.

VanPatten, B. (2003) From input to output: A teacher’s guide to second language acquisition. New York: McGraw-Hill.