WHAT’S IN A NAME? THE QUEST FOR A NEW SLA METAPHOR Vera Menezes (UFMG/CNPq)

BRAZIL

02"What's in a name? that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet” says Juliet to Romeo, trying to persuade Romeo to abandon his surname.

Can we use the same reasoning to abandon the acquisition metaphor?

What is a metaphor?

Metaphor definition

“A set of conceptual correspondences, or more technically, mappings, between two conceptual domains, a source and a target (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980; Köveceses, 2002). The source is more physical and the target more abstract.

Ex. source: container domain: mind Thus the mind is a container

Knowledge Transfer

Knowledge building.

Knowledge is socially constructed

Etymoloy of “learn”• learn

– O.E. leornian "to get knowledge, be cultivated," from P.Gmc. *liznojan (cf. O.Fris. lernia, O.H.G. lernen, Ger. lernen "to learn," Goth. lais "I know), with a base sense of "to follow or find the track," from PIE *leis- "track." Related to Ger. Gleis "track," and to O.E. læst "sole of the foot" (see last (n.)). The transitive sense (He learned me how to read), now vulgar, was acceptable from c.1200 until early 19c., from O.E. læran "to teach" (cf. M.E. lere, Ger. lehren "to teach;" see lore), and is preserved in the adj. learned "having knowledge gained by study" (c.1340).(Oxford Dicionary of Etymology)

– apprehend late 14c., "to grasp in the mind," from L. apprehendere "to take hold of, grasp,“from ad-"to" + prehendere "to seize" (see prehensile). Metaphoric extension to "seize with the mind" took place in L., and was the sole sense of cognate O.Fr.aprendre (Mod.Fr. apprendre "to learn, to be informed about;" also cf.apprentice). Original sense returned in Eng. in meaning "to seize in the name of the law, arrest," recorded from 1540s, which use probably was takendirectly from Latin.

to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, practice or experience. (Webster)

to gain knowledge of or skill in, by study, practice or being taught: ~ a foreign language (Oxord)

The concept of language

Acquisition and participation

• When a metaphor names a phenomenon it highlights one of its aspects, but hides others. In the case of acquisition, language is conceived as a commodity, something the learner (a recipient) acquires from the ones who possess it. Sfard (1998:5) tells us that “[S]ince the dawn of civilization, human learning is conceived of as an acquisition of something” and building on Lave and Wenger’s theory (1991), she proposes the participation metaphor (becoming member of a community) to complement the acquisition metaphor (mind as recipient). Such a metaphor emphasizes the sociocultural aspects of the phenomenon but neglects the cognitive aspects.

In the acquisition metaphor language is conceptualized as a commodity: reception, acquisition, construction, internalization, appropriation, transmission, attainment, development, accumulation, grasp.

"turning into a part of a greater whole“, togetherness,solidarity, and collaboration.

Learning as a process of participation.

(Sfard, 1998:7)

What are the learners’ metaphors?

A journey (sail new seas, travel crazily, have a passport for the globalized world; fly in an unknown place)

An adventure

To ride a bicycle

To discover the world

To open the windows/doors of the world

To dive into an unknown place

To overcome an obstacle

To enjoy an experience

To climb a ladder/ a mountain

To build a multi-storey building

To learn the commands of a new software

To make connections

To acquire a powerful tool

To be part of a globalized world

“We have to accept the fact that the

metaphors we use while theorizing

may be good enough to fit small areas,

but none of them suffice to cover the

entire field.” (Sfard, 1988:11)

Is participation a metaphor?• What is the source?

source: commodity domain: language Thus the language is a commodity

• Acquisition metaphor: something (language) is acquired

• Where is language in the participation metaphor?

• I can say second language acquisition, but I cannot say second language participation.

• Participation in which community?

Language learning histories

• Learners are aware that to learn a language they must look for linguistic social practices. So, participation is implicit in their narratives, but language as a commodity is also present.

SLA AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM

As pointed out by van Lier (1996:170), “we can neither claim that learning is caused by environmental stimuli (the behaviourist position) nor that it is genetically determined (the innatist position). Rather, learning is the result of complex (and contingent) interactions between individual and environment”.

There is evidence to support the claim that SLA is a Complex adaptive system due to its inherent ability toadapt to different conditions present in both internal andexternal environments.

A complex model can

accommodate apparently opposed

elements in an effort to explain

SLA.

Automatichabits

output

Neuralconnections

Innate mentalstructures

input

Sociocultural mediations

Identity/Affiliation

interaction

LANGUAGE

In this perspective, language must be understood as a non-Linear dynamic system, made up of interrelated bio-cognitive, sociocultural, historical and political elements, which enable usto think and act in society. A language is not a static object,but a system in constant movement and its interactingelements influence and are influenced by each other. Aslanguage is in evolution, so too is SLA and any change in a subsystem can affect other elements in the network. It develops through dynamic and constant interaction among thesubsystems, alternating moments of stability with moments of turbulence.

SLA AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM

SLA consists of a dynamic interaction among different Individual and social factors put into movement by innerand social processes. The random interaction among all the elements of the acquisition system yields the changesresponsible for acquisition.

The rate of change is not predictable and varies according to the nature of the interactions among all the elements ofthe system. A live acquisition system is always in movementand never reaches equilibrium, although it undergoes periods of more or less stability.

In a complex perspective, Emergence of a second language

might be a good alternative.

BUT

What's in a name? that which we call acquisition or participation/ By any other name would sound as

inadequate”.