rod

uction:describingandexplainingL2acquisition

Secondlanguageacquisition?

sbeenatimeoftheglobalvillageand

rbefore,peoplehavehadtolearnacond

language,notjustasapleasingpastime,butoftenasameansofobtaining

aneducationofcuringemployment.

Secondcanrefertoanylanguagethatislearnedsubquenttothemother

,condisnot

2acquisitioncanbedefinedasthe

wayinwhichpeoplelearnalanguageotherthantheirmothertongue,inside

LanguageAcquisitionisthestudyofL2

acquisition.

ethegoalofSLA?

Someapproachesforyoutotaboutfindinghowthelearnersacquirean

L2:

proachhasprovidedsome

valuableinsightsbutitislimitedinthatlearnersarenotawareoftheactual

learningprocesstheyengagedin

tingsamplesoflearnerlanguagethatlearnersproduceandanaly

amplesprovideevidenceofwhatthelearnersknow

amplesarecollectedatdifferentpointsin

time,Itmaybepossibletofindouthowlearnersknowledgegradually

rwords,whatwearetryingtoisdescribehowlearner

languagechangeovertime.

usofSLA

SLAhasnotfocudonthecommunicativeaspectsoflanguage

development---howlearners’overallabilitytocommunicatedevelops,

heformal

featuresoflanguagethatlinguistshavetraditionallyconcentratedon.-----

pronunciation(howlearners’accentschangeovertime.)words---how

learnersbuilduptheirvocabulary；mostoften,thefocushasbeenonthe

grammar---{thefocushasbeenthegrammaroftheL2}

lsofSLA

ris

explanation;identifyingtheexternalandinternalfactorsthataccountfor

hegoalofSLAare

todescribehowL2acquisitionproceedsandtoexplainthisprocessand

whysomelearnersemtobebetterasitthanothers.

etheexternalandinternalfactors?

Oneoftheexternalfactorsisthesocialmilieuinwhichlearningtakesplace.

Socialconditionsinfluencetheopportunitieslearnershavetohearand

speakthelanguageandtheattitudesthattheydeveloptowardsit.

Anotherexternalfactoristheinputthatlearnersreceive,thatis,thesample

gelearningcannotoccur

withoutsomeinput.

L2acquisitioncanbeexplainedinpartbytheexternalbutinternalfactors

rpossscognitivemechanismswhich

enabletoextractinformationaboutL2fromtheinput.L2learnerbringan

,theycan

drawonthemothertongue,Second,learnersposssgeneralknowledge

y,learnersposss

communicationstrategiesthathelpthemmakeeffectiveuoftheirL2

s,ithasbeensuggestedthatpeoplevaryintheir

languageaptitude

estudies

Acastudyisadetailedstudyofalearner’sacquisitionofanL2,whichis

longitudinal,involvingthecollectionofsamplesofthelearner’sspeechor

fanadultlearnerlearningEnglishin

surroundingswhereitrvesasameansofdailycommunicationandthe

otheroftwochildrenlearningEnglishinaclassroom.

RearchSchmidtsays-----.Wes,anaturalisticlearner---wholearns

Englishbylearningtocommunicateinit;hewasstillfarshortfornative

–speakeraccuracy,buthediddevelopinotherways,eg,hisuofformula,

lp

himdevelopfluencyinEnglish,Infact,weisasuccessfulcommunicator,a

skilledconversationalist.

tructionthetwolearners

eEnglishisthemediumof

communication,therearenumerousopportunitiesforthemtohearand

ilaritiesbetweenJandR;1,bothwerecapableof

successfullyperformingsimplerequests.2,bothmanifesteddevelopmentin

theirrequestsemedformulaic

innature.4,bothprogresdinmuchthesamewaydespitethefacttheyhad

differentnativelanguages,however,theabilityislimitedinanumberof

respects.5,inshort,despiteampleopportunitytomasterrequests,bothwere

stillfarshortofnative–likecompetenceattheendofthestudy.

ologicalissues

1,whatneedstobedescribed

2,whatitmeanstosaythatalearnerhasacquiredafeatureofthetarget

language.

(Schmidtdefinesacquisitionintermsofwhetherthelearnermanifests

patternsoflanguageuthataremoreorlessthesameasnativespeakersof

r,thisconflateswhatlearnersknowwithwhat

theycando.

3,Whatdetermineswhetherlearnershaveacquiredaparticularfeature?

4,itconcernslearner’soveruoflinguisticformsintryingtomeasure

whetheracquisitionhastakenplace

P12,Issuesinthedescriptionoflearnerlanguage

1,Whatistherolethattheformulasplay,notjustinenhancinglearner

‘performancebutintheiracquisitionofanL2

2,hasthelearnersacquiredthelanguagesystematically?

P12,twofindings

1,yin

grammaticalerrors,butsociolinguisticerrors

2,Anotherfindingisthatlearnersacquireanumberofformulaicchunks,

whichtheyutoperformcommunicativefunctionsandwhichcontribute

tothefluencyoftheirunplannedspeech.

3,learnersdoacquireaspectsofanL2systematicallyandfollowparticular

developmentalroutes.

P13,IssuesintheexplanationofL2acquisition

AnexplanationofL2acquisitionmustaccountforbothitemandsystem

learningandhowthetwointerrelate

1,oneexplanationisthatlearnerfollowaparticulardevelopmentalpattern

becautheirmentalfacultiesarestructuredinsuchawaythatthisisthe

waytheyhavetolearn

2,otherexplanationmphasizetheimportanceofexternalasoppodto

internalfactors.

ureoflearnerlanguage

ThemainwayofinvestigatingL2acquisitionisbycollectinganddecribing

criptionmayfocuson

errorsanderroranalysis:

identifyingerrors,

earthat

identifyingtheexacterrorsthatlearnersmakeisoftendifficult.

asonsforfocusingonerrors:

1st,theyareaconspicuousfeatureoflearnerlanguage

2nd,itisufultoknowwhaterrorslearnersmake

3rd,paradoxically,itispossiblethatmakingerrorsmayactuallyhelp

learnerstolearnwhentheylf-correcterrorstheymake.

P17,thedefinitionoferrorsandmistakes

Errorsreflectsgapsinalearner’sknowledge;theyoccurbecauthe

learnerdoesnotknowwhatiscorrect;mistakesreflectoccasionallapsin

performance;theyoccurbecau,inaparticularinstance,thelearneris

unabletoperformwhatheorsheknows

p17,howtodistinguisherrorsandmistakes

onewaymightbetochecktheconsistencyoflearners’performance

anotheristoasklearnerstotrytocorrecttheirowndeviantutterances

describingerrors,

mostcommongrammaticalcategoryoferrorishowtodistinguisherrors

andmistakesinananalysisofJean’rrors.

Mostcommongeneralerrortypeis“misinformation”

describingandclassifyingalltheerrorsintotypes

1st,classifyerrorsintogrammaticalcategories

2nd,identifygeneralwayinwhichthelearners’utterancesdifferfromthe

reconstructedtarget-languageutterances,whichincludesomission,

misinformation,misordering

explainingerrors,(P18)

Theidentificationanddescriptionoferrorsarepreliminariestothetaskof

aresystematicandpredictable.

ysourcescanerrorshave?

someerrorsemtobeuniversal,reflectinglearners’attemptstomakethe

taskoflearningandusingtheL2simpler.

1st,learnerscommiterrorsofomission.

2nd,theyovergeneralizeformsthattheyfindeasytolearnandprocess;ie,

overgeneralization

3rd,othererrorsreflectlearners’attemptstomakeuoftheirL1

reknownastransfererrors

errorevaluation(19)

thepurpooftheerroranalysisistohelplearnerslearnanL2,thereisa

rorscanbeconsideredmoreriousthan

othersbecautheyaremorelikelytointerferewiththeintelligibilityof

errorsaredifficulttounderstandbecautheir

rrorsaffectonlyasingleconstituent,lesslikelyto

createanyprocessingproblems

developmentalpatterns

TheearlystageofL2acquisition

Learnersmakenoattemptstosayanythingtobeginwithinasilentperiod.

2

learnersbegintheirspeech;theirutteranceshavetwocharacteristics;oneis

formulaicchunkswhichcangiveamistakenimpressionofcompetencethe

otherispropositionalsimplification

elopingquestions:

itionorder-----DoLearnersacquirethegrammaticalstructuresof

anL2inadefiniteorder?Learnersdoemtofindsomegrammatical

featureasierthanothers,soitisquitepossiblethatacquisitionfollowsa

definiteorder.

ceofacquisition-----Dolearnerslearnsuchstructuresina

singlestepordotheyproceedthroughanumberofinterimstagesbefore

theymasterthetargetstructure?

ceofacquisition

U-shapedcourofdevelopment------initiallylearnersmaydisplayahigh

levelofaccuracyonlytoapparentlyregresslaterbeforefinallyonceagain

performinginaccordancewithtarget-languagenorms

Restructuring-----Inordertoaccommodatenewknowledge,learners

reorganizetheirexistingknowledge,whichisbelievedtobeprevalentis

referredtoasrestructuring

Itisclearthatacquisitionofasimplegrammaticalfeatureisahighly

yaretheregeneralstages,buttheremaybestages

ethecomplexityoflearners’behaviour,itisclearthat

Someimplications:

L2acquisitionissystematicandtoalargeextent,universal,reflectingways

inwhichinternalcognitivemechanismscontrolacquisition;theworkon

developmentalpatterntellsusthatsomelinguisticfeaturesareinherently

easiertolearnthanothers.

Aexistingquestion:istheordersandquencesofacquisitioncanbe

alteredthroughformalinstruction?

P25-29variabilityinlearnerlanguage

iabilityisalso

,learners

choiceofpasttenmarkerdepends,inpart,onwhethertheverbrefersto

anevent,anactivity,yspeaking,itisdeterminedbya

varietyoffactorssuchaslinguisticcontext,situationalcontextandthe

availabilityofplanningtime

linguisticformcantriggertheuofanotherform.

rsvarythelinguisticformstheyuinaccordancewiththe

emorelikelytouthecorrecttarget-language

formsinformalcontextsandnon-targetformsininformalcontexts.

rfactorthataccountsforthesystematicnatureofvariabilityis

ainlyreferstotheavailabilityof

planningtime

Acharacteristicofanynaturallanguageisthatformsrealizemeaningsina

r,form-functionmappingswhichlearnersmakedo

ulting

time,theybecomemoretarget-like..

Itispossiblethatfreevariationconstitutesanesntialstageinthe

entkindsofvariabilitymaybe

portanttorecognizethat

thisgeneralquenceofacquisitionappliestospecificgrammatical

,itispossibleforindividuallearnerstobeatdifferentstages

learnersreach

llcontinue

toshownon-targetlanguagevariabilityinatleastsomegrammatical

arners

,

learnersmaysucceedinreachingtarget-languagenormsinsometypesof

languageubutnotinothers.

SummaryInthisction,wehaveexaminedanumberofpropertiesof

learnerlanguageandindoingso,tracedthewayinwhichSLAhavolved

n,rearchersfocudonlearners’errors,

developingproceduresforidentifying,describing,explaining,and

tudiesrevealedthatlearners’errorsaresystematic

andthattheyreflectthestageofdevelopmentthatalearnerhasreached,An

importantfindingwasthatlearneremtogobeyondtheavailable

input,producingerrorsthatshowtheyactivelyconstructrules,which

althoughnon-target-like,guidetheirperformanceintheL2

Subquently,rearchersfocudonexploringtheregularitiesofL2

acquisitionbyarchingfor“orders“and‘quences’

foundevidencetosuggestthatlearnersregularlymastersomegrammatical

singly,descriptive

rearchinSLAhasfocudonhowlearnersacquirespecificgrammatical

subsystemssuchasnegatives,interrogatives,relativeclausandverb

tenslikethepastten,Ithasbeenabletoshowthatgrammaticalfeatures

manifestcleardevelopmentalquences,involvingstagesthatreflect

uniquerulesnotevidentintheinputtowhichlearnersare

rsemtobeactivelyinvolvedinshapinghowthey

acquireanL2.

Rearchonvariabilityhassoughttoshowthat,althoughallowance

shouldperhapsbemadeforsomefreevariation,variabilityinlearner

,learnersutheirlinguisticsourcesin

ofspecificgrammaticalformshasbeenshownto

varyaccordingtothelinguisticcontext,situationalcontextandthe

psycholinguisticcontext.

Furthermore,variabilityplaysanintegrativepartintheoverallpatternof

development,withlearnersmovingthroughariesofstagesthatreflect

differentkindsvariability

anguage

Behaviouristlearningtheory:thedominantpsychologicaltheoryofthe

ingtothis

theory,areformed

whenlearnersrespondtostimuliintheenvironmentandsubquentlyhave

,ahabitisastimulus–responconnection.

Itisbelievedthatallbehaviourcouldbeexplainedintermsofhabits.

learningtookplacewhenlearnershadtheopportunitytopractimaking

ouristaccountsofL2

acquisitionemphasizeonlywhatcanbedirectlyobrvedandignorewhat

goesonintheblackboxofthelearner’smind.

Mentalisttheory:the1960switnesdamajorshiftinpsychologyand

reoccupationwiththeroleofnurture,rearchers

wparadigmwasmentalistin

1960sand1970samentalisttheoryofL1acquisition

ingtothistheory;

1,onlyhumanbeingarecapableoflearninglanguage

2,Thehumanmindiquippedwithafacultyfor

learninglanguage,referredtoasalanguageacquisitiondevice.

cultyistheprimarydeterminantoflanguageacquisition

sneededbutonlytotriggertheoperationofthelanguage

acquisitiondevice.

Whatisinterlanguage?InterlanguagewascoinedbyAmericanlinguist

LarrySelinker.

InrecognitionofthefactthatL2learnersconstructalinguisticsystemthat

draws,inpart,onthelearners’L1butisdifferentfromitandalsodifferent

thetargetlanguage,Alearner’sinterlanguageisauniquelinguisticsystem.

TheconceptofinterlanguageinvolvesthefollowingpremisaboutL2

acquisition:

rnerconstructsasystemofabstractlinguisticruleswhich

temofrulesisviewedasa

“mentalgrammar‘andisreferredasas‘interlanguage’

rner‘,thegrammarisopento

influencefromtheoutsideandinside

rner‘sgrammaristransitional.

archershaveclaimedthatthesystemslearnersconstruct

evariabilityasanaspectofperformance

ratherthancompetence.

rmployvariouslearningstrategiestodeveloptheir

interlanguage.

rner‘izationdoesnotoccur

IL1acquisitionandthusisuniquetoL2grammars.

Theconceptofinterlanguageincorporatelementsfrommentalisttheories

oflinguisticsandelementsfromcognitivepsychology

AcomputationalmodelofL2acquisitionThelearnerixpodto

input,whichisprocesdintwostages.

Firstpartsofitareattendedtoandtakenintoshort–re

referredtoasintake.

cond,someoftheintakeisstoredinlong–termmemoryasL2

cessresponsibleforcreatingintakeandL2knowledge

occurwithintheblckboxofthelearner’smindwherethelearner’s

y,L2knowledgeisudbythelearnerto

producespokenandwrittenoutput.

aspectsofinterlanguage

Theprevailingperspectiveoninterlanguageispsycholinguisticwhich

rearchershasbeenprimarilyconcernedwithidentifyingtheinternal

r,

SLAhasalsoacknowledgedtheimportanceofsocialfactors.

Threedifferentapproachestoincorporatingasocialanglecanbe

identified.1stviewsinterlanguageasconsistingofdifferentstyleswhich

2nd

concernshowsocialfactorsdeterminetheinputthatlearnersuto

3rdconsidershowthesocialidentities

thatlearnersnegotiateintheirinteractionswithnativespeakersshapetheir

opportunitiestospeakandthereby,tolearnanL2.

Interlanguageasastylisticcontinuum

Tarone’stheory

Taronepropodthatlearnersdevelopacapacity,whichconstitutesan

abstractlinguisticsystem,iscompridofanumberofdifferentstyles

ndof

thecontinuumisthecarefulstyle,evidentwhenlearnersconsciously

attendingtotheirchoiceoflinguisticforms,aswhentheyfeeltheneedto

ndofthecontinuumisthevernacularstyle,evident

whenlearnersaremakingspontaneouschoicesoflinguisticform,asis

likelyinfreeconversation.

Aninterlanguagegrammarisconstructedaccordingtothesameprinciples

althoughdifferentfromthenativespeaker’sgrammar.

Someproblemsaboutstylisticcontinuum:1st,learnersarenotalwaysmost

accurateintheircarefulstyleandleastaccurateintheirvernacular

style.2nd,’stheoryemsto

relatemoretopsycholinguisticratherthansocialfactorsinvariation.

HowardGiles’saccommodationtheory.

Thisekstoexplainhowalearner’ssocialgroupinfluencesthecourof

opleinteract

witheachothertheyeithertrytomaketheirspeechsimilartothatoftheir

addreseinordertoemphasizesocialcohesiveness(aprocessof

convergence)ortomakeitdifferentinordertoemphasizetheirsocial

distinctiveness(aprocessofdivergence).Whensocialconditionsaresuch

thatlearnersaremotivatedtoconvergeonnative-speakersnorms,high

levelofprofiencyensue.;butwhentheconditionencouragelearnersto

maintaintheirownsocialingroup,ingto

histheory,socialfactorsinfluenceinterlanguaedevelopmentviatheimpact

theyhaveontheattitudesthatdeterminethekindsoflanguageulearners

engagein.

TheacculturationmodelofL2acquisitionJohnSchumann’sacculturation

model:

HepropodthatpidginizationinL2acquisitionresultswhenlearnersfail

toacculturatetothetargetlanguagegroup;whentheyareunabletoadaptto

nreasonforthatissocialdistance,Thisconcernsthe

extenttowhichindividuallearnersbecomemembersofatarget–language

sdeterminedbya

,agoodlearningsituationisonewherethereis

littlesocialdistancebecaubothvieweachotherassociallyequal,towish

theL2grouptoassimilatethetwosharethesamesocialfacilities,theL2

grouplackscohesion,theL2groupissmall,bothgroupsdisplaypositive

attitudestowardachotherandtheL2groupisrelativelypermanent..

cas,psychologicaldistancebecomesimportantandidentifiesafurthert

ofpsychologicalfactors,suchaslanguageshockandmotivation,to

accountthis.

Twoproblemswithsuchamodel:itfailstoacknowledgethefactorsare

notfixedandstaticbutpotientially,variableanddynamic,fluctuatingin

accordancewiththelearner’schangingsocialexperiences.2nd,itfailsto

acknowledgelearnersarenotjustsubjecttosocialconditionsbutcanalso

becomethesubjectofthem;theycanhelptoconstructthesocialcontextof

theirownlearning.

SocialidentityandinvestmentinL2learning

AccordingtoPierce,alearner’ssocialidentityismultipleand

ngissuccessfulwhenlearnersareabletosummonup

orconstructanidentitythatenablesthemimpotheirrighttobeheardand

thusbecomethesubjectofthediscour,whichrequiresinvestment

somethinglearnerswillmakeiftheybelievetheireffortswillincreathe

valueoftheir“culturalcapital”.Learnersarecombatantswhobattleto

asrtthemlvesandinvestorswhoexpectagoodreturnontheirefforts.

dSuccessfullearnersarethowhoreflectcriticallyonhowtheyengage

withnativespeakersandwhoarepreparedtochallengetheacceptedsocial

orderbyconstructingandasrtingsocialidentitiesoftheirownchoice.

raspectsofinterlanguage

Socialfactorsdonotimpactdirectlyonwhatgoesoninsidetheblackbox.

ToconsiderwhatthenatureofthiscommunicationisandhowitaffectsL2

acquisition,ourattentionmustbefocudonthediscourinwhich

dyoflearnerdiscourhasbeeninformedby

tworatherdifferentgoals.1st,attempttodiscoverhowL2learnersacquire

therulesofdiscourthatinformnativespeakerlanguageu.2nd,ekto

showhowinteractionshapesinterlanguagedevelopment.

AcquiringdiscourrulesTherearerules,atleast,regularitiesintheways

itionofdiscourrules

issystematic,reflectingbothdistincttypesoferrorsanddevelopmental

r,moreworkisneededtodemonstratewhichaspects

areuniversalandwhicharespecificasitisclearthatmanyaspectsof

learnerdiscourareinfluencedbytherulesofdiscourinthelearner’sL1.

TheroleofinputandinteractioninL2acquisition

Abehaviouristviewtreatslanguagelearninganvironmentally

determined,controlledfromtheoutsidebythestimulilearnersareexpod

toandthereinforcementtheyreceive.

Mentalisttheoriemphasizetheimportanceofthelearner’sblackbox..

Theymaintainthatlearners’brainsareequippedtolearnlanguageandall

thatisneededisminimalexposuretoinputinordertotriggeracquisition

Interactiontheoriesacknowledgetheimportanceofbothinputandinternal

ngtakesplaceasaresultofacomplex

interactionbetweenthelinguisticenvironmentandthelearner’sinternal

mechanisms.

Aswehavealreadyen,thebehavioutistviewhasbeenlargelydiscredited.

iesalackof

respectonthepartofthenativespeakerandcanberentedbythelearners.

Itshouldbeapparentthatthefeaturesarethesameasthocommonly

foundinlearner’sinterlanguage.

Itisunlikelythatlearnerswhoexperiencegrammaticalforeignertalkstill

manifestthesameinterlanguageerrorsasthothatexperience

snoconvincingevidencethat

learner’tical

foreignertalkisthenorm.

varioustypesofmodificationofbalinetalkcanbeidentified.

1st,grammaticalforeignertalkisdeliveredataslowerpace.

2nd,theinputissimplified.

3rd,grammaticalforeignertalkissometimesregularized

4th,foreignertalksometimesconsistsofelaboratedlanguageu.

Modifiedinteractionofthiskindiscommoninlearnerdiscour.

Krashen’sinputhypothesisthatL2acquisitiontakesplacewhenalearner

understandsinputthatcontainsgrammaticalformsthatareat‘I+

suggeststherightlevelofinputisattainedautomaticallywhen

interlocutorssucceedinmakingthemlvesunderstoodincommunication.

Successisachievedbyusingthesituationalcontexttomakemessagesclear

andthroughthekindsofinputmodificationsfoundinforeigner

ingtoKrashen,then,,L2acquisitiondependson

comprehensibleinput.

MichaelLong’sinteractionhypothesisalsoemphasizestheimportanceof

comprehensibleinputbutitclaimsthatitismosteffectivewhenitis

r,sometimes

interactioncanoverloadlearnerswithinputwhereacquisitionmaybe

ationshipbetweenmodified

interactionandL2acquisitionisclearlyacomplexone.

EvelynHatchemphasizesthecollaborativeendeavoursofthelearnersand

theirinterlocuturesinconstructingdiscourandsuggeststhatsyntactic

in

whichthiscanoccuristhroughscaffolding.

Vygotskyexplainshowinteractionrvesasthebedrockofacquisition.

ThetwokeyconstructsinactivitytheorybadonhisideasareMotiveand

stconcernstheactivewayinwhichindividuals

definesthegoalsofanactivityforthemlvesbydecidingwhattoattendto

ondconcernshowanovicecomesto

solveaproblemwiththeassistanceofanexpert,whoprovidesscaffolding

respect,thenotionofthezoneof

proximaldevelopmentwhicharecreatedthroughinteractionwithmore

uently,thechildlearnshowtocontrola

isway,developmentmanifestsitlf

ingtothe

theory,sociallyconstructedL2knowledgeisanecessaryconditionfor

interlanguagedevelopment.

TheroleofoutputinL2acquisition

claimstheonlywaylearnerscanlearnfromtheoutputisbytreatingitas

ct,heisrefutingthecherishedbeliefofmanyteachers

thatlanguagesarelearnedbypracticingthem.

SwainhasarguedthatcomprehensibleoutputalsoplayapartinL2

canrveaconsciousness–raisingfunctionbyhelping

learnerstonoticethegapintheirinterlaguages:1st,bytryingtospeakor

writeintheL2theyrealizethattheylackthegrammaticalknowledgeof

somefeaturethatisimportantforwhattheywanttosay.2nd,outputhelps

ntryoutaruleandewhetheritleads

tosuccessfulcommunicationorwhetheritelicitsnegativefeedback.

3rd,learnerssometimestalkabouttheirownoutput,identifyingproblems

withitanddiscussingwaysinwhichtheycanbeputright.

linguisticaspectsofinterlanguage

Psycholinguisticisthestudyofthementalstructuresandprocess

dyof

PsycholinguisticaspectsofL2acquisitionhasbeenprominentinSLAand

hasgivenritomanyacquisitionmodels.

L1transfer—----(cross–linguisticinfluence)

Negativetransfer--interference,nce,overu,

ComparisonoftheL1andL2werecarriedoutusingcontrastiveanalysis

eydayofbehaviourismitwasbelievedthaterrors

werelargelytheresultofinterference.

Intheearly1970s,twodevelopmentswere:1stmentalistaccountsofL2

acquisition,soughttoplaydowntheroleof.2nd,wastoreconceptualize

elinkerinhisformulationof

interlanguagetheoryheidentifiedlanguagetransferasoneofthemental

1canbeviewedasakindof

erisnotinterference,butacognitiveprocess.

Differencesbetweenthetargetandnativelanguagesdonotalwaysresultin

succeededinidentifyingsomeofthecognitive

constraintsthatgovernthetransferofL1knowledge.

Itisclearthattransferisgovernedbylearners’perceptionsaboutwhatis

owsthat

interlanguagedevelopmentcannotconstitutearestructuringcontinuum

TheroleofconsciousnessinL2acquisition

KrashenclaimsthatacquiredL2knowledge(implicitknowledgeofthe

language)isdevelopedsubconsciouslythroughcomprehendinginput

whilecommunicatingwhilelearnedL2knowledge(explicitknowledgeof

thelanguage)isdevelopedconsciouslythroughdeliberatestudyofthe

ontradictsskill-buildingtheoriesofL2acquisition,according

towhichlearnerscanachievegrammaticalaccuracybyautomatizing

‘learned’knowledgethroughpractice.

SchmidtarguesthatthereisaneedtostandardizetheconceptthatUnderlie

itsu.;hearguesthatnomatterwhetherlearningisintentionalor

incidental,es

thatlearningcannottakeplacewithoutwhathecallsnoticing----the

lf-evidentthatallursknowtherulesthatguidetheirperformance

withoutanyawarenessofwhattherulesconsistof.

Somelearnersmaybeabletolearnsubstantialamountsofexplicit

knowledge,it

knowledgemayaidlearnersindevelopingimplicitknowledgeinanumber

ofways.1st,adirectinterfacemayoccur;explicitknowledgemayonly

convertintoimplicitknowledgewhenlearnersareattherightstageof

development.2nd,explicitknowledgemayfacilitatetheprocessbywhich

learnersattendtofeaturesintheinput.3rd,explicitknowledgemayhelp

learnerstomovefromintaketoacquisitionbyhelpingthemtonoticethe

gapbetweenwhattheyhaveobrvedintheinputandthecurrentstateof

tfoundthat

evenifexplicitknowledgedoesnotcontributedirectlytothedevelopment

ofimplicitknowledgeitmaydosoindirectlybyhelpinglearnerstoprocess

inputandintake.

Processingoperations

Operatingprinciples:avoidinterruption,rearrangementoflinguisticunits

idesasimpleandattractivewayofaccounting

forthepropertiesofinterlanguage.

Processingconstraint

Multidimensionalmodel---whichsoughttoaccountforbothwhylearners

acquirethegrammarofalanguageinadefiniteodderandalsowhysome

ory

proposthatsomegrammaticalfeaturescanbeacquiredatanystageof

,itdistinguishesadevelopmentalandavariationalaxis.

progressalongoneaxisisindependentofprogressalongotheraxis.

Toaccountforprogressalongthedevelopmentalaxisisanumberof

overnwhenitis

,1st,learners

beginbyadoptingthecanonicalorderstrategy;2ndtheydevelopthe

initialization/finalizationstrategy,3rd,learnersaccesstothesubordinate

trategiescapturewhatlearnerscandoatdifferent

stagesintheirdevelopmentandwhatblockstheymustovercometo

developfurther.

Movementalongthevariationalaxisisdeterminedbysocio-psychological

rswhowanttointegrateintothetarget–language

r,learnerswhowantto

maintaintheirownidentitiesprogressmoreslowlyandsometimesnotat

emstocorrespondclolytoGiles’ideaofaccommodationand

Schumann’sideaofacculturation.

CommunicationstrategiesLearnersfrequentlyexperienceproblemsin

sayingwhattheywanttosaybecauoftheirinadequateknowledge;in

ordertoovercometheproblemstheyresorttovariouskindsof

communicationstrategies;eg,avoidproblematicitems;borrowawordfrom

theirL1oruanothertargetlanguagethatisapproximateinmeaningor

trytoparaphrathemeaning,e

obviateinitial

Twotypesofcomputationalmodel

Whatdistinguishesacognitiveaccountfromabehaviouristoneisthatan

attemptismadetoexplainL2acquisitionintermsofmentalprocessing.

Theblackboxhoussomekindofapparatusthatextractsinformation

fromtheinput,worksonit,storesitandsubquentlyusitoutput.

e

involvestheideaofrialprocessing,whichisprocesdinariesof

quentialstepsandresultsinthereprentationofwhathasbeenlearned

ernativetypeofapparatusinvolves

editsthelearnerswiththe

abilitytoperformanumberofmentaltasksatthesametime.

sticaspectsofinterlanguage

Typologicaluniversals:relativeclaus

1st,Thelinguisticdifferenceinfluencedtheeawithwhichlearnersare

abletolearn,LearnerswhoL1includesrelativeclausfindthemeasier

tolearnthanlearnerswhoL1doesnot.

2nd,thelanguagepropertiesofrelativeclausaffectL2acquisition;the

linguisticstructureofEnglishinfluenceshowacquisitionproceeds.

3rd,ges

aremorelikelytopermitrelativeclauswithasubjectpronounthanwith

accessibilityhierarchy.

universalgrammar

Chomskyarguesthatlanguageisgovernedbyatofhighlyabstract

principlesthatparameterswhicharegivenparticularttingsindifferent

honlypermitslocalbinding;long-distancebinding

r,lthemore

proficientlearnerswerenobetterthanatthisthanthelessproficientones,

suggestingthatthelearnersoperatedinaccordancewiththeirL1ttingof

theparameterandthatnorettingforEnglishwastakingplace.

Learnability

ChomskyarguesthatchildrenlearningtheirL1mustrelyoninnate

knowledgeoflanguage;theinputtowhichchildrenareexpodis

entypically

receiveonlypositiveevidencealthoughnegativeevidenceisimportant;

theirparentsdonotgenerallycorrecttheirgrammaticalmistakes;

Thus,ingto

Chomsky,childrenmusthavepriorknowledgeofwhatisgrammatically

knowledge,referredtoastheLanguageAcquisitionDevice,iswhat

aimedthatsomeerrorsdonotoccur

inL1acquisitionbecautheyareprohibitedbyUG.

ThecriticalperiodhypothesisThecriticalperiodhypothesisstatesthat

thereisaperiodduringwhichlanguageacquisitioniasyand

complete(nativespeakerabilityisachieved).andbeyondwhichitis

difficultandtypicallyincomplete.

ThereisconsiderableevidencetosupporttheclaimthatL2learnerswho

beginlearningasadultsareunabletoachievenative–speakercompetence

r,theredoesnotappeartobea

suddencut–

capacitytoachievefullcompetenceemstodeclinegraduallybytheage

aofpronunciationthecrucialageappearstobemuch

earlier,possiblyaarlyassix.

AccesstoUG

Anumberoftheoreticalpositions:

1,completeaccess

2,noaccess

3,partialaccess

4,dualaccess

TheexistenceofsuchcontradictorypositionsshowsthattheroleofUGin

L2acquisitionisstilluncertain.

Markedness

Intypologicallinguistics,unmarkedstructuresarethothatare

skyanlinguistics,unmarkedstructuresarethothatare

governedbyUGandwhichrequireonlyminimalevidencefor

ch

completedtodatesuggeststhatlearnersaremorelikelytoacquirea

frequentbutmarkedstructurebeforeaninfrequentbutunmarkedstructure

romfrequency,anotherconfoundingfactormaybe

eenpropodthatlearnersaremuchmorelikelyto

transferunmarkedstructuresfromtheirL1thantheyaremarkedstructures.

Cognitiveversuslinguisticexplanations

Inshort,itcomesdowntowhetherL2acquisitionistobeexplainedin

termsofadistinctandinnatelanguagefacultyorintermsofgeneral

cognitiveabilities.

dualdifferenceL2acquisition

LanguageaptitudeIthasbeensuggestedthatpeopledifferintheextentto

ility,known

asLanguageaptitude.,isbelievedtobeinpartrelatedtogeneral

intelligencebutalsotobeinpartdistinct.

JohnCarrol‘sworkledtotheidentificationofanumberofcomponentsof

languageaptitude:1st,phonemiccodingability2nd,grammaticalnsitivity

3rd,inductivelanguagelearningability4th,rotelearningability

Learnerswhoscorehighlyonlanguageaptitudeteststypicallylearn

rapidlyandachievehigherlevelsofL2proficiencythanlearnerswho

rmore,rearchhasshownthatthissowhether

themeasureofL2proficiencyissomekindofformallanguagetestora

measureofmorecommunicativelanguageu.

Oneinterestingpossibilityisthatdifferentcomponentsoflanguageaptitude

iccoding

abilitywouldemrelevanttotheprocessingofinput,grammatical

nsitivityandinductivelanguagelearningabilitytothecentralprocessing

stagesinvolvinginterlanguageconstruction,andmemorytothestorageand

accessoflanguage.

MotivationWhereaslanguageaptitudeconcernsthecognitiveabilitiesthat

underliesuccessfulL2acquisition,motivationinvolvestheattitudesand

affectivestatesthatinfluencethedegreeofeffortthatlearnersmaketo

skindsofmotivationhavebeenidentified:instrumental,

integrative,resultative,andintrinsic

Instrumentalmotivation:Insomelearningcontextsaninstrumental

motivationemstobethemajorforcedeterminingsuccessinL2

learning.,whichcanopenupeducationalandeconomicopportunitiesfor

them.

Integrativemotivation:Machiavellian-motivation,thedegreeofefforta

learnerputsintolearninganL2throughaninterestinadesiretoidentify

withthetargetlanguageculture

Resultativemotivation:Anassumptionoftherearchreferredtoaboveis

r,itisalsopossible

,learnerswhoexperience

successinlearningmaybecomemoreorinsomecontexts,lessmotivated

tolearn.

Intrinsicmotivation:motivationinvolvesthemotivationarousaland

maintenanceofcuriosityandcanebbandflowasaresultofsuchfactorsas

learners’particularinterestsandextenttowhichtheyfeelpersonally

involvedinlearningactivities.

rtypesofmotivation

shouldbeenascomplementaryratherthanasdistinctand

rscanbebothintegrativelyandinstrumentally

motivatedatoneandthesametimemotivationcanresultfromlearningas

rmore,motivationisdynamicinnature;Itis

somethingthatvariesfromonemomenttothenextdependingonthe

learningcontextortask.

Learningstrategies:Learningstrategiesaretheparticularapproachesor

nbe

behavioralormental.

Cognitivestrategiesarethothatareinvolvedintheanalysis,synthesis,or

transformationoflearningmaterials.

Metacognitivestrategies:arethoinvolvedinplanning,monitoringand

evaluatinglearning

Social/affectivestrategies:concernthewaysinwhichlearnerschooto

interactwithotherspeakers

Successfullanguagelearnerspayattentiontobothformand

nguagelearnersarealsoactive,showawarenessofthe

learningprocessandtheirpersonallearningstylesandaboveallare

emtobe

adeptatusingMetacognitivestrategies.

Successfullanguagelearnersumorestrategiesthanunsuccessful

languagelearners.

Successfullanguagelearnersmaycallondifferentstrategiesatdifferent

stagesoftheirdevelopment.

ctionandL2acquisition

Inthischapterthreebrancheswillbediscusdontherearchwhatimpact

teachinghasonL2learning.1st,whetherteachinglearnersgrammarhas

anyeffectontheirinterlanguagedevelopment.2nd,drawsontherearch

intoindividuallearnerdifferences.3rd,looksatstrategytraining

Form–focudinstruction

Traditionally,languagepedagogyhamphasizedform-focud

mmarTranslationMethodandTheAudiolingual

Methodbothinvolveattemptstoteachlearnersgrammar,differingonlyin

cently,however,language

pedagogyhamphasizedtheneedtoprovidelearnerswithreal

icativeLanguageTeachingis

premidontheassumptionthatlearnersdonotneedtobetaughtgrammar

beforetheycancommunicatebutwillacquireitnaturallyaspartofthe

processoflearningtocommunicate.

Doesform–focudinstructionwork?

Infacttherearestrongtheoreticalgroundsforbelievingthatinstruction

willnothaveanylonglastingeffectonthewayinwhichlearnersconstruct

r,theinstructedlearnersproceeded

throughthissyllabusmorerapidlythantheuntutoredlearnersandwere

morelikelytoreachthefinalstage.

Pienemann’steachablehypothesis:itpredictsthatinstructioncanonly

promotelanguageacquisitioniftheinterlanguageisclotothepointwhen

thestructuretobetaughtisacquiredinthenaturaltting,whichsuggests

thatinstructiondoesnotsubvertthenaturalquenceofacquisitionbut

ratherhelpstospeeduplearners’agogic

relevanceofthis,however,islimitedasteachersarenotlikelytoknow

whichlearnersintheirclassarereadytobetaughtaparticularstructureand

willhavenoeasywayoffindingout

Thereisampleevidencethatacquisitionofatleastsomelinguistic

structurescanbepermanentlyinfluencedbyinstruction

Whysomestructuresemedtobepermanentlyaffectedothersnot?One

possibilityisthatitdependsonthenatureofinstruction;Another

possibilityisthatitdependsonthenatureofthetargetstructure.;Athird

possibilityisthatlonglastingeffectoccuronlywhenlearnershave

subquentopportunitiestohearanduthetargetstructurein

sadistinctpossibilitygiventhatsomegrammatical

structuresemtobeimplicatedwitheachother.

Thereisampleevidencethattheeffectsofform-focudinstructionarenot

restrictedtocarefullanguageubutalsoevidentinfreecommunication

Whatkindofform–focudinstructionworksbest?

Thisquestionisnotonlytheoneofpedagogicalefficiencybutof

stratethiswewillconsider

stconcernsthe

distinctionbetweeninput-badandproduction-badpractice.

Traditionally,grammarteachinghamphasized

,languagepedagogyoffersaricharrayoftechniquesfor

elicitingtheproductionoftargetedstructuresfromstudents(substitution

drills,blank-fillingexercis,dialoguesandthegamesofvariouskinds).

VanpatternandCadierno’xperimentalstudyshowedthatthegroupthat

receivedtheinput-badinstructiondidfarbetteronthecomprehension

testandjustaswellontheproductiontestthanproduction-bad

instruction,whichsuggeststhattheform-focudinstructionthat

supports

theoriesofL2acquisitionthatemphasizetheroleofconsciousnoticingin

input;theinput-badinstructionmayworkbecauitinducesnoticingin

learners.

Consciousness-raising-----makelearnersawareoftheexistenceof

isbysupplying

rnativeapproachistoprovide

negativeevidence.

Itispossiblethatpositiveinputintheformofinputfloodingmayhelp

learnerstostartusingsomedifficultformsbutmaynotbesufficientto

destabilizeinterlanguageandpreventfossilization.

Givinglearnerxplicitinformationtogetherwithnegativefeedbackdid

enablethemtemporarily,atleast,toreduceinstancesofsomeerrors.

Learnersareabletomakeuofnegativeevidence,intheformofteacher

correction,toeliminateerrorsintheirproduction.

Learner-instructionmatchingAdistinctpossibilityisthatthesame

instructionaloptionisnotequallyeffectiveforalllearners,Individual

differencestodowithsuchfactorsaslearningstyleandlanguageaptitude

aremorelikelytoinfluencewhichoptionsworkbestmaximizetheir

strength.

ItisobviouslyimportanttotakeIndividualdifferencesintoaccountwhen

itiventuallyshown

thatinput-badinstructionworksbetteroverallthanproduction-bad

instruction,itdoesnotfollowthatthiswillbetrueforalllearners.

Strategytraining

Teachinglearnersspecificgrammaticalstructuresconstitutesanattemptto

rnativeapproachis

tointervenemoreindirectlybyidentifyingstrategiesthatarelikelyto

promoteacquisitionandprovidingtraininginthem.

Trainingstudentstoustrategiesthatinvolvedifferentwaysofmaking

associationsinvolvingtargetwordshasgenerallyproved

successful.E.g,1st,learnersassociatethetargetwordwithawordwhichis

thesameorsimilartoanL1word;2nd,theL1wordislinkedtoamental

imagethatincorporatesthemeaningofthetargetword.

Summary

leadtoenhancedaccuracy.,itcanhelplearnersprogressthrough

developmentalstagesmorerapidly,anditcandestabilizeinterlanguage

r,directinstructionisnotalways

ainingfactorsarethe

natureofthetargetstructureandthelearner’sstageofdevelopment