Introduction: describing and explaining L2 acquicition

Ellis 2003 Chapter 1 pp. 3-14 By. Zumika Elvina 2201410057

What is second language acquisition?

All languages after the first, such as 2nd, 3rd, or 4th

languages are categorized as second language.

Second language (L2) acquisition the way in

which people learn a language other than their mother tongue, inside or outside of a classroom, and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) as the study of this.

The goals of SLA

to describe how L2 acquisition proceeds to explain how learner language changes over time

to identify the external and internal factors that

account for why learners acquire an L2 in the way they do

The external factors

The social milieu in which learning take place The input that learners receive, that is, the sample of

language to which a learner is exposed

The internal factors

Learners possess cognitive mechanisms which

enable them to extract information about the L2 from the input

Learners possess general knowledge about the world

which they can draw on the top to help them understand L2 input
Learners possess communication strategies that can

help them make effective use of their L2 knowledge

The internal

A final set of internal factors explain why learners in

vary in the rate the learn an L2 and how successful they ultimately are.

The goals of SLA

To describe how L2 acquisition proceeds and to

explain this process and why some learners seem to be better at it than others.

Two case studies

A case study is a detailed study of a learners

acquisition of an L2. The following two case studies are longitudinal. 1. A case study of an adult learner 2. A case study of two child learners

A case study of an adult learner

Learners only concern on one thing, such as

grammatical development.
Learners do not learn other things, such as how to

use English in situationally appropriate ways, or how to hold successful conversation.

A case study of two child learners

Learners were capable of successfully performing

simple request even when they knew very little English.

Learners manifested development in their ability to

perform request over the period of study.

Many of their requests seemed formulaic in nature.

Methodological issues
It is something that needs to be described. It means to say that a learner has acquired a

featured of the target language.

In trying to measure whether acquisition has taken

place concerns learners overuse of linguistic forms.

Issues in the description of learner language

Learners make errors of different kinds. L2 learners acquire a large number of formulaic

chunk, which they use to perform communicative functions that are important to them and which contribute to the fluency of their unplanned speech.
Whether learners acquires the language

systematically.

Issues in the explanation of L2 acquisition

Different kinds of learning

Internalize chunks of language structure

Acquire rules

Learners must engage in both item learning and system learning

Issues in the explanation of L2

The systematic nature of L2 acquisition
Learners follow a particular developmental pattern because their mental faculties are structured in such a way that it is the way they have to learn.

Emphasize the importance of external as opposed to internal factors.

Issues in the explanation of L2

The learners simply needed more time to learn. It is also possible that L2 learners, unlike children

acquiring their L1, just stop learning.

Learners did not wish to belong to the community of

native speakers they have to contact with.

L2 learners can only acquire difficult linguistic

features if they receive direct instruction in them.

Conclusion
SLA is the way people learn a language other than

their mother tongue.

We can describe, explain, and also identify the

external and internal factors in acquiring L2 in the way they do.

Thank You