BBI 5210 Second Language Acquisition

LECTURE 1 INTRODUCTION

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

Basic Concepts
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What is SLA?

Approaches to understanding SLA/ SLA Theories

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

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SLA investigates the human capacity to learn

languages other than the first, during late childhood, adolescence or adulthood, and once the first language(s) have been acquired.
It covers the study of naturalistic and formal

language acquisition in second, foreign and heritage learning contexts.

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

acquisition = learning
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Position taken in many SLA books

But see Krashen (1981) for argument for a distinction and Robinson (1997) for criticism against this

distinction

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

SLA seeks to understand universal, individual and

social forces that influence what gets acquired, how fast, how well, by different people under different learning circumstances
Quiz: Can you think of examples for each of these

forces that influence second language learning?

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

What makes a good theory? (Mitchell & Myles, p. 2-5)

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Second language learning is an extremely complex

phenomenon to study.
All of us are successful at it; and we may have some

common-sense idea what facilitates and what inhibits this process, but we dont have a full understanding of the process involved.

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

Second Language Learning Theories

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Contributions from 5 major groups of researchers foreign language educators worried about their students progress child language researchers who noticed that SLA might be similar in interesting ways to first language acquisition linguists who wanted to use SLA to test ideas about language universals Psycholinguists who were interested in language processing issues Sociolinguists and anthropologists who were interested in how language is used in various social settings
Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

A good understanding of how SLA works rely on what we know about :

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the nature of language Do we focus on linguistic competence or linguistic performance? Chomsky (universal grammar) vs Halliday (functional grammar) how humans learn Chomsky vs Skinner: nature (biological predisposition/endowment) vs nurture (social/cultural experiences or environmental factors) Chomsky vs Piaget: Modularity (specific language module- UG) vs General Cognitive development Crosslinguistic influences in L2 learning: language transfer
What is the nature and the extent of this influence?

What the learners bring into the learning situation Cognitive Factors: Intelligence, Aptitude, Language Learning Strategies Affective Factors: Attitude, Motivation, Anxiety
Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

Some characteristics of SLA

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Interlanguage Grammar:

1. 2.

systematicity (linguistic creativity) variability (alternation between ungrammatical and grammatical forms) e.g. No animal and I dont have any pets (evidence of use of prefabricated/unanalyzed chunks)
Incomplete success (fossilization)

Why? 1. language-specific learning mechanisms available to young children cease to work for older learners 2. older L2 learners have different social circumstances
Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

Some major questions about second language learning and learners

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Is there an optimal age for starting second language acquisition? How long does it take to learn a second language?

Do optimal conditions exist for acquiring a second language? What are the characteristics of excellent or unsuccessful second language learners?

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

Some major questions about second language learning and learners

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To what extent does SLA resemble first LA in terms of (a) stages or intermediate steps, (b) underlying acquisition processes, (c) predictive or facilitative factors? Can learners function as efficiently and as competently in communication, learning and reading in a second as in a first language? To what extent is performance in a second language positively or negatively affected by the structure of the first language? To what extent is performance in a first language facilitated or impeded by the acquisition of a second language? (Crosslinguistic interference)
Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013

Quick Quiz
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What is the distinction between these fields of study? First or Child Language Acquisition Second Language Acquisition Bilingualism or Multilingualism

What could be a possible reason for one to choose

between these terms to refer to their participants or subjects in their study?

ESL learners EFL learners Bilinguals

6/4/2013

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

References
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Chapter 1 from Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding Second

Language Acquisition. London: Hodder Education. Chapter 1 from Mitchell, R., & Myles, F. (1998). Second Language Learning Theories. London: Arnold. Snow, C. (1998). Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition. In Jean Berko Gleason and Nan Bernstein Ratner (editors). Psycholinguistics (2nd Edition) (pp.453481). Belmont, California: Thomson Learning. Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Assoc Prof. Dr. Yap Ngee Thai

6/4/2013