Language, Learning, and Teaching An Introduction to Language Acquisition and Chapter 1

Learning a Second Language Student A – Learning Chinese Student B – Learning Arabic Korean 18 years old Has been studying Chinese for 10 years Already speaks Korean and English Devotes 10 hours a week to classes Has lots of Chinese friends Russian 64 years old Never studied Arabic before Only speaks Russian Works a lot; goes to class once a week Knows no Arabic speaking people Which one of these students will have a harder time learning a language? What factors make it easier/harder?

What is the goal of SLA? Fluency What defines fluency? Conversational Competence What defines conversational? Academic Competence What defines academic?

Factors Affecting SLA SLA – Second Language Acquisition Learner Characteristics Linguistic Factors Learning Process Age and Acquisition Classroom Instruction Context Purpose

Learner Characteristics What are a student’s learner characteristics? Ethnic background Linguistic background Religious background Prior education Socioeconomic level Mental strengths/weaknesses Personality Cultural background Traditional Modern

Linguistic Factors What are linguistic factors? What is the relationship between L1 and L2? Consider Korean versus English Consider German versus English Alphabet Grammar Syllabic versus semanto-phonetic Vowels and consonants Accent

Learning Process The learning process is different for every learner. WTC – Willingness to Communicate Motivation Language Learning Aptitude Learning modalities Visual Auditory Kinesthetic Is learning meaningful? Is learning strict?

Age and Acquisition Does age affect acquisition? Accent and puberty Pronunciation challenges Prior knowledge and language study Fossilization Can the student recognize mistakes made while speaking a language?

Classroom Instruction Classroom environment Teacher attitude Safe versus intimidating Pedagogy Methods and approaches Textbooks/materials Institutional factors 학원 versus 대학교 Engagement

Context and Purpose Are students learning language in their own country or abroad? Immersion Foreign context Exposure Why is a student learning the language? Motivation Intrinsic – motivation from the inside Extrinsic – motivation from the outside Values Goals

Language What is Language? A systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings. In groups, come up with what is most important in the definition of a language.

Learning and Teaching Learning – acquiring knowledge of a subject or a skill by study, experience, or instruction Teaching – showing or helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to know or understand Are there right and wrong ways to learn/teach? Important Aspects of Teaching Languages Acquisition and retention Memory and cognitive organization Focus and attention Practice and reinforcement

Three Perspectives on SLA Structural Linguistics and Behavioral Psychology Generative Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology Constructivism

Structural Linguistics and Behavioral Psychology Language consists of only observable data. Called structural Describe human languages and to identify their structural characteristics Focuses on memorization and audiolingual patterns Students memorize grammar Patterns of sentences In this era, languages were systems that could be broken down and rebuilt Culture and meaning were irrelevant Only the parts of language that could be observed should be taught Known as behavioral psychology

Generative Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology After the structuralist and behavioral psychology, scientists began to recognize that it was not enough for language acquisition Generative-Transformational Linguistics Noam Chomsky – descriptive adequacy not enough, meaning is important Performance versus understanding Understanding is more important than just performance Cognitive Psychology Can observe human behavior What underlying factors cause a person to successfully learn a language? (i.e.: innate, psychology, social, environmental, etc.)

Constructivism Promoted by scholars such as Jean Piaget (theory of cognitive development) and Leo Vygotsky (Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD) Cognitive Constructivism – learners are guided to create and discover meaning and reality on their own Social Constructivism – social interaction and cooperative learning ZPD – Zone or Proximal Development (more in chapter 2)

Three Perspectives Reviewed

Discussion What form of language learning do you think is most effective to learning a second language? Why? What is commonly used in Korea? Is it effective? Why or why not? Based on the theory, how could Korea change to better serve English students?

Historic Types of Language Inst. Classical Method Grammatical rules Vocabulary memorization Translations Performance Grammar Translation Method Evolved from the classical method Used for centuries Requires few specialized skills from teachers; therefore, it was popular Structuralist, behavioral psychology

Modern Approaches Audiolingual Method Direct Method Oral production drills (learn by rote) Behaviorist theory Does not focus on vocabulary, but does focus on grammar rules Direct Method Focuses on performance (pronunciation, etc.) Refrain from using L1 Question and Answer; use of visual stimuli Immersion – recently gaining popularity; constructivism Bilingual Method – becoming popular in the US; cognitive psychology Communicative Approach – emphasizes interaction; social constructivism

What should be done to help? Student A – Learning Chinese Student B – Learning Arabic Korean 18 years old Has been studying Chinese for 10 years Already speaks Korean and English Devotes 10 hours a week to classes Has lots of Chinese friends Russian 64 years old Never studied Arabic before Only speaks Russian Works a lot; goes to class once a week Knows no Arabic speaking people What theories should be considered when instructing these students? What classroom approaches would be most beneficial?