1. 2nd Language Learning
Ch. 2
Lecture 5

2. Interlanguage A term introduced by Larry Selinker
Errors that are not from the L1 nor the L2
It is a linguistic system used by 2nd language learners (SLL). It may have characteristics of the learners L1, characteristics of the target language (TL) and characteristics that are general in all interlanguage systems.

3. Interlanguage There are 3 characteristics of interlanguage: Systematic
It has a set of rules. They may be taken from the learners L1 and the TL. These rules may not be correct, but it has rules.
2. Dynamic
Although it is systematic and has a set of linguistic rules, these rules may change. (how?)
3. Variable
It depends on the input the learners receive.

4. Developmental sequences
2ND language learners (SLL) similar as 1st language learners pass through sequences of development.
The features of a language that are most frequent are not necessarily learned first. For example, every English sentence has one/more articles (a – the – an) but even advanced learners have difficulty using them correctly.
Although the 1st language of the learner does have (some) influence, many aspects of these sequences are similar among learners from different language backgrounds.

5. Developmental sequences (negation)
Stages of forming negative sentences:
Stage 1. Using (no/not) before the verb/word being negated.
[No bicycle]
[I no like it]
[Not my friend]
Stage 2. Using (don’t)
[I don’t like it]
[I don’t can sing]

6. Developmental sequences (negation)
Stage 3. Using (are – is – can) with the negation. Still has problems with tense, person. [I cannot sing] [He is not happy] Stage 4. Using auxiliary verbs with (not) that agree with tense, person and number. [It doesn’t work] [She doesn’t work] [I didn’t work]

7. Developmental sequences (questions)
Stage 1. Single words, sentence fragments. [Dog?] [Eat chocolate?] Stage 2. Declarative word order, no inversion. [The boys throw the ball?] [It’s a flower in the garden?]

8. Developmental sequences (questions)
Stage 3. Wh-fronting, Do-fronting but no inversion. [Where the children are playing?] [Does in this picture there are four boys?] Stage 4. Inversion in Wh- +copula(linking verb), yes/no questions.) [Where is the sun?] Is there a flower in the garden?]

9. Developmental sequences (questions)
Stage 5. Inversion in Wh- question with both auxiliary & main verb. [What is the boy doing?] [Where do you play chess?] Stage 6. Complex questions(tag q – negative q – embedded q). [It’s better, isn’t it?] [Why can’t you go?] [Can you tell me what the date is today?]

10. Vocabulary acquisition in 2nd language learning
The learner/teacher must make the distinction between knowing a word & using a word.
(any guesses on what the difference may be?)
In other words, the purpose of vocabulary learning should include both remembering words and the ability to use them automatically in a wide range of language contexts when the need arises.

11. Vocabulary acquisition in 2nd language learning
There are 3 terms closely related to vocabulary acquisition in SLL:
High frequency words – Low frequency words - Cognates
High frequency words: words that occur so regularly in daily conversation.
Low frequency words: words that deal more with certain academic studies, words that appear throughout all academic texts and courses, but not very often in day to day speech.
Cognates: words that come from the same original root. For example, (water –English // wasser –German)
(Music –English // musique –French)

12. Vocabulary acquisition in 2nd language learning
LIST 1
LIST 2
LIST 3
More
Hamburger
Government
Town
T-shirt
Dictionary
Book
Pizza
Elementary
Night
Hotel
International
Smile
Dollar
Remarkable

13. Vocabulary acquisition in 2nd language learning
Factors that make new vocabulary more easily learnable:
Frequency in which the word is seen, heard and understood (why is understanding imp.?)
In fact, many studies suggest that a learner needs to have many meaningful encounters
(a number of 16) with a new word before it becomes firmly established in the memory.
2. How easy/difficult a word is.

14. Vocabulary acquisition in 2nd language learning
Strategies for vocabulary learning:
Krashen believes: best source of vocabulary is reading for pleasure.
However, his idea was criticized because it is difficult to infer the meaning of a new word from reading unless the reader already knows 95% of the other words.
2. Engaging in activity.
Keeping a notebook, looking up words in a dictionary and reviewing what has been learned. It is therefore, an ongoing process.

15. Pragmatics in second language learning
Pragmatics: A branch of linguistics that studies the use of language in social settings.
Words can be interpreted in different ways based on the situation.
For example,
The tent example
How are you? (supermarket)
Excuse me (Crowd-mistake)

16. Pragmatics in second language learning
Pragmatic competence in 2nd language includes:
Making & interpreting requests & suggestions
Responding to compliments & apologies
Responding to invitations
Recognizing humor
Managing conversation in general

17. Pragmatics in second language learning
Learning how to make and reject suggestions has been largely investigated.
Harlig & Hartford (1993) study:
The study observed the difference between the way native & non-native speakers of English communicated with their advisors in school as they discussed course selections.
Results showed that native speakers initiated suggestions, whereas non-natives did not.
For example, if the students did not like the course that was suggested for them, the natives would say something like “My schedule conflicts with this course”. Non-natives would say “I think I am not interested in this course.”

18. Pragmatics in second language learning
Direct speech VS, indirect (mitigated speech):
Mitigation: (Gladwell) any attempt to downplay or sugarcoat the meaning of what is being said.
There are 6 degrees of mitigation:
Command [Try this method.]
Obligation statement [We need to try this method.]
Suggestion [Why don’t we try this method instead?]
Query [Do you think we could try this method?]
Preference [Perhaps we should try this method.]
Hint [I wonder if we could try this method.]

19. Pragmatics in second language learning
Gladwell explains that because a hint is the most mitigated form of speech, it is “the hardest kind of request to decode and the easiest to refuse.”

20. Phonology in 2nd language learning
The sounds/ pronunciation has been given little attention until recently.
Studies show learners’ pronunciation is affected by number of factors:
Learners’ first language: first language influences second language learners’ phonological development.
For example, Japanese and Korean learners of
English have problems in /l/ and /r/ because they are
not distinct in their L1.
a. The greater the difference is between two languages the greater
difficulty a learner faces to reach phonological fluency.
For example, a Chinese-speaker faces a greater challenge than
does a speaker of German or Dutch.

21. Phonology in 2nd language learning
2. Period of exposure: Longer periods of exposure to the 2nd language lead to improved pronunciation. 3. Ethnic affiliation and sense of identity: ethnic affiliation and sense of identity affect the way learners produce L2. The more they feel connected to the L2 culture or the more they want to be connected, the better they will be. 4. Method of instruction: instructions focusing on stress and rhythm in pronunciation classes are more effective than lessons emphasizing on individual sounds.

22. Challenges of studying learners’ language
Although there are numerous studies on language learning, however, this comes with a bit of challenges:
Difficulty of collecting samples of learners’ speech/writing that are large enough to ensure validity of results.
Difficulty to recruit learners to participate in a study and persuade them to remain available over the time period necessary to show development.
Difficulty to schedule sessions for recording speech or collecting writing samples and to transcribe the speech samples for analysis.

23. Thank you