Language AcquisitionLanguage
Acquisition
Instructor Marwan Alalimi
Revision • First language acquisition
vs. second language acquisition.
• Acquisition vs. learning.• Key principles of
Behaviorism• Main components of the
habit formation process.
Revision • Behaviorism deficiencies.• Cognitive theory. • Stages of language
development. •
Activity 1
• In three groups, try to order the stages that children develop their language’s grammatical morphemes?
The development of grammatical morphemes
• Roger brown (1973):
1. Present progressive2. Plural – S 3. Irregular past forms4. Possessive – ‘s 5. Articles 6. Regular past – ed 7. Regular third-person-singular- s 8. Irregular third-person-singular
The development of transformations
• Negative form:1. The negative element No is not part of
the sentence structure and place at the beginning. E.g. No cookie – no singing song.
2. The negative element inserted into the sentence. E.g. he no bite you – Daddy no comb hair.
3. Producing appropriate part of do, be or the model verbs. E.g. I can’t do it – I’m not a doctor.
• Interrogative form• 1- Wh-questions :
– What is the first word.. Whassat?– Where and who learned soon. Where’s Mommy? Who’s
that? – Why ? Emerges by the end of 2nd. Year. Why that car is
red? – When and how? – better understanding of time and
manner. • Children’s understanding of difficult questions:• Child : when can we go outside?• Parent: In about ten minutes.• Child: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. Can we go now?
The development of transformations
The acquisition of word order in questions: 1. Simple two- or three-word sentences with
rising intonation. E.g. cookie? Mommy book?2. Declarative sentence with rising intonation.
You have car? You like this?3. Fronting- putting a verb or question word in
front of a sentence. E.g. Do I can have a cookie? Is the toy is big? Why you don’t have one?
4. Either subject-verb inversion or wh-word but not both. E.g. Is she a doctor? What she is doing ?
Followed… 5. Both wh-questions and yes/no questions are formed correctly. E.g. why did you do that? Does daddy have money? But confused when dealing with subordinate clauses or imbedded questions. E.g. Ask him why can’t he go out.6. Correctly form all types of questions including complex embedded questions.
Activity 2
Share with us your opinion of the statements in the handout?
Second language acquisition
• Is second language learning different from first language learning?
1. Behaviorists = Yes. L2 learning # L1. Mother tongue learnt in natural manner but second language is learned in an artificial manner.
2. Cognitivists = No. Both pass through step-by-step process. Both are not learned in an imitative memorizing
process.
According to cognitive psychologists L1 is different from L2 learning in
four elements…
1. Age : the case of Genie, Victor and Chelsea.2. Motivation :
External motivation. E.g. bilingual environment
Internal motivation. E.g. desire for learning.
3. Monitor user: o Under-monitor users: extroverted.o Over-monitor users: introverted.o Optimum-monitor users: in-between.
4. First language interference:
Mental Processes Involved in Second
Language Acquisition
Languageenvironm
ent
Filter ► organizer ►monitor
Learner’s verbal
performance► ►
Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second
Language Acquisition• Birth : 1941, Chicago.• Occupation: linguist, educational
researcher.• Work for : university of southern
California.
Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second
Language Acquisition “language acquisition does not require
extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill”
Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language- natural communication- in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding”.
• The best methods are therefore those that supply comprehensible input in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are ready, recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production. Stephen Krashen.
Krashen’s five main hypothesis
The Acquisition vs. Learning Hypothesis.
The Monitor Hypothesis. The Natural Order HypothesisThe Input HypothesisThe Affective Filter Hypothesis
1 -The Acquisition vs. learning hypothesis.
Second language performance
Acquired system
The product of a subconscious process
Learned system
The product of formal instruction- conscious
process
2 -The Monitor hypothesis
The relationship between Acquisition and learning
Acquisition system
Speaker’s utterances initiator- responsible for spontaneous
language use.
Learning system
Monitor - Editor
plan edit correct
2 -The Monitor hypothesis
• Everyone has a monitor that tells them when something is true or false. But It requires these conditions: – Time: have time to reflect.– Knowledge: know the rules and the correct
form.
3-The Natural Order Hypothesis
We acquire grammatical structures in a predictable natural order, some rules tending to come early and others late.
The order of rules is not determined by its simplicity.
It’s also independent of the learner’s age and L1 background.
Are there any similarities between the way in which children acquire their first language and the ways in which adults acquire the same language as their second language?
4 -Input Hypothesis
People learn by understanding messages, getting “comprehensible input”
If input is understood and there is enough of it, the necessary grammar is automatically provided.
5 -Affective filter hypothesis
• The affective filter is a barrier that prevent learners from acquiring language.
• Even if there’s enough input, Affect feelings and emotional states play an important role in L2 acquisition.
• When the learner is having high anxiety, low motivation low self-confidence, the filter turns on and causes the learner to block out input.
The Input hypothesis model
Language testing• Test vs. exam• Advantages and disadvantages
essay vs. objective tests. Neither of them is better.Their preference depends on :
Context of evaluation. the purpose.
Advantages and disadvantages essay
Essay tests have poor reliability. But objective tests have high reliability.
objective tests scoring can be reliable, rapid, and economical but essay test scoring is tedious and time-consuming.
cannot determine how the student actually will perform in that situation
Types of tests1. Proficiency test.2. Achievement test.3. Diagnostic test.4. Placement test.5. Aptitude test.
Criteria of Designing a Test.
1. Reliability: Teacher’s reliability. Student’s reliability.
2. Validity: Content validity. Predictive validity. Face validity.
3. Practicality.4. Discrimination.
Thank you