First and second language acquisition

FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION

INTRODUCTION
• Grammar Translation Method
• non-communicative approach that relies on reading and translation,
mastery of grammatical rules and accurate writing
• Audiolingual Method
• non-communicative approach that involves heavy use of mimicry,
imitations and drill. Speech, not writing is emphasised
• Communicative Language Teaching
• is based on the assumption that learners do not need to be taught
grammar before they can communicate but will acquire it naturally as
part of the process of learning to communicate

BASIC THEORIES OF L2
ACQUISITION
• "Comprehensible Input" hypothesis (by Stephen Krashen)
• learners acquire language by "intaking" and understanding language that is a
"little beyond" their current level of competence
• "Comprehensible Output" hypothesis (by Merrill Swain and others)
• providing learners with opportunities to use the language and skills they have
acquired, at a level in which they are competent, is almost as important as
giving students the appropriate level of input
• Affective Filter hypothesis (by Krashen and Terrell)
• individual’s emotions can directly assist in the learning of a new language

FOUR KEY PRINCIPLES FOR AN
EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION
• Increase Comprehensibility
• involves the ways in which teachers can make content more
understandable to their students
• Increase Interaction
• language skills are used in real-life situations
• Increase Thinking/Study Skills
• advanced thinking skills are developed
• Use a student’s native language to increase
comprehensibility

TEN THINGS THE TEACHER CAN
DO TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION
1. Enunciate clearly, but do not raise your voice. Add gestures, point
directly to objects, or draw pictures when appropriate
2. Write clearly, legibly, and in print—many ELL students have difficulty
reading cursive
3. Develop and maintain routines. Use clear and consistent signals for
classroom instructions
4. Repeat information and review frequently. If a student does not
understand, try rephrasing or paraphrasing in shorter sentences and
simpler syntax. Check often for understanding, but do not ask "Do you
understand?" Instead, have students demonstrate their learning in order
to show comprehension

TEN THINGS THE TEACHER CAN
DO TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION
5. Try to avoid idioms and slang words
6. Present new information in the context of known information
7. Announce the lesson’s objectives and activities, and list instructions
step-by-step
8. Present information in a variety of ways
9. Provide frequent summations of the salient points of a lesson, and
always emphasize key vocabulary words
10. Recognize student success overtly and frequently. But, also be aware
that in some cultures overt, individual praise is considered inappropriate
and can therefore be embarrassing or confusing to the student

CHARACTERISTICS OF
FIRST LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION :
It is remarkable for its speed
In normal conditions language acquisition generally
occurs
Small differences in a range of social and cultural factors
have, according to various studies, no meaning
Belief that there is some “innate” predisposition of
human child to acquire language exists
TRUTH: Each human child posses a language-faculty.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Biological aspects must be fulfilled
 This process requires interaction
 Language must be culturally trasmitted

VARIATION IN CHILD
LANGUAGE
 Variation in rate
 Variation in route

TYPES OF VARIATION:
Child's linguistic
behaviour
Inherited attributes:
Sex, intelligence, personality and learning style
Situation: setting,
activity, number of
participants
Style of linguistic
interaction: interpersonal
relations etc.
Social background:
Family structure,
cultural
environment, social
group affiliation

DIRECT & INDIRECT
INFLUENCES
 Indirect influence:
 Social background
 Direct influences:
 Inherited attributes
 Situation
 Style of linguistic interaction

INHERITED
ATTRIBUTES:
 Sex
no genetic superiority of girls
 Intelligence
correlation between language and intelligence
strongly related to environmental variation
 Personality and learning style
no strong evidence for such relationship, still
demands researching

SITUATION:
 Setting
 Activity
 Number of participants
all factors are very significant
for child's linguistic behaviour

SOCIAL
BACKGROUND:
Family structure
cultural environment
 social group affiliation
child's linguistic behaviour
depends, for sure, on all these
factors, however, the size and
nature of this variation is unknown

PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF

PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF
Content
• Introduction
• Piaget‘s Theory
• Vygotsky‘s Theory
• Conclusion

PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION
INTRODUCTION
Language acquisition does not take place in a
vacuum. As children acquire language, they
acquire a sign system which bears important
relationships to both cognitive and social aspects
of their life.

ACQUISITION
INTRODUCTION
Psychosocial aspects of language acquisition are
mainly concerned about how language, thought
and social interaction interrelate in the child‘s
development.
Does social interaction influence the child’s
language acquisition?

ACQUISITION
PIAGET’S THEORY
The child’s cognitive development is relatively
autonomous, not only independent from
language, but also from social interaction.
social interaction as secondary
social interaction explained in logical
mathematical principles

ACQUISITION
PIAGET’S THEORY
Egocentricity
The child’s egocentricity results from his lack of decentering.
His language, having private characteristics, is at first not
adapted to social communicative situations. It becomes
socialized at a later point in development as in decentering the
child’s cognitive organization allows him to participate in social
interaction.
Child talks about what he does and is not concerned about
being understood
Speech does not seem to have a real function

ACQUISITION
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY
Vygotsky’s approach to the inter-relations of
language, thought and social interaction is to
view language as a multifunctional and context-
dependent system mediating simultaneously
cognitive and social development.

ACQUISITION
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY
Vygotsky defines language as primary, context-
dependent and social natured.
Language development is the principal motor of
development, as it mediates the child’s participation in
both the intellectual and social life surrounding him.

ACQUISITION
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY
• He sees a constant interaction between language
development and cognitive development, such that
thought is neither autonomous from language nor
causally prior to it.
• The use of a sign system such as language is
necessary for the development of uniquely higher
mental functions.

ACQUISITION
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY
Egocentricity
At first, speech accompanies ongoing actions in the
context of utterance, serving as a means of social
contact with others. At a later point, when speech has
been differentiated it forms a system which is
multifunctional for the adult:
• used externally - social function
• used internally – mental function change in different
functions

ACQUISITION
CONCLUSION
Contrast between Piaget and Vygotsky:
• Whether or not they give language development a
special status in relation to other aspects of
developments
• Whether or not they see language as inherently
social or more precisely as multifunctional

SOCIAL AND
DISCOURSE ASPECTS
OF INTERLANGUAGE

• Accomodation Theory (Giles)
• Convergence  Divergence
• Speakers indicate cohesiveness or distinctiveness from a social
group
• L2 acquisition = long-term convergence
• Acculturation model (Schumann)
• Willingness or ability to become part of the new culture
• Social distance
• How do the L2 group and the target language group see each
other?
• Are they equal?
• Does the target language group want the L2 group to become a
part?
• Etc.
• See also stylistic continuum (Tarone) and Social
Identity (Peirce)

• Social aspects influence
• The opportunity for conversations
• The kind of conversations
• The commitment to learning the language
SOCIAL AND DISCOURSE ASPECTS
OF INTERLANGUAGE

DISCOURSE ASPECTS
THE ROLE OF INPUT AND
INTERACTION
• Foreigner talk
• Ungrammatical
• Often implies lack of respect
• Certain grammatical features are left out, such as be, modal
verbs (can, must), base forms instead of past tense, etc.
• Grammatical
• Slower pace
• Simplified: e.g. shorter sentences, avoidance of subordinate
clauses, no complex grammatical forms, lengthening of phrases,
etc.

EXAMPLES:
Baseline talk You won‘t forget to buy ice-
cream on your way home, will
you?
Ungrammatical
Foreigner talk
No forget buying ice-cream,
eh?
Grammatical
foreigner talk
The ice-cream – you will not
forget to buy it on your way
home – get it when you are
coming home. All right?“

• Negotiation of meaning
• Example:
And then he put it in his knee.
He put it on his knee?
DISCOURSE ASPECTS
INTERACTION

The relevance for L2 learning:
- Foreigner talk = comprehensible input
- Negotiation of meaning
 negative evidence
 corrected input
 concerns aspects they have not mastered yet
- See also theories by Krashen (Input hypothesis), Long
(interaction hypothesis), Hatch and the ‚activity theory‘
based on Vygotsky
DISCOURSE ASPECTS
INTERACTION

CONCLUSION
• Social aspects determine
• Extent/kind of contact
• Commitment
• Discourse aspects may contribute
• Modified input
• Negotiation of meaning

PSYCHOLINGUISTIC
ASPECTS OF
INTERLANGUAGE

INTRODUCTION
Psycholinguistics is the study of the mental structures
and processes involved in the acquisition and use of
language.
 L1 transfer
 the role of consciousness
 processing operations
 communication strategies

L1 TRANSFER
 L1 transfer refers to the influence of the learner’s L1 on the acquisition of a L2.
The learner’s L1 is one of the sources of error in learner language, this influence is
called negative transfer
 Nevertheless, in some cases, L1 makes an acquisition of L2 less difficult.
Example: The man whom I spoke to him is a teacher
 positive transfer
 The influence of L1 can also result in avoidance
Example: Chinese and Japanese languages don’t contain relative clauses
Japanese and Chinese learners of English avoid the usage of these structures
 On the other hand, L1 transfer may be reflected in the overuse of some forms
Example: Chinese learners tend to overuse expressions of regret in English,
because of norms of their mother tongue

L1 TRANSFER
 Influence of behaviourism: it was believed that habits of the L1 prevent the learner
from learning the habits of the L2
contrastive analysis
 In the early 1970s behaviourism falls out of favour – two developments
 The first one – some theorists try to play down the role of L1
 The other one (represented by Larry Selinker) – learners don’t construct rules in
vacuum, they work with whatever information is at their disposal. Knowledge of L1 is
included. Selinker identifies language transfer as one of the mental processes
responsible for fossilization
 According to Eric Kellerman, learners are able to distinguish between potentially
transferable and non-transferable features
Example: Hij brak zijn been. (He broke his leg.) Het ondergrondse verset werd gebroken. (The
underground resistance was broken.)

CONCLUSION
 L1 influences the acquisition of L2 (positive and
negative)
 the role of consciousness is one of the most
controversial issues in SLA
 all acquisition models represent more theoretical
material than practical application and demand
further investigation

WHAT IS ‘CONTRASTIVE
LINGUISTICS’?
- it means comparing the structures of two present-day languages
- goal is an immediate desire like improving instruction in one of the
languages examined
- it is:
- synchronically oriented
- not concerned with genetic similarities
- two languages
- bound to a particular linguistic theory
- divided into applied and theoretical sections
- we will focus on the applied sections

INTERFERENCE
- transferring of structural features of one’s native language when learning a second
language
- positive and negative transfer
- negative transfer is called interference
- four main types of interference:
- substitution: a learner uses an already acquired element for one he does not yet
possess, e.g. [w] for [r] in [wein] rain
- over-and under-differentiation: in early language acquisition clause types are
under-differentiated, as more parataxis than hypotaxis is used; over-
differentiation: use of several different verbs by English speakers of German,
where Germans would just have machen
- Over-indulgence and under-representation: repeated use of structures, words,…;
lack of special structures, words,…
- over-generalisation: e.g. Mama comed home

CONTRASTIVE PHONOLOGY
- tradition of incorrect pronunciation, e.g. /berlin vs. ber/lin;
pronounced consistently in an incorrect manner
- transfer from principle in German to English, although it is incorrect;
e.g. voiced vs. voiceless s after n,l,r – conversation
- mixed pronunciation, e.g. Hifi [haifi] vs. [haifai]
- allophonic differences, e.g. (ch) in Buch or Pech
- contrastive stress
- phenomenon of level stress in English where two or more elements
have equal stress
- different stress in noun and adjective, e.g. /content (noun) and con/tent
(adjective)

CONTRASTIVE MORPHOLOGY
- comparative forms of adjectives: in English: Romanic vs.
Germanic, e.g. tall taller-tallest vs. terrible-more terrible-most
terrible
- two cases in English vs. four cases in German
- affixation in German vs. Lexicalisation in English: e.g. ver- used
as a prefix to indicate a reversal in meaning, in English different
words
mieten-vermieten rent-let
kaufen-verkaufen buy-sell
- compounding: German favours compounding whereas the English
equivalents are lexicalised or arrived at by paraphrase, e.g.

DIFFERENCES IN THE
NOMINAL AREA
• use of the definite article: not used with
abstract terms, only if a qualifying clause or
element follows, e.g.
• She is interested in philosophy. vs. The philosophy
of Kant.
• formation of plurals
• prepositional usage

CONTRASTIVE SEMANTICS
-unusualness of English words: many words are not very common in everyday
usage, e.g. sibling vs. brothers and sisters
-differing range: e.g. Freundin – female friend, girlfriend
-false friends: a word in the native language sounds similar to one in the
foreign language; different meaning
e.g. aktuell ‘topical’ actual ‘tatsächlich’
dumm ‘stupid’ dumb ‘stumm’
Gift ‘poison’ gift ‘Geschenk’
sensibel ‘sensitive’ ‘sensible’‘vernünftig’
-equivalents: one word in German often has more than one equivalent in
English and the other way round, e.g.
glücklich happy, lucky
seit for, since
dress Kleidung, Kleid
go gehen, fahren

IDIOMS AND COLLOCATIONS
-collocation: a sequence of words or terms which co-occur more often
than would be expected
-equivalents can have different collocations
-idioms:
- small number of idioms which are identical, e.g. Too many
cooks spoil the broth.
- idioms which are not quite the same, i.e. they are similar in
their content, but slightly different in their form
e.g. Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen
To kill two birds with one stone.
-rhyme-motivated compounds vs. alliterations
e.g. shop till you drop
dream-team

CONTRASTIVE PRAGMATICS
-use of discourse particles, e.g. oder? in German as a discourse
particle is not or? in English
-third person reference: In England it is regarded as very impolite
to refer to a third person who is present by means of a pronoun. In
German it is quite acceptable.

CONCLUSION
-in Contrastive Linguistics the structures of two present-day languages are
compared to achieve an immediate aim
-in many respects (phonology, morphology, syntax,…) English and German
differ in their structure
-learners should be constantly aware of these differences to avoid too much
interference
-teachers should be aware of the danger of interference and should prevent
this by naming the differences and talking about them in class, so that pupils
cannot make up negative transfer on their own

First and second language acquisition

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