Reading notes

1. Tshen Tashi (59064485)
How Languages are Learned
Pasty M. Lightbown and Nina Spada
Chapter 2: Second Language Learning
Learner characteristics
L2 learners know how language works but they may make mistakes. Young language learners
acquire L1 before cognitive maturity/metalinguistic awareness. Older learners’ metalinguistic
consciousness allows for resolving problems and employing in discussions about language. Child
learners try to use the language before attending proficiency. Many adults feel frustrated when
they cannot express.
Learning conditions
Young learners can remain silent, unlike adults. Young children get more time to L2 in informal
settings. Older learners, receive only limited exposure – only in classrooms. Adult learning
producing errors may receive different remarks from the interlocutors. Learners of all ages are
exposed to modified input -child-directed speech in first language acquisition and foreigner talk
or teacher talk in certain contexts of second language acquisition.
Studying the language of second language learners
Children’s L1 grow in a predictable sequence. The development of learner’s language helps
teachers to focus on classroom teaching. The teacher asses if the learners had learned what is
being taught matching to the target language. Learners generalize the rules to learn other forms
and commit errors but it is a sign of progress.
Contrastive analysis, error analysis, and interlanguage
CAH assumption of errors from the transfer was challenged because learner’s errors are also
because of generalization. Error analysis hypothesized that children’s L2 learning is a system in
its own right. Interlanguage is the stage of learner’s developing knowledge of L2. Some of the
learner’s language may stop developing – fossilization.
Developmental sequences
L2 learners pass through the sequence of development like L1 learners but quite different. L2
learners have another language pattern already acquired and it interferes in learning another
language.
Grammatical morphemes
The obligatory context for morpheme is the learner’s speech in the sentence where the
morpheme is necessary to make the sentence grammatically correct. Example; Yesterday I play
baseball for two hours. – (played) instead of (was Playing). Accuracy order is similar but not
identical to the developmental sequence, therefore, it cannot be explained in terms of transfer
from learner’s L1.
Negation
L2 learners differ from different first language backgrounds behave somewhat differently in
language acquisition. John Schumann’s (1979) and Henning Wode illustrated;

2. Stage 1: The negative element (usually 'no' or 'not') is typically placed before the verb or the
element being negated. (No bicycle/Not my friend)
Stage 2: At this stage, 'no' and 'not' may alternate with 'don't'. (He don't like it)
Stage 3: Learners begin to place the negative element after auxiliary verbs like 'are', 'is', and 'can'.
(You cannot go there. He was not happy)
Stage 4: In this stage, 'do' is marked for tense, person, and number (It doesn't work. We didn't
have supper)
Questions
Manfred Pienemann, Malcolm Johnston, and Geoff Brindley (1988) described a sequence of
questions in L2 is similar to L1 but some L1 interference attribute difference.
Stage 1: Single words, formulae, or sentence fragments. (Dog? Four children?)
Stage 2: Declarative word order, no inversion, no fronting. (It's a monster in the right corner?)
Stage 3: Fronting: do-fronting/ wh-fronting, but no inversion/ other fronting. (Do you have a
shoes on your picture?)
Stage 4: Inversion in wh- + copula (be= is, are, am, etc) (Is there a fish in the water?)
Stage 5: Inversion in wh- questions with both an auxiliary and the main verb. (What's the boy
doing?)
Stage 6: Complex questions. Question tags: (e.g. It's better, isn't it?), Negative question: (e.g.
Why can't you go?), Embedded question: (e.g. Can you tell me what the date is today?)
Possessive determiner
In many languages, possessive determiner matches the grammatical gender posses by person or
object. Joanna White (1998, 2008) studies found eight sequences but can be grouped into three.
Stage 1: Pre-emergence – No use of ‘his’ or ‘her’. Use of definite/your refer people, gender and
number. (The little boy play with the bicycle. There is one girl talk with you).
Stage 2: Emergence – preference to one from two forms – his/her. (The mother is dressing her
little boy, and she put her clothes, her pant, her coat, and then she finishes).
Stage 3: Post-emergence – differentiate the use of ‘his’ and ‘her’ (The girl fell on her bicycle.
She took his father and cry).
Learners at stage 8 achieve error-free use of ‘his’ and ‘her’.
Relative clauses
Many researchers claim that if learners could use the structures of the relative clause at the
bottom list correctly, they can use the proceedings correctly – accessibility hierarchy. L1 has an
influence in learning L2 relative clauses.
Reference to past
Beginning: learners with very limited language may simply refer to events in the order in which
they occurred or mention a time or place to show that the event occurred in the past. Later,
learners start to attach a grammatical morpheme which shows that the verb is marked for the
past. Even after they begin marking past tense on verbs, however, learners may still make errors
such as the overgeneralization of the regular -ed ending.
Movement through developmental sequences
Developmental stages are not as ‘closed doors’ rather an emergence of the new form, then
increasing frequency of use. Progress to a higher stage can result in new (different) errors.
Developmental progress interacts with L1 influence.

3. More about first language influence
Cross-linguistic influence no longer referred to as ‘transfer’ or ‘interference’. Cross-linguistic
influence can promote L2 development. Cross-linguistic influence can result in avoidance as
well as errors because learners are sensitive to degrees of distance between L1 and L2. L2 can
influence L1 (influence goes both ways). L1 sometimes makes it difficult for learners to notice
something they’re saying is not a feature of the L2 (e.g. adverb placement).
Vocabulary
English language estimated to have between 100,000 and one million words (Teach/ teaching/
teacher). Everyday conversation requires about 2,000 words and it is estimated an educated
speaker of English knows at least 20,000 words. Learner’s less opportunity to get exposed to
samples of the L2 lacks in vocabulary compared to their L1. Vocabulary learning requires effort
by learner and teacher (Nation, 2001). In order to guess the meaning of a new word in context,
one needs to know more than 90% of the words already in the text. Even then context can be
inadequate or misleading. Frequency makes a big difference in word learning – words must be
encountered many times to be firmly established in memory. Cognates and borrowed words can
also play a role.
Pragmatics
It is the study of learning to use language appropriately. Even if learners have advanced
grammatical and lexical knowledge in the L2 they may not know how to apologize, politely
refuse, express deference, disagree, recognize humour etc… Researchers have shown that these
skills are also acquired developmentally (Kasper & Rose, 2002) and that learners benefit from
instruction (Bardovi-Harlig, 1999).
Phonology
Learners need to perceive differences in sounds before they can produce them. Greater
differences between the L1 and L2 can lead to greater pronunciation difficulties. Longer periods
of exposure lead to improved pronunciation. Adults who continue to make greater use of their L1
have stronger accents in the L2. Ethnic affiliation and identity choices also contribute to
pronunciation development. International and regional varieties of English are appropriate goals
for many learners. For most learners, the goal is to be intelligible and communicatively
competent, not to ‘sound like’ a native speaker. Instruction that focuses on supra-segmentals
rather than segmentals has been found more effective for improving intelligibility. Even when
perfectly intelligible, L2 speakers may experience discrimination related to their perceived
‘accent’
Sampling learners’ language
Corpus linguistics emphasizes the analysis of authentic spoken and written texts. Documented
language use rather than hypotheses about what users ‘might’ say or write. The same computer-
based tools allow researchers to collect larger and more authentic samples of learner language.