INTRODUCTION THE STUDY OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISTION Aims at describing and explaining the development and non development of languages and language varieties beyond the first language. It is also known as SLA. It focuses on children and adults learning a second language naturalistically or with the aid of formal instruction as individuals or groups LANGUAGE LEARNING VS. ACQUISITION LANGUAGE ACQUISITION This involves the gradual development in the ability to use a second language by constantly using naturally in communication situations. It involves mastering a set of rules of grammar of a language so as to form complete and meaningful sentences. In acquisition meaning and form must be taken together, no one can go before the other. Acquisition is innate and uses the language faculty in the brain. Activities associated with acquisition are normally encountered by the young child through language use and interaction LANGUAGE LEARNING VS. ACQUISITION LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Overt instruction is important in language acquisition, children require to interact with other language users in order to bring the faculty into operation. Acquisition is thus a sub-concious and a natural process. LANGUAGE LEARNING VS. ACQUISITION LANGUAGE LEARNING This refers to the conscious process of accumulation of knowledge of vocabulary and grammar of the language. Language learning involves a series of conscious attempts at imitation which are reinforced when correct and eliminated when deficient. Activities associated with learning have been used in language teaching in schools and they tend to result in knowledge about the language. LANGUAGE LEARNING VS. ACQUISITION LANGUAGE LEARNING Learning involves a relatively permanent change in behaviour as a result of reinforced practice. LANGUAGE LEARNING VS. ACQUISITION CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGIES IN LANGUAGE AND ACQUISITION COMPETENCE is a knowledge system of rules that govern the use of a particular language. It also refers to the knowledge of an infinite number of sentences and utterances and how to use them in different situations. PERFORMANCE Refers to the concrete act of speaking or signing . It refers to the use of this infinite number of utterances and signs that some of them have never been heard before. Performance is th linguistic behaviour in itself. CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGIES IN LANGUAGE AND ACQUISITION FIRST LANGUAGE A language that a child is exposed to first . It is also called a mother tongue SECOND LANGUAGE Refers to a language other than mother tongue which is use d for special purposes. It has a special social function and is occurs in multilingual states e.g. the use of English in Kenya. CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGIES IN LANGUAGE AND ACQUISITION FOREIGN LANGUAGE A language learned after the 1st language but with no special status . It is not the mother tongue of any one group within the speech community. It usually serves no internal communication function It only serves the to ease communication with members of the target a language in or outside the country. APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND SLA The academic discipline of language learning and acquisition is a sub-discipline of applied linguistics. Applied linguistics is the study of language and language related problems in specific situations where people use and learn languages. Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates and offers solutions to language related real life problems. Some of the academic fields that are related with applied linguistics include: education, linguistics, psychology, anthropology and sociology. APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND SLA As a field of linguistics it looks at the wider areas of language assessment, language policy and second language acquisition. IMPORTANCE OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS IN THE ACQUISITION OF A SECOND LANGAUGE Applied linguistics looks at how people acquire language and how they can be taught better. It aims at improved language teaching by undertaking a vigorous study of language. It employs other fields of knowledge such as psychology, testing and measurements, language education in the teaching and the learning of a second language. It increases our knowledge of acquisition of second language by testing hypothesis on language learning and acquisition theories. It helps in the development of language learning and language teaching methodologies as well as materials. QUALITIES NECESSARY FOR SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION ACCESS/ EXPOSURE For successful SLA to take place the learner has to be exposed to the language, this means there has to be contact between the learner and the language. Accessibility to the language can be achieved through: Natural/social circumstance: this occurs in a bilingual or a multilingual situation whereby one is exposed to the second language naturally. It occurs among children born to parents with different first languages, migrants, tourists, refugees etc. Educational instruction: this exposure may be voluntary or mandatory educational exposure. It may occur in the following forms: Immersion: learners with fluency in their first language and having no prior contact with the first language are put together in a classroom and the second language is used as a medium of instruction. Submersion: 2nd language users are taught in a class where the majority are native second language speakers QUALITIES NECESSARY FOR SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STRUCTURE OF THE LANGUAGE If the structure of the second language is almost similar to the structure of the first language then acquisition becomes easier and faster PROPENSITY OF THE LANGUAGE LEARNER TO LEARN This involves a totality of factors which induce the learner to use his language faculties to earn the language. Effort expended in learning the language will depend on the following: I. Role played by the language in society II. Ego permeability i.e. an individuals preparedness to reveal their imperfect command of the second language. IT also refers to a learners preparedness to readily reveal their imperfect command of the second language and their readiness to degrade oneself in inappropriate, awkward or ridiculous situations QUALITIES NECESSARY FOR SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION LEARNING CAPACITY OF THE LEARNER This is based on the learning capacity of the brain which enables all humans to acquire language naturally. It varies naturally with individuals. In second language acquisition, the younger the learner the easier it is especially from infancy to puberty. THE RATE OF ACQUISITION OF THE LANGUAGE The more successful the second language learners are the more motivated they are to learn The second language learner who is encouraged on his/her success and accomplishments learns faster than the learner who merely undergoes formal grammatical instruction. LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES BEHAVIOURISTIC THEORY This theory considers it inappropriate to speculate about what goes in the brain during language learning. This theory limits its attention to overt actions and ways in which other people such as parents, teachers or peers can influence this action. For behaviorists, language learning takes place when there is evidence of overt change in ones behaviour. This evidence ought to be observable. The data for behaviorists is the utterances made and the conditions under which they are made. LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES BEHAVIOURISTIC THEORY This theory states that every utterance made or part of it is produced as a result of the presence of a stimulus. The utterance in this case is a result of the presence of a stimulus. The stimulus can be physically present in the learning situation i.e. it may be verbal, where a language is produced in response to another language or it may be non verbal e.g. a call of nature or a state of thirst. These may stimulate the learners to make a verbal response. LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES BEHAVIOURISTIC THEORY This theory emphasizes on the importance of reinforcement in the learning process. According to the theory a learner must be continuously reinforced through reward, punishment, approval and disapproval. For behaviorists, language learning takes place when a learner emits response, however in language learning a repetition of this response is necessary for full learning. LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES BEHAVIOURISTIC THEORY This theory also calls for continuous active use of language by a child, this leads to proper language learning. According to this theory, the correct responses should be reinforced while the incorrect ones should be discouraged. Meaning for behaviorists, refers to the ability to produce an appropriate response from a stimulus. This theory also states that the learners of a language make sentence structures based on the structures and habits learnt and heard from adults through imitation. LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES BEHAVIOURISTIC THEORY Skinner(1977) came up with positive behaviorism. He introduced the operant behaviour and respondent behaviour. Skinner emphasized on the beneficial effects of immediate reinforcement. He insisted that the desired behaviour is effectively acquired by rewarding successively. According to skinner, learning is made up of a collection habits that children learn by simply imitating those around them CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS THEORY C.A refers to the systematic comparison of the specific linguistic characteristics of two or more language chosen for comparison. In language learning, the two languages chosen for comparison usually is the learners mother tongue( L1) and the target language (L2). The main function of CA is to predict the likely errors of a group of learners and use it to provide the linguistic input to language learning materials. l/r- f/v – d/t –k/g If contrastive analysis of two languages is carried out the differences between the languages can be established for the purposes of predicting likely learner difficulty. CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS THEORY The main terms in CA usually are transfer and interference. When the first language(L1) habits aid in the acquisition of L2 features then this is called positive transfer. This happens for example when two languages share a similarity in the sentence or sound structure. Native bantu speakers learning Swahili benefit from positive transfer When the L1 language habits interferes in the learning of the new patterns of L2 then we talk of interference or negative transfer. CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS THEORY Contrastive analysis plays two main roles in language learning: i. predicting problems in language learning ii. Development of course materials for language learning STEPS IN CARRYING OUT CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS i. Carrying out a CA of the two languages at all levels of linguistic analysis ii. Simplifying the analysis iii. Converting the simplified results into classroom materials iv. Classifying the errors in surface taxonomies relevant to the layman CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS THEORY WEAKNESSES OF CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS THEORY The relations between the psychological and linguistic aspects may be difficult to explain or one cannot sort out psychological errors from linguistic errors. The relations between CA and real classroom situation is difficult to establish. It is not easy to convert CA data into classroom data. Detailed descriptions of the languages are necessary in CA and yet in they are impracticable. 40 minutes ERROR ANALYSIS THEORY This theory views errors in language learning very positively. Error analysis is alternate view to contrastive analysis Error analysis thus: i. Tells the language teacher what progress the learner has made and what is still missing: tenses, spelling, sentence ii. Provides a researcher with information on the strategies in language acquisition: simplification, overgneralization, avoidance, transfer iii. Errors are seen as devices that the learner use to acquire gradual competence in the L2. ERROR ANALYSIS THEORY THE CONCEPT AND TYPES OF ERRORS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING An error in language learning is a permanent feature of misconstruction that the learner cannot correct. I caught the thief in the act Errors are based on competence and therefore are permanent. A mistake in language learning is not permanent but rather performance based and as such they are spontaneous and not systematic. In the language learning situation, learners make both comprehension and production errors. THE CONCEPT AND TYPES OF ERRORS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
An example of a comprehension error is when a
learner misunderstands the sentence: Pass me the pepper For
pass me the paper
This will arise due the learners inability to comprehend the distinction in the sounds /e/ and /ei/ as employed distinctively in the two words. A production error would be:
The worst thing she did was to cheat on me
A DISTINCTION BETWEEN ERRORS AND MISTAKES IN LANGAUGE LAEARNING An error occurs when the deviation occurs as result of lack of knowledge. The mechanic repairs cars at the garage Mistakes occur when the learners fail to perform their competence. These are also called processing problems that prevent the learner from accessing their knowledge of the target language. The same may cause the learner to fall back on some alternative non standard rule that they find easier to understand. Mistakes are a result of memory limitations and lack of automicity in the learner. Mistakes can be identified and corrected by the learner with a lot ease. Learners are not able to identify nor correct their errors due to lack of knowledge. Mistakes are spontaneous and not systematic Errors are very frequent and follow a systematic pattern: spelling errors, grammatical errors, punctuation, choice of words Errors are permanent / mistakes are not permanent TYPES OF ERRORS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING PERFORMANCE ERRORS: These are errors made by the learners when they are tired or exhausted. These mistakes are not serious and can be overcome by the learner with little effort. COMPETENCE ERRORS Richards (1971) distinguishes two types of such errors: Interference errors: These errors occur as a result of the use of elements from one language to another. They are also referred to as: interlingual errors. Bus/ mbus I eat/ take my porridge/soup TYPES OF ERRORS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING Intralingual errors They reflect general characteristics of rule learning such as faulty generalizations and incomplete application of rules and failure to learn how the rules apply. E.g. baddest, womans, sheeps, knowing etc S to mark the plural DEVELOPMENT ERRORS I don’t know nobody They occur when the learner attempts to build hypothesis about the target language on the basis of limited experience. OVERGENERALIZATION AND TRANSFER IN LANGUAGE LEARNING LANGUAGE TRANSFER This is also known as first language interference or mother tongue interference. It involves learners who apply knowledge from their native languages to a second language. Language transfer may take the following forms: Positive transfer: Occurs when the relevant structure or unit transferred from the relevant languages is the same. The interference in this case aids in the acquisition of the relevant structure in the L2. speakers of English and German Positive transfer thus results in the production of the correct L2 output OVERGENERALIZATION AND TRANSFER IN LANGUAGE LEARNING Negative transfer: This kind of interference is mostly caused by the transfer of non desirable elements from the first language to the second language. In this case the L1 is a source of errors in the second language output. These Errors cut across all levels of linguistic analysis Open the radio/ kunywa uji. whom did you see? It is worth to note that the greater the difference between the two languages the greater the negative transfer. The more similar the two languages are then the more the positive transfer. Positive transfer would be cited for Anglophone learners of German. OVERGENERALIZATION AND TRANSFER IN LANGUAGE LEARNING OVERGENERALIZATION/ exceptions: bad/dest, the goodest, there was no one around. This a form of error in L2 learning where learners use rules from the second language in a way that the native speaker would not. E.g. I goed the goodest It involves over-regularization or the extension of regular grammatical patterns to irregular words. Ed/d to express the past tense camed/goed/ swimmed/ teached e.g. I feeled, mouses, sheeps, drinking porridge etc childrens FORMS OF SIMPLIFICATION AS LEARNING STRATEGY IN LANAGUAGE LEARNING SIMPLIFICATION Simplification is a process where learners of a l2 use a very simplified structure of the l2 almost similar to the language of a pidgin or the language of a small child. FORMS OF SIMPLIFICATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE Omission of simple present tense third person singular inflection. E.g. he play everyday
she sing everyday at the assembly
Omission of simple past tense inflection He play yesterday The bus crash at the cliff last night FORMS OF SIMPLIFICATION AS LEARNING STRATEGY IN LANAGUAGE LEARNING FORMS OF SIMPLIFICATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE Omission of auxiliaries and inversion in questions. See peter today? “Peter come today? “, he asked me. You my uncle?
Simplification of syllables through vowel insertion and
deletion. Friday – furahide School – sukul/ sukuru Deletion of English articles FORMS OF SIMPLIFICATION AS LEARNING STRATEGY IN LANAGUAGE LEARNING FORMS OF SIMPLIFICATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE Semantic simplification Involves use of base forms to cover deficiencies at the vocabulary level. e.g. Any liquid is drank INTERLANGUAGE THEORY The concept of an interlangauge was introduced by Selinker in 1972. It assumes that the learners errors are very important for their development of competence in a second language. the interlangauge therefore is an interplay in the structures of the L1 and the L2 in the learning process. This interplay assures the learner of his progress in second language development. An interlangauge thus is a step in the development of second language competence. INTERLANGUAGE THEORY The idea of an interlangauge is founded upon the assumption that a second language learner at some point in the learning process are using a language system which is neither the L1 nor the L2. It is a language with its own system , which is neither the L1, nor the L2 but rather it is a third language with its own grammar, its own vocabulary , phonology etc. The rules used by the learners in an interlangauge are not found in their mother tongue and the second language. The lesson to be learn fro an interlangauge as suggested by applied linguists such as Pitt Corder, Nemser and Selinker is that we need to understand the learner’s language as a system in its own right. INTERLANGUAGE THEORY According to Selinker a learner creates his interlangauge through number of processes, these are also called learning strategies. Language transfer: the learner uses her own as a resource, this happens when the learners fall back to their on their mother tongues especially in the early stages of language development. Overgeneralization: the learners uses L2 rules in situations which a native speaker would not , these can occur at all levels of linguistic levels of analysis. Simplification: occurs at syntactic, phonological and semantic levels. The learners at this level use a very simplified language structure almost similar to the language of children or pidgins. INTERLANGUAGE THEORY Avoidance: the learners uses all means possible to avoid using structures from the L2 which they find difficult to master due to a huge disparity in their structure from what is the case in their first language. Over-use: the learners uses structures they are very comfortable with from the second language instead of attempting new and novel expressions in the language. Fossilization : may occur during the interlangauge period. Fossilization occurs when the learner ceases learning a language before they reach target language norms. These happens inspite of the student receiving continuous L2 input with the passage of time. INTERLANGUAGE THEORY Fossilization : This phenomena is normally associated with older L2 learners. It is the normal cause of a foreign accent in language learning. This stage is also called the end state i.e. a state where learning a learner stops learning. There are two aspects of fossilization: selectivity or lack of new items Backsliding or falling down to original forms even when new items in the L2 have been introduced INTERLANGUAGE THEORY CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INTERLANGUAGE Systematic: an interlangauge is governed by rules from the learners L1 and the L2. Dynamic: it changes frequently with time Variable: Based on context and situation Reduced system: ( form) the interlangauge is less complex grammatically. pidginized Reduced system: (function) only used for a small range of communicative activities UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS This is a theory also called innatism or mentalist theory. It is associated with Noam Chomsky It claims of an innate ability for language acquisition in human beings. According to the theory human beings are genetically preprogrammed to learn language. The assertion that human beings are genetically preprogrammed to learn language is backed by the following assertions UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS The structure of human organs: The human vocal apparatus is specifically designed for language functions To communicate orally this theory states that we need both an appropriate vocal apparatus as well as a brain capable of processing a huge amount of linguistic data. In human beings we can identify a language centre in both hemispheres of the brain this is within the plenum temporal. In 94% of people the part of the brain known as the Wernickes Area situated within the Planum temporalle is larger in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS In this group of people the left hemisphere is the dominant side for language. In addition to this language processing part of the brain the human auditory system is adept at the processing of auditory signals. The human auditory perception is genetically preprogrammed and indicate an innate preparedness to learn language. UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS The speed of acquisition of language Innatists argue out that the staggering rate with which children acquire language can only be explained if we assume that human beings are genetically preprogrammed for language functions. This theory claims that children do not just come to language learning with an blank mind but with an innate disposition for language learning. UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS Language is unique to humans The human compulsion to communicate is manifest in language. Some theorists have claimed that language can only be used by humans . Attempts to teach language to other animals have been made and the most success has been achieved with chimpanzees. While apes are able to learn some aspect of language, the process is extremely slow and laborious. UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS Linguistic universals Innatists argue out that whilst human languages have different rules of grammar they also many things in common. These language similarities are also called linguistic universals. Absolute universals are statements that are unequivocally true for all natural languages. For example all languages are: learned, rule governed, all language s have consonants and vowels, all languages have pronouns etc. UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS Linguistic universals The presence of these linguistic universals makes it possible for human beings to learn any language. Chomsky refers to the child’s innate general language learning ability as LAD.( language acquisition device) It claims that children have a blue print in the brain that allows them to recognize the structure dependence of language. UNIVERSAL HYPOTHESIS Linguistic universals The presence of these linguistic universals makes it possible for human beings to learn any language. Chomsky refers to the child’s innate general language learning ability as LAD.( language acquisition device) It claims that children have a blue print in the brain that allows them to recognize the structure dependence of language. THE MONITOR MODEL The input hypothesis, also known as the monitor model, is a group of five hypotheses of second-language acquisition developed by the linguist Stephen Krashen in the 1970s and 1980s. Krashen originally formulated the input hypothesis as just one of the five hypotheses, but over time the term has come to refer to the five hypotheses as a group. The hypotheses are the input hypothesis, the acquisition–learning hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis and the affective filter hypothesis. THE MONITOR MODEL The input hypothesis. This states that learners progress in their knowledge of the language when they comprehend language input that is slightly more advanced than their current level. Krashen called this level of input "i+1", where "i" is the learner's interlanguage and "+1" is the next stage of language acquisition. 'Comprehensible input' is the crucial and necessary ingredient for the acquisition of language. The acquisition–learning hypothesis claims that there is a strict separation between acquisition and learning; Krashen saw acquisition as a purely subconscious process and learning as a conscious process, and claimed that improvement in language ability was only dependent upon acquisition and never on learning. THE MONITOR MODEL The monitor hypothesis The monitor hypothesis asserts that a learner's learned system acts as a monitor to what they are producing. In other words, while only the acquired system is able to produce spontaneous speech, the learned system is used to check what is being spoken. Before the learner produces an utterance, he or she internally scans it for errors, and uses the learned system to make corrections. Self-correction occurs when the learner uses the Monitor to correct a sentence after it is uttered. According to the hypothesis, such self-monitoring and self- correction are the only functions of conscious language learning THE MONITOR MODEL
The natural order hypothesis states that language is
acquired in a particular order, and that this order does not change between learners, and is not affected by explicit instruction. The natural order hypothesis states that all learners acquire a language in roughly the same order. This order is not dependent on the ease with which a particular language feature can be taught; some features, such as third-person "-s" ("he runs") are easy to teach in a classroom setting, but are not typically acquired until the later stages of language acquisition. THE MONITOR MODEL
The affective filter hypothesis.
The affective filter is an impediment to learning or acquisition caused by negative emotional ("affective") responses to one's environment. It is a hypothesis of second-language acquisition theory, and a field of interest in educational psychology and general education. THE MONITOR MODEL
The affective filter hypothesis.
According to the affective filter hypothesis, certain emotions, such as anxiety, self-doubt, and mere boredom interfere with the process of acquiring a second language. THE MONITOR MODEL
The affective filter hypothesis.
They function as a filter between the speaker and the listener that reduces the amount of language input the listener is able to understand. These negative emotions prevent efficient processing of the language input. The hypothesis further states that the blockage can be reduced by sparking interest, providing low-anxiety environments, and bolstering the learner's self-esteem.