01 Reading Lightbown&Spada Chapter 7001

8/3/2019 01 Reading Lightbown&Spada Chapter 7001

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7P O P U L A R ID E A S A B O U TL A N G U A G E L E A R N I N G :FACTS A N D O P I N I O N S

In che I n t r o d u c c i n , w e p r e s e n t e d a n u m b e r o f c o m m o n l y e x ' pf e s se d o p i n io n sa b o u c h o w l a n g u a g e s ar e i e a r n e d . We asked y o n c o i n d i c a c e h o w sc rong ly youagreed w i c h chese o p i n i o n s . Now chac yo u ha ve r e ad abouc s o m e of che c h e o r yan d research in s e c o n d l ang uag e a c qu i s i c ion , c ake anoc h e r l ook ac chose ideas.Have y o u c h a n g e d y o u r m i n d a b o u c c h e i m p o r c a n c e o f i m i c a c i on o r g r o u p -w o r k , o r w h e c h e r s c a r c i n g second l a n g u a g e i n s t r u c c i n ear ly is rea l ly c h e besea p p r o a c h ? Or d o you ree l chac y o u r views a b o u c SLA have o n l y b e e n c o n f i r m e dby che discusson i n c he p r e c e d n g c h a p t e r s ?To c o n c l u d e chis i n c r o d u c c i o n co SLA research , he re are our own resc nses cochese popu la r i de as abouc l anguage l e a rn ing .


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Second language learners Aso produce many sen tences tha t they cou ld n o thave heard. In this way, they are k e c h i l d r e n l e a r n in g t he i r frst language.Some second language earners m a y find that they bene f c f rom o p p o r t u n i t i e sto imtate samples of the new language, and imi tac in is clearly imporcanc ind e v e lo p in g prof ic iency in p ronunc iac in and in ton at ion . For some advancedlearners who are determined to improve the i r pronunciation, careful lisceningan d im i t a c i n in a language l a b o r aco r y can be very va luab lc . But For b e g i n n i n gl ea rners , the s avi sh imi tacin an d ro te n mo r i z a r i o n th a t characcerizeda u d i o l m g u a l language approaches co language t e a c h i ng te d ma n y e a r n e rs coa dead end. They could recice b ie s of pe r fec r ly accurace l a n g u a g e , but che lackof praccice in t ruggl ing t o u n d e r s t a n d a n d ma k e chemselves underscood inge nu i ne i y m ean i n g fu l n ce r ac t io n leh m a n y earners w i t h l i t t le more than aco l ec t ion orsentences, w a t i n g f o r che moment w h e n thosesentences wouldb e usefu l !2 Parents usually correctyoung children when they

make grammatical errorsThere is co n s i d e r ab l e var ia t ion in the ex tenc t o w h i c h parencs cor recc the i rch i ld ren ' s speech . The var ia t ion is based p ar t y on che ch i ld ren ' s age . Whenchi ldren ar e very young pre-schoolers, parents rarely c o m m e n c on grammacica errors alchoughmeym ay cor recclapsesinpo l ieenessor ch e choiceofaword chatdoesn'c make sense. As children reach school age, parencs often correct thekinds of non-standard speech thac they hope their children will outgrow, fore x a m p e , 'Me and Fred are go ing ou t s i de now.* The paren ts ' ownsoc iot inguis t ic background is also a source of var iac in in the a m o u n c an dk i n d of cor rec t ion they engage in . Some pare n ts h c a r n o t h i n g wrong in theg r a m m a r of Thac's che boy who I gave my book s to ' v . ' K i l e ochers will insis ton L to w h o m' .Neverthe ess , extensve observat ions of parencs an d ch i i d r en show that , as arule, parents cend co focus on me anin g r a t h e r t h a n f o r m w h e n chey correctchi ldren 's speech . Thus, chey m ay co r recc an i n co r r ec t word choice, anincor recr s tacemenc of the faces, or a rude remark , bu t chey e i ther do no tno t ice or do not react to errors w hi c h do no t in ter fere wi th successfulc o m m u n i c a t i o n . W hac th is tel ls us is tha t ch i ld ren cannoc depend onco n s i s t en c corrective feedback in order to learn the basic structure (the wordorder, the g rammatica l m orphemes, che in to nac ion pat terns) o f cheiranguage. Forcunacely, they appear to be able co acquire che adule form of chelanguage w ic h l i t t le or no expl c i t feedback .

Th e case fo r second language learners is mo r e c o mp le x . W h i i e it is clear thacolder children and adults can acquire a great deal of language withouc anyfo r m a l i n s t r u c t i o n , th e evidence suggescs cha t , withouc cor recr ive feedbackan d guidance, second language learners m ay persisc in using certainungra m m a t i c a l f orm s f o ry e a r s .3 People with high IQ s aregood language learnersTh e k i n d of ince l igence w h i c h is me a su r e d b y I Q ceses is a good p r e d i c to r co rsuecess in c lassrooms w h e r e che emphasis i s on i e a r n i n g about th e language(for exam pe , g ramm ar ru les and voc a b u l a ry i teras). In addicion, peope whodo well on IQ ceses may do well on ocher k inds of ceses as well . However , innatura] language learning settings and in classrooms where languageacq u i s t i o n chrough ineeracrive anguage use is emphasized , research ha sshown that learners with a wide varieey of ncellectual abilicies can b esuccessfu l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r s . This is espedal ly crue if che sk i l l s which ar eassessed ar e o r al c o mmu n ic a t i o n sk i l ls rarher than mecal ingui s t i c knowledge.4 The most importantfactor in second language

acquisition suecess is motivationEveryone agrees chac earners wh o wanc co learn tend eo do becter chan chosew ho don'c. B ut we muse guard against to o scrong an i n r e r p r e c a t io n of chis .Somecimes , even high y mocivaced learners encouncer greac difficulcies ini m p r o v i n g t h e i r m as t e r yo f ch e l a n g u a ge . W e k n o w , fo r e x a mp e , ehac learnersw h o be g in l e a r n in g a second language as adul ts rarely achieve the fiuencyandaccuracy chac c h i l d r e n do in firsr anguage acquis ic ion.This f a i lu re co ach ievenae ive- l ike ab i icy c a n n o c b e caken as evidence chac adule second Unguagel earners are not moeivaced co i earn ch e anguage. \V e also know cha t in a g r o u pof h ig h y motivated second language learners, thc re ar e always chose who a remore successful chan oehers. This is somecimes due co difrerences in languagel earn ing apccude and in how the i n s t r u c t i o n in te rac ts weh i n d iv id u a llearners' styles and preferences for learning.Clearly, ceachers have no in f luence over a l e a r n e r s incr in sic mocivacion fo rlea rning a second language. Learners come inco o u r classrooms from df fe rencbackgrounds an d life experiences, al of which have contribuced co cheirarcicudes roward an d mo t iv a t i o n eo lea rn ch e cargec language. Th e p r i n c i p a lway chat teachers can in f luence learners' motivation is by making theclassroom a s uppb r t i ve e n v r o n m e n t in w h ic h s tu d e n t s are s t mulaced,engaged n acrivicies which ar e ap p r o p r i ace co cheir age, intereses an d culcura!ba c k g r o u n d s , a n d , mo s t i m por t a n t l y , where seudencs c an experience suecess.This incurr ca n contr ibuce to positive m ocivacio n, eading co scill greaeersuecess.


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/ 64 Popular ideas about anguag e learning: facts an d opinins o pu a r eas a o u a ng ua ge e ar n n g : a c s an op n n

5 The earlier a second language is introducedin schoolprograms, thegreater the likelihoodofsuccess in learning

The decisin abou t when c o i n t r oduc e s ec ond orore ign language inst ruccinmuse depend on the objectives of the language program in the par t i cula rsocial context or che school. When th e objeccive is nat ivc- l ke pf o rm an ce inthe second language , then it may be desirabe to begn exposure to thelanguage as early as possible. The research evidence is fairly st rong that onlythose who begin second i anguage l ea rning at an early ag e wi l l eventually beind ist inguishable f rom native speakers.However, even in cases where such high levis of skill ar e targeted, it isimportanttorecognizecerraindisadvantagesofan early start, especialy whenan early start in second language means that ch i ldren have l i t t le upportunicyto con tinu to develop their know ledge of their first ianguage. Sub tracrivebilingualism may have lasting negative consequences. For children fromminori ty- language backgrounds, pr ogr a m s p r om ot i ng the development ofch e frst language at home and at school may be more im po rtan t for long-te rmsuccess in the second language than an early start in the second language icselfResearch shows that a eood f o u n d a t io n in the child's fi rst lanouase , i nc l ud i nef OO Othe development of literacy, is a sound base to bui ld on. Children who canbegin their schooing in a language they aready k-iow will have more self-confidence, wil l be able to learn m o re effecciveiy in the early schoo years, an dwi l no t lose valuable t ime in a period of l imbo during which they st ruggle justto understand what is happening in the classroom.Clearly, for many children, there is no opportunity to have cheir earyschoo ing in t h e i r first language. They are members of a smal l m i n o r i t y g ro u pwh e re it is not pract ical fo r schools to offer chem an educat ional program ntheir first language, or they U ve in jurisdictions where legislacin hasm an d ared a single language of education fo r all ch i ld re n , regardless of the i rb ackg ro u n d . Fo r chese chi ldren , it is crucial to have sensitive educators w horespect the chdren's difficulty, who encourageparencs to maintain the homelanguage, and who understand that second language Eearn ing takes time andeffbrt .For foreign language ins t rucc in or for second language instruc tion where theleve! of proficiency which is targeted is not native-like performance by alstudents, the si tuacin is quite different. V/hen the goal of the educacionalprogram ^ i s basic communicat ive skil for ail students , and where there is astrong coimmitment to maincaining anddeveloping the child s firsc anguage,it can be more efficient co begin second language teaching later. Oderchi ldren (for example, 10-year olds) are able to catch up very qu i c k l y on those

w ho began earlier (for examp le, at or 7 years od) in programs offering onlya few hours aweek of instruction. This isespecialy tru e if the foreign languagecourse includes a period of more intensive exposure to the new language. A llschool program s should be based on realistic estimates of how long it takes tolearn a second language. One or two hours a week - even for seven or eighcyears - will not produce very advanced second tangu age speake rs. This 'd r ip -feed' approach often leads to f rust ra t ion as learners feel chat they have been.studying'for years'withcK. - making much progress. Sadly, they are sometimesr ighc about this.6 Most ofthe mistakes which second langiu:^elearners make are dte to interferencefrom their

first languageThe cransfer ot patterns from the native language is undoubtedly one of themajor sources of errors in learner language. However, there ar e other causesfor errors coo, one of w h ich is overgenera l i zadon of ta rget - l anguage rules. Fo rexample, research has shown chat second language learners from differentfirst-language backgrounds often make ch e same kinds of errors whenl ea rning a part icu lar second anguage. In such cases, secon


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scage z. The decline in accuracy may show chac learners are incorporac ing n ewinformacin abo n e ch e language inco cheir own incernal system of rules. Anexample o f chis vvouid be when learners w h o have l e a rned r he pase cense form'wenc' as a memo r ized 'chunk' learn co use ch e regu lar -ed in f ecc ion fo r pasecense marking. Aechis poinc, they stop us ing 'wenc'and produce'goed'. Oncelearners become aware of che excepcions co che -ed pase cense rule, ehey be


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10 Teachers shoud use materials that expose studentsonly to languag e structures which they havealready been taught

Such a procedure ca n prov ide comprehensib le i n p u c ofcourse, b u c g iv e n am ean in gfu lcon t ex t lea rn e r s ca n com prehen d ch e general m e a n i n g o f m anyforms which chey cercanly have not 'mastered' and, indeed, may never haveproduced. Thus, resr r ic t ing classroom second lang u ar macer ials co thosewhich coatain l tele or noch ing which is new may have several negariveconsequences. There will undoubcedly be a loss or mocivacion if scudencs areno t su ff i c i enr ly challenged. Scudents also need co deal wich ' real' or 'authencic'macerial if chey ar e evencual ly g o ng co be prepared fo r ianguage us e oucsidech e cassroom. They do chis H S C w i th ch e ceacher's guidance and chenindependencly . Restr ic t ing studencs co scep-by-step exposure co che languageexcends cheir dependency.When a parcicular form is incroduced for the first t ime, or when ch e teacherfeels chere s a need fo r cor recc in of a persiscenc p r o b l e m , it is appropr iace couse nar row-focus maceria l s which isolace one e lemenc in a concexc whereocher chings seem easy. Buc ic would be a disservice to studencs co use suchmacerials exclusively or even predominantly . We sh o u d r e m e m b e r chaclearners who successfully acquire Eng lish outs ide ciassrooms cerc ainly areexposed co a varety of forms and scruccures which chey have nocmascered.11 Wh en learners are allowed to interactfreely

( f o r example, ingroup orpairactivities), theylearn each others* mistakes

There is good evidence that, if the casks ar e we des igned, learners working ingroups gec far more practice in speakingand par t ic ipat ing in conversations ingroup work chan they ever could in a teacher-centred class. Somewhacsu rp r is ing ly , th e research has also shown thac learners do or p roduce an ymore errors in cheir speech when calkin g to learne rs ac sim ilar levis ofp rof ic iency than chey do when speaking co learners acmore advanced levis orco native speakers. This research also shows, however, that learners at similarlevis cannot provide each other wich in formacin which would help tocorrccc those er ro rs . Some other studies show that tasks can be devised in sucha way rhat learners working cogecher can discover info rmacin or knowledgeabo ut the second la nguage chey didn't know they had. In order ro r chis cohappen, th e tasks m us t be carefully p lanne d and che earners m use have accessto checorrect language forms they are crying to discover.

Groupwork is a valuable addicion co che variety or accvicies which encouragean d promote second language devetopm ent. Used in combinacin wichindividual work an d teacher-centred activices, ic plays an imporcanc role inco mmu n i ca c i v e laneuaee ceachne.O O C>12 Students learn what they are taughtClearly, second la ngua ge learner s can only i ea rn the language chey are exposedco . B u t i t i s c c r t a i i . /not th e case chac students learn everyching chey ar e tau g h to r chat chey evencual ly know only whac chey are taugh t . Some t e ac h ingmechods cypical ly give learne rs che opporcun icy co le a r : . only a very restrictedn u m b e r or words an d sentence cypes. Even when le language ceach ingm et hod provides much r i ch e r l ang u ag e i np u t , che race thac so m e c h ing istaught or made available in che i np u c does not mean learners will acquire itr i gh t away. For ex amp le, so me aspeccs of che second langua ge developaccord ing co 'natu ral ' sequences o f developme nt and learners may be morelikely to learn cercain language reatures when chey are developmentally' ready' , Thus, actempts co ceach aspeccs of anguage which are too far awayfrom ch e learners cu r re nt s tage o r developmenc will usual y be rruscracing.Ocher aspeccs of language , however , ro r example , vor-ibulary, can be ta ughc acan y time, as longas ch e learners ar e inceresced in che ppporc unity co learn an dch e teaching m et hods ar e ap p r o p r i ac e co che leat ner's age, incerescs, an dlearning scyles. Foccunately, research has also shown chat learners can learn agreac deal chac n o - on e ever ceaches ch em. They ar e ab le co use cheir ownincernal learning mec hanisms co d iscover ma ny of che complex ru les andrelationships which underle th e language they wish to learn. Studencs, in chissense, may be said to learn mu ch m ore th an they are caughc.

ConclusinKnowing more about second language acquisirion research will not cell youwhac co do in you r c lassroom tomorrow morning . W e hope, however, thac chisbook ha s provided yo u wich in formacin which encourages you to reflect onyour experience in teaching. W e hope, in addicion, chac chis reeleccin willc o n t r i b u te to a becter underscand ing of your responsibilicies as a teacher an dthose of your scudencs as language learners.As we have seen, language le arnin g is afFected by many faccors. Among cheseare che personal characteristics cf che learner, che scruc tu re of the nacive andtarget languages, oppo rtun icie s for inceraccio n wit h speakers of the cargetlanguage, and access to correction and form-focused instruccin. It is cleart h a t ceachers do not have control over all chese faccors. However, a beccer


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*3& itM iH iw ffMS Si& i&

Thts series is designed fo providea spuree of reference for both'language teachcrs an d teacher trainers.Each titfe is ntended toserve bothas a basisfqrcourss and seminars, an d a s a longer-te rmrefe feoc et fx t fp r tnework i ngteac her 's book s he l f . "'&-i . .z&Sfc 'REV1SED EDITIO'

^ iTO omp!ete revsed itd updatededitroiteHhir r*-j~.*jeeadable introduclion to the sttdyof languageacquisiKmT"^;r By"mdrstaiuinglioiwlaf|.gages'areIeamed,teacherswill 'b^nvbB ibl ojui3ttiemeiltsof differentteachngS'?laetlbpesa te oojt andmaketheniostpfthe;:; r / me. ey,spieridwthlamela /owangagesareteamed;& jap?; ahd questionaires,discussfestheirbractcal implicatiori?for

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LTSYUGcrBOWNsPlofessorErneritusofApplieil '*'gLiit 'r roi 4ia,U.nitiA SPAD A is Prof essor inthe ModernLanguage Centre atIS /Ura rsitjr qflbrnjti;Toronto, Canad.

-t*| complexities.of language acqusition.'.. 'A sensible book m erci ful ly freeof argn,'

Th e c l e a c l y w r r t t e n f i n d i n g s wil ltefterjudgesofthepotehtiafei.- ' * . - - " . * * ** -c . .' *^i . i ..- - i. ,'metnodologiea'prpoisats;', .EtGqzette - - - ,

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01 Reading Lightbown&Spada Chapter 7001