Consciousness, Noticing and Restructuring

Consciousness, Noticing and Restructuring

1. Consciousness is a core issue in the field of seccond language aquisition

   • Vygotsky says that to become conscious of a mental operation means to transfer it from the plane of action to that of language to recreate it in the imagination so that it can be expressed in words
     • Without language and without social interaction, consciousness could exist at all. This means that both consciousness and language are inextricably connceted like two sides of a coin.
   • The learning equals the acquisition of consciousness
   • The learning equals the acquisition of consciousness

2. Noticing is merely tried to the acquisition of metalinguistic knowledge.

   • Noticing has supposed implications for language processing and the actual acquisition of linguistic features.
   • Lynch states that noticing is an important component of successful language learning.
   • Gass asserts that noticing is the first stage of language acquisition.
   • Bastone refers to the importance of noticing by describing is as "the gateway to subsequent learning".

3. Restructuring is a term conceived by mentalists who use it differently to explain how children and adults acquire a second language.

   • They restructure the first language (L1) to approximate the second language (L2).
   • Selinker proposed that only adults engaged in restructuring to learn a second language.
   • He asserted that most learners who begin to acquire an L2 after puberty never completely reach their target language.