Second Language Acquisition Processes and Theories

Second Language Acquisition Processes and Theories

1. Jim Cummins' Theories of Bilingualism & Cognition

   • Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
     • The language necessary to understand and discuss content in the classroom
     • More abstract language
     • Helps teachers identify and teach the type of language that students need to acquire for academic success in the classroom
   • Cognitive Approach to Language
     • Learners already have considerable knowledge of the world
   • Critical Literacy
     • Component of educational reform
       • Literacy requires the literate consumers of text to adopt a critical and questioning approach.
   • Coercive vs. Collaborative Relations of Power
     • Coercive- the exercise of power by a dominant group to the detriment of a subordinated group
     • Collaborative- power can be generated in interpersonal relations
   • Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills
     • Language children acquire in early years of life
     • Conversational Fluency

2. Noam Chomsky and Universal (or Transformational) Grammar

   • "All human language rests on innate building blocks of expression"
   • Every language...
     • Can have its own unique features
     • Shares the same basics of verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.
   • Language is a set of rules that human beings unconsciously know and use
     • The goal of transformational grammar is to understand and describe these internalized rules
   • Thought that children do not need to be taught language
   • Examples of this in the classroom could be comparing the same phrase in multiple languages

3. Dell Hymes and Communicative Competence

   • The knowledge that enables language users to "convey and interpret messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts."
   • Involves social functions of language...
     • Like requesting, agreeing, refusing, telling a story, etc.
   • Task-Based Learning
     • Students use real life language as they perform authentic activities that accomplish content objectives of the lesson
   • Examples of using this in the classroom include role play, games and communicative activities
   • Code-switching
     • The alternating use of two languages on the word, phrase, or sentence level
     • Used...
       • To emphasize a point
       • For ease and efficiency of expression
       • Because a word is unknown in one of the languages

4. Lev Vygotsky and Social Constructivism

   • Emphasizes the role of social interaction in the development of language and thought, where language joins with thought to create meaning
   • Takes into account the role language plays in social interaction
   • Zone of Proximal Development
     • The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development... under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers
     • Social interaction between adults and students occurs in this zone
   • Examples of this in the classroom are when teachers have to adapt to the level of the student and provide guidance to help students work with eachother
   • All teaching and learning takes place within the... found in families
     • Memories
     • Experiences
     • Cultural habits

5. Larry Selinker's Interlanguage Theory

   • Thought that in SLA, learners use 4 types of knowledge...
     • Knowledge about the second language
     • Competence in the native language
     • Ability to use the functions of language
     • General word knowledge
   • The hypothesis asserted that the learners language should be viewed as creative and not as an incomplete form of the target language
   • Second language learners draw from 3 sources of information...
     • The rules of their own language
     • A general knowledge about the way languages work
     • Rules of the new language they acquire gradually
   • Compatible with error analysis and data-driven teaching
   • The teacher can use the errors the student makes when speaking or writing in the classroom to gain insight into the instruction that must follow later on in the class.

6. Stephen Krashen's Monitor Model

   • Acquisition Learning Hypothesis
     • Distinguishes SLA from learning
   • Natural Order Hypothesis
     • There is a predictable order of acquisition of English morphemes
     • Children acquire correct usage of grammatical structures in their second language gradually
   • Monitor Hypothesis
     • The monitor is an error detecting mechanism
       • It scans for accuracy and edits the utterance either before or after attempted communication
       • It cannot always be used
   • Input Hypothesis
     • "Comprehensible" input
     • Language is acquired in an "amazingly simple way-when we understand messages"
   • Affective Filter Hypothesis
     • Addresses emotional variables that can block input from reaching the language-acquisition device
   • This model is best seen in classrooms where an encouraging environment promotes learning and raises self-esteem as students learn English

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