A tiny bit of acquisition. . .

SPAN 671/SLAT 601

• Arocdnicg to rsceearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit plcae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit pobelrm. Tihs is buseace the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

How many “f’s” are in the text?

Behaviorism

• What is behaviorism?• Pavlov’s dog and pigeon’s• How does this apply to language learning?• Parent, or interlocutor – rewards correct utterances by child– incorrect utterances not rewarded• Is this always true?

Behaviorism

• What’s the problem?• Kids don’t repeat exactly what adults say!??!?• Kids use and apply rules that are not taught.– U shaped behavior– did-doed-did– ate-eated-ate

Chomsky, Innatism

• What did Noam Chomsky suggest about language learning?

• LAD, Language Acquisition Device– Black box

• Kids, and adults hear language, • Computer in the box decodes it • Computer creates rules and sets parameters• Computer can generate limitless combinations of

grammatically correct utterances based on these rules.

Innatism: Competence vs. Performance

• Competence:– It refers to the knowledge which underlies our

ability to use language. • Performance:– It refers to the way a person actually uses language

in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. – Performance is subject to variations due to

inattention, anxiety, or fatigue whereas competence (at least for the mature native speaker) is more stable.

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Innatism: Competence vs. Performance

• SLA researchers from the UG perspective (innatism) are more interested in the language competence (i.e., knowledge of complex syntax) of advanced learners rather than in the simple language of early stage learners.

• Their investigations often involve comparing the judgments of grammaticality made by L2 and L1 learners, rather than observations of actual language performance (i.e., use of language).

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Chomsky, Innatism

• What is the evidence for and against this theory?+ Groups of people spontaneously form languages without overt planning, i.e. creoles+ Brain damage to certain areas causes specific language problems with structure+ Feral children– language must be directed at child for them to

learn, watching TV alone won’t work!!!!???

Aphasia

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=1aplTvEQ6ew

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zNKz7YoUao&feature=related

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l9P4H1BKEU&feature=related

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKTdMV6cOZw

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67HMx-TdAZI&feature=related

Vygotsky’s Basic Concepts

• As we internalize these tools we become smarter (i.e., we develop higher psychological processes).

– Language is the mother of all mental tools.• Piaget’s vs. Vygotsky’s

views on the relationship between thought and language.

Vygotsky’s Basic Concepts

• We internalize these tools as we work in our Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable others (Vygotsky, Mind in Society, p. 86).

Tasks I cannot do even with help

Tasks I can do only with help

Tasks I can do all by myself

ZPD

Use abstract language

Use language

Babble

ZPD

ZPD

What mental tool has been internalized?

Vygotsky’s Basic Concepts

• Learning (internalization of tools) occurs most naturally and efficiently when we participate in authentic, social activities.

Vygotsky in a Nutshell• The mental tools of our culture are what make us

smart. • We acquire these mental tools best through

meaningful participation in authentic, social activities. • The ZPD describes how we learn from others as we

participate in social activity. • Overall, learning is a process of enculturation.• “Human learning presupposes a specific social nature

and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them” (Vygotsky, Mind in Society, p. 88)

Learning as a process of enculturation

• Think about a group or clique you were a part of in high school.

• What were some of the defining qualities of this group?– What “look” did you need to have?– How did you need to talk?– What unique values did the group have?– What activities did you engage in?

• How did you learn to be a part of this group and adopt these qualities?

Individual and Social Constructivism

• Individual: – Individuals construct meaning out of what they already

know and through their interactions with the environment.

• Social: – Groups or cultures construct meaning together out of

what the group or culture already knows and experiences.• Vygotsky’s extension:

– Individuals construct meaning through their interaction with others (i.e., they internalize the meaning constructed by the group or culture as they become enculturated).

Instructional Models Based on Vygotsky and Social Constructivism

• Cognitive Apprenticeship Model– Modeling– Scaffolding and Fading

• Providing support so that students can complete some task they couldn’t do alone. Then gradually removing the support as students gain competence. In other words, help student progress through their ZPD.

– Authentic Activity• Real world• Complex• Meaningful• Social

• How can we provide this in language acquisition?

Instructional Models Based on Vygotsky and Social Constructivism

• Examples of the Cognitive Apprenticeship Model:– Reciprocal Teaching– Immersion approach in foreign language

instruction.– Apprenticeships/Service-learning

Instructional Models Based on Vygotsky and Social Constructivism

• How would the teacher education program be different if it were based on an apprenticeship model (i.e., if the whole thing was like an extended student teaching assignment)?– What would be the advantages/disadvantages?

Vygotsky – Learning Theory

• Knowledge exists within culture• Language is the most important tool used to

transmit knowledge– Language shapes thought– Language is used to recognize, examine, and solve

problems

Vygotsky – Learning Theory

• Members of a culture collaborate to share knowledge

• Language is necessary for learning• Learning precedes cognitive development• Cognitive development is the capacity to learn

and solve problems• The language we use shapes us

Learning Theory Applied to Children

• Children learn through social interaction with others more knowledgeable in three ways:– Observing and imitating– Receiving instruction and following directions– Working collaboratively within a group

Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development

The difference between what a child can do independently and what the child needs help from a

more knowledgeable person to do is the

Zone of Proximal Development

Four-Stage Model of ZPD

The Four-Stage model was developed by R.G. Tharp and R. Gilmore (1988)This picture is from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory website http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1zpd.htm.

Four-Stage Model of ZPD

The Four-Stage model was developed by R.G. Tharp and R. Gilmore (1988)This picture is from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory website http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1zpd.htm.

SCAFFOLDINg

Second Language Acquisition

• Who is this man?• Tae Kwon Do black belt• Winner of the 1978 Venice Beach

Open Incline Press Championship• Originator of a highly influential theory of

language acquisition/teaching• Stephen Krashen

Krashen’s Five Hypotheses

1. The Natural Order H.2. The Acquisition/Learning H.3. The Monitor H.4. The Input H.5. The Affective Filter H.

The Natural Order Hypothesis

• We acquire the rules of language in a predictable order

The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis

• Adults have 2 distinctive ways of developing competence in 2nd languages:

• Acquisition: language in real communication

• Learning: “Knowing about” language

Acquisition

• Implicit• Subconscious• Informal situation• Depends on attitude• Stable order of acquisition

Learning

• Explicit• Conscious• Formal situation• Uses grammatical rules• Depends on aptitude• Simple to complex order of learning

The Monitor

• Conscious learning can only be used as a monitor or editor.

The Input Hypothesis

• Humans acquire language by: – By understanding messages or by receiving

comprehensible input ( i + 1)

The Affective Filter Hypothesis

• A “mental block” caused by affective factors ….that prevents input from reading the language acquisition device.

• Input Hypothesis• What is input?• Any example of the target language

that students come into contact with• Where does input go?– LAD, the little black box.

LADInput output

Hola, ¿Cómo te llamas? No, preferiría que el presidente utilizara su poder de otro modo, por ejemplo

El País, BBC Mundo,La voz de tu maestra

The Interaction Hypothesis

• SLA takes place through conversational interaction.• Long (1983) argued that modified interaction is the

necessary mechanism for making language comprehensible.• What learners need is not necessarily simplification of the

linguistic forms but rather an opportunity to interact with other speakers, working together to reach mutual comprehension.

• Research shows that native speakers consistently modify their speech in sustained conversation with non-native speakers.– The key is speaking louder

The Interaction Hypothesis

• Long’s original formulation (1983) of the Interaction Hypothesis:– 1. Interactional modification makes input

comprehensible;– 2. Comprehensible input promotes acquisition;Therefore,– 3. Interactional modification promotes

acquisition.

The Interaction Hypothesis

• Modified interaction involves linguistic simplifications and conversational modifications.– Examples of conversational modifications:– elaboration, slower speech rate, gesture, additional

contextual cues, comprehension checks, clarification requests, and self-repetition or paraphrase.

• Research has demonstrated that conversational adjustments can aid comprehension in the L2.

The Interaction Hypothesis

• Long’s revised version (1996) of the Interaction Hypothesis:– more emphasis is placed on the importance of

corrective feedback during interaction. – “negotiating for meaning” is seen as the opportunity for

language development. • “Comprehensible output hypothesis” (Swain, 1985)• The demands of producing comprehensible output

“push” learners ahead in their development.

The Noticing Hypothesis

• Noticing Hypothesis (Schmidt, 1990, 2001)– Nothing is learned unless it has been noticed. – Noticing does not itself result in acquisition, but it is

the essential starting point.– L2 learners could not begin to acquire a language

feature until they had become aware of it in the input.• Whether learners must be aware that they are

“noticing” something in the input in order to acquire linguistic feature is considered debatable.

• Let’s try it out. Listen to thisinput and tell me what you think.

• i+1 or “comprehensible” input.• It needs to be comprehensible or at least kind of to help you

learn. • Let’s try again. • http://muttaqun.com/arabic/basic.html• http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/vid/beg01b.html

LADInput output

Hola, ¿Cómo te llamas? No, preferiría que el presidente utilizara su poder de otro modo, por ejemplo

El País, BBC Mundo,La voz de tu maestra

• With whom do you feel the most comfortable or uncomfortable speaking your second language?

• Affective filter• What is affect?• Acquisition can only occur when the affective filter is lowered.

LADInput output

Hola, ¿Cómo te llamas? No, preferiría que el presidente utilizara su poder de otro modo, por ejemplo

El País, BBC Mundo,La voz de tu maestra

• Acquisition v. Learning• Teaching grammar, Acq or Learn?• Explicit teaching of grammar, examples???• Monitor• When can you use the monitor?• Natural order of acquisition, morpheme studies.

LADInput output

Hola, ¿Cómo te llamas? No, preferiría que el presidente utilizara su poder de otro modo, por ejemplo……

El País, BBC Mundo,La voz de tu maestra

MonitorPluperfect subj., pret. For one time events, a=la o=el

Input

Output, what is it good for?

• What is output?• Basically when someone produces speech/writing in the L2• Semantic use to syntactic use, How?• Me dog like play pet• Through output, receive feedback.• Have to think about word order and morphology• Hypothesis testing• Automaticity• Swain (1985)

How long does it take?

• How long does it take a child to be able to produce grammatically correct speech consistently in the L1?

• How long does it take big people to learn a foreign language?

Small group activity…..

• Group 1: Let’s calculate,How many hours students in Spanish 101 have by the time they finish a semester, a year, and two years?

• Group 2: Ok, how about missionaries how many hours per day/per week/per month/per year?

• Group 3: Study abroad students for 3 months taking 6 credit hours of Spanish.

• --Now, Where would you place your L2 skills on the ACTFL scale?

• Where do you think most students fall after a year of high school Spanish?

• Where do you think most returned missionaries fall?

• What does this tell us about taking a language in high school and/or college?

You gotta want it . . .• Motivation• What is motivation?• Motivation =• most important predictor of success in language

learning….• Most????• What does that mean for teachers?• Most important thing you can do is motivate

your students.