EDU 2303 – SLA: Principles and Pedagogy Summary

Done by: Futoon Abdulla

Week (1)

What is language? Why language is important?

Language is a complex set of Because it helps people to

sounds, symbols, and/or gestures communicate
(as in sign languages) used to
communicate thought

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What is Language Acquisition? Language

Acquisition

Language acquisition is the process of

developing the ability to speak and understand
the words, phrases, sentences, and more of a SLA (Second
FLA (First Language Language
language. Acquisition)
Acquisition)

Any language a
Language a person
person learns to
learns from birth or
speak other than
speaks first
their native language

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 First Language Acquisition (FLA): Pre-linguistic Stage

Phonation stage - Birth - 2 months

Utters vowel-constant sounds.

Is already aware of the need to
communicate to get needs
(cries/whimpers).
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Goo stage – 2 - 3 months

Begins to recognize the intonation of L1.

Attitudes and emotions of speaker
Difference between statements and questions

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Expansion – 4 - 6 months Canonical – 7 - 10 months

Babbling sound more speech-like Babbling has long & short groups of sounds
Consonant sounds /p/, /d/, /m/ heard Now uses non-crying sounds to gain attention
(e.g., coughing)

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Variegated – 11 - 12 months

Last step before child utters ‘real’ words

Learns rhythm of patterns of speech
 The way adults modify their speech when communicating with children

-Slower rate of speech

-Varied intonation
-Higher pitch -Paraphrase
-Shorter, simpler
sentence patterns -Frequent repetition -Reformulation

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First Stage of FLA: Linguistic Stage:

Holophrastic (12 months Telegraphic (18 months Multiple Word (20 months
to 17 months) to 24 months) to 27 months)

-Two-word sentences
-One word linked to child’s
with clear syntactic
own action or desire for an -Variety of sentences
meaning.
action.
-Mommy up, baby fall, -Use of questions
-Convey emotions and
kiss baby, more outside,
commands.
all gone cookie.
 Week (2)

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO L1 ACQUISITION

THEORETICAL
APPROACHES TO L1
ACQUISITION

Interactionist/Developme
Behaviourism: Innatism: It’s in ntal perspectives:
Say what I say the genes Learning from inside and
out

Skinner Noam chomsky Piaget \ Vygotsky

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Behaviorism: Say what I say:

L1 is acquired through:

-Imitation -Stimulus & response -Habit formation

-Practice (Repetition) Positive\ Negative -Nurture

Quality + Quantity of the language heard (Receptive language)

Consistency of reinforcement by others

Shape a child's language development (Productive language)

 Why Children’s imitations are not random? Behaviorism: Say
what I say

Because their imitation is selective and

based on what they are currently learning. Patterns in Unfamiliar Question
language formulas formation

order of events

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Innatism: We’re Born with It:

Humans

- Are pre-wired
- The brain has a Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
- Learn if they try during the Critical Period of Activation\
- Language is like a muscle: If you don’t use it, you lose it!
- Nature

language learning to
acquisition walk

LAD: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (BLACK BOX)

It contains all and only the principles which are universal to all
human languages.

If children are born with UG.

UG = Universal Grammar
Children “know” certain things
about language just by being
What they have to learn is
exposed to a limited number of
samples or experiences

The ways their own language makes use

of those principles

{Children acquire grammatical rules without getting

explicit instruction.}
 The biological basis for the Innatist position:

The Biological Basis for the Innatist Position:

First Critical Period

Before 2
Learn L1
years
Exposed to L1
After 2 No learning
years of L1

The Biological Basis for the Innatist Position:

Second Critical Period

Before Learn L2
Puberty native mastery
Exposed to L2
After Difficult /
impossible to
Puberty learn L2

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Interactionist (Learning from the inside out):

Children’s ability to learn from experience

Language
acquisition
results What they need to know is based on the language they are
from: exposed to
 Comparison of Piaget and Vygotsky {Interactionist}

Piaget Vygotsky
Cognitive development (thought
process) determines language Thought is internalized speech
development
Speech develops primarily from
Language is represented by social interaction
knowledge acquired via physical
interaction with the environment ZPD

The innate environment in

learning ability which they LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
of children develop

Wow, you finished your

second week, that's
great! Just keep going
 ‫محالها وهي‬
‫ شطوره‬،‫تدرس‬
Week (3) ‫بنتنا‬

Universal Grammar:

universal grammar (UG) (noun): a theory in linguistics usually credited to Noam

Chomsky that suggests that the ability to learn grammar is built into the human
brain from birth regardless of language.

This “universal grammar Fact: every language has a

theory” suggests that every Example: every language has way to identify gender or
language has some of the a way to ask a question or show that something
same laws. make something negative. happened in the past or
present.

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Early Childhood Cognitive Development:

The Information Processing model is another way of examining and understanding

how children develop cognitively.

2 to 5 years old child can: 5 to 7 years old child can:

-children have developed the skills to focus

attention for extended periods. -children learn how to focus and use their cognitive
abilities for specific purposes.
-recognize previously encountered information.
-Children at this age has also developed a larger
- recall old information and reconstruct it in the
overall capacity to process information.
present
- This expanding information processing capacity
Between the ages of 2 and 5, long-term memory
allows young children to make connections between
also begins to form
old and new information.
Example: a 4-year-old can remember what she did
Example: children can learn to pay attention to and
at Christmas and tell her friend about it when she
memorize lists of words or facts.
returns to preschool after the holiday.
 Week (4)

Acquisitio
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION and
Krashen

Krashen’s 5 Hypothesis for SLA n* +

Learning =
Comprehensible Input – Ensures children understand what’s being said to them

Affective Filter – Block that can make language learning less efficient

Natural Order Needed

Monitor

Acquisition for SLA

Comprehensible Affective Filter
Input Hypothesis

-Instruction MUST be based on

Internal External
the student’s level of
comprehension
Motivation & Need Environment
-Say it in a way that they
understand it -Interests -Low anxiety
-Give necessary background -Receiving praise Exposure
information
Attitude -Quantity
-Use context and visuals
Age
-Create opportunities for
-No pressure to learn
students to express ideas
new language
Personality
-Shy/reserved = longer
time to go public with
new language

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Natural Order Hypothesis:

Don’t put the cart before the horse!

Children won’t apply the new concept until they understand the previous one.

Asses where student is and teach what would come next.

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Monitor Hypothesis:

While child is learning 2L (before & during speaking)

Brain is monitoring & makes corrections

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Brain is monitoring & makes corrections

LAD assists in learning

Two ways to learn 2L

-Acquisition = Unconscious (Life experiences)

-Learning = Conscious (Curriculum)

Acquisition* + Learning = Needed for SLA

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What is Critical Period Hypothesis?

Critical Period Hypothesis is an ongoing debate in linguistics of whether the ability to acquire
language is biologically linked to age.

-The current hypothesis is that there is a critical period to acquire language.

-The critical period for acquiring a first language is the first years of life.

-Language acquisition must occur by the age of puberty before cerebral

lateralization is completed.

-If language is not acquired in this time frame, language acquisition becomes very
difficult and the individual will never achieve the full understanding of language,
especially grammatical structures.

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‫؟ ياهلل ما‬4 ‫هاااا كيف ويك‬

،‫باقي شي وتخلصيييننن‬
‫تذكري أن النجاح ال يحتاج‬
‫ بل إلى إقدام‬،‫إلى أقدام‬
 Week (5)

Stages of Second Language Acquisition (SLA):

Pre-production
How can we Help Students in Pre-
Production?

-Nonverbal period- 6 weeks or longer

Total Physical Response (TPR) methods
-Minimal comprehension

-May have up to 500 words in their receptive

vocabulary Listening comprehension activities

-Actively listen
Building a receptive vocabulary
-Use gestures and drawings to communicate

-Gather information about language

Use repetition of English language
Spectating – whole group joint or group activities

• Rehearsing – quietly repeating Partner up with a “buddy” who speaks their

key words native speakers language
have spoken to themselves
only

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Early Production

Sound Experimentation

Develop receptive and productive vocabulary of around 1000 words

Speak using one/two-word responses

Use present tense verb Helping Students in Early Production

Limited comprehension
Give students the opportunity to participate in some of the whole
Many errors
class activities

Modify content information to the language level of ELLs

Provide listening activities

Foster writing in English through labeling and short sentences

Build vocabulary using pictures

Use graphic organizers, charts, and graphs

Use simple books with predictable text

 Speech Emergence

– Developed vocabulary of about 3000 words

– Communicate with simple phrases & sentences

– Grammatical & pronunciation errors

• May I go to bathroom?

– Initiate short conversation with peers

– Understand easy stories read in class with the support of pictures

– Sound out stories phonetically

– Good comprehension

Helping Sudantes in Speech Emergence

-Read short, modified texts in content area subjects

-Complete graphic organizers with word banks

-Match vocabulary words to definitions

-Participate in duet, pair, and choral reading activities

Compose brief stories based on personal experience

Write in dialogue journals

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Intermediate Fluency

– Productive vocabulary of about 6000 words

– Beginning to use more complex sentences when speaking and writing

– Ask questions to clarify what they are learning in class

– Excellent comprehension

Helping Students in Intermediate Fluency

Help them to synthesize what they have learned \ Make inferences from that learning
 Advanced Fluency

– Takes students from 4-10 years to achieve cognitive academic

language proficiency in a second language

– Near Native speech

• Vocabulary

• Grammar

– Excellent comprehension

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Second Critical Period Hypothesis

Learn L2 native
Before puberty
mastery
Exposed to L2
After puberty Difficult \
impossible to
learn L2

{A specific period of growth in which full native

competence is possible when acquiring a language}

‫خلصت يا حلوة‬
‫ي‬ ،‫واو‬
‫بالتوفيق‬