THE LINGUISTICS OF

SECOND LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

Most linguists would agree that all naturally 1. LANGUAGES ARE SYSTEMATIC
occurring languages are: Elements which occur in regular patterns of
relationships.
Systematic. Unconscious rules or principles which
speakers are unaware of knowing or using
Symbolic. Understand the principles by using the
Social. language to express meaning.
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE
2. LANGUAGES ARE SYMBOLIC
Sequences do not inherently prossess
meaning.
The meanings of symbols come
through the agreement of speakers.
It is meaningful for the speakers who
use or say that language.
3 LANGUAGES ARE SOCIAL
Reflects the society that uses it.
The only way to learn that language is to use it with
others.
No standard to judge which language is more
effective for communication than another.
Use language to communicate, to categorize and
catalogue the objects, events, and processes.
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

Linguists traditionally divide a language into different levels for description and analysis, even
though in actual use all levels must interact and function simultaneously.
• Lexicon
• phonology
• morphology
• syntax
• discourse
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

1. LEXICON = VOCABULARY
• word meaning
• pronunciation (and spelling for written languages)
• part of speech
• word combinations and idioms
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

2. PHONOLOGY = SOUND SYSTEM

Phonemes = speech sounds that make a difference in meaning 
Syllable structure= sequences of consonants and vowels  I
Intonation patterns/tone
Rhythmic patterns (pauses and stops)
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

3. MORPHOLOGY = WORD STRUCTURE

Morphemes= parts of words that have meaning
inflections= number or tense that carry grammatical information 
Prefixes and suffixes
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

4. SYNTAX= GRAMMAR
Word order
Subject/verb agreement
Ways to form questions, to negate assertions, and to focus or structure information within sentences
 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

5. DISCOURSE
Ways to connect sentences
How to structure stories and engage in conversations
Scripts for interacting and for events
 EARLY APPROACHES OF SLA
• ROBERT LADO
• CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS
• ERROR ANALYSIS
• INTERLANGUAGE
• MORPHEME OTRHER STUDIES
• MONITOR MODEL
• UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR
• NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERLANGUAGE
 ROBERT LADO
Involves predicting and explaining learner problems based on
comparing L1 and L2 with each other to determine similarities and
differences.
Make learning and teaching more efficient.
Believe that learning a language is like learning a habit.
Stimulus-response-reinforcement (s-r-r); imitate and repeat the
language and the response is reinforced.
“Practice makes perfect”