SecondLanguageAcquisition

LevelezMA
Dr.DonaldW.Peckham
peckham@lit.uszeged.hu
Officehours:
Mondays122Room2202
Phone:544284

SecondLanguageAcquisition
Session#3:
IndividualDifferences
LearnerLanguage
Overview:
Individualdifferences

Factorslessunderyourinfluence
Factorsmoreunderyourinfluence

1.Individualdifferences
Intelligence
Aptitude
Age
Learningstyles
Personality
Motivationandattitudes
Identityandethnicgroup
Learnerbeliefs

Whichfactorsaremostorleastoutsideofateacher'scontrol?

Factorsmostoutsideofateacher'scontrol
Intelligence
Relatedtolearningsituation
Multipleintelligences

--Language aptitude
-It exists: language-related intelligence
-Modern Language Aptitude Test
-May influence rate and amount of energy needed in language learning
-Doesnt determine if it is possible to learn a language

-My view on aptitude (shared by others):

-Aptitude exists
-Aptitude (talent) and meritocracy are
highly overrated
Meritocracy = a system in which the talented are chosen and moved
ahead on the basis of their achievement (Webster)
--> See Malcolm Gladwell clip from Outliers
-Theres a cultural and domain bias concerning talent
-Rank order does not limit possibilities, as learning is affected by other
things, too.
-Consider: quality and amount of practice is as or more important than
aptitude or talent (key idea #8)

Ageofacquisition:thecriticalperiodinSLA
--Indirect evidence for the CP

-L1 studies:
-Feral children and Genie
-Deaf children born to hearing parents.
1. Native learners
2. Early learners
3. Late learners (after 12)
-Morpheme acquisition studied: clear decline on performance
as age increases.

--Direct evidence for the CP

1. Ultimate attainment
-Syntax: Johnson and Newport 1989.
-276 item grammaticality judgment task
-Correlation of -.8 between age of arrival and syntax text score
between ages 2-16.
-No correlation after age 16
-Under 16 > than over 16 on syntax text

Scores for the under 16 group:

Scores for the over 16 group:

-Syntax: DeKeyser (2000): how to explain late arrival + high score?

Replicated J&N, but with only Hungarian learners.

-Aptitude can explain "native-like" results

-Conclusions: Older learners may be learning more consciously where
salience plays a role. Aptitude may override lack of salience
-Provides evidence for the FDH
-Evidence is seen in the following examples:

Structures showing a high correlation with age of arrival:

1.1

Present progressive with AUX omitted

Tom working in his office right now.

2. Determiners omitted
Tom is reading book in the bathtub.

3. Articles added
After a life like that, he will go straight to the hell.

4. Wh-questions without subject-AUX inversion

What Martha is bringing to the party?

5. Why-questions without DO support

Who you meet in the part every day?

Structures showing low correlation with age of arrival:

1.2

Word order in declarative sentences not involving adverbs

The ball the boy caught.

The children with the dog play.

2. Yes/no questions without DO support

Swam Janet in the race yesterday?
Danced Bill at the party last night?

3. Gender errors with pronouns

The girl cut himself on a piece of glass.
Peter didn't have any money on her.

--Phonology:
-Oyama 1976.
-60 male Italians in U.S., Arrival 6-60, length of residence 5-18
-Results: strong arrival, not length of residence x test score correlation

--Rate of learning
-Snow & Hoefnagel-Hhle (1978)
-3 groups E. speakers in Holland

-Results:
-3-5 year olds scored consistently worse
-12-15 year olds most rapid improvement
-Adults scored between the two groups

--Some conclusions concerning the CP:

1. Adults have rate advantage, esp in morphosyntax, but children will
quickly catch up.

2. Only child learners (AO < 6/12) are likely to learn the language with a
TL accent.

3. Child learners are more likely to acquire target-like grammatical

competence

Implications of the CP
-What's the best time to begin learning an additional language out
side of the home?
-Critical period studies? FL setting?
-FL setting: Bley-Vroman
-SL setting: class issues may play a role
-Possible negative effects of early instruction?

-Realistic positive effects of early instruction?

-How is learning different after the CP?
-Whats the difference between being native speaker-like vs. being
an expert user?
-The difference between goals and models

Factors which teachers can accommodate and influence

--Learning styles and personalities
-People approach learning in various ways
-Not change, but creation of contexts is key
-Perhaps "style-stretching" is possible (key idea #9)
-Possible style/learning preferences
-Visual, auditory, or hands-on (kinesthetic)
-Extroverted, introverted
-Abstract-intuitive vs. concrete & step by step
-Open options vs. closure
-Global vs. particular
-Synthesizing vs. analytic
-->Dichotomies shouldn't imply extremes
-->Becoming aware of style and personality

Exercise: becoming aware

1.3

Fill out 2 parts of the learning style survey: Extrovert/introver

and random-intuitive/concrete sequential

1.4

Discuss with a partner. How accurate is it? does this suggest

sg to you?

1.5

Decide on type

Extroverted, random-intuitive
Extroverted, concrete-sequential
Introverted, random-intuitive
Introverted, concrete-sequential
-->Do you share particular approaches to language learning with these
people?

--Motivation
--The social and individual nature of motivation
--Motivation as a dynamic process (key idea #10)
--Generation: "choice motivation" Identifying

a goal.

--Maintenance and protection: "executive

motivation". Getting the work done.
--Retrospective evaluation: "motivational
retrospection". Processing the past.

--Generation: choice motivation -- values and attitudes influence

our goals

--Integrative orientation (in what sense?)

--Instrumental orientation
--Expectancy of success: confidence in carrying out tasks in L2
learning
--Linguistic self-confidence
--Subjective, not objective
--Positive/negative messages from larger world

-Maintenance and protection: executive motivation

-Appraisal of the experience
-The quality of the learning experience
-The role of teacher, parents, learner groups
-Autonomy (self-determination)
-Autonomy and motivation are linked
-Teachers and parents can be autonomyor controlling

-Retrospective eval.: motivational retrospection

-Affected by a wide variety of factors
-Grades and test results

supporting

-Here learners can consolidate and extend useful learning strategies at all
levels

-How to motivate learners?

-Generate initial student motivation: goal orientedness and relevance
-Maintain and protect motivation: help learners achieve goals, be positive
and monitor their progress
-Encourage retrospection and self-evaluation
--> What is your experience?
--> Our efforts at the IEAS

End of lecture 3