Title: Second Language Acquisition Semester 1, 2005
1Second Language Acquisition Semester 1, 2005
2The Communicative Language Teaching dilemma
- Focus-on-form or Focus-on-function?
- The issue to what extent is form-focused
instruction beneficial to L2 classroom learning?
3Who needs grammar?
- evidence that CLT does a better job of promoting
but does not hinder linguistic development
(Savignon, 1972) - evidence that communicative instruction improves
linguistic development more than grammar
instruction only (Montgomery Eisenstein, 1985) - evidence that CLT may be superior to form-based
instruction for learning contextualised grammar
(Beretta Davies, 1985)
4Should grammar be taught?
- Despite evidence that learning happens via CLT,
there is also evidence that a mix of CLT and
form-based instruction is best (Allens, Swain,
Harely Cummins, 1990 Lightbown, Spada et al)
5Focal attention or noticing
- Noticing the process of bringing some stimulus
into focal attention, i.e. registering its simple
occurence, whether voluntary or involuntary
(Schmidt, 1994). - it accounts for which features in the input are
attended to and so become intake (information
stored in temporary memory which may or may not
be subsequently accommodated in the interlanguage
system)
6Why is attention necessary?
- attention is important because it allows a
learner to notice a mismatch between what he or
she knows about the L2 and what is produced by L2
speakers - attention allows learners to notice the gap
between their production what they need to
produce or between their production the
production of NSs - attention to input essential for storage
precursor to hypothesis formation testing
7Form-based instruction
- Focus on forms versus focus on form
- Focus on forms instruction that seeks to isolate
linguistic forms in order to teach them and test
them one at a time e.g., structural syllabus - Focus on form "alternating in some principled
way between a focus on meaning and a focus on
form" (Long, 1991) e.g., task-based syllabus
8Focus on form instruction
- Instruction that seeks to isolate linguistic
forms in order to teach and test them one at a
time e.g., structural or synthetic syllabus - Structural syllabus parts of the language are
taught separately and step by step so that
acquisition is a process of gradual accumulation
of parts until the whole structure of language
has been built up. Wilkins 1976 in Long
Robinson (1998) -
- Structural approaches most common. Assume linear
and discrete acquisition of L2 forms.
9Focus on meaning
- Focus on meaning with no attempt to teach
structure or provide grammatical feedback. - .people of all ages learn languages best,
inside or outside the classroom, not by treating
the languages as an object of study, but by
experiencing them as a medium of communication.
(Long Robinson, 1998, p 18)
10Focus on meaning the analytical syllabus
- Analytic approaches (a.k.a. noninterventionist)
- ... are organized in terms of the purposes for
which people are learning language and the kinds
of language performance that are necessary to
meet those purposes. - Wilkins, (1976) in Long
Robinson (1998) - assume that the L2 adult is still capable of
subconsciously analyzing linguistic input and
inducing new rules - emphasise the importance of positive evidence
11Focus on form instruction
- maintains advantage of analytic approach
-
- refers to how focal attention is allocated
-
- assumes nonlinguistic pedagogical tasks as the
basis of the syllabus -
- balance between attention to meaning and form
12Focus on form approaches
- Activities that require the learner to
communicate while focussing learner attention on
specific forms. - Provide corrective feedback on learner's errors
during the course of communication.
13(No Transcript)
14Evidence for focus on form approach
- Comparing implicit and explicit learning
-
- Comparing primary attention to structures and
primary attention to meaning -
- Examining the effects of focus on form.
15Experiments comparing implicit and explicit
learning
- Explicit form instruction leads to significantly
greater short term learning for simple artificial
grammar rules, with no advantage for implicit
learners over instructed learners for complex
rules (DeKeyser, 1995, Robinson, 1996). -
- gtgt Both implicit and explicit learning may be at
work.
16Is exposure enough?
- Sanz Morgan-Short (2004). Preverbal object
pronouns in Spanish - Lo besa la chica Him kisses the girl (The girl
kisses him) - Learners erroneously interpret it as He kisses
the girl, apparently applying a NVNSVO
strategy. - Rule learning was examined in four conditions
- /- explanation and /-explicit rule
- Results showed similar learning in all four
conditions. - Sanz Morgan-Short (2004) Positive Evidence
versus Explicit Rule Presentation and Explicit
Negative Feedback A Computer-Assisted Study.
Language Learning 54, 35-78
17Comparing primary attention to structures and
primary attention to meaning
- Attention to meaning plus formal input
enhancement has been shown to have advantages
over the focus on meaning alone (Doughty, 1991
Alenan, 1995) Doughty (1991) study of
acquisition of relative clauses by three learner
groups.(1) Control group received input only(2)
Meaning group received lexical and semantic
enhancements (3) Form group received formal
enhancementsgtgt Both meaning and form groups
outperformed the control group.
18Examining the effects of focus on form.
- Evidence that focus on form enhances learning
(Long Robinson, 1998, in volume edited by
Doughty Williams). - Lightbown Spada (1990) study of French
learners of English found that learners who
received the most focus on form in class
outperformed (suppliance of ing and determiners)
outperformed those that received less.
19Negative evidence
-
- Negotiation Other types of correction
- Notice error
- Search input
- Input available Input not available
- Confirm/Disconfirm
20The corrective function of feedback
- Clarification requests can result in
modification. (Nobuyoshi Ellis, 1993) - NNS He pass his house
- NS Sorry?
- NNS He passed, he passed, ah, his sign.
21Feedback long-term learning
- Evidence for positive effect for corrective
feedback (Nobuyoshi Ellis, 1993 Carroll,
Roberge Swain, 1992 Takashima, 1992) - Takashima (1992) Acquisition of past tense by
Japanese ESL learners. - gt Morphological feedback more effective than
content-oriented feedback over 11 week course.
22Classroom error feedback
- Corrective feedback and learner uptake (Lyster
Ranta, 1997) - Types of feedback
- Explicit correction
- Clarification requests Could you repeat that?
- 3. Metalinguistic feedback Are you sure thats
right? - 4. Recasts
23Recasts
- ...involve the teachers reformulation of all or
part of the learners utterance, minus the error
(Lyster Ranta, 1997, p 46). - Not explicitly marked but often made salient in
other ways (e.g., use of extralinguistic cues,
stress). - Most common type of feedback but lead to little
self-correction, due to either not recognising
(incorporating) it or not having the
opportunity to do so (Oliver, 1995)
24Instructed SLA end