Applied Linguistics S5

Department of English Language and Culture

FLASH
2022-2024
Dr. Hanane Darhour
PART 1: DEFINITION AND HISTORY OF APPLIED
LINGUISTICS
• Definition of Applied Linguistics
• History of Applied Linguistics
• Applied linguistics Vs Linguistics
• Applied linguistics & Other disciplines
• Theoretical Linguistics, Interdisciplinary
Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
• Main questions of Applied Linguistics
Lecture 1: Main questions
• What is applied linguistics?
• How is it defined by the different scholars?
• When did applied linguistics develop as an
independent area of study?
• What are the main areas of concern of applied
linguistics?
 Definition: Applied Linguistics 1
• Applied Linguistics has got several interpretations.
• Some specialists mean Language Pedagogy, while
others integrate all new linguistic disciplines such as
Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Pragmatics,
Computer Assisted Linguistics into the term.
• It [is now] a cover term for a sizable group of semi-
autonomous disciplines, each dividing its allegiances
between the formal study of language and other
relevant fields, and each working to develop its own
methodologies and principles. (Spolsky 2005: 36)
Definition: Applied Linguistics 2
• To define it, we might either focus on its
source or its target and then ask: What does it
draw on? What do we do with it?
• Hence Brumfit defines it as the theoretical and
empirical investigation of real-world problems
in which language is a central issue’ (Brumfit
1997b: 93)
Definition: Applied Linguistics 3
Narrow definition of Applied Linguistics:
Corder (1973) limits the coverage of applied
linguistics to language teaching.
Wide definition of Applied Linguistics:
Kaplan (1980) and Bloomfield (1975) consider
that applied linguistics should fulfill a role
wider than language teaching and considers it
as a science of everything.
 Language-related problems
Davies and Elder (2004, p. 1) present the
language problems in a series of questions.
They are problems in the areas of
• (a) language teaching;
• (c) translation and interpretation;
• (d) language testing;
• (e) bilingual program;
• (f) literacy;
• (g) discourse analysis;
• (h) medium of instruction;
• (i) second language acquisition
Definition: Applied Linguistics 4
A controversial definition of Applied Linguistics:
Alan Davies 2007 defines Applied Linguistics as a science
that concentrates on the human problems of language
and tries to identify some of them and so indicate what
is being done about them. The rise of ethnic
consciousness and militancy as well as a general
dissatisfaction with the ‘way things are’ have led to a
new stress on what may be called applied linguistics
and the social dialect problems ...

• Pennycook 2001, Davies 2003b, Sealey and Carter

2004: Applied linguists see themselves as agents of
change
Definition: Applied Linguistics 5
Wilkins (1999) states; In a broad sense, applied
linguistics is concerned with:
• increasing understanding of the role of language in
human affairs and thereby
• providing the knowledge necessary for those who
are responsible for taking language-related decisions
(in the classroom, the workplace, the law court, or
the laboratory)
The history of AL 1
• AL started when Generative grammar was invented and
developed by Noam Chomsky in (1928) and has been the
dominant model of formal linguistics in recent decades.
Linguistics as a science was diachronic/ evolutive in its
orientation.
• Alan Davies, one of the founding fathers of applied linguistics
• It is an Anglo-American coinage. It started in Europe and the
United State in 1950s as a postgraduate qualification at the
University of Edinburgh School of Applied Linguistics in 1956
and then at the Center of Applied Linguistics in Washington
D.C. in 1957.
The history of AL 2
• In the 1950s: Applied linguistics concerned itself with
principles and practices on the basis of linguistics.
• In the 1960s: AL was expanded to include language
assessment, language policy, and second language
acquisition.
• In the 1970s: AL became a problem-driven field rather than
theoretical linguistics, including the solution of language-
related problems in the real world.
• By the 1990s: AL had broadened including critical studies
and multilingualism. Research in applied linguistics was
shifted to "the theoretical and empirical investigation of
real world problems in which language is a central issue.
The history of AL 3
• In the United States, AL was promulgated most strenuously by
Leonard Bloomfield, who developed the foundation for the Army
Specialised Training Program, and by Charles C. Fries, who
established the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of
Michigan in 1941 by applicaying insights from structural linguistics
first to the teaching of English in schools and second to second and
foreign language teaching.
• In 1946, AL became a recognized field of studies in Michigan
university.
• In 1948, the Research Club at Michigan established Language
Learning: A Journal of Applied Linguistics, the first journal to bear
the term applied linguistics.
• In the late 1960s, applied linguistics began to establish its own
identity as an interdisciplinary field of linguistics concerned with
real-world language issues.
• The new identity was solidified by the creation of the American
Association for Applied Linguistics in 1977.
Applied linguistics Vs Linguistics
• Linguistics helps teachers convey the origins of
words and languages, their historical applications,
and their modern day relevance. It looks at
everything from the smallest bits
(phonemes/phonetics) to large units like
sentences and syntax, pragmatics, semantics
(meaning).

• Applied linguistics is the application of linguistic

theories, methods and findings to the elucidation
of language problems.
Theoretical Linguistics, Interdisciplinary Linguistics and
Applied Linguistics
Theoretical Interdisciplinary
Applied linguistics
linguistics linguistics

Phonology Psycholinguistics Applied linguistics to

Morphology Sociolinguistics language education
Syntax and structural Pragmatics Applied linguistics to
grammar Discourse analysis foreign language
Semantics Computational education
Historical linguistics linguistics Translation studies
 Linguistics is essential but not the only feeder
discipline for AL
• Linguistics
(the study of the nature, structure and variation of language).

• Education (teaching, learning, acquisition, assessment).

• Applied Linguistics

• Sociology
(the scientific study of human behavior and the study of society).

• Psychology (the science of mind and behavior, and the application of such knowledge of various spheres
of human activity).

• Anthropology
(the scientific study of the origin and behavior of man).
There are 3 main questions of great relevance to AL

How
How
How language
language
language relates to
is used?
is learnt? thought?
Multiple uses of Language Learning
language exist to is a product of
communicate and How uses of
active, repetitive,
express ideas, language can
and complex
feelings, and influence our
learning
information thought and action?
Applied Linguistics S5

English Studies Department

FLASH
2021-2022
Prepared by: Hanane Darhour
 PART 2- Definition of other related terms

• Didactics – didactic method

• Pedagogy
• Andragogy
• Curriculum
• Syllabus
• Education
• Theory
• Model
• Hypothesis
Didactics
Adjective, didactic
• Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction
as an ulterior motive. E.g. « a didactic story that sets out to
expose social injustice ».
Synonyms: instruction, instructional, educational, educative,
informative, informational, pedagogic, moralistic…
Noun, Didactics
• Refers to the "science or art of teaching". A didactic
method is a teaching method that follows a consistent
scientific approach or educational style to engage the
student’s mind.
• It is a theory of teaching, and in a wider sense, a theory and
practical application of teaching and learning theories.
Didactic Method
• Didactic method is a specific tactic of educational
process. It aims at the fulfillment of educational
objectives.
• Modalities of work of a didactic method are:
(1) Making students an active element of the educational
process by motivating them to participate to
curricular and extracurricular activities;
(2) Finding solution to cognition tasks and problems,
creating an alliance between the professor-student;
(3) Developing logical and factual thinking at same rate.
Didactics is concerned with how a disciplinary content is
to be taught.
Pedagogy vs Andragogy
• It is a greek word that means “to lead the child”.
• Davis (2004:143) defines it in reference to the
teachers’ interpersonal competencies, and is thus
used to refer to the moral and ethical – as
opposed to the technical- aspects of the teachers’
work with learners.
• Pedagogy refers to an ethical relationship
between teacher and student grounded in
teaching a particular curriculum.
Andragogy
In 1968, Malcolm Knowles proposed Andragogy as “a new
label” to refers to “the art and science of helping
adults learn” and distinguish it from pre-adult
schooling.
Assumptions of Andragogy according to Knowles (1973):
• Self-Concept: Adult learners are directing their own
plan. (teacher directed vs. self-directed learning).
• Experience: Adult learners bring an ever growing
reservoir of experience and knowledge to the table.
The traditional concept of the “tabula rasa” or blank
slate does not apply to the adult learner.
• Readiness to learn: Adults are focused and ready in a
highly pragmatic way. Adults want to learn those things
that will have a direct impact on themselves, their
family, and/or work.
Curriculum
• A curriculum (sing) curricula (pl.) is the set of courses,
and their content, offered at a school. The word
curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course,
referring to the course of deeds and experiences
through which children grow to become mature adults.
• A curriculum is prescriptive and general, and is based
on a more detailed syllabus which merely specifies
what topics must be understood and at what level a
particular grade or standard is to be achieved.
• A curriculum in a school context refers to the whole
body of knowledge that children acquire in schools.
Syllabus
• Syllabus is the content to be covered by a
given course, from only a small part of the
total school program. Syllabus is the outline of
topics covered. It is descriptive as it describes
the means to achieve the objectives set by the
curriculum.
 Education
Oxford dictionary:
• Education refers to the process of recieving or
giving systematic instruction, especially at
school or university.
• Education is the delivery of knowledge, skills,
and information from teachers to students.
 What is Theory?
• Van Pattern and Williams ( 2015) Theory is a set of
statements about natural phenomena that explains why
these phenomena occur the way they do.

• E.g. from Psychology «some people read and comprehend

written text faster and better than others”.

– In response, a theory of individual differences in working

memory evolved. people vary in their ability to hold information
in what is called working memory (defined, roughly, as that
mental processing space in which a person performs
computations on information at lightening speed).
 What is a model?
• A model describes processes or sets of
processes of a phenomenon. It may also show
how different components of a phenomenon
interact. Unlike theory, a model does not need
to explain why.
 What is a Hypothesis?
• Distinct from theory, a hypothesis does not unify
various phenomena; it is usually an idea about a
single phenomenon.

• A hypothesis that falls out of our previous

example on working memory and capacity to
read faster, then, is that working memory
differences among individuals should affect
reading comprehension: Those with greater
working memory capacity should be faster
readers or should comprehend more.
 What is a construct?
• Constructs are key features or mechanisms on which the
theory relies; they must be definable in theory.
IN GENERAL:
• Theories ought to explain observable phenomena.
• Theories ought to unify explanations of various phenomena
where possible.
• Theories are used to generate hypotheses that can be
tested empirically.
• Theories may be explanations of a thing (such as language)
or explanations of how something comes to be (such as the
acquisition of language).
• Theories have constructs, which must be defined.
Applied Linguistics S5

English Studies Department

FLASH
2021-2022
Prepared by: Hanane Darhour
PART 3- Educational thought
• 3. EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT AND THE PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
• 3.1. Functions of education
• 3.2 Philosophy and Scientific Inquiry
• 3.5 Educational Philosophy & Educational Theory
– Perennialism
– Essentialism
– Progressivism
– Existentialism
– Social Reconstuctivism
History of Education
The History of Education has been one born out
of struggle and conflict. Differences have
arisen over:
• What is the purpose of education?
– What should be taught?
– And how? (Curriculum + teaching methods)
– Who is being served? (education policy)
Functions of education
Pillars of Education
Educational Thought and Philosophy
of Education
Educational Theory/ Thought
• Education can refer to either speculative
educational thought in general or to a theory of
education as something that guides, explains, or
describes educational practice.
• In terms of speculative thought, its history began
with classical Greek Philosophers and sophists.
Today it is a term for reflective theorizing about:
pedagogy, andragogy, curriculum, learning and
education policy.
 Read the passage
What is it about?
• Philosophy of education is the branch of applied
or practical philosophy concerned with the
nature and aims of education and the
philosophical problems arising from educational
theory and practice.
• It is worth noting that the ideals of reasoned
inquiry championed by Socrates and his
descendants have long informed the view that
education should foster in all students the
disposition to seek reason and rationality and
the ability to evaluate everything cogently.
Philosophy and Scientific Inquiry
• The word Philosophy comes from two Greek words:
– philo mean love and sophos means wisdom. Literally then
philosophy means love of wisdom.
• The earliest beginnings of recorded history involved
discussions and debates not just about truth, but what
are our methods of inquiry into truth.
• So one of the differences between philosophy and
straightforward scientific inquiry is that :
– In philosophy the issue isn’t merely about what the truth
is, but how we can know what the truth is. It is for that
reason that philosophy is often described as a ‘second-
order’ activity: it is thinking about thinking, knowing about
knowing.
 What are the major branches of
philosophy?
They are four:
1. Metaphysics considers questions about the physical
universe and the nature of ultimate reality.
2. Epistemology examines how people come to learn what
they know.
3. Axiology is the study of fundamental principles or values.
4. Logic pursues the organization of the reasoning process.
Logic can be divided into two main components:
– deductive reasoning, takes general principles and relates them
to a specific case (rule-oriented reasoning= top-down);
– inductive reasoning, builds up an argument based on specific
examples (case-oriented reasoning= bottom up).
 Educational Philosophies Vs Educational
Theories
• Educational philosophies originate from general
philosophical systems and are comprehensive and in-
depth;
– while educational theories are specific and formulated to
serve the educational needs in the curriculum, teaching and
learning.

• Philosophies of Education have traveled down a tree of

branches. The five branches of educational philosophy
are the Idealist school, the Realist school, the
Pragmatist school, the Existential schools and the
Postmodern schools of thought (Ornstein, 2003, p. 99).
(See table 5)
Links between Educational Philosophy
and Educational Theory
Educational Educational Theory
Philosophy

Idealism Perrenialism
Realism Essentialism

Pragmatism Progressivism
Reconstructionism

Existentialism Critical Theory

 Educational Philosophy
• Idealism – focuses on a subject-matter curriculum emphasizing the
great ideas of the culture (Ornstein, 2003, p. 99).
• Realism – A subject-matter curriculum stressing objective
knowledge and values. Reality is objective, meaning everyone
should obtain the same results regardless of what he does or how
he considers concepts (Ornstein, 2003, p. 101)
• Pragmatism – Instruction is organized around problem-solving
following the steps of the scientific method – emphasizes the need
to act on concepts by testing them (Ornstein, 2003, p. 104).
• Existentialism – Classroom dialogue stimulates awareness – each
person creates an awareness gleaned from discussion and
encourages deep personal reflection on his or her convictions
(Ornstein, 2003, p. 108).
 Educational Theories:
affect the way that we teach and the content of
what is taught
• Perennialism focuses on the teaching of great works and
ideas.
• Essentialism is the teaching of basic skills that have been
proven over time to be needed in society.
• Progressivism focuses on developing the student’s moral
compass through their experience with the physical and
cultural world, and preparing them to be life-long learners .
• Existentialism students decide what they need to study and
teachers merely act as a facilitator.
• Constructivism focuses on using education to shape a
student’s world view.
• Reconstructionism is the perspective that education is the
means to solve social problems.
 Major Education Theories explained in terms of what, why and how teaching
should be done?
Perrenialism Essentialism Progressivism Existentialism Social
reconstructivis
m

What Emphasis is on Back to the basics, Develop students’ Students How to solve real
? classical works, math, reading, problem solving determine what life problems
mastery of content, writing, history, abilities by they need to
development of technology, enabling them to study
reasoning skills science experience the
world by
themselves

Why? Truth is objective, Pass prepares students Each individual The world needs
perrenial, the same standardization to be life-long should come to change and the
curriculum should tests, prepare learners in an their own ways school is the best
be required to all students for work ever changing of thinking and place to
students society develop their implement
own conclusions change
Applied Linguistics S5

English Studies Department

FLASH
2021-2022
Prepared by: Hanane Darhour
PART 4- First Language Acquisition
4. FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
4.1. Approaches in First Language Acquisition
4.1.1 Behaviorism (Skinner, 1957)
4.1.2 Innateness (Chomsky)
4.1.3 The Cognitive Theory – Piaget
4.1.4 Input or Interactionist Theories (Jerome Bruner)
4.2. Issues in First Language Acquisition
4.2.1 Competence and Performance?
4.2.2 Comprehension and Production?
4.2.3 Nature or Nurture?
4.2.4 Systematicity and Variability?
4.2.5 Language and Thought?
4.2.6 Imitation
4.2.7 Practice
4.2.8 Input
4.2.9 Discourse: Exposure or interaction?
FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

• How do babies learn to talk?

• How do they become later sophisticated
linguistic beings?
First Language Acquisition
Children have a remarkable ability to communicate:
• Small babies: children babble and cry to send and receive
vocal and non-vocal and receive.
• End of first year: children start to imitate words and speech
sounds and use their first words.
• 18 months: their vocabulary in terms of words has
increased and are beginning to use 2-word 3-word
utterances (known as “telegraphic utterances”).
• 3 years: Children can comprehend an incredible quantity of
linguistic input, they chatter and speak nonstop
• School age: Children start to internalize increasingly
complex structures, expand their vocabulary and sharpen
their communication skills and they also learn the social
functions of their language.
Approaches to First Language Acquisition

Behaviourism Skinner: Children imitate adults

Innateness Chomsky: A child’s brain contains
special language-learning mechanisms at birth.
Cognitivism Piaget: Language is just one aspect
of a child’s overall intellectual development.
Interactionism Bruner: It emphasizes the
interaction between children and their care-
givers.
Behavioristic Approach : Characteristics
Organism or environment?
Burrhus Frederic Skinner Verbal Behavior (1957)

• Children come into this world with a tabula rasa (a clean

slate with no preconceived notions about the world or
about language) and that these children are then shaped by
the environment and slowly conditioned through various
schedules of reinforcement.

Processes of language development in this approach:

• Language is a fundamental part of total human behavior.
This approach focused on the perceptible aspects of
linguistic behavior which can be learned and developed via
imitation and practice as primary processes in language
development.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning refers to the use of consequences
to modify the occurrence and form of behavior. (When
consequences are rewarding, behavior is maintained
and is increased in strength and perhaps frequency.

• It refers to conditioning in which the organism (learner)

produces a response, or operant (a sentence or
utterance), without necessarily observable stimuli. This
operant is maintained (learned) by reinforcement (e.g.
a positive verbal or nonverbal response from another
person).
 Limitations of Behaviourism
• Language is based on a set of structures or rules, which could not
be worked out simply by imitating individual utterances. The
mistakes made by children reveal that they are not simply imitating
but actively working out and applying rules. For example, adding
/d/ or /t/ sound to the base form of irregular verbs = intelligent
mistakes or virtuous errors.

• The vast majority of children go through the same stages of

language acquisition. There appears to be a definite sequence of
steps which seems to be largely unaffected by the environment of
the child’s learning.

• There is evidence for a critical period for first language acquisition.

Children who have not acquired language by the age of about seven
will never entirely catch up. The most famous example is that of
Genie, discovered in 1970 at the age of 13.
Chomsky’s Criticism
• Chomsky argues that the behaviourist theory fails to
recognize what has come to be called “the logical problem
of language acquisition‟ manifested in the fact that
children come to know more about the structure of their
language than they could reasonably be expected to learn
on the basis of the samples of language which they hear.

• Children do not learn and reproduce a large set of

sentences, but they routinely create new sentences that
they have never learnt before.
• Children are not systematically corrected or instructed on
language points. Parental corrections are inconsistent or
even non-existent.
• When parents do correct, they tend to focus on meaning
and truth values and not on language itself.
 Nativist Approach
• The term nativist is derived from the fundamental assertion
that language acquisition is innately determined, that we
are born with a genetic capacity that predisposes us to a
systematic perception of the language around us, resulting
in the construction of an internalized system of language.

• Noam Chomsky claims that children are biologically

programmed for language. The are born with a special
ability that allows them to discover the underlying rules of
a language system.

• The environment makes a basic contribution in this case -

the availability of people who speak to the child. The child,
or rather, the child’s biological endowment, will do the rest.
The Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
• LAD is the imaginary “black box” which exists
somewhere in the brain which contains the principles
which are universal to all human languages.
• For the LAD to work, the child needs access only to
samples of a natural language. These language samples
serve as a trigger to activate the device.
• Once it is activated, the child is able to discover the
structure of the language to be learned by matching
the innate knowledge of basic grammatical
relationships to the structures of the particular
language in the environment.
• More recently, Chomsky and his followers refer to the
child’s innate endowment as Universal Grammar (UG)
 Read the passage
What is it about?
Chomsky's ground-breaking theory remains at the centre
of the debate about language acquisition. However, it
has been modified, both by Chomsky himself and by
others. Chomsky's original position was that the LAD
contained specific knowledge about language. Dan
Isaac Slobin has proposed that it may be more like a
mechanism for working out the rules of language: "It
seems to me that the child is born not with a set of
linguistic categories but with some sort of process
mechanism - a set of procedures and inference rules, if
you will - that he uses to process linguistic data. … The
linguistic universals, then, are the result of an innate
cognitive competence rather than the content of such
a competence." (cited in Russell, 2001)
The contributions of the nativist framework to
our understanding of First LA:
• The child's language at any stage is systematic in forming
hypotheses on the basis of the input received. As the child's
language develops, those hypotheses are continually
revised, reshaped, or sometimes abandoned.
• Chomsky drew attention to the fact that children seem to
develop language in similar ways and on a similar schedule.
• Environmental differences may be associated with some
variation in the rate but not the route of acquisition .
• Evidence that supports the innateness theory: e.g. Derek
Bickerton studied the formation of Dutch-based creoles in
Surinam by slaves and found that the Children of slaves
turned the pidgin into a full language, known by linguists as
a creole.
 Limitations of Chomsky's theory
• Chomsky's work on language was theoretical. He did not
study real children and he takes no account of the
interaction between children and their parents. Nor does
he recognize the reasons why a child might want to speak
(functions of language).
• In 1977, Bard and Sachs published a study of a child known
as Jim, the hearing son of deaf parents. Jim's parents
wanted their son to learn speech rather than the sign
language they used between themselves. He watched a lot
of television and listened to the radio, therefore receiving
frequent language input. However, his progress was limited
until a speech therapist was enlisted to work with him.
Simply being exposed to language was not enough.
Without the associated interaction, it meant little to him.
 The Cognitive Theory- Jean Piaget
• The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget placed acquisition of language
within the context of a child's mental or cognitive development.
He argued that a child has to understand a concept before s/he can
acquire the particular language form which expresses that concept.

Examples:
• Seriation. There will be a point in a child's intellectual development
when s/he can compare objects with respect to size.
• Object permanence -- children seem unaware of the existence of
objects they cannot see.

• Piaget focuses on four stages in the child’s cognitive development:

– Sensory-motor stage: birth to 2 year; object permanence
– Preoperational Stage: ages 2 to 7; intuitive reasoning; egocentrism
– Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11; logic 3+2=5 means 5-2=3
– Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up. Abstract reasoning
 Cognitive Processes
Schema: refers to the cognitive structure by which individuals
intellectually adapt and organize their environment.

• Assimilation: the process of incorporating new information into a

pre-existing schema.
• Accommodation: applying an old schema to a new learned object.
• Adaptation: adapting our schemata to make an accurate model of
the world we live in.
• Equilibrium: learner looks for balance between applying prior
knowledge and changing schemata to account for new information.
Cognitive development of the child:
Autonomy and causal priority, and Egocentricity
The child’s cognitive development is relatively
autonomous, and causal prior to it. It is not only
independent from language, but also from social
interaction.
The child’s egocentricity results from his lack of de-
centering. His language, having private
characteristics, is at first not adapted to social
communicative situations. It becomes socialized
at a later point in development. Egocentricity
refers to when the child talks about what he does
and is not concerned about being understood
and when the speech does not seem to have a
real social function.
Functional Approach
Input or Interactionist Theories (Jerome Bruner)
• More recently, with an increase in constructivist
approaches to the study of language, there has been a
shift in patterns of research. The shift has not been so
much away from the generative/cognitive side of the
continuum, but perhaps better described as a move
even more deeply into the essence of language.
• Two emphases have emerged:
1. Researchers began to see that language was one
manifestation of the cognitive and affective ability to
deal with the world, with others, and with the self.
2. Moreover, the nativistic framework dealt specifically
with the forms of language and not with the deeper
functional levels of meaning constructed from social
interaction.
 Input or Interactionist Theories

• Interactionists such as Bruner suggest that the

adults when they talk to children, they adapt
their speech to support the acquisition process
(child-directed speech) .
• This support is often described to as scaffolding
for the child's language learning. Bruner also
coined the term Language Acquisition Support
System or LASS in response to Chomsky's LAD.

Limitation: there are cultures in which adults do

not adopt special ways of talking to children, so
CDS may be useful but seems not to be essential.
 Which FLA approach is better?

The Previously studied theories should not be

seen simply as alternatives. Rather, each of
them offers a partial explanation of the
process of First Language Acquisition.
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Competence and Performance
• Competence & language: it is one's underlying knowledge
of the system of a language-its rules of grammar, its
vocabulary, all the pieces of a language and how those
pieces fit together.
• Performance is the overtly observable and concrete
manifestation or realization of competence. It is the actual
production (speaking, writing) or the comprehension
(listening, reading) of linguistic events.
Comprehension and Production should not be confused with
the competence/performance; they are aspects of both
performance and competence. In child language, most
observational and research evidence points to the general
superiority of comprehension over production: children
seem to understand "more" than they actually produce.
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Nature or Nurture?
• Nativists claim that a child is born with an innate
predisposition toward language, and that this innate
property (the LAD or UG) is universal in all human beings.
But at the same time environmental factors cannot by any
means be ignored.
• What are those behaviors that "nature" provides innately,
in some sort of predetermined biological timetable? and
what are those behaviors that are, by environmental
exposure - by "nurture learned and internalized?
• An interesting line of research on innateness was pursued
by Derek Bickerton (1981), who found evidence, across a
number of languages, of common patterns of linguistic and
cognitive development. He proposed that human beings
are "bio-programmed" to "release" certain properties of
language at certain developmental ages.
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Systematicity and Variability
• One of the assumptions of a good deal of current
research on child language is the systematicity of
the process of acquisition. Children exhibit a
remarkable ability to infer the phonological,
structural, lexical, and semantic system of
language, but in the midst of all this systematicity,
there is an equally remarkable amount of
variability in the process of learning.

Do L2 learners follow a rigid developmental route,

in the same way as children learning their L1 do?
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Language and Thought
For years researchers have examined the relationship between
language and cognition.
1. Behaviorists think that cognition is too mentalistic to be studied
by the scientific method.
2. Piaget (1972) gives an opposing position. He claimed that
cognitive development is at the very center of the human
organism and that language is dependent upon and springs from
cognitive development.
3. Vygotsky (1962, 1978) claimed that social interaction, through
language, is a prerequisite to cognitive development.
4. Language affects thought has been argued by Benjamin Whorf,
who with Edward Sapir formed the well-known Sapir Whorf
hypothesis of linguistic relativity-namely, that each language
imposes on its speaker a particular "world view."
5. Thought and language were seen as two distinct cognitive
operations that grow together. (Schinkle-Llano 1993)
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Imitation
It is a common observation that children are good imitators.
Indeed, research has shown that echoing is a particularly
important strategy in early language learning.
There are two types of imitation:
• Surface structure imitation: where a person repeats or
mimics the surface strings, attending to a phonological
code rather than a semantic code.
• Deep structure imitation: where a person concentrates on
language as a meaningful and communicative tool.
Deep structure is what you wish to express and surface
structure how you express it in with the help of words and
sentence.
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Practice
Do children practice their language? If so, how?
• A behavioristic view would claim that practice – repetition
and association – is the key to the formation of habits by
operant conditioning.
• Practice is usually thought of as referring to speaking only.
But one can also think in terms of comprehension practice
(the frequency of linguistic input to the child).
• Is the acquisition of particular words or structures directly
attributable to their frequency in the child’s linguistic
environment?
• Brown and Hanlon (1970) found that the frequency of
occurrence of a linguistic item in the speech of the mother
was a strong predictor of the order of emergence of those
items in their children’s speech.
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Input
What’s the role of input in the child's acquisition of
language?
• Parental input. Children react very consistently to the
deep structure and the communicative function of
language, and they do not react overtly to grammatical
corrections. Such input is largely ignored.
• What many researchers have showed is that in the long
run, children will, after consistent, repeated models in
meaningful contexts, eventually transfer correct forms
to their own speech and thus correct past mistakes.
Issues in First Language Acquisition
Discourse: Exposure or interaction?
Children develop their discourse analysis and
conversational rules effectively in an active
context of interaction not exposure to input.
– How do children learn discourse rules?
– What are the key features children attend to?
– How do they detect pragmatic or intended
meaning?
Applied Linguistics S5

English Studies Department

FLASH

Prepared by: Hanane Darhour

 SLA and Individual Learner differences
(ROD ELLIS)
What is SLA? FLA ? MLA
Defining SLA vs FLA
Individual Learner differences
1. SLA & Biological differences
• Age (critical period hypothesis)
• Gender
2. Psychological / Affective variables
• Personality
• Motivation
3. SLA and Cognitive variables
• Aptitude & working memory
• Learning Styles/ Cognitive styles
• Learning strategies/ Learner Strategies
What is SLA?
• The understanding of SLA depend on the
understanding of what positions researchers have set
about examining SLA.

SLA is not a uniform or predictable phenomenon:

• Learners acquire L2 in multiple ways
• SLA is the product of many interactive factors
pertaining to the learner and the learning situation
• In SLA there are aspects that are stable and
generalizable and others which are variable and
specific to the learners.
Defining SLA vs FLA
• SLA vs first language acquisition (L1 Acquisition)
• SLA is the study of how learners learn a second
language after their mother tongue
• SLA follows the footstep of L1 acquisition research
• The study of SLA is based on the difference or
similarity between L1 and L2 acquisition
• SLA is used as a general term that embraces both
untutored and tutored acquisition
• Both question whether the way acquisition proceeds in
both situations: the same or different
Individual learner differences
• Variability in language-learner language is the
result not only of contextual factors but also
of individual learner differences. There are 5
general factors that contribute to individual
learner differences:
• age, gender, aptitude, personality, motivation
Learning style, and Learning strategies.
 SLA and Biological variables
Age  Critical period Hypothesis- Lenneberg (1967)

Critical period hypothesis Eric Lenneberg (1967): the

hypothesis that language acquisition is possible only
during a period after birth.
Evidence for the CPH
Child vs adult aphasia patients  young children can recover
language abilities once lost due to brain damage, while
adults can not Brain plasticity: at the age of 9, the brain
loses its plasticity (Lenneberg, 1967)
Socially isolated children due to child abuse 
• Genie relased at 13 could not acquire syntax (Curtis 1977)
• Isabelle relased at 6 could (Davis 1947)
 CPH and SLA
• Even if there is a CP in L1 acquisition, it does not
mean automatically that it applues to L2
acquitision.
• What evidence is there for CPH effects on L2?
1. Studies on ultimate attainment  analysed the
relationship between the age of arrival in the
proficiency level of child vs adult learners.
2. Studies on the rate of learning  analysed
whether the rate of L2learning varies with the
learner’s age, while L2learning is still going on.
Steps to follow in interpreting a figure
• Describe
– In their study of Chinese and Korean-speaking learners, Johnson & Newport
(1989) studied the correlation between learners’ age of arrival to the US and
their score in an English grammar test.
– The figure displays that the younger the learners arrive to the US, the better
they score in the Grammar test. The opposite is right, the older they are the
worse they score. For instance, learners whose age range between 3-7 scored
the same as native ; while 17-39 learners scored 210.
• Interpret
– Johnson and Newport’s (1989) figure shows that the age of arrival was a
significant predictor of success in their case study test about the Chinese and
Korean who had been first exposed to second language either before or after
puberty.
• Relate to the literature
– The study supports the critical period hypothesis for attaining full native-
mastery of a second language, which means there are differences between
children and adults in final outcome of second language acquisition.
 SLA and Biological variables
Age
• Saville-Troike (2006) it is necessary to define
the criteria that defines the learner’s success
in SLA:
– Is it the initial rate of learning (his/ her age)
– Is it the ultimate achievement (level of
proficiency)
• how close the learner is from native speakers
• how close a learner approximates fluency and
functional competence?
• Or how the learner approximates native
grammaticality?
 SLA and Biological variables
Gender
• Studies of individual language learner differences
related to gender have shown that females tend
to show greater integration, motivation and
positive attitudes to L2 and use a wider range of
learning strategies, such as social strategies
(Oxford, Nyikos and Ehrman, 1988)
• Larsen-Freeman and Long (2000)and Zhuanglin
(1989) highligted that females learn to speak
earlier than males and females learn a foreign
language faster and better than males.
 Psychological / Affective variables
Personality and SLA
Ehrmann (1996) suggest that there is a clear relationship between personality
and SLA as personality determines the choices of strategies learners make.
Personality characteristics are:
Extroversion- Introversion
Extroverts are sociable and impulsive risk-takers while introverts are introspective,
quiet and reserved. Krashen (1985) extroverts are well suited to language
learning but there is no consensus.
Self-esteem
It is a personal judgement of worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes of the
leaner towards himself. Self esteem is strongly related to willingness to
communicate in a foreign language class.
Inhibition
It is the set of defenses the learner builds to protect him/herself. The presence of
a language ego is said to be a hindrance to SLA (being afraid to make
mistakes) (Brown 2000)
Attitude
Learners arrive to a class with a variety of attitudes about school, subject matter,
teacher…
 Psychological / Affective variables
Personality
Risk-taking
The ability to make guesses (Rubin Thompson 1994). Reasons of fear from
risk-taking: getting bad grades, reproach from teacher, irony from
classmates…
Anxiety
The feeling of apprehension and uneasiness. Anxiety can positive and
negative. Brown identified two types:
– Debilitative anxiety (harmful)
– Facilitative anxiety (keeps one alert, competitive and anxious to
perform and accomplish well)
Two types of anxiety identified by Gardner (1991)
• Trait Anxiety (a permanent tendency to be anxious)
• State Anxiety (a context-dependent anxiety). Brown stated that this type of
anxiety has 3 components:
• Communication apprehension (fear, anxiety, stress, tense…)
• Fear of negative social evaluation
• Test anxiety
 SLA and Psychological variables
Motivation
Motivation=effort + desire to achieve sth+ attitude
Gardner (1985)
Saville Troike (2006) claims that motivation is the second
strongest predictor of success of SLA after aptitude. It
is a key to ultimate level of proficiency.
Gardner and Lambert (1972) differentiated between two
types of motivation:
1. Integrative motivation
2. Instrumental motivation
Research proved that there is a strong correlation
between motivation and achievement, but whether
achievement drive motivation or motivation drives
achievement is yet to be tested.
 SLA and Cognitive variables
Aptitude
It is a natural talent or ability related to language learning. It can not
be trained.
Carroll (1981) defines general aptitude as “Capability of learning a
task’, which depends on ‘some combination of more or less
enduring characteristics of the learner”.
Language aptitude is the capability involving “basic abilities that are
essential to facilitate foreign language learning”(Carroll & Sapon,
1959, p.14).
Aptitude tests have been developed such as Modern Language
Aptitude Test (MLAT)to predict success in foreign language learning.
There are four types that constitute aptitude:
1. Phonemic coding ability= encode foreign language
2. Grammatical sensitivity=recognize functions of words in sentences
3. Inductive language Learning ability= infer rules from samples
4. Memory and Learning
 Aptitude and working memory
• Working memory refer to the capacity to hold on to
information long enough to use it. An example: listening to
a sequence of events in a story while trying to understand
what the story means.
• “Working memory capacity may be the key to elaborating
the concept of language aptitude itself and to clarifying its
relationship with the second language acquisition (SLA)
process.” (Sawyer & Ranta, 2001, p. 340)
• Miyake and Friedman (1998) proposed the “working
memory as language aptitude” hypothesis, claiming that
working memory may be the central component of
language aptitude.
 Style vs Strategy
Learning Styles vs Cognitive Style
Lombard (2006) differentiated between Style and
strategy.
– Style is a consistent and enduring trait, tendency, or
preference. It is more constant and predictable.
– Strategy is a specific method of approaching a problem or
a task. It is a mode of operation, a plan designed to control
information processing.
– A student has one style but uses many strategies
A learning style or describes how information enters the
brain: visually, aurally, or tactically, whereas cognitive
style refers to how the information is processed once
the information gets to the brain.
 SLA and Cognitive variables
Learning Vs Cognitive Styles
It refers to learner’s preferred way of processing, perceiving, conceptualizing
and recalling information related to language learning.
Knowles identified the following learning styles :
1. Concrete learning style: prefer direct and active means to process
information
2. Analytical learning style: independent, logical, and problem-solvers
3. Communicative learning style: social oriented learners, prefer discussions
and cooperation
4. Authority-oriented learning style: dependable and responsibile, they need
the teacher as an authority

Wilkins (1973) identified two cognitive styles:

1. Field independent learners: (left brain & analytical learners, they are better
at independent learning, and they have an internal psychological locus of
orientation)
2. Filed dependent learners (right brain & holistic learners, they are better at
cooperative learning and they rely on external support)
 SLA and Cognitive variables
Learner strategies
Learners need to sift the input they receive and relate it to their
existing knowledge. Tarone (1980) cited in Ellis (1989) divides three
sets of learner strategies:
• Learning strategies  Learner strategies can be Conscious and
behavioral means of processing L2 input and developing linguistic
knowledge (e.g. memorization) or they can be subconscious and
psycholinguistic.
• Production strategies  Ls attempts to use L2 knowledge (e.g.
rehearsal , discourse planning and structuring)=>output
organization.
• Communication strategies  Compensate for non-existent
linguistic knowledge by making requests for assistance. Also it
refers to learners’ attempts to communicate meanings for which
learners lack the requisite linguistic knowledge.
 SLA and Cognitive variables
Learning Strategies
• Brown (2000) the choice of learning strategies is strongly influenced by the nature
of learners’ motivation, cognitive style and personality. Learning strategies are
tools for active, self directed involvment needed for developing L2 Communicative
ability.Omally Sharnot (1990) identified the following
1. cognitive Strategies:
– Repetition
– Resourcing
– Directed physical response
– Translation
– Grouping
– Note taking
– Recombination
– Imagery and visualization
– Keyword use for memory
– Contextualization
– Elaboration
 SLA and Cognitive variables
Learning Strategies
2. Meta-cognitive strategies: these are skills used for planning,
monitoring, and evaluating the learning activity. They are strategies
about learning rather than learning strategies themselves:
– Planning the learning in advance
– Directed attention
– Selective attention
– Self management
– Advance preparation
– Self evaluation
– Self reinforcement
2. Social and affective strategies involve interacting with another person
to assist learning. These are strategies like:
– Questioning for clarification
– Cooperation
– Self-talk to increase confidence and reduce anxiety
 PART 7: MAJOR THEORIES OF SLA
• The Behaviorist Perspective
• Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (Robert Lado 1957)
• Error Analysis (Corder 1967)
• The Innatist Perspective
• Chomsky’s Universal Grammar (1965)
• Selinker’s Interlanguage Theory (1972)
• Krashen’s Input-Based theory (1980s)
• The Cognitive/Developmental Perspective =(Constructivism)
• Information Processing Models of SLL (McLaughlin 1987)
• Interactionist Perspective
• Michael Long’s Interaction Hypothesis (1996)
• Merrill Swain’s Output Hypothesis (1985)
• The Sociocultural Perspective
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development = (Social Constructivism) (1987)
• Schuman’s Acculturalion model and Pidgenization Hypothesis (1970s)
• The Complexity Theory of SLA - Larsen-Freeman (1997)
 The Behavioust Perspective of SLA
• In the 1950’s this theory was quickly adapted
to SLA and hence forth to L2 teaching
methodologies.
• As Lightbown & Spada (1999) describe it:
“behaviourists account for learning in terms of
imitation, practice, reinforcement (or
feedback on success), and habit formation”
p.35)
 The Behavioust Perspective of SLA
The contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (Robert Lado 1957)

• contrastive analysis hypothesis was formulated

by Robert Lado Linguistics Across Cultures (1957).
• The hypothesis explains why some features of
a target language are more difficult to acquire
than others.
• According to behaviorists, L2 can be reinforced or
impeded by existing habits and by learner’s L1.
• The difficulty in mastering certain structures in
a second language (L2) depend on the difference
between the learners' mother language (L1) and
the language they try to learn.
The role of the first language in SLA
In the 50’s and 60’s: Contrastive analysis hypothesis as a
major factor in the process of SLA

• Contrastive analysis is the systematic study of a pair of

languages with a view to identifying their structural
differences and similarities.
• Most of the difficulties facing the L2 learner are imposed by
his or her first language. In the case of similarities between
L1 and L2 FLA functions positively, while in the case of
differences FLA functions negatively.
• Language transfer: In the case of Negative transfer, the
learner will find areas of difficulty in acquiring the second
language.
Importance of Contrastive Analysis
• By comparing learner’s first language and second
language linguistic differences, the teacher can:
– Predict the learner’s difficulties,
– Identify the language learner’s problem for
effectiveness,
– Direct the teaching and learning based on that
comparison.

Teachers are encouraged to focus their teaching on the

areas of difficulty created by negative transfer.
Contrastive Analysis
In the late 60’s:
• Research raised doubts about the contrastive analysis
hypothesis and negative transfer as a major factor in
the process of SLA because grammatical errors could
not be explained by L1 interference only.

L2 Errors were not the result of interference only. The L1

may contribute to L2 learning in other ways than
transfer:
– Learners may avoid using rules absent in L1 system.
– Learners may borrow from L1 to improve their
performance.
Contrastive Analysis Vs The natural
route of development
• The Contrastive analysis hypothesis assumes
that Learners with different L1s would learn L2 in
different ways as a result of negative transfer.

• Challenging this hypothesis led to considering that L2

learners follow a universal route in acquiring L2 since
research showed that L1 learners follow a highly
predictable route in the acquisition of structures. This
what was referred to as the L1=L2 Hypothesis.
– Is there a natural route of development?
– Does the route of L1 acquisition match that of SLA?
L1=L2 Hypothesis
• L1=L2 Hypothesis states that the process of SLA and L1
acquisition are very similar as a result of the strategies
learners employ in perceiving the underlying nature of a
language, which is a universal human faculty.
• L1=L2 Hypothesis was investigated in two different ways:
– Errors analysis and error frequency: For example, if a large
proportion of errors occurred in the use of plurals than in the
use of pronouns, then it could be assumed that plurals were
acquired later than pronoun.
– Longitudinal studies of SLA compared to the already existing
longitudinal studies of first language acquisition.
• Both ways show striking similarities in the ways in which L2
and L1 learners learn. This shows a natural sequence of
development that is similar to L1 acquisition.
Error Analysis (Corder 1967)
• Developments in first language acquistition and disullusionment
with CA meant that researchers and teachers became increasingly
interested in the language produced by learners rather than, the
target language or the first language.
• This was the origin of Error Analysis, the systematic investigation of
second language learners’ errors. The language produced by
learners began to be seen as a linguistic system in its own right.

– Error – an inaccurate statement that the student does not know is

inaccurate. They are systematic, related to students’ competence.
– Mistake – an inaccurate statement that, if pointed out, the student
can correct. They are non-systematic, related to performance (i.e.
sislip of the tongue).
 Sources of errors
• L1 interference
• Gaps in knowlege
• Hypercorrection
• Overgeneralization of a rule (hypothesis testing)  He,
that was a great person..
• False analogy  childS
• Icompleteness of knowledge  I wonder where was she…
• Misanalysis  They are my friends and its name…

• Errors are not just grammatical, they can be made in:

Acceptability * prnounciation * vocabulary * syntax …
Error Analysis
• Developmental: errors that stem from students
experimenting with language and building on what they
know
• Overgeneralization: errors that stem from students over-
using a rule and applying the rule to irregular forms
• Simplification: errors stemming from students trying to
simplify language
• Tasks transfer: errors that stem from students using their
native language (L1) to form rules for the second language
(L2)
• Avoidance: errors that stem from students trying to avoid
complex structures that they're not comfortable with yet
Contextual variation in language-
learner language
About the Importance of errors for language learning:
• In producing language, learner language contains errors. It
means utterances produced by learners and that are not well
formed according to the rules of the adult grammar.
• Errors indicate that:
– Learners construct their own rules on the basis of input data.
– Learners do not simply memorize target language rules and then
reproduce them in their own utterances
Contextual variation in language-
learner language
• Only errors that are recurrent in a systematic way are
useful for constructing an understanding of how
learning happens. Though, it is rare to find recurrent
errors because they are variable and context-
dependant.

• “Learners perform differently in different situations,

but it is possible to make predictions about when
errors occur, which means that the systematicity of
their behavior can be captured by variable rules. (if X
condition apply, then Y language forms will occur) P9.
Variability in language-learner language
Ellis (1989) divides contextual variation in making errors into
two types:

• Situational context: learners use their knowledge of the L2

differently in different situations. Example: while
communicating directly, the learner does not have time to
monitor the output, compared with the situation when she
or he has opportunity to monitor in producing language,
she or he will not produce errors.

• Linguistic context: learners produce errors in one type of

sentences but not in another. Example: errors in the third
person singular of the English simple present tense may
occur regularly in the first more than the second clause of
complex sentences.
 The Innatist perspective of SLA
the notion of Principles & Parameters
• In 1980 Noam Chomsky highly criticised behaviorism,
insisting in his view that the language was not a habit that
could be learned.
• On the contrary, his “theory is based on the hypothesis that
innate knowledge of the principles of Universal Grammar
(UG) permits all children to acquire the language of their
environment.” (Lightbown & Spada, 1999, p.36).
• Every speaker knows a set of:
– Principles which apply to all languages and which are universal
and fixed and apply to all languages like the general principles of
sentence formation.
• Parameters can vary from one language to another and they are more
specific and determined by the environment, like the word order and
movement rules .
 UG Hypothesis and Selinker’s Interlanguage
theory
• UG became widely used in SLA theories as it attempted
to explain the biological role of learning a new
language (Gitsaki 1998).
• UG hypothesis helped explain the interlanguage theory
by relating it to one’s cognitive abilities.
• Interlanguage according to Richards & and Schmidt
(2010) define it as the type of language produced by
second and foreign language learners who are in the
process of learning a language.
• It refers to a "language” system that contains some
features of the L1, some features of the L2, and some
independent features.
 Selinker’s Interlanguage theory
• Selinker (1972): The learner’s internal linguistic system is
not a corrupted version of L2. it is a system on its own
• Interlanguage relies on two fundamental notions:
– the language produced by the learner is a system on its own
right, obeying its own rules, and it is a dynamic system, evolving
over time.
– Interlanguage studies focus on the learner system as a whole,
rather than only on its non-target-like features, on errors.

Larry Selinker: Fossilization is the process in which an

interlanguage containing many non L2 features stops
evolving towards the correct L2 form.
 The Innatist Perspective:
Krashen’s Input-Based theory

• Stephen Krashen, another opponent against the

behaviourist approach, offered other innatist theories
to SLA in the 1970’s/80’s. His theory extremely
influenced L2 teaching practice (Lightbown & Spada,
1999, p.38).
– He was of the opinion that innate mechanisms “continue
to operate during SLL, and make key aspects of SLL
possible, in the same way they make first-language
learning possible.” (Mitchell & Myles, 2004, p.14)
– The Input Hypothesis Model or Monitor Model established
by him has been discussed intensively. His theory consists
of five hypotheses, Cook (2001, p.190):
The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
The basic premise of this hypothesis is that language
acquisition and learning are separate processes.
• For Krashen,
– acquisition refers to ‘subconscious process identical in all
important ways to the process children utilize in acquiring their
first language’ , and
– learning refers to the ‘conscious process that result in ‘’knowing
about ‘’ language’(1985,p1).
• In other words ,
– acquisition is the result of natural interaction with the language
via meaningful communication ,which sets in motion
developmental processes akin to those in first language
acquisition , and
– learning is typically the result of classroom experience in which
the learner is made to focus on form and to learn about the
linguistic rules of the target language.
The Monitor Hypothesis
• The Monitor Hypothesis states that a learner's
learned system acts as a monitor to what
they are producing.
• The acquired system is able to produce
spontaneous speech;
while
• The learned system is used to check what is
being spoken.
The Natural Order Hypothesis
• Rules of language are acquired in a
predictable order, which might be different
from the order followed in class instruction
– The order does not appear to be determined
solely by formal simplicity and there is evidence
that it is independent of the order in which rules
are taught in language classes.
– Example : learners acquire the grammatical
morpheme -ing before the morpheme third
person singular (-s).
The Input Hypothesis
• The Input Hypothesis is linked to the Natural
Order Hypothesis in that it claims that we
move along the developmental path by
receiving and processing comprehensible
input.
– Comprehensible input is defined as L2 input that
is just beyond the learner’s current L2
competence.
– Learners progress in their language acquisition
when they comprehend language input that is
slightly more advanced than their current level.
The Affective Filter Hypothesis
• The Affective Filter Hypothesis captures the
relationship between affective variables and the
process of SLA by positing that acquirers vary
with respect to the strength or level of their
affective filters.
– Those whose attitudes are not optimal for second
language acquisition will have a high or strong
affective filter even if they understand the message,
the input will not reach the built in LAD.
– Those with attitudes more conducive to SLA will have
a lower affective filter. They will be more open to the
input and it will strike ‘deeper’. (Krashen,1982,p. 31)
 The role of the input & exposure
• Ellis (1989) writes ‘it is self-evident that second
language acquisition can take place only when the
learner has access to second language input. This input
may be in the form of exposure in natural settings or
formal instruction. It may be spoken or written.
– A central issue in second language acquisition is what role
the input plays’.
• It shows that input plays a very important role in
second language acquisition. Many researches have
been done by linguist in term of role of input. The role
of input in the process of second language remains one
of the most controversial issues in current research.
The Cognitive Perspective about the
role of the input
With Chomsky in the 1960=>
– the language observed in the input is different from the
language produced (output) =>Why?
– A set of mental processes inside the learners’ mind are
responsible for working on the input and converting it into
a form that learners could store and handle it in
production.
=>According to LAD:
# input is only a trigger to activate the mental device
According to Behaviorism:
# input shapes learning
Krashen’s (1981) Perspective
=>The role of the input
• Input should be comprehensible.
• How do learners sift input and relate it to their
existing knowledge?
– Learner strategies: Use general cognitive strategies
(used for other forms of knowledge)
– Universal grammar: Use of special linguistic faculty
that operate on input to discover L2 rules in efficient
ways.
• Krashen (1985) defines comprehensible input as input just
beyond the learner’s current language competence, in terms of
its syntactic complexity. It is known as i + 1.
=> Acquisition takes place if the learner receives comprehensible
input.
 A question for reflection?
• What do you think a learner comes with in the SLA task,
with L1 or with universal innate capacities?
– Before let us have a look at:
• Principles Vs Parameter
– terms related to Chomsky’s UG, a theory which claims to
account for the grammatical competence of a speaker no matter
what language he or she speaks.
– claims that every speaker knows a set of principles which apply
to all languages and also a set of parameters that can vary from
one language to another, but only within certain limits.
• Principle: is universal and fixed and apply to all languages like the
general principles of sentence formation.
• Parameter: vary from one language to another and it is more specific
and determined by the environment, like the word order and
movement rules .
Previous research: Do SLA learners come with
L1 or with Universal Grammar?
• The learner comes with L1
– All properties of L1 are transferring into SLA (Schwartz & Sprous,
1996)
– The learner unconsciously assummes that L2 is the same as L1 :
Full Transfer
– The learner’s mission is to do parameter resetting (replace L1
properties with L2 appropriate properties)
• The Learner comes with universals
– L2 Learners begin acquistion much like children learning their L1
– They come to the task of SLA with internal mechanisms guiding
language: no transfer position
– Learner begins acquisition without making any assumptions
 L1 or Universals?
Based on the
L1 Universals published research,
it seems that the
L1= initial state
position of an SLA
Internal
L1 is the starting
Mechanisms are Learner is more
point
the starting point widely accepted
and appears to
Full Tranfer No Transfer
have the most
Resetting the Setting the empirical support.
Parameters of L2 Parameters for L2
Cognitive Perspective of SLA
Information Processing
• Information Processing Models of SLL McLaughlin (1987)
look at the cognitive processes involved in SLA.
• From this view, learning involves moving from controlled
processing to automatic processing of language, and the
transfer of new knowledge from the (very limited capacity)
short memory to long term memory.

• It is hypothesised that processing involves three stages:

– Attention
– Encoding (collecting and representing information);
– Storage (holding information: sensory, short-term, and long-
term memory);
– Retrieval (obtaining the information when needed)
The Cognitive/Developmental Perspective:
Information Processing
Interactionist Perspective
Michael Long’s Interaction Hypothesis
• Long shared the underlying assumptions of Krashen
regarding the existence of some form of LAD, but shifted
attention from comprehensible input, as a means of
stimulating acquisition, toward more interactive aspects of
SLA.
Claims of the hypothesis:
• According to this hypothesis, conversational interaction is
an essential condition for SLA. Interactional modification,
i.e. modified speech, promotes acquisition.
• It makes claims not only about comprehension (processing
input), but also about production (output): Corrective
feedback during interaction forces learners to produce
comprehensible output.
Interactionist Perspective
Merrill Swain’s Output Hypothesis
• The hypothesis that successful SLA not only
requires comprehensible input , but also
comprehensible output
• Production forces L2 learners to undertake full
grammatical processing , and thus drives
forward most effectively the development of
L2 language.
The Sociocultural Perspective/ Social Constructivism
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

• Through collaborative dialogues, learners co-

construct knowledge while engaging in
production tasks that draw their attention to
both form and meaning. It is cognitive activity
as well as social activity.
 Vygotsky’s Theory
Zone of proximal
development
• It can be generally
described in terms of the
processes of social
interaction (help)
between a
knowledgeable other
and the learner which
allows the learner to
organize complex series
of actions in problem-
solving situations before
they have the mental
capacities to decide on
the actions on their own.
The Sociocultural Perspective
Schuman’s Acculturalion model

• It describes the acquisition process of (L2) by

members of ethnic minorities in natural
contexts of majority language setting.

• SLA is directly linked to the acculturation

process, and learners’ success is determined
by the extent to which they can orient
themselves to the target language culture.
Types of Acculturation
• Schumann’s model distinguished between two types of
acculturation.

• Type 1, the learner becomes socially integrated,

developing social contacts with L2 speakers who
provide him with input while continuing to retain the
lifestyle and values of his native culture;

• Type 2 of acculturation, the learner develops social

contacts in the target culture and also moves towards
adopting the lifestyle and values of the target language
group.
Social, psychological and Affective Factors
• Schuman identifies 8 factors that influence
social distance:
1. Social dominance;
2. Integration pattern in the host culture;
3. Cohesiveness of the L2 group;
4. Enclosure (willingness to share social facilities);
5. Size (small L2 group);
6. Cultural congruence (both cultures are compatible);
7. Attitude (both groups desire/to assimilate);
8. Length of residence (long stay)
Social, psychological and Affective Factors
• He also identified three factors that influence psychological
distance:
– Motivation,
– Attitude, and
– Culture shock
• There are four affective variables included in Schumann’s
acculturation model:
– Language shock, or the degree to which speaking the new
language makes the learner feel foolish
– Culture shock, the extent to which the learner feels disoriented
and uncomfortable with extended residence in a new culture
– Ego permeability, the ability of the learner to accept a new
identity associated with the belonging to a new speech
community,
– Motivation, the degree and type of desire experienced by the
learner to acquire the L2.
Acculturalion model & the Pidgenization
Hypothesis
• Pidgenization hypothesis states that if the social
and/or psychological distance is great, then,
acculturation is impeded and the learner does
not progress beyond the early stages of language
acquisition. As result, his/her target language will
stay pidginized.
What is pidgenization?
• Pidginization is seen as the result of the learner's
social and psychological distance from speakers
of the target language. Unlike natural (source)
languages such as English, pidgins have more
simplified linguistic features.
Pidgin language
• Pidgin Languages
 have no native speakers,
 are the result of contact between two or more
languages.
 have grammars which are simplified and reduced
compared with the grammars of their input languages
• Pidginization: Is a complex combination of
different processes of change, including
reduction and simplification of input
materials, internal innovation, and
regularization of structure, with L1 influence
also playing a role.
Pidgenization/and Creolization in SLA
• A creole is a pidgin that has become the first
language of a new generation of speakers.
• Nativization is when pidgin passed onto new
generations and became a mother tongue
which is acquired by children.
• There is a noticeable analogy between
pidginization and the early stages of
acquisition of a foreign language, and
Creolization the later stages of foreign
language acquisition.
 The Complexity Theory of SLA

• This theory resembles SLA to non-linear, dynamic,

interconnected systems and explains the open-ended
dynamic and adaptive system that characterize it.
• It purports that each learner's developmental
trajectory is unique, sculpted by the learner's prior
experience, including other languages that they know,
the (social) language to which they are exposed, and
the application of particular cognitive styles and
strategies they employ.
• Performance variability makes it clear that second
language acquisition is not a process of conformity
 Behaviourism Cognitivism Constructivism

Blank box Structured and Social meaning

How does Observable cognitive created by each
behaviour main learner (personal)
Learning occur? focus
What factors Nature of reward Existing schema Engagement,
influence Punishment stimuli Previous participation,
experiences social cultural
learning?
Memory is the Encoding , storage Prior knowledge
hard-wiring of and retrieval remixed to current
repeated context
What is the role experiences where
of memory? reward and
punishment are
most influential
Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky
• What is learning?
• What drives development?
• Do learners follow the same rate and route of
development or do follow different paths and
paces depending on the social context?
• How do kids acquire Knowledge?
• What process of development?
• What is the role of language ?
• What type of speech is more important?
 Vgotsky’s sociocultural Piaget’s cognitive
view developmental view
What is learning? Social Solitary
What drives Input from others Age determines
development? maturation levels
In which context Different rate and route of Development is universal
development is learning depending on the and stages are same
possible? social and cultural context regardless of context

How do kids acquire By working with others By their own exploration

Knowledge?
What process of No specific stages Stages of cognitive
development? development
What is the role of Language drives thought Thought drives language
language ?
what type of speech is Social speech becomes inner Egocentric speech
more important? speech becomes social speech.
 Study questions?
Why Mathematics is learned not acquired?

• Maths is learned through a conscious process

of knowledge accumulation, typically in an
institutional setting. It is not acquired,
because ability doesn’t gradually develop
without conscious efffort.
Study Questions
• What are four typical barriers to acquiring an L2 as an
adult compared to L1 acquisition as a child?

• Insufficient focus on the process (adults have a lot of

other things to do and think about, unlike very young
children).
• Insufficient incentive (adults already know a language
and can use it for their communicative needs)
• The “critical period” for language acquisition has
passed
• Affective factors, such as self-consciousness
 Study questions?
• What is the difference between positive and
negative transfer?
• Positive transfer is when the learner tries to
use knowledge about a feature of the L1 that
is similar to the L2. Negative transfer is when
the learner tries to use an L1 feature that is
really different from the L2.
 Study questions?
• What is the difference between “input” and “intake”
in L2 learning?
• The term “input” is used for language data that the
learner is exposed to. However, input is only what is
available, not what receives attention, and hence can
only be treated as potential data that a learner might
use. That is, there must be some active processing of
part of the language data by learners in order to “take
in” specific features of the data. It is this processing
that changes input to intake. In an analogy made by
Sharwood-Smith, “input is the goods that are
presented to the customer ... intake is what is actually
bought and taken away from the shop”.
 Study questions?
• What arguments are presented in support of “the
output hypothesis” in L2 studies?
• The output hypothesis Swain (2005) has argued that it
is when they are producing language (output) that
learners become much more likely to develop certain
skills in the L2. When learners try to produce
utterances in the L2, they are more likely to notice gaps
in their knowledge and realize what it is they need to
know, making them more active learners. In many
ways, the need to produce language creates a stronger
motivation to learn ways of accomplishing accurate
production. It is only through output, for example, that
learners can develop more fluency in using the L2.
 Study questions?
• What is contrastive analysis and how might it help us
understand the following types of L2 errors in English
produced by students whose L1 is Spanish?
• He must wear the tie black.
• =>*the tie black: this is a Spanish construction used
with English words (Adj before the nount)

• My study is modernes languages.

• =>In English, only the noun has a plural inflection, not
the accompanying adjective, but in Spanish,
adjectives also have plural inflections to match their
nouns.
Contrastive analysis: English and Spanish
He no understand you.
• => In Spanish, the negative form no can be placed
before the verb, resulting in *no understand, but in
English, the negative must be attached to an auxiliary
verb.

It was the same size as a ball of golf.

• => In English, it is common to create noun phrases
with two nouns together in a compound, as in golf
ball. Spanish expresses this relationship with a
different type of structure, as illustrated by *ball of
golf.
Contrastive analysis: English and Spanish
We stayed at home because was raining.
• => In many Spanish expressions, the subject is not
expressed (*was raining), whereas every English verb
must have a subject, even a meaningless one, as in it
was raining.

I eat usually eggs for breakfast.

• => The word usually is an adverb and, in English,
adverbs are not used between a verb (eat) and its
object (eggs). That restriction doesn’t exist in Spanish.
Adverbs can be used in several different positions in
English, but just not between the verb and its object.
(Usually I eat ..., I usually eat ..., ... for breakfast
usually).