Complements Unit 2 PDF

Main Second Language Acquisition SLA theories: ● Input hypothesis: Learners acquire (language learning and acquisition is not the same) language best when they receive comprehensible input that is slightly above their current level of proficiency (Krashen, 1985). The main issue is that you can’t mea...

Main Second Language Acquisition SLA theories: ● Input hypothesis: Learners acquire (language learning and acquisition is not the same) language best when they receive comprehensible input that is slightly above their current level of proficiency (Krashen, 1985). The main issue is that you can’t measure the student's current level. ○ This theory sets that you only need comprehensible input and one level more (i+1) ○ Learners acquire the Target Language in a similar sequence as their Native Language ○ Focus primarily on meaning ● Output hypothesis: Also proposed by Krashen, this theory emphasizes the importance of producing language (output) in the language-learning process. It suggests that producing language, even if imperfect, contributes to language development. Focuses on form. ○ Krashen's Output Hypothesis suggests that language production (speaking and writing) plays a crucial role in language development. Even imperfect output contributes to the learning process. ■ Noticing- conscious use: Learners notice a difference between what they want to say and what they are actually able to say ■ Hypothesis testing: A student learning English might say, "Yesterday I go to the store," even though the correct form is "went." The act of producing language helps the learner internalize the correct structure over time. ■ Metalinguistic relation: Output Hypothesis and metalinguistics are connected through the reflective and analytical aspects of language production. Engaging in language output requires learners to think about the structure and correctness of their language use, contributing to metalinguistic awareness and development. ○ Focuses mainly on meaning and form ● Noticing Hypothesis: “Attention is what allows speakers to become aware of a mismatch or gap […] between what they produce and what proficient target language speakers produce”. (2001: 6). Schmidt's Noticing Hypothesis proposes that learners must consciously notice linguistic features in the input for acquisition to occur. It highlights the importance of attention to form. ○ A learner actively pays attention to specific grammatical structures while reading or listening. For instance, they consciously focus on verb tenses or word order in sentences. ○ We need students to pay attention and link the processes. A French learner reading a text in French might consciously notice the use of the subjunctive mood and make mental connections to its usage. ○ Focuses mainly on form/forms (form: attention to language in communication and forms focuses on out-of-context explicit items of grammar. formS would be teaching them present perfect but then I would focus on form while checking a writing where they have to use it) ● Interaction hypothesis: Significance of communication, and meaningful interaction between learners and speakers of the target language who improve their proficiency when they engage in meaningful interactions, particularly those that involve negotiation of meaning. Long's Interaction Hypothesis asserts that language is best acquired through interactive communication. Meaningful interaction provides opportunities for negotiation of meaning. ○ Particularly when they engage in negotiation of meaning. ■ Clarification Requests, Confirmation Checks, Repetition and Paraphrasing, Recasts and Corrections, Gestures and Visual Cues ○ Pushed output: refers to instances in language learning where learners are actively encouraged or required to produce language beyond their current proficiency level. This can involve situations where learners are prompted to speak or write in the target language, even if the linguistic structures or vocabulary are somewhat challenging for them. (not letting the students use dictionaries may force them to use this) Explicit and implicit knowledge: ● Explicit knowledge is conscious, verbalizable, and can be easily articulated. It refers to knowledge that a person is aware of and can explicitly express. This type of knowledge is typically characterized by a clear understanding of rules, facts, or information. ○ Example: Knowing the grammatical rules for forming past tense verbs or being able to explain the steps in solving a mathematical equation. ● Implicit knowledge: Implicit knowledge is often unconscious, difficult to verbalize, and acquired through exposure and experience. It refers to knowledge that is more intuitive and may be challenging to explain explicitly. Learners may use this knowledge effectively without necessarily being able to describe the underlying rules. ○ Example: A native speaker's intuitive understanding of grammatical correctness without being able to articulate specific rules. Also, the motor skills involved in riding a bicycle, which can be challenging to explain but are acquired through practice. Ellis (2005) “Instruction needs to be predominantly directed at developing implicit knowledge of the L2 while not neglecting explicit knowledge”. Implicit knowledge underlies the ability to communicate fluently and confidently in an L2 which is the ultimate goal of any instructional programme. - It’s like driving a car, first you think about it too much until it becomes basically unconscious. - If we focused only on forms we would only focus on implicit knowledge ● Interface hypothesis: ○ Non-interface position (Krashen, 1981) ■ Implicit knowledge cannot be developed from explicit knowledge. They are separated knowledge stores. ○ Interface position (Dekeyser, 1998) ■ Implicit knowledge can be developed from explicit knowledge through plentiful communicative practice ○ Weak interface position (Ellis, 1993) ■ “Explicit knowledge of a grammatical structure makes it more likely learners will attend to the structure in the input and carry out the cognitive comparison between what they observe in the input and their own output” From the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) to the current Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), language teaching methods have evolved adapting themselves through social, political and psychological influences. Evolution of english as a foreign language in teaching methods Evolution of language teaching methods: ● Grammar translation method (structural method) ○ To develop students’ mental ability and ability of translating and reading literary texts. It was a deductive method in which students were usually taught in their mother tongue. ○ The usual exercises were grammar drills and translation of short sentences from L1 to Latin and also from Latin to L1. Once they were capable of translating sentences, they continued with longer texts which were usually classical and literary. ○ More attention was paid to form than to content and very little attention was paid to pronunciation or communicative aspects. Despite the appearance of many new methods, this is still the most widely used for Foreign Language Teaching (SLT). ● Direct method ○ Also known as the natural method, it was developed as a reaction to the Grammar Translation Method. It is taught entirely in L2 in order to create a natural environment. ○ It relates concepts like ‘experience’ , ‘word’ and ‘thought’ with those of ‘language’, ‘idea’ and ‘expression’ and its main aim is communication. In order to reach the aim, the class is carried out completely in L2, no mother tongue is used for translations; instead of that, each piece of vocabulary is explained in L2, through dramatization, relation of concepts or the use of pictures or objects. ○ It was conceived to imitate the natural acquisition method, which is the reason why it is also called ‘Natural Method’. Audiolingualism emerged to correct some failures of the Direct Method. ● Audio-lingual Method (structural method) ○ Originally, the aim of this method was to provide students with a series of basic units of communication so they were able to communicate with native speakers at a basic level within a few weeks. In order to do so, classes were conducted totally in English, and consisted in the repetition of single sentences and dialogue drills. Its main focus was placed on speaking and listening skills. ○ This method and its psychological basis were strongly criticized by many linguists, the most critic of which was Noam Chomsky, who pointed out the strong limitations of structuralist linguistics and behavioural theories. ● The silent way (interactive method) ○ It was created in the 1960s by C. Gattegno and owes its name to the fact that one of its key elements is the almost total absence of speech production coming from the teacher: students are the ones speaking 90 % of the time or more. Some physical elements help the teacher in class, such as coloured Cuisenaire rods, sound-color charts, word charts and Fidel charts. Cuisenaire rods, which were originally used to teach Maths, help students learn colors and numbers at a first stage, but are also used to teach grammatical relations. ● Community language Learning (interactive method) ○ Two main roles are assigned in this method: the teacher as a counselor and the student as a client. The role of teacher requires a bigger effort than in other methods due to the fact that a counselor has to be aware of their students’ feelings, thoughts and motivation. There is no syllabus or textbook to help structure the lessons. It is also more demanding for students, but, since they are the ones choosing the topics of each lesson, this method is very motivating for them. ● Suggestopedia (interactive method) ○ This method is more teacher-controlled, especially as regards environment and the form and quantity of input, but not so much as to be teacher-directive. The input students receive is key, for example, it is usual for them to listen to classical music while the teacher is explaining. ● Total physical response (interactive method) ○ Based on the correlation between language and movement. As stated by Asher (1996): “A reasonable hypothesis is that the brain and the nervous system are biologically programmed to acquire language, either the first or the second in a particular sequence and in a particular mode. The sequence is listening before speaking and the mode is to synchronize language with the individual’s body”. This theoretical framework serves as a basis for the instructional procedures. ○ The class consists of drills based on imperative sentences uttered by the teacher with the aim of creating a response from learners, who must follow their instructions. This method is very useful to introduce new vocabulary like phrasal verbs, for example. Errors are not corrected at early stages, but after the elementary level is exceeded, they cease to be overlooked. This method is optimal to teach subjects like Physical Education or Arts and Crafts in English. The communicative approach or Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) CLT emerged from the need of changing from the traditional Grammar Translation Method to a faster and more effective one. The rise of the European Union and the subsequent migrations increased the number of adults who needed to learn a language as quickly as possible, for which Grammar Translation Method programmes were most unsuitable. The main features of a communicative approach according to Nunan (1991) are the following: • An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language. • The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation. • The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself. • An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning. • An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom. - The main disadvantage of this method is that problems can arise if the teacher is not from the same region as the learner, in which case the teacher will not be able to detect the possible influence of their student’s mother tongue. Example of a CLT lesson The objective is to teach the past tense of the verb to be. The teacher starts the class asking their students what their favorite historical characters are, or about well-known people, events or dates of all times. Once the students have said several names, the teacher looks them up on the computer and reads parts of their biographies, for example their childhood. - Possible questions to elicit the practice of the past tense of verb to be: - Which of them was the first to be born? - Which of them were born in Europe? - Which of them were born in America? - Which of them was an orphan? - Which of them were of poor origin? - Which of them were poor at first but finally became rich? The following questions will not only elicit the practice of the past tense of the verb to be, but they will also connect the students’ own personal experiences with the lesson content: • Were you in any of those countries? • Was any of your ancestors a historical figure? • Was any of them unknown for you? Finally, the teacher will provide an explanation on the use of the past tense of the verb to be and how they have been using it in order to give students the opportunity to focus not only on language, but also on the learning process itself. ● PPL model ○ Overview: ● Focus: PPP is a traditional teaching model that follows a linear progression: Presentation of new language, practice of the language, and then production of the language. ● PPP initially emphasizes forms in presentation and practice, with an integration of form and meaning in the production phase. ● Philosophy: Learners first receive explicit instruction, practice the new language in controlled exercises, and then apply it in more open-ended, communicative tasks. ● Stages: ​ Presentation: The teacher introduces new language items, explaining rules and providing examples. ​ Practice: Learners engage in controlled exercises, drills, or activities to reinforce the new language. ■ Option A: Reinforce usage and familiarity with the language elements: - Drills, Controlled exercises - Guided activities controlled environment ■ Option B: Engage in structured activities to reinforce and internalize the language presented. Communicative tasks Role-plays Information-gap controlled environment ​ Production: Students apply the language in more open-ended tasks, such as discussions or role-plays. - Example: ● Presentation: The teacher introduces a new set of vocabulary related to jobs, explaining meanings and providing examples. ● Practice: Students complete worksheets, matching job names with descriptions or filling in the blanks in sentences. ● Production: In pairs or small groups, students discuss their dream jobs and why they find them appealing, using the newly learned vocabulary. Pros and Cons: ● Pros: Provides clear structure, allows for controlled practice, and ensures exposure to the target language. ● Cons: May lack real-world context, might not emphasize communication as much, and can be less engaging for learners. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT): ● Overview: ● Focus: TBLT centers around the completion of communicative tasks as the primary vehicle for language learning. ● TBLT primarily focuses on form ● Philosophy: Learning is seen as a result of engaging in meaningful and purposeful communication. Stages: ● Task Planning (pretask): Learners are given a task to complete, often involving real-world communication. The task is introduced and contextualized, and the role of the teacher is essential as it motivates the learner. Input flooding and input enhancement are very important and useful in this stage. ​ ● Task Performance (task cycle): Learners work collaboratively to complete the task, using language to achieve their goals. Students engagement (individually, pairs, groups) in the task, - +/- planning time. - Interaction (recasts) - Negotiation of output (setting goals and expectations). - Monitor! ● Language Focus (post-task) : After the task, there's a reflection on language use, and language points are explicitly addressed based on what emerged during the task. Reporting stage (outcomes, findings, solutions) - Feedback & error correction Language focus - Extension activities Example: ● Task: Plan a weekend trip with a partner, considering transportation, accommodations, and activities. ● Task Performance: Students discuss and plan the trip using the target language. ● Language Focus: After the task, the teacher may address specific language points that emerged during the discussion, such as vocabulary related to travel or appropriate verb tenses. Pros and Cons: ● Pros: Emphasizes real communication, encourages learner autonomy, and integrates language skills. ● Cons: May require careful planning, and some learners may feel more comfortable with traditional approaches. Roles of the teacher: ● Facilitator Creating opportunities for interaction ● Fostering learner autonomy ● Scaffolding ● Adapting tasks for diverse learner profiles To motivate learners: ● Task Relevance (real-life application): Ensure tasks align with learners' interests, needs, and real-life situations & show the practical use of language ● Clear Objectives: When learners understand the purpose and what they're working towards, it can boost motivation. ● Choice and Autonomy: Providing options or allowing them to choose topics can increase their motivation. ● Collaborative Learning: Group work or pair tasks can create a supportive environment ● Feedback: Offer constructive feedback and positive reinforcement. ● Variety and Creativity: Incorporate diverse tasks (also in terms of complexity). CILL It stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning. Its aim is to teach the subjects present at the curriculum and, in addition, improve the skills of the foreign or second language without the need of overloading the students with more lessons. It opens doors on languages for a broader range of learners, nurturing self-confidence in young learners and those who have not responded well to formal language instruction in general education. It provides exposure to the language without requiring extra time in the curriculum, which can be of particular interest in vocational settings. - An example of this approach is the teaching of Physical Education in English; it is a good starting point due to the fact that vocabulary is limited and the teacher’s commands can easily be understood by pupils. It is not an easy task, in the sense that a teacher whose subject is not Foreign or Second Language Teaching has to be competent in this language as well as capable of adapting the level both to the objectives in the curriculum and to that of their pupils. Secondary Education Settings Secondary Education Settings have always provided a slight approach to what a CLIL class should be. In order to teach Administration, Robotics, Gardening, Electricity, Information Technology, Commerce, Ceramics, Cooking, Hairdressing, Engineering, etc., some of the tasks required for the good understanding of the terminology have to be taken out of real texts. Realia from different sources have paramount importance. Initially, teachers speak slowly and use plenty of repetitions, demonstrations, visual aids and realia. Later, they speak at a more natural pace and encourage peer co-operative and independent learning. They work to create an atmosphere that fosters continuous language growth. However, language is absorbed more successfully when the focus on direct language teaching is reduced and content teaching is increased. By guiding students through experiments or activities that relate directly to their lives and by focusing on the learning of content while providing language support, language learning is actually maximized. - The same happens with book reading: students concentrate in meaning, but form starts to enter the brain, and unconsciously linguistic patterns become familiar to them. - However, in some autonomous communities three languages are studied and this is a bit chaotic for parents when it comes to homework. Techniques for the motivation of students to get them engaged in Physical Education or Science in English, for example, should be part of the ongoing training. FLL & SLA Introduction Definition: These two acronyms stand for Foreign Language Learning and Second Language Acquisition respectively. We refer to the learning of a language with the adjective of ‘foreign’ when the learning process takes place in a country where his language is not official. - On the other hand, we use the expression ‘second language’ when the learning process takes place in a country where this language is official. However, when contrasted with foreign language, the term refers more narrowly to a language that plays a major role in a particular country or region though it may not be the first language of many people who use it. The concepts of Input, Intake and Output ● Input ○ When we talk about input we refer to the amount of language data that the student is exposed to. According to Zhang (2009), there are three views of the concept of input: “Behaviourist, mentalist and interactionist view, each holding a different emphasis in explaining SLA. ○ Linguistic information or material that individuals receive and process as they learn a language. Basically, everything in English is input ■ A behaviorist view treats language learning as environmentally determined, controlled from outside by the stimuli learned are exposed to and the reinforcement they receive. ● Example: In a behaviorist approach, a language teacher might use a system of rewards and reinforcements to encourage students to use correct grammar and vocabulary. Positive feedback or rewards for using the target language correctly would be a key element in this approach. ■ Mentalist theories emphasize the importance of the learner’s ‘black box’. They maintain that learners’ brains are especially equipped to learn language and all that is needed is minimal exposure to input in order to trigger acquisition (Ellis, 1997) ● Example: From a mentalist perspective, a language learner's cognitive processes are crucial. Minimal exposure to a new language, like reading a short story or listening to a brief conversation, is believed to trigger the learner's innate ability to acquire language. The emphasis is on the learner's internal cognitive mechanisms. ■ Interaction theories acknowledge the importance of both input and internal language processing, emphasizing the joint contribution of the linguistic environment and the learners’ inner mechanism in interaction activities”. ● Example: In an interactionist approach, language learning occurs through meaningful interactions. This could involve pair or group activities where students engage in conversations, exchanging ideas and information. The linguistic environment (input) combines with the learner's internal processing during interactive language activities. ○ COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT: Language input that is delivered in a way that learners can understand, despite encountering some elements that might be slightly beyond their current level of linguistic competence. ■ If you gave an economics reading to ESO students that would be input but not comprehensible input for them. ● Intake ○ In contrast to input, which, as we saw above, is the amount of data which the student is exposed to, the concept of intake refers to the input which has been processed, this is, learned by the student. Corder (1967) was the one who coined this term: “The simple fact of presenting a certain linguistic form to a learner in the classroom does not necessarily qualify it for the status of input, for the reason that input is ‘what goes in’, not what is available for going in, and we may reasonably suppose that it is the learner who controls this input, or more properly his intake”. Thus, he made the distinction between what could have entered the learner’s brain (input) and what actually has entered it (intake). ■ In simple terms, it's the difference between what could have entered the learner's brain (input) and what actually did enter it (intake). ■ The portion of language exposure that learners actively process and internalize, potentially leading to learning or language acquisition. ○ Uptake: learner's active incorporation or use of the language input they have internalized or understood ● Output ○ When we use the term output we refer to the production that students make of their second language after the process of learning. It is the final step of the process beginning with an input that turns into an intake and finally results in an output. The output is measured in terms of fluency and accuracy. Errors in output are treated in different ways with the aim of making them disappear. ○ Production of language by learners in the target language. Error correction: Oral error correction: ● Indirect: You don’t provide explicitly the correct form of your student's errors. ○ Recasts ○ Repetition ○ Elicitation ○ Clarification requests ■ Pros: They learn how to correct themselves ■ Cons: Errors can go unnoticed, they may not be able to guess they are making a mistake. ■ Bitchener and Ferris (2012) claimed that it was high proficiency learners who were able to take greater advantage of oral CF than low-proficiency learners. ■ To solve the cons, it is useful to make notes and in a subsequent session you can give them written metalinguistic explanations with their mistakes, that way you don’t interrupt the communication flow and it’s not too invasive. ● Direct correction: You give them explicitly the correction ■ Pros: Not very invasive, Window of opportunity - immediate. The closer in time you provide the correction they will internalize the content ■ Cons: You can stop the communication flow, it can impact their self-esteem Written corrective feedback: This is very visual. It becomes an advantage over OCF as errors don’t go unnoticed. ● Direct feedback ○ In this case reduces learners´ confusion and anxiety when interpreting indirect feedback. ○ Provides enough information to correct the errors and to confirm/refute hypotheses possibly tested. ○ More Immediate ● Reformulations:(DF) ○ Identical text written by the student with the error corrected. ○ An advantage would be that is that students are contextualized ○ A disadvantage is they may not understand the reason behind their mistakes and it is time consuming ● Metalinguistic explanations (DF) ○ “Explains and/or exemplifies accurate target-like uses of linguistic forms or structures” (Bitchener, 2012: 355) Example Direct Feedback and metalinguistic explanation: - Pros: It is immediate and explicit - Cons: Very little processing and/or engagement/processing of Written Correction Feedback Indirect feedback: Deeper linguistic reflection and problem-solving (Bitchener, 2012; Bitchener & Ferris, 2012). Greater cognitive engagement leading to L2 learning. Indirect forms are more adequate for more advanced L2 learners (Bitchener, 2012; Bitchener & Ferris, 2012; Bitchener & Storch, 2016). ● “indicates where an error has occurred (…) marking it at its location in a text, with or without a verbal rule reminder or an error code, and asking students to make corrections themselves” (Ferris, 2002: 63) ○ Circling the mistakes or underlining, highlighting as well (you can also use a correction code to lead their attention to certain mistakes: wrong word, wrong tense, spelling) ○ Giving them models after the task they have to do ■ The errors of the students don’t appear in the model ● A pro is that there is a deeper process of engagement ● A con is that teachers are unable to provide answers – lack of engagement ● You could give students a WFC table where they need to fill in the table with the type of error they’ve made, and the corrections given. This way you can engage students in feedback analysis.