scholarly journals Naturalistic second language acquisition: a case of adoption in Italy

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Jogilė Teresa Ramonaitė
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Older Children ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
Linguistic Behaviour

The functional approach to the interlanguage of spontaneous learners of L2 helps identify that from the very beginning without yet possessing many resources of the target language the speaker makes a systemic use of them. When acquiring a language in a natural environment the effectiveness of communication is of vital importance to the speaker because he or she must start interacting without yet having acquired many of the elements of the structure of the target language. A second language learner makes use of the cognitive resources already in possession and therefore when beginning to use the new language invokes the universal pragmatic principles for utterance organization such as word order. A very important step in L2 acquisition is the appearance of the predicate in the interlanguage of the learner because then the utterances of the speaker are constructed following also the semantic-syntactic principles. This variety of the learnerʼs interlanguage, called the basic variety, is in principle sufficient for elementary communication and the development of interlanguage in the morphological perspective for some learners fossilizes in this variety. In due time and given favourable conditions, the interlanguage of the learner can move on to the so-called post-basic variety that sees the formation of a system approaching that of the target language and the principles of utterance organization previously used are gradually replaced by syntactic principles characteristic of the specific target language. The situation of international adoption presents favourable conditions for the language acquisition of younger and also older children. The article offers examples and analysis of the linguistic behaviour of an over 11-year-old Lithuanian girl adopted to Italy. Her linguistic behaviour has been meticulously observed and recorded for a year after the adoption starting from the very first contact with the new language. The analysis shows that the structure of the target language is acquired according to the universal model proceeding from simple to more complex forms. However the situation in which the acquisition takes place determines the rapidity of L2 acquisition and a very advanced level after a year in the new country. The observed girl reaches the basic variety after having spent only a month surrounded by the new language and one month later her interlanguage demonstrates clear signs of morphological sensitivity and the interlanguage system heading towards that of the target language. After a year in the country the entire Italian verb system is in place, including the most complex parts of it. Moreover, the girl makes use of those system elements that are optional, in a way that native speakers are able to do.

scholarly journals Testing the Noticing Function of the Output Hypothesis

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumayyah Qaed Alsulami
Keyword(s):  
Original Writing ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
Comprehensible Input ◽  
Stage 1

<p>In spite of Krashen’s (1985) claims that the only way to acquire a second language is through non-stressful comprehensible input, Swain (1995, 1998, 2005) and others propose that the production of language (speaking or writing), under certain circumstances, is a significant part of the second-language acquisition process. Swain also states that there are three functions of output, and one of these is the noticing or triggering function, in which through producing output, learners become aware of their linguistic knowledge. This study examines the role and effectiveness of output – in particular, the noticing function of language output – in developing the writing skills of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student from Saudi Arabia. The notice function enables the student to identify lexis and grammar problems in his writing. Data collection for the study was conducted in three stages: In Stage 1 the participant, who studies English at Latrobe Language Centre in Level 4A, wrote three paragraphs in response to illustrated questions. In Stage 2, the participant compared his original writing to model paragraph feedback tools. In Stage 3, the student rewrote his original paragraphs based on what he noticed in Stages 1 and 2. This methodology demonstrated the aspects of language that a second-language learner noticed while forming a paragraph on his own. It also illustrated what the participant noticed when he compared his writing to a model and what changes he made to his writing, as a result. It pushed the learner to create a modified output, leading to development of his writing skills in second-language acquisition.</p>

scholarly journals WHAT MAKES SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION COMMUNICATIVE POWER: NATURE? NURTURE? INTERACTION? OR ALL TOGETHER? PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO TESOL IN COMPARATIVE MULTILINGUAL PRACTICES

2021 ◽  
pp. 85-88
Author(s):  
Eshchanov Marat Urazaliyevich
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
Input And Output ◽  
Comprehensible Input ◽  
Communicative Power

The article discusses theories of second language acquisition within the framework of nature, nurturing, and interactionist views to language learning and reveals the results of their application to non-native multilingual people’s language acquisition experiences in communicative and meaningfully absorbing environments. The research proposes the necessary space for the discussion of practicality and authenticity of nature, nurture and interactionist theories in language learning, which can be conducted as an integral examination of second language learner efficacy. KEY WORDS: second language, acquisition, nature, nurture, interactionist, technique, authentic, skill and knowledge, experiences, environments, learn, acquire, comprehensible input and output, meaningful language acquisition, autonomous learning

scholarly journals SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION BEYOND CRITICAL AGE: A CASE STUDY OF AN OLD SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNER

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Jawaria Samiya Siddiqui
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
Deviant Case

This paper investigates the factors that facilitate/hinder Second Language Learning. The two factors that the study focuses on are age and motivation. Role of motivation in relation to age is discussed of a deviant case using Qualitative Paradigm, and the data is analyzed using Narrative Inquiry, Case Study and Retrospective Longitudinal design to find out if motivation plays any significant role in terms of achieving successful second language competence. It is a common belief that people who start young to learn a Second Language perform better than the old learners. However, the results indicate that this is not true in many cases, as this study on a deviant case shows that motivation plays a very important role in achieving successful Second Language Acquisition. If the learners are intrinsically motivated and are motivated from the beginning of their learning journey irrespective of their age then learning becomes easier.

scholarly journals Second Language Acquisition and Mother Tongue Influence of English Language Learners – A Psycho Analytic Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.36) ◽  
pp. 497
Author(s):  
A. Delbio ◽  
R. Abilasha ◽  
M. Ilankumaran
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Second Language Learner

Language is a tool used to convey one’s thoughts, feelings and needs. Mother tongue is the language acquired by everyone ever since his birth. A learner encounters mother tongue influence while learning or speaking a foreign language or target language. Mother tongue influence is something that affects a person’s thought process in a sense that he thinks in mother tongue and expresses in English or a second language. People use incorrect pronunciation of words while communicating in English language as they are influenced by the sound patterns of their mother tongue. A second language learner has an unconscious preference to convey his customs from his first language to the target language. The influence of mother tongue has become a significant region and is generally referred to as ‘Language Interference’. Every language learner comes across this issue. Students, sometimes, use words from their parent language while communicating in English. This paper speaks about the difficulties faced by the learners of the second language and the causes of first language influence. This paper attempts to bring out the ways to avoid the overwhelmed influence of mother tongue and gives some notions to the students to develop their second language skills.  

THE UNACCUSATIVE TRAP IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Oshita
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Intransitive Verbs

The distinction of two types of intransitive verbs—unergatives (with underlying subjects) and unaccusatives (with underlying objects)—may not exist at early stages of L2 acquisition, both being syntactically represented as unergatives. This idea, referred to here as the Unaccusative Trap Hypothesis, provides an elegant developmental account for a variety of seemingly unrelated syntactic phenomena in L2 English, Japanese, and Chinese. Target language input, structural constraints on natural language linking rules, and linguistic properties of a learner's L1s shape stages in the reorganization of the lexical and syntactic components of interlanguage grammars. Although nonnative grammars may initially override the structural constraints postulated as the Unaccusative Hypothesis (Burzio, 1986; Perlmutter, 1978) and the Uniformity of Theta Assignment Hypothesis (Baker, 1988), at later developmental stages some may still achieve conformity with the norms of natural languages.

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROCESSES IN THE CLASSROOM: LEARNING JAPANESE. Amy Snyder Ohta. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2001. Pp. xviii + 298. $79.95 cloth, $34.50 paper.

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 450-451
Author(s):  
Sufumi So
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Nonnative Language ◽  
Acquisition Processes

This book, as part of a series published by Erlbaum entitled Second language acquisition research: Theoretical and methodological issues, addresses the question as to how the acquisition of a nonnative language progresses through interaction in language classrooms. As the author admits (p. xiii), this is hardly a new topic in studies of SLA. The book, however, sheds some new light by introducing novel theoretical and methodological perspectives in dealing with this old topic. The author finds in Vygotskyan ideas a theoretical stance to frame her views of language, the language learner, and the language learning process. Furthermore, it focuses on the second language (L2) acquisition of Japanese by English-speaking learners, which has only recently begun attracting the attention of SLA researchers.

First language acquisition... second language acquisition: ‘What’s Hecuba to him or he to Hecuba?’

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-344
Author(s):  
Susan Foster-Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Research Question ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
First Language Acquisition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L1 Acquisition ◽  
L1 And L2

Second language (L2) research appeals to first language acquisition research frequently and standardly. It is important, however, to take stock from time to time of the uses that second language acquisition (SLA) makes of its sister field. Whether we use first language (L1) research to generate or bolster the importance of a particular research question, to argue for a fundamental similarity or a fundamental difference between the two sorts of acquisition, or to offer guidance in the formulation of research paradigms, it is important that we do so with our critical eyes open.This article examines the possible and specific relationships between L1 acquisition and SLA, with the aim of showing that a number of assumptions warrant closer inspection. It begins by examining the expressions ‘first language acquisition’ and ‘second language acquisition’, suggesting that the syntactic and lexical parallelism between the two masks important issues internal to the fields involved. It then explores problems in distinguishing L1 from L2 acquisition from three different perspectives: individual language learner histories, the data, and the mechanisms proposed to account for the two types of acquisition. Finally, it takes a brief look at the sociology of L1 and L2 studies, and suggests that second language study has yet to assume fully its rightful place in the academy.

CURRENT APPROACHES TO RESEARCHING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNER PROCESSES

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 98-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Wigglesworth
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
Theoretical Approaches

Language learning is a complex set of processes that largely take place in the learner's head. The extent to which learners consciously focus on specific aspects of language, the degree to which they notice particular features of language, and how this is done has been the object of considerable debate in different theoretical approaches to second language acquisition. For researchers in second language acquisition, one dilemma is how to find out what learners notice, and how, if at all, they incorporate this into their developing linguistic knowledge. Here, I discuss three approaches to researching learner cognitive processes that can be used to identify the knowledge that learners have about their second language, and obtain some insights into the cognitive processes of learners. These approaches have the potential to contribute to our understanding of how learners learn a second language, and, therefore, how this task may be facilitated. The first approach attempts to tap directly into the learner's thought through the use of think-aloud protocols, whereas the second involves having learners engage with activities that encourage them to talk aloud, thus providing insights into their thought processes. The third approach uses planning effects on task performance to investigate how learners monitor their language.

INTRODUCTION

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-142
Author(s):  
Albert Valdman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
The Impact

In the past century major changes in the study of language learning, and its attendant effects on language instruction, derived from the espousal of behavioral psychology by structural linguistics of the Bloomfieldian persuasion. Did not the founder of this strand of structuralism, who collaborated in the Army language manual for the teaching of Russian under the revealing pseudonym of I. M. Lisnin, declare: “Language learning is overlearning, nothing else is of any use”? Noam Chomsky's (1959) brilliant demonstration of the reductionism of the most extreme form of behaviorism—Skinner's operant conditioning (Review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, Language, 35, 26–58)—triggered the demise of the influence of behavioristic views of language acquisition. This demise was accompanied by that of the structural approach to second language teaching associated with such applied linguists as Robert Lado, although it must be acknowledged that the combination of these two theoretical strands did lead to significant changes in foreign language classrooms—for example, the abandonment of grammar translation and a shift of focus from written texts to speech. However, what applied linguists of that generation failed to do was to observe how actual second language learners in both naturalistic and instructed contexts process and reorganize linguistic input, how they intake it, and how they turn it into output in communicative interactions. It was not until the impact of Chomskian-inspired studies of first language acquisition and Pit Corder's (1967) seminal “The significance of learners' errors” (International Review of Applied Linguistics, 5, 161–170) that the second language learner came into focus and that the field of second language acquisition research began to flourish. In this connection, it is noteworthy that bringing to a wider international audience the proceedings of the Neuchâtel colloquia led by Corder served as a catalyst for the launching of SSLA.

scholarly journals On determining developmental stages in natural second language acquisition

1981 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen M. Meisel ◽  
Harald Clahsen ◽  
Manfred Pienemann
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Source Language ◽  
The Past ◽  
Linguistic Structures

Research on Second Language (L2) Acquisition, over the past ten years, has undergone substantial changes by shifting its focus of interest away from an analysis of linguistic structures alone, concentrating more on the learner himself or, rather, on the process of learning. It had become obvious that one of the major shortcomings in contrastive studies as well as in the usual kind of error analysis is that they lack thorough investigation of factors which determine the kind of approach a learner may take to acquire a second language. This again implies that it is more fruitful to study the process of learning itself instead of merely analysing its outputs. It is by now widely accepted that the learner takes an active part in the learning process and does not merely get trapped in structural gaps which linguists may find when comparing the source language (the learner's L1) and the target language (L2).

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