THEORY OF SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING

Does the learner already know a language? Is the learner cognitively mature? How well developed is the learner’s metalinguistic awareness? How extensive is the learner’s general knowledge of the world? Is the learner nervous about making mistakes and sounding ‘silly’ when speaking the language? Does the learning environment allow the learner to be silent in the arely stages of learning, or is s/he expected to speak from the beginning?

Is there plenty of time available for language learning to take place, planty of contact with proficient speakers of the language? Does the learner receive corrective feedback when s/he makes error in grammar or pronunciation, or does the listener overlook these errors and pay attention to the message? Does the learner receive corrective feedback when s/he uses the wrong word, or does the listener usually try to guess the intended meaning? Is the learner exposed to language which is at an appropriate level of difficulty in terms of speed of delivery, complexity of grammatical structure, and vocabulary?

Learners characteristics L1 LEARNER no cognitive maturity no metalinguistic awareness no world knowledge L2 LEARNER acquired one language idea of language work incorrect guesses about the L1

YOUNG L2 LEARNERS cognitive maturity metalinguistic awareness (age) nervousness CHILDREN nervousness not well developed speaking skills happy chats silent participation in social interaction not pressure to speak

LEARNING CONDITIONS YOUNG LEARNERS OLD LEARNERS silence silence large amount of time of language exposition limited amount of time

MODIFIED INPUT FIRST LANGUAGE SECOND LANGUAGE caretaker talk foreigner / teacher talk corrections of meaning / word choice errors – no interference with meaning correction- when there’s a misunderstanding correction - classroom

learning = habit formation BEHAVIOURISM learning = habit formation linguistic input + environment & reinforcement errors = L1 interference Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) L1 influence Learner’s errors are not predictable on the basis of CAH errors are bi-directional CAH – similarities make the learning process easy; differences, difficult. Errors are bidirectional : the dogs it. The dogs eats the cookie. Le chian mange le biscuit. Le chian le mange. The dog it eat it- le chian mange le. Learner intuitions towards possible transfer

COGNITIVE THEORY SLA – knowledge build-up - automatically for speaking & understanding attention to any language feature – understand or produce learners’ experience & practice – quick automaticity (no awareness) restructuring – assimilation + accomodation: burst of progress or back-sliding no prediction about the L1 structure transfer

CREATIVE CONSTRUCTION THEORY internal representations of language – predictable stages acquisition happens as the learners read or hear –outocomes: speech & writing communicative situations - usefulness

KRASHEN’S MONITOR MODEL  the acquisition-learning Hypothesis: ACQUISITION LEARNING  the monitor hypothesis: the ACQUIRED system the LEARNED system conditions: sufficient time, focus on form, knowledge of rules weak point: no possibilities for differentiating acquisition from learning

 the natural order hypothesis – predictable sequencial acquisition rules  the input hypothesis – comprehensible input  the affective filter hypothesis – UP / DOWN: motives, needs, attitudes, emotional states Weak point: difficulties for assuring what affective factors cause the differences. SUCCESS = more positive motivation (a low affective filter)

INTERACTIONIST VIEW modified input interactional modification makes input comprehensible comprehesible input promotes acquisition interactional modification promotes acquisition native speech modifications when talking to non-native: comprehension checks clarification requests self-repetition or paraphrase