Applied Linguistics Written and Second Language Acquisition

Is written language acquired or Learned? Can children acquire written language in the same way they acquire oral language? Do L1 + L2 develop in the same way? Written + L2, are they learned or acquired?

Views of Reading What is the reading process and how children should be taught to read? Word recognition view Sociopsycholinguistic view

Views of Writing Learning view : Traditional writing classroom Acquisition view: Process writing classroom

The Reading and Writing Connection from an Acquisition view What should we do to make written language comprehensible?

Views of L2 or FL Development Traditional view (Learning) Current view (Acquisition)

The reading and writing connection from an Acquisition view What teachers should do to written language make language comprehensible? Read to and with students Teach strategies Focus on the message – not form Reading provides input needed for writing output provide opportunities to produce and share their writing Help students understand all the steps involved in writing process.

Reading and writing are closely related Students acquire much of their ability to write by reading, writing and talking about what they wrote. Reading and recall – spillover – delayed spillover Internalize features of written text

Two views of L2 or FL development Traditional view (learning) : teach language directly so students can produce correct language form Current view (acquisition) : make language comprehensible so students can use language

Krashen’s theory of L2 acquisition The learning/acquisition hypothesis Learning: conscious process (studying rules and vocabulary), break the subject into manageable chunks and try to memorize and practice different parts of the language with the goal to use it in communication. Drills – to pass a test (but can be forgotten if not practiced)

Acquisition: Subconscious – as they use the language Example: area content – in and out of school, living abroad they interact with native speakers.

Natural Order Hypothesis L1 & L2 are acquired in a natural order L1 (for babies M before R, positive before negative) L2 almost the same order Dulay & Burt (1974) Plural “S” before 3d person “S” regardless of the 1st language What will happen if we teach it? Fail – diff level of acquisition

Input Hypothesis Comprehensible input – oral or written Krashen: students acquire language when they receive i + 1 (slightly beyond their level). i + 1 is not the same for all students who are at different levels of proficiency.

Output: The other researchers claim that students should have opportunities to produce comprehensible output. (Swain, 1985 and Van Lier, 1988) Van Lier Model includes meaningful language use brings an aspect of language to a conscious level, and as a result, students can use those language forms in the future.

Benefit of output is that it produces more input. They use diff strategies both to understand and make themselves understood (learn chunks)  to make the native speakers to respond w/ language more comprehensible.

Schumann’s Theory of L2 Acquisition Social distance: increases when there is only limited integration of two cultural groups. minority group is large minority group is tight-knit minority group has diff characteristics minority group has a negative attitude learner not planning to stay long

Psychological Factors: motivation and attitude psychological distance Valdes (2001)

Different students will acquire different parts of the language depending on their levels. To insure that the input is comprehensible, teachers can use pictures, gestures etc.

Kristen's Theory of L2 Acquisition Natural Order Hypothesis The Monitor Hypothesis Input hypothesis Output The Affective Filter Hypothesis

Schumann’s theory of L2 Acquisition

The Critical period Hypothesis Neurological Factors Cognitive Factors Affective Factors Fossilization