PDF Second Language Acquisition - Project ISLA

Second Language Acquisition

Prepared By: Dr. Emma Alicia Garza

Assistant Professor Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Slide 1:

Second Language Acquisition

Presentation Script

The topic for this training session is Second Language Acquisition. As teachers of second language learners, we must have a basic working knowledge base regarding the process that language learners go through to learn a second language. This knowledge base will be based on research-grounded theories of second language acquisition. The foundation for many of the pedagogical practices, strategies and methodologies used in bilingual and ESL classrooms are derived from theory.

What is Second Language Acquisition?

In second language learning, language plays an institutional and social role in the community. It functions as a recognized means of communication among members who speak some other language as their native tongue.

In foreign language learning, language plays no major role in the community and is primarily learned in the classroom.

The distinction between second and foreign language learning is what is learned and how it is learned.

Slide 2:

Learning a second language requires: 1. formal language instruction in an academic setting; 2. interactions with the second language outside of the

classroom; 3. pedagogical practices, strategies and methodologies which

facilitate second language learning (how); and 4. teaching the four language skills: listening, speaking,

reading, writing along with comprehension and thinking (what).

Slide 3:

The study of second language acquisition involves: 1. how second languages are learned ( the process); 2. how learners create a new language system with limited

exposure (interactions); 3. language proficiency levels (competence and performance

of the language); and 4. why some learners achieve native-like proficiency.

How Do Learners Acquire a Second Language?

Learners acquire a second language by making use of existing knowledge of the native language, general learning strategies, or universal properties of language to internalize knowledge of the second language. These processes serve as a means by which the learner constructs an interlanguage (a transitional system reflecting the learner's current L2 knowledge). Communication strategies are employed by the learner to make use of existing knowledge to cope with communication difficulties.

Slide 4:

Learners acquire a second language by drawing on their background experiences and prior knowledge in their first language. They experiment with the second language by using features found in their first language which are similar to those in the second language. This dependence on the first language serves to help the learner construct an interlanguage, a transitional system consisting of the learner's current second language knowledge. Communication strategies help the learners use what they already know to overcome breakdowns in communication.

Slide 5:

Individual differences affect second language acquisition. These differences may be developmental, cognitive, affective or social. There are factors that are fixed which we cannot control such as age and language learning aptitude. There are some variable factors such as motivation which are controlled by social setting and the course taken for developing the second language.

Teachers need to know that variable factors are controlled through the learning environment, by knowing their students' cognitive styles, their learning preferences, how they teach, and what they teach.

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