What is Second Language Learning?

What is Second Language Learning?

Handout for a talk ca 2008, amplified

This talk considers what is meant by ‘second language learning’ and how this relates to an independent discipline of SLA research.

1. What is the 'language' in second language learning?

The word ‘language’ is understood in different ways by those carrying out SLA research, including:

- language as a property of human beings,

- language as an institutional abstraction,

- language as a collection of sentences,

- language as social behaviour,

- language as knowledge in the mind,

- language as a form of action.

Any SLA research needs to start by defining its view of language; arguments about say language as a collection of sentences are not compatible with language as knowledge.

(for amplification see Cook Prolegomena)

2. What is the 'second' in second language learning?

The word ‘second’ is typically undefined in SLA research, apart from being sometimes contrasted with ‘foreign’. A language can be:

- second by official fiat when other languages are laid down as first by law,

- second by chronological sequence in that the person learns it after the first,

- second by priority, usually discussed in terms of dominance,

- second contrasted with foreign by function or location.

SLA research needs to define how ‘second’ is interpreted in any given research, particularly in a European context now rife with terms like ‘first second language’.

(for amplification see Cook Prolegomena)

3. What is 'learning' in second language learning?

The meaning of ‘language’ and which interpretation of ‘second’ that you choose dictates what you call learning – the appropriate learning theory and the research design. Learning language as a set of sentences is different from learning language for social relationships. One issue is the extent to which SLA research is dependent on psychology or developmental psycholinguistics for accounts of learning or can make up its own account, as has happened in recent years. SLA research needs to make explicit the type of view of learning it is drawing on or is inventing.

4. Where does SLA research come in?

The underlying issue is whether SLA research is an autonomous area or is dependent on other disciplines. If it is relying on psychology, it needs to justify itself in terms of contemporary psychological models of learning and development, not bygone theories - the cognitive commitment; if drawing on linguistic descriptions of syntax, vocabulary, phonology, etc, it needs to square these with current linguistics - the linguistic copmmitment: any X-based research should be justifiable in terms of contemporary X. In particular, drawing on other disciplines is dangerous when it combines theories or ideas that are not compatible within the parent discipline, say incompatible models of memory or syntax. Alternatively SLA research can do its own thing – and remain largely irrelevant to its neighbours in psychology, education and linguistics. 

References

Cook, V.J. (2006), ‘Interlanguage, multi-competence and the problem of the “second” language’, Rivista di Psicolinguistica Applicata VI, 3, 39-52 online version

Cook, V.J. (2007), ‘The nature of the L2 user’, in L. Roberts, A. Gurel, S. Tatar & L. Marti (eds.)EUROSLA Yearbook, 7, 205-220. Reprinted in L. Wei (ed.) (2011), The Routledge Applied Linguistics Reader, Routledge 77-89. online version

Cook, V.J. (2008), ‘Linguistic contributions to bilingualism’, in J. Altaribba & R. Heredia (eds),An Introduction to Bilingualism: Principles and Practice, Erlbaum, 245-264

Second Language Acquisition Research: early developments

   SLA Topics  Key Issues in SLA  Vivian Cook 

'FACTS' THAT SLA MODELS NEED TO EXPLAIN

• an adult amnesiac who could not learn new information was perfectly able to learn a second language, French, including vocabulary
• English primary school children who are taught Italian for one hour a week learn to read better in English
• people who speak a second language are more creative and flexible at problem-solving than monolinguals, e.g. Einstein, Nabakov …
• ten days after a road accident, a bilingual Moroccan could speak French but not Arabic; the next day Arabic but not French; the next day she went back to fluent French and poor Arabic; three months later she could speak both
• the Voice Onset Time (VOT) of French people who speak English is different in French from those who don't
• L2 learners rapidly learn the appropriate pronunciations for their own gender, for instance that men tend to pronounce the “-ing” ending of the English continuous form going as “-in’ ” but women tend to use “-ing”.
• after seeing an American flag, Chinese/English bilinguals are more likely to say interpret behaviour of fish as driven by internal forces; after a Chinese dragon as driven by external forces

Starter

When you have to express an idea in your L2 do you:
     a) think of the word first in your L1 and then turn it into the L2?
     b) think of the word first in your L2?
     c) neither?

Early concepts in Second Language Acquisition research1950s  
     interference: Weinreich
     compound/coordinate bilingualism: Weinreich
     Contrastive Analysis, transfer: Lado
     habit-formation: Lado, Bloomfield etc
      phrase structure grammar: Bloomfield etc
1960s  
     independent grammars assumption: school of Chomsky
     Language Acquisition Device: Chomsky 1964
     hypothesis-testing: Corder
1970s 
     interlanguage: Nemser, Selinker
     Error Analysis: Corder, 1971

What is wrong with the following sentences from students' essays? If you were their teacher, how would you correct them? Anyone doesn't need any deposit in my country to rent an apartment. (Korean student) I play squash so so and I wish in Sunday's morning arrange matches with a girl who plays like me. (Italian) Everytimes I concentrate to speak out, don't know why always had Chinese in my mind. (Chinese) Raelly I am so happy. I wold like to give you my best congratulate. and I wold like too to till you my real apologise, becuse my mother is very sik. (Arabic) I please you very much you allow me to stay with you this Christmas. (Spanish)

Weinreich: Languages in Contact

interference: 'those instances of deviation from the norms of either language which occur in the speech of bilinguals as a result of their familiarity with more than one language' (Weinreich, 1953,1)

types of bilingualism:
'book'  'kniga'     'book'='kniga'         'book'
   |          |                    |                       |
/buk/  /kniga/      /buk/   /kniga/        /buk/
                                                            |
                                                         /kniga/
coordinative    compound         subordinative
bilingualism    bilingualism       bilingualism

Lado: Contrastive Analysis
transfer; 'individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings, and the distribution of forms and meanings of their native language and culture to the foreign language and culture' (Lado, 1957, p.2)
learning; 'a system of habits' (Lado, 1957, p.57) based on 'laws of language learning' such as 'exercise', 'familiarity of response', etc (Lado, 1964, p.45).

First language acquisition ideas of the 1960s- the independent grammars assumption
- The LAD (Language Acquisition Device) model
    primary          ---> LAD --->     generative grammar
linguistic data                             (linguistic competence)

- hypothesis-testing: 'To acquire language, a child must devise a hypothesis compatible with presented data - he must select from the store of potential grammars a specific one that is appropriate to the data available to him' (Chomsky, 1965a, p.36)

Approximative systems, interlanguage and multi-competence

Nemser (1971) 'approximative system': 'Learner speech at a given time is the patterned product of a linguistic system, La [approximative language], distinct from Ls [source language] and Lt [target language] and internally structured'.

Selinker (1972) interlanguage: language transfer, overgeneralisation of L2 rules, transfer of training, strategies of L2 learning, communication strategies,

Corder (1971) Error Analysis: (i) recognition of idiosyncracy, (ii) accounting for the learner's idiosyncratic dialect, (iii) explanation.

Cook (1991) multi-competence 'the compound state of a mind with two grammars'

References 
Much of this is covered in Chapter 1 of Cook (1993).

Chomsky, N. (1965), 'Formal discussion: the development of grammar in child language', in Bellugi, U., and Brown, R. (eds.), The Acquisition of Language, Indiana, Purdue University

Cook, V.J. (1969), 'The analogy between first and second language learning', IRAL, 7, 3, 207-216

Cook, V.J. (1991), 'The poverty-of-the-stimulus argument and multi-competence', Second Language Research, 7, 2, 103-117,

Corder, S.P. (1971), 'Idiosyncratic errors and Error Analysis', IRAL, 9, 2, 147-159. Reprinted in Richards (1974)

Corder, S.P. (1981), Error Analysis and Interlanguage, O.U.P.

Lado, R. (1957), Linguistics Across Cultures, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor

Lado, R. (1964), Language Teaching: A Scientific Approach, McGraw-Hill

Nemser, W. (1971), 'Approximative systems of foreign language learners', International Review of Applied Linguistics, 9, 115-123. Reprinted in Richards (1974).

Selinker, L. (1972), 'Interlanguage', IRAL, 10/3. Reprinted in Richards (1974)

Weinreich, U. (1953), Languages in Contact, The Hague, Mouton

Activities

Motivations for SLA research 
     A. To investigate L2 learning itself
      B. To improve language teaching
      C. To contribute to linguistics and the linguistic theory of acquisition
      D. To contribute to general issues in psychology
(see 1981 paper)
Under which motivation heading would you place each of these quotations?

1. 'The ultimate goal of second language acquisition research is the development of a theory of second language acquisition.' Kevin Gregg in S. Gass & J. Schachter (eds.), Linguistic Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition, CUP

2. '... scientific progress is achieved as we come to illuminate progressively our knowledge by taking different perspectives and by utilising diverse methods of research. Good theories fit the data well, are consistent with related formulations, are clear in their predictions and are heuristically rich. Perhaps most important, they are capable of disconfirmation.' McLaughlin, B. (1987),Theories of Second-Language Learning, Edward Arnold, London p.18

3. 'in this book, the potential relationship between linguistic universals and second language acquisition will be explored. in particular, we shall be concerned with a principles and parameters approach to Universal Grammar (UG), as realised in Government and Binding (GB) (Chomsky, 1981 a). This theory assumes that principles and parameters of UG constitute an innately given body of knowledge which constrains first language (Li) acquisition.' White, L. (1989), Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition, John Benjamins p.xi

4. 'The goal of this book then is certainly not to propose a new method but rather to explore the requirements for a general theory of second language learning by examining the conditions under which languages are learnt, and to consider the relevance of such a theory for language teaching'. Spolsky, B. (1989), Conditions for Second Language Learning, OUP p.2

5. 'This book is about a major five-year research project conducted during the 1980s in the Modern Language Centre at the Ontario institute for Studies in Education. The purpose of the project, entitled the Development of Bilingual Proficiency (DBP), has been to examine a number of educationally relevant issues concerning the language development of school-age children who are learning a second language' Harley, B., Allen, P., Cummins, J. & Swain, M., (eds.) (1990), The Development of Second Language Proficiency, CUP

6. 'I have been interested for a long time now in how an understanding of second language acquisition can contribute to language pedagogy' Ellis, R.(1990), Instructed Second Language Acquisition, Blackwell, p. vii

7. 'Bilingualism is for me the fundamental problem of linguistics.' R. Jakobson (1953), 'Results of the conference of anthropologists and linguists', IJAL Supplement, Memoir 8, 19-22

    Where do they come from?
A person who does not distinguish /ki:n/ and /kin/
A person who says Yesterday came heA person who writes bepent (depend), descride (describe), cabable

Written sample of adult L2 learner of English

I ferom Israel. I em e merid woman I got one cheild 5 yeres oud I nov my eghit it na very good we live in egland about tou yers I live in Standford Hill London N16. The neme of my douther is Ruth I love ther very mach I gout i sister in Israel and al my famili I be in the harmy en it uous wunderfent last wik we went tu paris.

                           Some definitions 
second language: 
 ‘A language acquired by a person in addition to his mother tongue’, UNESCOL2 user:Any person who uses another language than their first (L1), that is to say, the one they learnt first as a child.native speaker 
'a monolingual person who still speaks the language they learnt in childhood' (Cook 1999)‘The first language a human being learns to speak is his native language; he is a native speaker of this language’ (Bloomfield, 1933, p.43)
'a native speaker of a language is someone who speaks that language as their first language rather than having learnt it as a foreign language' COBUILD English Dictionary, 1995
Characteristics of native speakers: (i) subconscious knowledge of rules, (ii) intuitive grasp of meanings, (iii) ability to communicate within social settings, (iv) range of language skills, (v) creativity of language use. (Stern, 1983).
bilingualism
- 'the practice of alternately using two languages' (Weinreich, 1953, p.1)
- 'native-like control of two languages' (Bloomfield, 1933, 55)
- 'the point where a speaker can first produce complete meaningful utterances in the other language' (Haugen, 1953, p.7)
- 'From whatever angle we look at it, bilingualism is a relative concept' (Hoffman, 1991, p.31)
- 'Bilingualism is not a phenomenon of language; it is a characteristic of its use' (Mackey, 1970)
- 'Paradoxical as it may seem, Second Language Acquisition researchers seem to have neglected the fact that the goal of SLA is bilingualism' (Sridhar and Sridhar, 1986)
- 'All too often imposing Bloomfield's criteria on bilinguals has led to their stigmatisation as being somehow deficient in their language capacities.' (Appel & Muysken, 1987, p.3)
- Bilingualism is the regular use of two (or more) languages, and bilinguals are those people who need and use (two or more) languages in their everyday lives' (Grosjean, 1992, p.51)

Paradigms, pragmatism and possibilities: mixed-methods research in speech and language therapy.

Glogowska M.

Source

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. margaret2.glogowska@uwe.ac.uk

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

After the decades of the so-called 'paradigm wars' in social science research methodology and the controversy about the relative place and value of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, 'paradigm peace' appears to have now been declared. This has come about as many researchers have begun to take a 'pragmatic' approach in the selection of research methodology, choosing the methodology best suited to answering the research question rather than conforming to a methodological orthodoxy. With the differences in the philosophical underpinnings of the two traditions set to one side, an increasing awareness, and valuing, of the 'mixed-methods' approach to research is now present in the fields of social, educational and health research.

AIMS:

To explore what is meant by mixed-methods research and the ways in which quantitative and qualitative methodologies and methods can be combined and integrated, particularly in the broad field of health services research and the narrower one of speech and language therapy.

MAIN CONTRIBUTION:

The paper discusses the ways in which methodological approaches have already been combined and integrated in health services research and speech and language therapy, highlighting the suitability of mixed-methods research for answering the typically multifaceted questions arising from the provision of complex interventions. The challenges of combining and integrating quantitative and qualitative methods and the barriers to the adoption of mixed-methods approaches are also considered.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS:

The questions about healthcare, as it is being provided in the 21st century, calls for a range of methodological approaches. This is particularly the case for human communication and its disorders, where mixed-methods research offers a wealth of possibilities. In turn, speech and language therapy research should be able to contribute substantively to the future development of mixed-methods research.

© 2010 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

UNY Yogyakarta

Submitted by humas on Wed, 2012-09-05 09:02

Untuk sukses dalam menyelesaikan berbagai persoalan dan tantangan tidaklah cukup hanya bermodal ijazah saja, melainkan perlu penguasaan kecakapan tertentu yang relevan, karena pada abad 21 telah terjadi pergeseran dari information era ke conceptual era. Hal itu diartikan bahwa dengan menguasai informasi saja tidaklah cukup kalau tidak menguasai konsep di balik itu. Dengan demikian, kemampuan untuk mensinergikan fungsi otak kiri dan fungsi otak kanan sangat diperlukan karena dengan mengotimalkan sinergi kedua fungsi otak itu akan memunculkan kemampuan kreatif yang menjadi dasar untuk menghasilkan ide-ide baru yang sangat diperlukan dalam menghadapi dunia yang sangat cepat berubah. Demikian dikatakan Rektor Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Prof. Dr. Rochmat Wahab, M.Pd., MA., dalam wisuda lulusan S-3, S-2, S-1, dan S-0 periode September 2012 di GOR UNY pada Sabtu, 1 September 2012.

Lebih lanjut Rektor mengingatkan bahwa keterampilan untuk sukses hidup di abad 21 tersebut cenderung bersifat duniawiyah. Padahal sebagai umat beragama tentu memiliki kebutuhan dan tujuan lebih dari itu. “Oleh karena itu, disamping meraih kualifikasi akademi tertentu maka lulusan UNY seharusnya tetap mengedepankan pentingnya religiusitas, moralitas, dan spiritualitas yang dapat dimanifestasikan dengan ketaqwaan,” kata Rektor. “Kami sebagai pendidik hanya bisa berpesan hiasilah hati, pikiran, dan perilaku Anda dengan nilai-nilai ketaqwaan yang disempurnakan dengan menjaga untuk selalu taat dan berbuat kebaikan pada kedua orang tua, baik yang masih hidup maupun yang telah wafat.”

Wisuda periode September 2012 ini memecahkan rekor wisudawan terbanyak sepanjang sejarah UNY, meliputi 2102 mahasiswa dengan rincian 10 orang dari strata S-3, 154 orang strata S-2, 226 orang S-1 non-kependidikan, 1518 orang S-1 kependidikan, dan 194 orang diploma non-kependidikan. Lulusan yang meraih predikat cum laude sebanyak 430 orang.

Untuk nilai tertinggi wisudawan S-3 diraih Dr. Yohanes Gatot Sutapa Yuliana dengan IPK 3,81 (Prodi Pendidikan Teknik dan Kejuruan), jenjang S-2 diraih Fauzi Rahman, M.Pd. dengan IPK 3,87 (Prodi Pendidikan Sains), jenjang S-1 diraih Naba Putri Utami, S.Pd dengan IPK 3,83 (Prodi PGSD), dan jenjang D-3 dengan IPK 3,70 diraih oleh Ranti Mintaningsih, A.Md.T (Prodi Tata Rias & Kecantikan). Lulusan termuda diraih Adienda Faradilla Alhumaira yang lahir tanggal 19 Desember 1991 dari prodi Pendidikan Administrasi Perkantoran. Selanjutnya, lulusan tercepat diraih Nugroho Dimas Pambudi dari prodi Pendidikan Jasmani Kesehatan dan Rekreasi FIK UNY dengan masa studi 3 tahun 8 bulan. (Dedy/nd)

Jawa Pos Radar Jogja

UNY Pecahkan Rekor Wisuda
Sebanyak 2.012 Mahasiswa Selesaikan Studi

SLEMAN - UNY memecahkan rekor peserta wisuda terbanyak sepanjang sejarah UNY. Pada peridoe September ini UNY mewisuda sebanyak 2.012 mahasiswanya.
Melihat besarnya jumlah wisudawan tersebut, Rektor UNY Prof. Rochmat Wahab, menyampikan agar para lulusan tersebut untuk dapat bersaing menghadapi tantangan yang semakin besar di era abad 21. ”Menyelesaikan tantangan tidak akan cukup hanya dengan bermodalkan ijazah saja,” kata Rochmat salam sambutannya di depan ribuan wisudawan yang mengikuti di GOR UNY (1/9).
Rochmat menjelaskan setiap lulusan, perlu penguasaan kecakapan tertentu yang relevan. Karena, abad 21 telah terjadi pergeseran dari information era ke conceptual era. Diartikan, lulusan tidak diperkenankan hanya menguasai informasi saja. Namun, juga harus menguasai konsep di balik itu.
Pada era global seperti saat ini, diperlukan sebuah sinergi, antara fungsi otak kiri dan fungsi otak kanan. Dengan optimalnya sinergi kedua fungsi otak tersebut, maka akan memunculkan kemampuan kreatif yang menjadi dasar untuk menghasilkan ide-ide baru yang sangat diperlukan dalam menghadapi dunia yang sangat cepat berubah.
Rektor UNY mengingatkan keterampilan untuk sukses hidup di abad 21 tersebut cenderung bersifat duniawiyah, padahal sebagai umat beragama tentu memiliki kebutuhan dan tujuan lebih dari itu.
“Oleh karena itu disamping meraih kualifikasi akademi tertentu, maka lulusan UNY seharusnya tetap mengedepankan pentingnya religiusitas, moralitas dan spiritualitas yang dapat dimanifestasikan dengan ketakwaan” kata Rektor
Sementara itu, 2012 wisudawan yang diwisuda, dengan rincian sepuluh orang dari strata S-3, 154 orang strata S-2, 226 orang S-1 nonkependidikan, 1518 orang S-1 kependidikan, dan 194 orang diploma nonkependidikan.
Lulusan yang meraih predikat cumlaude sebanyak 430 orang. Untuk nilai tertinggi wisudawan S-3 diraih Dr Yohanes Gatot Sutapa Yuliana dengan IPK 3,81 (Prodi Pendidikan Teknik dan Kejuruan), jenjang S-2 diraih Fauzi Rahman MPd dengan IPK 3,87 (Prodi Pendidikan Sains), jenjang S-1 diraih Naba Putri Utami SPd dengan IPK 3,83 (Prodi PGSD), dan jenjang D-3 dengan IPK 3,70 diraih oleh Ranti Mintaningsih AMdT (Prodi Tata Rias & Kecantikan).
Lulusan termuda diraih Adienda Faradilla Alhumaira yang lahir 19 Desember 1991 dari prodi Pendidikan Administrasi Perkantoran. Selanjutnya, lulusan tercepat diraih Nugroho Dimas Pambudi dari prodi Pendidikan Jasmani Kesehatan dan Rekreasi FIK UNY dengan masa studi 3 tahun 8 bulan. (bhn/iwa)