Chapter 2 Guided Notes

Our Essential Questions to answer from Chapter 2

¨What is the difference between learning a language and acquiring a language?

¨Is written language acquired naturally or learned consciously?

¨Can people acquire a second language?

Guided Notes:

Summary: There are two views of how people develop literacy. The first, the idea that a language is learned, focused on traditional methods of teaching. The second view,  that of language acquisition, centers around the belief that language is acquired and focused around activities that foster the development of meaning. The following chart summarizes to two views:

Two views of Foreign Language Development:

Traditional Learning View	Current Acquisition View
Goal:   to teach students how to speak and understand the language	Goal:   help students use language for different purposes
Method:   break language up into parts- -          pronunciation -          grammar -          vocabulary	Method:   use various techniques while providing students will multiple examples of language input -          reading a menu -          reading a newspaper
Classroom activities:   Students do drills to practice language	Classroom activities:   teacher uses gestures, pictures, and real objects to help students acquire language -          Teacher reads a book to class and students use language to summarize the book
Attitude toward errors:   Teachers correct to help students develop correct language skills	Attitude toward errors:   accepts errors as natural and focuses on helping students gain meaning and express ideas -          help students learn to express themselves even if they do not know the exact word to use -          Example: teacher could help student use circumlocution to talk around a word they have not yet acquired using words they already know.

Two Views of Reading (p. 24 – 29) 

1) word recognition view – written language must be learned

main task of reading = identify words, connect text to oral word bank. ex: sound out letters, words, recognize

goal:

“recoding” from written to oral language (not decoding, which is finding meaning) 

method:

phonics rules and sight words (flash cards)

breaking words down into parts (prefix, root, suffix)  - structural analysis 

practice:

preteaching of vocabulary words by providing definitions

regular reading aloud and helping students with difficult words or supplying difficult words 

2) Sociopsycholinguistic View – innate ability that is acquired

main task of reading = use background knowledge and cues from three linguistic systems to understand

          

goal:

focus more on making meaning, not identifying individual words

graphophonics (letters and sounds)                        syntax (role in sentence)              semantics (meaning)

1) sample the text (read)

2) predict what will come next

3) make inferences, confirm or disconfirm predictions, integrate new information

*readers will construct different meanings based on their background knowledge and purpose for reading 

method:

combine letters and sounds (graphopohonics) with other sources of information: background knowledge, syntax, semantics

practice:

read extensively to acquire vocabulary in a variety of contexts (see the word several times to understand word forms, role in sentence, formal or informal, AND meaning)

silent reading, individually using reading strategies (like?)

ex: read comprehensible and interesting texts (picture books) so that students gradually learn to make connections b/w oral reading and print  à built up knowledge that allows independent reading

Two Views of Writing (p.29 – 32) 

traditional classroom: break writing into parts, teach each part, cohesiveness and structure important,

                begins with the parts à whole

goal

learn how to produce a good piece of writing 

method

begin with parts and build up to writing a whole text

clearly defined structure of writing

practice

directly instruct formation of letters, words, sentences, paragraphs (essays)

correct each piece of writing

given topic, complete response in limited time (writing test)

 

process classroom: more time on process of writing, content more important to organization and conventions (although those will eventually catch up) ex: invention –> convention

                begins with the message 

goal

produce good writing and acquire knowledge of writing process 

method

begin with the message -- > skills to produce message 

practice

create conditions for authentic written response – many different writing contexts (letters, lists, stories)

writing on a regular basis, and regular reading as input needed for written output

mini-lessons on expression

natural move from invention to convention (ideas to organization and mechanics)

classmates and teachers respond to drafts

Critical Period

Vocabulary

Comprehensible input- students should be able to understand the essence of what is being said and presented to them.

Fossilization- the presence of certain kinds of errors that persist in the speech of adult second language learners.

Lateralization- Language being centered in the left side of the brain in older people and both ways with younger kids

Important Facts

-          Children are better language learners than adults

-           There is a critical period during which language can be acquired.  Once past the developmental period people are not able to acquire a Second language

Examples 

-Adults have more language to learn when acquiring a second language.  When adults go to countries and they have to work  and usually get a chance to speak their native language.

-As a result children receive more comprehensible input in that second language than adults do.

-The three most common explanations as to why most, adults speak a second language with a foreign accent are based on neurological factors, cognitive factors and affective factors.

-  Neurological factors- Intellectual, logical and analytic functions on the left hemisphere.   The right hemisphere is the social and emotional needs.  Lateralization begins at age 2.

-Children who acquire the language before puberty do not have an accent.

-Critical period for the acquisition of phonology is the period prior to changes in the brain associated with laterization.

Cognitive Factors

-Older learners use cognitive processes to analyze language as a result, they have more difficulty acquiring a language  , particularly nuances of pronunciation.

Affective Factors

-Adults are more self-conscious than children and may feel in competent when learning a new language therefore developing an accent.

            -examples

            - nervousness
            -ego

            -having a negative attitude of people who speak that language.

Chapter 2 – Written and Second Language Acquisition

Pg 35 -40 

The Monitor Hypothesis:

·         Helps explain the role of learning in the process of language acquisition

·         Rules of language can be used to monitor spoken or written output

·         Most people monitor their speech in formal situations like speeches

·         However, in the flow of rapid conversation, they don’t have time to monitor the pronunciation and grammar mistakes

·         The more a speaker thinks about the message, the less the speaker can concentrate on the language and vice versa

·         Spoken language is more difficult to monitor than written language

·         More focus on form may interrupt the flow of their ideas

The Input and Output Hypothesis:

·         A teacher should make the input comprehensible

·         Student acquire language when they receive input that is slightly beyond their current level

·         The input should not be either below or at their current level . It should not be too much beyond their level

·         Different students will acquire different parts of language depending on their current level

·         Teachers can use pictures, gestures, tone of voice and hands- on activities to make the input more comprehensible

·         Students need more opportunities to produce comprehensible output as well

·         Good acquirers use different strategies both to understand a second language and also to make themselves understood

                The Affective Filter Hypothesis

·         Affective factors such as nervousness, boredom, and anxiety influence language by serving as a kind of filter to block out incoming messages and prevent language acquisition.

·         Student cannot acquire language that never reaches the language acquisition device

·         Language is acquired in a natural setting where meaningful and relevant comprehension takes place

Schumann’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition

·         Social factors help to explain the rate of acquisition

·         Psychological factors can create psychological distance which when combined with social distance helps explain a slow rate of acquisition

·         Social distance limits opportunities for students to receive the comprehensible input needed for acquisition

·         Psychological distance serves to raise the affective filter and prevent input from reaching the language acquisition device