Transcript Stages of L2 Acquisition
Stages of L2 Acquisition
The Difficulties of Learning English…
I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word, That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead: It’s said like bed, not bead— For goodness sake, don’t call it ‘deed’!
Watch out for meat and great and threat (They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
The Difficulties of Learning English…
I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you On hiccough, thorough, lough and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word, That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead: It’s said like bed, not bead— For goodness sake, don’t call it ‘deed’!
Watch out for meat and great and threat (They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
Summary of Language Acquisition
The child learns language by unconsciously generating rules, perhaps to fill in an innate blueprint.
His errors often indicate that learning is taking place.
He learns language in meaningful, supportive, and communicative settings.
He understands more than he can say.
He will require a lot of time to become fluent.
Key Differences: L
1
and L
2
Acquisition
First Language:
Learned through total immersion
Second Language:
Learned through partial immersion Hampered by emotions Learned at home Learned at an older age Learned by young children Learned in order to communicate with loved ones Learned to communicate in less personal situations such as schools or work Largely an unconscious process Very conscious and often methodical No time pressure to learn Great time pressures Must learn developmental concepts as well as language Acquire while learning academic concepts already acquired in the L 1
Expectations of Classroom Instruction
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Instruction should be comprehensible to all learners Learning should be interactive Instruction should be cognitively challenging Instruction should connect school to students’ lives and promote cross-cultural understanding Instruction should develop language and literacy across the curriculum The goal of instruction should be achievement of academic standards by all students
5 Basic Principles for Working with ELLs
Increase Comprehensibility
To move from prior knowledge to new knowledge, from the concrete to the abstract, and from oral to written language
Increase Interaction
To create an environment that encourages students to take an active role
Increase Thinking/Study Skills
To help students organize information by learning the process and language of higher order thinking skills
Increase Academic Language and Fluency
To have language and content knowledge and use language to understand and explain
Make Connections
To link personal and cultural experiences to other learning
Language Development Stages
Pre-Production Early Production Speech Emergence Intermediate Fluency
What do you know when you know a language?
The music The sounds How to ask for information How to take turns in conversation A wealth of vocabulary How to enter a conversation without interrupting Connections between language and culture How to change the time of a sentence How to persuade The gestures The word order Language nuances Idiomatic expressions Formal vs. informal language The correct sequence of sounds for a particular word How to use and interpret intonation A variety of meanings for words How to use language to build relationships
Pre-Production
Students are totally new to English; stage may last 1-3 months.
Can understand more than they can say Can actively listen for short periods Can respond non-verbally Questions: Point to… Do you have the… Who has the… Tasks: Matching Drawing Acting Out
Early Production
Students are low beginners in English; stage may last several weeks. Can respond with words and phrases Questions: Is this a…or a…?
Who, what, when, where?
Tasks: Naming Labeling Listing Categorizing
Speech Emergence
Students are beginners in English; stage may last several weeks or months.
Can participate in small group activities Begin to use English more freely Questions: Why, how…?
Tell me about… Describe… Tasks: Role play Small group work
Intermediate Fluency
Students are high beginners, intermediate or advanced Stage will last several years Can participate in reading and writing activities May appear orally fluent, but experience difficulty with high levels of academic and literacy for several years Questions: Describe… Compare… What do you think about…?
What would happen if…?
Tasks: Can do most classroom tasks if supported and scaffolded
For more information see:
Railsback, J.& Reed, B. (2003)
Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners: Overview of Second Language Acquisition Theory
[January 15, 2007]
http://www.nwrel.org/request/2003ma y/textonly.html