Introduction: describing and explaining L2 acquisition

Rod Ellis, 2003, chapter 1Page 3-14

Uli Azzahro (2201410052)

What is ‘second language acquisition’?

Any language that is learned subsequent to the mother

tongueOr

Learn language other than their mother tongue

What are the goal of SLA?

the description of L2 acquisition

the explanation; identifying the external and internal factors

The external factor: - the social milieu in which learning takes place.

- the input that learners receive.• The internal factor: the plurality, relative pronouns, and the substitute

respectively for human and non-human in English

Two case studies a detailed study of a learner’s acquisition of an L2

There are: A case study of an adult learner a case study of two child learners

A case study of an adult learnerIn page 6, Wes is someone who learns

the language at the same time as learning to communicate in it. His knowledge of English grammar developed over the three years. At the end, he focused on the using of auxiliary be, plural –s, third person –s, and regular past tense. In fact, he had little knowledge at the beginning.

A case study of two child learnersIn page 8, J and R were almost

complete beginners in English at the beginning of study. J spent almost four school terms in the unit. R spent two whole school years. They had little exposure to the target language outside the classroom. They appeared to develop in much the same way.

Next… By the end of the study, their ability to use request had grown considerably. They were still far short of native-like competence at the end of study.

What do these case studies show us?First: they raise a number of

important methodological issues.Second: they raise issues relating to

the description of learner language.Third: they point to some of the

problems researchers experience in trying to explain L2 acquisition.

Methodolical IssuesWes: - developed the ability to

communicate in an L2- examining his grammatical

development- his ability to use English- how he learned to hold successful

conversations

Next… J and R: acquired the ability to

perform a single language function (request)

For example: ‘ Can I have_?’It is possible to say they had acquired

‘can’ if they could only use it in one fixed expression? most researchers would say ‘no’.

Next…The third problem in trying to

measure whether ‘acquisition’ has taken place concern learners’ overuse of linguistic form.

Wes knew when to use the present progressive correctly, but he used it with the wrong function

Issues in the description of learner language Wes failed to used some grammatical features at all and used incorrectly. These are error of omission and overuse.

J and R also made grammatical errors in their requests.

Next.. An important issue in SLA is the role that these formulas play, not just in enhancing learners’ performance but also in their acquisition of an L2

Next… features like progressive –ing and auxiliary be were used accurately while features like past regular and possessive –s were used very inaccurately.

Issues in the explanation of L2 acquisition L2 acquisition involves different kinds of learning.

So, learners must engage in both item learning and system learning.

An explanation of L2 acquisition must account for both item and system learning and how the two interrelate.

Next.. Learners follow a particular developmental pattern because their mental faculties are structured in such a way that is the way have to learn.

Other explanation emphasize the importance of external as opposed to internal factors.

So, perhaps L2 learner can only acquire difficult linguistic features if they receive direct instruction of them.

Thank you…..