FLA
L1 AND L2 LEARNING
&
SLA
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT
THIS???
Why every single person can acquire the first language
(L1) easily?
Why very few people manage to acquire a second
language (L2) succesfully?
Why, even though you try your best as a teacher, some
learners have a hard time acquiring L2.
DO YOU, AS A TEACHER, FEEL LIKE THIS FROM TIME TO TIME?
EVERYBODY ELSE
I DON’T UNDERSTOOD
UNDERSTA
ND
WHY
“FULANITO”
DOESN’T GET
ANYTHING?
FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION.
Noam Chomsky:
“Language is innate.” We are born with rules of
language in our heads= Universal grammar
Jeremy Harmer:
“Unless there is something wrong with them mentally or
physically, all children acquire a language as they
develop” (Harmer,1988).
FLA STAGES (L1)
COOING BABBLING
2-4 months.
6-8 Months
Earliest speech-like
Babies start to have
control on speech
sounds.
vocalization, this
Laughter appears happens as an instinct.
around 4 months. Sensitivity to the
phonetic distinction.
FLA STAGES (L1)
TWO-WORD
HOLOPHRASTIC STAGE
STAGE
18-24 months
9-18 months Mini-sentences with
Children communicate with 1 simple semantic relations.
word, relating it to many
similar things.
Examples: More cereal,
They understand more than
papa away, no bed, bye
they can produce. bye car, dry pants.
FLA STAGES (L1)
TELEGRAPHIC
STAGE MULTIWORD
STAGE
24-30 months
Word combinations:
Me want that 30 + months
What her name? Grammatical or functional
Chair fall down! structures emerge (the sintax
stage).
These sentences resemble to
short messages in a telegram.
Children language blooms into
fluent grammatical
There are a lot of syntax conversation.
errors.
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Students learning a second language go through five stages:
Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate
Fluency, and Advanced Fluency (Krashen & Terrell,
1983).
Students already have previous knowledge of language (L1).
Speed of progress through the stages depends on level of education,
family background, amount of exposure to the target language,
among others.
KRASHEN’S THEORY OF LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION VS. LANGUAGE LEARNING
ACQUISITION LEARNING
It is natural. It happens in an artificial
It is informal. setting.
It is subconscious. It is formal.
Not aware of grammar. It is rule conscious.
It is communicative. There is awareness of
grammar and vocabulary.
Activities associated with learning have traditionally been
used in language schools and have good results in
knowledge “about” language, but not in fluency.
( Yule, 1955 ).
"Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target
language - natural communication - in which speakers
are concerned not with the form of their utterances but
with the messages they are conveying and
understanding."
Stephen Krashen
SLA STAGES (L2)
Pre-production (silent period) Early production
The learner:
The learner:
Has minimal comprehension.
Has limited comprehension
Does not speak at all.
Produces one or two-word
Nods "Yes" and "No."
responses.
Draws and points. Uses present-tense verbs.
Uses gesturing. Answers yes / no questions.
Repeats like a “parrot” Benefits from: realia, vocabulary
everything with pictures, listening activities.
This stage may last up to 6
From 6 months to 1 year.
months.
SLA STAGES (L2)
Speech emergence Intermediate fluency
The learner: The learner:
Has good comprehension. Has excellent comprehension.
Can produce simple sentences. Makes few grammatical errors.
Makes grammar and Willing to express opinions and
pronunciation errors. share thoughts.
Asks simple questions, that may Writing will have errors.
or may not be grammatically
correct, such as: May I go to
bathroom?
From 1 to 3 years. From 3 to 5 years
WHY VERY FEW PEOPLE MANAGE TO ACQUIRE A SECOND LANGUAGE FLUENTLY?
Fossilization: no further learning
Learners are not allowed to have appears possible. Learners will
a silent period, they are asked to have the same error despite of
produce when they are not ready any correction or grammatical
= Interlanguage explanation.
Interlanguage is the mixture of Critical Period: Before the age of
L1 and L2 to be able to
communicate = interference. 12, fluency may be reached.
After, this is no longer possible
due to the changes in the brain.
Interference = errors.
Affective filter: Motivation, self-
confidence, and anxiety all affect
language acquisition.
SLA STAGES (L2)
Advanced Fluency
The student has a near-native
level of speech
It takes learners from 5 to 10
years to become fluent.
WHY CHILDREN SEEM TO ACQUIRE L2 BETTER THAN ADULTS?
Children have access to Universal Grammar.
Adults are more influenced by L1.
Children are more motivated than adults.
Children recieve more imput in the second language than adults do.
THE USE L1 IN THE L2 CLASSROOM
ADVANTAGES
According to Paul Seligson:
Unavoidable anyway.
Reduces affective filters.
Practice translation.
Provides feedback.
Discuss idioms.
Emotional stages when learning L2
Honeymoon stage: Learners are excited about
learning.
Culture Shock stage: Learners feel overwhelmed
because they can not communicate easily.
Integration Stage: Learners deal with the differences
between L1 and L2.
Acceptance Stage: Learners are able to prosper in
L2, they accept both cultures and combine them.
Some learners might even forget their native
language or reject their original culture.
REFERENCES
Yule, George. (2006). The study of language third edition. [on line]. Fourth
Worth: Harcourt Brace Janovich College Publishers . Retrieved on
October 4, 2009 from:
http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=Zw5Y0o0q1bYC&dq=yule+the+stu
dy+of+language&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=uo2v8ZcYYa&sig=
ixeYmIWXhPglFlSwoqSIAVE_0yc&hl=es&ei=ZmvNSqKeM8XY8AauzaS
FBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#v=onepage&q=&f=fal
se
Everything English as a Second Language (2000). Everything ESL. [On
line]. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from
http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/language_stages.php
Luria, H, Seymour D.M, & Smoke, T. (2006). Language and Linguistics in
Context. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum associates, Inc. [on line]. Google
books. Retrieved October 5, 2009 from http://books.google.com.mx/books
Pinker, S. Language acquisition. [on line]. Technical Report NIH grant HD
18381 and NSF grant BNS 91-09766. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
MIT Press. Retrieved October 3, 2009, from:
http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/harnad/Papers/Py104/pinker.langacq.html.
Society for Research in Child Development (2009, September 21). Children
Under Three Can't Learn Action Words From TV -- Unless An Adult Helps.
ScienceDaily [on line]. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915100947.htm.
Schütz, R. (2007, July 2). Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language
Acquisition. [Review of the book Second Language Acquisition and Second
Language Learning by Stephen Krashen]. Retrieved October 4,2009, from
http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html.
You tube videos retrieved on October 3, 2009, from:
http://www.youtube.com/
