PLC #1: Significant Concepts

Group 5: Jessica Kelley
PLC #1 Significant Concepts

Word Cloud

When you think of "Second Language Acquisition," what words come to mind?

Answer in 1-2 words or short phrases

What is Second Language Acquisition anyway?

Rob Ellis spends the first chapter of his book explaining the history of the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and the various ways and theories researchers have used to explain how a second language is learned.

I will focus on what I consider to be the three most significant concepts in this first chapter:

1. The difference between and role of "competence" and "performance" and its importance to SLA research.
2. The role of the first language (L1) in learning a second language (L2).
3. The Complexity Theory

Pay close attention! There will be quizzes along the way to check for understanding!

The same study by Chomsky identified performance as the use of language for comprehension and performance. Since competence can only be inferred, researchers must investigate performance which also includes traditional language use as well as social and discourse purposes (Ellis 6).

Performance

All roads in SLA begin with Noam Chomsky who's study published in 1965 identified competence as the mental representation of the grammatical rules that comprise a speaker-hearer's mental grammar which can only be inferred by inspecting how learners use the L2 (Ellis 6).

Competence

Competence vs. Performance

Competence vs. Performance

Why is this significant?

All of the theories mentioned are birthed out of Chomsky's ideas and concepts involving perceived learner competence and demonstrated learner performance. It is important to understand these terms and how different theories treat these concepts in deciding whether or not acquisition is taking or has taken place.

Quiz Time!
Don't worry. This first one is easy.

Research by Kellerman (1983) set out to determine when language transfer occurred and when it didn't proposed language distance. Language learners whose L1 was similar to the L2 were more likely to use their L1, have an innate sense of which language features were transferrable from the L1 to the L2, and were more likely to avoid L2 structures that were different than the L1 (Ellis 11).

Language Distance

There were assumptions (and still are in some places) that a L1 learner who experienced learning difficulties due to interference from the L1. Where L1 and L2 were similar, there was a positive transfer which would benefit learning, and where L1 and L2 differed there was a negative transfer which would adversely impact learning (Ellis 11).

Language Transfer

The Role of the First Language

The Role of the First Language

Why is this significant?

Theories about language transfer lead researchers to try and minimize the effect of L1 language, such as Selinker (1972) who thought language transfer was on of 5 "central processes" in interlanguage development. The effects of negative ideas regarding language transfer can still be seen in school ELL/ESL programs today. In the article we ready from Lavadenz, we see this mentioned as additive and subtractive bilingualism (Lavadenz 24).

Understanding language transfer and language distance also can help us capitalize on the similarities that exist in between a learner's L1 and L2 language to enhance the learner's competence and performance (acquisition) of the L2. Conceptual transfer, which studies how concepts associated in one language affect the linguistic choices made in another, is a new scope in the role of the first language and language transfer included in SLA (Ells 12).

Quiz Time!
A little trickier this time...

Multiple Choice

A student whose L1 is Italian seems to pick up English vocabulary words that are cognates quicker than she does other vocabulary words. This is likely an example of:

• language interference

• phonological awareness
• positive language transfer

• negative language transfer

Multiple Choice

Principal Handlebar reprimands you for letting your ELL student use a text with both an English and French translation, arguing that using a foreign language is a "crutch" for the struggling student. Principal Handlebar believes the student is struggling due to:

• interference

• language distance

• poor language competency

• poor language performance

Multiple Choice

A Spanish speaking student avoids using adjectives when writing in English because of the variation in English vs. Spanish sentence structure when using modifiers. This is probably due to:

• laziness

• interference

• negative language transfer

• language distance

Complexity Theory

"We can only know that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom."
- Leo Tolstoy

The Complexity Theory is exactly as it sounds. Stemming from N. Ellis's work (1998) on Emergentism, Larsen-Freeman (2011) defined Complexity Theory as a way to explain the vastly complex nature of language acquisition as a symphony of moving parts and interactions. It is non-linear, ever-changing, and never-ending. Among the many things posited by the Complexity Theory are notions that:
- There is no "final state" in a language system, including a native language system, and thus,
- There is no state of "fossilization" where a person stops or no longer can learn.
- A language system can develop different parts at different rates.
- The learner has an active role and must have intentionality and agency in learning..
- Interaction is critically important, but learners shape these interactions by choosing what and how to learn.

Complexity Theory

Why is this significant?

This is where we are in SLA. As educators, we know that learning is a complex process that is affected in countless ways by countless factors and that there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach. It is equally important to understand that the same goes for language learning, perhaps to an even greater degree. There may be patterns and stages that we notice and things that we can prepare for, but the best way to teach involves us being as open, flexible, and adaptable to teaching as our students have to be to learning.

Quiz Time!
Last one, I promise!

Open Ended

How do you see yourself applying concepts from the complexity into your classroom and an ELL/ESL teacher or a teacher of ESL/ELL students?

Summary

There were many, many, MANY important things in Chapter 1 of our book and it is hard to narrow it all down to a selection of just 3. Here are the things that I think are significant takeaways from the book:

1. Understanding the difference between competency and performance and the way each theory treats these concepts is going to be vital in understanding SLA.
2. Don't underestimate the role of a student's L1 in helping them acquire the L2. Don't be afraid of it; embrace it!
3. The Complexity Theory frees us from thinking about SLA in rigid, one-dimensional terms and gives us the flexibility to take in a number of factors in understanding how our students learn language.

Poll

Did you learn/understand something new today?

• I learned a lot and your explanations were clear.

• I learned some, but I'm still a bit confused on the concepts you brought up.

• Your presentation was neat, but I still don't know what you're talking about.

• Girl, bye. T