Chapter II
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
A. Description
Second-language
acquisition (often abbreviated to SLA) also refers to the scientific discipline
devoted to studying that process. Second language refers to any language
learned in addition to a person's first language; although the concept is named
second-language acquisition, it can also incorporate the learning of third,
fourth, or subsequent languages. Second-language acquisition refers to what
learners do; it does not refer to practices in language teaching. The academic
discipline of second-language acquisition is a sub discipline of applied
linguistics. It is broad-based and relatively new. As well as the various
branches of linguistics, second-language acquisition is also closely related to
psychology, cognitive psychology, and education. To separate the academic
discipline from the learning process itself, the terms second-language
acquisition research, second-language studies, and second-language acquisition
studies are also used.SLA research began as an interdisciplinary field, and
because of this it is difficult to identify a precise starting date.
B. Goals
of Second Language Acquisition
SLA
has two goals, the description- to describe how L2 acquisition proceeds,
describing how learner language changes over the time to describe how L2
acquisition proceeds, describing how learner language changes over the time and
the explanation-
To explain the process of L2 acquisition and why some learners seem to be
better than others, identifying the external and internal factors that account
for why learner acquire an L2 in the way they do. The description that is what
happens in the learning process and the description that is how it happens,
taking into account the internal and the external factors, and also why some
learners are better than others acquiring a language. One of the external
factors is the social contexts, which learning takes place, it is important due
to learners have the opportunity to interact with other people and put into
practice the knowledge they are acquiring. Another external factor is the
input. It is about the instruction that learners receive from an instructor and
the materials that are needed to make easier and successful the learning of a
second language. Talking about the internal factors it is necessary to mention
the cognitive mechanisms which enable learners to extract information about the
L2 from the input. One example is the “s” in the third person, and the
motivation, the attitude, the aptitude are very important because they have influence
in the learning process. These goals are met by collecting samples of learner
language that must be analyzed carefully. These samples provide evidence of
what learners know about the language they are trying to learn. Making this
process you are going to realize the changes that the learners´ knowledge has
had over time. Finally, it is important to take into account factors like
pronunciation and fluency which have to be better in a real communication. How
are these goals met? One way of doing this is by collecting samples of learner
language and analyze them carefully. For example, the language learner produces
when he/she is using an L2 in speech or writing. This is important because
samples provide evidence of what the learners know about the L2 they are trying
to learn and let us to find out how learners’ knowledge changes and develops
over time.
Another way is by identifying the internal and external factors that explain why learners learn an L2 in the way they do. Some of the external factors are: the social milieu which learning takes place. It refers to the opportunities that learners have to hear and speak the L2 and the attitudes they develop towards it. Another external factor is the input (samples of language to which a learner is exposed) that learners receive.
Some of the internal factors are: the general knowledge that learners possess, that could be used to understand L2 input. Another is the communication strategies that learners have to make a more effective use of the L2. It is also important to consider the learners language aptitude (ability to learn a language) which is a reason of why some learners find L2 learning easier than others.
Another way is by identifying the internal and external factors that explain why learners learn an L2 in the way they do. Some of the external factors are: the social milieu which learning takes place. It refers to the opportunities that learners have to hear and speak the L2 and the attitudes they develop towards it. Another external factor is the input (samples of language to which a learner is exposed) that learners receive.
Some of the internal factors are: the general knowledge that learners possess, that could be used to understand L2 input. Another is the communication strategies that learners have to make a more effective use of the L2. It is also important to consider the learners language aptitude (ability to learn a language) which is a reason of why some learners find L2 learning easier than others.
C.
Case
Studies
A
case study is a detailed study of a learner’s acquisition of an L2. It is
typically a longitudinal, involving the collection of samples of the learners’
speech or writing over a period o time, sometimes years.
1.
A
case study of an adult learner
Wes
was a thirty-three year-old artist, a native speaker of Japanese. He had a
little formal instruction in English, having left school at fifteen. While he
remained in Japan, his contacts with native speaker were few and far between.
It was only when he began to visit Hawaii, in connection with his work, that he
had regular opportunities to use English. Wes, then, is an example of a
“naturalistic learner”----- someone who learns the language at the same time,
learning to communicate it.
Richard
Schmidt, a researcher at the University of Hawaii, studied Wes’s language
development over three year period from the time he first started visiting
Hawaii, until he eventually took up residence there. He asked Wes to record his
English when he went back to Tokyo from his trip. He then made written
transcriptions of these monologues; in addition, Schmidt made recordings and
transcriptions of informal conversations between Wes and his friends in Hawaii.
After
running through some files of Wes’s comprehension in his knowledge of English,
and its developments after three years, he then put focus on a small number of
grammatical features, such as the use of auxiliary be, plural –s (spoons),
third person –s (comes), and regular pat tense (jumped). He observed how Wes
used these features in his speech during the near start of his study until the
near end.
Strong
evidence would be if Schmidt could show that Wes had learned to use grammatical
features with the same level of accuracy as native speakers of English. In
fact, Wes could already use some of the features with native-like accuracy at
the beginning of his study. However, Wes did not succeed in using progressive
verbs –ing, the way a native speaker
should acquire. Moreover, Wes had little or no knowledge at all in grammatical structures
as Schmidt investigated at the beginning of his study. For instance, Wes would
still omit –s in the plural nouns,
rarely put –s on third person
singular of verbs, and never used the regular past tense.
Now,
it would be wrong to say that Wes is a complete failure as a language learner,
although he did not learn that much in grammar, he did develop in other ways,
he used formulas—fixed expressions such as ‘Hi! How’s it?’, ‘So, what’s new?’,
‘I don’t know why.’ Schmidt noted that Wes was adept at identifying these fixed
phrases and has practiced them consciously. These helped him develop fluency in
speaking English and have made him successful communicator. He became quite a
skilled conversationalist and very effective in negotiating complex business
deals. He was also highly skilled in repairing communication breakdown.
2.
A
case study of a child learner
Whereas
Schmidt studied an adult learner in naturalistic surroundings, Rod Ellis
investigated two child learners in a classroom context. Both were almost
complete beginners in English at the beginning of the study. J was a
ten-year-old Portuguese boy, literate in his native language. He was an
adventurous and confident learner, willing to struggle to communicate in
English, even when he had very limited resources. R was an eleven-year-old boy
from Pakistan, speaking, but unable to write, Punjabi language as his native
language. Initially, he lacked confidence, using his native language
extensively and relying on his elder sister to help him communicate in English.
Gradually, however, he became more confident and independent.
Both
learners were learning English in a language unit in London. The unit catered
exclusively for L2 Learners who had recently arrived in Britain. The goal was
to prepare students for transfer to local secondary schools. J spent almost
four school terms in the unit or about twelve months. R spent two whole school
years in the unit, and in fact, was still there when the study ended. The
instructions the two learners received was very mixed. It involved both formal
language instructions and more informal instructions. Initially, at least, the
two learners had little exposure to the target language outside the classroom.
Rod’s
focus of study was requests; he wanted to find out how the two learners
acquired the ability to perform requests for services and goods over the period
of study. Requests can be performed in a variety of ways in English, for
example:
Give me your pencil.
Can I have your pencil?
Would you mind giving me your pencil?
They
can be relatively simple, s in the above examples, or they can be quite
complex, as when the speaker offer reason the request:
My pencil is broken. Would you mind
giving me yours?
Because
English was a medium of communication in these learners’ classroom, there were
opportunities for them to hear and perform requests. After analyzing J and R’s
request, Rod had found clear evidence of development taking place. Moreover,
the two learners appeared to develop in much the same way. Initially, their
requests were verbless. For example, when J needs to cut out a big circle, he
says, “Big circle.” while R just points to a piece of card to let the teacher
know that he wanted him to put staple in it. Sooner, both learners began to use
imperative verbs in their requests: Give me. Give me a paper. The next stage of
development was marked by a general extension of the linguistic devices they
used. Finally, the learners began to use ‘can’ with the range of different
verbs.
By
the end of the study, therefore, the two learners’ ability to use requests had
grown considerably. However, it was equally clear that this ability was limited
in a number of respects.
D. Methodological Issues in Second
Language Acquisition
One
issue has to do with what it is that needs to be described. Schmidt was
concerned broadly with how Wes developed the ability to communicate in an L2,
examining his grammatical development, his ability to use English in
situationally appropriate ways, and how he learned to hold successful
conversations. Rods goal was narrower; he was concerned with how J and R
acquired the ability to perform a single language function (requests). In this
respect, his study is more typical of SLA. Language is such a complex
phenomenon that researchers have generally preferred to focus on some specific
aspect rather than on the whole of it.
Another
issue concerns what it means to say that a learner has other researchers,
defines ‘acquisition’ in terms of whether the learner manifests patterns of
language use that are more or less the same as native speakers target language.
It might be argued, however, that this conflates what learners know with what
they can do. For instance, Wes always be said to know how to make plurals even
though he does not always add an –s
to a plural noun.
A
third problem in trying to measure whether ‘acquisition’ has taken place
concerns learners’ overuse of linguistic forms. Schmidt showed that Wes knew
when to use the present progressive correctly but he also showed that Wes used
this form in contexts that did not require it. In other words, Wes used the
form of the present progressive with the wrong function. SLA researchers
recognized the need to investigate how the relationship between form and
functions in learners’ output compares with that of a native speaker.
E. Issues in Description of Learner
Language
Both
of these studies set out how to describe how learners’ use of an L2 changes
over time and what this shows about the nature of their knowledge of the L2.
One
finding is that learners make errors of different kinds. Wes failed to use some
grammatical features at all and used others incorrectly. These are errors of
omission and overuse. J and R also made grammatical errors in their requests.
In addition, they made sociolinguistic errors. That is, they failed to use
requests in a socially appropriate manner.
One
of the most interesting issues raised by these case studies is whether learners
acquire the language systematically. Schmidt found the order of accuracy of the
different grammatical feature that he investigated was the same at the
beginning of his study as at the end. Thus, at both times, features like
progressive –ing and auxiliary be were used accurately while features
like past regular and possessive –s
rately. I found evidence to suggest that both J and R followed the same
sequence of development in their acquisition of requests.
F. Issues in the Explanation of Second
Language Acquisition
We can begin with the hypothesis that L2
acquisition involves different kinds of learning. On the one hand, learners
internalize chunks of language structure (i.e. formulas). On the other hand,
they acquire rules (i.e. the knowledge that a given linguistic feature is used
in a particular context with a particular function). In other words, learners
must engage in both item learning and system learning. When learners learn the
expression ‘Can I have a _________?’ they are engaging in item
learning-----they learn the expression as an unanalyzed whole. When they learn
that ‘can’ is followed by a variety of verbs and that it can express a variety
of functions they are engaging in system learning----they are learning some
kind of rule for ‘can’. Learners engage in both types of learning. An
explanation of L2 acquisitions must be account for both item and system
learning and how the two interrelate.
The
systematic nature of L2 also requires explanation. There are a number of
possible explanations. One is that, learners follow a particular developmental
pattern because their mental faculties are structured in such a way that this
is the way they have to learn. These faculties, it is argued, regulate what
learners take from the input and how they store the information in their
memories. However, as we will see later, this mentalist account of how L2
acquisition takes place is not the only possible one.
G. Error and Error Analysis
There are good reasons for focusing
on errors. First, they are
a conspicuous feature of learner language, raising the important question of
‘why do learners make errors?’ Second,
it is useful for teachers to know what errors learners make. Third, paradoxically, it is possible
that making errors may actually help learners to learn when they
self-correct the errors they make. Under the Error and Error Analysis are the
Error Description, Error Explanation, and Error Evaluation. These are the steps
on how to analyze a learners’ error.
a. Identifying errors
The first step
in analyzing learner errors is to identify them. We need to distinguish errors
and mistakes. Errors reflect
gaps in a learner’s knowledge; they occur because the learner does not know
what is correct. Mistakes reflect
occasional lapses in performance; they occur because, in a particular instance,
the learner is unable to perform what he or she knows.
To identifying error, the researchers need to compare the sentences learners
produce with what seem to be normal or correct sentences in the target
language. In identifying errors, we need to distinguish errors and mistakes
that the learners have in their language (sentences). It is identified as
errors when learners have no knowledge about what is correct, and it is mistake
or an accidental slip when learners have knowledge about what is correct. We
know it by looking at learners’ consistently in their performance. For
instance, when learners are trying to express their feeling or thought in past
tense. If they use verb in past form in one part and not in others, it is
categorized as a mistake, but when they consistently use present form, it is
categorized as errors.
b. Describing errors (Error Description)
Once all the
errors have been identified, they can be described and classified into types.
There are several ways of doing this. One way is to classify errors into
grammatical categories. Another way might be to try to identify general ways in
which the learners’ utterances differ from the reconstructed target-language
utterances. Such ways include omission, misinformation, and misordering. Errors
can be classified according to grammar categories such as errors in verbs,
errors in nouns, pronouns, etc. errors also can be identified by looking at the
learners utterances.
c. Explaining errors (Error Explanation)
The identification and description
of errors are preliminaries to the much more interesting task of trying to
explain why they occur. Errors are, to a large extent, systematic and, to a
certain extent, predictable. Errors are not only systematic; many of them are
also universal. Of course, not all errors are universal. Some errors are common
only to learners who share the same mother tongue or whose mother tongues
manifest the same linguistic property. In explaining error, we need to know why
learners make error. Errors can have different sources of sentence.
d. Error evaluation
Where the purpose of the error
analysis is to help learners learn an L2, there is a need to evaluate errors.
Some errors, known as global
errors, violate the overall structure of a sentence and for this reason
may make it difficult to process. Other errors, known as local errors, affect
only a single constituent in the sentence and are, perhaps, less likely to
create any processing problems. Some errors known
as global errors violate the overall structure and others known as local
errors, affect only a single constituent in sentences (for example, the verb)
and are, perhaps, less likely to create any processing problem.
K.
Developmental Patterns
There
are the regularities of L2 acquisition. Acquisition follows a definite order.
The order of acquisition describes the process of how language features acquire
and how accurately these features are used by learners. The researchers of SLA
found evident that learners regularly master some grammatical features before others.
Most of the learners they have studied perform progressive –ing, auxiliary be,
and plural –s most accurately, suggesting that they acquired these
features first. Articles and irregular past come next. The most difficult
structures are regular past and third person –s.The grammatical features
also manifest clear development sequences, involving stages that reflect unique
’rules’ not evident in the input to which learners are exposed. Learners seem
to be actively involved in shaping how they acquire an L2. For instance: when
they learn verb. First they learn present verb such as eat, then they learn
regular verb in past and past perfect, they will change eat into past verb
“eated” (overgeneralization). They will produce correct “ate” after they learn
irregular past.
1.
Early Stages of Second
Language Acquisition
We can find out how a language is
learned as a natural, untutored process by investigating what learners do when
exposed to the L2 in communicative settings. When learners do begin to speak in
the L2 their speech is likely to manifest two particular characteristics. One
is the kind of formulaic chunks which we saw in the case studies. The second
characteristic of early L2 speech is propositional simplification.
Second-language acquisition can be divided up into five stages:
Preproduction-The first stage is preproduction, also known as the silent
period. Learners at this stage have a receptive vocabulary of up to 500 words,
but they do not yet speak their second language. Not all learners go through a
silent period. Some learners start speaking straight away, although their
output may consist of imitation rather than creative language use. Others may
be required to speak from the start as part of a language course. For learners
that do go through a silent period, it may last around three to six months.
Early production-The second stage of acquisition is early production, during
which learners are able to speak in short phrases of one or two words. They can
also memorize chunks of language, although they may make mistakes when using
them. Learners typically have both an active and receptive vocabulary of around
1000 words. This stage normally lasts for around six months. Speech
emergence-The third stage is speech emergence. Learners' vocabularies
increase to around 3000 words during this stage, and they can communicate using
simple questions and phrases. They may often make grammatical errors. The stage
after speech emergence is intermediate fluency. At this stage, learners have a
vocabulary of around 6000 words, and can use more complicated sentence
structures. They are also able to share their thoughts and opinions. Learners
may make frequent errors with more complicated sentence structures. The final
stage is advanced fluency, which is typically reached somewhere between five
and ten years of learning the language. Learners at this stage can function at
a level close to native speakers.
Intermediate fluency and Advanced
fluency
2.
Order of Acquisition
To
investigate the order of acquisition, researchers choose a number of
grammatical structures to study (for example, progressive –ing,
auxiliary be, and plural –s). They then collect samples
of learner language and identify how accurately each feature is used by
different learners. This enables them to arrive at accuracy orders. That is,
they rank the feature according to how accurately each feature is used by the
learners. Some researchers then argue that the accuracy order must be the same
as the order of acquisition on the grounds that the more accurately learners
are able to use particular feature the more likely they are to have acquired
that feature early. Researchers have shown that there is a definite accuracy
order and that this remains more or less the same irrespective of the learner’s
mother tongues, their age, and whether or not they have received formal
language instructions.
3.
Sequence of Acquisition
1. Plural -s(Girls go.)
2. Progressive -ing (Girls going. )
3.
Copula forms of be (Girls are here.)
4.
Auxiliary forms of be (Girls are going.)
5.
Definite and indefinite articles the and a (The girls go.)
6.
Irregular past tense (The girls went.)
7.
Third person -s (The girl goes.)
8.
Possessive’s (The girl's book.)
When learners acquire a grammatical
structure they do so gradually, moving through a series of stages en
route to acquiring the native-speaker rule. The acquisition of a
particular grammatical structure, therefore, must be seen as a process involving transitional constructions, illustrated in Figure 1.1.
|
Stage
|
Description
|
Example
|
|
1
|
Learners fail to mark the verb for
past time.
|
Eat
|
|
2
|
Learner begins to produce
irregular past tense forms.
|
Ate
|
|
3
|
Learners over generalize the
regular past tense form.
|
Eated
|
|
4
|
Sometimes learner produces hybrid
forms.
|
Ated
|
|
5
|
Learners produce correct regular
past tense form.
|
Ate
|
L. Variability in Learner Language
Learner language is
systematic. We may be able to explain, and even to predict when learners
use one form and when another. Learners vary in the use of L2 according to: Linguistic
context, situational context, and psycholinguistic context: whether learners
have opportunity to plan their production. That is, at particular stage of
development, learners consistently use the same grammatical form, although this
is often different from that employed by native speakers. We have also seen
that learner language is variable. At any given stage of development, learners
sometimes employ one form and sometimes another. Thus, one type of error may
alternate with another type:
Yesterday
the thief steal the suitcase.
Yesterday the thief stealing the suitcase.
Or the error may alternate with the correct
target-language form:
Yesterday the thief steal the suitcase.
Yesterday the thief stole the suitcase.
These observations do not
invalidate the claim that the learner language is systematic since it is
possible that variability is also systematic. That is, we may be able to
explain, and even predict, when learners use one form and when another.
Chapter III
Conclusion
Through the study of second language
acquisition, we are knowledgeable of the type of process that we are undergoing
whenever we learn another language not our own. For example, when I was still
in my elementary years, I am not used in speaking English. I then tried to
observe several speakers who speak English fluently. Then, I got interested in
the language. So, whenever I am at school, I tend to listen more to our English
and science subject, because both subjects take English as its medium of
instruction. Then, I practiced it through communicating with my co-students and
try writing essays using the same language. Though I took up this learning
process on my own, I found several ways to enhance it, just like; I joined
several English competitions in school. I also learned to love the English
dictionaries, and prefer movies with English subtitles. From this moment, I am
still under the process of enhancing my English grammar and pronunciation, so
that, I can tell that I have successfully reached a goal.
Now, as a sort
of conclusion regarding this topic, Second Language Acquisition is a process
wherein we learn another language, although it is L2 acquisition, you can still
learn third or fourth language and it still takes the same complex process. All
person who go to school, interacts with foreign people or even the call center
agents, are a good example of learners of Second Language Acquisition.
References
·
Tya Zakaria’s Second Language
Acquisition, [homepage on the internet]. [cited 2013 October 4]. Available
from:
·
Imelda Mallipa’s Languages,
[homepage on the internet]. [cited 2012 February 16]. Available from:
·
Ellis, R. 1985. Understanding Second Language Acquisition.
Oxford University Press.
Fabisz N. Analysis of
krashen's theory of second language acquisition, [homepage on the Internet].
[cited 2009 Oct 27]. Available from: http://www.geocities.com/pan_andrew/sla.html
·
Krashen, S.D. 1981. Second Language Acquisition and Second
Language Learning. Pergamon. Available from:
·
Romeo K. Krashen and Terrell's “Natural Approach”, [homepage on
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