Merrill Swain

Bio: Merrill Swain is an academic researcher from University of Toronto. The author has contributed to research in topics: French immersion & Language assessment. The author has an hindex of 63, co-authored 147 publications receiving 28814 citations. Previous affiliations of Merrill Swain include University of Leeds & Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Problems in Output and the Cognitive Processes They Generate: A Step Towards Second Language Learning

Abstract: L'A. veut montrer que, dans la production de la L2, le fait de prendre conscience d'un probleme linguistique peut amener les apprenants a modifier leur production. Ce faisant, ils sont obliges d'utiliser un mode de traitement plus syntaxique, qui apparait dans la comprehension. Ce qu'il advient entre la production originale et la production finale modifiee par la prise en compte du probleme, fait partie du processus d'acquisition d'une L2

Interaction and Second Language Learning: Two Adolescent French Immersion Students Working Together

Abstract: This article provides support for a theoretical orientation toward viewing dialogue as both a means of communication and a cognitive tool. Data to support this position come from an analysis of the language-related episodes isolated in the dialogue of two grade 8 French immersion students as they carry out a jigsaw task. During the task, the students work out a story line and write it out. As they do so, they encounter linguistic problems. To solve them, the students use their first language (L1) and second language (L2) in order to communicate to each other and as tools to aid their L2 learning. The language-related episodes discussed provide evidence of language use as both an enactment of mental processes and as an occasion for L2 learning. Variation in how other pairs of students in the class perform the task supports existing evidence that the same task does not provide similar occasions for L2 learning to all student dyads.

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract: This text explores the relationship between second language teaching practice and what is known about the process of second language acquisition and summarizes the current state of second language acquisition theory.-- Draws general conclusions about the application of theory to methods and materials and describes the characteristics that effective materials should include.-- Concludes that language acquisition occurs best when language is used for the purpose for which it was designed: communication.

Principles of language learning and teaching

Abstract: Preface to the Fifth Edition Chapter 1 Language, Learning, and Teaching Questions about Second Language Acquisition Learner Characteristics Linguistic Factors Learning Processes Age and Acquisition Instructional Variables Context Purpose Rejoicing in Our Defeats Language Learning and Teaching Schools of Thought in Second Language Acquisition Structural Linguistics and Behavioral Psychology Generative Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology Constructivism: A Multidisciplinary Approach Nineteen Centuries of Language Teaching Language Teaching in the Twentieth Century Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry Guidelines for Entry 1 PART I. AGE FACTORS Chapter 2 First Language Acquisition Theories of First Language Acquisition Behavioral Approaches Challenges to Behavioral Approaches The Nativist Approach Challenges to Nativist Approach Functional Approaches Issues in First Language Acquisition Competence and Performance Comprehension and Production Nature or Nurture? Universals Systematicity and Variability Language and Thought Imitation Practice and Frequency Input Discourse First Language Acquisition Insights Applied to Language Teaching Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry 2 Chapter 3 Age and Acquisition Dispelling Myths Types of Comparison and Contrast The Critical Period Hypothesis Neurobiological Considerations Hemispheric Lateralization Biological Timetables Right-Hemispheric Participation Anthropological Evidence The Significance of Accent Cognitive Considerations Affective Considerations Linguistics Considerations Bilingualism Interference Between First and Second Languages Order of Acquisition Issues in First Language Acquisition Revisited Competence and Performance Comprehension and Production Nature or Nurture? Universals Systematicity and Variability Language and Thought Imitation Practice and Frequency Input Discourse Some "Age-and-Acquisition-Inspired" Language Teaching Methods Total Physical Response The Natural Approach, 79 Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry 3 PART II. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Chapter 4 Human Learning Learning and Training Pavlov's Classical Behaviorism Skinner's Operant Conditioning Ausubel's Subsumption Theory Rote vs. Meaningful Learning Systematic Forgetting Rogers's Humanistic Psychology Types of Learning Transfer, Interference, and Overgeneralization Inductive and Deductive Reasoning Language Aptitude Intelligence and Language Learning Learning Theories in Action: Two Language Teaching Methods in Contrast The Audiolingual Method Community Language Learning Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry 4 Chapter 5 Styles and Strategies Process, Style, and Strategy Learning Styles Field Independence Left- and Right-Brain Dominance Ambiguity Tolerance Reflectivity and Impulsivity Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic Styles Autonomy, Awareness and Action Strategies Learning Strategies Communication Strategies Avoidance Strategies Compensatory Strategies Strategies-Based Instruction Identifying Learners' Styles and Strategies Incorporating SBI into the Language Classroom Stimulating Strategic Action Beyond the Classroom Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry 5 Chapter 6 Personality Factors The Affective Domain Affective Factors in Second Language Acquisition Self-Esteem Attribution Theory and Self-Efficacy Willingness to Communicate Inhibition Risk-Taking Anxiety Empathy Extroversion Motivation Theories of Motivation Instrumental and Integrative Orientations Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation The Neurobiology of Affect Personality Types and Language Acquisition Measuring Affective Factors Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry PART III. SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS Chapter 7 Sociocultural Factors Culture Definitions and Theories Stereotypes or Generalizations? Attitudes Second Culture Acquisition Social Distance Teaching Intercultural Competance Language Policy and Politics World Englishes ESL and EFL Linguistic Imperialism and Language Rights Language Policy and the "English Only" Debate Language, Thought, and Culture Framing Our Conceptual Universe The Whorfian Hypothesis Culture in the Language Classroom Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry 7 Chapter 8 Communicative Competence Defining Communicative Competence Language Functions Halliday's Seven Functions of Language Functional Approaches to Language Teaching Discourse Analysis Conversation Analysis Corpus Linguistics Contrastive Rhetoric Pragmatics Sociopragmatics and Pragmalinguistics Language and Gender Discourse Styles Nonverbal Communication Kinesics Eye Contact Proxemics Artifacts Kinesthetics Olfactory Dimensions CC in the Classroom: CLT and Task-Based Teaching Communicative Language Teaching Task-Based Instruction Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry 8 PART IV. LINGUISTIC FACTORS Chapter 9 Cross-Linguistic Influential and Learner Language The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis From the CAH to CLI Markedness and Universal Grammar Learner Language Error Analysis Mistakes and Errors Errors in Error Analysis Identifying and Describing Errors Sources of Error Interlingual Transfer Intralingual Transfer Context of Learning Communication Strategies Stages of Learner Language Development Variation in Learner Language Fossilization or Stabilization? Errors in the Classroom: A Brief History Form-Focused Instruction Categories of Error Treatment Effectiveness of FFI Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry 9 Chapter 10 Toward a Theory of Second Language Acquisition Building a Theory of SLA Domains and Generalizations Hypotheses and Claims Criteria for a Viable Theory Hot Topics in SLA Research Explicit and Implicit Learning Awareness Input and Output Frequency An Innatist Model: Krashen's Input Hypothesis Five Hypotheses Evaluations of the Five Hypotheses The Output Hypothesis Cognitive Models McLaughlin's Attention-Processing Model Implicit and Explicit Models A Social Constructivist Model: Long's Interactive Hypothesis Out on a Limb: A Light-Hearted "Horticultural" Theory of SLA From Theory to Practice A Reciprocal Relationship, Not a Dichotomy Suggestions for Theory Building The Believing Game and the Doubting Game The Art and Science of SLA The Role of Intuition Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion Suggested Readings Language Learning Experience: Final Journal Entry Bibliography Glossary Index

Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning

Abstract: All Rights Reserved. This publication may be downloaded and copied without charge for all reasonable, non-commercial educational purposes, provided no alterations in the text are made. I have had a great deal of help and feedback from many people in writing this book. Among the many scholars and friends I am indebted to are also would like to express my thanks to those scholars whose work has stimulated my own thinking in the early stages of the research reported on here: John Upshur, Leonard Newmark, and S. Pit Corder all recognized the reality of language "acquisition" in the adult long before I did. I would also like the thank Introduction This book is concerned with what has been called the "Monitor Theory" of adult second language acquisition. Monitor Theory hypothesizes that adults have two independent systems for developing ability in second languages, subconscious language acquisition and conscious language learning, and that these systems are interrelated in a definite way: subconscious acquisition appears to be far more important. The introduction is devoted to a brief statement of the theory and its implications for different aspects of second language acquisitions theory and practice. We define acquisition and learning, and present the Monitor Model for adult second language performance. Following this, brief summaries of research results in various areas of second language acquisition serve as both an overview of Monitor Theory research over the last few years and as introduction to the essays that follow. Language acquisition is very similar to the process children use in acquiring first and second languages. It 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. Error correction and explicit teaching of rules are not relevant to language acquisition but caretakers and native speakers can modify their utterances addressed to acquirers to help them understand, and these modifications are thought to help the acquisition process (Snow and Ferguson, 1977). It has been hypothesized that there is a fairly stable order of acquisition of structures in language acquisition, that is, one can see clear 1 similarities across acquirers as to which structures tend to be acquired early and which tend to be acquired late (Brown, 1973; Dulay and Burt, 1975). Acquirers need not have a conscious awareness of the "rules" they possess, and may self-correct only on the basis of …

Language, Power And Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire

Abstract: Part 1 Theory as dialogue: issues and contexts language interaction in the classroom - from coercive to collaborative relations of power. Part 2 The nature of language proficiency: language proficiency in academic contexts critiques of the conversational/academic language proficiency distinction assessing second language proficiency among adults dilemmas of inclusion. Part 3 From bilingual education to transformative pedagogy: the threshold and interdependence hypotheses revisited research, theory and policy in bilingual education - evaluating the credibility of empirical data challenging the discourse of disempowerment through critical dialogue transformative pedagogy.