Showing papers on "Second-language attrition published in 1975"

Motivation and Second-Language Acquisition.

Abstract: This paper posits four stages of language acquisition, identified as ele- mental, consolidation, conscious expression, and automaticity and thought, and considers the role of motivation in this process. It distinguishes between two types of motivation, language learning motivation and classroom motivation, indicating how these relate to two distinct contexts, the cultural and the educational through their influence on integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation. It discusses how the two types of motivation are differentially involved in the four stages, and empirical support for this perspective is presented in the form of path analyses of two samples of students from Catalonia.

Affective factors and the problem of age in second language acquisition

Abstract: This paper reviews several bodies of literature concerned with the relationship of affective factors such as language shock, culture shock, attitude, motivation and ego permeability to second language acquisition. These issues are then related to the problem of age in second language learning. It is suggested that affective variables may play a more important role than does biological maturation in problems associated with adult second language acquisition.

Error Analysis in the Adult EFL Classroom.

Abstract: Burt, Marina K. Error Analysis in the Adult EFL Classroom. Jun 74 22p. MF-$0.75 Uc -$1.50 PLUS POSTAGE *Adult Students; *English (Second Language); *Error Patterns; Grammar; Language Instruction; Linguistics; Second Language Learning; Syntax; Teaching Techniques In recent years, there has been a growing research interest in the analysis of errors adults make while learning a second language. The underlying objective of most of these analyses has been to reveal the systematicity of adult errors in an effort to understand the process of adult second language learning. This paper deals with errors from a different point of view, namely, from the listener or reader's point of view. The question asked is, which types of errors cause the listener or reader to misunderstand the message intended by the EFL learner? Based on the judgments of native English speakers about the comprehensibility of hundreds of sentences containing errors of EFL learners all over the world, linguistic criteria for determining the communicative importance of learners' errors are suggested. Areas of English syntax that cause important communicative errors usually neglected in most EFL training materials are discussed. The paper concludes with the application of this particular error analysis approach to the EFL classroom. (Author) ;1\0ERROR ANALYSIS IN THE ADULT EFL CLASSROOM Marina K. Burt State University of New York at Albany ABSTRACT t: CA. ..it 1 UF Efl.:4*ICN S .SELF %41044, S51,TUTEt: CA. ..it 1 UF Efl.:4*ICN S .SELF %41044, S51,TUTE In recent years, there has been a growing research interest in the analysis of errors adults make while learning a second language. The underlying objective of most of these analyses has been to reveal the systematicity of adult errors in an effort to understand the process of adult second language

The importance of input data in second language acquisition studies

Abstract: In investigating second language acquisition, most writers have concentrated on the speech production of their subjects, most frequently on the order of acquisition of a set of morphemes. Such studies are useful in descriptive terms especially if they consider acquisition of both form and function, but they leave us with many unanswered questions regarding the acquisition process. The following paper discusses the relationship between speech directed to the learner and his speech production, one of several areas which require further investigation.

The Essential Contributions of Formal Instruction in Adult Second Language Learning

Abstract: One way of investigating what happens to the language learning capacity at puberty is to examine what the essential contributions of formal instruction are: since formal instruction is so useful for the adult and non-essential for the child language learner, it is probably the case that the main contributions formal instruction makes are in just those areas where the "LAD" is affected at puberty. A feature-type comparison of language teaching methods known to be successful in helping adults learn language reveals that the universal and presumably crucial ingredients of formal instruction are (1) the isolation of rules and lexical items of the target language, and (2) the possibility of error detection or correction. This hypothesis predicts that any new system that produces significant increases in second language proficiency for adults will contain these two features. It also predicts that adults who seem to be able to learn second languages in informal linguistic environments have some means of approaching rules and lexical items one at a time and are getting feedback. The analysis also points out direction for determining which values of non-universal features might be most useful for adult language learning instruction.

Language Acquisition in the Bilingual Child.

Abstract: The study of language acquisition in children has become increasingly important in recent years. From the normative studies of the 1930s (McCarthy, 1954), we have age related milestones for the language development of children. From the more recent psycholinguistic research based on transforma tional grammar (Brown and Bellugi, 1964; Chomsky, 1957; 1965; Meny?k, 1969) we know further that a child's language is not acquired through a simple associational learning process but rather with the grasp of a complex set of rules underlying the structure of language. The psycholinguistic research is beginning to demonstrate that there are definite relationships between linguistic and cognitive universals (Slobin, 1971). That is, when describing child language, researchers suggest thet there are relationships between psychological and linguistic processes that occur from the inception of an idea to its actual phonological manifestation and from the time the child begins to utter his first word until he becomes an adult user of the language. The best indication of these universals is that children all over the world learn language according to a set of underlying principles that appear to be the same. There appears to be a series of processes that all children progress through in acquiring language. The first stage in language acquisiton is that of one word speech. This stage occurs somewhere between 8 and 17 months. One word speech is described as holophrastic or "rich in meaning" (McNeill, 1966). That is, a single word may mean a complex set of ideas. Speech at this stage is also predicative in that the child generally lacks verbs. However, he seems to be saying something about the world. For instance, if the child says "milk," he may mean "I want milk," or "there is a glass of milk sitting on the table," or "give me a glass of milk." Along with this, at the one word stage, it is important to note that any description of a child's language at this point must be based upon how the observer interprets the situation and the utter ances. The child at this stage cannot use his speech to elaborate or to get his meaning across at all times. Thus as Bloom (1970) has pointed out, it is important to include the context of the utterance in an attempt to make the meaning of that utterance clearer. Brown (1973) described child language in terms of five stages through which a child progresses. He uses a range of the Mean Length of Utteran ce which increases with age to characterize each stage. Thus instead of dividing each stage up in terms of the number of words per stage, Mean Length of

Language and person studies in language behavior1

Abstract: Starting with an interest in basic psychological processes, whose complexity is matched only by the difficulty of their study, we developed what seemed to us to be more appropriate research strategies—the so-called transpositional research—and forged a link between the acquisition of native-like second language pronunciation ability and certain personality constructs, such as empathy. From there we pursued over the years a line of inquiry that studied the influence of language on person and person on language. While engaging in this basic research we were able to reap incidental pay-offs in the several instruments we produced: the STP, MME and the MIGIT.

Error Correction and the Training of Language Teachers1

Abstract: irrelevant in a psycholinguistic study of the second language learner (Corder, 1973), Zydatis (1974) stresses the appropriateness of the term "error" "in the actual teaching context, that is, as a pedagogic strategy towards reinforcing correct surface forms and inhibiting incorrect forms ." (p. 234). Clark (1975) points out that information about errors need not be regarded as punishment, but may be a form of information feedback to the learner, as well as to the teacher. Likewise, Allwright (1975) suggests that the learner really cannot learn in class without knowing when an error is made (either by him or by someone else). Allwright feels that the burden is on the teacher to be a source of information

Forgetting a second language1

Abstract: A previous study by this author investigated group patterns of foreign language retention among young children after being removed from a language contact situation for a period of time. The present study was undertaken to provide an in-depth look at three students in an effort to determine whether the last things learned are, in fact, the first things to be forgotten, and whether forgetting entails unlearning in reverse order from the original learning process. Three subjects were administered an Oral Language Achievement Measure individually on a test-retest basis at the beginning of June 1973, the 20th month of language contact, and again in September 1973, after the children had started second grade. Two subjects provided examples to support the notion that some of the things that are learned last are also the first to be forgotten when the learners are removed from second language contact for a period of time. The third subject provided an example of reversion to an earlier pattern in the use of the definite article, perhaps skipping stages in between. Some data suggest that forgetting may produce forms that were never tried out during the process of language acquisition prior to the respite. Other data suggest that a pause in the learning process may actually cause a reduction in certain problem areas. Although the findings from this study are merely suggestive, since they are based on insufficient data to make them definitive, this is considered a first step in the direction of investigating the ways in which young children forget a language in which they have been immersed.

Teaching a Large Russian Language Vocabulary by the Mnemonic Keyword Method. Psychology and Education Series, Technical Report No. 256.

Abstract: This study evaluates the effectiveness of a mnemonic procedure, called the keyword method, for teaching a large Russian language vocabulary to college students. The method divides the study of a vocabulary item into two stages. The first stage requires the student to associate the spoken Russian word with an English word (the keyword) that sounds like some part of the foreign word; the second stage requires the student to form a mental image of the keyword “interacting” with the English translation. Thus, the keyword method can be described as a chain of two links connecting a foreign word to its English translation through the mediation of a keyword: the foreign word is linked to a keyword by a similarity in sound (acoustic link), and the keyword is linked to the English translation by a mental image (imagery link). A computer controlled curriculum using the keyword method served as a supplement to the second-year Russian language course at Stanford University. Students studied a large basic vocabulary over an 8 to 10-week period. Data obtained during the study and student reports indicate that the keyword method was highly effective.

Language Medium in Early School Years for Minority Language Groups

Abstract: For the past fifty years, the proper treatment of children whose home language differs from the language of the school has been an educational, sociological, psychological, and in many respects a political issue. The debate centers around two straightforward questions: (a) Will a child learn to read more rapidly in his second language if he is first taught to read in his primary language? (b) Will the child achieve greater general knowledge of other subject matter areas in his second language if he is taught these subjects first in his native language? In some minds, the debate is settled. In a historical UNESCO conference, resulting in the monograph The Use of Vernacular Languages in Education (1953), the assembled experts estab-

Two Measures of Affective Factors as They Relate to Progress in Adult Second-Language Learning. Working Papers in Bilingualism, No. 10.

Abstract: Backman, Nancy .. Two Measures of Affective Factors as They Relate to Progress in Adult Second-Language Learning. Working Papers du Bilingualism, No..10. Ontario Inst. for Studies in Education Toronto. Bilingual Education Project. 75 24p.; For related documents, see FL 007 906-908 Bilingual Education Project, The Ontario Institute fcr Studies in Education, 252 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6 (as long as'Supply lasts)

The Critical Period for the Acquisition of Language: Some Cognitive Developmental Considerations. Working Papers on Bilingualism, No. 6.

Abstract: DOCUMENT RESUME

The Language Teacher and the Rules of Speaking

Abstract: Knowledge of a second language should include more than just grammatical competence. Communication can only be effective when the student is also sensitive to the social and cultural aspects of language use and how these differ between his first and second language. Expectations and interpretations are likely to differ on the role of silence, speaking volume and intonation, situations requiring set formulas, conventions of politeness, and how information is organized and shared. This knowledge, which is seldom explicitly verbalized, constitutes the "rules of speaking." It is important for the language teacher to become aware of these cultural differences in language use, to recognize which points are likely to prove difficult for a particular student, and to guide the student accordingly. The ways people use language to communicate can differ radically from society to society. A knowledge of some of these cultural differences in the use of language will enable the language teacher to help his students avoid many potential misunderstandings. The student is quite conscious of certain kinds of problems in learning a second language: new sounds, new vocabulary, and new grammatical patterns. But even if the student can pronounce his second language correctly and put words together in the proper order, he still has to use the language like a native. He must know when to talk and when to keep silent, how loud to talk and with what intonation, what constitutes a polite request and what a refusal, how to initiate a conversation and how to end one, when to interpret an utterance literally and when to take it as a formulaic convention, and so on. Knowledge of this sort constitutes what the sociolinguist calls "the rules of speaking." Our knowledge of the rules of speaking is only partly conscious even in our native language. We learned some of these rules explicitly as children when our parents told us to say "please" when we ask for something or not to interrupt when adults are speaking. But most of the rules of speaking