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APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE IN THE CLASSROOM CONTEXT
Students:
Silvina Paula Mascitti,
Lizza Belle Mendieta Bendaña,
Juan Rafael Miranda Echavarría.
Logins:
ARFPMTFL1328828 - HNFPMTFL1037564 - COFPMTFL1409677
Group: fp_tefl_2013-06
Date: October 5th, 2014.
Dr. Majid MaSafadaran Mosazadeh-Kohan
FPMTFL - Master in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
ALCC- Assignment
INDEX
Introduction......................................................................................................... page 3
Data Analysis - Task 1...……………………….………………………………….… page 4
Data Analysis - Task 2...….……………………………………..…...……………... page 8
Data Analysis - Task 3……………………………………………...……………… page 10
Conclusion .…………………………………………………………………….……. page 11
Bibliography...................................................................................................... page 12
Appendix 1 ..…………..…………………………………………………………… page 13
Appendix 2 ..…………..…………………………………………………………… page 14
Appendix 3 ..…………..…………………………………………………………… page 16
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ALCC- Assignment
Introduction
Acquir ing a second language is not an easy task. I t entai ls a process by
which the learner bui lds up a conscious and/or unconscious correlat ive
analysis via tr ial and error, a process tr iggered by constant exposure to
the target language, and meaningful interact ion in i t . The learner,
through the mentioned procedure, wi l l develop a series of thesis about
the new language which in turn wil l help give i t shape. Thus, as a result
of this procedure, s/he wil l begin to create a unique interpretat ion of the
new language. The name of this pract ice is Interlanguage (Selinker,
1972).
Interlanguage is al legorical ly a step between the f irst language (L1) and
the Target Language, where L1 works as the bui lding blocks that
combined with TL end up in a new form. Unfortunately IL as expected
has i ts own vocabulary, phonetics and grammar rules, placing dif f icult ies
on the learner as well as the teacher, to reach the desired level of
prof iciency in the target language.
The role of the teacher is of paramount importance during the second
language acquisit ion process since his/her output wi l l serve as input and
subsequent intake within the classroom and i t is his/her responsibi l i ty to
lead learners to achieve competence in L2 and, at the same t ime, to
help them prevent fossi l isat ion and L1 interference (Funiber, n.d.p. 22)
By making use of some techniques, such as input enhancement, noticing
the gap, reformulat ion and reconstruct ion (Thornbury, 1997: 327), the
educator may be able to accompany the learners’ language acquisit ion
development in a more effect ive and helpful way.
The way we approach the language and the process of language
acquisit ion attempts to get information from the utterances of the L2
learners and how they form, structure, restructure and reorganize their
interlanguage as they test i t by confronting i t with real i ty and real use of
the language they are trying to learn.
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ALCC- Assignment
Theorists l ike Noam Chomsky and Lenneberg have proposed the
existence of a Language Acquisit ion Device and a Latent Language
Structure which al legedly exist before the process of learning a foreign
language, and this process act ivates them using the basis of a Universal
Grammar to take the shape of the part icular grammar of the L2.
(Funiber, n.d. p. 8)
In order to understand the causes for the errors students make, i t is
important to develop some Discourse analysis, by taking into account al l
the part icipants in the interact ion when possible, while also combining
the observation of how the language is incorporated to attempt to
produce more complex units of discourse. (Funiber, n.d. p. 61). Said
discourse analysis goes further than simply analysing the utterances.
Fragmented sentences may not provide enough evidence to make an
accurate analysis, but some conclusions can be made.
Subsequently an analysis of data col lected from learners‘ assignments
(provided in the appendices) can be encountered in the fol lowing pages
to pinpoint features of interlanguage in them.
Data Analysis
Task 1
1. Work out an IL general izat ion that might account for the forms in
boldface. Give your reasons for postulat ing this general izat ion.
Even though i t is dif f icult to f igure out the reasons why these students
made some mistakes since they do not share a common mother tongue,
i t may be stated that “al l learners of the same L2, irrespective of their
mother tongue, would produce the same kind of errors, thus
overgeneral izat ion has a universal character.” (Richards, 1974 in
Funiber, n.d., p. 17). General ly, language learners tend to employ two
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ALCC- Assignment
features of general isat ion that can be clearly depicted in the examples
above. One of them relates to the overuse of regular forms
(regularisat ion) and the other refers to simpli fying structures and
elements (simpli f icat ion). For instance, sentences 1 and 3 portray
overgeneral izat ion of gerund; sentences 2, 5 and 6 convey
regularisat ion whereas sentences 4, 7, 8 and 9 i l lustrate misuse of
lexical chunks through simpli f icat ion.
STUDENT CASES
Ove
rgen
eral
izat
ion
Sim
pli
fica
tion
Reg
ula
risa
tion
Mis
use
of
lexi
cal c
hu
nk
s
Pas
t T
ense
Ger
un
d
1
1. Soccer is the most common sporting.
2. America refused continual supported our military request.
3. When he was 7 years old, he went schooling.
4. About two hours driving eastern from Bangkok.
5. After finished my college studied, I went to my country.
6. Doctors have the right to removed it from him.
7. There is a night for asleep.
8. Moreover it may lead to conflicting.
9. I am not going to get married when I will graduation the school.
2. What strategy/strategies do you think these learners have come up with
regarding lexical use?
As for sentence 1, the student assumes that since most of the sports end in “ing” (for
example skiing, swimming, skating) therefore, the word “sport” must be accompanied
by same ending.
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ALCC- Assignment
Correction: Soccer is the most common sport.
Concerning sentence 2, the student believes “Continual” is the same as “Continued”,
and assumes “support” is a verb in this case, and uses the past form since it was
something that happened before.
Correction: “America refused continued support to our military request.” Or “America
refused to continue supporting our military request”
In sentence 3, the learner visualises the idea that all verbs with the combination “to go”
are immediately followed by a verb using “ing”. For example, go hiking, go camping,
go walking and applies rules.
Regarding sentence 4, the learner believes there is no need for a subject in this
sentence (simplification or reduction) Probably, it is not necessary in his/her L1 in this
case and misuses the verb as well, since it is accompanied by an adjective phrase.
Correction: It’s a two-hour drive east from Bangkok.
In this particular case, sentence 5, the learner tends to use a regular form of the verbs
“finish” and “study” instead of using the -ing form in “finished” and the noun “studies”,
implying that he/she has not acquired them yet. By doing so, he/she is undergoing the
process of regularisation, i.e. “the tendency to use regular forms where possible.”
(Funiber, n.d., p. 18). Moreover, simplification can be traced in this example, given the
fact that the learner may have omitted the subject “I” when stating “After I finished my
college….”
Correction: After finishing my college studies, I went to my country.or After I finished
my college studies, I went to my country.
In sentence 6, the learner uses the regular form of the verb “remove” instead of its
infinitive form. By doing so, he/she shows his/her lack of mastery and acquisition in
terms of infinitive forms.
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ALCC- Assignment
Correction: Doctors have the right to remove it from him.
As for sentence 7, the learner uses the adjective “asleep” instead of the -ing form of
the verb “sleep”, It is not clear what the learner meant to say, but it is evident that the
use of the adjective is not appropriate here. The learner may have meant that
Someone still has the night to sleep, or that the night is when people sleep.
Correction: There is a night for sleeping or There is a night to sleep.
It is important to point out that sentence 8 begins with an adverb that usually introduces
more information, so the rest of the context is lost. Finishing the idea with the word
“Conflicting” instead of “Conflict” may be the result of overgeneralization from seeing
the word “conflicting” in other contexts and seeing it as a noun formed through the use
of a gerund.
Correction: Moreover, it may lead to conflict.
In the case of sentence 9, there is a simplification of the use of time clauses. It is
probably the result of trying to use something that is at that point above the level of the
learner’s interlanguage, confusing “I will graduation” with the form “when I graduate”.
Correction: I am not going to get married when I graduate from school.
3. What additional information, if any, would you like to have from these learners
to test your hypothesis?
The description “Intermediate” falls short to really describe where they stand in the
development of L2 learning. It would be very interesting to know the current level of
these learners in the process of acquiring L2, so a larger look could be taken into their
interlanguage. It would also be important to know about the amount of comprehensible
input they get and the amount of exposure they receive in L2. This could also lead to
the conclusions of whether these errors are fossilized or not, if they are slips or
developmental errors. If they are slips, then they could simply be prompted for
correction, but if they are developmental errors, they could be addressed and practiced
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ALCC- Assignment
in different contexts to help the students gain familiarity with more complex and correct
forms of the language, i.e. with better and more frequent comprehensible input, there
will be a better intake of the language.
Another aspect that would be relevant to analyze is their ability in Speaking, since it
may show more evidence to understand their processes. The sources for this
information were their compositions, so having them speak in public and in small
groups would provide invaluable evidence to see if the reasons described really explain
the errors shown.
Task 2
1. What feature of English grammar is being tested in each of the test items?
All questions emphasize the use and conjugation of verbs. As for question 1, the use
of the Present Simple, particularly the conjugation for third person, is being tested.
Concerning questions 2 taking in consideration its irregular form and 4, the use of
Simple Past is being tested. Finally, the use of the Conditional Perfect is being tested in
question 3.
2. Who appears to be the most advanced learner and why?
Learner C appears to be the most advanced learner given the fact that he/she
manages to answer complete sentences. However, he/she has not acquired the
Conditional Perfect structure yet. Probably, he is going through a regression since
acquisition follows a U-shape course of development. (Funiber, n.d., p. 13 ) He/she
has acquired the irregular past tense of verbs and now he/she may be learning the past
participle and produces the irregular form of the verb “eat” instead of “eaten”. Once
he/she internalises the participle, he/she will be able to produce it correctly.
3. Who appears to be the least advanced learner and why?
Learner D appears to be the least advanced learner since he/she seems to have
internalised the infinitive of the verbs and the future tense “will”. It may be caused due
to the process of fossilization in interlanguage (Funiber, n.d.,p. 22), which takes place
because of internal factors (age, lack of desire to acculturate) or external factors
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ALCC- Assignment
(communicative pressure, lack of learning opportunity or nature of feedback on
learner’s use of L2). However, so as to make further conclusions, it would be
appropriate to analyse other pieces of the learner’s output, written and oral.
4. What generalization can be made about the order of acquisition for learning these
constructions? Please note that you will not be able to reproduce the matrix you have
for this question (in your study materials) in the VC. You could use point form here.
According to Ellis (1997), there are five stages in the order of acquisition. Firstly, the
learner is not able to produce the past tense form. Then, the learner begins to produce
the correct past tense form. After that, the learner overgeneralizes the regular past
tense form. Afterwards, he/she produces hybrid forms until he/she manages to produce
the correct past tense form. By going through this process, the learner restructures and
reorganises his/her interlanguage until he/she succeeds in acquiring the correct form of
the verbs in the past tense form. What is more, the Chaos Theory (Larsen-Freeman,
1997) gives account of the instability in complex systems in interlanguage development
until the learner manages to acquire the correct structures.
5. Tests of this type are designed primarily to elicit spontaneous utterances in a controlled
setting. What limitations are there in doing order of acquisition analysis based on data
of this sort?
Employing controlled settings to carry out some research on this field limits the scope
of the analysis and does not provide real information in terms of natural language
acquisition or really spontaneous interchanges since mostly, the teacher is in control of
the situation. Furthermore, sometimes topics are not chosen at random but they follow
syllabus requirements Moreover, these students share their mother tongue, Spanish,
which may be used in the classroom instead of L2, English, thus reducing interactions
and enhancing fossilisation of mistakes due to lack of negotiation of meaning.
Other constraints that may be faced when dealing with controlled settings refer to
limitations in terms of physical space, variety of resources, class time as well as focus
on product rather than process. On the contrary, it would be a better idea to compare
and contrast this analysis results with the ones deriving from uncontrolled settings. By
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ALCC- Assignment
doing so, the order of acquisition could be measured in real spontaneous situations
and contexts. However, some authors agree on the advantages of formal settings for
SLA. For instance, Krashen (1988), Ellis (1985) and Seliger (1983) believe that the
classroom is both a formal and a natural focus, “creating both a focus on the targeted
language forms, and a “social context” where language is used for communication.”
(Funiber, n.d.,p. 57)
Task 3
1. Describe this learner's knowledge of English negation.
The learner disregards the use of the auxiliary verb ¨do¨ in the sentence structure.
Therefore, it can be assumed that the student is simplifying the structure. Additionally
s/he is transferring negation from his/her L1, spanish, and the negation is expressed
with “No” which is encountered before the verb. This type of transfer is negative since
the negation rules (which is a basic, unmarked structure) in his/her L1 interfere with the
new structures he/she is trying to acquire in L2, thus producing an error. Another
aspect to take into consideration is the use of object pronouns in the place of the
subject, which is a direct transfer from spanish “A mí no me gusta…” like in sentences
3, 4 and 10.
2. At this same time, this non-native speaker produced many examples of "I don't know".
Does this alter your hypothesis about the pattern described in question 1? If so, how?
In this instance we cannot assume that the learner has rectified the building sentence
process and now is using “do”. What can be gathered is that perhaps the student has
learned the phrase as a lexical chunk. Also, he/she seems to be trying different
approaches to form negative sentences. This means the student is not familiar enough
with the correct form.
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ALCC- Assignment
Conclusion
After delving into Second Language Acquisition theories and analysing the tasks
above, it may be stated that the analysis of Interlanguage will yield evidence that may
be crucial when dealing with the learning process of a learner. It provides a clear
blueprint of current level, fossilized errors and even linguistic and cultural background
in L1. It also allows teachers to determine in which points he/she needs to reinforce a
process of noticing, and it also accounts for how students are restructuring the
language constantly given the fact that interlanguage is unstable and dynamic (Long,
1990).
Furthermore, by taking IL into account in his/her teaching practices, the teacher leads
students to pay attention to salient features of language that may become intake. Also
he/she will employ a wide range of consciousness-raising, resources to enhance
language acquisition, such as input enhancement, corrective feedback reformulation
and meaning-driven, reconstruction tasks to accompany learners in their language
acquisition. (Thornbury, 1997: 327)
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ALCC- Assignment
Bibliography
Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (1997). Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Krashen, S. (1988) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. H. Hempstead: Prentice Hall International.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1997) Chaos/complexity Science and Second Language Acquisition Research. London: Longman.
Lennon, A, De Prada, E. Hockly, N. (n.d.) Approaches to Language in the Classroom Context. Funiber
Long, M. (1990) Maturational Constraints in Language Development. Second Language Acquisition. 12: 251-186.
Richards, J.C. (1974). Error Analysis. Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition. Harlow: Essex, Longman.
Seliger, H. (1983) Learner Interaction in the Classroom and its Effects on Language Acquisition. In H. Seliger and M. Long (eds.) Classroom Oriented Research in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, Mass: Newbury House.
Selinker, L. (1972) Interlanguage , IRAL; International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 10:3 p..209
Thornbury, S. (1997) About Language. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
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ALCC- Assignment
APPENDIX 1 Task 1
Native Languages: Mixed.
Target Language: English.
Background Information: Intermediate level, students on an intensive course.
Data Source: student compositions.
DATA:
1. Soccer is the most common sporting.
2. America refused continual supported our military request.
3. When he was 7 years old, he went schooling.
4. About two hours driving eastern from Bangkok.
5. After finished my college studied, I went to my country.
6. Doctors have the right to removed it from him.
7. There is a night for asleep.
8. Moreover it may lead to conflicting.
9. I am not going to get married when I will graduation the school.
QUESTIONS:
1. Work out an IL generalization that might account for the forms in
boldface. Give your reasons for postulating this generalization.
2. What strategy/strategies do you think these learners have come up with
regarding lexical use?
3. What additional information, if any, would you like to have from these
learners to test your hypothesis?
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ALCC- Assignment
APPENDIX 2
Task 2
Native Language: Spanish.
Target Language: English.
Background Information: Pre-adolescents, born in Mexico, living in United
States.
Data Source: Responses to a picture story from a standard proficiency test.
DATA:
Below are the "correct" responses to standardised test items.
1. He wants to eat some food.
2. The dog ate the food.
3. The king would have eaten it.
4. It fell.
Below are the responses to these test items by five ESL learners (A-E).
A.
1. he wants to eat
2. the dog ate it
3. the king would eat it
4. it fell
B.
1. he want the food
2. the dog ate ...
3. the king eat ...
4. they fall
C.
1. he wants to get some food
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ALCC- Assignment
2. the dog ate it
3. the king would have ate it
4. it fell
D.
1. he want...
2. the dog eat...
3. the king will eat...
4. it fall
E.
1. he wanna eat...
2. the dog eat-ate it
3. he would eat it
4. it fall
QUESTIONS:
1. What feature of English grammar is being tested in each of the test items?
2. Who appears to be the most advanced learner and why?
3. Who appears to be the least advanced learner and why?
4. What generalization can be made about the order of acquisition for
learning these constructions? Please note that you will not be able to
reproduce the matrix you have for this question (in your study materials)
in the VC. You could use point form here.
5. Tests of this type are designed primarily to elicit spontaneous utterances
in a controlled setting. What limitations are there in doing order of
acquisition analysis based on data of this sort?
APPENDIX 3
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ALCC- Assignment
Task 3
Native Language: Mexican Spanish.
Target Language: English.
Background Information: Adult male.
Data Source: Tape-recorded spontaneous speech.
DATA:
Following are examples of this subject's use of negatives:
1. No write.
2. No like it.
3. I me no speaka too much Englee, eh?
4. Me no like stay in the house.
5. No es correct.
6. I no like tortilla.
7. You no go Calexico?
8. My brother no go to school.
9. No, ya no work.
10. Me no comin.
11. No in town.
12. No cheese.
13. No now.
14. No American.
15. The operation ya no good.
16. No money.
17. Maybe no good for me.
QUESTIONS:
1. Describe this learner's knowledge of English negation.
2. At this same time, this non-native speaker produced many examples of "I
don't know". Does this alter your hypothesis about the pattern described
in question 1? If so, how?
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