Theory of Teaching and Learning
1.Features of Human language, differences and similarities between animal and human talk
2. Nature/ Nurture
3. Stages in language development
4. Language acquisition device
5. Speech Perception
6. Speech production
7. Universal hypothesis
8. Theory of first language in SLA
9. Interlanguage
1.Features of Human language
2. Nature/ Nurture
3. Stages in language development
4. Language acquisition device
5. Speech Perception
6. Speech production
7. Universal hypothesis
8. Theory of first language in SLA
Habit a type of regular behaviour which is a particular response to a particular stimulus.
Habit is: observable and automatic.
Habit formation: A habit was formed when a particular stimulus became regularly linked with a particular response.
IMITATION: the response becomes automatic when it is triggered by the stimulus frequently enough. learner copies stimulus behaviour sufficiently enough to become automatic
REINFORCMENT: response becomes automatic when it is accompanied by desirable consequences. learner is rewarded or punished depends on whether it is appropriate or otherwise, until only appropriate responses are given)
Lg learning L1 and L2 was most successful when task was broken down into a number of stimulus response links which could be systematically practiced
Errors: old habits gets in the way of learning new habits. The learners L1 interferes with acquisition of L2 and is obstacle to successful mastery of L2.Errors that learners make in L2 should reflect the structures of their lg. Lg development is acquisition of set of habits it is assumed that a person learning L2 starts off with the habits associated with the L1These interfere with those needed for L2.
TRANSFER: automatic use of old behaviour in new learning situations.
NEGATIVE TRANSFER :a result of proactive inhibition, error occur when L1 knowledge is transferred into L2-new habits are inhibited. This phenomenon occurs when there are differences between L1 and L2.Only then must learner overcome proactive inhibition.
POSITIVE TRANSFER :the learner does not have to learn a new habit. Instead there is transfer of the L1 habits into L2.Automatic use of the L1 structure in L2 performance when the structures in both languages are the same. There are no errors where there are similarities between L1 and L2.
BEHandERR:undesirable consequence of non learning if not eradicated,become habits and predicting potential errors by comparing L1 and l2. CAH:cah predicts that where there are similarities between lngs the learner will acquire L2 with ease,where there are differences learner will have difficulties.2 claims the more lngs differ the more difficult they are to acquire and difficulty will be evident in errors. CAH aspects psychological:strong form all L2 errors can be predicted by identifying the differences between the L2 and learners L1. weak form(diagnostic role of CAH) identify which errors are result deifferences between L1 and L2.(analysis after error was made)NONlinguistic variables(the conditions under which the interference takes place).~the setting~the learners stage of development.LINGUISTIC: aspect of the CAHby being aware of structural differences betrween lngs the T could foresee S errors and help in overcoming them. The use of structuralist linguistic model of grammar to compare differences.The categories were not universal.The procedure~description(formal description of 2 lngs)~ selection (only certain items) ~ comparison (identify the DEGREES of similarities and differences)HIERARCHYofDIFF:TRANSFER l1=l2 no diff., COALESCENCE 2 items in L1 becomes coalesced into 1 in L2. wiedziec/znac to know. UNDERDIFFERENTIATION: Item in L1 is absent in L2. REINTERPRETATION: Item in L1 has a different disrtibution from the equivalent item in L2. OVERDIFFERENTIATION: no similarity between L1 fearure and L2 feature. SPLIT . One item in the native lngs become 2 or more in target. EMPIRICAL criticism:-not all errors are result of negative transfer. THEOR.criticism-attack on behaviourists~animal not human behavior~laboratory conditions~general behaviour not learning the language~NO universal vategories used. PRACTICAL.crit: revelance to language teaching~most errors made by learners are not caused by interference~all the items have to be taught~no positive effect of errora taken into account. Contrastive analysis did not predict what errors L made in acquiring a L2.It overpredicted and underpredicted the difficulties of L2 learners.It identified difficulties that in fact did not arise. TWO forms:modified model of CAH - 3 developments of CAH -*avoidance the S may have had so much trouble with these constructions that they refused to produce them. *degree of similarity interference is more common when L1 and L2 are more similar.Similarities lack of positive transfer.Similarities may cause more errors than difficulties.* multi factor approach-any particular arror may be the result of one factor on one occasion and another factor on another. There is no reasone why a given error should have a single cause.~NATURALNESS factors determinants of SLA independent of L1 *universal factors-factors relating to the universal way in which natural lngs are organized.*specific factors about L`s L1 and L2. A MF approach requires identyfying the relationships that exist between these 3 sets of factors. COGNITIVE framework-mentalist approach. L1 interference as learner strategy - because the learner is actively engaged in learning L2.* Interference errors = borrowings=\ negative transfer - INTERCESSION. Learners have intuition that certain features of their L1 are less likely to be transferable than others. Contrastive pragmatics -not linguistic but communicative aspect of comparing lngs.It is also about comparing how different languages express the same communicative functions.
9. Interlanguage
UNIHYPO
Ug prevents children from making errors.Hypothesis making on the basis of positive input children try out different options which are available for them through UG. Channel capacity-memory capacity and general cognitive abilities. White: whole of UG is available to the child from the start but there is no interaction between universal principles and channel developing perceptual abilities Felix: principles of UG are themselves subject to an innately specified developmental process that is the principles of UG gradually unfold over time. Less marked is easier to acquire than a marked one because it requires less elaborate triggering experience. UG constrains -one rule may trigger all the other rules which are implicationally related to rule - on the basis of the minimum evidence from the input the child can figure out the rules. Role of NEG evidence Hearing only correct sentence makes you think that negative is incorrect. ROLE OF UG in SLA a)Not available at all to L2 L , b) totally available , c) partially available , Acquisit - maturation = Cook wrote that adults learn L2 in the way which represents UG in its pure form, hypothesis testing:in neutral environment there is very little negative feedback.It doesnt influence acquisition. 3 Hypotheses:-interlng development is constrained by linguistic universals - implicational universals can be used to predict order in which different properties of language will appear in interlng,- less marked rules will be learnt before marked. , LU and L1 transfer-unmarked settings always comes first-no transfer occurs when the feature is marked in L1. ZOBL-transfer occurs when projection device has problems with setting particular parameter of grammar it happens when rule is obscure:when it is not implication link with other rules.KELLERMAN-if pattern in L1 corresponds with the universal developmental stage of L2 it will speed up the process of going through that stage. USHAPED behaiour at beginning we transfer U/M rules.Later (pre imediate) we transfer only Ued rules. After longer period of learning we cant transfer Med. Because we know they are not universal. We tend to transfer less marked. UG innateness,substative and formal universals,set of principles,parameters values,the role of environment,core grammar vs periphery,non implicational universals,Implicational universals.(cluster,hierarchy) UG the range of possible hypotheses is constrained by UG.Development product of maturation as the child cognitive ability develop. So does ability to perform competence. Acquisition idealized learning, child needs to get matured to use all aspects of UG. 2kinds of KNOWl:- the knowledge of linguistic universals the principles of UG are still available to the adult and are revelant to SLA - the specific grammar of learner native language. Projective capacity enables one rule to trigger other rules, also enables rules to be acquired when no direct evidence for them has been supplied by input. Ellis:The whole UG is available from start but there is interaction between UP and childs developing perceptual abilities. DATA driven (i) Greenberg derived from an examination of a wide range of human languages in an effort to determine how languages wary. THEORY driven (d) derived from indepth analysis of properties of language in order to determine a set of general principles that apply to all languages. ABS UNI: rules which appear wit no exceptions. UNI TEND: minor exceptions to rule NON IMP: universals which can be stated without a condition, IMP:universal holds only
when a particular condition of language structure is fulfilled.
PRODUCTION:
Recalling a forgotten name/indirect evidence-breakdowns in normal patterns/repairs - an instance when we correct ourselves. A)pauses b)speech errors ~ slips on tongue ~impaired speech. PAUSES breathing/hesitation. HESI takes place after 1st word in clause/mainly before important lexical items. Speakers pause inside NOT between clauses.. We begin to plan next clause still uttering the present one. ERRORS:a)slips of tongue b)dysphasia people who are able to say a single word only, people who have word finding difficulties c)*selection errors - wrong item is chosen)*semantic errors(similar meaning errors) malapropism(similar sound errors)~overlap:#semantic sound/phonetic link #surrouding context/phonetic link*blends words blended together to create new one ASSEMBLAGE err (correct choice wrong assemblage*transposition(whole words syllables switch places) [SPOONERISM] ( the initial sounds are transposed),*anticipation sound anticipation*repetitions. UNIT of planning -the size of chunk weprepare in advance ready for utterance. TONE GROUP a chort stretch of speech spoken with a single intination contour.TOT experiment: sematically related words linked together in mind - people seem to activate similar sounding sounds before narrowing down field to one - start with idea of word - fit in a phonetic form . PLANNING outline: the choice of key words,syntax , intonation patterns. Pick one key verb or noun build syntax.Later slot other words into remaining gaps.Storage:words must be stored according to their class/pasrt of speech. Detailed (the clause is in progress) putting lexical items in the correct slots in the sentence - adding word endings - organise syllables into feet a stressed word in each foot is activated first - organising feet into Tone groups - scan copying mechanism a monitoring device for double checking stop the utterance of too many inappropriate words.
PERCEPTION:Encoding and decoding are totally different,Decoding is encoding in reverse,Decoding is the same as encoding that is decodres reconstruct the message in the same way as they would construct it if they were speakers,Decomding and encoding are partially different and partially the same. HEAREr is likely to reject interpretation if it goes beyond his expectations or certain psychological limits.They hear what they expect to hear. They actively recostruct both grammar and yntax according to their expectations. PASSIVE SECretary: write down sounds and read them BUT speed of utterances makes it impossible,no fixed representation of different sounds,continuum when there is no definite border line between acoustically similar sounds. DETECTIVE each sound was regarded to have unique acoustic pattern. Background information,past experiences,habits BUT difficulty in distuinguishing sound in foreign words.ASS1 every S consists of one or more sentoids,each sento includes Np. V optionally followed by another Np. . STR1.divide each S up into sento.looking for npVnp sequence. ASS2 In NpVNp sequence first N = actor,second N object. STR2 interpret NpVNp sequence as actor action object.ASS3 when a complex S is composed of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses the main clause usually comes first. STR3Interpret the first clause as main clause unless you have clear indications to the contrary.ASS4 S usually makes sense. STR4 Use your knowledge to pick up the most likely interpretation of S. MINIMATTACH: word is attached to structure with minimum amount of extra elaboration. PRINCIPLE OF LATECLOS:previous phrase is held open waiting for new additions until evidence that it is complete. Left to right: if hearers encounter a group of words which do not immediately fit into straight NpVP pattern they do not make any rush guesses they wait and see.They mentally store some words in their memory until they have heard enough of the rest of S to enable them to interpret it relaibly. Intersecting dependencies: S in which there is more than one gap to be filled and there is patterg HOLDa HOLDb GAPa GAPb. Nested:holds and gaps lie inside one another.HARES&t 1)H - do we make a quick decision about each word about each word as it comes to it and if we make a mistake we come back,we jump to conclusion,reinterpret. 2)T- we pause and wait for next word before decision.3)Humans make provisional decision but keep likely alternatives in their mind, so that they can switch over to these. Homonyms: different meaning activated serially( one after another) or parallel( both meanings considered)Temporarily ambiguos words- perhaps humans automatically flash number of possible candidates as tehy hear a word,then narrow it down to the most likely interpretation. Versatile verbs: are more diffucult to process than verbs with one choice of construction. In the case of versatile verbs we activate each of the possible coinstruction before choosing the most suitable one.KICK/EXPECT+NP./NP./TO/THAT. Immediate memry space: how much we can store at one time-length , number of items. Processing abilities the amount of material we may process at any one time. Interconnection with length and structure:listeners prefer to deal with speech they hear sentoid by sentoid.When sento is decoded hearers possibly forget the syntax and remove the gist into another memory space. Interruptions interrupted structure is slightly more difficult to process than uninterrupted one providing that there are clear indications that youre dealing with interruption.Compression of information Human needs thinking space to let things sink in and they comprehend things best if tey are presented small amount of new information.Repetitionit is ddifficult to process a S which contains the same word twice,or more than one instance of the same type of structure,especially if they lie ano inside another. Deletion of surface mrkers:items which help to identify different constructions.Negative negative S takes longer to process than affirmative. Within neg. S there is discrepancy which relates to the hearer expectations about world.It is quicker to negate expected fact than unexpected. Veiled controlled process it is opaque to consciousness,faster than conscious controlled process,and it make fewer demands on limited processing resources.
NURTURE-tabula rasa on which environment imprints what needs to be imprinted. NS+US -> CS which causes CR . habit formation S+ corerct R + reward= habit . If the occurence of the operant is followed by a reinforcing stimulus the rate of responding for that particular operant will increase. NATURE- We learn lng because we have inborn qualities and outline knowledge about lngs.1)All children acquire language2)Lg develops in a variety of conditions3)logical problem - not all children production comes from input4)Animals can acquire human languages5)children learn without being constantly corrected.CHOMSKY response:Skinner worked with animals,general behaviour cant be applied to lng,children learning lng arent rewarded,response strenght-high,low - speed force frequency. NATURE of lng:structure dependance,questions,no overtclues to the structure,surface and deep levels.
LADWHen we learn lns we acquire set of rules or underlying principles for forming speech patterns.RULES linguists :find sound sequence which refers to a single object, notice recurring syntactic patterns,make hypotheses children look for regularities, make guesses. INNATe hypothesis making device - enable children to acquire complete grammar. Substantive uni: fundamental building blocks of language, formal uni: form and shape of grammar, children know they internalized grammar must be organized+set of syntactic/phonological/semantic rules. EVAluation procedure-enables child to choose between different possible set of rules which will fill the data.LEARNABILITy:a lot of prewired information - by being exposed to crucial trigger they know a number of possible options lng might choose. UG only patrially wired up option points within modules containing a finite set of switches which can be set to probably only two positions, setting switch ones leads to complex consequences. Once the values of parameters are set the whole system is operative and a child acquired its core language. Now only minor perypheral elements have to be learnt - a core lng a system determined by fixing values for the parameters of UG - peryphery whatever is added on in the system actually represented in mind of speaker-hearer. MODULE- separate component containing a set of very rigid innate principles
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Children start talking18-28month.Biologically triggered behaviour:emerges before its necessary,its appearance is not a result of conscious decision,its emergence is not triggered by external factor. NAT-NUR problem-nature triggers lng nutrure will decide of its quality. OVERcorrection:children are discouraged, Expansions of child utterances. MOTherese - lng used by parents REGRession connected with practice ,imitation and repetition.children only imitate at their level,when they grow up they imitate fewer and fewer , they figure out rules. CRYING:for hunger, helps to strenghten vocal organs, lungs.COOING6:gurgling,mewing,pre-lng phase,vowel like sounds.BABBLING:child doeasnt have complete control-gradually gains control over voal organs,doubling syllables.move towards own lng,exotic sounds.INTONation patterns-intonation imitated,1WORD utterances:holophrastic stage 2 WORD utterances telegraphic speech,children know word orderN->V, WORD inflectionspecific order of acquisition.,plural,articles,past tense,3rd person. QUESTion negatives:question order.External,internal negation. LENNEBERG-if you don`t acquire lng before 14 you wont be able to learn it.
PHYSICAL ADAPT:left hemisphere: speech,syntax. WERNICkes area around left ear slightly below responsible for speech comprehension. BROCas area in front of,slightly above left ear - necessary for speech. UTTERINg we utter whole word - the preceeding sounds is influenced by next one.-series of overlapping actions. ATIVphrasesPhonetically: with uttering sounds speaker activates the phrases of couple words in advancePlanning the rest: sequence of words is sound pattern. You have to have the whole S in your mind befor you sequence it
Intrlng AND natural ordofACQ
Chomsky-not much influence of imitation and reinforcement.Lenneberg:only human beings have a built in capacity for lng.MENTALview:Lng is human specific faculty,Lng exists as an independent faculty in human mind-although its a part of the learners total cognitive apparatus it is separate from the general cognitive mechanisms.,The primary determinant of L1 acquisition is childs lng acquisition device,LAD athropies with age,The process of acquisition consists of hypothesis-testing. TWO MAJOR aspects concerning L1 acquisition a)uniqueness of children early utterances-independent of stimulus response connections-little influence of imitation and reinforcement.Utterances can be explained only in terms of child operating its own system consisting the rules which were not part of adults code. b)the incremental nature of L1 acq. - continuus development that could be characterised as series of stages.~the lenght of utterances children produce~knowledge of grammar system. CONC:L1 acq. Is unibersal process,sequence of development,underlying mechanisms which are common to all learners,Internal process independent of environmental influence. INTERLNG the structured system which the learner consrtucts at any given stage of his developpment-reflects the stages of development of the learners L2.other names:approximative systems,Idiosyncratic dialects,Transitional competence.L2 learners form their own self contained linguistic systems.This is neither the system of native lng nor target lng.MAIN assumpt:a)different from L1 as well as from L2, forms and evolving series,similar for different learners at approximately the same level of proficiency-the human mind always uses in built lng principles so interlngs too confirm these principles. PROCESsses responsible for interlng:lng transfer,overgeneralisation,strategy of L2 learning , strategies of L2 communication. FOSSILazation:a lack of change in interlng patterns,even after extende xposure to or construction in L2.a)two causes responsible for process of fossil-~internal (dangerous at preintermediate level)~external (changes in the brain due to agind process). LATENET psych.structure:cognitive organizes,creative constructionIt is doubtful in fact whether Ls ever completely fossilize some revision of the interlng system always carries on therefore SLA can proceed in 2 different ways: it can utilise the same mechanisms as L1 acquitision or it can make use of alternatibe mechanisms which are presumably resposnsible for other types of learning apart from lng. MAIN Forms of interlng:permeable(the rules at different stages not fixed), dynamic(changing constantly in process of revising and changing hypotheses concerning the L2), systematic (the use of the L2 by the learners is not haphazard but governed by certain rules.)It may have characteristics of L1,L2 and some characteristics which seem to be general.ERROR analysis:the CAH was devised to justify the procedures forpredicting errors,interlng theory constitutes an attempt to explain errors.a)traditional error analysis~pedagogical goals of it,no theoretical information on the role of errors in SLA~the influence of CAH.PROCED of error analysis: selection of some datamidentification of errors within data selected~lapses (result of processing limitations)~errors (lack of competence), classification of errors, explanation of errors,evaluation of errors.ERRORS as two types of information about interlng continuum:psycholinguistic types of errors:*strategies connected with developmental errors~overgeneralisation,incomplete application of rules,false concepts hypothesised.SHIFT from restructuring continuum to recreation continuum a) restructuring continuum-learners graduallyreplaces features of L1 when acquiring L2 b) recreation continuum:gradual complexification of interlng knowledge a slow process of creating a rule system. TWO TYPES of STUDIES:cross sectional studies examining a large group of children who were at different ages and stages of development.Assumption there was invariant order in SLA which was the result of universal processing studies similar to those observed in L1 acquisition. Aim to find out the order of acquisitionof different gramatical functors.Procedure: data collected by elicitation on the basis of pictures.Result:accuracy order which was equated with acquisition order. The general picture that emerges is that the acquisition order for various grammatical functors is more or less the same. Longitudinal studiesAims:examine the acquisition of grammatical morphemes , account fot the growth of competence in terms of strategies used by learner ad diff. Developmental points.Rsults progression the acquisition of L2 syntax involves a series of transitional stages which are more or less universal.. TRANSITIONAl constructions - imperfect constructions - imperfect language forms which indicate the progress learners have made in deciphering and producing a new lng system ORDER OF acquisition:negation: external,internal,negative attachment to modal verbs,the target lng rule is reached,relative clauses,modifying object in sentence,modyfying subject of sentence. INTERROGATION: intonation questions,producting wh-questions,inversion,embedded questions. PREDICTABILITY of the sentence of acquisition of the rules of a language-we acquire the rules of a language in a predictable sequence,some rules are acquired early while others acquired late. 1)The order of acquisition independent of the difficulty of the rules,the easiest rules are not necessarily the first to be acquired.2)the order independent of the order in which rules have been taught.Ss may be able to learn some structures conscioulsy but true conscious acquisition will come only when Ss are ready.INTERLNG FORMS and pidgin lng:the developmental continuum closely resembles that the pidginization/depigninization continuum. That,is in the early stages SLA is characterised by interlng forms which are the same as those observed in pidgin lngs,while in the later stages interlng rules become more complex in much the same way as pidgin lngs. FOUR STAGES of developmental progression:standard word order,expandind prepositions and varying word order,systematic and meaningful use of grammatical morphemes,complex structures.INTERPRETING the Empirical evidence.1)A natural route of develpment criticised(learner factors:data gatherers vs rule formers).2)sequence of developpment vs order of development SLA is characterised by natural sequence of development(tehere are broad stages they pass through) but the order of develppment varies in details(some steps are left out,or specific items are learnt in different order)DIFFERENCES between L1 and l2 acquisition due to cognitive processes,SLA learner produce wider variety of forms in the same develpmental stage in comarison to L1 L. SImilarities.transitional constructions:1)one word utterances used as constructions,2)intonation questions appears on regular basis and there are some Wh questions learnt as ready made chunks3)intonation questions become more complicated4)Inversion involving auxilary verbs occur in yes/no questions.5)Inversion occurs in Whquestions.6)Embedded Wh questions develop.Pay attention to the end of words,Phonological forms of words can be modified,Pay attention to order of words and morphemes,Avoid interruption and rearrangement of linguistic units,Avoid exceptions. MENTALISTpoint of view.Major theoretical issues:1)Starting point of the interlng2)Neglect of external factors(minimizing role of environment)3)Variability problem a)systematicy(each developmental stage therefore is characterised not by a system of categorical rules which are invariably applied but by a system of alternative rules) b) overlap of stages c)individual L differences.CRITICISM: error analysis: for analysing just parts of individual Ss speech ,not every aspect,analysis of speech in 1 point of time,not clear definition of errors. Cross sectional studies: equated accuracy with acquisition,instrument they used to elicit lng(bilingual syntax measures). Longitudinal studies:for calculating MLU in adult learners.Not reliable because of ready made chunks.