1、 CHAPTER TWELVE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 1.What is Language Acquisition?2.Contrastive analysis 3.Error analysis 5.Comprehensible Input and L2 Acquisition 6.Individual factors affecting SLA 1.What is language acquisition?the learning and the development of a persons language.It is studied by linguists,ps
2、ycholinguists and applied linguists to enable them to understand the processes used in learning a language,help identify stages in the developmental process,and to give a better understanding of the nature of language.It focuses on the study of the development of phonology,grammar,vocabulary and com
3、municative competence.First language;Second language;Foreign language;Target language lfirst language/L1:generally a persons mother tongue or the language acquired first,also known as native language.lsecond language/L2:a language which is not a native language in a country but which is widely used
4、as a medium of communication e.g.in education&in government and which is usually used alongside another language or languages.English is described as a second language in countries such as Singapore,Canada and Nigeria.lforeign language:a language which is taught as a school subject but which is not
5、used as a medium of instruction nor as a language of communication within a country e.g.in government,business,or industry.English is described as a foreign language in China,Japan,France etc.ltarget language:a language which a person is learning.l Second Language Acquisition(SLA)lThe study of SLA,a
6、s an independent field of inquiry,started in the late 1960s,and flourished in the 1970s and 80s,perhaps as a result of the resurgence of interest in the internal mechanisms of the language teaching and learning process.2.Contrastive analysis/CA a procedure designed to find out the differences and si
7、milarities between languages in order to help teachers and learners,and not produce errors at all.It was developed and practiced in the 1950s and 1960s.It was more successful in phonology than in other areas of language,and declined in the 1970s as interference was replaced by other explanations of
8、learning difficulties.l l Role of L1 in L2 Acquisition:lLanguage transfer:the effect of one language on the learning of another.lTwo types of language transfer:l Negative transfer负迁移负迁移,also known as interference,the use of a native language pattern or rule which leads to an error or inappropriate f
9、orm in the target language.l Negative transfer-interfere or hinder target language learning l It is believed that differences between the native language and the target language would pose difficulties in second/foreign language learning and teaching,e.g.l*To touch the society.l*There are more peopl
10、e come to study in the states.l*I wait you at the gate of the school.lPositive transfer:正迁移正迁移 transfer which makes learning easier,and may occur when both the native language and target language have the same form.Positivetransfer-facilitate target language learningle.g.Both French and English have
11、 the word table,which can have the same meaning in both languages.3.Error analysis the study and analysis of the errors made by second language learners.It is developed as a branch of applied linguistics in the 1960s,and entered its heyday in the 1970s.It set out to demonstrate that many learner err
12、ors were not dut to the learners mother tongue but reflected universal learning strategies.By the late 1970s,error analysis had already been replaced by studies of interlanguage 语际语言and Second Language Acquisition.lTwo types of errors:lIntralingual 语内 errors mainly result from faulty or partial lear
13、ning of the target language,independent of the native language.lIntralingual errors were classified into:lover-generalization概括过头 the use of previously available strategies in new situations.学生以为自己已经知道某一语言规则，但实际上并非真正了解，或者是由于他们的直觉，甚至是在其他场合的一些交际策略 l e.g.walked,watched,washed *rided,*goed,*doed,*eatedl
14、Jane advise me to give up smoking.Jane told me to give up smoking.*Jane hoped me to give up smoking.*Jane suggested me to give up smoking.*I losed the game.*There are ten sheeps.*I was devoted to do this job.)lCross-association互相联想 refers to the phenomenon that the close association of the two simil
15、ar words often leads to confusion,e.g.lOther/another,much/many,lIt may also occurs at all levels of language from phonological to syntactic,e.g.The coffee is too hot to drink.*The apple is too sour to eat it.lInterlingual 语际 lerrors result from language transfer,i.e.which is caused by the learners n
16、ative language.e.g.*Someone is knocking the door.*My opinion differs with yours.*-Is he tired?-Tired.*Whats your name?My name Smith.*My family has 5 people.l.Interlingual errors mainly result from cross-linguistic interference at different levels such as phonological,lexical,grammatical or discoursa
17、l etc.For examples,a.Substitution of t for and d for :threetree,thisdis.b.Shortening of long vowels:sheepship,meetmit lError&mistakel An error is a deviation 偏离 on learner language that results from lack of knowledge of the correct rule and not self-corrigible by the learner(failure in competence)；l
18、 A mistake is a deviation in learning a language that occurs when the learner fails to perform his competence that is caused by fatigue,inattention,carelessness etc;either intentionally or unintentionally and self-corrigible(failure in performance).4.Interlanguage 中介语中介语 (S.Pit Corder&Larry Selinker
19、)l Interlangauge-learners independent system of the second language which is of neither the native language nor the second language,but a continuum or approximation from his native language to the target language.l What learners produce,correct or wrong,are evidence or the approximation from their f
20、irst language to the target language.l lIt consists of a series of overlapping 重叠 grammar;each one shares some rules with the previously constructed grammar,but contain some new or revised rules.lCharacteristics of interlanguagelInterlanguage has three important characteristics:systematicity,permeab
21、ility and fossilization.l l l Fossilization僵化僵化l In second or foreign language learning,a process which sometimes occurs in which incorrect linguistic features become a permanent part of the way a person speaks and writes a language.l Aspects of pronunciation,vocabulary usage,and grammar may become
22、fixed or fossilized in second or foreign language learning.Fossilized features of pronunciation contribute to a persons foreign accent.5.Comprehensible Input and L2 Acquisition According to Krashens Input Hypothesis,in second or foreign language learning，learners acquire a language along the natural
23、 order by understanding input that contain structures a little bit beyond their current level of competence;comprehensible input is necessary for acquisition to take place,but it is not sufficient.Learners also need to be willing to internalize the input they comprehend.l美国南加州大学语言学系教授克拉申（Krashen）的输入
24、假设理论认为：只要接受到足够的语言输入，而且这些输入又是可以理解的（comprehensive），人们就可以习得语言。如果人们的语言水平为i，他们接触到大量含有i+1的语言输入，他们的语言水平就会从i向i+1提高。Two means of second language learning Acquisition is a process similar to the way children acquire their first language,it is a subconscious process without minute learning of grammatical rules
25、.Learning is a conscious learning of the second language knowledge by learning the rules and talking about the rules.lComprehensible Input:i+1li represents learners current state of knowledge,the next stage is i+1.By providing comprehensible input which is bit higher than the learners current level,
26、the learners Language Acquisition Device/LAD 语言习得机制will be activated 激活 and contribute to acquisition.lInput,output,intake lInput:language which a learner hears or receives and from which a person can learn.lThe language a learner produces is by analogy called output.lIntake 吸收的语言吸收的语言 is input whic
27、h is actually helpful for the learner.Some of the language(i.e.input)which a learner hears may be too rapid or difficult for the learner to understand,and therefore cant be used in learning(i.e.cannot serve as intake).6.Individual factors affecting SLAl Age of Acquisition:an early period of ones lif
28、e until the age of puberty青春期,during which language acquisition for all normal children is natural,effortless and successful.l Learning strategiesl Language aptitude see Dai P169 l语言潜能（language aptitude）l 定义:学习者所具备的某种能力倾向。包括：语音能力、语法能力、推理能力。l Chomsky的语言能力（language competence）：语言是天赋，语言能力即是一种语法能力，是一种普遍
29、语法。从语言知识角度来看，婴儿学习母语是一个从无到有的过程（从普遍语法到个别语法的过程），而外语学习则是在具备了一套具体语言规则的基础上进行。已有的语言知识不可避免地成为学习外语的参照系，原有语言知识必然发生迁移。l Hymes的交际能力(communicative competence)：语言使用者根据社会情景因素恰当运用语言规则的能力。从交际能力的角度来看，婴儿学习母语是一个社会化的过程，是一个确定自己社会角色，接受社会规范和文化价值的过程，而对外语学习者来说，他的社会身份已经确定、语言中的指示转移规则已经掌握，外语交际涉及到了跨文化问题，语言规则和交际准则的矛盾凸现出来。l Motiva
30、tionl学习动机l 动机属于情感因素之一。从教育心理学角度讲，学习过程中影响学习效果的最大因素之一就是学习者的情感控制。l 定义：l 所谓动机就是对某种活动有明确的目的性；为达到该目的而作出的一定努力。l 分类：l 综合型动机（integrative motivation）：学习者对目的语社团有特殊兴趣，期望参与或融入该社团的社会生活。l 工具型动机（instrumental motivation）：学习者为了某一特殊目的，如通过某一考试，获得某一职位等。l 态度l 态度的定义：（1）认知成分，即对某一目的的信念；（2）情感成分，即对某一目标的好恶程度；（3）意动成分：即对某一目标的行动意向
31、及实际行动。动机和态度与外语习得之间关系研究达成的共识：（1）动机和态度是决定不同学习者取得不同程度成功的主要因素。（2）动机和态度的作用与能力的作用不是一回事。最成功的学习者是既有才华又有强烈学习动机的人。（3）有些情况下，综合型动机有助于成功掌握外语，有时工具型动机也可以。有时两种同时起作用。（4）动机类型与社会环境有关。(5）动机和态度主要影响外语习得速度，对习得程序并无影响。lCritical period hypothesis 关键期假说:the theory that in child development there is a period during which langu
32、age can be acquired more easily than at any other time.According to the biologist Lenneberg,the critical period lasts until puberty(around age 0f 12 or 13 years)and is due to biological development.Lenneberg suggested that language learning may be more difficult after puberty because the brain lacks
33、 the ability for adaptation.This,he believes,was because the language functions of the brain have already been established in a particular part of the brain.l 关键期假说（critical period hypothesis）：l 儿童大脑有一个逐渐成熟、功能逐渐固化的过程。l Lenneberg(1967)：通过“接触”（exposure）就能习得任何语言的 l 关键期是2岁至发育期（puberty）。l 有关年龄因素对外语习得影响：l
34、 （1）关键期对外语学习的影响最主要的是体现在语音的精确度方面。l （2）学习外语的起始年龄并不在很大程度上影响习得的程序；任何年龄开始学习一门外语都有可能成功。l （3）学习外语的起始年龄较明显地影响习得的速度和效率。在语法、词义和词汇方面，少年比儿童和成人表现更为出色。l （4）学习时间长短影响习得的成功程度。但起始年龄对于达到的精密程度起着关键作用，尤其在语音方面。lPersonality:those aspects of an individuals behaviour,attitudes,beliefs,thought.Action and feelings which are se
35、en as typical and distinctive of that person and recognized as such by that person and others.Two types of personality:extrovert and introvert。Adult learners who are extrovert learn more quickly and therefore more successful than introvert ones.l 对教师的启示：l（1）顺其自然。针对不同学习任务在不同场合发挥各自优势；（2）通过某些手段，促使不同性格学
36、习者向相反方向作些转变，以适应各种不同学习环境和任务。l l Cognitive style:l field-independent l field-dependent.l认知风格 l 认知风格主要指人们接受、组织和检索信息的不同方式。l 类型：l 场依赖型：l 依照外部参照系处理有关信息；倾向于从整体上l 认知事物；缺乏主见；社会敏感性强，易与人沟通。l 场独立型：l 以自我为参照系统；倾向分析；具有独立性；社会l 交际能力弱。l 启示：l（1）场依赖型在自然环境下学习外语更易成功，而在课堂教学中场独立型可能更占优势。l（2）作为教师应了解学习者的不同认知风格，针对不同学习任务、不同学习环境，发挥其特长，并能相应地对学生 的学习策略和认知风格加以引导。
