Second language acquisition

We’re interested on the type of knowledge that the bilingual person has and how that knowledge is
stored and organized in that bilingual mind

The knowledge question: what kind of knowledge does the bilingual person hasve? He or she knows 2
grammars or 2 lge systems

What do we mean when we say we know 2lges? From what point of view is that person a bilingual what
kind of relationship exists between our l1 and l2. Do they have the same status in our mind or is one
subordinated to the other and how. This question focuses on the psychological mental processes through
which we learn a second lge.

The use question

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How do we use this knowledge do we use it in the same way as we use the 1 lge. Which are the social
processes through which we learn that lge.

Natural setting vs artificial setting

The geographical and social distance between our lge and the foreign one. Can we hear it from native
speakers very easily? Do they belong to the same lge family (because the distance from lge families affects
our acquisition)? The age of the learner is also a crucial element.

The acquisition question: the relationship between the l1 and l2 and social life. How to address people in
different social domains?

Spalsky, a contemporary sociolinguist defines a bilingual as a person who has some functional ability in
the second lge.

We are not equally capable of handling the 4 abilities.

Balanced bilingual. Person who has a perfect mastery of the 4 skills in two lges

SLA includes the study of the psychological processes through which a mind understands and produces a
second lge and the processes through which speech in a second lge is adapted to an actual moment of lge
use in a particular context of situation.

Before the 70s seceral different linguists carried out studies which laid the foundation for this discipline.

Winreich 1953 Lges in contact (book)

He examines how 2 lge systems relate to each other in the mind of a bilingual person

The notion of interference

Those instances of deviation from the norms of wither lge which occurs in the speech of bilinguals as the
result of their familiarity with more than one lge.
This is a constant theme of SLA theories eg: in the field of phonologues bilinguals ignore phonemes which
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are made in the 2 lge because in their l1 these distinctions do not exist. Spanish speakers fail to treat
the /e/sounds as they are and make them all sound the same.

An example in grammar is the placement of the adjectives la niña buena vs the good girl

Chomsky LAD
LAD Assigns structure to the input it receives. It uncovers
Nemser (American linguist) in 1971 he made system operating behind the lge uttereances.
the observation that, based on empirical
Hypothesis testing: it puts input to the test and confirms of
data, the lge of l2 learners is different both
deletes: no me quiero perder el programa.
from the l1 and the l2.

The competence we develop as l2 learners is different from our The English Standard is an
competence in our l1 but also different from competence of native ideal system speakers or
users of the target lge have a
speakers of target lge. standard E competence. But
their competence is very
close to the norm. The
Approximative system: Our competence in the target lge constitutes standard of the a 2nd lge
something like a third system. the lge competence l2 learners develop is learner is always different
from the standard.
different from the l1/l2. This approximative system has its own rules and
characteristics. It is a system in its own right different from the target and the first lge.

The notion of approximative lge is based on 2 assumptions:

That La is a system that grows following a directional way, so there’s a directional acquisition process.

Directional because there’s a gradual approximation to the target lge. That is, the acquisition develops
gradually. In this process we can distinguish developmental stages.

Each developmental stage in this directional process is DISCRETE

Nemser says: “it is not easy to show this empirically. Each stage has its own characteristics which
distinguish it from the other stages in the acquisition process.”

We don’t know how many stages we will find. But the important idea here is that it is possible for the
approximative system to converge on the target lge. It is possible to reach native-like competence.
However, these are assumptions which are not easy to confirm.

Larry selinker (1972) introduced a crucially important notion INTERLANGUAGE. He was inspired by
Nemser’s idea that our competence when learning a second lge is different from our L1 and the L2.

He went further and claimed that interlanguage competence is a transitional tupe of knowledge, which
grows gradually, but which follows a cline progression.

Cline progression is a progression that can go up-the-hill or down-the-hill. After these periods such
development stops and there’s a period of stability called plateau.
The second lge learner moves from a stable plateau to another. Fig1

During cline progression there may be backslidings. These occur when suddenly certain structures or
forms which had already been learned are forgotten. Our mind then goes back to a previous stage of
development. This is normal and frequent.

How do we notice this? Through the mistakes the l2learner makes. That is, mistakes that had already
been eradicated.

Selinker considers something which contrasts with Nemser’s idea that the l2l can converge with the l2.
He claims that IL competence is seldom completely successful and that only 5% os the l2l are able to
reach the native-like competence. The remaining 95% never reach this kind of competence. However, this
does not mean that they cannot reach high-levels of proficiency.

Why can only 5% converge? Because some speakers, for unknown reasons, are able to use a mental device
called latent psychological structure, a mental device that exists in our cognitive system and is activated
nd
only in a minority of learners of a 2 lge. The most important charaxteristic of this device is that it is
very similar to LAD. The 95% activate a psychological structure that is not as efficient as our LAD.

FOSSILIZATION (1978 by Selinker and Lamandella) it is cessation of the learning process, of the IL
learning, which often occurs far from the Lt norm. it is like a freezing of the IL that causes a plateau.

Fossilization can affect any aspect of our IL competence. E.g.: Only after 5 years of using a deviant form of the
Lt can you say that a speaker has a fossilized
only phonological aspects, grammatical aspects, etc. It can mistake
occur at any point in our learning process and it is very difficult to find empirical evidence of
fossilization.

There are two versions of this claim: weak and strong.

o Strong version: there are faulty forms that will remain the learner’s IL no matter he/she does to
attempt their eradication.
o Weak version: supported manly by Klein. Fossilization is inherent to 2l learning so much so that IL
nd
fossilizes at some point in its development. When this occurs the 2 lge learner faces a binary
choice: AMILIORATION (learner overcomes the problem) or PEJORATION (----)
These processes can occur consciously or unconsciously depending on the L’s age, education, feedback.

Selinker believes that it is not possible to converge on L2. He’s more realistic because he considers the
possibility of declines and backslides in the process of L2 acquisition.
The difference between mistake and error

o Mistake: when the speaker is able to realize why it is a mistake and is able to correct it.
o Error: when the Speaker does not recognize the mistake he does not have the necessary knowledge
to realize what the mistake is or how to correct it.
Selinker: He based his theory on 2 observations

1. l2 learners often produce structures (pho/gram/sem) which are neither of the native lge nor the
target lge. This often produces idiosyncratic structures or expressions which are neither of the l1 not of
the l2. Structures which can be explained only in terms of the IL system.
2. the search for translation, equivalents, and cross linguistic---- is of prime importance in SLA. So,
consciously or unconsciously, our mind looks for equivalents, cross-cult, cross-ling, and ws in our L1. In
other words, the perception of what could be the equivalent units across the l2 system involved,
constitutes the initial mechanism that enables, overtime, the development of the l2 competence.
TRANSLATION IS INHERENT IN SLA PROCESS.

Sellinker: there are 5 characteristics, principal processes that characterize lge development.

1. Lge TRANSFER: it occurs when features of l1 are projected on the l2. Eg. Spanish speaker in E. says
“the bigs balls” plural agreement in number between adjs and nouns (Spanish).

2. OVERGENERALIZATION OF L2 RULES when a rule of the l2 is used in ways which the l2 does not
permit. Eg. “build-builded” the regular pattern of vs is applied to all verbs.

3. TRANSFER OF TAINING: when the process of learning itself or the process of teaching creates rules
that are not part of Lt, or creates misinterpretations of rules. (teacher’s kind of unconsciously transmit it
to the student). Eg: “on the contrary (meaning by contrast)” on the contrary requires a previous
negation.

4. STRATEGIES OF L2 LEARNING: simplification of l2 learners use all vs in the infinitive because they
don’t know the inflections.

5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: like switching, coinage, avoidance (avoid a cord because it is hard to
pronounce).

Fossilization

To say there is fossilization, we would need a longitudinal

HETEROGENEITY: different types of
knowledge. When we say we know a lge we
type of investigation so we would need samples of the person
mean that we have a certain level of
involve for at least 5 years to say that may be that person
communicative competence in that lge.
has a case of fossilization of x element.

It’s like a freezing of one part or one element of the lge system which is likely to cause a plateau (a
period during which there is no growth but stability, so the process of development stops and remains
the same for a period of time).
What kind of knowledge is IL? All authors agree on 2 characteristics: Heterogeneity and variability. L2
competence is heterogeneous type of knowledge and there is variability in it.

ROD EllIS

IL varies by individuals. If we compare 2 individuals (even with the same level of proficiency, and
education, etc) there will be differences. But if we analyze only one individual we’ll also find changes in his
speech /IL. These changes in an individual can be
o DIACRONIC: occur over time (it would take at least 5 years to analyze them), during the
development of the l2 competence.
o SYNCRHONIC: the changes within each particular stage. Eg: this year is one developmental stage
for us.
VARIABILITY: within a single individual or among various individuals.

Ellis goes further with the concept of variability when he considers that l2 competence allows variable
rules where the target lge does not. E.g.: the rule of the 3°p° singular in the simple present has one rule
and one realization, but the situation is different when analyzing someone’s 1° stage of IL because they
initially incorporate one rule and one realization but the rule is different from that of the Lt

In the 2° stage it is possible that the learner incorporates the right rule. But this right rule does not
replece the b rule, it coexists with it in FREE VARIATION. So we have : paul livein Madrid, but works in
London.

In the 3° stage as learners get more exposure to the Lt they are likely to realize that in the Lt rule b
does not exist. So, here is when the learner eliminates the non-target like realization and only the
target-like realization remains in the IL of the learners. In this stage we have INVARIANCE.

These stages are typical of IL development.

1° stage 1 rule: 1 realization but different from the Lt

2° stage 1 rule: 2 realizations and free variation
3° stage 1 rule: 1 realization and invariance.
Ellis also describes two types of knowledge

o Knowledge of the system

o Knowledge of how to use the lge system in accordance with factors such as the type of task and
the situational context.
ELAINE TARONE (acquisitionist)

Conception of heterogeneity and variability------

She considers that there are other types of lge knowledge which go beyond the strictly linguistic type of
knowledge. At any stage of L2 competence development we are likely to gind sth that goes beyond the
strictly linguistic knowledge (eg. Sociolinguistic, pragmatic, strategic knowledge)
Chomsky

Noam Chomsky believes that children are born with an inherited ability to learn any human language. He claims that
certain linguistic structures which children use so accurately must be already imprinted on the child’s mind. Chomsky
believes that every child has a ‘language acquisition device’ or LAD which encodes the major principles of a language and
its grammatical structures into the child’s brain. Children have then only to learn new vocabulary and apply the syntactic
structures from the LAD to form sentences. Chomsky points out that a child could not possibly learn a language through
imitation alone because the language spoken around them is highly irregular – adult’s speech is often broken up and even
sometimes ungrammatical. Chomsky’s theory applies to all languages as they all contain nouns, verbs, consonants and
vowels and children appear to be ‘hard-wired’ to acquire the grammar. Every language is extremely complex, often with
subtle distinctions which even native speakers are unaware of. However, all children, regardless of their intellectual
ability, become fluent in their native language within five or six years.
Evidence to support Chomsky’s theory
 Children learning to speak never make grammatical errors such as getting their subjects, verbs and objects in the
wrong order.
 If an adult deliberately said a grammatically incorrect sentence, the child would notice.
 Children often say things that are ungrammatical such as ‘mama ball’, which they cannot have learnt passively.
 Mistakes such as ‘I drawed’ instead of ‘I drew’ show they are not learning through imitation alone.
 Chomsky used the sentence ‘colourless green ideas sleep furiously’, which is grammatical although it doesn’t
make sense, to prove his theory: he said it shows that sentences can be grammatical without having any meaning,
that we can tell the difference between a grammatical and an ungrammatical sentence without ever having heard
the sentence before, and that we can produce and understand brand new sentences that no one has ever said
before.
Evidence against Chomsky’s theory
 Critics of Chomsky’s theory say that although it is clear that children don’t learn language through imitation alone,
this does not prove that they must have an LAD – language learning could merely be through general learning and
understanding abilities and interactions with other people.
Dialogue –
Parent and Child (3 years old)
Parent: What did you do today?
Child: Me drawed a cat. (applies –ed suffix rule but gets wrong)
Parent: You drew a cat?
Child: Yeah. (understands correction)
Parent: Who did you play with at breaktime?
Child: Me played with Sarah and Helen. (wrong pronoun – not learnt passively)
Parent: That sound fun. Now what do you want for tea?
Child: Dunno. What you having?
Parent: Daddy and I are having fish.
Child: You having fishes? (incorrect use of plural noun but shows child applying rules)
Parent: Yes. I’ll do you some fish fingers and if you’re a good girl and eat them all you can have a
sweetie. (applying plural noun rule)
Child: Me want two sweeties.
Parent: Alright then. Now go and watch Postman Pat while I start the tea.
Child: When Daddy coming home? (gets SVO order correct all the time)
Parent: He’ll be here soon.
David Crystal’s Theory On Child Language Acquisition
Professor Crystal is best known for his two encyclopedias The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language and The Cambridge
Encyclopedia of the English Language. So what does this have to do with child language acquisition?
David Crystal has the theory that children learn language in five stages, which aren’t clearly defined and some tie in with
each other. These stages are:
Stage One:
This is where children say things for three purposes:
1. To get something they want
2. To get someone’s attention
3. To draw attention to something
Then they begin to make basic statements such as “daddy car”
During this stage, children begin naming things with single words and then move on to relating objects with other things,
places and people, for example, “there mummy”. They also relate objects with events, for example, “bird gone”.

At this early stage they don’t have much vocabulary so they use intonation to ask a question. Children use words like:
“there, want and allgone” to express a full sentence. This could be said that part of this stage is holophrastic.
Stage Two:
This is when children usually ask questions, “where” questions come first. Their questions often begin with interrogative
pronouns (what, where) followed by a noun or verb such as “where gone?”
Children become concerned with naming and classifying things by frequently asking “Wassat?” They may also begin to
talk about the characteristics of things for example: big/small. Children are taught to learn things in opposite pairs such
as up/down and hot/cold.
Stage Three:
By now children would be asking lots of different questions but often signalling that they are questions with intonation
alone, for example: “Sally play in garden mummy?” This is made into a question by varying the tone of voice.
Children soon begin to express more complex wants by using more grammatically correct language, for example: “I want
mummy to take it work” meaning “I want mummy to take it to work”
Verbs such as “listen” and “know” are also used. Children refer to events in the past and less often in the future. They
usually talk about continuing action for examples: “she still in bed” and ask about the state of actions (whether something
is finished or not)
The basic sentence structure has expanded such as: [subject]+[verb]+[object]+[adverb or any other element used]
Sentences like: “You dry hands” and “A man dig down there” begin to appear and auxiliary verbs are used in sentences
such as “I am going” and phrases like “on the table” [preposition]+[article]+[noun]
Stage Four:
This is when children use increasingly complex sentence structures and begin to:
 Explain things
 Ask for explanations using the word: “why?”
 Making a wide range of requests: “shall I do it?”
Now they are able to use complex sentence structures they have flexible language tools for expressing a wide range of
meanings. Probably the most remarkable development is their comprehension of language and use of abstract verbs for
example “know” to express mental operations. They begin to communicate meaning indirectly by replacing imperatives
such as “give me” with questions; “can I have?”
As well as saying what they mean they now have pragmatic understanding and suit their utterances to context or
situation. Children also use negation (denial/contradiction) for example: “he doesn’t want one!” They don’t rely on
intonation and signals anymore as they explain more fully.
They are now able to use auxiliary verbs and may duplicate modal verbs “please, can I, may I” This could be showing
that “may” is required for courtesy whilst “can” indicates being able to do something.
And Finally…
Stage Five:
By this stage, children regularly use language to do all the things that they need it for. They give information, asking and
answering questions, requesting directly and indirectly, suggesting, offering, stating and expressing.
Children are now able to talk about things hypothetically and conditionally for example “If I were you, I would…”
They are now able to explain conditions required for something to happen; “You’ve got turn the tap on first in order to
wash your hands”
As well as making general references to past and future, children now talk about particular times such as: “after tea” and
“before bedtime”
By this stage, children are very comfortable with all questions beginning with words like: “What?” and “When?” where the
subject and verb are reversed such as “what does that mean?