Language teachingLesson 1 of 3 in the course Second language acquisition

Second-Language Acquisition: Learner Development, Theories, and Instruction

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Second-language acquisition (SLA) examines how people learn a language beyond their first language. This lesson introduces the field, its key terms, and how it developed as an area of research.

A person's first language (L1) is the language acquired first, while an L2 is a language learned in addition to the L1. Despite the name, SLA can include learning a third or later language.

All flashcards

Interlanguage
A learner’s evolving linguistic system, with patterns and rules of its own.
Language transfer
The influence of previously known languages on learning or using another language.
Fossilization
A persistent plateau or feature in a learner’s language development.
Critical period hypothesis
The proposal that age-related constraints can affect language-learning outcomes, particularly pronunciation.
Instructed second-language acquisition (ISLA)
Research into how instruction, teachers, and classroom conditions influence language development.

Quiz questions

  1. According to Pienemann’s teachability hypothesis, when is instruction most likely to support learning a language feature?Answer: When it is compatible with the learner’s current developmental stage.
  2. What distinguishes systemic variation from free variation in learner language?Answer: Systemic variation depends on context, while free variation involves interchangeable forms.
  3. What does the zone of proximal development describe in sociocultural theory?Answer: What a learner can do with support that they cannot yet do independently.
  4. What is the central focus of task-based language teaching?Answer: Using meaning-focused tasks to achieve communicative purposes.
  5. What does universal grammar propose, in contrast to typological universals?Answer: Mental principles underlying human language, rather than patterns identified by comparing languages.

Based on the Wikipedia article Second-language acquisition, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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