UNIT 12 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN L1 AND L2 LEARNING

     

   Second language( L2) learners bring knowledge of the world to the task of learning new ways to talk about the world. First language (L1) learners receive hours of naturalistic exposure to language from caregivers who scaffold their development. 

The unit focused on the differences between the acquisition of first and second languages. In first language acquisition children are acquiring knowledge about the world at the same time that they are acquiring language.

   Exposure to the target language for second language learners varies, both in quantity and in quality, depending upon the context. Children are motivated to become native speakers of the language spoken around them. As teachers take into account the outcome of second language learning depends on age, input, L1 and L2 proximity or distance, motivation,expectations, individual differences in memory, in personality, etc.

   Some of the differences between first language and L2 acquisition are intrinsic and cannot be avoided; some are, so to speak, accidental in that they vary according to the circumstances in which L2 acquisition takes place, in particular inside or outside a classroom. 

   Finally, L1 acquisition has seen continual controversy over the links between language development and social and cognitive development it attempts to isolate language from other cognitive systems. To them the controversy concerns maturity of the language faculty itself, whether it is essentially the same from birth, just requiring language experience or exposure.

LINKS: 

1.http://eslprofessionaldevelopment.wikispaces.com/Second+Language+Acquisition+-+Learning+in+L1+and+L2

2.http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Writings/Papers/L1&L22008.htm

UNIT 11 THE ROLE OF ERROR

     In this article , I reflected on error in foreign language teaching especially in english are the cases which are difficult enough to avoid . Many aspects that can cause the learners of english as a foreign language make errors . These aspects are interferance, overgenalization, strategies of communication and assimilation .

      

    So, it is essential to define a few terms that teachers have to know  the overgeneralization generally involves the creation of one deviant structure in place of two regular structures , for example , “he can sings”, “ We are hope” , “ it is occurs”. Also, there are interlengual error it occurs when the learner´s L1 habits ( patterns , systems or rules) interfere or prevent him/ her , to some extent , from acquiring the patterns and rules of the second language . According to Brown (2000) , “ Fosilization is a normal and natural stage for many learners “ it happens for various reasons , often related to the kind of motivation  a learner has .

    There are many factors that the teachers need to carefully  consider. They must make judgements in different situations and use experience to treat errors properly at the right time and purposes. For example , while students are focusing on meaningful communication , it is not the right time to interrupt , but it would be more productive to do error correction while they are having linguistics drills in which they are attentive to the accurancy and teachers should focus on only a few major errors at a time ( such as subject , verb agreement or tenses) and teachers can reformulate the mistake by repeating in a correct way.

   In conclusion, as teachers of english as a foreign language , we should improve the way we teach to reduce the errors which are always made by the learners. For learners , error analysis needed to show them in what aspect in grammatical structures , vocabulary (lexis) which is difficult for them, whereas for teachers , it is required to evaluate themselves whether they are successful or not in teaching.

More resources:

1.The role of error analyses in Teacher Development - Ingrid Sapire

2.ESL Error Correction Techniques

UNIT 10 EXPOSURE AND FOCUS ON FORM

   

     

     The purpose of this general overview article is to outline how foreign languages are learnt. We do not learn a foreign language best through learning grammar and translating. Nor do we learn by constantly practicing until we form habits or just by communicating. We learn by picking up language, interacting and communicating and focusing on form.

     In addition to using English themselves, learners need lots of exposure to English being used for example listening to and reading a good range of text types, both spontaneous and planned language. These activities will give learners opportunities to interact and  use  English for themselves. We also saw how you could build up a set of tasks based around one theme. One task might become the ‘target' task, or main task; others might be used at a Pre-task/Priming stage, to activate vocabulary in preparation for the main task. Teacher talk and teacher-led tasks on text-book topics.

     Tasks based on listening and reading texts provide really useful input. Listening is especially vital for beginners who need lots of input before they are expected to speak (silent period). Also, It shows how teachers can increase learners' exposure to natural English.Learners love hearing about their teacher's personal experiences and opinions and this kind of teacher talk forms valuable spontaneous input that learners will acquire from naturally.

     As a conclusion throughout this article, I have tried to show how, in a task based approach, the focus is on learners learning language through using and experiencing it themselves, rather than teachers teaching language. 

MORE RESOURCES:

http://www.slideshare.net/albertamaro/exposure-and-focus-on-form

http://www.slideshare.net/verolopezmartinez/second-language-learningclassroom

UNIT 9 MOTIVATION

     In this unit I familiarized with the language teaching in order to be successful in learning a foreign language, three factors have to be taken into account: the first one is motivation, the second exposure and the last one is usage. But what is motivation, and how does it help during the learning process? According to the TKT book (modules 1,2 and 3) “Motivation is the thoughts and feelings we have which make us want to do something, continue to want to do it and turn our wishes into action.” So it means that motivation is what inspires people to do something in order to achieve a goal. 

      There are theories of motivation, some of the most known are the behavioral, the cognitive, and the constructivist. According to the behavioral point of view, motivation is the anticipation of a reward in which individuals are inspired to get a positive reinforcement. Douglas Brown, in his book entitled Principles of Language and Teaching fifth edition (2007), says that "behaviorists see motivation subordinated to external influences, such as” parents, teachers, peers and educational requirements. 

     Learners could be intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. A learner is intrinsically motivated when the inspiration comes from an internal desire, in this case, to learn a language. For example, it could be for an integrative purpose (the desire to integrate into the target language culture) or just because the learner is encouraged to learning languages. An individual is extrinsically motivated when the inspiration is external, it means when there is an external prise, such as money, acknowledgement, prizes, grades at school, promotion at work etc. for example: some people get motivated to study English to get a better position in the company they work for. 

     Sum up, language teachers need to be aware of the importance of motivation in language learning, so when they plan their lessons they have to think about activities and strategies that motivate learners and make them enjoy the language process. Educators also have to encourage students to be autonomous. To do this they need to be good motivators, this is really good, especially, for those students who need extrinsic motivation.

LINKS:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9yOOwGYYfU

2.http://www.slideshare.net/verolopezmartinez/motivation-42108899