二语习得考试提纲)

SLA 期末考试提纲

Week 9

Chapter 1 Introducing Second Language Acquisition

Chapter 2 Foundations of Second Language Acquisition

1. Second Language Acquisition (SLA): a term that refers both to the study of individuals and groups who are learning a language subsequent to learning their first one as young children, and to the process of learning that language.

2. Formal L2 learning: instructed learning that takes place in classrooms.

3. Informal L2 learning: SLA that takes place in naturalistic contexts.

4. First language/native language/mother tongue (L1): A language that is acquired naturally in early childhood, usually because it is the primary language of a child‘s family. A child who grows up in a multilingual setting may have more than one ―first‖ language.

5. Second language (L2): In its general sense, this term refers to any language that is acquired after the first language has been established. In its specific sense, this term typically refers to an additional language which is learned within a context where it is societally dominant and needed for education, employment, and other basic purposes. The more specific sense contrasts with foreign language, library language, auxiliary language, and language for specific purposes.

6. Target language: The language that is the aim or goal of learning.

7. Foreign language: A second language that is not widely used in the learners‘ immediate social context, but rather one that might be used for future travel or other cross-cultural communication situations, or one that might be studied be studied as a curricular requirement or elective in school with no immediate or necessary practical application.

8. Library language: A second language that functions as a tool for further learning, especially when books and journals in a desired field of study are not commonly published in the learner‘s L1.

9. Auxiliary language: A second language that learners need to know for some official functions in their immediate sociopolitical setting. Or that they will need for purposes of wider communication, although their first language serves most other needs in their lives.

10. Linguistic competence: The underlying knowledge that speakers/hearers have of a language. Chomsky distinguishes this from linguistic performance.

11. Linguistic performance: The use of language knowledge in actual production.

12. Communicative competence: A basic tenet (原则、信条、教条) of sociolinguistics defined as ―what a speaker needs to know to communicate appropriately within a particular language community‖ (Saville-Troike 2003)

13. Pragmatic competence: Knowledge that people must have in order to interpret and convey meaning within communicative situations.

14. Multilingualism: The ability to use more than one language.

15. Monolingualism: The ability to use only one language.

16. Simultaneous multilingualism: Ability to use more than one language that were acquired during early childhood.

17. Sequential multilingualism: Ability to use one or more languages that were learned after L1 had already been established.

1

18. Innate capacity: A natural ability, usually referring to children‘s natural ability to learn or acquire language.

19. Child grammar: Grammar of children at different maturational levels that is systematic in terms of production and

comprehension.

20. Initial state: The starting point for language acquisition; it is thought to include the underlying knowledge about

language structures and principles that are in learners‘ heads at the very start of L1 or L2 acquisition.

21. Intermediate state: It includes the maturational changes which take place in ―child grammar‖, and the L2

developmental sequence which is known as learner language.

22. Final state: The outcome of L1 and L2 leaning, also known as the stable state of adult grammar.

23. Positive transfer: Appropriate incorporation of an L1 structure or rule in L2 structure.

24. Negative transfer: Inappropriate influence of an L1 structure or rule on L2 use. Also called interference.

25. Poverty-of-the-stimulus: The argument that because language input to children is impoverished and they still

acquire L1, there must be an innate capacity for L1 acquisition.

26. Structuralism: The dominant linguistic model of the 1950s, which emphasized the description of different levels of

production in speech.

27. Phonology: The sound systems of different languages and the study of such systems generally.

28. Syntax: The linguistic system of grammatical relationships of words within sentences, such as ordering and

agreement.

29. Semantics: The linguistic study of meaning.

30. Lexicon: The component of language that is concerned with words and their meanings.

31. Behaviorism: The most influential cognitive framework applied to language learning in the 1950s. It claims that

learning is the result of habit formation.

32. Audiolingual method: An approach to language teaching that emphasizes repetition and habit formation. This

approach was widely practiced in much of the world until at least the 1980s.

33. Transformational-Generative Grammar: The first linguistic framework with an internal focus, which

revolutionized linguistic theory and had profound effect on both the study of first and second languages. Chomsky argued effectively that the behaviorist theory of language acquisition is wrong because it cannot explain the creative aspects of linguistic ability. Instead, humans must have some innate capacity for language.

34. Principles and Parameters (model): The internally focused linguistic framework that followed Chomsky‘s

Transformational-Generative Grammar. It revised specifications of what constitutes innate capacity to include more abstract notions of general principles and constraints common to human language as part of a Universal Grammar.

35. Minimalist program: The internally focused linguistic framework that followed Chomsky‘s Principles and

Parameters model. This framework adds distinctions between lexical and functional category development, as well as more emphasis on the acquisition of feature specification as a part of lexical knowledge.

36. Functionalism: A linguistic framework with an external focus that dates back to the early twentieth century and

has its roots in the Prague School (布拉格学派) of Eastern Europe. It emphasizes the information content of utterances and considers language primarily as a system of communication. Functionalist approaches have largely dominated European study of SLA and are widely followed elsewhere in the world.

37. Neurolinguistics: The study of the location and representation of language in the brain, of interest to biologists and

psychologists since the nineteenth century and one of the first fields to influence cognitive perspectives on SLA when systematic study began in 1960s.

2

38. Critical period: The limited number of years during which normal L1 acquisition is possible.

39. Critical Period Hypothesis: The claim that children have only a limited number of years during which they can

acquire their L1 flawlessly; if they suffered brain damage to the language areas, brain plasticity in childhood would allow other areas of the brain to take over the language functions of the damaged areas, but beyond a certain age, normal language development would not be possible. This concept is commonly extended to SLA as well, in the claim that only children are likely to achieve native or near-native proficiency in L2.

40. Information processing (IP): A cognitive framework which assumes that SLA (like learning of other complex

domains) proceeds from controlled to automatic processing and involves progressive reorganization of knowledge.

41. Connectionism: A cognitive framework for explaining learning processes, beginning in the 1980s and becoming

increasingly influential. It assumes that SLA results from increasing strength of associations between stimuli and responses.

42. Variation theory: A microsocial framework applied to SLA that explores systematic differences in learner

production which depend on contexts of use.

43. Accommodation theory: A framework for study of SLA that is based on the notion that speakers usually

unconsciously change their pronunciation and even the grammatical complexity of sentences they use to sound more like whomever they are talking to.

44. Sociocultural theory (SCT): An approach established by Vygotsky which claims that interaction not only

facilitates language learning but is a causative force in acquisition. Further, all of learning is seen as essentially a social process which is grounded in sociocultural settings.

45. Ethnography(人种论、民族志) of communication: A framework for analysis of language and its functions that

was established by Hymes(1966). It relates language use to broader social and cultural contexts, and applies ethnographic methods of data collection and interpretation to study of language acquisition and use.

46. Acculturation(文化适应): Learning the culture of the L2 community and adapting to those values and behavior

patterns.

47. Acculturation Model/Theory: Schumann‘s (1978) theory that identifies group factors such as identity and status

which determine social and psychological distance between learner and target language populations. He claims these influence outcomes of SLA.

48. Social psychology: A societal approach in research and theory that allows exploration of issues such as how

identity, status, and values influence L2 outcomes and why. It has disciplinary ties to both psychological and social perspectives. Chapter 1

1. What are the similarities and differences between linguists, psycholinguist, sociolinguists and social

psycholinguists? P3

（1）Linguists emphasize the characteristics of the differences and similarities in the languages that are being learned, and the linguistic competence (underlying knowledge) and linguistic performance (actual production) of learners at various stages of acquisition.

（2）Psychologists and psycholinguists emphasize the mental or cognitive processes involved in acquisition, and the representation of languages in the brain.

（3）Sociolinguists emphasize variability in learner linguistic performance, and extend the scope of study to communicative competence (underlying knowledge that additionally accounts for language use, or pragmatic competence).

3

（4）Social psychologists emphasize group-related phenomena, such as identity and social motivation, and the interactional and larger social contexts of learning.

2. What are the differences between second language, foreign language, library language and auxiliary

language? P4

（1）A second language is typically an official or societally dominant language needed for education, employment, and other basic purposes. It is often acquired by minority group members or immigrants who speak another language natively. In this more restricted sense, the term is contrasted with other terms in this list.

（2）A foreign language is one not widely used in the learners' immediate social context which might be used for future travel or other cross-cultural communication situations, or studied as a curricular requirement or elective in school, but with no immediate or necessary practical application.

（3）A library language is one which functions primarily as a tool for future learning through reading, especially when books or journals in a desired field of study are not commonly published in the learners' native tongue.

（4）An auxiliary language is one which learners need to know for some official functions in their immediate political setting, or will need for purposes of wider communication, although their first language serves most other needs in their lives.

3. Why are some learners more (or less) successful than other? P5

The intriguing question of why some L2 learners are more successful than others requires us to unpack the broad label ―learners‖ for some dimensions of discussion. Linguistics may distinguish categories of learners defined by the identity and relationship of their L1 and L2; psycholinguists may make distinctions based on individual aptitude for L2 learning, personality factors, types and strength of motivation, and different learning strategies; sociolinguists may distinguish among learners with regard to social, economic, and political differences and learner experiences in negotiated interaction; and social psychologists may categorize learners according to aspects of their group identity and attitudes toward target language speakers or toward L2 learning itself.

Chapter2

1. List at least five possible motivations for learning a second language at an older age. P10

The motivation may arise from a variety of conditions, including the following:

? Invasion or conquest of one‘s country by speakers of another language;

? A need or desire to contact speakers of other languages in economic or other specific domains;

? Immigration to a country where use of a language other than one's L1 is required;

? Adoption of religious beliefs and practices which involve use of another language;

? A need or desire to pursue educational experiences where access requires proficiency in another language; ? A desire for occupational or social advancement which is furthered by knowledge of another language;

? An interest in knowing more about peoples of other cultures and having access to their technologies or

literatures.

2. What are the two main factors that influence the language learning? P13

（1）The role of natural ability: Humans are born with a natural ability or innate capacity to learn language.

（2）The role of social experience: Not all of L1 acquisition can be attributed to innate ability, for language-specific learning also plays a crucial role. Even if the universal properties of language are

4

preprogrammed in children, they must learn all of those features which distinguish their L1 from all other possible human languages. Children will never acquire such language-specific knowledge unless that language is used with them and around them, and they will learn to use only the language(s) used around them, no matter what their linguistic heritage. American-born children of Korean or Greek ancestry will never learn the language of their grandparents if only English surrounds them, for instance, and they will find their ancestral language just as hard to learn as any other English speakers do if they attempt to learn it as an adult. Appropriate social experience, including L1 input and interaction, is thus a necessary condition for acquisition.

3. What is the initial state of language development for L1 and L2 respectively? P17-18

The initial state of L1 learning is composed solely of an innate capacity for language acquisition which may or may not continue to be available for L2, or may be available only in some limited ways. The initial state for L2 learning, on the other hand, has resources of L1 competence, world knowledge, and established skills for interaction, which can be both an asset and an impediment.

4. How does intermediate states process? P18-19

The cross-linguistic influence, or transfer of prior knowledge from L1 to L2, is one of the processes that is involved in interlanguage development. Two major types of transfer which occur are: (1) positive transfer, when an L1 structure or rule is used in an L2 utterance and that use is appropriate or ―correct‖ in the L2; and (2) negative transfer (or interference), when an L1 structure or rule is used in an L2 utterance and that use is inappropriate and considered an ―error‖.

5. What is a necessary condition for language learning (L1 or L2)? P20

Language input to the learner is absolutely necessary for either L1 or L2 learning to take place. Children additionally require interaction with other people for L1 learning to occur. It is possible for some individuals to reach a fairly high level of proficiency in L2 even if they have input only from such generally non-reciprocal sources as radio, television, or written text.

6. What is a facilitating condition for language learning? P20

While L1 learning by children occurs without instruction, and while the rate of L1 development is not significantly influenced by correction of immature forms or by degree of motivation to speak, both rate and ultimate level of development in L2 can be facilitated or inhabited by many social and individual factors, such as

(1) feedback, including correction of L2 learners' errors; (2) aptitude, including memory capacity and analytic ability; (3) motivation, or need and desire to learn; (4) instruction, or explicit teaching in school settings.

7. Give at least 2 reasons that many scientists believe in some innate capacity for language. P21-24

The notion that innate linguistic knowledge must underlie language acquisition was prominently espoused by Noam Chomsky. This view has been supported by arguments such as the following:

(1) Children‘s knowledge of language goes beyond what could be learned from the input they receive: Children

often hear incomplete or ungrammatical utterances along with grammatical input, and yet they are somehow able to filter the language they hear so that the ungrammatical input is not incorporated into their L1 system. Further, children are commonly recipients of simplified input from adults, which does not include data for all of the complexities which are within their linguistic competence. In addition, children hear only a finite subset of possible grammatical sentences, and yet they are able to abstract general principles and constraints which allow them to interpret and produce an infinite number of sentences which they have never heard before.

(2) Constraints and principles cannot be learned: Children‘s access to general constraints and principles which

govern language could account for the relatively short time it takes for the L1 grammar to emerge, and for the fact that it does so systematically and without any ―wild‖ divergences. This could be so because innate principles lead children to organize the input they receive only in certain ways and not others. In addition to the lack of negative evidence , constraints and principles cannot be learnt in part because children acquire a first language at an age when such abstractions are beyond their comprehension; constraints and principles are thus outside the realm of learning process which are related to general intelligence.

(3) Universal patterns of development cannot be explained by language-specific input: In spite of the surface

5