Applied Linguistics
Applied Linguistics
1.1) TOPIC 1. AN OVERVIEW OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS
1.1. What is Applied Linguistics (AL)? Multidisciplinarity and
interdisciplinarity
Essentially a problem - driven discipline- Narrow and broad
definitions of the term Applied Linguistics
Applied Linguistics is concerned with language teaching in
mother tongue
education or with the teaching and learning of foreign/second
languages
(Wilkins, 1972; Kaplan, 1990; Sridhar, 1993)
Applied linguistics is an academic discipline concerned with the
relation of
knowledge about language to decision making in the real world.
(. . .) applied
linguistics sets out to investigate problems in the world in
which language is
implicated both educational and social problems. (Cook,
2003)
In a broad sense, applied linguistics is concerned with
increasing understanding of
the role of language in human affairs and thereby with providing
the knowledge
necessary for those who are responsible for taking
language-related decisions
whether the need for these arises in the classroom, the
workplace, the law court or the
laboratory. Wilkins (1999: 7), cited in N. Schmitt and M.
Celce-Murcia (2002: 1).
- Other uses of the term Applied Linguistics
Applied linguistics is using what we know about a) language
b)How its learned c) How it used to achieve some purpose or solve
some problem in the real world- Applied Linguistics versus
(Theoretical) Linguistics:
Applied Linguistics differs from Linguistics in general mainly
with respect to its explicit orientation towards practical,
everyday problems related to language and communication
(http://www.aila.info/about.html )
Applied linguistics is essentially a problem-driven discipline,
rather than a theorydriven
one (McCarthy, 2001: 4)
* What does success in the AL enterprise depend on?
1. Identifying and defining problems.
2. Contextualising those problems within linguistic study and
developing a theoretical stance.
3. Employing appropriate resources for the exploration of
possible solutions.
4. Evaluating the proposed solutions.
* What might fall within the domain of typical AL problems?
- Applied Linguistics: Multidisciplinarity and
interdisciplinarity TASKS 1 AND 2
1.2. The development of Applied Linguistics.
- Applied Linguistics during the twentieth century:
* language teaching concerns
* incorporating social/cultural and contextual elements into
Applied Linguistics
* The content of section 1.2 is mainly based on Reading 1
Reading 1: Schmitt, N. and M. Celce-Murcia (2002). In Schmitt,
N. (ed.), chapter 1: 1-16.
Task 1. Match the following disciplines to their corresponding
definitions. Note
that there is one discipline whose definition is not provided
here.
Ethnography Speech pathology L2 Acquisition
Corpus linguistics Lexicography Pragmatics
Sociolinguistics Neurolinguistics L1 Acquisition
Lexicology Forensic linguistics Ethnomethodology
Language planning Psycholinguistics Critical Discourse
Analysis
1. Language planning: the systematic approach to developing
language as a national or regional
resource. (Davies, 1999, glossary) / official intentions and
policies affecting language use in a
country. (Crystal, 1987: 424)
Lexicography The art and science of dictionary making (Crystal,
1987: 424)
Pragmatics It studies the factors that govern our choice of
language in social interaction and the effects of our choice on
others. This field overlaps with other areas, such as
sociolinguistics or discourse analysis, among others. (Crystal,
1987: 120)
4. Lexicology The study of the history and present state of a
languages vocabulary. (Crystal, 1987: 424) 5.
Neurolinguistics The study of the neurological basis of language
development an use in human beings, especially of the brain s
control over the processes of speech and understanding. (Crystal,
1987: 412)
6. Speech pathology The study of abnormalities in the
development and use of language in
children and adults. (Davies, 1999: 149)
7. Sociolinguistics The study of the interaction between
language and the structure and
functioning of society. (Crystal, 1987: 412)
8. Psycholinguistics The study of the relationship between
linguistic behaviour and the
psychological processes (e.g. memory, attention) thought to
underlie it. (Crystal, 1987: 412)
9. Ethnography The study of the forms and functions of
communicative behaviour,
both verbal and non-verbal, in particular social settings
(Davies, 1999: 147) / The study of language in relation to the
social and cultural variables that influence human interaction.
(Crystal, 1987: 420)
10. Corpus linguistics It uses large collections of both spoken
and written natural texts tht
are stored on computers (Reppen and Simpson, 2002: 92)
Forensic linguistics The study of any text or item of
spoken/written language which has relevance to a criminal or civil
dispute, or which relates to what goes on in a court of law, or to
the language of the law itself. Thus the linguist may be called
upon to analyse a very wide variety of documents, e.g. agreements
relating to ancient territorial disputes, the quality of court
interpreting, an allegation of verballing (claims by defendants
that their statements were altered by police officers), a disputed
will, a suicide note, etc. (based on
http://www.thetext.co.uk/index.html)12. L2 Acquisition This is the
common term used for the name of the field. It refers to the
learning of another language after the native language has been
learned. Sometimes the term
refers to the learning of a third of fourth language (Gass and
Selinker, 2001:4)
13. Critical Discourse Analysis might be defined as
fundamentally interested in analysing opaque as well as transparent
structural relationships of dominance, discrimination, power and
control as manifested in language. In other words, Critical
Discourse Analysis aims to investigate critically social inequality
as it is expressed, constituted, legitimized, and so on, by
language use (or in discourse). (Weiss and Wodak, 2003: 15).
According to Davies (1999), this approach analyses how
linguistic choices in texts are used to maintain and create social
inequalities.
Ethnomethodology The use of transcripts of conversations to
develop descriptions of the interlocutors knowledge, especially of
the social situation in which they interact (Davies, 1999: 147) /
The detailed study of the techniques used during linguistic
interaction. (Crystal, 1987: 420).
Task 2. Group the following titles of presentations given at
AESLA 2007 and AILA 2008
into their corresponding panels/strands in the table1. Justify
your answer. (You can write
the number in the right column of the table above.)
Foreign Language Teaching and Teacher Education 1, 3Discourse
Analysis 9, 12Lexicology and Lexicography 11Sociolinguistics 5,
6Translation and Interpreting 8 Corpus Linguistics, Computational
Linguistics and Linguistic Engineering 7, 10Language Policy
2Pragmatics 4Maximizing EFL learners communicative competence
through cooperative learning.
A reflection on the linguistic situation of the German-Brazilian
communities.
3. Content and language Integrated learning in Teacher
Education: Bilingual Approaches
supporting multilingualism
4. Phatic utterances as face-threatening/saving acts or
politeness strategies: a pragmatic
reflection for their teaching in the L2 class.
5. Made in USA. Americanisms in Spanish advertising.
6. The choice of dialects in a diasporic situation: the example
of Armenian spoken in France..
7. On building an automatic text classification model with
minimal computational costs.
8. English noun characterization realized by ing modifiers and
its translation into Spanish: A
corpus-based study.
9. Online chat: speaking with your fingers?
10. Collocation analysis of a sample corpus using some
statistical measures: an empirical
approach.
11. Is there a prototypical phrasal verb? On the relationship
between phrasal verbs and the
processes of grammaticalization, lexicalization and
idiomatization.
12. Interlocking textual patterns in written and argumentative
discourse: evidence from USA
paper editorials and articles of opinions.
1.2) AN OVERVIEW OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS: The Development of
Applied Linguistics (Reading 1, pages 4-9)
Feb. 27th 2014
Around mid 40s Applied Linguistics was used both in the US and
UK to refer to applying a so-called scientific approach to teach
foreign language.
Applied linguistics: first officially recognized as an
independent course at university of Michigan in 1946.
Late 1950s and early 1960s: use of Applied linguistics was
gradually broadened inclusion of Automatic Translation.
1964, foundation of AILA. Association Internationale de la
Linguistique Applique
The founding of other national associations of Applied
Linguistics contributed to the growth of the field.
1967 British (BAAL)
1979 American (AAAL)
1982 Spanish (AESLA)Grammar-translation method:
Emphasis on accuracy and explicit grammar rules
Grammar taught deductively
Emphasis on reading and writing (not on using language to
communicate orally)
Direct method:
Emphasis on listening and speaking/exposure to oral
language.
Plenty of drilling and correction
Grammar taught inductively
Reading method:
1. Promoting reading skill through vocabulary management
substituting low frequency literary words for more frequent
items.
Audio-lingualism
Derives from the intense training in spoken language, given to
American military personnel during the WW2.
Emphasis on listening and speaking (aural + oral skills)
(Borrowed from direct method) + attention to pronunciation
Influenced by behaviorism. Language = process of habit
formation
Language learning based on imitation, memorization and
drilling
Chomskys view of language: attack on behaviorismLanguage = rule
governed system, learning = internalizing
Innate Rules (that is existing in a person from birth)
Competence = the speaker - hearers knowledge of the language
Performance = the actual use of language in a concrete
situationUniversal grammar = the ami of linguistics is to go beyond
the universal properties of language are. And to establish a
universal grammarDell Hymess (1972) Notion of communicative
competence
Knowing how to form grammatically correct sentences
Knowing how to use language
4 questions:
Whether (and to what degree) something is formally possible
Whether (and to what degree) something is feasible in virtue of
the means implementation available
Whether (and to what degree) something is appropriate (adequate,
happy, successful) in relation to a context in which it is used and
evaluated;
Whether (and to what degree) something is in fact done, actually
performed and what its doing entails.Feb. 28th 2014
Hallidays systemic functional grammar
Language = a means of functioning in society (Versus Chomskys
view: language= internal to leaner)
Governed by cognitive factors:
Ideational (fact/experiences)
Interpersonal (social relations)
Textual (organization)Towards a more communicative type of
pedagogy
Council of Europe Project (mid 1970s) attempt to create a
Europe-wide language teaching system based on
Needs analysis
Notions (i.e. relevant concepts)
Functions (i.e. Uses of languages)
Notional - functional syllabus in textbook
Krashen s (1982) Monitor Hypothesis. PS: (This part is not good,
more info can be seen at the topic 3 second language acquisition
theories summaries)
Language was mainly unconsciously acquired through
comprehensible input2L input just beyond the current level of
learners ability
Focus on meaning- long exposure, meaning - based and
understandable
Learners emotional state can affect acquisition (Affective
filter)
Communicative language
Emphasis on the use of language for meaningful communication
Focus on learners message and fluency rather than on their
grammatical accuracy (problem-solving activities, information gap
exercises)
Immersion programmes
Using the L2 to learn subject matter content
Learning the L2 by using explicit instruction (PS: notes
incomplete)
Technology was advancing throughout the century:
CALL: Computer - assisted language learning
Computing technology - in corporation of audio and video input
into learning
programs + analysis of language on the basis of corpora
A closer look at the main developments over the 20th century
shows:
Important change in the 1970s regarding:
The study of language use/ language of communication
Focus on social factor and language use - social linguistics led
to the developmentContext: affects communication - pragmatics
discourse analysis
The view of cognition
Language learning cannot be separated from the context where is
takes place
New view: social cultural theory: it is only through social
interaction with other humans develop thir language and
cognition
Language learning
Leaners active participation in the learning process
Importance of what learners aid - learner strategies
Learner autonomy
1.3) The notion of Communicative Competence (CC) 1
* ABILITY TO USE LANGUAGE EFFECTIVELY IN A GIVEN SPEECH
COMMUNITY
* IT REFERS TO BOTH KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL IN USING THE
KNOWLEDGE
COMPONENTS: 4 AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL
Task 1. Match the DEFINITION with the TERM
1. Grammatical competence 3. Discourse competence
2. Sociolinguistic competence 4. Strategic competence
A. Knowledge of how to combine grammatical forms and meanings to
achieve a
unified text. 3B. Appropriateness in meaning (the right speech
act, i.e., complaining, suggesting, etc.) and in form. 2C. Mastery
of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies that can
compensate for breakdown in communication. 1D. Mastery of
linguistic code itself. 4
Task 2. Identify the type of C.C. involved in each of these
activities. Justify your
answer.
1. Knowing how to apologize. 22. Recognizing paragraph markers
in a text. 33. Being able to construct conditional clauses. 14.
Knowing how to use a dictionary. 45. Knowing how to interrupt in a
conversation. 26. Knowing the different possible meanings of the
present tense. 17. Knowing how to break down the exam material into
studiable parts. 48. Knowing how to structure an oral presentation
to be given in class. 3
1.4) READING 1. An overview of Applied Linguistics
(Schmitt N. and M. Celce-Murcia, 2000: 1-16)
Questions1:
What are the traditional areas that Applied Linguistics
covers?
A1. Essentially a problem - driven discipline, Applied
Linguistics is concerned with language teaching in mother tongue
education or with the teaching and learning of foreign/second
languages.
2. What is the current interest of Applied Linguistics? Choose
three nontraditional
areas that Carter and Nunan (2001: 2) include as sub-disciplines
of Applied Linguistics and find out what they study by looking in
your glossary, checking encyclopaedias or using the Internet. Be
ready to explain it in class with some examples.
1. Corpus linguistics It uses large collections of both spoken
and written natural texts tht
are stored on computers
2. Psycholinguistics The study of the relationship between
linguistic behaviour and the
psychological processes (e.g. memory, attention) thought to
underlie it.
4. Pragmatics It studies the factors that govern our choice of
language in social interaction and the effects of our choice on
others. This field overlaps with other areas, such as
sociolinguistics or discourse analysis, among others.
In the section entitled Applied Linguistics during the Twentieth
Century there are a number of movements that need special attention
due to their influence on language learning and teaching. Look for
the following teaching methods and explain them briefly:
Grammar-translation method, Direct method, Reading method.
Grammar-translation method:
Emphasis on accuracy and explicit grammar rules
Grammar taught deductively
Emphasis on reading and writing (not on using language to
communicate orally)
Direct method:
Emphasis on listening and speaking/exposure to oral
language.
Plenty of drilling and correction
Grammar taught inductively
Reading method:
1. Promoting reading skill through vocabulary management
substituting low frequency literary words for more frequent
items.
4. Behaviourism and Chomskys Cognitivism are two opposite views
of the
process of language acquisition. Can you explain briefly how
they oppose one
another?
Behaviorism: language = process of habit formation, language
learning based on: imitation, memorization and drilling.
Chomskys view of language: attack on behaviorism
Language = rule governed system, learning = internalizing
Innate Rules (that is existing in a person from birth)
Competence = the speaker - hearers knowledge of the language
Performance = the actual use of language in a concrete
situation
5. In what way does Hallidays Systemic Functional Grammar differ
from
Chomskys approach? And what are the three types of functions
that Halliday
identifies in language?
Language = a means of functioning in society (Versus Chomskys
view: language= internal to leaner)
Governed by cognitive factors:
Ideational (fact/experiences)
Interpersonal (social relations)
Textual (organization)
6. In the 1980s a new learning method appeared, known as
Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT). What were its main objectives?
Emphasis on the use of language for meaningful communication
Focus on learners message and fluency rather than on their
grammatical accuracy (problem - solving activities, information gap
exercises)
Explain the meaning of the acronym CALL.
CALL: Computer - assisted language learning
Computing technology - in corporation of audio and video input
into learning programs + analysis of language on the basis of
corpora
What main changes took place in the 1970s regarding the
following areas?
- the study of language use / language communication:
Focus on social factors and language use - social linguistics
led to the developmentContext: affects communication - pragmatics
discourse analysis- the view of cognition
Language learning cannot be separated from the context where is
takes place.New view: social cultural theory: it is only through
social interaction with other humans develop thir language and
cognition - language learning
Leaners active participation in the learning process.Importance
of what learners aid - learner strategiesLearner autonomy1.5) Task
1 (For reference only)
Part I: The audiolingual method in practice
1. What is the lesson about? What is/are the aims of the
lesson?
A1: Language teaching method: audio-lingual method, its about a
salesman and a woman.
2. What skills are practised? In what order?
A2: listening - speaking - reading
3. How are structured patterns of language taught/learnt? (Try
to be as specific as possible)
A3: First, introduce the theme/dialog (what it is about).
Second, listen to what the teacher says. Third, repeat what the
teacher says. Fourth, pronounce after the teacher sentence by
sentence. Fifth, reconstruct the dialog by students themselves.
4. Is there any grammatical point in the session? At what stage
of the session is it introduced? What two grammar drills are
used?
A4: Towards the end of the session. Single slot substitution
drill and question and answer drill.
5. Are mistakes corrected? How?
A5: Yes, by using backward build up drill.
Part II: The principles underlying the audiolingual method
1. What is one of the teachers major role?
A1: A model of the target language.2. What is the students
job?
A2: To repeat as accurately as they can.3. What does it mean
that language learning is a process of habit formation?
A3: The more students repeat something, the stronger the habit
and the greater the learning.
4. Why are the following elements considered important in the
process of learning?
A4: Positive reinforcement: such reinforcement helps the
students develop correct habits.
Part III: In your opinion, what are the main advantages or/and
disadvantages of using this method?
A: My opinion is that this method is obsolete, this video was
made in 1990, now we are in 2014, how could we apply this method in
our generation? However is not saying that this method is not fine,
rather it needs to evolve, the main advantage is that spoken
language is more important than the written language, I support
this idea without a doubt. But in the video, the students were
adults, it is confirmed that grown-ups are less efficient in
learning written language. However if this method wants to be
applicable for adolescents or children in our generation, it would
be better to show the written text (even pictures) frist, then
combine it with this method, multimodal text would be a better way
of studying.TOPIC 2 APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND FIRST LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION
APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND FIRST LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (L1)
2.1) Theories of L1 Acquisition (See campus under the file
Theories of First Language Acquisition )
More notes:
Mar. 6th 2014
Children attempt to imitate and practice sounds and patterns
produced by those around them.
It encouraged by positive reinforcement they would continue to
imitate/practice the sounds and patterns they heard
Continuous imitation and practice formation of habits of correct
language use
Adherence to the scientific method
As a result, such concepts as consciousness and intuition were
regarded as mentalistic illegitimate domains of inquiryFocus on
form/study on surface structureFocus on correctness and primary
interest in the phonetic system of languageHowever, their
grammatical ability cannot be explained on the basis of
imitation:
Children seen unable to imitate grammar construction exactly
(e.g the single negative pattern)
According to OGrady (2005:65/reading 2) Children are not every
good at imitating sentences containing unfamiliar words and
structures
The behaviorist perspective:
The earliest stages of child language acquisition may manifest a
good deal of surface structure imitation since the baby may not
passes the necessary semantic categories to assign meaning to
utterances
But as children perceive the importance of the semantic level of
language, they attend to greater extent to that meaningful semantic
level - the deep structure imitation
The inadequacies of the behaviorist approach can be summarized
as follows:
Language is not merely verbal behavior underlying the actual
behavior that we observe there is a complex system of rules. These
enable speakers to create and understand an infinite number of
sentence. Most of which they have never encountered before.
sentences are created as the need arises
What children learn, that is an abstract knowledge of rules for
competence, however, they are exposed only to peoples speech
performance not exposed to competence. Extracting abstract
knowledge from concrete examples cannot be explained
habit-formation. (Creativity e.g forms such as mouses goed wented
cannot be explained on the basis of imitation)
Although children are exposed to different actual speech, they
arrive at the same underlying rules as other children in their
community. They also pass through similar sequence in acquiring
these rule.
The learning task is therefore a complex one, yet it occurs at a
very early age and with exceptional speed. Again, this cannot be
explained by habit-formation alone
Mar. 7th 2014
The nativist approach:
Language is regarded as a rule-governed system.
A theory of language had to be a theory of competence
Competence is ones underlying knowledge of the system of a
language
A persons knowledge of the rules of a language (How all the
pieces fit together)
Performance is actual production (speaking, writing) of the
comprehension, (listening, reading) of linguistic events
Chomsky (1963) likened competence to an idealized
speaking-hearer who does not display such performance variables as
memory limitations, distractions shift of attention and interest,
errors and hesitation phenomena
Universal grammar (UG)
UG consists at all sorts of grammatical categories and
principles that are common to all languages.
Nativist: language acquisition is innately determined
Chomskys criticism centered on a number of issues:
The creativity of language
Complexity abstractness of linguistic rules
LAD -
experience - the brain (LAD) - grammar
Chomskys view: LAD is just for language.
The acquisition device tells children what to do and what to
look for. In particular categories (nouns, verbs, for example) and
it gives them some clues that help them figure out which words
belong to which category (reading 2 page 184-185)
It provides children with:
A knowledge of linguistics universals (e.g. The existence of
word order and word classes)
General procedures for discovering how language is to be
learned
Other concepts:
Systematicity:
The childs language at any stage is systematic
The child is constantly forming hypothesis on the basis of the
input received and then testing those hypotheses in speech (and
comprehension)
Pivot grammar: (notes incomplete)
The early grammar of child language were referred to as pivot
grammar.
E.g: my cap. Childs first 2 words utterances, 2 separate words
classes
First rule of the generative grammar of the child:
Sentence = pivot word + open word ( closed: my, that, other... )
or (open: mommy, wet)
The innateness hypothesis presented a number of problems itself
(Brown 2000:34-35) (WTF is this? I dont remember anything from
this)
Role of environmental factors
Role of the nurturing environment
The nature - nurture controversy:
What are those behaviors that nature provides innately and what
are those behaviors that are by environmental exposure - by nature,
by teaching-learned and internalized
Functional approaches: cognition and language development.
(Piaget) and social interaction
Relationships between cognitive development and L1 language
acquisition. Lightbown and Spada (2006:20)
The developing cognitive understanding is built on the
interaction between the child and the things that can be observed
or manipulated
Language can be used to represent knowledge that children have
acquired through physical interaction with the environment
Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 years) infants mainly make use of
senses and motor capabilities to experience the environment
The sensorimotor infant gains physical knowledge
Children develop a sense of object permanence (later part of
period)
Preoperational stage (2 - 7 years)
Children start to use symbols such as language to represent
objects. For instance, the child understands the word apple
although a real apple is not seen.
Learning from concrete evidence
Unaware of another persons perspective. They exhibit egocentric
thought and language
Concrete operational stage (7 - 11 years)
The concrete operational child begins to think logically.
Operations are associated with personal experience but not in
abstract manipulations
Formal operational stage (11 and beyond)
After roughly 11 years old, students have the ablity to:
consider many possibilities for a given condition.
Deal with propositions that explain concrete facts
Have the ability to use planning to think ahead, they can also
think abstractly
Remarks (Yule 1985 143-144)
Instances of overgeneralization patterns:
Plural forms: foots - footses, boys - boyses (following the
houses pattern)
Regular past tense (walked, played) overgeneralization wented,
comed,
Variability throughout the sequence:
good forms one day and odd forms the next, the child is working
out how to use the linguistic system.
Task 4. Look through your notes on Behaviourism and the Nativist
Approach and complete the following table:
Behaviorism (Skinner)
View of language:
Language is
Apart of total human behavior
A collection of habits
Described on the basis of observable data
Language Learning:
Language is learned by rules for competence
Language learning is based on imitation, memorization and
drilling
Relation to any teaching method?
Audio-lingual method
Problems (notes incomplete)
The nativist approach (Chomsky)
View of language:Language is regarded as a rule-governed systemA
theory of language should be a theory of competence
The aim of linguistics is to establish a universal
grammarLanguage Learning:
Language acquisition is innately determined
Children learn when exposed to speech certain principles begin
to operate
Key concepts (notes incomplete)
Problems (notes incomplete)
* Cognition and language development. Piaget s theory of
cognitive development:
1. Sensorimotor stage (birth-2 years) 3. Concrete operational
stage (7-11 years)
2. Preoperational stage (2-7 years) 4. Formal operational stage
(11 years and beyond)Task 5. What do you think children (can) do at
each stage?
a. The child begins to think logically. Operations are
associated with personal experience, but
not in abstract manipulations. Stage 3b. The child gains
physical knowledge from his/her experience with the
environment.
Stage 1c. Among other, children have the ability to consider
many possibilities for a given condition
and deal with propositions that explain concrete facts. Stage
4d. Children start to use symbols such as language to represent
objects. Stage 22.2) General stages in the L1 Acquisition Process:
phonological, grammatical, semantic and pragmatic/discursive
development (see campus, its part of the mock exam)
Task 1
Negatives:
Stage 1 1, 3 no and not at the beginning of any expression
Stage 2 2,5,6,8 dont cant begin to be place in front the
verbStage 3 4,7,8,10 incorporation of other auxiliary forms such as
didnt and wont
Questions:
Stage 1 15, 12 utter the expression with rising forms add to the
beginning of the expression
Stage 2 11,14,18,20 more complex expressions, rising intonation
strategy continues
Stage 3 13,16,17,19 inversion of subject and verb (but not
always in wh- forms)
Task 3
A: overextension
B: mismatch
C: underextension
Task 5
Early
Conversations are often very erratic and disjointed
Parents do most of the work
Children use sequences of utterance which may not be directed to
any listener.
Effect: curious mixture of monologue and dialogue
3 years
Both parties very much involved with detail of what each is
saying
By 3 it is plain that children have learned many aspects of
conversational strategy, they are able to initiate a dialogue - ask
questions/introduce a topic
3-5
Major development in child awareness of the social factors that
govern a successful conversation. Correct use forms of address and
markers of politeness (please and sorry)
They carry out conversational repairs such as by repeating
utterance that are unclear or ask for clarification
Studies of young children in conversations show that many adult
interaction skills are already present well before school age.
2.3) The role of input and interaction in L1 Acquisition:
motherese / Child Directed Speech (check campus)2.4.) The Critical
Period Hypothesis (CPH) in L1 Acquisition (check campus)
Mar 28th 2014
A critical period was found with certain species, the question
was therefore raised whether there were also critical periods in
human maturation.
Adults:
By contrast children with left-hemisphere damage showed an
ability to recover onver a longer period.
Right hemisphere that over the language function - brain
plasticity in childhood
The development of language was said to be the result of brain
maturation. The hemispheres were equipotential at birth with
language gradually becoming lateralized in the left hemisphere
The process of lateralization began at around the age of 2 and
ended at puberty
Conflicting evidence - see Genie
Language and the brain:
At birth both hemispheres are equipotential (equally involved in
all activities)
The idea that a single area of the brain can be related to a
single behavior ability is known as The theory of cerebral
Localization.
Brocas area: crucial involved in the production of speak
Wernicke's area: in the understanding of speech
Supplementary motor area: involved in the actual physical
articulation of speech.Linguistic processes are typically housed in
the left hemisphere.
A critical period for language? (crystal 1987:265)
The critical - period hypothesis has been controversial,
reasons:
The pathological evidence is mixed. Child recovery help by right
hemisphere. But also left hemisphere damage producing long-lasting
aphasia.
The evidence of normal language acquisition is also mixed. Some
aspects well established before age 5. But some linguistics skill
(in semantics and pragmatics) still developing in teenage children
and young adults.
Neuropsychology evidence: some studies suggest that
lateralization maybe established long before puberty- as early as
the 3rd year.
The case of Genie supports Lennebergs hypothesis only in a week
form (see this part of text on campus)
TOPIC 3: APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND FOREIGN/SECOND LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION/ LEARNING (most info can be seen on campus, especially
the 2nd language theories summary)
April 4th 2014
Krashens model
Acquisition-learning hypothesis (subconscious-conscious)
The process of L2 acquisition uses the language faculty in
essentially the same unconscious way as L1 acquisition, LAD
(process language input)
The result of natural interaction with the language via
meaningful communication
The monitor hypothesis
Learning has only one function, and thats as a monitor or
editor
Editing and making alterations or corrections when they are
consciously perceived
Consciously modify the output
An optional amount of monitoring sound be used only once fluency
is established
The natural order hypothesis
This order us independent of the order in which rules are taught
in language class
The input hypothesis
Input + 1 the next step in the development sequence
Gap between input and input + 1 bridged by information drawn
from context or previous experience
Krashens view the input hypothesis as central to his model of L2
acquisition
Speaking is the result of acquisition and not its cause. Speech
cant be taught directly but emerges on its own
If input is understood and theres enough of it, the necessary
grammar is automatically provided
The affective filter hypothesis
Learners also need to let that input in
For acquisition to take place, the learner has to be able to
absorb the appropriate parts of the input
If the filter is down, learners can make effective use of
input
E.g. The best acquisition will occur in a low anxiety
The affective filter hypothesis captures the relationship
between affective variable and the process of L2 acquisition
Swains output hypothesis:
Experience content-based second language French instruction
Output is necessary to increase fluency.
The noticing/triggering function or consciousness raising role.
Learners become aware of gaps and problems in their current L2
system
The hypothesis -testing function. Producing the target language
provides learners with opportunities to experiment with new
structures/forms
The metalinguistic function reflective role producing the target
language provides learners with opportunities to reflect on,
discuss and analyze problems explicitly
It drives forward most effectively the development of second
language syntax and morphology
April 10th 2014
Longs interaction hypothesis
Early 1980s: long (1983) agreed with Krashen that comprehensive
input is necessary for language acquisition. However he focused
more on how input could be made comprehensible.
The more the input is queried, recycled and paraphrased to
increase its comprehensibility. The greater its potential
usefulness as input.
Comprehensible input is the result of modified interaction
How does interactional modification promote acquisition?
Adjustments (modification) - comprehension - acquisition
(comprehensible in put promotes acquisition)
Negotiation makes learners aware that there is incongruity
between their forms and those by native speakers
The new version (Long 1986) highlights:
The possible contribution to second language learning of
negative evidence
The notion of selective attention which facilitates the process
whereby input becomes intake
Vygostky's Zone of Proximal Development
Learning is mediated process. It occurs through social
interaction.
Constructing knowledge in collaboration with interlocutors
Ket concepts:
Scaffolding: process of supportive dialogue
Directs the attention of the learner to key features of
environment
2) Guides him/her through a successive steps of a problem
B. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
A metaphorical location or "site" where learners co-construct
knowledge in collaboration with an interlocutor
2) Here the learner is not yet capable of independent
functioning, but can achieve the desired outcome given the relevant
scaffolded help
The interlanguage theory Larry Selinker (1972)
This system of rules is viewed as a mental grammar and is
referred to an interlanguage. L1 - interlanguage grammar - L2
Characteristics (most info can be seen on campus, under the
theories summary file, the following stuff only as extra info)
System open to change and open to the influence of other
linguisitic systems known to the learner.
Learner construct a series of mental grammar or interlanguages
as they gradually increase the complexity of their L2
knowledge.
Process of constant revision and extension
The interlanguage evolves in the direction of the L2 as long as
the process of acquisition takes place
Handout
Handout
Become permanently established in a form that is deviant from
the target language norm.
Interlingual errors:
Errors due to transferring rules from the mother tongue
The influence of L1 as a source of error is known as negative
transfer (interference) versus positive transfer
Compare (L1=Spanish) eats well the baby - negative transfer
Intralingual errors:
The show that the learner is processing the L2 in its own terms
(e.g. Errors of overgeneralization, goed. breaked)
There are also ambiguous cases (e.g. As that can be interpreted
as both interlingual or intralingual)
Errors are regarded as evidence for the learners developing
systems
Interlingual and intralingual errors are classified as errors of
competence (versus errors of performance, mistakes or lapses)
TOPIC 4. DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS (Info can be
found on campus, its a short topic)4. 1.) What is discourse?
Task 1
a) What do these definitions have in common?
1. language in use
2. Language above sentence
3. Context (situational context)
4. Communicative events
5. Communicate ideas and beliefs
b) What other aspects are highlighted by some of the
definitions?
Form + function (2)
Spoken/written language (4)
Language use = vague concept include when? How? Why?
Communication of ideas and beliefs
c) Considering your answers to a) and b), what three dimensions
should be taken into account when characterising discourse?
Discourse as language use
Discourse as interaction in social situation
Discourse as cognition
Discourse as language use
What does such language use consist of? I.e. What are its
components?
Who are these components ordered combined into larger
constructs
Discourse a sequence of sentences
Discourse as interaction in social situation
Discourse as practical social and cultural phenomenon
Language users engaging in discourse accomplish social acts and
participate in social interaction
Such interaction is in the turn embedded
Discourse as cognition
Discourse studied in terms of the actual cognitive process of
its production and comprehension by language users
Making sense, understanding, interpretation, meaning and many
other notions.
Realm of discourse structures and social interaction = realm of
the mind
Discourse: what is it?
Interested in the relation between texts and the contexts in
which they arise and operate. - context of situation, culture
Typically study longer passages of text (Vs. grammarians)
Look at real text (Vs. formal grammarians)
4.2) Speech and writing
Task 1
Speech: 1,2,4,5,9Writing: 3,6,7,8,10
4.3) Main approaches to the analysis of discourse
4.3.1. Conversation Analysis
1. What is the main concern of conversation analysis? What
questions do they address?
Concerned with the detailed organization of everyday
interaction
What is a turn in conversation analysis?
The basic unit of speech is the individual speaker turn. A turn
is each occasion when the speaker speak, speakers select themselves
self-selection or are selected by the current speaker
3. What are back-channel responses?
Vocalization: such as Hmm. Which take place white another person
speaks
4. When does overlapping occur?
It occurs when an interlocutor completes the speakers turn or
add a comment when he/she is still talking
5. For conversational analysts, are back-channel responses and
overlaps perceived as rude? How do they function in
conversation?
They are normally perceived as rude, rather, for conversational
analysts they are viewed as part of a cooperative activity that
facilitates communication. Overlapping is not the same as
interruption. If more than one participant tries to talk at the
same time on of them usually steps.
6. What is an adjacency pair? What are preferred and
dispreferred sequences of adjacency pairs?
The most basic pattern, its a pair of turns that mutually affect
one another.
Preferred - sequences
Greeting - greeting
Compliment - thanks
Apology - acceptance
Dispreferred
Who producing a dispreferred second pair - pair speaker try to
make the sequence as little-damaging to the participantss face.
(sense of personal worth) as possible.
4.3.2. The ethnographic approach
Reading 4 question: Section Ethnography
What is a speech event? Can you provide an example?
Activities or aspects of activities that are directly governed
by rules or norms of the use of speech (e.g. Conversation during a
party)
Language as a system of use whose rules and norms are as
integral a part of culture
Analysis of communicative pattern/language use (versus Chomskys
theory of competence)
Method: participant observation
5.1. What is Corpus Linguistics?
Corpus linguistics uses large collections of both spoken and
written natural texts that are stored on computers (Reading 5, p.
92). Corpus linguistics can be described as the study of language
on the basis of text corpora (Aijmer and Altenberg, 1991:1)
Corpus based-analyses of language: Empirical + quantitative and
qualitative analytical techniques. Analysis of the actual patterns
of on the basis of a large and principled collection of natural
texts
5.2. Corpus design and compilation
Corpora can be include both written and transcribed spoken
texts
Text archive/database : is a text repository often huge and
opportunistically collected and normally not structured (project
gutenberg)
General corpora
Body of texts which linguists analyze to seek answers to
particular questions about the vocabulary grammar or discourse
structure
Also know as balanced corpora or core corpora
Many of the modern general corpora include samples of spoken
discourse (versus early general corpora = mainly limited to written
language)
Specialized corpora:
Designed with more specific research goals in mind:
Sociolect corpora
Regional corpora
Non-standard corpora
Learner corpora
5.4. How can corpora aid and inform discourse analysis /
language acquisition and teaching? Corpus Linguistics = an
extremely powerful tool for analysing natural language relevant to
Discourse Analysis and Second Language Acquisition/Foreign Language
Learning and Teaching. It provides researchers with large
collection of spoken/written text.
It enables researchers to make more objective and confident
descriptions of language usage (relevance in discourse analysis and
SLA/FLL research). It allows investigators from different locations
to work together in research projects
Issues in corpus design and corpus compilation:
The size factor - Number of words, number of texts from
different categories, number of samples from each text.
Representativeness
Validity, reliabilityAnnotation systems (e.g part of speech
tagging)Corpora provide language a basis for deciding which
language patterns are relevant in particular situations
(Spoken/written, formal/informal)
PREPARING FOR THE FINAL EXAM: MOCK EXAM (for reference only)
THEORY SECTION (X points)
Decide whether the following statements are TRUE (T) or FALSE
(F). Justify your answer (X points, 2 points each if the
justification is correct):
A narrow definition of the term Applied Linguistics states that
Applied Linguistics is concerned with investigating educational and
social problems in which language is implicated.
F. This is a broad definition. The narrow definition is Applied
linguistics is concerned with language teaching in mother tongue
education or with the teaching and learning of foreign/ second
language
According to Skinners theory of L1 Acquisition, many of the
mistakes that children make are the result of a process of
overgeneralization.
F. Caused by imperfect learning.
In Chomskys view, a theory of language had to be a theory of
competence.
T, its par of Chomskys nativist approach, because according to
Chomsky language learning is a set of rules.
4. There is evidence in neurological research that language
functions are assigned to the left hemisphere. T. Broca and
Wernicke had shown that the damage to left hemisphere led to
language disorders.
5. The case of Genie supports the critical period hypothesis in
a strong form.
F. The case of Genie supports in a weak form because Genie was
evidently able to acquire some language (vocabulary) from exposure
after puberty
Longs Interaction Hypothesis stresses the importance of modified
interaction.
T, The more the input is queried, recycled and paraphrased to
increase its comprehensibility. The greater its potential
usefulness as input. To make input comprehensible
Interlanguage refers to the system of rules or mental grammar
that the learner constructs drawing entirely on the L2.
F. It draws in part on the learners L1 but is also different
from it and from the target language (part L1 and L2)Critical
Discourse Analysis is interested in the connection between
language, social structure and ideology
T. Connection between power in language society, for example:
same event is represent by two different newspaper
Short questions
According to Chomsky, what is the language acquisition device?
What role does it play in the process of acquiring a language? (X
points)
The acquisition device tells children what to do and what to
look for. In particular categories (nouns, verbs, for example) and
it gives them some clues that help them figure out which words
belong to which category
The LAD is part of the brain contains a premade grammar. Turns
experience in to knowledge of the language. To distinguish the
categories
Explain briefly Krashens model of 2L Acquisition (i.e. all the
hypotheses). (X points)
Acquisition-learning hypothesis; Acquisition is subconscious
process and learning is conscious
The monitor hypothesis: operates when there is a focus on form
and learners know the grammatical rule.The natural order
hypothesis: rules are acquired in a predictable orderThe input
hypothesis: just beyond learners current level of competence input
+ 1The affective filter hypothesis: there can be a mental block
that prevents acquires from fully utilizing the comprehensible
input they receive for language acquisition (e.g. Tension,
nervousness, anxiety)What questions do conversation analysts
address? (X points)
How is conversation structured?
How do people open/close conversation
How do they take turns?
How speaker achieve smooth turn-taking, and what the rules are
for who speaks when.
How are topics introduced, closed or shifted4. What is a corpus?
(X points)
A corpus is a large and principled collection of texts stored in
electronic format. In other words, a corpus is a systematic,
planned and structured compilation of texts. It is designed for
linguistic analysis.
PRACTICE (X points) Analyse the following examples of childrens
use of vocabulary. Identify the type of semantic errors that
children have made (errors concerning the meaning of words) or the
linguistic hypothesis they have built when creating a new word
(word formation processes). (X points). Justify your answer.
The use of the word apple for tomatoes. Overextension b. The use
of the word shoes as applied only to the childs shoes.
Underextensionc. Saying Im going to shut that door hard because Im
a shutter. Variation d. Saying I want to scissor this meaning I
want to cut this with the scissors. Conversion e. Asking where my
orange juice-cup? Compounding two separate words to form a newf.
Using the word tractor to refer to a telephone. Mismatch
Read the following conversation between a native speaker (NS)
and a non native speaker (NNS) who is learning English as a
foreign/second language and answer the questions below.
NNS: And they have the chwach here
NS: The what?
NNS: The chwach I know someone that
NS: What does it mean?
NNS: Like um like American people they always go there every
Sunday.
NS: Yes?
NNS: You know every morning that there pr-that-the American
people get dressed up to got to um chwach.
NS: Oh to church I see (Pica, 1987: 6)
2.1. How is meaning negotiated? Identify the most relevant
strategies that both participants use in order to negotiate
meaning:
a) What moves does the NS make?
To seek clarification I dont understand
b) What strategy (typical of Foreigner Talk) does the NNS
use?
Contextual definition
2.2. How do you think that this particular interaction may help
the non-native speaker to develop his/her L2?
Aware pronunciation problem
Using the tools of critical linguistics / critical discourse
analysis compare the texts below (based on OHalloran, 2003). Please
make sure that you address the following issues: the use of lexis
and the notion of agency / agentivity. (X points)
Text a:
police is a participant (as victims), passive structure, pickets
demolished negative words.
Text b:
Police is active agent, active structure