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272 CN \PTEI? 10 Theories o Second Language Acquisi on
the
remaining
unanswercd qucstions, for many of the
questions
poscd in
the last, say, five
decades,
have been effectiveiy answere - - ' J ' ' º - = · • • ' ) ' ' - - - - /
l J
say that second language learning is a complex process is obviously
trite. The
pages of this
book
alone
bear testimony to that co1nplexity.
But
con1plexity means that there are
so many
separate
hut
interrelated
factors
within
one
intricate
entity that it is
exceedingly
difficult
to bríng
order and
simplicity to that "chaos" (Larsen-Free1nan 1997). We n1ust nevertheless
pursue the task
of
theory
building
(Long
1990a;
Spolsky
1988).
Consider,
for
a
few n1on1ents,
sorne
of the domains and generalizations that
describe
the skeletal structure
of
a theory.
Domains
and
Gcncrallzations
First, take a look
at
a ta..xono1ny that was
proposed
severa decades ago
(Yorio 1976),
rcpresented
in Figure
10.1.This
list
of factors
begins to give
you an idea
of
the man
y
different don1ains of
ínquiry
that
must
be
included
in a theory
of
SLA.
Certain factors subsumed in the chapter topics
of
this book are also a
set
of
dorr1Jins
of
con::;idcration in a theory
of
SLA:
1. A
theory
of SlA includes an understanding, in general, of what lan
guage
i:;,
\Vhat learning is,
and
for classroom contexts, what teaching
is.
2. Knowledge
of
children's learning
of
their first
language
provídes
e ~ : ; e n t i a l
insights
to an
understanJJge Contac
f
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o
/,¡1 rr 1
O 7heories of Second
l
angu,igc Acr¡uisiffi n
6.
Personality, the way
people
vie\.v then1selves
and
reYeal then1-
selves in
con1munication,
will affect
both
the
quantity and
quality
of second language learning.
7. Learning a seconU culture is often intricately intert\vined wirh
learning a second anguage.
8. The linguistic contrasts between
the
native and target language
fonn one source of difficulty in
learning
a
second 1.1.nguage.
But
the
creative
process
of
fonning
an interlanguage system involves
the
learner in utilizing 1nany tJcilitative sources and resources.
Inevitable aspects of this
process
are errors, fron1 \\"hich learners
antcry of the target lan
guage.
8. ()ne cannot
achieve n:tti\·elike
(or
near-nativelike)
con1mand
of a
~ e o n d language in one hour a day.
9.
The learner's
task is enonnous
because
L1nguage is enonnously
co1nplex.
10. A
learner's abiliry to understan(j language
in
a meaningful con
te.x:t
exceeds his
or her
ahility to comprchend ·decontextualized
language an
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276 CHMTER 10 11woáe> of Second Lrnguage Acqui dion
(Lightbo\vn 1985) list, for example, sten1s from stu
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178
º ' J : 'f ºi ¡00\ '' '- °n .,e _)ob' \S Jo
CV'\é'--'-
+v•= ' f ' ~
) . \::o.eec\ ~ \ s
n:>.+\.oer
· ~ " " '
en
~ " " ' - " ' \ e d \ ; : i e
CHA/>TER 10
Theories
oi
econd Lan,i;uag¡' Ac ¡uisirion
c ~ ~ e i e \ y
r . i
= \ .
language. Thc
first is ··acquisition,'.' a
s u b c o n ~ c i us
and\intuitive ~ r o c e s s
of
constructing
the systen1 of a language,
not unlike
the
process used by
a
child to ' 'pickup" a
language.'fhe
secones.
Psychologists
are still in wide disagreement
in
their
definitions of
"the notoriously slip·
pery
notion"
(Ocllin 1986:
138)
of
consciousne._s_ lVIcLanghlin (1990a:
627)
commented:
1\-Iy
own
bias ... is to avoid use of the tern1s conscious and uncon
scious in secon
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280
Cl-IAPTEH
10
Theories of Second
Language
Ac4uísit on
and if
conscious knowledge is capable
of
becorning
uncon
scious-and this
secn1s to
be
a
r c a s o n ~ t b l c a:-.suinption-then
there
is
no
rca;;on TI'hatever
to acccpt Krashen s
claini,
in thc
abscnce
of eviUcncc.
And there is
an
absence
of
evidence.
Second
language learning
clearly is a process
in which varying degrees
of learning and
of
acquisition
can
both be
beneficia},
depending upon rhe
learner's own styles and
strategics_
Swain (1998),
Doughty
and
Willían1s
(1998), Buczowska and Webt (1991),
Doughty (1991),
Ellis
(1990b),
Lightbown
and
Spada 1990,
and
Long
(1983,
1988)
have
ali
shown, in
a
nun1ber
of
empirical
research
studics, that
Krasben's "zero
option" (vhon1 the
"silent period" 1night last forever.
Krashen
s
innatist model of SL\ has ha
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CHAl'TfR 7 Theories of Second Languag(o Acquisition
dren's
"knack"
for picking up" a language, \Vhich, in everyday rern1s,
appears to refer to what
we
thini}
of
as
subconscious.
But there are tv.'o
problems
with such
an appeal: (a)
a:s both Mclaughlin
(1990a)
and Schmidt
(1990)
agreed, consciousness
is a tr_icky
term,
and
(1))
younger
(child l a n ~
guage acquisition) is not necessarily better (Scovel 1999).
"
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284
o-rAPTE:R 7
O Theories
oí
Second Language cquisitioo
e n f ~ l d i n g
the chikL Ali of
these
perceptions, from
highly
focal to very
penpheral,
are
. Yithin
the w reness
of the chiltl. McLau ghlin ( l
990a)
noted
that
the
htcrature
in experin1ental psychology indicates
that
therc is
no long-term
learning
(
of
new material) without
awareness, an
observation
well
~ o c t . t m e n t e . d by Loew ( 1997) and Sclunidt
(1990)
for
second
Ianguage
learn1ng
particular.
A cognitive perspective
of SLA
entirely obvia es the
neecl to distinguish con:,t.:ious
and subconscious processing.
How
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n-1,\P U? 1
O Theories
o{
St•conrl Langu 1gc cr¡uisition
synonyn1ous terms
unanalyzed
an
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28°
o
U-IAPTER O Iheories of Second LanµuJge Acquisiti on
l e r n e r ~ i n t e r n l
processing (such as thosc
previously
discus.sed) as well as
thc socially constructed
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292
CH PTFR
10
Theories
of
Second Lcmgua¡;e cquisition
thc metaphorical envelope
in the
vignctte at
the end of
this chapter.)
t
would appear that as
long
as one recognizes thc Hnütations of metaphors,
then they
have
the po,ver
to
n1aintain the vibrancr of
theory.
3 Trust to
so1ne extent) your inluition.
Teachers
p,enerally \Vant to "kno\v" that a
method
ís "right,"
that
it \Vill
>\·od;:
successfully. We want finely tuned progra1ns
that
n1ap
the path,vays to
suc
cessful learning. In other
words,
we
tend to
be born
doubters.
But
the
believing
gan1e
provides us
\Vith a
contrasting principie. intuition.
Psychologícal
research on
cognitivc srylcs has
sho,vn us that people tend
to
favor
either an
intuitivc
approach or an analytical
approach
to
a
probletn.
Ewing (1977: 69) noted
that
a.nalytical
or
"systen1atic··
thinkers
"generJ.lly
excel
in problen1s th:it call for
planning
a¡u.1
organization,
as
\-vhen one set of nu111bers n1usr be worked out
before
another can be ana
lyzed."
()n
the other hand,
he
vvent on,"intuitive thinh.ers
are
likely
to excel
if
the problem
is elusive
an
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rNAl TU< 10
heories
o/ Seconrl L1ngu,1ge cquisitíon
confidence in
our
ability to
forn1
hunches that will prohably be right We
teachers are
hutnan.
\\'e are
not
fai -safe, prepr(Jgran1111cd
robots. \?e there-
fore
need to
beco111e ..;villing risk-takers.
Out on a limb:
The Ecology
of
Language Acquisition
This fina
end-of-chapter vfgnette
is not directed, in the usual
fashion, toward classroom methodology. Rather, it ls simply the
product of sorne
of
my
right-brain
musings as I have struggled
o_ver
the years with
the
complexities
of
the kínds
of
models
of
SLA that
have been descr bed in
this
chapter. Such models, in
their
graphic
or
flow chart forrn (Bíalystok's model in Figure
10.2 on
page
285,
for example),
always appear to be so
n1echanical.
Son1e of them
more c osely resemb e
the
wiring diagrams pasted on the back
of
electric stoves
than what
I ike
to
imagíne the human brain
must
''look" like. Or certainly
than the
way
our organíc
world operates
So, heeding my sometimes rebel ious spirit, I was moved one
day in a SLA class I was
teaching
to create a
different "p¡cture"
of
language acquisition: one
that
responded not
so
much to rules of
log,c,
mathematics,
and physics, as
to
botany
and ecology. The
ger
mination (pun
intended)
of my picture was the metaphor once used
by Derek Bickerton in a ecture at the University of Hawali
about
hls
contention that
human
beings are
"bloprogrammed"
far language
(see Bickerton's
[1981]
The Roots of Language , perhaps
not
unlike
the bioprogram
of
a
flower
seed, whose genet c makeup predis
poses
it to
de iver, in successive stages, roots, stem, branches,
eaves, and flowers.
In
a
burst of
wild artistic energy, I went out on
a limb
to
extend
the
flower-seed
metaphor to
language acquisltion.
My picture
of
the
"ecology" of language
acquisltion is in Flgure
10.3.
At the risk
of
overstating
what
may already
be
obvíous, I wil
nevertheless
lndulge
in a fevv comments. The rain clouds of input
stimu ate seeds of predisposition (lnnate, genetically transmitted
processes).
But
the
potency
of that input is dependent on
the
appropriate styles and strategies that a person puts into action
(here
represented as so ). Upan
the
germinat.ion
of
language
abili
ties (notice not ali the seeds of predisposition are effectively acti
vated), networks
of
competence (which, like underground roots,
cannot
be
observed from above the ground) build and grow
stronger
as
the organism actively engages in comprehenslon and
production
of
anguage. The resulting root system (inferred compe
tence) is what we
commonly
call intake. Notice
that
several factors
distinguish Input from
intake. Through the
use of further strategies
and affective abilities, coupled with
the
feedback we rece ve from
others (note the tree trunk), we
ultimate y
develop full-floweríng
communicative abilities. The fruit of our performance (ar output) is of
.
...
...
c..
~
o
))
.
X
• •
t:
:.::: o
u u
-
Ji•S
•
\
t:
o •
.1 E
, "
o
"- 'l:
•
.
>¡:)i?qpai"l::f
JO
>¡Un.J.L
-
s:¡.uapnis ..1a4 .JO
s 1 ~ . . 1 a : ¡ : 2 w
...
~ : .
· ~ ~
. . .
..
o
o
"
g
"
'
i
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-
t:
o.
o o.
o E
o o
u
'·
'
i
.
g
ª
'
j
¡;
295107
8/18/2019 Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (Longman) – Chapter 10: Theories of second language acquisition
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296 CYAPrER
1O Theories of Second Lantju.1ge Acquisition
course conditioned by the climate of innumerable contextual variables.
At any point the horticulturist (teacher) can irrigate to create
better input,
apply
fertilizers for
richer
soil, encourage the use of
effective
strategies and
affective enhancers,
and, in
the green
houses
of our
classrooms,
control
the contextua climate for optima1
growth
No, this is
not
the kind
of extended metaphor
that one can
"prove"
or verify through
empirlcal
research. But,
est
you
scoff at
such outlandish
depictions, think
about
how
many
factors
in SLA
theory are conceptua ized and described metapi1crical y:
language
acquisition
device/ pívot and open
words,
Piaget's equifibration/ éog-
nitive pruning Ausubel's subsun1ptíon transfer socíal distance
global and focal errors monitoring affective fi/ter/ automatic and
control ed processing. If a metaphor
er1ab .es
us to describe a phe
nomenon clearly and to apply it wisely, then we Can surely entertain
i t -as long as we understand
that
these word-pictures are usual y
subject to certa n
breakdowns
when logical y extended too far. (Far
comments
about metaphor in SLA theory,
see Lanto f 1996)
So, whi e
you rriight
exercise a
little caution
in
drawing
a tight
analogy
betvveen Earth's
botanica cycles and
language learning, you
mlght
just ai ovv
yourself to think of
second
language learners
as
budding
flovvers-as plants needing
your
nurture and
care. When
the
sc\entlfic flow charts and technica
termino ogy of current
second
language
research
become excruciatingly
painful
to understand,
try
creating your own
metaphors, perhaps · Play
the
believing game,
and
enjoy it.
TOPICS AND QUESTIONS FOR
STlJDY AND DISCUSSlON
[Note: (I) Individual wor:k:; (G) group or
pair
work; (C) \vhole-cla.ss discus
siori.]
1.
(G)
In the first part
of this chapter on pages
274 and 275.
Lightbown's
(1985) ten
generaliLJ.tions about
SLA are listed.
In
pairs or sn1al\
groups
if nuinbers
pernlit)
assign one generalization
to
each
pair/group
with
the task of
(a)
exphlining the generalization fi.1rther,
(b)
offcring any
caveats
or it depends
t a t ~ m e n t s
about
it,
and
(e)
citing
an example or
two of
the gcnc.raiiZJ.tion
in the language
clas..'irv01n.
2.
(C;)
Like\vise
(sce
item 1 above), look at the six 1nyths (page 275).
In
sn1aU groups, figure out (a) why it is a n1yth, (b) cave.ns or comments
that
qllaW'y the statement,and (e) son1e exa1nples orcounter-examples
in the language cl:is:;room.
3.
(I) RevieV\' thc
n1ajur
tenets
of
the
three
schools
of
thonght
outlined
in
Chapter 1
and
reft-rred. to throughout
the
book: structuralism-behav-
H ~ P T E R 1 Theories
oi
Second Lan¡;uage /\cquisiti un 297
iorisn.:1, rationalisn1-cognitivisn1. constn1cti vism. Do KrJshen's Input
.tlypothesis
a 11
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