College Weekend TESOL

1st Language Acquisition vs 2nd Language AcquisitionStudies have shown that the innate processes for 2nd language acquisition (L2) are basically the same as for 1st language acquisition (L1). Therefore there is much we can glean in studying these stages in order to facilitate the L2 english learner. As with L1 learners, the time spent in each stage will vary. It is important to note that the learning process, be it L1 or L2, is not linear - rather is zig-zag in nature. Mastery takes time. Formal language instruction facilitates this process, but it cannot accelerate the stages one must pass through. Here I will briefly summarize each stage and give a few ideas to facilitate L2 learners at that stage. There are many resources with additional ideas for each stage. Finally I will share two challenges to be aware of with L2 learners. Most studies cite six language acquisition stages: Stage 1: Pre-production – Also known as a silent period when the student is “receiving” the language, but not able to produce the language. If a student attempts to speak it will be in the form of “parroting” other speakers. This is a natural step that should be encouraged. Teaching ideas: • Use lots of visuals, gestures, acting out • Emphasize listening, elicit only one word answers • Use short sentences, speak slowly and over-ennunciate Stage 2: Early production – Here the student will begin using short words and sentences. His vocabulary will be both receptive and active. Attempts at speaking will be full of errors. • Focus on yes/no questions • Model useful phrases • Use choral drills • Don’t over-correct – correction on focus area Stage 3: Speech emergence – Attempts to produce more words and sentences. His utterances are longer. He will begin initiating short conversations with his peers and will understand easy stories. He is still very dependent upon context clues or conversations on familiar topics. His errors lessen some. • Focus on describing, telling and retelling • Dialogue journals and simple story composition via fill-in the blanks • Start to introduce academic vocabulary Stage 4: Beginning fluency – Speech now becomes more fluent in typical social settings. Errors will be less frequent, yet he will tend to literally translate from his native language into english. He will now be able to advocate some for himself and may begin to ask questions to clarify what he is learning. Yet, he will struggle to express himself in new contexts or in speech required for academics. • Elicit information requiring full response (ex: justifying preferences) • Creative writing • Role-playing, short presentations, giving opinions, etc. • Correct errors that focus impede meaning Stage 5: Intermediate fluency – Speech is now fluent and he can speak in most social contexts and academic areas. His sentence structures will be more grammatically complex. There will be some gaps in vocabulary and grammatical structures. Errors are now very few; yet writing might still be full of errors. He should now be able to synthesize materials and make inferences from what he learns. • Build academic vocabulary and skills: charting, forms, etc. • Idioms, word families, etymologies • Cooperative group work • Feedback on all kinds of errors Stage 6: Advanced fluency – The student is now communicating fluently in all contexts. While he still may have a “foreign” accent and doesn’t always use idiomatic expressions correctly, he is comfortable communicating in the L2 and is nearing the level of a native speaker. He will probably still need support in some academic areas and in composition. • Focus on gaps of vocabulary and grammatical fine-tuning • Effective note-taking, prioritizing, summarizing, outlining • Reading literature & academic topics • Dictionary/thesaurus work Two areas of worthy of mention with regards to L2 acquisition challenges are “interference” and “code switching”. Interference refers to L1 influence on L2 acquisition. Many errors stem from L1 interference when the speaker has limited experience in english. One example might be literally translating from his native language. Interference will self-correct with time, but purposeful instruction can help the student overcome such challenges. “Code switching” is the use of two languages in the same utterance. This is common in bilingual homes or among peers sharing the same L1 and L2 languages. Such mixing is natural but needs to be limited in order to advance in english language acquisition. Teacher awareness of code switching help guide students. This is especially important among young L2 learners.