Psychology and Language Learning Guide

MODALIDAD ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA
Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación

Sección Lenguas Contemporáneas
Psychology and Language Learning

Guía Didáctica
5 Créditos
Titulación Ciclo
Ciencias de la Educación, mención:

-- Inglés VI
Autora:
Mgtr. Gabriela Cecibel Inga Ordóñez
La Universidad Católica de Loja

Asesoría virtual:
www.utpl.edu.ec
PSYCHOLOGY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING
Guía Didáctica
Gabriela Cecibel Inga Ordóñez
UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA PARTICULAR DE LOJA
CC 4.0, CC BY-NY-SA
Diagramación, diseño e impresión:

EDILOJA Cía. Ltda.
Telefax: 593-7-2611418
San Cayetano Alto s/n
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Primera Edición
Tercera reimpresión
ISBN físico: 978-9942-26-055-0
ISBN digital: 978-9942-25-151-0
La versión impresa y digital han sido acreditadas bajo la licencia Creative Commons 4.0, CC BY-NY-SA: Reconocimiento-No comercial-
Compartir igual; la cual permite: copiar, distribuir y comunicar públicamente la obra, mientras se reconozca la autoría original, no se
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creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.es
Abril 2018
2. Contents
2. Contents...................................................................................................................................................... 3
3. Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 5
4. Bibliography............................................................................................................................................. 6
4.1. Basic........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
4.2. Complementary................................................................................................................................................ 6
5. General Guidelines to Study.......................................................................................................... 9
6. Teaching process - learning for the achievement of competences.................... 11
FIRST BIMESTER
6.1. Generic competences UTPL......................................................................................................................... 11

6.2. Planning for the Student´s Work.............................................................................................................. 12
6.3. Evaluation System of the Subject (first and second term)............................................................. 15
6.4. Specific guideless for learning through competences..................................................................... 16
CHAPTER 1. LANGUAGE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD........................................................... 17

1.1. First language acquisition............................................................................................................................ 17
1.2. The first three years: Milestones and developmental sequences............................................... 18
1.3. Explaining first language acquisition...................................................................................................... 24
1.4. Language disorders and delays................................................................................................................. 29
1.5. Childhood bilingualism................................................................................................................................. 30
Self-evaluation 1 ................................................................................................................................. 31
CHAPTER 2. SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING.................................................................................... 34

2.1. Learner characteristics.................................................................................................................................... 34
2.2. Learning conditions......................................................................................................................................... 35
2.3. Studying the language of second language learners...................................................................... 36
2.4. Vocabulary........................................................................................................................................................... 41
2.5. Pragmatics........................................................................................................................................................... 43
2.6. Phonology........................................................................................................................................................... 44
2.7. Sampling learners´ language..................................................................................................................... 45
Self-evaluation 2 ................................................................................................................................. 46
CHAPTER 3. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING............................. 49

3.1. Research on learner characteristics.......................................................................................................... 49
3.2. Individual differences and classroom instruction.............................................................................. 65
3.3. Age and second language learning......................................................................................................... 65
3.4. Age and second language instruction.................................................................................................... 67
Self-evaluation 3 ................................................................................................................................. 69
SECOND BIMESTER
6.5. Generic Competences UTPL......................................................................................................................... 71

6.6. Planning for the Student´s Work.............................................................................................................. 72
CHAPTER 4. EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING............................................................ 76

4.1. Second language applications: Krashen´s “Monitor model”....................................................... 77
4.2. The cognitive perspective............................................................................................................................. 78
4.3. The sociocultural perspective...................................................................................................................... 85
Self-evaluation 4 ................................................................................................................................. 87
CHAPTER 5. OBSERVING LEARNING AND TEACHING IN THE SECOND LANGUAGE

CLASSROOM............................................................................................................................................ 90
5.1. Natural and instructional settings............................................................................................................ 90
5.2. Observation Schemes..................................................................................................................................... 93
5.3. Ethnography....................................................................................................................................................... 96
Self-evaluation 5 ................................................................................................................................. 98
CHAPTER 6. SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM.............................................. 101

6.1. Proposals for teaching.................................................................................................................................... 101
6.2. Assessing the proposals................................................................................................................................. 104
Self-evaluation 6 ................................................................................................................................. 107
CHAPTER 7. POPULAR IDEAS ABOUT LANGUAGE LEARNING REVISITED.................................. 110

7.1. Reflecting on the popular ideas: Learning from research.............................................................. 110
Self-evaluation 7 ................................................................................................................................. 116
7. Answer key................................................................................................................................................. 119
PRELIMINARES Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning
3. Introduction
The subject Psychology and Language Learning has been designed as a core course to be taken in the
sixth term of the English Foreign Language Teaching Program. It is worth 5 credits. This course is intended
to give learners a general overview of Second language acquisition and introduce them in an in- depth
learning of leading theories, models, applications, research, ideas, opinions about teaching and learning
a second language.
The present course has the purpose of involving students in an integrated learning process based on
institutional philosophy, values and principles, and providing with the necessary tools and competences
which will help learners become an efficient professional member of society.
The aim of this subject is to help future English teachers to improve their teaching-learning process and
skills, through the study of different research conducted in classrooms, which researches have been
carried out in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the various theories and teaching methods.
The textbook for this course “How Languages are Learned” by Patsy M. Lightbown and Nina Spada is
a manageable, instructive textbook that provides a complete view of the subject of second language
acquisition. During the first term we will cover three chapters such as: Language learning in early
childhood, Second language learning, and Individual differences in second language learning. In these
chapters you will study and learn how children acquire their first language, compare the acquisition of
the first language with the acquisition of a second language, and individual learner characteristics in the
learning of a second language.
During the second term we will cover four chapters such as: Explaining second language learning,
Observing learning and teaching in the second language classroom, Second language in the classroom,
and popular ideas about language learning revisited. In these chapters you will study about instructional
environments and proposals made for second language teaching and learning. Remember that your
dedication and effort will help you to achieve your objectives for this subject.
I wish you good luck!

5
Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning PRELIMINARES
4. Bibliography
4.1. Basic
• Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. (2012). How Languages are Learned (4thed). New York: Oxford
University Press
This textbook provides a deep description of different methods, concepts, perspectives, theories,
opinions, and research about teaching and learning of a second language. It is focused on recent
information regarding factors affecting learning such as motivation and learning styles, as well as
ethnic, cultural, psychological and linguistic backgrounds.
• Inga, G. (2017). Didactic Guide “Psychology and Language Learning”. Loja- Ecuador: UTPL
The main purpose of this didactic guide is to facilitate the learning process and to complement
materials of the course, especially those which are not covered in detail in the textbook.
4.2. Complementary
• Allwright, D., & Bailey, K.M. (1991). Focus on the classroom: An introduction to classroom research for
language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This book presents the process of teaching and learning in language classroom. It will help
students to understand in a better way how carry on research in classrooms.
• A framework for investigating L2 acquisition (Adapted from Ellis 1999: 349. The study of second
language acquisition. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Education Press. Available at:
http://web.stanford.edu/~hakuta/Courses/Ed205X%20Website/Resources/Ellis%20Instructed-
second-language%20(2).pdf
The purpose of this document is to examine theories and researches that have addressed what
constitutes effective pedagogy for the acquisition of a second language (L2) in a classroom
context. In other words, the review seeks to answer the question: How can instruction best ensure
successful language learning?
• BTEC First Children’s Care, Learning and Development. Understanding children’s development.
Available at:
https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/FEAndVocational/Childcare/BTEC/
BTECFirstChildrensCareLearningandDevelop/Samples/SampleMaterial/UCD%20Unit%201.pdf
This document will help students to explore the principles of development and the five key stages
from birth to age 16 years before looking at how physical, social and emotional, communication
and intellectual skills are developed.
6 MODALIDAD ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA

• BBC World Service, (2008) The critical period hypothesis. British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London
SW1A 2BN, UK. The website is available at:
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/critical-period-hypothesis
This website contains a deeply explanation about critical period hypothesis definition.
• Cassidy S, (2004, August). Learning Styles: An overview of theories, models, and measures. Educational
Psychology, pp 422-440.
http://www.acdowd-designs.com/sfsu_860_11/LS_OverView.pdf
This paper will help students to reinforce their understanding in the different learning styles,
through different models, theories, and investigations.
• Dornyei, Z. and Skehan, P. (2003). “Individual Differences in Second Language Learning”. In C.J.
Doughty and M.H. Long (eds): The handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell
This book includes a significant discussion about individual differences in second language
learning such as language aptitude and motivation.
• Dressen, D. (2012). “Ethnographic approaches in ESP”. The handbook of English for Specific Purposes.
Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.
This book shows a great explanation about the term ethnography and a study focused on this
approach.
• Ellis, R. (2012). “Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy”. Malden, MA: Wiley –
Blackwell Publishers.
In this book some authors present a review of L2 classroom research. These researches presented
the major trends in language teaching research since the early twentieth century reviews broad
comparative methods studies.
• Ethnography EFL research. (2012). Available at: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext

&pid=S0103-18132012000100003
This exploratory paper poses the following question: how has ethnography been used as logic
of inquiry in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) research in Brazil. Additionally it shows vast
information about ethnography theme.
• Flyman Mattsson, A. (1999). Students’ communicative behavior in a foreign language classroom.

(Working Papers, Lund University, Dept. of Linguistics; Vol. 47)
The purpose of this paper is to give a description of the communicatively in a foreign language
classroom and also of students’ communicative behavior. It is focus on COLT Communicative
Orientation of Language Teaching. The COLT scheme is divided into two parts, the first of which
describes classroom events at the level of episode and activity and the second part analyses the
communicative features of verbal exchange between teachers and students and/or students and
students.

7
• Peng, Fred C. C. (2005) Language in the Brain. Critical Assessments London and New York:
Continuum.
This book assesses current assumptions about how language is acquired, remembered and
retained as impulses in the brain, from the perspective of neurolinguistics, which is based on
neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.
• Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Rouledge-
Taylor & Francis: New York.
In this book we can find a deep explanation about teaching English as a second language. It
includes some relevant theories
• Joy M, Reid. (1987, March). The Learning Style Preferences of ESL Students. TESOL QUARTERLY, pp
80-90. Available at:
http://old.fltrp.com/download/06071807.pdf
This document is a review of the literature on learning styles and cognitive styles for both native
speakers (NSS) and nonnative speakers (NNSS) of English, this article presents the results of a
questionnaire that asked 1,388 students to identify their perceptual learning style preferences.
• McCarthy, D. (1996). “The Language Development Of The Preschool Child”, volume 4 of Monograph
Series. University Of Minnesota Press, Institute Of Child Welfare
This paper is intended to give a brief overview of the kind of issues that linguists and psychologists
consider when studying language development, especially in the early childhood.
• Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Tomasello, M. (in press). Origins of Human Communication.
MIT Press.
This paper summarize the main points of the usage-based theory, it includes some previous
researches, which will help to understand this topic in a better way.
Schmidt, R. (2010). Attention, awareness, and individual differences in language learning. In W.

M. Chan, S. Chi, K. N. Cin, J. Istanto, M. Nagami, J. W. Sew, T. Suthiwan, & I. Walker, Proceedings of
CLaSIC 2010, Singapore, December 2-4 (pp. 721-737). Singapore: National University of Singapore,
Centre for Language Studies. Available at:
http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/PDFs/SCHMIDT%20Attention,%20awareness,%20and%20individual%20
differences.pdf
This article shows different studies about Noticing hypothesis based on learning styles. It will
help to future teachers to apply these studies in their classrooms and improve their teaching.
Additionally, it will allow understanding in a better way the different styles that future teachers
will face in a real class.

5. General Guidelines to Study
While studying at distance can be a great challenge for students since it requires significant responsibility,
planning ahead and effort; all of which are extremely necessary to be successful when learning any
subject. To make the learning process more efficient, it is recommendable to follow the suggested
strategies below:
• Before outlining the strategies, I wish to inform you that the contents designed for the first term
are chapter 1 to 3 and for the second term chapter 4 to 7 will be covered.
• The materials that you need to study this course are: the textbook, the didactic guide, a notebook,
a pencil or pen, and a computer (recommended). If it is possible, Internet connection would also
be very beneficial.
• Organizing your time is really important. It is advisable to dedicate at least four hours per week to
study this course in order to succeed in it.
• Choosing the correct or most appropriate place to study is also necessary. It is suggested that you
select a quiet illuminated place in order to avoid distractions.
• All the contents you have to master in this course can be found in the textbook; therefore, this
didactic guide is the main tool you have in order to study the contents mentioned above. Thus,
your guide is necessary to lead you through the learning process. Furthermore, in the guide you
will find additional explanations, self-evaluations and their answers, and the at-distance tasks. The
notebook will help you to write down a vocabulary log in order to improve the language.
• In this guide there are self-evaluations at the end of each unit that I have proposed as another
alternative to improve your knowledge of the subject; therefore, I recommend you complete them
before checking the answers at the end of the guide.
• The University has provide students the opportunity to interact with the teachers and other
classmates by means of a Virtual Learning Platform called (EVA plus). Use this tool to find additional
information about this subject matter, participate in forums, fill in questionnaires, find answers for
the at-distance tasks and ask help from your tutor.
• Participate actively in online activities planned for each term (academic forum, academic chat,
and questionnaires) which, although they have the characteristic of being optional, will be very
useful because they will allow you to interact with your classmates and tutor as well as exchange
experiences and criteria on the academic subject raised by the teacher. In addition, for each of
these activities in which you participate bimonthly will be credited a point (1 p.)
• Remember to hand-in the at-distance evaluations on the established date; these assignments are
important for you since they constitute a learning strategy and their presentation will allow you to
take the make-up tests. Also, you may submit at-distance assignments via EVA in order to receive
feedback more quickly.
• Participate actively in The Virtual Learning Platform (EVA). In it students will find detailed
explanations of some difficult topics, suggestions how to do the at a distance assignments
correctly, and some useful advice about the learning process in general.

9
• Use all available on-line resources to have a better comprehension of the wide field of applied
linguistics.
• Be in constant contact with the tutor. (He /She will be available during the tutoring schedule as
indicated in EVA).
I am sure that with the effort you will dedicate to the study of this subject you will achieve all the
objectives proposed in it.
Good luck and success in this semester!!!

PRIMER BIMESTRE Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning
6. Teaching process - learning for the achievement of competences
FIRST BIMESTER
6.1. Generic competences UTPL
ØØ Ability to develop Critical and Reflexive Thinking.
ØØ Ability to search process and analyze information from different sources.

11
6.2. Planning for the Student´s Work
12
SPECIFIC COMPETENCES OF THE LEARNING CONTENTS STUDYTIMELINE
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
SUBJECT INDICATORS Units/Topics Allotted time
• Ability to manage pedagogical • Identifies the three Chapter 1. Language • Read the introduction and complete the survey proposed in it before to • Week 1
knowledge and the language milestones and Learning in Early read chapter 1.
9 hours of self-
at a level in which the student developmental Childhood • Read information regarding Milestones and developmental sequences study.
can have an excellent sequences during
1.1. First language during the early age through school years.
professional performance in early childhood 1 hour
the teaching of English as a and through pre- acquisition • Read and highlight main points for understanding all of the contents. interaction (per
foreign language. school and school 1.2. The first three years: week).
years. • Answer the suggested questions about developmental milestones.
• Ability to understand spoken, Milestones and
• Week 2
written and audiovisual • Finds out and developmental • Check the examples about grammatical morphemes (questions and
information in a scientific and explain the three sequences. negation). 9 hours of self-
academic level in order to use main theoretical study.
1.2.1. The preschool • Review the glossary at the end of your textbook for the new words.
in a professional field. positions Years 1 hour
regarding • Write down the definitions in your own words for each of the three main
• Ability to distinguish the interaction (per
language 1.2.2. The school first language acquisition theories.
week).
Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning
different stages of human Years.

development. • Answer the suggested questions related to the behaviorist perspective.
development in cognitive,
emotional, and social aspects • Understand the 1.3. Explaining
• Do the self-evaluation #1 and check the correct answers at the end of
and apply them as tools in the three main first First Language
this didactic guide
language teaching learning language Acquisition.
process. acquisition 1.3.1. The • Interact in the EVA with your tutor and classmates
theories. behaviourist • Watch the micro-video Chapter 1. It explains and summarizes the
• Ability to write different types
of texts in a clear, coherent, • Summarizes in perspective difficult contents of this chapter.
and cohesive way and with an your own words 1.3.2. The innatist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7WAfwKi88Q
appropriate style according to the three main first perspective
the audience to whom they language • Participate in the Academic forum (First Term)
are addressed. acquisition 1.3.3. Interactionist /
developmental • Questionnaire #1
theories.
• Expertise to understand the
perspectives • Review the academic announcements for this topic in your EVA
different approaches, theories, • Distinguishes the
perspectives about Second concepts of 1.4. Language disorders • Review the following links:
language learning Additive and delays
Bilingualism and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id0OBh5qoLI
• Ability to abstract, analyze and 1.5. Childhood
Subtractive bilingualism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVfXgk0PbMs
synthesize information
Bilingualism in
• Identify and propose bilingual
PRIMER BIMESTRE
alternative solutions to individuals.

problems related to
professional and social

practice.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
• Identifies the Chapter 2. Second • Do the activity titled “Explore contents for second language learning” at • Week 3
factors that Language Learning the beginning of this Chapter.
9 hours of self-
contribute to
2.1. Learner • Do the activity by completing Table 2.1 “Contexts for Language Learning”. study.
errors in language
learning. characteristics
• Read information regarding young and older learners characteristics and 1 hour
PRIMER BIMESTRE
2.2. Learning conditions learning conditions. interaction (per

• Differentiates the
2.3. Studying the week).
developmental • Read and highlight the main points for understanding all of the contents
sequences in first language of second

proposed in this chapter. • Week 4
and second language learners
language • According to the research, what factors contribute to errors in learner 9 hours of self-
2.3.1. Contrastive language? How many different factors can you identify? Write them study.
acquisition.
analysis, error down in your notebook.
• Detects what analysis, and 1 hour
developmental • Review the glossary at the end of your textbook for the new words. interaction (per
interlanguage
stages are the week).
2.3.2. Developmental • In your notebook write down some of the key points from each of the
students, subject sub-sections in this section: “Grammatical Morphemes”, “Negation”, • Week 5
of your sequences
“Questions”, “Possessive determiners”, “Relative clauses”, “Reference to
observations. 2.3.3. More about 9 hours of self-
past” and “Movement through developmental sequences.” Look at the
first language study.
• Summarizes the three lists of words on page 62. What is the difference between the
definition of acquisition words in List 1, List 2 and List 3? Can you think of any other words to add 1 hour
Contrastive to the lists? Write them down in your notebook. interaction (per
2.4. Vocabulary
analysis, error week).
2.5. Pragmatics • Do the self-evaluation #2 and check the correct answers at the end of
analysis, and this didactic guide.
interlanguage in 2.6. Phonology
your own words. • Answer the suggested questions proposed in your didactic guide for
2.7. Sampling learner´s
each topic.
• Understands the language
concepts the, • Interact in the EVA with your tutor and classmates.
importance and • Review the academic announcements for these topic sin your EVA.
characteristics of
each one of the • Watch the micro-video.
following terms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keOhF6m9b48&feature=youtu.be
vocabulary,
pragmatics, and • Participate in the Academic Chat (First Term)
phonology in the
• Questionnaire #2
teaching and
learning of a • Review the following links:
second language.
https://youtu.be/QvQbSZ5Q8Lk?list=PL9Ph_
VpchiA157g3GRk2wycHdsXoGKwUY
13
https://youtu.be/tWJXW1RW1y8
https://youtu.be/CBPhIF5du_w
14
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
• Analyzes reading Chapter 3. Individual • Complete the Table 3.1.”Reflect on language learning experience”. • Week 6
on characteristics Differences in Second
• Read information regarding learner characteristics and highlight the 9 hours of self-
of second Language Learning main points for understanding all of the contents of this topic. study.
languages learners
and identifies 3.1. Research on learner
• Do the self-evaluation #3 and check the correct answers at the end of 1 hour
those that might characteristics. this didactic guide. interaction (per
predict success in 3.1.1. Intelligence week).
learning a second • Answer the suggested questions proposed in your didactic guide for
3.1.2. Language each topic. • Week 7
language.
learning
• Understands the • Watch the micro-video. It summarizes this chapter. 9 hours of self-
aptitude
relationship study.
3.1.3. Learning styles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EySuaZsFycY&feature=youtu.be
between 1 hour
individual 3.1.4. Personality • Interact in the EVA with your tutor and classmates.
interaction (per
differences and 3.1.5. Attitudes and • Review the academic announcements for these topic sin your EVA. week).
learning outcomes motivation
in second • Questionnaire #3 • Week 8
language learners. 3.1.6. Motivation in
• Questionnaire #4 9 hours of self-

the classroom study.
• Analyzes the • Review the following links:
statistical 3.1.7. Identity and
1 hour
procedure called ethic group http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/jltr/vol03/04/07.pdf interaction (per
CORRELATION, affiliation week).
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~laic/syntax-essay.pdf
using in second 3.1.8. Learners beliefs
language learning http://www.accaglobal.com/zm/en/student/exam-support-resources/
studies. 3.2. Individual differences fundamentals-exams-study-resources/f5/technical-articles/the-learning-
and classroom rate-and-learning-effect.html
• Summarizes the instructions
most important
individual 3.3. Age and second
differences in language learning
second language 3.3.1. The critical
learning. period: More
• Identifies the than just
different types of pronunciation?
personality and 3.3.2. Intuitions of
motivation.
grammaticality
• Recognizes the 3.3.3. Rate of learning
PRIMER BIMESTRE
differences of
critical period in 3.4. Age and second
children and language instruction
adults.

6.3. Evaluation System of the Subject (first and second term)
Formas de evaluación 2. Heteroevaluación

Evaluación a Evaluación
distancia ** presencial
Interacción en el
Parte de ensayo
Prueba objetiva
Parte objetiva
EVA***
Competencia: criterio
Comportamiento ético X X X X X X
Cumplimiento, puntualidad,
X X X X X X
responsabilidad
Esfuerzo e interés en los trabajos X X X X X X
Respeto a las personas y a las normas
X X X X X
de comunicación
Creatividad e iniciativa X X X X
Contribución en el trabajo
X X
colaborativo y de equipo
Presentación, orden y ortografía X X X
Emite juicios de valor
X X X
argumentadamente
Dominio del contenido X X X X X X
Investigación (cita fuentes de
X X X
consulta)
Aporta con criterios y soluciones X X X
Análisis y profundidad en el
X X X
desarrollo de temas
PORCENTAJE 10% 20% 30% 70%
presenciales y en el
Actividades
EVA
Puntaje 2 4 6 14
TOTAL 20 puntos
Para aprobar el componente se requiere obtener un puntaje mínimo de 28/40 puntos, que equivale al 70%.
* Son estrategias de aprendizaje, no tienen calificación; pero debe responderlas con el fin de autocomprobar su
proceso de aprendizaje.
** Recuerde: que la evaluación a distancia del primero y segundo bimestre consta de dos partes: una objetiva y otra de
ensayo, debe desarrollarla y enviarla a través del EVA según las fechas establecidas.
*** Estrategias de aprendizaje opcionales y de tipo colaborativa: foro, chat y video colaboración con una valoración de
un punto cada una.
Señor estudiante:
Tenga presente que la finalidad de la valoración cualitativa es
principalmente formativa.

15
Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning PRIMER BIMESTRE
6.4. Specific guideless for learning through competences
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“READING IS EVERYTHING. Reading makes me feel like I´ve accomplish something, learner something,
become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on.
Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is scape, and
the opposite of scape; it´s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it´s a way
to make contact with someone else´s imagination after a day that´s all too real. READING IS BLISS.”
Nora Ephron
______________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Welcome dear students to this course Psychology and Language Learning. You are going to begin with
the first term of our subject. In the first term you are going to study chapter, 1, 2 and 3. Please, take your
textbook, didactic guide and all of the materials specified in the “general guidelines to study” in order to
start our study and learning in an organized and optimistic way
The textbook begins with a brief introduction giving us a general idea about each topic; that will be
studied in each term.
Now, you can start studying the first chapter titled “Language Learning in Early Childhood”.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü Read the Introduction, it will be very useful because it is a guide to what you will be
learning about in this course.
üü At the end of the introduction there is a survey below summarizing some popular
opinions about language learning and teaching. (Complete it and keep in mind
http://images.clipartof.com/
thumbnails/1045066-Royalty-
these ideas that will be reviewing at the end of this course).
Free-RF-Clip-Art-Illustration-
Of-A-Light-Bulb-Character-
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CHAPTER 1. LANGUAGE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
In this chapter you are going to study the language development in early childhood and some theories
related to how language is learned. Additionally, you are going to review some researches that show
how the process of language acquisition works through the different developmental stages.
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Let´s get started!
Let´s begin by checking the information in your textbook about “First language acquisition”. If it is
possible use a highlighter pen to underline the main ideas or use your notebook to take some notes.
1.1. First language acquisition
You are going to begin this theme giving a brief idea about first language acquisition.
“First language acquisition” commonly means the acquisition of a single language in childhood,
regardless of the number of languages in a child’s natural environment. Language acquisition is
variously viewed as predetermined, wondrous, a source of concern, and as developing through
formal processes.
Now, let´s take a look to the following characteristics
Characteristics:
ØØ The process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to
understand and communicate.
ØØ This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an
extensive vocabulary.

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ØØ It is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from other organisms.
ØØ Language acquisition usually refers to first language acquisition, which studies infant´s acquisition
on their native language.
Did you understand what first language acquisition is? Can you give a definition of first language acquisition,
using your own words? ¡¡Great!!
Once you have clear this theme, please, continue with the next topic.
Let´s continue your study
1.2. The first three years: Milestones and developmental sequences
In this section you are going to focus your study on certain developmental sequences (negation and
questions) and grammatical morphemes that children go through when they learn their first language.
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Now, look at the following chart, it shows the way how babies acquire and produce their first language
Table #1
Developmental milestones
Age Language and communication skill

Birth to 4 ØØ Cries when basic needs require attention, for example hunger, tiredness, distress,
weeks
ØØ ‘Freezes’ when a bell is rung gently close to the ear, moves head towards the sound
1 month ØØ Stops crying at sound of human voice (unless very upset)
ØØ Coos and gurgles in response to career’s talk
ØØ Becomes quiet and turns head towards sound of rattle near head.
3 months
ØØ Vocalizes when spoken to and when alone.
ØØ Makes singsong vowel sounds, for example ‘aah-aah’, ‘goo’
ØØ Laughs and chuckles and squeals aloud in play
6 months
ØØ Responds differently to different tones of voice
ØØ Starts to respond to noises out of sight with correct visual response

Age Language and communication skill

ØØ Vocalizes for communication, shouts for attention
ØØ Babbles loudly and tunefully using dual syllables in long strings, for example ‘daddad’, ‘baba’,
‘mam-mam’
9 months
ØØ Imitates adult vocal sounds, for example coughs, smacking lips
ØØ Understands ‘no’ and ‘bye-bye’
ØØ Has instant response to a hearing test conducted 1 metre behind child, out of sight
ØØ Knows own name
1 year (12 ØØ Jargons loudly in ‘conversations’, includes most vowels sounds
months) ØØ Understands about 20 words in context, for example cup, dog, and dinner.
ØØ Understands simple messages, for example ‘clap hands’, ‘where are your shoes?
ØØ First words appear – uses 6–20 recognizable words, understands many more
12–18 ØØ Echoes prominent or last word in sentences
months ØØ Tries to join in with nursery rhymes
ØØ Responds to simple instructions , for example ‘fetch your shoes’, ‘shut the door’
ØØ Uses two words linked together
ØØ Uses more than 200 words by two years
18–24
ØØ Makes simple two-word sentences
months
ØØ Refers to own name, talks to self during play
ØØ Has telegraphic speech, that is, is using key essential words and missing out connecting words
ØØ Rapidly expanding vocabulary, including plurals.
ØØ Holds simple conversations.
ØØ Enjoys repetition of favorite stories
ØØ Counts to ten
2–3 years ØØ Uses two or three words together, e.g. “go potty now”
ØØ ‘Explosion’ of vocabulary and use of correct grammatical forms of language.
ØØ Refers to self by name and often says ‘mine’
ØØ Asks lots of questions
ØØ Uses pronouns and prepositions, simple sentences and phrases
Source: BTEC First Children’s Care, Learning and Development. Understanding children’s development
What is important to observe in the chart above, is how children acquire and develop their language and
communication skills in early stages.
I hope the information is clear about developmental milestones.
Now, that you have analyzed this information and if you do not have questions, it is time to reinforce
what you have learned; I invite you to answer the following questions.

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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü Answer the following questions, related to developmental milestones.
1. At what age babies can understands simple messages, such as ‘clap hands’?
________________________________________________________________________________
2. How babies express their needs between their birth and 4 months?
________________________________________________________________________________
3. At what age children produce telegraphic speech?
________________________________________________________________________________
How did it go? Did you answer all the questions? ¡¡¡Excellent!!!
Did you find any difficulty? If so, contact your tutor in order to clear any
doubts or concerns; if not, I would like to invite to you to continue with
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the study of next topic.
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Let´s continue with the next part of this topic “grammatical morphemes” (negation and questions)
I would like to invite you to check the following information, in order to understand in a better way what
grammatical morphemes are?
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Morphemes: are the smallest chapters of language that carry meaning.

Grammatical morphemes: are tiny markers that can be added to these words to add to or change
their meaning. They are “bound” morphemes because they do not work on their own; they must
be connected to a “free” morpheme.
From 1-morpheme “dog” and “bark” we can make “dogs” and “barked.” By adding the grammatical
morphemes of plural “-s” and past tense “-ed,” we change the tense and the number from singular
to plural.
Examples:
1. Present progressive –ing (Mommy running)

2. Plural –s (Two books)
3. Irregular past forms (Baby went)
4. Possessive ‘s (Daddy‘s hat)
5. Copula (Annie is happy)
6. Articles the and a
7. Regular past –ed (She walked)
8. Third person singular simple present –s (She runs)
9. Auxiliary be (He is coming)
Did you understand the meaning of grammatical morphemes? Did you understand the examples of
grammatical morphemes?!!!Well done!!! Go ahead!!!
Once you have it clear, go to your textbook and read the examples proposed on it.
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Focus special attention on the different studies carried out by Roger Browns about grammatical
morphemes.
Do not forget to underline the main ideas, and take notes in your
notebook
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Now, it is time to focus your attention on the linguistic elements Negation and Questions.
As you can see in your textbook, four stages in the developmental sequence of negation and six stages
in the developmental sequence of questions have been observed in the acquisition of English and other
languages as well.

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Now, take a look of the following chart, in order to have a clear idea about each stage.
Table #2
Negation and Question Stages
NEGATION QUESTION
Stage 1 - The negative particle (no or not) is positioned Stage 1- Single words, formulae, or sentence
before the verb or thing being negated. fragments
Examples: Examples:
No cake. No have money. I not understand. A spot on the dog? A ball or a shoe?
Stage 2 – The negative element don’t is used but not
Stage 2- Declarative word order, no inversion, no
marked for person, number or tense and is even used
fronting with rising intonation
before modals.
Examples:
Examples:
A body throw the ball? Two children ride a bicycle?
She don’t like me. I don’t can drive.
Stage 3- Fronting: do-fronting; wh-fronting, no
inversion; other fronting
Examples:
Stage 3 - The negative element is positioned after auxiliary Do fronting
verbs (are, is, etc.) and modals (can, etc.) However, the Do the boy is beside the bus? Do you have three
negative element don’t is used and continues to be astronaut?
unmarked for person, number or tense. Does in this picture there is four astronauts?
Examples: You cannot see it. Other fronting
She was not happy. He don’t understand. Is the picture has two planets on top?
Wh- fronting
What the boy is throwing? Where the children are
standing? Where the kids are playing?
Stage 4 - Inversion in wh- + copula; yes/no questions
with other auxiliaries
Stage 4 – The negative element don’t is marked for Examples:
person, number and tense. However, the auxiliary and the Wh- with copula BE
verb may both be marked for person, number and tense. Where is the ball? Where is the dog? Where is the shoe?
Examples: Where is the space ship?
She doesn’t understand. We didn’t go to the zoo. Where is the sun?
They didn’t ate there. He doesn’t seems to understand. Yes/no questions with AUX inversion
Is the boy beside the garbage can? Is there a dog on the
bus? Is there a fish in the water?
Stage 5 - Inversion in wh-questions with both an
auxiliary and a main verb
Examples:
Wh- with AUX second
What is the boy throwing? What is the boy doing? How
do you say lancer?
How do you say tâches in English? How do you say
extra-terrestre?
6th Stage - Question tag, Negative question,
Embedded question
So-called ‘embedded’ questions
Can you tell me what the date is? Does he know what
the answer is?
Prepared by: Inga (2016)
Source: Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. (2012). How Languages are Learned (4thed). New York: Oxford University Press

How did it go? Did you understand the different developmental stages? Can you identify the different stages
in children? Can you write your own examples for each developmental stage? ¡¡¡Perfect!!!
Check the information in your textbook, it will help you to

reinforce your study
1.2.1. The pre-school Years
Pre-school development contains several aspects of language usage such as:
ØØ Lexis:
–– The rate of vocabulary learning is for three to four years old children at several words a day.
ØØ Grammatical awareness:
–– At age of four, most children can ask questions, give commands, report real events and
create imaginary stories.
–– They apply grammatical rules correctly and master basic structures of the language.
–– Acquisition of more complex linguistic structures, including passives and relative clauses
ØØ More various usage of language:
–– Usage of language in a wider social environment

–– More interaction with unfamiliar adults
–– Communication to relatives on the phone
–– Awareness of several different “voices”
ØØ Metalinguistic awareness:
–– Metalinguistic awareness describes the ability to treat language as an object separate from
the meaning.
1.2.2. The school years
School setting brings new opportunities for language development.
Please, take a look to the following characteristics:
• Develop more sophisticated metalinguistic awareness (learning to read reinforces this)

understanding that a ‘word’ is separate from the thing it represents/ understanding that ‘caterpillar’
is a longer word than ‘train’, even though the object it represents is shorter!
• Knowing that words and sentences can have multiple meanings (gives access to word jokes and
riddles)

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• Growth of vocabulary at the rate of several hundreds to a thousand words a year. It depends on
how much and how widely children read. In fact, Dee Gardener (2004) suggests that reading a
variety of text types is an essential part of vocabulary growth
• The acquisition of different language registers.
What a register is?
Register: A style or way of using language that is appropriate for a particular setting.
• Speaking and writing require different registers; the register used in writing a research report is
different from that used in writing a letter to a friend
• They learn how written language is different from spoken language
• They learn how the language used to speak to the principal is different form the language of the
playground
• They learn how the language of a science report is different form the narrative language.
• Speaking the standard variety in school instead of the ethnic or regional variety that is spoken at
home
Once you have clear these topics, please, go to your textbook and read the information proposed in it, in
order to reinforce your understanding about these themes.
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If you find “WORDS IN BOLD”, in your textbook you can check

the meaning of these words in the glossary, at the end of your
textbook. Page 213. http://storiesforchildren.tripod.
com/webonmediacontents/
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1.3. Explaining first language acquisition
This section is focus on the most important theories related to first Language acquisition. In fact, over
the past 50 years, 3 main theoretical positions have been advanced to explain language development,
such as:
• The Behaviourist perspective

• The Innatist perspective

• The Interactional/ developmental perspective

Now, you are going to analyze each one of these theories.
1.3.1. The behaviourist perspective
I would like to invite you to read and analyze the following chart. It summarize this theory
Let´s read
Graphic # 1
The behaviorism Perspective

After you have analyzed the previous chart, go to your textbook and read all of the information and
examples proposed in it about this perspective. It will help you to understand it in a better way.
notebook
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content/uploads/2016/02/

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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü To conclude with this topic, I would like to invite you to answer the following
questions.
1. What are the main aspects of Behaviorists perspective?
________________________________________________________________________________
2. At what stage children tend to mention events in the order of their occurrence?
________________________________________________________________________________
How did it go? Did you answer the questions? ¡¡¡Right!!!
Let´s go ahead with the next perspective.
1.3.2. The innatist perspective
This is an important and interesting perspective. Keep in mind that each perspective has its point of view
about language development.
Now, you are going to read a brief explanation about innatist perspective.
It is related to Chomsky´s hypothesis that all humans’ languages are based on some innate universal
principles. And it is linked to Universal grammar and the critical period hypothesis (CPH).
Here some characteristics:
99 Children are biologically programmed for language
99 Language develops in the child in just the same way that other biological functions develop.
99 The environment makes only a basic contribution (the availability of people who speak to the
child).
99 Children’s minds are not blank slates to be filled by imitating language they hear in the environment.
99 Children are born with a specific innate ability to discover for themselves the underlying rules of a
language system on the basis of the samples they are exposed to.
99 This innate endowment is like a template containing the principles that are universal to all human
languages.
As mention previously, universal grammar and the critical period hypothesis are linked to this perspective.

First, you are going to study universal grammar.
Let´s take a look
What Universal Grammar (UG) is?
It is an innate linguistic knowledge that consists of a set of principles common to all languages.
Characteristics:
• If children are pre-equipped with UG, then what they have to learn is the ways in which the
language they are acquiring makes use of these principles.
• Innatists argue that complex grammar could never be learned purely on the basis of imitating and
practicing sentences available in the input.
Critical period Hypothesis (CPH)
These are some ideas about it:
• The critical period hypothesis is the subject of a long-standing debate in linguistics and language
acquisition over the extent to which the ability to acquire language is biologically linked to age.
• The hypothesis claims that there is an ideal ‘window’ of time in a person’s life to acquire language
in a linguistically rich environment, after which further language acquisition becomes much more
difficult and effortful.
Once you have reviewed the previous information, it is necessary to read about these themes in your
textbook. In your textbook you can find specific information, which will help you in your understanding.
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Please, be ready to take notes.
Did you find any problems in the previous topic? If so, contact
your tutor; if not, continue with the next part.
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Now, you are going to focus your attention in the last perspective.
Let´s do it

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1.3.3. The interactionist / developmental perspective
With this in mind, you are going to begin the study of this perspective.
Interactionist > environment + innate ability
• Dan Slobin (1973) has long emphasized the close relationship between children’s cognitive
development and their acquisition of language
• Language acquisition is an example of the human child’s remarkable ability to learn from
experience,
• There is no need to assume that there are specific brain structures devoted to language acquisition.
• What children need to know is available in the language they are exposed to as they hear it use in
thousands of hours of interactions with the people and objects around them.
• Jean Piaget is one of the earliest proponents of the view that children´s language is built on their
cognitive development.
• Vigosky observed the importance of conversations that children have with adults and with other
children and saw in these conversations the origins of both language and thought.
Once reviewed these important ideas about interactionist perspective. Please, go to your textbook and
read this section. In your textbook you can find valuable information about this perspective.
Additionally, you can find more ideas about cross-cultural research, the importance of interaction and
usage-based learning. These three topics are related to the interactionist perspective.
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I recommend you to do the following writing activity.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü The idea here is to write the main ideas about each perspective study in this chapter.
Use the information from this guide and your textbook.

Interactionist / Developmental (Piaget &

Vytgotsky)
Main characteristics.
1. ______________________________________
2. ______________________________________
3. ______________________________________
4. ______________________________________
5. ______________________________________
Behaviorist (Skinner) Innatist (Chomsky)
Main characteristics. Main characteristics.

1. ________________________________________ 1. _____________________________________
2. ________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________
3. ________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________
4. ________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________
5. ________________________________________ 5. _____________________________________
6. _____________________________________
Did you find the main characteristics of each perspective? Did you find any difficulty? If so, please contact your
tutor; if not, you can continue with the next topic.
1.4. Language disorders and delays
The present topic deals with various types of disabilities (including deafness, articulatory problems,
autism, dyslexia, and so on.) that sometimes affect language development.
First, you are going to check the meaning of language disorders and delays.
Let´s start
What language disorder is?
A language disorder is an impairment that makes it hard for someone to find the right words and form
clear sentences when speaking. It can also make it difficult to understand what another person says. A
child may have difficulty understanding what others say, may struggle to put thoughts into words, or both.
What language delay is?
A language delay is when language abilities may be developing at a slower rate than normal. They may
have trouble expressing themselves or understanding others. Their delay may involve a combination of
hearing, speech, and cognitive impairments.
Now, that you have studied and understood what language disorders and delays are, I encourage you
read this section in your textbook. In your textbook you can find some previous studies about language
disorders and delays.

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Did you read the information in your textbook? Did you underline the main ideas?!!! Great!!!
Let´s continue with the next topic.
1.5. Childhood bilingualism
In this section you are going to study how some children learn multiple languages from earliest childhood
and how others acquire additional language when they go to school.
• Children who learn more than one language from earliest childhood are referred to as ‘simultaneous
bilinguals‘
• Whereas those who learn another language later can be called ‘sequential bilinguals’.
Now, it is time to read the information in your textbook. Read the whole information and underline the
main ideas.
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Go ahead and read
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü Check the information in (Entorno Virtual de Aprendizaje (EVA))

üü First language acquisition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id0OBh5qoLI
üü Milestones and Developmental sequences:
üü https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVfXgk0PbMs
http://images.clipartof.com/ üü https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7WAfwKi88Q
üü Do the Self-evaluation to observe how much you know of this topic
üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Questions for reflection.
To finish this chapter you can test your understanding of the major concepts presented in this chapter
by completing the following self-evaluation.

Self-evaluation 1
Dear student, I invite you to work on the following exercises proposed to verify your comprehension of
all the contents presented in this chapter.
Activity A
Read the following sentences and choose the correct option for each one of them.
1. Despite young children have little control over sounds that they produce….
a. They can discriminate between the one language and another

b. They cannot hear any sound at all
c. They can hear differences between the sounds of human languages
2. At twelve months of age the majority of babies are able to understand.
a. Many words repeated by people around them

b. A few frequently repeated words around them
c. No words but only sounds
3. The Critical Period Hypothesis argue that_____
a. animals included humans, are genetically programmed to acquire certain kinds of

knowledge and skill at specific times in life
b. animals included human are not genetically programmed to acquire certain kinds of
knowledge and skill at specific times in life
c. animals included humans, are genetically programmed to acquire certain kinds of
knowledge and skill through the interaction with the society
4. Simultaneous Bilingualism takes place when……
a. children learn to read and write simultaneously

b. children learn more than one language from earliest childhood
c. people who learn another language later in life
5. Which is the best explanation of the concept of the “logical problem of language acquisition”
a. Children know more language than they hear in the environment

b. Children cannot distinguish between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences
c. Children are only exposed to correct language structures

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Activity B
Read the sentences below and fill in the blanks with the options suggested from the box.
–– imitation / practice
–– Registers
–– morphemes
–– Cognitive developmental and mastery of linguistic elements.
1. One important development in school years in the acquisition of different language _____________.
2. The smallest chapters of language that carry meaning are called _________.
3. Language stages or developmental sequence is somewhat related to which of the following.
4. Behaviorists believe that _____________ and ___________ are very important in language
development.
Activity C
Read the following sentences and decided which one is true (T) or false (F)
1. ( ) Grammatical morpheme is an approach to second language teaching characterized

by the explicit teaching of grammar rules and the use of translation exercises.
2. ( ) The ability to treat language as an object separate from the meaning it conveys is
called Metalinguistic Awareness.
3. ( ) An important development in the school years is the acquisition of zone proximal
development. Children learn how writing language differs from spoken language.
4. ( ) According to Behaviorisms Theory, learners imitate and repeat the language they
hear in their surrounding environment and are positively reinforced for doing so,
habit formation (or learning) occurs.
5. ( ) In relation to the innatist perspective, Chomsky´s concluded that children´s minds are
blank slates filled by imitating languages they hear in the environment.
6. ( ) Universal grammar refers to the innate linguistic knowledge which, it is hypothesized,
consist of a set of principles common to all languages.
7. ( ) The Critical Period hypothesis, argues that animals, including humans, are genetically
programmed to acquire certain kinds of knowledge and skill at specific times in life.
8. ( ) According to Piaget (1951) language is developed primarily from social interaction.
He argued that in a supportive interactive environment, children are able to advance
to a higher level of knowledge and performance.

Once you have completed all the exercises of the previous chapter, it is
important that you check if there is any point that is not clear yet. Remember,
for further help you can contact your tutor.
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com/canstock6136549.jpg
(Check the answer key, at the end of this didactic guide)
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Now, I invite you to continue studying the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 2. SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
In this chapter you are going to look at second language learner´s developing knowledge, their ability to
use that knowledge, and how this compares with L1 learning. Additionally, you are going to review some
aspects of learner´s development of vocabulary, pragmatics, and phonology.
http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/amit/books/img/lightbrown_2nd-lg-interaction.jpg
Before you begin the study of this second chapter, I suggest you go to your textbook and do the activity
titled “Explore contents for second language learning”. In this activity you can find some interesting
questions about language learner characteristics and conditions.
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How was this activity? Essay!!!Well done!!!
2.1. Learner characteristics
The first activity here is to analyze the following chart. In it you can find relevant information about older
and young language learner’s characteristics.

Graphic # 2
Learner characteristics

With the previous information in your mind, please, go to your textbook and read about this topic, in
order to reinforce your understanding.
Additionally, in the same topic you can find an extra activity. Please, read the instructions and information
related learner characteristics and complete the table 2.1 “Context for language learning”
Now, let´s continue with the next topic.
2.2. Learning conditions
As you can see in your textbook, there are some learning conditions in the context of language learning
between young and older learners.
Let´s review the following chart.

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Graphic # 3
Learning conditions

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2.3. Studying the language of second language learners
In this section you are going to study some approaches related to errors that learners made in the process
of learning a second language.
Before, to continue with the next topic, please, go to your textbook and read about this section.
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Did you read? Did you have a general idea about this topic?!!!Great!!!
Let´s continue

2.3.1. Contrastive analysis, error analysis, and interlanguage
It is important to know that, contrastive analysis was used extensively in the field of Second Language
Acquisition (SLA) in the 1960s and early 1970s, as a method of explaining why some features of a Target
Language were more difficult to acquire than others.
In fact, according to the behaviorist theories prevailing at the time, language learning was a question
of habit formation, and this could be reinforced or impeded by existing habits. Therefore, the difficulty
in mastering certain structures in a second language (L2) depended on the difference between the
learners’ mother language (L1) and the language they were trying to learn.
With the previous introduction about Contrastive analysis, I would like to invite you to read the following
information.
Table # 3
Negative and Positive transfer (Contrastive Analysis)
ØØ CA is SLA approach that compares features of L1 and L2 in order to determine the similarities and differences
of L1 to L2
ØØ In Contrastive Analysis, when students of L1 learn L2, there are two kinds of transfer happening:
ØØ Negative Transfer:
–– Refers to the differences of grammatical structure, morphology, and pronunciation of the L2 compared
to the L1.
–– The negative transfer is said to be the obstacle of the students in learning L2
ØØ Positive Transfer:
–– Refers to the similarity found in both L1 in L2; be it in the grammatical structure, morphology, or
pronunciation.
–– These similarities are believed to ease the students in learning the L2
Now, let´s move on the next topic “error analysis”.
Error analysis is the systematic study of deviations from target-language norms in the course of second-
language acquisition, especially in terms of the learner’s developing interlanguage.
Check the following characteristics:
99 Error analysis in SLA was established in the 1960s by Stephen Pit Corder and colleagues.
99 Error analysis (EA) was an alternative to contrastive analysis, an approach influenced by

behaviorism through which applied linguists sought to use the formal distinctions between the
learners› first and second languages to predict errors.
99 Error analysis showed that contrastive analysis was unable to predict a great majority of errors,
although it’s more valuable aspects have been incorporated into the study of language transfer.
99 A key finding of error analysis has been that many learner errors are produced by learners making
faulty inferences about the rules of the new language.

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Once you have an idea about the previous approaches. I recommended you to read the content of these
themes in you textbook. It will help you to understand it in a better way.
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Did you find any difficulty? If so, contact your tutor in order to clear any doubts or concerns;
if not, I would like to invite to you to continue with your study
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Now, continue with the last approach “Interlanguage”
The term ‘interlanguage’ was coined by the American linguist, Larry Selinker, in recognition of the fact
that L2 Learners construct a linguistic system that draws, in part, on the learner’s L1 but is also from the
language target a learner’s interlanguage is, therefore, a unique linguistic system.
The concept of interlanguage involves the following premises about L2 acquistion:
§§ The learner constructs a system of abstract linguistic rules which underlies comprehension and
production of the L2. This system of rule is viewed as a ‘mental grammar’ and is referred to as an
‘interlanguage’.
§§ The learner’s grammar is transitional. Learners change their grammar from one time to another by
adding rules, deleting rules, and restructuring the whole system. This results in an interlanguage
continuum. That is, learners construct a series of mental grammars of interlanguage as they
gradually increase the complexity of their L2 knowledge.
§§ The learner’s grammar is likely to fossilize. Selinker suggested that only about five per cent of
learners of learners go on to develop the same mental grammar as native speakers. The majority
stop some way short. The prevalence of backsliding (i.e. the production of errors representing
an early stage of development) is typical of fossilized learners; Fossilization does not occur in L1
acquisition and thus is unique to L2 grammars.
How was this section? Did you understand the different approaches? !!!Well done!!!
It is also important that you check the additional information about

these topics in your textbook.
Let’s continue with the next topic

2.3.2. Developmental sequences
At this point, I suggest you to go back to Chapter 1 and re-read the section related to first language
acquisition. As you know we learned a little bit about developmental sequences. Now we are going to
look at them in relation to second language learning.
SLA research has revealed that L2 learners, like L1 learners, pass through sequences of development. In
a given language, many of these developmental sequences are similar for L1 and L2 learners. It is not
always the case that L2 features which are heard or read most frequently are easier to learn (e.g., articles
- ‘a’ & ‘the’). Even among L2 learners from different L1 backgrounds and different learning environments,
many of these developmental sequences are similar.
Developmental sequences are focus on Grammatical morphemes, Negation, Questions, Relative clauses,
and Reference to past
Let´s analyze each one of them.
Grammatical morphemes:
ØØ Learners are often more accurate in using plural -s than in using possessive -s’.
ØØ Learners are often more accurate in using -ing than in using -ed past.
ØØ The learner’s L1 has some effect on the accuracy order of grammatical morphemes; however, it is
not entirely determined by the learner’s L1. There are some strong patterns of similarity among
learners of different L1 backgrounds.
Negation:
ØØ The acquisition of negative sentences by L2 learners follows a path that looks nearly identical to
the stages of L1 language acquisition (* Please see p. 6).
ØØ The difference is that L2 learners from different language backgrounds behave somewhat
differently within those stages.
Stages of forming negative sentences
• Stage 1 – using ‘no’ before the verb or noun

• Stage 2 – using ‘don’t’
• Stage 3 – using ‘are’, ‘is’, and ‘can’ with ‘not’
• Stage 4 – using auxiliary verbs with ‘not’ that agree with tense, person, and number.
Check the examples in your textbook.
Questions:
ØØ The developmental sequence for questions by L2 learners is similar in most respects to L1 language
acquisition.
ØØ The developmental sequence for questions, while very similar across learners, also appears to be
affected to some degrees by L1 influence.

39
Stages of forming questions:
• Stage 1 – single words or sentence fragments

• Stage 2 – declarative word order (no fronting and no inversion)
• Stage 3 – fronting (wh- fronting but no inversion; do-fronting)
• Stage 4 – inversion in wh- + copula and ‘yes/no’ questions
• Stage 5 – inversion in wh- questions
• Stage 6 – complex questions (tag questions; negative questions; embedded questions)
Check the examples in your textbook.
Relative Clauses
ØØ The pattern of acquisition for relative clauses (the “accessibility hierarchy” for relative clause in
English):
• Subject (‘The girl who was sick went home’)

• Direct object (‘The story that/which I read was long’)
• Indirect object (‘The man who[m] I gave the present to was absent’)
• Object of preposition (‘I found the book that John was talking about’)
• Possessive (‘I know the woman whose father is visiting’)
• Object of comparison (‘The person that Susan is taller than is Mary’)
Reference to past:
–– Learners with very limited language may simply refer to events in the order in which they occurred
or mention a time or place to show that event occurred in the past.
e.g. My son come. He work in restaurant. He don’t like his boss.
–– Later, learners start to attach a grammatical morpheme which shows that the verb is marked for
the past. After they begin marking past tense on verbs, learners may still make errors such as
overgeneralization of the regular -ed ending.
e.g. John worked in the bank. He rided a bicycle.
–– Learners are more likely to mark past tense on some verbs (action verbs) than on others (state
verbs). For example, learners seem to mark past tense more easily in the sentences “I broke the
vase” and “He fixed the car.” than in the sentences “She seemed happy last week” or “My father
belonged to a club”.
–– Learners seem to find it easier to mark past tense when referring to completed events than when
referring to states and activities which may last for extended periods without a clear end-point.
e.g. He stays there for a week. I want to know how he learns English.

Did you find any problems in the previous topic? If so, contact your
tutor; if not, continue with the next part.
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Now, you are going to focus your attention in the next topic
2.3.3. More about first language influence
Over time, opinions on the influence that first language has on second language development have
evolved considerably.
I invite you to read the section dedicated to this topic and discover very interesting facts about how first
language becomes an obstacle of second language learning.
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notebook
According to the authors what is the current, most accepted view on this issue?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
So far this chapter has focused on the acquisition of morphology and syntax in the second language.
Now, turn to the learning of some other important components of communicative competence such as:
vocabulary, pragmatics and pronunciation.
2.4. Vocabulary
Vocabulary is taken as an essential matter at the moment of teaching a second language in a classroom
which is present in all the skills of the language (reading, writing, speaking and listening). One of the
reasons is that students need to develop their knowledge in the context of second language learning.

41
Here some important ideas about vocabulary:
ØØ English has anywhere from 100.000 to 1.000.000 words.

ØØ An educated adult speaker of English knows at least 20.000 words.
ØØ Most everyday conversation requires about 2.000 words.
ØØ Acquiring a basic vocabulary is a significant accomplishment for L2 learners.
BUT: → L2 learners are exposed to far smaller samples of the language to be learned than L1
learners!
→ The contexts in which L2 learners encounter new vocabulary may not be as helpful!
I suggest you read about this section in your textbook. In it you can find significant information and
research about the importance of vocabulary in the second language learning.
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Once you have read your textbook I would like to invite you to check the following table and answer the
questions below.
Table # 4
English words that may be “easy” or “difficult” for second language learners
Which list would you expect to be learned most easily by beginning L2 learners?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
What are the three ways that a learner can improve vocabulary?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü Look at the three lists of words (table 2.5).

–– What is the difference between the words in List 1, List 2 and List 3?
–– Can you think of any other words to add to the lists? Write them down in
your notebook.
Did you read about the importance of vocabulary in the second language learning? Did you do the activities
suggested?!!!Good job!!
Let´s go ahead with the next topic.
2.5. Pragmatics
First at all, you are going to read the definition of this term.
Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics that has been defined as “the study of language from the
point of view of users, especially of the choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using
language in social interaction and the effects their use of language has on other participants in the
act of communication” (Crystal, 1997, p.301).
It is important to review the information in your textbook about this topic of study theme. In it you can
find some studies about pragmatics in the second language learning.
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü After you have read your textbook, please answer the following questions.

43
1. What are the difficulties for L2 learners referring to pragmatics?
________________________________________________________________________________
2. Which factors make new vocabulary more accessible to L2 learners?
________________________________________________________________________________
3. List at least three pragmatic skills.
1. ___________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________
Did you find any difficulty with these questions and topic? Please go
back and review any information that you do not fully understand. If
you have any further questions, please contact your tutor..
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Now, let´s focus on the following topic.
2.6. Phonology
The study of how sounds are organized and used in natural languages and the way sounds function
in languages, including phonemes, syllable structure, stress, accent, intonation, and which sounds are
distinctive chapters within a language; The way sounds function within a given language.
Three major chapters of phonological analysis are:
Segments: Individual speech sounds such as stress, pith, tone and intonation.
Syllables: chapters of linguistic structure that consists of a syllabic element and any segments associated
with it.
Features: chapters of phonological structure that make up segments
Please continue reading about this topic in your textbook.
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Towards the end of this topic the authors discuss a controversy surrounding pronunciation and accents.
What is it?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
What is your opinion?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How did it go? Did you get the main ideas? Did you read the information in your textbook? ¡¡¡Excellent!!!
2.7. Sampling learners´ language
The study of language learners has faced some problems in the collection of samples especially in writing
and speech. The analysis used to take too much time and the few samples were analyzed.
Nowadays, there are some computers programs or tools that allow research analyze different aspects
related to language learning.
In your textbook, you can find more information about this topic.
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Do not forget to underline the main ideas, and take notes in

your notebook
Congratulations! You have finished Chapter 2. To test your knowledge, please complete the self-
evaluation below.

45
Self-evaluation 2
Activity A
Read the following information and choose the correct answer.
1. According to one of the Second Learner Characteristic, cognitive maturity and metalinguistic
awareness allow older learners to ______.
a. willing to try to use the language, even when their proficiency is quite limited.
b. solve problems and engage in discussions about language.
c. listen and participate silently in social interaction with their peers.
2. According the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH), which of the following was the cause of
learner errors?
a. Students did not practice the correct forms enough to make them a habit.
b. Students transferred knowledge of their first language to their new language.
c. Students did not pay close enough attention to the language structure they were taught.
3. Which of the following illustrates why (CAH) turned out to be an inadequate explanation of learner
errors?
a. Learners do usually transfer idiomatic expressions literally.

b. Bi-directional transfer does not always occur for every grammatical structure of two
language groups.
c. Learners develop second language when they receive more input in that language.
4. Which of the following best describes the concept of interlanguage?
a. Techniques teachers use to directly elicit the correct word from a student.
b. When an incorrect structure becomes a permanent feature in a language learner’s production
even after prolonged exposure to the standard form.
c. A learner’s developing second language that is systematic and also dynamic.
5. Which of the following examples presents the correct obligatory context for the morpheme?
a. Yesterday, I go to visit my grandmother. (Present tense)

b. Las night, I sleep very deeply. ( Present tense)
c. Last week, my brother rent a car. (Past tense)

6. In which second language stage of negation development would a person who says the following
likely to be? I don´t to go to the market.
a. Stage 1. Negative element no or not.

b. Stage 2: Not may alternative with don´t.
c. Stage 3: Negative element after auxiliary.
7. A developmental sequence of second language also focuses on possessive determiners, in which

second language stage of possessive determiners “No use of “his or “her”. Definite article or “your”
used for all persons, genders, and numbers”. For example: The little boy play with the bicycle. He
has band-aid on the arm, the leg, the stomach.
a. Pre- emergence.
b. Emergence.
c. Post – emergence.
8. Communicative Competence refers the following.
a. Vocabulary.
b. Pragmatics and Pronunciation.
c. Vocabulary, Pragmatic and pronunciation.
9. Pragmatics is the study how language is used in context to express such things as directness,
politeness. In relation to this point second language research has focus their attention on the
acquisition of requests in English. So, Gabriele Kasper and Kenneth Rose (2002) proposed five
stages of development. Which of the following stage refers to “fine tuning of requestive force to
participants, goals, and contexts”? Example: Is there any more white?
a. Stage 3: Unpacking.
b. Stage 4: Pragmatic expansion.
c. Stage 5: Fine tuning.
10. The term “Suprasegmentals” refers to:
a. The sounds of a language that involve the rhythm, stress and intonation of the language.
b. The study of how second language learners develop abilities to express intentions.
c. An explanation for knowledge and learning.
Activity B
Read the following list and choose the six language features that second language learners tend to
develop in stages or sequences mentioned in your textbook. Mark with a check
ØØ Relative clauses
ØØ Pragmatics
ØØ Reference to past
ØØ Phonology
ØØ Negation
ØØ Error Analysis

47
ØØ Grammatical morphemes
ØØ Contrastive Analysis
ØØ Possessive determiners
ØØ Vocabulary
ØØ Questions
ØØ Interlanguage
Activity C
Read the following questions and write the correct answers.
1. What are some of the authors´ conclusions about developmental sequences?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the most effective way to help second language learners reduce their accent?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Once you have completed all the exercises of the previous chapter, it
is important that you check if there is any point that is not clear yet.
Remember, for further help you can consult your tutor.

CHAPTER 3. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
In this chapter you are going to study how individual learner characteristics may affect success. Also, you
will examine some of the major theories behind both first and second language acquisition. Additionally,
you are going to review some language learning characteristics such as personality, motivation, age,
intelligence, etc.
http://www.termcoord.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Learn-a-new-language.jpg
Before you begin the study of this third chapter, I encourage you to read and complete the questionnaire
suggested in your textbook.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü Do the questionnaire titled “Reflect on language learning experience”. There

you can find a questionnaire will help you to reflect on your own experience as
http://images.clipartof.com/ a language learner.
Did you do the activity? Did you answer all the questions?!!Great!!
Now, let´s move to the next section
3.1. Research on learner characteristics
In this section, we will review some of the studies, research and projects that have sought to understand
the relationships between individual differences and learning outcomes. In it the author describes
how research is typically conducted by using correlation. They also describe some of the difficulties of
interpreting correlation analyses.
Let´s begin

49
How is research on the influence of individual differences on SLA done?
ØØ When researchers are interested in finding out whether a VARIABLE (e.g. motivation) affects second
language learning, they usually select a group of learners and give them
ØØ A questionnaire to measure the type and degree of their motivation.
ØØ A test to assess their second language proficiency.
ØØ The test and the questionnaire are both scored, and the researcher uses a statistical procedure
called a CORRELATION.
ØØ The correlation shows how likely it is that learners with high scores on the motivation questionnaire
will also have high scores on the language test. Now, read the information suggested in your
textbook about this topic.
Difficulties in assessing the relationship between individual learner characteristics and second language
learning
Although the correlation procedure seems straightforward, it requires careful interpretation.
1. Unlike variables such as age, it is not possible to directly observe and measure variables such
as motivation, extroversion, or intelligence.
These are just labels for an entire range of behaviors and characteristics.
2. Such characteristics are not independent of each other, and researchers have sometimes used
the same label to describe different sets of behavioral traits.
For example,
In motivation questionnaires, learners may be asked how often they have opportunities to use their
second language with native speakers.
ØØ The assumption behind the question is that those who report that they frequently have such
opportunities are highly motivated to learn.
ØØ This seems reasonable, but it is not so simple.
ØØ If a learner responds that he or she frequently interacts with speakers of the second language,
• It may not be because he or she is more motivated to learn.
• It might be that this individual lives where there are more opportunities for language
practice in informal contexts than those who report a low frequency of interaction.
ØØ Because, it is usually impossible to separate these two variables (i.e. willingness to interact and
opportunities to interact), we cannot conclude whether it is motivation or opportunity that is
most closely associated with success

3. Perhaps the most serious error in interpreting correlations is the conclusion that one of the
variables causes the other.
ØØ The fact that two things tend to occur together or increase and decrease in a similar pattern does
not necessarily mean that one caused the other.
ØØ While it may be that one variable influences the other, it may also be that both are influenced by
something else entirely.
For example,
ØØ Learners who are successful may indeed be highly motivated.
ØØ But can we conclude that they became successful because of their motivation?
ØØ It is also possible that
–– Early success heightened their motivation,
–– Both success and motivation are due to their special aptitude for language learning or the
favorable context in which they are learning.
4. Another difficulty is how language proficiency is defined and measured.
For example,
ØØ Some studies report that learners with a higher IQ are more successful language learners than
those with a lower IQ.
ØØ Other studies report no such correlation.
ØØ One explanation for these conflicting findings is that the language proficiency tests used in
different studies do not measure the same kind of knowledge.
ØØ That is, IQ may be less closely correlated to measures of conversational fluency than to tests that
measure metalinguistic knowledge.
5. Research on individual differences must also take into account the social and educational
settings in which learners find themselves.
ØØ Bonny Norton and Kelleen Toohey (2001) argue that, even when individuals possess some of
the characteristics that have been associated with the ‘good language learner’, their language
acquisition may not be successful if they are not able to gain access to social relationships in
situations where they are perceived as valued partners in communication.
ØØ Members of some immigrant and minority groups are too often marginalized by social and
educational practices that limit their opportunities to engage in communication with peers,
colleagues, and even teachers.
ØØ In these social conditions, individuals who approach a new language with the cognitive and
motivational characteristics typical of the ‘good language learner’ may not achieve the proficiency
that these characteristics would predict.

51
ØØ Understands the relationship between individual differences, social situations, and success in
second language learning.
ØØ Research in this area is important to researchers, educators, and communities.
• Researchers look into know how different cognitive and personality variables are related and
how they interact with learners’ experiences so that they can gain a better understanding
of human learning.
• Educators hope to find ways of helping learners with different characteristics achieve
success in second language learning.
• The larger community is also concerned because of the enormous impact second language
learning has in shaping opportunities for education, employment, mobility, and other
societal benefits.
Now, I would like to invite all of you to read the textbook.
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your notebook
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü After reading a great deal of detail on this topic, I propose you to answer the
following question.

What are the difficulties of interpreting correlation analyses?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Did you answer the question? !!Good job!!
Did you find any difficulty with this question and topic? Please
go back and review any information that you do not fully
understand. If you have any further questions, please contact
art/grande/9639747-15513602.
your tutor.
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Now, let´s continue with the next topic related to learner characteristics “intelligence”.
In the following topics, you will study and analyze some of the individual characteristics that have been
investigated in the effort to discover explanations for different learning outcomes.
3.1.1. Intelligence
Here some ideas about this topic.
§§ The term ‘intelligence’ has traditionally been used to refer to performance on certain kinds of tests.
§§ These tests are often associated with success in school.
§§ A link between intelligence and SLA has been reported.
§§ Some researches have shown that IQ scores were a good means of predicting success in SLA.
§§ However, IQ tests may be more strongly related to metalinguistic knowledge than to communicative
ability
Fred Genesee’s (1976) Study
He studied students in French IMMERSION PROGRAMMES in Canada
Finding:
While intelligence was related to the development of French second language reading, grammar,
and vocabulary, it was unrelated to oral production skills.
§§ This suggests that the kind of ability measured by traditional IQ tests may be a strong predictor
when it comes to learning that involves language analysis and rule learning.
§§ This kind of ‘intelligence’ may play a less important role in classrooms where the instruction focuses
more on communication and interaction.
§§ Many students whose general academic performance is weak experience considerable success in
second language learning if they are given the right opportunities.

53
§§ In recent years, many educators have been influenced by Howard Gardner’s (1993) proposal that:
• Individuals have ‘multiple intelligences’

• Traditional IQ tests have assessed only a limited range of abilities.
§§ Among the ‘multiple intelligences’ Gardner includes abilities in the areas of music, interpersonal
relations, and athletics, as well as the verbal intelligence that is most often associated with success
in school.
Now, read the rest of information in your textbook.
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3.1.2. Language learning aptitude
Here some ideas and studies about this topic.
§§ Specific abilities thought to predict success in language learning have been studied under the title
of language learning ‘aptitude’.
• John Carroll (1991) characterized aptitude in terms of the ability to learn quickly.
• Thus, we may hypothesize that a learner with high aptitude may learn with greater ease and
speed but that other learners may also be successful if they continue.
Marjorie Wesche’s (1981) Study
ØØ In a Canadian language program for adult learners of French, Wesche studied the progress of
students who were placed in instructional programs that were either compatible or incompatible
with their aptitude profile and information about their learning experiences.
In the compatible groupings
• Students who were high on analytic ability, but average on memory, were assigned to teaching
that focused on grammatical structures,
• And learners with good memory but average analytic skills were placed in a class where the
teaching was organized around the functional use of the second language in specific situations.
In the incompatible groupings
• Students were placed in classes that did not correspond to their aptitude profiles.

Findings:
1. There was a high level of student and teacher satisfaction when students were matched with
compatible teaching environments.
2. Matched students were able to attain significantly higher levels of achievement than those who
were mismatched.
For further information about this topic, you can read the textbook.
Continue, reading your textbook.
Did you read? Did you have a general idea about this topic?!!!Great!!!
Let´s continue
3.1.3. Learning styles
The term ‘learning style’ has been used to describe an individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred way of
absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills (Reid 1995).
Check the following graphic.
Graphic # 4
Learning styles

Source: Joy M, Reid. (1987, March). The Learning Style Preferences of ESL Students. TESOL QUARTERLY, pp 80-90.

55
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
following question.
Are you a Field Independent learner or a Field dependent learner? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Continuing with learning styles, for a number of years, it was widely reported that there was a strong
relationship between field independence and success in second language learning. However, Zoltan
Dornyei and Peter Skehan (2003) conclude that more research will be needed to identify the nature of
this relationship.
Are learning styles stable or dynamic?
It is difficult to determine whether learning styles reflect unchangeable differences or whether they
develop (and thus can be changed) through experience.
Which learning style is the right one?
• When learners express a preference for seeing something written (visual) or spending more time
in a language laboratory (auditory), we should not assume that their ways of working are wrong,
even if they seem to be in conflict with the pedagogical approach we have adopted.
• Instead, we should encourage learners to use all means available to them.
• Research on learning styles should make us skeptical of claims that a single teaching method or
textbook will suit the needs of all learners.
Learning an L2 with difficulty
Lenore Ganschow and Richard Sparks (2001) have studied many cases of young adults who find foreign
language learning exceedingly difficult.
• They identified several ways in which these students differ from successful learners.
• Most perform poorly on at least some of the measures that make up aptitude tests.
• Some have problems with certain kinds of verbal skills, even in their own language
What is most important about this research is its finding.

Finding:
With great effort and instructional support, some of these students are able to succeed in spite of their
difficulties.
• The challenge then is to find instructional approaches that meet the needs of learners with a
variety of aptitude and learning style profiles.
Now, let´s move on the next learner characteristic “personality”
Once you have an idea about the previous learner characteristics. I recommended you to read the
content of these themes in you textbook. It will help you to understand it in a better way.
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Let’s continue with the next topic
3.1.4. Personality
A number of personality characteristics have been proposed as likely to affect second language learning,
but it has not been easy to demonstrate their effects in empirical studies.
Now, the personality characters that we are going to cover in this chapter are:
1. Extroversion: It is often argued that an extroverted person is well suited to language learning. However,
research does not always support this conclusion.
Some studies have found that success in language learning is correlated with learners' scores on questionnaires
measuring characteristics associated with extroversion such as assertiveness and adventurousness. However,
others have found that many successful language learners do not get high scores on measures of extroversion.
Lily Wong-Fillmore (1979) found that, in certain learning situations, the quiet observant learner may have greater
success.
2. Inhibition: It has been suggested that inhibition discourages risk-taking, which is necessary for progress in
language learning. This is often considered to be a particular problem for adolescents, who are more self-
conscious than younger learners.
In a series of studies, Alexander Guiora (1972) found support for the claim that inhibition is a negative force, at
least for second language pronunciation performance.
One study involved an analysis of the effects of small doses of alcohol (known for its ability to reduce inhibition)
on pronunciation. Study participants who drank small amounts of alcohol did better on pronunciation tests
than those who did not drink any. We may also note that when larger doses of alcohol were administered,
pronunciation rapidly deteriorated!
While results such as these are interesting, they may have more to do with performance than with learning.

57
3. Anxiety: Feelings of worry, nervousness, and stress that many students experience when learning an L2.
Is it a stable feature? or a dynamic one?
• For a long time, researchers thought of anxiety as a permanent feature of a learner's personality.
• The majority of language anxiety scales measure anxiety in this way.
• For example, students are assumed to be 'anxious' if they 'strongly agree' with statements such as 'I become
anxious when I have to speak in the second language classroom'.
However, such questionnaire responses do not take into account the possibility that anxiety can be temporary
and context-specific.
• More recent research acknowledges that anxiety is more likely to be dynamic and dependent on particular
situations and circumstances.
For example,
A student might feel anxious when giving an oral presentation in front of the whole class but not when interacting
with peers in group-work.
Whatever the context, anxiety can play an important role in second language learning if it interferes with the
learning process.
4. Willingness to Communicate: A learner's 'willingness to communicate' has also been related to anxiety. We
have all experienced occasions when we have tried very hard to avoid communicating in a foreign language.
When do you usually find yourself avoiding communication?
This often has to do with:
• The number of people present
• The topic of conversation
• The formality of the circumstances.
According to Macintyre, Clement, Dornyei, and Noels (1998), learners who willingly communicate in a wide range
of conversational interactions are able to do so because their prior language learning has led to development of
self-confidence
Such self-confidence is also a result of:
• A lack of anxiety
• A sufficient level of communicative competence
• A series of reasonably pleasant [second language] experiences
Did you find any difficulty with this topic? Please go back and
review any information that you do not fully understand. If you
have any further questions, please contact your tutor.
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3.1.5. Attitudes and motivation
Robert Gardner (2003) has carried out a research on the relationship between a learner’s attitudes
toward the second or foreign language and its community, and success in second language learning. It
is difficult to know whether

Graphic # 5
Positive attitude

Although the research cannot prove that positive attitudes and motivation cause success in learning,
there is ample evidence that positive motivation is associated with a willingness to keep learning.
Graphic # 6
Robert Gardner and Wallace Lambert (1972) coined the terms:

Research has shown that these types of motivation are related to success in second language learning,
but the distinction is not always very clear. In some learning environments, it is difficult to distinguish
between these two types of orientation to the TL and its community.

59
Is motivation a stable characteristic or a dynamic one?
• Early research on motivation tended to conceptualize it as a stable characteristic of the learner.
• More recent work emphasizes the dynamic nature of motivation and tries to account for the
changes that take place over time.
On the other hand, Zoltan Dornyei (2001) developed a process-oriented model of motivation that
consists of three phases:
Graphic # 7
Zoltan Dornyei “Motivation phases”

Source: Saville, M. (2006) Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Chaptered Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge
An example of how one might cycle through these phases would be:
• A secondary school learner in Saudi Arabia is excited about an upcoming trip to Italy and decides
to take an Italian course (choice motivation).
• After a few months of grammar lessons she becomes frustrated with the course, stops going to
classes (executive motivation) and finally decides to drop the course.
• A week later a friend tells her about a great Italian conversation course she is taking, and her
‘choice motivation’ is activated again.
• She decides to register in the conversation course and in just a few weeks she develops some basic
Italian conversational skills and a feeling of accomplishment. Her satisfaction level is so positive
(motivation retrospection) that she decides to enroll in a more advanced Italian course when she
returns from her trip to Italy.
Now, I would like to invite you to read the section dedicated to this topic and find very interesting facts
about attitudes and motivation in the textbook.

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your notebook
3.1.6. Motivation in the classroom
Motivated students are usually those who participate actively in class, express interest in the subject
matter, and study a great deal.
Teachers can make a positive contribution to students’ motivation to learn if classrooms are places that
students enjoy coming to because:∫
• The content is interesting

• The content is relevant to their age and level of ability
• The learning goals are challenging yet manageable and clear
• The atmosphere is supportive
On the other hand, Deci and Ryan (1985) divided motivation into:
Graphic # 8
Deci and Ryan “Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation”
Source: Richard M. and Edward L. (2000) Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions.
Contemporary Educational Psychology. University of Rochester

61
Graham Crookes and Richard Schmidt (1991) point to several areas where educational research has
reported increased levels of motivation for students in relation to pedagogical practices.
Included among these are:
Graphic # 9
Student´s motivation
Source: Crookes, G. (1991). Motivation: Reopening the Research Agenda Language. University of Hauiai’i
Cultural and age differences will determine the most appropriate way for teachers to motivate students.
In some classrooms, students may thrive on competitive interaction, while in others; co-operative
activities will be more successful.
How was this topic?!! Interesting!!
Continue, with the next one
3.1.7. Identity and ethic group affiliation
Members of a minority group learning the language of a majority group may have different attitudes
and motivation from those of majority group members learning a minority language. Children as well as
adults are sensitive to social dynamics and power relationships.
How do relations of power in the social world affect interaction between L2 learners and TL speakers?
In relation to this, Bonny Norton (1995) worked on a longitudinal case study drawing from data collected
of the language learning experiences of immigrant women in Canada. All the participants in her study
were highly motivated to learn English. However, there were social situations in which they were
reluctant to speak.
Which social situations?
When there was a power imbalance.

Explanation:
Their experiences in those situations limited the opportunities they had to practice, and to continue to
develop the second language outside the classroom. .
On the other hand, Kelleen Toohey (2000) observed that immigrant children in English-medium
kindergarten classes were quickly assigned identities such as successful/ unsuccessful, big/small,
talkative/quiet, etc., in their first year of school. Of course, they also had the identity of ‘being ESL’,
because learners’ identities impact on what they can do and how they can participate in classrooms, this
naturally affects how much they can learn.
For example,
One of the learners was consistently excluded from imaginative interactive activities with her peers;
another learner was perceived as someone who never listened or did the ‘right thing’.
Toohey argues that these identities could eventually lead to: their isolation restricted or less powerful
participation in their classroom community.
Elizabeth Gatbonton, Pavel Trofimovich, and Michael Magid (2005) found a complex relationship
between feelings of ethnic affiliation and second language learners’ mastery of pronunciation.
• They found that learners who had achieved a high degree of accuracy in pronouncing the L2
were sometimes perceived as being less loyal to their ethnic group than those whose L2 speech
retained a strong ‘foreign accent’. Such perceptions can affect learners’ desire to master the L2,
especially in contexts where there are conflicts between groups or where power relationships
imply a threat to one group’s identity.
It is important to review the information in your textbook about this theme.
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Did you find any difficulty with this topic? Please go back and
have any further questions, please contact your tutor.
art/grande/9639747-15513602.
jpg?v=1465376161
Now, let´s move to the next topic.
3.1.8. Learner beliefs
Second language learners are not always aware of their individual cognitive or perceptual learning
styles, but virtually all learners, particularly older learners, have strong beliefs and opinions about how
their instruction should be delivered.

63
These beliefs are usually based on:
• Previous learning experiences
• And the assumption (right or wrong) that a particular type of instruction is the best way for them
to learn.
Research indicates that learner beliefs can be strong factors in their experience in the classroom.
Carlos Yorio (1986), made a survey of adult international students in a communicative ESL program. He
found high levels of dissatisfaction among the students. The type of communicative instruction they
received focused exclusively on meaning and spontaneous communication in group-work interaction.
In their responses to a questionnaire, the majority of students expressed concerns about several aspects
of their instruction, most notably, the absence of:
• Attention to language form,

• Corrective feedback,
• Or teacher-centered instruction.
Although this study did not directly examine learners’ progress in relation to their opinions about the
instruction they received, several of them were convinced that their progress was negatively affected
by an instructional approach that was not consistent with their beliefs about the best ways for them to
learn.
Please continue reading about this topic in your textbook.
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
following questions.
As you read about each characteristic, pay attention to the research findings, and answer the following
questions. Summarize these conclusions in your own words.

What do they tell you about the relative importance (or lack of importance) of each characteristic?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
If you were a teacher, how would you address individual characteristics in the classroom?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
How did it go? Did you find the importance or lack of importance of learner’s individual characteristics?
¡¡¡Excellent!!!
3.2. Individual differences and classroom instruction
There are many questions about how the existence of individual differences should influence instruction.
Learners’ instructional preferences, whether due to inherent differences in their approach to learning or
to their beliefs about how languages are learned, will influence the kinds of strategies they use in trying
to learn new material. Teachers can help learners expand their repertoire of learning strategies and thus
develop greater flexibility in their ways of approaching language learning.
In your textbook, you can find more information about this topic.
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notebook
3.3. Age and second language learning.
The age characteristic is easier to define and measure than personality, aptitude, or motivation. However,
the relationship between age and success in SLA is controversial.
It is frequently observed that most children from immigrant families eventually speak the language of
their new community with NATIVE-LIKE fluency, while their parents often fall short of such high levels of

65
mastery of the spoken language. Certainly, there are cases where adult second language learners have
distinguished themselves by their excellent language skills.
Many adult second language learners communicate very successfully in the language even though
subtle differences of accent, word choice, or grammatical features distinguish them from monolingual
native speakers and from second language speakers who began learning the language while they were
very young.
It has been hypothesized that there is a critical period for second language acquisition just as there is for
first language acquisition.
Please, continue reading in your textbook.
3.3.1. The critical period: More than just pronunciation
First at all we need to know
What is the Critical Period Hypothesis?
The critical period hypothesis says that there is a period of growth in which full native adolescence. The
critical period hypothesis has implications for teachers and learning programmes, but it is not universally
accepted. Acquisition theories say that adults do not acquire languages as well as children because of
external and internal factors, not because of a lack of ability.
Older learners rarely achieve a near-native accent. Many people suggest this is due to them being beyond
the critical period.
Example
In the classroom
A problem arising from the differences between younger learners and adults is that adults believe that
they cannot learn languages well. Teachers can help learners with this belief in various ways, for example,
by talking about the learning process and learning styles, helping set realistic goals, choosing suitable
methodologies, and addressing the emotional needs of the adult learner.
In addition to the possible biological differences between children and adults that are suggested by the
Critical Period Hypothesis, the conditions for language learning are often very different.
Differences between children and adults learners
Children:
• In informal language learning environments, children usually have more time to devote to learning
language.
• They often have more opportunities to hear and use the language in environments where they do
not experience strong pressure to speak fluently and accurately from the very beginning.
• Their early imperfect efforts are often praised or, at least, accepted.

Adults:
• Older learners might find themselves in situations that demand more complex language and the
expression of more complicated ideas.
• Adults are often embarrassed by their lack of mastery of the language and they may develop a
sense of inadequacy after experiences of frustration in trying to say exactly what they mean.
• Such negative feelings may affect their motivation and willingness to place themselves in situations
where they will need to use the new language.
On the other hand, some studies of the L2 development of older and younger learners, learning in
similar circumstances, have shown that, at least in the early stages of L2 development, older learners are
more efficient than younger learners. By using their metalinguistic knowledge, memory strategies, and
problem-solving skills, they make the most of second or foreign language instruction.
In educational settings, learners who begin learning a second language at primary school level do not
always achieve greater proficiency in the long run than those who begin in adolescence. There are
countless anecdotes about older learners who achieve excellence in the second language.
The author describes some research related to Intuitions of grammaticality and Rate of learning.
Please, go to your textbook and read about these topics.
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Do not forget to underline to the main ideas, and take notes

in your notebook. I hope you were able to summarize these
topics correctly; if you need help, please contact your tutor.
3.4. Age and second language instruction
Decisions about when to start second language programmes in schools should be based on realistic
estimates of how long it takes to learn a second language. One or two hours a week will not produce
advanced second language speakers, no matter how young they were when they began.
Age is one of the characteristics that determine the way in which an individual approaches second
language learning. However, rate of learning and eventual success in learning are also affected by
important factors other than age such as:

67
• The opportunities for learning (both inside and outside the classroom),
• The motivation to learn, and
• The aptitude for language learning
Read the studies suggested in your textbook about this topic.
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY

üü Individual differences in second language learning
üü http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/jltr/vol03/04/07.pdf
üü Grammaticality judgments:
üü http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~laic/syntax-essay.pdf
üü The learning rate and learning effect
üü http://w w w.accaglobal.com/zm/en/student/exam-suppor t-resources/
fundamentals-exams-study-resources/f5/technical-articles/the-learning-rate-and-
learning-effect.html
Holding-A-Finger-Up.jpg üü Do the Self-evaluation to observe how much you know of this topic
üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Reflect on individual differences and
language learning success”. Share your answers with your classmates and tutor
üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Questions for reflection. Share your
answers with your classmates and tutor
Congratulations! You have concluded this Chapter 3.
To finish this Chapter you have to complete the following self-evaluation.
Let´s do it

Self-evaluation 3
Activity A
Read each sentence and fill in the blanks with the correct word or words from the box to complete
each sentence.
–– Field dependent
–– Integrative and instrumental
–– Motivation in the class
–– Learning styles
–– Willingness
1. Anxiety is related to learner´s ____________
2. Visual, aural and kinesthetic are examples of ______________
3. Garner and Lambert describe two types of motivation, which are _____________and
_________________ motivation.
4. In __________________ learning style, people tend to see things holistically.
5. The pedagogical practices such as varying activities , task and materials as well as using cooperation
rather than competition are examples of _________________________
Activity B
Read the following sentences and choose the correct option.
1. Which of the following is a personality character
a. Learning rate
b. Anxiety
c. Intelligence
2. In relation to research on Individual differences on SLA, the test and the questionnaire are both
scored, and the researcher uses a statistical procedure called
a. Inmmersion programs
b. IQ test
c. Correlation

69
3. In recent years, many educators have been influenced by Howard Gardner’s (1993) proposal that:
a. Individuals have ‘multiple intelligences’

b. Individual have “ working memory”
c. Individuals have “integrative motivation”
4. Zoltan Dornyei (2001) developed a process-oriented model of motivation that consists of three
phases.
Choose one of the phases that are related to “student’s evaluation of their performance.
a. Motivation retrospection
b. Choice motivation
c. Executive motivation
5. Second language learners are not always aware of their individual cognitive or perceptual learning
styles, but virtually all learners, particularly older learners, have strong beliefs and opinions about
how their instruction should be delivered. These beliefs are usually based on:
a. The content is interesting

b. Previous learning experiences and the assumption (right or wrong) that a particular type of
instruction is the best way for them to learn.
c. The learning goals are challenging yet manageable and clear
Activity 3
List the levels of motivation for students in relation to pedagogical practices, proposed by Graham
Crookes and Richard Schmidt (1991)
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
Once you have completed all the exercises of the previous chapter, it is
important that you check if there is any point that is not clear yet. Remember,
for further help you can contact your tutor.
Congratulations! You are now concluded with the first term

SEGUNDO BIMESTRE Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning
SECOND BIMESTER
6.5. Generic Competences UTPL
ØØ Ability to develop Critical and Reflexive Thinking.
ØØ Ability to search process and analyze information from different sources.

71
6.6. Planning for the Student´s Work
72
SPECIFIC COMPETENCES OF THE CONTENTS STUDYTIMELINE
LEARNING INDICATORS LEARNING ACTIVITIES
SUBJECT Units/Topics Allotted time
• Ability to manage pedagogical • Distinguishes the five Chapter 4. Explaining Second • Before to read this chapter, read again about • Week 1
knowledge and the language at a hypothesis proposed by Language Learning behaviorism and innatist perspective in chapter 1.
9 hours of self-
level in which the student can Krashen in the Monitor
4.1. Second language applications: • Read information regarding to Krashen’s Monitor study.
have an excellent professional model.
Krashen´s “Monitor Model” model and identify the five hypothesis proposed in
performance in the teaching of 1 hour interaction
• Understand the 4.2. The cognitive perspective this model.
English as a foreign language. (per week).
sociocultural
4.2.1. Information Processing • Fill in the chart with the corresponding hypothesis
• Ability to understand spoken, perspective and the • Week 2
and examples.
written and audiovisual difference between 4.2.2. Usage-based learning
information in a scientific and Vygotsky´s Sociocultural 9 hours of self-
• Read and highlight the main points for understanding
academic level in order to use in a theory and Interaction 4.2.3. The competition model study.
all of the contents presented in this chapter.
professional field. hypothesis. 4.2.4. Language and the brain 1 hour interaction
• Answer the suggested questions about information
• Ability to distinguish the different • Summarizes in your 4.2.5. Second language (per week).
processing (declarative and procedural knowledge).
stages of human development in own words the theories applications: Interaction,
Identify the authors of the different s second
cognitive, emotional, and social and concepts presented noticing, processing and •
aspects and apply them as tools in this chapter. language applications.
practicing.
in the language teaching learning • Review the glossary at the end of your textbook for
• Compares and contrasts 4.3. The sociocultural perspective
process. the new words.
the different
• Ability to write different types of perspectives, theories • Write down the differences between Vygotsky´s
texts in a clear, coherent, and and models of Second Sociocultural theory and Interaction hypothesis.
cohesive way and with an Language Acquisition.
appropriate style according to the • Answer the suggested questions related to each one
• Analyses own of the topics studied in this chapter.
audience to whom they are
experiences as learner/
addressed. • Do the self-evaluation #4 and check the correct
instructor and propose
• Expertise to understand the activities that were answers at the end of this didactic guide.
different approaches, theories, effective for you in the • Interact in the EVA with your tutor and classmates.
perspectives about Second process of learning/
language learning . teaching own second • Participate in the Academic forum (Second Term).
language. • Questionnaire #1.
• Ability to abstract, analyze and
synthesize information. • Review the academic announcements in your EVA.
• Identify and propose alternative • Review the following links:
solutions to problems related to
professional and social practice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jobpF4c-1NI
SEGUNDO BIMESTRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz7T9F5FAoA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLAMS7OloEM

• Understands the Chapter 5. Observing Learning and • Complete the chart “Context for language learning” • Week 3
difference between Teaching in the Second Language table 5.1. in your textbook.
9 hours of self-
natural and Classroom • Read information regarding natural and instructional study.
instructional
5.1. Natural and instructional environments in the second language learning.
environments in the 1 hour interaction
SEGUNDO BIMESTRE
second language settings • Read and highlight the main points for understanding (per week).
learning. 5.2. Observation schemes all of the contents of these topics.
• Week 4
• Identifies and describes 5.3. Ethnography

• Focus on the study 1: “Recast in content based
how classroom 9 hours of self-
classrooms”. Lyster and Ranta (1997) identified six
observations are used study.
corrective feedback types. Complete the chart with
to conduct research. what refers to each type of feedback. 1 hour interaction
(per week).
• Review the glossary at the end of your textbook for
the new words.
• Do the self-evaluation #5 and check the correct
answers at the end of this didactic guide.
• Interact in the EVA with your tutor and classmates.
• Review the academic announcements of these topics
in your EVA.
• Watch the micro-video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NANWdG_
Aank&feature=youtu.be
• Participate in the Academic Chat (Second Term)
• Review the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__kMVkGNRFE
73
74
• Analyses the six Chapter 6. Second Language • Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Match • Week 5
proposals for teaching Learning in the Classroom pedagogical activities with teaching proposals” page
9 hours of self-
in classroom. 192.
6.1. Proposals for Teaching study.
• Identifies the evidence 6.2. Assessing the proposals • Read the different studies proposed in each one of
1 hour interaction
of each proposal and the six teaching proposals.
(per week).
discusses about their
• Underline the main ideas and take notes in your
effectiveness in the • Week 6
notebook.
language teaching.
9 hours of self-
• Summarizes the main study.
points of each teaching
proposal for teaching in 1 hour interaction
• Answer the suggested questions proposed in your
classroom. (per week).
didactic guide about the six teaching proposals.
• Makes judgments on • Week 7
• Watch the micro-video. It summarizes this chapter.
which teaching 9 hours of self-
proposal to use with https://youtu.be/-6QCmTfw3Zk
study.
particular student

population. 1 hour interaction
• Review the academic announcements for these topics (per week).
in your EVA.
• Review the following links:
http://www.kau.edu.sa/Files/0008718/Files/115609_
Chapter%206%20smaller.pdf
SEGUNDO BIMESTRE

• Analyses the different Chapter 7. Popular ideas about • Remember the questionnaire I asked you to complete • Week 8
popular ideas about Language Learning Revisited. in the INTRODUCTION? Before you read this chapter
9 hours of self-
language learning. take a look at your answers to the questionnaire. Have
7.1. Reflecing on the popular ideas: study.
your opinions changed after reading this book? If
• Summarizes the main Learning from research they have, write them down next to your original 1 hour interaction
SEGUNDO BIMESTRE
points of each popular

thoughts. (per week).
idea of language
learning from research. • Read the different popular ideas about language
learning in your textbook and didactic guide.

• Identifies the
misconceptions about • Underline the main ideas and take notes in your
Language Learning and notebook.
their implications in
professional practice.
• Answer the suggested questions proposed in your
didactic guide about the different popular ideas
about language learning.
• Watch the micro-video. It summarizes this chapter.
https://youtu.be/07x_zg_8FzU
• Review the academic announcements of this topic in
your EVA.
• Questionnaire # 4.
• Review the following links:
http://www.kau.edu.sa/files/0008718/files/107146_
chapter_7.pdf
https://sites.google.com/site/
secondlanguageacquistion/6-popular-ideas-about-
language-learning-facts-opinions
75
Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning SEGUNDO BIMESTRE
Welcome back to the course dear student. We are going to begin with the second term; please take your
textbook, didactic guide and all of the materials specified in the “general guidelines to study” in order to
initiate. Let’s start studying chapter 4.
CHAPTER 4. EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
In this chapter, you are going to examine some of the theories that have been offered to account for
second language developmental progress and final learning outcomes. We will look at how behaviourist
and innatist explanations for first language acquisition that you saw in Chapter 1 have been extended
to account for second language acquisition. We will also study some theories from cognitive psychology
and sociocultural theory.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c4/94/da/c494daa2937032893780c3e740dd3ad2.jpg
Let´s get started!
The first theme suggested in your textbook are the behaviourist perspective and innatist perspective,
as you remember you study these themes in Chapter 1. I suggested you go back to Chapter 1 and read it,
in order to have a complete idea about it and continue working in the following themes.
Once you have it clear, go to your textbook and read the information proposed on it.
png
Focus on the different studies carried out by different linguistic researchers.
notebook

4.1. Second language applications: Krashen´s “Monitor model”
One model of SLA that was influenced by Chomsky’s theory of first language acquisition was Stephen
Krashen’s (1982) Monitor Model. He first described it in the early 1970s, at a time when there was growing
dissatisfaction with language teaching methods based on behaviourism.
Krashen described his model in terms of five hypotheses:
Let´s take a look to the following chart.
Table # 5
Krashen´s “Monitor model”
• We ‘acquire’ as we are exposed to samples of the second language we

The acquisition-learning understand in much the same way that children pick up their first language-
hypothesis with no conscious attention to language form.
He contrasts these two
terms. • We ‘learn’ on the other hand through conscious attention to form and rule
learning.
The acquired system initiates a speaker’s utterances and is responsible for
spontaneous language use.
The monitor hypothesis or ‘monitor’, making minor changes and polishing what the acquired system
has produced. Such monitoring takes place only when the speaker/writer
has plenty of time, is concerned about producing correct language, and has
learned the relevant rules.
It was based on the finding that, as in first language acquisition, second
The natural order language acquisition unfolds in predictable sequences.
hypothesis The language features that are easiest to state (and thus to learn) are not
necessarily the first to be acquired.
Acquisition occurs when one is exposed to language that is comprehensible
and that contains i + 1.
The input hypothesis • The ‘i’ represents the level of language already acquired
• The ‘+1’ is a metaphor for language (words, grammatical forms, aspects of
pronunciation) that is just a step beyond that level.
The fact that some people who are exposed to large quantities of
comprehensible input do not necessarily acquire a language successfully is
The affective filter accounted for by Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis.
hypothesis
• The ‘affective filter’ is a metaphorical barrier that prevents learners from
acquiring language even when appropriate input is available.
Once you have read this section, you are ready to do the following suggested activity.

77
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
According to your own experience teaching or learning a second language. Which

activities were most effective for you? Fill the chart with the activity with the
corresponding hypothesis and explain why it was so effective for you.
üü Check the following link:
http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/best%20of%20bilash/krashen.html
Krashen´s Hypothesis Application for teaching or learning
Example: This hypothesis highlights the importance of using

1. The Input hypothesis the Target Language in the classroom. The goal of
any language program is for learners to be able
to communicate effectively. By providing as much
comprehensible input as possible, especially in situations
when learners are not exposed to the TL outside of the
classroom, the teacher is able to create a more effective
opportchaptery for language acquisition.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How was it? Did you do the activity? Perfect!!
Did you find any difficulty? If so, contact your tutor in order to
clear any doubts or concerns; if not, I would like to invite to you
to continue with the study of next topic.
art/grande/9639747-15513602.
jpg?v=1465376161
Let´s continue with the next topic “the cognitive perspective”
4.2. The cognitive perspective
During the 190, a new perspective known as cognitive psychology began to take hold. It focuses on
mental process. This area of psychology is concern with memory, thinking, problem solving, language
and decision-making. (Glassman, 2000)

Now, go to your textbook and continue reading about this theme
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4.2.1. Information processing
Cognitive psychologists, working in an information-processing model, see SLA as the building up of

knowledge that can eventually be called on automatically for speaking and understanding.
Norman Segalowitz (2003) and others have suggested that learners have to pay attention at first to any
aspect of the language that they are trying to understand or produce.
• ‘Pay attention’ = using cognitive resources to process information.
In fact, many researchers have investigated SLA as ‘skill learning’. They suggest that most learning,
including language learning, starts with:
Graphic # 10
Declarative and procedual knowledge

Once you have finished reading this section, go to your textbook and read about this topic.
png

79
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü In order to check your understanding about this topic. Read the following
statements and write true or false?.
1. According to the psychological theory of information processing, there is a limited amount of

information that a learner can pay attention to. Language learners first focus on understanding
words, then grammar structures. _________.
2. In SLA, the path from declarative to procedural knowledge is sometimes associated with the kind
of learning that takes place in a classroom, where rule learning is followed by practice. ________
3. In information processing, practice involves cognitive effort from the learner. However, it can occur
below the level of awareness._______
If all your answers were true, Congratulations! All of them are true.
If you find “WORDS IN BOLD”, in your textbook you can check

the meaning of these words in the glossary, at the end of your
textbook. http://storiesforchildren.tripod.
com/webonmediacontents/
Stanley_Bookman_
walking_100dpi_.
jpg?1350400593090
Let´s continue your study with the next topic.
4.2.2. Usage based learning
Here some ideas about this approach proposed by Tomasello, M (2008).
–– Usage based learning is an approach to understanding learning that sees learning as the creation
of links (connections) between bits of information.
–– Unlike innatists, connectionists do not assume that there is a neurological module specifically
designed for SLA. All learning is based on the same process.
–– Unlike skill theorists, connectionists do not assume that new knowledge must first be declarative.
–– The frequency with which information is encountered is a strong predictor of how easily it will be
learned.

–– Neurological connections are made between language and a particular meaning or a situation
(e.g. people usually say Hello when they answer the phone) and between elements of language
itself (e.g. noticing that say always occurs with / or we / you / they / and that says always occurs
with he / she/ it).
How was this topic? Did you understand the main ideas about it? Well done!!
Please, reinforce your understanding of this topic with the information from your textbook.
art/grande/9639747-15513602.
jpg?v=1465376161
4.2.3. The competition model
The competition model is closely related to the connectionist perspective. It is also based on the
hypothesis that language acquisition occurs without the necessity of a learner’s focused attention or the
need for any innate brain module that is specifically for language. It can be described as an explanation
for language acquisition that takes into accounts not only language form but also language meaning
and language use.
Now go ahead and read the information suggested in your textbook, do not forget to underline the
main ideas.
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4.2.4. Language and the brain
Here some ideas proposed by Peng, Fred C. C. (2005)
–– Challenges to the assumption that language functions are located in the left hemisphere of the
brain.
–– Research shows activation in both areas of the brain while language is proposed.
–– Differences have been observed between first and second language learners.
–– Premature to consider implications of neurolinguistics research for L2 teaching
–– Learning a foreign or second language can increase the size of your brain.

81
–– Swedish scientists discovered when they used brain scans to monitor what happens when
someone learns a second language. The study is part of a growing body of research using brain
imaging technologies to better understand the cognitive benefits of language learning. Tools
like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electrophysiology, among others, can now tell us not
only whether we need knee surgery or have irregularities with our heartbeat, but reveal what is
happening in our brains when we hear, understand and produce second language.
–– In other words, the areas of the brain that grew were linked to how easy the learners found
languages, and brain development varied according to performance.
Once you have finished reading all the previous

information, go to your textbook and underline the main
ideas; remember if you have questions, you can contact
http://www.clipartkid.com/
your tutor.
images/51/male-english-teacher-
clipart-clipart-panda-free-clipart-
images-h4OunM-clipart.jpg
Let´s move to the next topic.
4.2.5. Second languages applications: Interacting, noticing, processing, and practicing.
The interaction hypothesis:
There are some researches who argued about this theory such as:
–– Evelyn Hatch (1978)

–– Michael Long (1983, 1996)
–– Teresa Pica (1994)
–– Susan Gass (1997)
In fact, according to Long, M (1981, 1983a, 1996) interaction hypothesis referred to when learners
engaged with their interlocutors in negotiations around meaning, the nature of the input might be
qualitatively changed. And it has some characteristics such as.
–– Interactional modification makes input comprehensible.

–– Comprehensible input promotes acquisition.
–– Interactional modification promotes acquisition.
–– Modified interaction does not always involve linguistic simplification. It may also include
elaboration, slower speech, gesture, or the provisional of additional contextual cues.
In your textbook you can find some examples of these conversational modifications. Please, check that.
I would like to invite all of you to check the following chart. .
How does the interaction hypothesis work?
Let´s take a look to the following graphic.

Graphic # 11
Interaction hypothesis
Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Rouledge-Taylor & Francis: New York.
The noticing hypothesis:
A hypothesis that input does not become intake for language learning unless it is noticed. (Schmidt
1990)
What is the hypothesis about?
• “It claims that learner must attend to and notice linguistic features of the input that they are
exposed to if those forms are to become intake for learning.”
• The claim that “noticing” but not “understanding” is required for learning.
• “Learners cannot learn the grammatical features of a language unless they notice them.”
• “Noticing is the essential starting point for acquisition.”
Now, let’s check the following graphic, It shows how this hypothesis works.
Graphic # 12
Noticing hypothesis
A framework for investigating L2 acquisition (Adapted from Ellis 1999: 349. The study of second language acquisition. Shanghai:
Shanghai Foreign Education Press

83
How can this hypothesis help students to learn?
This hypothesis can help students to learn a language with strategies that include their interests so they
can notice and pay attention to all the details of the language.
1. Learning through music

2. Learning through movies
3. Learning through Literature
How can these hypotheses help teachers?
It will help teachers to motivate language learning outside the classroom because students continue
listening to music, watching TV or reading after class. In this way the learning process does not end.
Input processing:
According to Van Patten, (1996; 200), input directly affects the process of second language acquisition
and Output plays the minimum role (accessing the developing system. The capacity of working memory
is limited.
Now go ahead and read the information suggested in your textbook, there are some studies related to
this topic, do not forget to underline the main ideas.
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Processability theory:
It was originally developed as a result of studies of the acquisition of German word order and, later, on
the basis of research with L2 learners on English (Pienamann, 1989).
Here some characteristic from the study:
–– The research showed that the sequence of development for features of syntax and morphology
was affected by how easy these were to process.
–– It integrates developmental sequences with L1 influence.
–– Learners do not simply transfer features from their L1 at early stages of acquisition.
–– They have to develop a certain level of processing capacity in the L2 before they can use their
knowledge of the features that already exist in their L1.
One of the pedagogical implications draw from the research related to processability theory is the
teachability hypothesis´: those learners can only be taught what they are psycholinguistically ready to
learn.

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4.3. The sociocultural perspective
Here some ideas about it.
–– It focuses on the social context as central to learning.

–– Stresses the importance of social interaction, communication and instruction in learning.
–– The social environment is not just a place where learning happens, it is integral to it.
–– Explains individual differences in learning.
–– Speaking (and writing) mediates thinking.
–– Differences between Zone Proximal development ZPD i+1
With this in your mind, please go to your textbook in order to understand this topic in a better way.
There, you can find some differences between Vygotsky´s sociocultural theory and the interaction
hypothesis
Let´s check the following chart.
Table # 6
Differences between Vygotsky´s sociocultural theory and the interaction hypothesis
Vygotsky´s Sociocultural theory Interaction hypothesis

üü Language acquisition takes place in the
üü Interaction needs to be modified and through
interactions of learner and interlocutor.
negotiation for meaning.
üü Greater importance is attached to the
üü Emphasis is on the individual cognitive
conversations, with learning occurring
process in the mind of the learner.
through the social interaction.
Did you understand the difference between these both theories?!!Great!!
After you have understood these contents, go to your textbook and read the next topic Second language
applications: Learning by talking.
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85
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY

üü Krashen´s Monitor model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jobpF4c-1NI
üü The cognitive perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz7T9F5FAoA
üü Language and the brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLAMS7OloEM
thumbnails/1045066-Royalty- üü Do the Self-evaluation to observe how much you know of this topic
Of-A-Light-Bulb-Character- üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Questions for reflection.
Now, you have finished Chapter 4. To test your knowledge, please complete the following self-evaluation.

Self-evaluation 4
Activity A
Read the following sentences and choose the correct option for each one of them.
1. According to Krashen´s Monitor Model second language acquisition occurs in predictable patterns
is related to…
a. Monitor hypothesis
b. Natural order hypothesis
c. Affective filter hypothesis.
2. Which of the following explains the concept of Krashen´s acquisition-learning hypothesis?
a. Language occurs when input is comprehensible

b. Language is acquire without conscious attention or learned through conscious attention.
c. Language becomes automatic.
3. Which of the following explains the concept of Noticing Hypothesis?
a. Learners need to work with interlocutors who intentionally modify their speech to assist
learning.
b. Learners must first notice a language feature before it becomes part of their second
language system.
c. Learners have limited processing capability and cannot paid attention to form and meaning
at the same time.
4. Competition Model of Language Acquisition takes into account not only language form, but also
…
a. Language meaning
b. Language use
c. Language use and language meaning
5. Which of the following is the suggestion for information processing model?
a. It suggests that there is a limit to use the amount of focused mental activity we can engage
in at one time.
b. It suggests that there is a kind of resources needed to process the information.
c. It suggests that there is a metaphor for the mind.

87
6. According to the sociocultural perspective, cognitive development (including language

development) is a result of..
a. Social Interaction
b. Universal grammar
c. Contrastive Analysis
7. Comprehension checks, clarification questions, and self-repetitions are examples of….
a. Comprehensive output
b. Modified interaction
c. Interaction hypothesis
8. Which of the following is true about processability theory?
a. It explains that learners have limited processing capacity and cannot pay attention to form
and meaning at the same time.
b. It explains that learners do not simply transfer features from the first language at early
stages of acquisition.
c. It explains that first language influence does become more apparent as the learner more
about the second language
Activity B
List the differences between Vigotsky´s sociocultural theory and interaction hypothesis.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
Activity C
Complete the following chart with the correct option.
1. Acquisition occurs when one is exposed to language that is comprehensible

and that contains i + 1.
2. It was based on the finding that, as in first language acquisition, second
language acquisition unfolds in predictable sequences.
3. The fact that some people who are exposed to large quantities of
comprehensible input do not necessarily acquire a language successfully.
4. He contrasts these two terms. ‘acquire’ and ‘learn’
5. The acquired system initiates a speaker’s utterances and is responsible for
spontaneous language use.

a. The acquisition-learning hypothesis

b. The natural order hypothesis
c. The affective filter hypothesis
d. The monitor hypothesis
e. The input hypothesis
Once you have completed all the exercises of the previous

chapter, it is important that you check if there is any point that
is not clear yet. Remember, for further help you can consult your
tutor.

89
CHAPTER 5. OBSERVING LEARNING AND TEACHING IN THE SECOND LANGUAGE

CLASSROOM
Dear Student,
This chapter begins with a comparison of natural and instructional environments for second language
learning. Additionally, you will examine two approaches such as observation schemes and classroom
ethnography in which researches have observed and described teaching and learning practices in
second language classes.
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Before you begin the study of this chapter, I suggest you go to your textbook and read the “Preview”. It
will help you to get a general idea about it.
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Did you read the Preview?!!!Well done!!!
Let´s start with the first topic
5.1. Natural and instructional settings.
There are many methods that teachers can use in order to improve the teaching and learning of a second
language. Teachers need to know the different approaches if they want to get good results in their
students.
Now, we are going to review some of them.

1. Natural acquisition learner is exposed to language interaction in a social setting.
Characteristics:
99 Language is not presented step by step. The learner is exposed to a wide variety of vocabulary and
structures.
99 Learners’ errors are rarely corrected.
99 Learners must often use their limited second language ability to respond to questions or get
information.
2. In structure-based instructional environments, (Grammar –Translation and Audiolingual methods)
Language is taught to a group of second or foreign language learners. The focus is on the language itself,
rather than on the messages carried by the language. It works based on the following approaches.
In GRAMMAR TRANSLATION approaches, there In AUDIOLINGUAL approaches, there is little use

is considerable use of reading and writing, as of the first language, and learners are expected
learners translate texts from one language to to learn mainly through repetition and habit
another and grammar rules are taught explicitly. formation, although they may be asked to figure
out the grammar rules for the sentences they have
memorized.
Characteristics:
99 Errors are frequently corrected.
99 Learning is often limited to a few hours a week.
99 The teacher is often the only native or proficient speaker the student comes in contact with,
especially in situations of FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
3. Communicative, content-based, and task-based instructional environments also involve

learners whose goal is learning the language itself, but the style of instruction places the emphasis
on interaction, conversation, and language use, rather than on learning about the language.
Characteristics:
99 There is a limited amount of error correction on the part of the teacher, and meaning is emphasized
over form.
99 Learners usually have only limited time for learning.
99 A variety of discourse types may be introduced through stories, peer- and group-work, the use of
‘authentic’ materials such as newspapers and television broadcasts.

91
Once you have finished reading this part please, go to your textbook and read about these themes.
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Did you read? Did you have a complete idea about these themes?!!!Great!!!
notebook
I would like to invite you to check the following chart; it is focus on the characteristics of each one of the
approaches mentioned before.
Table # 7
Natural and instructional settings
Communicative
Characteristics Natural Acquisition Traditional Instruction
Instruction
The natural Acquisition method The traditional instruction The communicative
Error correction
doesn’t apply it has error correction instruction doesn’t apply it
Learning one thing The natural acquisition doesn’t The traditional instruction The communicative
at time apply it apply it instruction apply it
The communicative
Ample time for The traditional method
The natural acquisition apply it instruction doesn’t have
learning doesn’t have a lot of time
ample time for learning
High ratio of The traditional instruction The communicative
The natural acquisition has high
native speakers to doesn’t have a lot of native instruction doesn’t have a
ratio of native speakers
learners speakers lot of native speakers
In the communicative
Variety of language
The natural acquisition has The traditional instruction instruction there are
and discourse
variety and discourse types doesn’t have variety variety of language and
types
discourse types
In the traditional In the communicative
In the natural acquisition there
Pressure to speak instruction there is instruction there is not
is pressure to speak
pressure to speak pressure to speak
The traditional instruction The communicative
Access to modified The natural acquisition has
doesn’t have access to instruction doesn’t have
input access to modified input
modified input access to modified input
Once you have read this section, you are ready to do the following suggested activity.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü Go to your textbook, page 125, and complete the chart suggested on it. It is related
to the different characteristics between natural acquisition, structured-based
instruction, and communicative instruction.
üü Share your responses with your partners and tutor.
How was this activity? Did you complete the chart? Perfect!!!
5.2. Observation Schemes
Some observations schemes have been developed, and applied in second language classrooms. It
aimed not only to describe classroom processes, but also to throw some light on how those processes
contributed to successful learning outcomes. These observations schemes are focused on quantitative
and qualitative descriptions and they are used by observes in real time or outside the classroom.
One of the schemes developed for second language classrooms is Communicative Orientation of
Language Teaching (COLT); it was described by Nina Spada and Maria Frohlich (1995).
Let´s review some important points about (COLT)
99 This observation scheme was developed within the context of a project investigating the nature
of L2 language proficiency and its development in classrooms, referred to as the Development of
Bilingual Proficiency (DBP).
99 The COLT scheme is divided into two parts:
–– The first of which describes classroom events at the level of episode and activity.
–– The second part analyses the communicative features of verbal exchange between teachers
and students and/or students and students.
Classroom comparisons: Teacher- Student Interaction:
Two samples of classroom interaction from two different classrooms:
a. Structure based approach

b. Communicative approach
Now, as you can see in your textbook the author present several dialogues based on the two different
classrooms and then the results gathered are analyzed using a chart with six categories. The chart
indicates whether certain things are happening in the classroom, from the point of view of the teacher
and the student and student to student.
Check the dialogues in your textbook.

93
1. Errors: are there errors in the language of either the teacher or the students?
2. Feedback on errors: when students make errors, do they receive feedback? From whom?
3. Genuine questions: do teachers and students ask questions to which they don’t know the answer
in advance?
4. Display questions: do teachers ask questions that they know the answers to so that learners can
display their knowledge of the language (or lack of it)?
5. Negotiation of meaning: do the teachers and students work to understand what the other
speakers are saying? What efforts are made by the teacher? By the students
6. Metalinguistic comments: do the teachers and students talk about language, in addition to using
it to transmit information?
Take a look at the chart below and make sure that you understand all of the six categories presented
above.
Table # 8
Classroom comparison´s: Teacher student interaction
Allwright, D., & Bailey, K.M. (1991). Focus on the classroom: An introduction to classroom research for language teachers.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
In your textbook, pay attention to the characteristics of input and interaction. Do not forget to underline
the main ideas or take notes in your notebook.
png
Did you read? Did you have a complete idea about these themes?!!!Excellent!!!
Classroom comparisons: Students – student interaction:
Here the research shows transcripts which are based on the interactions between second language
learners engaged in different communicative tasks (picture description and jigsaw).

Check the transcripts in your textbook.
As in the previous section, there is a chart with each transcript where you can indicate whether certain
things are happening in the interaction.
Take a look the chart below.
Table # 9
Classroom comparisons: Student-student Interactions
At this point, please pay attention to the characteristics of input and interaction. Do not forget to
underline the main ideas or take notes in your notebook.
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to continue with your study
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Corrective feedback in the classroom
Now, you are going to review ten studies in which one particular feature of instruction has been examined.
§§ Five studies examine corrective feedback:

§§ Four studies examine teachers’ use of questions (classroom)
§§ One describes the amount and distribution of time.
Let’s go to your textbook and read all of the information about the different studies.

95
Do not forget to underline the main ideas, and take notes

in your notebook. Pay special attention in the examples
suggested in each study.
Once you have finished reading this section, I would like to invite to do the following suggested activity.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü Focus on the study 1: “Recast in content based classrooms”. Lyster and Ranta (1997)
identified six corrective feedback types. Complete the chart below with what refers
to each type of feedback.
http://images.clipartof.com/ üü Focus on the ten studies and match them with the corresponding group.
Explicit correction
Recast
Clarification request
Metalinguistic feedback
Elicitation
Repetition
- Recast in content –based classrooms

- Recast and private speech
- Revast in different instructional settings
Examine corrective feedback - Corrective feedback in context
- Oral and written corrective feedback
Examine teachers’ use of questions
- Teachers´question in ESL classrooms
(classroom)
- Scaffolding and display and referential question
One describes the amount and distribution of
- Open and closed questions
time.
- Wait time and teachers questionning practices
- Time for learning language in school.
How were these activities? Did you complete the charts? Perfect!!!
Let´s continue with the next theme.

5.3. Ethnography
In this section we are going to review three studies focused on ethnography perspective. First at all, let´s
check a definition of this term.
“The term ethnography refers to a range of diverse and ever-changing research approaches …
originating in anthropological and sociological research and characterized by first-hand, naturalistic,
sustained observation and participation in a particular social setting. The purpose of ethnography is to
come to a deeper understanding of how individuals view and participate in their own social and cultural
worlds.” (Harklau 2005: 179)
Once you have understood the term ethnography, it is necessary to read about this section in your
textbook. There you will find the three ethnographies studies carried out in second and foreign language
classrooms: one in the South Pacific, one in Canada, and one in Europe.
Do not forget underline the main ideas.
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Now, think about second language class that you have taken in the past. If you were to do an ethnographic
study on that class, what social, cultural or political realities would you consider?
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY

üü Observing learning and teaching in second language classroom:
üü https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__kMVkGNRFE
Free-RF-Clip-Art-Illustration- üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Questions for reflection.
Congratulations! You have finished Chapter 5. To test your knowledge, please complete the self-
evaluation below.

97
Self-evaluation 5
Activity A
Read the following information and write True (T) or False (F).
1. ( ) In a structure-based instruction the focus is on the language itself. ______
2. ( ) Structure-based instructional setting is based on social interaction. _____
3. ( ) Clarification requests, Elicitation and Repetition are some techniques that teacher
uses as corrective feedback. _______
4. ( ) Genuine questions, do teachers and students ask questions to which they don´t know
the answer in advance?
5. ( ) A learner´s immediate response to corrective feedback is called Uptake. _______
6. ( ) Ethnography is a descriptive research in which the observer seeks to understand a

group or community from within its own perspective. _____
Activity B
Read and match with the corresponding second language learning setting.
1. Natural Classroom setting, focus is on

communication.
2. Structure-based instructional: Second language learned through social
interaction, work or child in school with
native speakers of target language.
3. Communicative instructional: Classroom setting, focus is on
vocabulary and grammar.
Activity C
Read the following information and complete the chart the corresponding study:
1.
Joanna White and Patsy Lightbown (1984) found that teachers
typically gave students no more than a second or two before they
directed the question to another student or answered the question
themselves. They also tended to repeat or paraphrase the question
several times rather than silently wait for the student to formulate a
response

2.
Patricia Duff (1995) concluded that socio-political transformation
impacts on classroom practice and ultimately on second language
learning
3.
Oliver and Mackey found that learners produced significantly more
errors in the communication exchanges. Thus opportchapteries for
feedback were greatest in this context. The researchers found that
feedback was provided in all instructional contexts but that it was
most frequent in the explicit language-focused exchanges, followed
by content, communication, and management
4.
Amy Ohta (2000) examined the oral language that learners addressed
to themselves during classroom activities. She was able to obtain this
PRIVATE SPEECH by attaching microphones to individual students
during classroom interaction.
5.
Roy Lyster and Leila Ranta (1997) developed an observational scheme
which describes different types of feedback teachers give on errors
and also examines student UPTAKE---how they immediately respond
to the feedback.
6.
Dawn McCormick and Richard Donato (2000) explored how the
teacher’s questions were linked to her instructional goals. they argue
that the teacher’s use of the display question `Who usually lives in
palaces?’ serves an important pedagogic function because it draws
the learners’ attention to the word ‘palace’ through the display
question and facilitates the learners’ comprehension of the word..
–– Scaffolding and display and referential questions

–– Recasts and private speech
–– Recasts in content-based classrooms
–– Wait time and teachers’ questioning practices
–– Corrective feedback in context
–– Socio-political change and foreign language classroom discourse

is not clear yet. Remember, for further help you can contact your
tutor.

99

CHAPTER 6. SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM
In this chapter you are going to examine six proposals that have been made for second language
teaching. Examples of research related to each of the proposals are presented leading to a discussion of
the evidence available for assessing their evidences.
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This is the longest chapter in the textbook, you have to analyze and discuss the relevant research findings
about teaching in the classroom. Get ready to take notes and underline the main ideas about each study.
6.1. Proposals for teaching
These proposals investigate the relationship between teaching and learning a second language.
Let´s check the following chart with the six proposals and their descriptions.

101
Graphic # 13
Six proposals for teaching

Source: Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. (2012). How Languages are Learned (4thed). New York: Oxford University Pres
Now, I would like to invite all of you to read the textbook. And get your own ideas of each one of these
six proposals.
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
following questions..
Six proposals for second and foreign language teaching are described in this chapter. Briefly describe the
main characteristics of each one. Have you experienced any of them as a student? As a teacher? Have you
experienced other approaches that are not covered by these six?
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
What elements from each of the six approaches do you find compatible with the way you would like to learn a
language in a classroom? Are there some characteristics that you especially dislike? Are your likes and dislikes
the same when you think about these elements in relation to how you would like to teach a second language?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Did you answer the questions? !!Well done!!
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Now, let´s continue with the next topic

103
6.2. Assessing the proposals
Here, the authors describe some important aspects how the six proposals might be integrated into a
second language program.
Now, let´s check a short summary of each one of these proposals
ØØ Get it right from the beginning’
Evidence suggests that this approach does not correspond to the way that the majority of successful L2
learners have acquired their proficiency.
ØØ ‘Just listen and read’ and ‘Get two for one’
There is no support for the hypothesis that language acquisition will take care of itself if L2 learners focus
exclusively on meaning/content
ØØ ‘Let’s talk’
Conversational interactions in group and paired activities can lead to increased fluency and the ability to
manage conversations in the L2.
However, learners may make slow progress on acquiring more accurate and sophisticated language if
there is no focus on form.
This is particularly the case in classes where learners share the same first language and learning
backgrounds.
ØØ Teach what is teachable’
No strong evidence that teaching according to learners’ developmental level is necessary or desirable, or
that it will lead to long-term benefits.
Most valuable feature about this proposal is that it helps teachers set realistic expectations about the
way learners’ interlanguage may change in response to instruction and that ‘progress’ does not always
appear as increased accuracy.
ØØ Get it right in the end’
Strong evidence that form-focused instruction within the context of communicative and content-based
language teaching is more effective in promoting L2 learning than instructional approaches that are
limited to an exclusive emphasis on accuracy, comprehension, or interaction.
Decisions about balancing form-focus and meaning-focus must take into account differences in learners’
characteristics (e.g. age, goals for learning, etc.).
Now, read the rest of information in your textbook.
setschool/cutecolorssetschool1c.png


your notebook. I hope you were able to summarize these topics
correctly; if you need help, please contact your tutor.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
üü After reading a great deal of detail on these studies, I propose you to answer the
following questions.
Let´s do it
Proponents of ‘let’s talk’ approaches to language learning suggest that learners can discover and overcome
their L2 errors and limitations when they encounter ‘communication breakdown.’ What are some reasons to
think that this may not happen in typical foreign-language classrooms? How does this change the way you
might set up interaction activities?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
If it is not feasible to develop a teaching syllabus based on the ‘teach what is teachable’ approach, why is it
important for teachers to be familiar with the research that underlies it?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Proponents of ‘get it right in the end’ suggest that students will need some form-focused instruction and
feedback on their efforts. Should that kind of focus be provided during communicative interaction or separate
from it? What are some reasons for and against focusing on language itself during communication?
What are some reasons for and against separate form-focused lessons?

105
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Did you find any difficulty with this topic? Please go back and review
any information that you do not fully understand. If you have any
further questions, please contact your tutor.
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITY

üü Second Language Learning in the Classroom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6QCmTfw3Zk
üü Six proposals for teaching:
http://images.clipartof.com/ http://www.kau.edu.sa/Files/0008718/Files/115609_Chapter%206%20smaller.pdf
Free-RF-Clip-Art-Illustration- üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Reflect on individual differences and
Holding-A-Finger-Up.jpg language learning success”. Share your answers with your classmates and tutor
üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Questions for reflection. Share your
answers with your classmates and tutor
Congratulations! You have concluded this chapter 6.
To finish this chapter you have to complete the following self-evaluation.
Let´s do it

Self-evaluation 6
Activity A
Read and choose the corresponding characteristic with each teaching proposal.
1. Get it right from the beginning.
a. Learners listen to books while reading along at the same time.

b. Focused on grammar drills, lots of repetition.
c. Obligates learners to “negotiate for meaning”.
2. Just listen…..and read
a. Instruction is designed to follow developmental stages.

b. A mixture of structural and comprehensive instruction.
c. Content-based instruction in a second language.
3. Let´s talk
a. Emphasis on written language, rule learning, translating literary works.

b. Emphasis is on providing comprehensible input through listening and/or reading activities.
c. Learners ‘negotiate for meaning’ to express and clarify their thoughts in a way that leads to
mutual comprehension.
4. Get two for one.
a. Emphasis on oral language, repetitive drill, memorization.

b. Types of Content–based language teaching include Immersion, Content and Language-
Integrated Learning (CLIL), and bilingual education.
c. The ‘interaction hypothesis’ (Long, 1983, 1996) emphasized the role of conversational
interaction.
5. Teach what is teachable.
a. Important to assess learners’ development and teach what would naturally come next.
b. Not everything has to be taught; lots of language can be acquired naturally with sufficient
exposure.
c. The ‘comprehensible output hypothesis’ (Swain, 1985) suggested that learners develop
when they must produce language.

107
6. Get it right in the end.
a. It is not necessary to drill and memorize language forms in order to learn them.
b. Emphasis on oral language, repetitive drill, memorization.
c. Not everything has to be taught; lots of language can be acquired naturally with sufficient
exposure.
Activity B
Read each sentence and fill in the blanks with the correct study from the six proposals.
–– Learners talking to learners

–– Ready to learn
–– Enhanced input
–– Interaction and second language development
–– Grammar plus communicative practice
–– Focus on form in task-based instruction
1. ____________ this study shows that focus only on accuracy and form do not give students
opportunities to develop communication abilities.
2. Johanna White carried out a study involving _________________ in 1998. To draw the learner’s
attention to the teaching item typographical enhancement was added (bold type, capitalized
letters etc.) and at the end of the study little difference was found between learners who received
enhanced input and learners who did not.
3. Michael Long and Patricia Porter carried out a study called ___________________. They examined
the language produced by adult learners performing a task in pairs in 1985 and they concluded
that though learners’ language cannot be purely grammatical, they can still benefit from each
other as this kind of interaction enables genuine communicative practice.
4. In 1999, Alison Mackey carried out a study among adult learners engaging in different
communicative tasks with native speakers of the target language on producing question forms.
At the end of the study, learners who interacted with native speakers produced more advanced
questions and this result showed that spontaneous natural interaction can be more beneficial for
the learners. This study was called __________________________
5. In 1988, Manfred Pienemann investigated whether instruction permitted learners to skip a stage
in the natural sequence of development and this study showed that for some linguistic structures,
learners cannot be taught when they are not _______________.
6. In 2002, Virginia Samuda carried out a study named ___________________. She examined the
form-meaning relationships by focusing on expressions of possibility and probability in a task
design. It was aimed to take learners through a ‘meaning to form to meaning progression’. At the
end of the study, it was seen that there were many more instances of modals in learners’ speech.

Activity C
Which are the assessing proposals presented in your textbook about the six proposals for teaching?
List them below.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

is not clear yet. Remember, for further help you can cosult your
tutor.

109
CHAPTER 7. POPULAR IDEAS ABOUT LANGUAGE LEARNING REVISITED
This chapter provide a general summary of the book by looking at how research can inform our responses
to some popular opinions about language learning and teaching.
Let´s begin the study of this chapter
Did you remember the first suggested activity, before to begin chapter 1?
I suggested you to complete the survey presented in the Introduction of your textbook?
Before you read this chapter takes a look at your answers to the survey. Have your opinions changed
after reading this book? If
Now, go back to the survey.
Compare
Graphic # 14
Survey opinion
png
7.1. Reflecting on the popular ideas: Learning from research
I would like to invite you to check the following information.
Remember that the statements in bold type are only popular “opinions” about language learning and
teaching, and are not necessarily completely true. The “facts,” based on second language acquisition
research, are summarized below each of the statements.

1. Languages are learned mainly through imitation.
–– Neither L1 nor L2 is learned mainly through imitation.

–– Learners produce many novel (original) utterances in addition to language they’ve heard
before.
–– Even children learning their first language imitate selectively.
2. Parents usually correct young children when they make mistakes
–– Parents usually focus on correcting meaning, not form (grammar and pronunciation).
3. Highly intelligent people are good language learners
–– They may have an advantage in memorizing grammar rules and vocabulary, but not in
learning to use language.
4. The best predictor of success in second language acquisition is motivation
–– Motivation is important, but there are also many other factors.

–– Motivation increases success, but success also increases motivation.
5. The earlier a second language is introduced in school programmes, the greater the likelihood
of success in learning
–– It depends on the objectives of the program and the amount of time spent.
–– Starting earlier may lead to more native-like acquisition eventually (especially for
pronunciation), but children who start later catch up quickly.
6. Most of the mistakes that second language learners make are due to interference from their
first language
–– There are many causes of error; L1 interference is just one of them.

–– Learners with different L1s make the same errors when learning a particular L2.
7. The best way to learn new vocabulary is through reading
–– True, but not the whole story.

–– Second language learners benefit from opportunities to read material that is interesting
and important to them.
–– However, those who receive guidance from instruction and develop good strategies for
learning and remembering words will benefit more than those who simply focus on getting
the main ideas from a text.
8. It is essential for learners to be able to pronounce all the individual sounds in the second
language
–– Second language speakers’ ability to make themselves understood depends more on their
ability to reproduce the phrasing and stress patterns than on their ability to articulate each
individual sound.

111
9. Once learners know roughly 1,000 words and the basic structure of a second language, they
can easily participate in conversations with native speakers.
–– Pragmatic features are also important.

–– The decline in accuracy may show that learners are incorporating new information about
the language into their own internal system of rules.
10. Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time, and learners should practice each
one before going on to another
–– Language learning is not linear in development, but involves integrating new rules into the
existing system (i.e., “interlanguage”).
–– Learners may use a rule correctly for a while, then begin using it incorrectly, and then relearn
it.
11. Teachers should teach simple language structures before complex ones
–– No matter how language is presented, certain structures are acquired before others (i.e.,
there is a “natural order”).
–– Teachers should provide “comprehensible input” that is understandable to learners, but also
contains some new words and structures.
12. Learners’ errors should be corrected as soon as they are made in order to prevent the formation
of bad habits
–– Errors are a natural part of language learning.

–– Correction may only be useful when the learner is ready for it.
–– Too much error correction can have a negative effect on motivation, but teachers should
point out persistent errors.
13. Teachers should use materials that expose students only to language structures they have
already been taught
–– Learners can comprehend the general meaning of many forms they have not learned
completely.
–– Students need to be challenged; otherwise, they may lose motivation.
–– Students have to learn to deal with real language, not just artificial classroom language.
14. When learners are allowed to interact freely (for example, in groups or pair activities), they
copy each other’s’ mistakes
–– Research says that isn’t true; they don’t produce more errors, and they can give useful
feedback to each other.
–– Group and pair activities can give students more chances to produce meaningful language.

15. Students learn what they are taught
–– While students can only learn the language they are exposed to, they don’t learn everything
they are taught, of course.
–– For learning to be successful, the language taught must be appropriate for their level of
development.
–– Students learn a lot of language that they are not taught.
16. Teachers should respond to students’ errors by correctly rephrasing what they have said rather
than by explicitly pointing out the error.
–– Not interrupting or embarrassing.

–– Research with adult learners in structure-based classes (where the general focus is on
grammar and accurate language use) shows that learners do respond to this kind of
feedback.
17. Students can learn both language and academic content (for example, science and history)
simultaneously in classes where the subject matter is taught in their second language
–– Developed comprehension skills, vocabulary, and communicative competence

–– Not accuracy on language features that do not interfere with meaning
–– Addition of form-focused instruction is helpful.
Once you have read and analyzed this short information, please, go to your textbook and read entirely
the chapter, in order to have a complete idea about these opinions.
png
Did you read? Did you get the main ideas about this chapter?!!!Great!!!
to continue with your study
art/grande/9639747-15513602.
jpg?v=1465376161
Now, focus on the following suggested activity

113
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY
Read the whole “chapter 7” and the information from this didactic guide and write
your own ideas about the authors´ opinions and conclusions about teaching and
learning second language. There are seventeen ideas. Fill in the following chart
POPULAR IDEAS AUTHORS´ CONCLUSIONS

Languages are learned mainly through imitation.
Parents usually correct young children when they make
mistakes
Highly intelligent people are good language learners
The best predictor of success in second language acquisition
is motivation
The earlier a second language is introduced in school
programmes, the greater the likelihood of success in learning
Most of the mistakes that second language learners make
are due to interference from their first language
The best way to learn new vocabulary is through reading
It is essential for learners to be able to pronounce all the
individual sounds in the second language
Once learners know roughly 1,000 words and the basic
structure of a second language, they can easily participate in
conversations with native speakers
Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time,
and learners should practice each one before going on to
another
Teachers should teach simple language structures before
complex ones
Learners’ errors should be corrected as soon as they are made
in order to prevent the formation of bad habits
Teachers should use materials that expose students only to
language structures they have already been taught
When learners are allowed to interact freely (for example, in
groups or pair activities), they copy each other’s’ mistakes
Students learn what they are taught
Teachers should respond to students’ errors by correctly
rephrasing what they have said rather than by explicitly
pointing out the error.
Students can learn both language and academic content
(for example, science and history) simultaneously in classes
where the subject matter is taught in their second language

How did you do? Did you write down your own ideas about each opinion? Did you get the main idea of each
one of them? ¡¡¡Perfect!!!
Did you find any difficulty with this activity? Please go back and
have any further questions, please contact your tutor
art/grande/9639747-15513602.
jpg?v=1465376161
Now, let´s turn your attention to the next suggested activities.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY

üü Conclusions and opinions Teaching and Learning a Second Language.
http://www.kau.edu.sa/files/0008718/files/107146_chapter_7.pdf
üü 7 Popular ideas about language learning: Facts & opinions
https://sites.google.com/site/secondlanguageacquistion/6-popular-ideas-about-
language-learning-facts-opinions
Free-RF-Clip-Art-Illustration- üü Do the Self-evaluation to observe how much you know of this topic
Holding-A-Finger-Up.jpg üü Do the activity suggested in your textbook “Support your opinion”.
üü Check the Glossary at the end of your textbook
Congratulations! You have finished this course. To test your knowledge, please complete the self-
evaluation below.

115
Self-evaluation 7
Dear student, I invite you to work on the following exercises proposed to verify your understanding of all
the contents presented in this chapter.
Activity A
Read the following information and fill in with the correct option. Taking into a account all of the
author´s conclusions about teaching and learning a second language
1. Learners produce many novel sentences that they could not have heard before. These sentences
are based on their _____________________ of how the language system works.
a. formal instruction
b. developing understanding
c. intelligence
2. There is considerable variation in the extent to which parents correct their children’s speech. The
variation is based partly on: _______________
a. childrens age, parents´social, linguistic and educational background

b. motivation
c. basic communicative skills
3. The kind of intelligence that is measured by ______________ is often a good predictor of success
in classrooms where the emphasis is on learning about the language (e.g. grammar rules and
vocabulary items).
a. conversational language
b. grammar rules
c. IQ test
4. Teachers have no influence over learners’ ______________ for learning an L2.
a. intrinsic motivation
b. communicative instruction
c. extrinsic motivation

5. The first language is NOT the ONLY influence on second language learning. What is the evidence?
a. Learners from different backgrounds (Japanese, Mexicans, and Arabs for example) often
make the same kinds of errors, and some of these errors are remarkably similar to those
made by first language learners (children acquiring their first language).
b. Older children (for example, ten-year olds) are able to catch up quickly to those who began
earlier (for example, at six- or seven-years old) in programmes offering only a few hours a
week of instruction.
c. Children cannot depend on parent’s corrective feedback in order to learn the basic structure
of their language. Why? Because parents tend to focus on meaning rather than form when
they correct children’s speech
6. Children expand their vocabulary dramatically during their ____________, and _____________ is
the major source of this growth.
a. positive attitude / reading

b. first years / motivation
c. school years / school
Activity B
Read the following list of authors’ opinions and conclusions about teaching and learning research.
Match with the corresponding characteristic.
1. If the tasks are well designed, learners working in groups get far
more practice in speaking and participating in conversations
than they ever could in a teacher centered class.
2. Pragmatic features are also important.
3. Second language speakers ‘ability to make themselves
understood depends more on their ability to reproduce the
phrasing and stress patterns than on their ability to articulate
each individual sound
4. Overgeneralization of the target language rules.
5. Isolated presentation and practice of one structure at a time
does not provide learners with an opportchaptery to discover
how different language features compare and contrast in normal
language use.
6. When errors are persistent, especially when they are shared by
almost all students in a class, it is useful to bring the problem to
the learners’ attention.
ØØ Most of the mistakes that second language learners make are due to interference from their first
language.
ØØ It is essential for learners to be able to pronounce all the individual sounds in the second language.
ØØ Once learners know roughly 1,000 words and the basic structure of a second language, they can easily
participate in conversations with native speakers.

117
ØØ Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time, and learners should practice examples of
each one before going to another.
ØØ Learners ‘errors should be corrected as soon as they are made in order to prevent the formation of bad
habits.
ØØ When learners are allowed to interact freely, they learn each other’s mistakes.

is not clear yet. Remember, for further help you can consult your
tutor.

SOLUCIONARIO Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning
7. Answer key
FIRST BIMESTER
Self-evaluation 1
A Answers B Answers C Answers
1. c 1. Registers 1. F
2. b 2. Morphemes 2. T
Cognitive developmental and F

3. a 3. 3.
mastery of linguistic elements.
4. b 4. Imitation and practice 4. T
5. a 5. F
6. T
7. T
8. F

119
Guía Didáctica: Psychology and Language Learning SOLUCIONARIO
Self-evaluation 2
There are sequences for
some language features but
individual characteristics
affect how learners move
1. b 1. Grammatical morphemes 1. through sequences,
learners may produce
sentences from different
stages, and first language
can have an effect.
2. b 2. Negation 2. Teach suprasegmentals.
3. b 3. Questions
4. c 4. Possessive determiners
5. c 5. Relative clauses
6. b 6. Reference to past
7. a
8. c
9. c
10. a

Self-evaluation 3
1. Willingness 1. b 1. Motivating students into the lesson
Varying the activities, tasks, and

2. Learning styles 2. c 2.
materials
Integrative and Using co-operative rather than
3. 3. a 3.
instrumental competitive goals
Field
4. 4. a
dependent
Motivation in
5. 5. b
the class

121
SECOND BIMESTER
Self-evaluation 4
Language acquisition takes place The input hypothesis

1. b 1. in the interactions of learner and 1.
interlocutor.
Greater importance is attached to The natural order
the conversations, with learning hypothesis
2. b 2. 2.
occurring through the social
interaction.
Interaction needs to be modified The affective filter
3. b 3. and through negotiation for 3. hypothesis.
meaning.
Emphasis is on the individual The learning
4. c 4. cognitive process in the mind of 4. acquisition hypothesis
the learner.
5. a 5. The monitor hypothesis
6. a
7. b
8. c

Self-evaluation 5
Natural: second language Wait time and teachers’

learned through social questioning practices
1. T 1. interaction, work or child in 1.
school with native speakers of
target language.
Structure-based instructional: Socio-political change and
2. F 2. classroom setting, focus is on 2. foreign language classroom
vocabulary and grammar. discourse
Communicative instructional: Corrective feedback in context
3. T 3. classroom setting, focus is on 3.
communication.
4. T 4. Recasts and private speech

Recasts in content-based
5. T 5.
classrooms
Scaffolding and display and
6. T 6.
referential questions

123
Self-evaluation 6
Get it right from the beginning’
Grammar plus Evidence suggests that this approach
1. b 1. communicative 1. does not correspond to the way that the
practice majority of successful L2 learners have
acquired their proficiency.
‘Just listen and read’ and ‘Get two for
one’
There is no support for the hypothesis
2. a 2. Enhanced input 2.
that language acquisition will take care
of itself if L2 learners focus exclusively
on meaning/content.
Let’s talk’
Conversational interactions in group
Learners talking to
3. c 3. 3. and paired activities can lead to
learners
increased fluency and the ability to
manage conversations in the L2.
Teach what is teachable’
Interaction and No strong evidence that teaching
4. b 4. second language 4. according to learners’ developmental
development level is necessary or desirable, or that it
will lead to long-term benefits.
‘Get it right in the end’
Strong evidence that form-focused
instruction within the context of
communicative and content-based
language teaching is more effective
5. a 5. Ready to learn 5.
in promoting L2 learning than
instructional approaches that are
limited to an exclusive emphasis
on accuracy, comprehension, or
interaction.
Focus on form
6. c 6. in task-based
instruction

Self-evaluation 7
A Answers B Answers
When learners are allowed to interact freely,

1. b 1.
they learn each other’s mistakes.
Once learners know roughly 1,000 words
and the basic structure of a second
2. a 2.
language, they can easily participate in
conversations with native speakers.
It is essential for learners to be able to
3. c 3. pronounce all the individual sounds in the
second language.
Most of the mistakes that second language
4. a 4. learners make are due to interference from
their first language.
Teachers should present grammatical rules
one at a time, and learners should practice
5. a 5.
examples of each one before going to
another.
Learners ‘errors should be corrected as soon
6. c 6. as they are made in order to prevent the
formation of bad habits.
GI/CC/2017-03-09/125 pag.

125

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Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación

Psychology and Language Learning

 Ciencias de la Educación, mención:

La Universidad Católica de Loja

UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA PARTICULAR DE LOJA

Diagramación, diseño e impresión:

ISBN digital: 978-9942-25-151-0

6.1. Generic competences UTPL......................................................................................................................... 11

CHAPTER 1. LANGUAGE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD........................................................... 17

CHAPTER 2. SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING.................................................................................... 34

CHAPTER 3. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING............................. 49

6.5. Generic Competences UTPL......................................................................................................................... 71

CHAPTER 4. EXPLAINING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING............................................................ 76

CHAPTER 5. OBSERVING LEARNING AND TEACHING IN THE SECOND LANGUAGE

CHAPTER 6. SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM.............................................. 101

CHAPTER 7. POPULAR IDEAS ABOUT LANGUAGE LEARNING REVISITED.................................. 110

I wish you good luck!

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• Ethnography EFL research. (2012). Available at: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext

• Flyman Mattsson, A. (1999). Students’ communicative behavior in a foreign language classroom.

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• Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition.

Schmidt, R. (2010). Attention, awareness, and individual differences in language learning. In W.

8 MODALIDAD ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA

5. General Guidelines to Study

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Good luck and success in this semester!!!

10 MODALIDAD ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA

6. Teaching process - learning for the achievement of competences

6.1. Generic competences UTPL

ØØ Ability to develop Critical and Reflexive Thinking.

ØØ Ability to search process and analyze information from different sources.

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different stages of human Years.

alternative solutions to individuals.

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2.2. Learning conditions learning conditions. interaction (per

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• Questionnaire #4 9 hours of self-

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6.3. Evaluation System of the Subject (first and second term)

Formas de evaluación 2. Heteroevaluación

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6.4. Specific guideless for learning through competences

16 MODALIDAD ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA

CHAPTER 1. LANGUAGE LEARNING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Let´s get started!

1.1. First language acquisition

Now, let´s take a look to the following characteristics

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ØØ It is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from other organisms.

Let´s continue your study

1.2. The first three years: Milestones and developmental sequences

Age Language and communication skill

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Age Language and communication skill

I hope the information is clear about developmental milestones.

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üü Answer the following questions, related to developmental milestones.

3. At what age children produce telegraphic speech?

Morphemes: are the smallest chapters of language that carry meaning.

Ciencias de la Educación, mención: