Tuesday, July 23, 2013

SLA Glossary P - W




Parsing
The real-time subconscious analysis of the syntactic structure of input in order to comprehend it

Performance

The use of the underlying linguistic competence to produce language output

Positive evidence
Input which illustrates correct use of language

Poverty of the stimulus
The claim that the input received is not sufficient to account for language competence, and that there must therefore be some innate capacity

Procedural knowledge

Knowledge of how to do something, such as the ability to use a language, with a degree of automatization acquired through practice that reduces the need for attention

Processing
The real-time subconscious parsing and extraction of meaning from input

Recast
A reformulation of an incorrect utterance which provides the correct from without focusing on it explicitly

Repair
Overcoming potential breakdowns in communication

Restructuring
The reorganisation of the mental representation of knowledge

ScaffoldingThe provision of support by a teacher or other expert user to facilitate a learner’s production

Schema
The mental representation of a situation, topic or event which determines our expectations and influences our understanding of new information

Sociocultural theory
The belief that all learning is an essentially social process grounded in sociocultural settings such as the school and the workplace

Top-down processing
The understanding of meaning through pre-existing knowledge of content, context and culture

Transfer

The influence, either positive or negative, of the L1 on the acquisition of the L2

Ultimate attainment
The end state where a learner’s L2 attainment stops developing

Universal Grammar
A linguistic framework which claims that all languages share a set of underlying principles and that innate knowledge of these enables acquisition

Uptake

The adoption by a learner of the correct form provided in a recast

Variabilty
Lack of consistency in the accuracy of a learner’s language production

Wernicke’s area
A region of the left frontal lobe of the brain associated with understanding spoken language


Original definitions and selection of terms © 2013 Anglo-Hellenic Teacher Training

References


VanPatten, B.  & Benati, A. (2010) Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition. London: Continuum. 


VanPatten, B. & Williams, J. (eds.). (2007) Theories in Second Language Acquisition: An Introduction. London: Routledge


Doughty, C. and Long, M.  (eds.) (2003) Handbook of second language acquisition (2nd edition) Oxford: Blackwell.  


Mitchell, R., Myles, F. & Marsden, E. (eds.). (2012) Second Language Learning Theories (3rd Edition) London: Routledge 


Saville-Troike, M. (2012) Introducing Second Language Acquisition (2nd edition) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Thursday, July 4, 2013

SLA Glossary L - O



 
Language acquisition device
A term used by Chomsky to describe the innate faculty for language acquisition

Lateralization

The process by which each hemisphere of the brain becomes specialized for different functions

Learning strategies
Techniques that learners consciously select to assist them in the achievement of their learning goals

Learning styles

Learners’ traits and preferences relating to the ways they perceive, process and remember information

Lexicon
The mental store of words that each learner has acquired

Markedness
A classification which describes the default, unmarked form in contrast to the less common, marked form in pairs of language features such as unvoiced and voiced consonants

Metalinguistic knowledge
Explicit conceptual knowledge about language

Minimalist Program
A development of Chomsky’s Principles and Parameters model that aims to account for the properties of language with maximum economy

Monitor Model

Krashen’s hypothesis that learners can consciously monitor and correct the output from their acquired language system

Morpheme studies
Studies of the order in which grammatical morphemes are acquired, which provide support for the belief in a natural order of acquisition independent of the influence of the learner’s L1

Motivation

The degree of desire to accomplish a goal, which partly determines the amount of effort one is willing to make to do so

Nativism
The theory that all humans are born with an innate capacity for language acquisition

Natural Order Hypothesis
The theory that the grammatical features of a language are acquired in a set sequence, independent of the learner’s first language

Negative evidence

Feedback on Learner L2 output indicating that there is a gap between the interlanguage form produced and the correct target language form

Negotiation of meaning

The collaborative use of comprehension checks and clarification requests to prevent or repair breakdown of communication

Noticing
Paying conscious attention to a feature of the L2 input

Output Hypothesis
The claim that the language produced by L2 learners plays a significant part in the process of acquisition

Overgeneralization
The application of a rule to cases where it should not be applied, such as erroneously adding –ED to form the past tense of an irregular verb

 
 
Original definitions and selection of terms © 2013 Anglo-Hellenic Teacher Training

References


VanPatten, B.  & Benati, A. (2010) Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition. London: Continuum. 


VanPatten, B. & Williams, J. (eds.). (2007) Theories in Second Language Acquisition: An Introduction. London: Routledge


Doughty, C. and Long, M.  (eds.) (2003) Handbook of second language acquisition (2nd edition) Oxford: Blackwell.  


Mitchell, R., Myles, F. & Marsden, E. (eds.). (2012) Second Language Learning Theories (3rd Edition) London: Routledge 


Saville-Troike, M. (2012) Introducing Second Language Acquisition (2nd edition) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press