Theories and models of SLA

KRASHEN INNATIST : Subconscious acquisition superior to learning and monitoring Comprehensible input (i+1) Low affective filter Natural order of acquisition zero option for grammar instruction

Berry McLaughlin

Ellen Bialystock

Mike H.Long
CONSTRUCTIVIST Interaction hypothesis Intake through social interaction Output hypothesis (Swain) HIGs (Seliger) Authenticity Task-based instruction

COGNITIVIST Controlled/automatic processing (Mcl) Focal / peripheral Restructuring ( McL) Implicit vs.explicit (B) Unanalyzed vs.analyzed (B) Form-focus instruction

Affective Filter hypothesis

Motivation Self-esteem Anxiety

high high Low/zero

Best Language Acquisition

Filter LAD

Input

Affective Filter hypothesis

Motivation Self-esteem Anxiety

low low high

Filter LAD
Language Acquisition Device

Input

Three suggestions to join the community of theory builders :

1.Play both the believing game and the doubting game.
Try to find something wrong with someones claim or hypothesis and also to find truths.

2. Appreciate both the art and science of SLA.

We use two research traditions to draw conclusions of SLA. One tradition is a nomothetic tradition of empiricism, scientific methodology, and predictions. On the other hand, a hermeneutic tradition provides us with a means for interpretation and understanding in which we do not look of absolute laws.

Viewing our research of SLA as art is advantageous because such a view reduces the need of closure and allows us to see our work in a larger perspective with less dogmatism and ego involvement.

3. Trust (to some extent) your intuitions.

Intuition forms an essential component of our total intellectual endeavor. Good language teachers have developed good intuition. How do you learn intuition? There is no simple answer to this question, yet some ingredients of a rationale are apparent. 1. You need to internalize essential theoretical foundations. 2. There is no substitute for the experience of standing on your own two feet in the presence of real learners in the real world. 3. You must be a willing risk-taker yourself.

THE ECOLOGY OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

INPUT

Climate of Context
Fruit of Performance OUTPUT

Teacher talk

Text books Text books

Branches of affective variables

Materials Non verbal Other Students Outside of classself

Leaves of Comprehension & production strategies

Seeds of predisposition
LAD

Soil of style
Problem solving style

Germination strategies
Direct strategies Memory strategies Affective strategies Social strategies Metacognitive strategies

Inferred competence (intake)

Innate factors

cognitive style personality style: -intuition - empathy Input generator

Roots of competence

Phonological rules Grammatical rules Discourse rules Sociolinguistic rules Pragmatic rules Reception rules Production rules
Interlanguage system

Declarative knowledge

What can we do as teachers?

at any point the horticulturist (teacher) can Irrigate to create better input apply fertilizers for richer soil encourage the use of effective strategies & affective enhancer and in the greenhouses of our classrooms, control the contextual climate for optimal growth!

Plant a seed. Watch it grow It will go so much farther than youll ever know. And whether that seed be action or word, Whether harsh or kind, Its power will be heard. And whether its fruit will bring you joy or distress You are the one who will injure or bless

The End

Conclusion
1.All three theories of language learning inter-relate somehow. Many teachers will use classroom methods which may be linked to all three approaches. Teachers who are native speakers tend to use Krashens Natural Approach more than others. But this approach has been hotly disputed and it seems that it took a back seat in the foreign language learning classroom during the last few years.

Conclusion
2. It is important to remember that "theory" and "theoretical research" should not be the only input into deciding on methodology and materials.

Conclusion
3. It is dangerous to rely only on theory. There are at least three different ways of arriving at answers in methodology and materials, and we must consider all of them. A teacher should be aware of the different theories and approaches and use them as a basis for his/her teaching.

Conclusion
4. The solution to our problems in language teaching lies not in expensive equipment, exotic methods, sophisticated linguistic analyses, or new laboratories, but in full utilization of what we already have, speakers of the languages using them for real communication.

Conclusion
5.the best methods might also be the most pleasant, and that, strange as it seems, language acquisition occurs when language is used for what it was designed for, communication

Last but not least

The trends in language teaching were partly the result of teachers and researchers communicating with each other. However, a dysfunction that has been perpetuated by both sides has accorded higher status to a researcher/theorist than to a practitioner/teacher. In fact, we are all practitioners and we are all theorists. You will be a part of a community of theory builders that talk with each other in pursuit of a better theory.

 Seliger HIG high input generator

Those learners who practiced language by initiating interaction with the teacher and fellow students thereby generating more personalized input to themselves

Note

LIG Low input generator

Learners who played a passive role in the language acquisition and did input directed to them LIGs demonstrate little interaction in the target language beyond their interactions with the teacher during drill session

 Input

note

intake

input (rain clouds)--> stimulate seeds --> the potency of input is dependent on the appropriate styles and strategies that a person puts into action (represented as soil)
during germination of language ability--> networks of competence build and grow stronger as the organism actively engages in comprehension and production of language. The resulting root system (Inferre input (rain clouds)--> stimulate seeds --> the potency of input is dependent on the appropriate styles and strategies that a person puts into action (represented as soil) during germination of language ability--> networks of competence build and grow stronger as the organism actively engages in comprehension and production of language. The resulting root system (Inferred competence -->or intake) is what through the use of further strategies and affective abilities + the feedback we receive from others (note the tree trunk) --> we ultimately develop full-flowering communicative abilities. the fruit of our performance (output) --> is conditioned by the climate of innumerable contextual variables.

at any point the horticulturist (teacher) can irrigate:

Video links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCeWR39l L9E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTsduRre ug

1. input (rain clouds)--> stimulate seeds --> the potency of input is dependent on the appropriate styles and strategies that a person puts into action (represented as soil)
2. during germination of language ability--> networks of competence build and grow stronger as the organism actively engages in comprehension and production of language. 3. The resulting root system (Inferred competence --> is what we commonly call intake) 4. through the use of further strategies and affective abilities + the feedback we receive from others (note the tree trunk) --> we ultimately develop full-flowering communicative abilities. 5. the fruit of our performance (output) --> is conditioned by the climate of innumerable contextual variables. at any point the horticulturist (teacher) can -Irrigate to create better input -apply fertilizers for richer soil -encourage the use of effective strategies & affective enhancer

and in the greenhouses of our classrooms, control the contextual climate for optimal growth!