Second Language Acquisition

• Engels op de Nederlandse Basisschool
• HBO
• Studiejaar 2

Second Language Acquisition

L2, EFL, ESL

Second language acquisition, or sequential language acquisition, is learning a second language after a first language is already established -> mother tongue (moedertaal)

Can a child have two mother tongues?
If no, why not? If yes, how?

Theories of Language Acquisition

Behaviourist: Children imitate adults. Their correct utterances are reinforced when they get what they want or are praised. (Skinner)

Innateness: A child's brain contains special language-learning mechanisms at birth. (Chomsky)

Cognitive: Language is just one aspect of a child's overall intellectual development. (Piaget)

Interaction: This theory emphazises the interaction between children and their care-givers. (Bruner)

According to Krashen

1. You learn a language through learning grammar
2. You acquire a language by studying form
3. You acquire a language by natural input
4. You learn a language from the caregivers

According to Krashen, teachers should

1. monitor their students by correcting mistakes when speaking
2. monitor their students by correcting mistakes based on their level
3. monitor their students by not correcting their mistakes
4. monitor their students by correcting mistakes based on personal goals

According to Krashen, when teaching a second language, teachers...

1. give real life input, not taking level of student into consideration
2. start with easy language concepts and build on to more difficult
3. start with easy grammar rules
4. give real life input, by taking level of student into consideration

According to Krashen

1. Students learn best in quiet classrooms
2. Anxiety and stress influence SLA
3. Anxiety and stress have no influence on SLA
4. teachers should create safe and welcoming learning environment

According to Krashen...

1. Reading is important to learn vocabulary
2. Reading is important to learn a second language
3. Reading is important to learn real life communication
4. Reading is important to increase knowledge of language

Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The zone of proximal development is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. 

Bruner's scaffolding concept

"learning to know the language" may be accomplished without considerable external help, while "learning to use the language" cannot be conquered solely without the assistance of other factors, such as the tutor, because the use of language demands the learning of notions that someone has to explain thoroughly.

How do you scaffold language?