1. Dr. Simon Phipps
dr.simon.phipps@gmail.com
Session 5: SLA Research
1. Introduction & feedback from yesterday
2. Introduction to SLA: aims and types
3. Overview of SLA Research
4. SLA Research Findings

2. WHAT IS SLA?
SLA is;
an attempt to understand how people of different
L1s
ages
attitudes
succeed or fail in

linguists
psycholinguists
sociologists
neurologists
anthropologists

AND teachers



social backgrounds
natural or formal settings
Who does it interest?

intellects

3. SLA RESEARCH – AN
OVERVIEW
L2
L1
Classroom
Individual differences
Role of instruction
Types of interaction
Age
Aptitude
Motivation
Personality
Strategies
Natural environment
Error correction
Q types
Negotiation
Developmental sequences
Types of input
Form/meaning
CI
Error analysis
Morpheme studies
L1 influence

4. SLA Research: some background 1
Why SLA?
 migration
 English
as a world language
 mixed communities
-
USA, AUS, NZ
BRITAIN
CANADA
A History of SLA
 1960s
- early 1970s
(very little)
 descriptive
(error analysis, morpheme studies, learning strategies)
 late 1970s - 1980s
(explosion)
 explanatory
(immersion studies, development sequence)
 1990s – today
(huge area)
 explanatory
(classroom-based, more pedagogical focus)

5. How useful is SLA research?
What can it tell us as teachers?
What would you like to find out more about?

6. CONTEXTS FOR LANGUAGE
TEACHING
(ADAPTED FROM LIGHTBOWN & SPADA 2006:111)
Characteristics
Natural
environment
Grammarbased
teaching
Communicative
teaching
x
√
√
√
x
√
?
?
Learning one thing at a time
Frequent feedback on errors
T-st
st-st
Ample time for learning
√
x
x
x
Exposure to proficient users
√
x?
?
x
√
x
Variety of language types
Pressure to speak
Access to modified input
?
?
√
√
?
?
x
√
√
?

7. CLASSROOMS
Error correction

corrective feedback


sts notice more if they are in a form-focused activity
recasts


hard for sts to notice
more likely to be noticed if directed at other students
Questioning techniques

open vs closed Qs


genuine vs display Qs


genuine Q = more processing, more complex responses
scaffolding and display Qs


open = more complex responses
use of display Qs to check understanding = useful
wait time

more wait = better responses

8. SLA RESEARCH FINDINGS 1
Order of Acquisition (for children in L1)
present continuous (-ing)
 plural (-s)
 irregular past forms (went, had)
 possessive (‘s)
 copula (‘be’ as main verb)
 articles (the/a)
 regular past (-ed)
 3rd person (-s)
 auxiliary (‘be’)

(from Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. (1993). How Languages are Learned. Oxford:
OUP. p58)

9. SLA RESEARCH FINDINGS 2
(Ellis 1994, 1997, Lightbown & Spada 1993, 2006, Larsen-Freeman & Long 1991)
1. Order of Acquisition
 Similar
stages of learning
learners learn when they are ready
 despite L1, teaching order
 similar for L1 and L2 in natural settings

 Frequency

is not the crucial factor
 Psycholinguistic
processing difficulty
some items are inherently easier to learn
 ‘Teachability/Learnability Hypothesis’ (Pienemann 1989)
 similar sequence, varied order

U

shaped learning
language learning is not a linear process

10. SLA RESEARCH FINDINGS 3
2. Formal instruction
2.1 Instruction vs. Natural Environment
• teaching = learning?
• little effect on order of learning
• instruction is helpful for


•
rate of attainment,
if the learner is ready
level of attainment
CI alone = not enough


good for confidence, fluency; not accuracy
CI alone = some fossilisation
FI speeds up slow process of natural discovery
Learners can learn AND acquire
2.2 Error Correction
• can interfere, can help
• useful to point out persistent errors


which learners don’t notice
L2 learners need negative evidence (L1 positive evidence is enough)

11. SLA RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
2. Formal instruction (continued)
2.3 Form vs Meaning
 Course which focuses mainly on form
interferes with IL development
 learners are unable to communicate effectively


Course which focuses mainly on meaning
inaccurate language
 language (ab)use


conscious learning of rules seems to help automisation

need for CI + CO
‘.. form focused instruction and corrective feedback provided within
the context of a communicative programme are more effective in
promoting second language learning…’
(Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. 1993 How Languages are Learned Oxford:OUP p 105)

12. SLA RESEARCH FINDINGS 5
3. Individual differences
(Social factors can affect success of individual learners)
Cognitive and affective dimensions;
 Age




no sudden cut-off (gradual curve)
crucial for pronunciation
there are exceptions, but L2 learners are generally less successful
than in L1
Intelligence / Aptitude




seems to be important, but what is it?
affects knowledge not use
multiple intelligences
different effects for different aspects


memory / phonemic coding ability / inductive ability
Personality (and learning styles)



need to match teaching and learning styles
memory-oriented vs analytic learners
importance of self-esteem

13. SLA RESEARCH FINDINGS 6
3. Individual differences (continued)
 Motivation





motivation is important, but less clear what it is
instrumental, integral, intrinsic, resultative
motivation is dynamic (varies during a lesson/task)
learners evaluate benefits /threats when deciding whether to invest
effort
Strategies (and the Good Language Learner)




affected by motivation and aptitude
success = more use of strategies
hard to identify links between strategy use and learning
need to know more about strategy use and language processing