Professional Documents
Culture Documents
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
vs. LANGUAGE LEARNING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Phonetic Signaling
Monitor & Personality
Effects of LA and LL on
Motivation
The Age Factor
Native vs. Non-Native
Teacher
Group Size
Final Conclusions
Appendix
My Acquisition
My Wifes Acquisition
My Daughters Acquisition
Language Living-Learning
Centers
Up to the 1950s
Grammar-Translation
Audiolingual Approach
Communicative Approaches
(language in use)
(language acquisition)
Behaviorism is a theory
in the field of learning
psychology according to
which learning is habit
formation based on
imitation, repetition and
negative or positive
reinforcement.
SLA receives a push forward in the 80s with Stephen Krashens Natural
Approach based on his Acquisition-Learning hypothesis. Krashen maintains
that children and adults can acquire languages naturally.
One does not need to learn and master grammatical structures and
vocabulary, nor does one need to imitate, memorize and repeat exhaustingly
chunks of the foreign language in order to attain proficiency in it.
Instead, a foreign language can be less frustratingly acquired within the context
of human interaction and through exposure to the target language.
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
"Acquisition requires
meaningful interaction in
the target language
natural communication
in which speakers are concerned not with the
form of their utterances but with the messages
they are conveying and understanding." (Stephen
Krashen).
Para que ocorra acquisition, imprescindvel que haja interao inteligvel na lnguaalvo comunicao natural , na qual os protagonistas esto concentrados no nas
formas gramaticais da linguagem produzida, mas sim na mensagem que esto
transmitindo e entendendo.
Comprehensible input
is the target language
that the learner would
not be able to produce
but can still understand.
It goes beyond the
choice of words and
involves presentation of
context, explanation,
rewording of unclear
parts, the use of visual
cues and meaning
negotiation.
The meaning
successfully conveyed
constitutes the learning
experience.
See a demonstration here.
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
ASSIMILAO NATURAL
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Exemplo comum de
language acquisition so
os adolescentes e
jovens adultos que
residem no exterior
durante um ano atravs
de programas de
intercmbio cultural,
atingindo um grau de
fluncia na lngua
estrangeira prximo ao
da lngua materna,
porm, na maioria dos
casos, sem nenhum
conhecimento a respeito
do idioma. No tm
sequer noes de
fonologia, nem sabem o
que perfect tense,
verbos modais, ou
phrasal verbs embora
saibam us-los
intuitivamente.
LANGUAGE LEARNING
LANGUAGE LEARNING
ESTUDO FORMAL
LANGUAGE LEARNING
LANGUAGE LEARNING
But in face of
the complexity and irregularity of the
languages, it
often leads to
nowhere.
LANGUAGE LEARNING
LEARNING
Artificial
Technical
Priority on the written language
Theory (language analysis)
Deductive teaching (rule-driven;
top-down)
Preset syllabus
Translation and use of L1 included
ACQUISITION
Natural
Personal
Priority on the spoken language
Practice (language in use)
Inductive coaching (rule-discovery;
bottom-up)
Learner-centered activities with
room for improvisation
No translation; no L1
Focus on form
Focus on communication
Produces knowledge
Produces an ability
Accuracy is a result of
exposure to accurate language.
Conclusion:
If we want to learn about a
language, we have to acquire it
first.
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
To demonstrate:
The vowel grapheme a corresponds to one sound in Spanish
and two sounds in Portuguese (e.g. casa, cama). How many
possible interpretations are there in English?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
a
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
six
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
To demonstrate:
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
i
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
six
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
To demonstrate:
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
oo
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
five
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
To demonstrate:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Two
Three
Four
Five
s
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
five
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
bough /4(B/
cough /7';/
dough /6)/
rough /@!;/
through /,@*/
hiccough /E=%7!
3/
A frustrao parece no ter fim, como podese constatar neste exemplo clssico.
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
This is irregularity!
Isto irregularidade!
SPELLING-PRONUNCIATION CORRESPONDENCE
WORD STRESS
WORD STRESS
WORD STRESS
caf, estudar,
computador, avio
Paroxtonas
(stress on one before the last)
Proparoxtonas
(stress on two before the last)
fgado, metrpole,
hemoflico
WORD STRESS
WORD STRESS
ENGLISH
Oxtonas
(stress on the last syllable)
caf, estudar,
computador, avio
Paroxtonas
(stress on one before the last)
casa, modelo,
bonito, cadeira
Proparoxtonas
(stress on two before the last)
fgado, metrpole,
hemoflico
excellent, hospital,
government, photographer
----
approximately, significantly,
intelligible, objectionable
----
characteristic, category,
necessary, dictionary
WORD STRESS
Conclusions:
1. If we want to learn about a language,
we have to acquire it first.
PHONETIC SIGNALING
PHONETIC SIGNALING
Phonetic signaling in linguistics is the quantity
of phonetic output per unit of meaning.
Different languages have different levels of
phonetic signaling. In other words, the number
of syllables per word can be very different.
PHONETIC SIGNALING
For example:
It takes 1 syllable to say dog while it
takes 3 syllables to convey the same
meaning in Portuguese: cachorro.
Pronunciamos apenas 1 slaba para dizer dog, enquanto que
precisamos pronunciar 3 slabas para transmitir o mesmo
significado em portugus: cachorro.
PHONETIC SIGNALING
Try it yourself:
1. Take the syllable as the unit of sound and
the word as the unit of meaning.
2. List a few common words from your
surroundings in English and Portuguese.
3. Add the total number of syllables for each
language.
Faa voc mesmo uma experincia:
1. Considere a slaba como unidade de som e a palavra como
unidade de significado.
2. Faa uma lista de palavras comuns em ingls e portugus.
3. Some o total de slabas em cada lngua.
PHONETIC SIGNALING
Example:
table
book
computer
pen
chair
dog
tired
work
sleep
bed
(2)
(1)
(3)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
-------
14
mesa
livro
computador
caneta
cadeira
cachorro
cansado
trabalho
dormir
cama
(2)
(2)
(4)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(2)
(2)
-------
27
PHONETIC SIGNALING
bad ball bed beer beet black blood book boy bread brick bus -
mau
bo-la
ca-ma
cer-ve-ja
be-ter-ra-ba
pre-to
san-gue
li-vro
me-ni-no
po
ti-jo-lo
-ni-bus
la-ta
car-ro
ga-to
ca-dei-ra
ba-ra-to
quei-xo
las-ca
re-l-gio
ca-sa-co
mi-lho
x-ca-ra
cor-te
PHONETIC SIGNALING
air
well
good
sky
tea
floor
give
pain
I
chalk
go
there
ler
luz
mal
mo
mar
ms
no
ns
po
par
p
p
read
light
bad
hand
sky
tea
no
we
bread
pair
foot
dust
quemrei sal sim sol som sul ter trem ver vir voz -
who
king
salt
yes
sun
sound
south
have
train
see
come
voice
portugus,
dificilmente se
encontra um
nmero maior de
slabas em seus
correspon-dentes
em ingls.
PHONETIC SIGNALING
origem comum,
observa-se que
no ingls eles so
sempre mais
curtos.
PHONETIC SIGNALING
PHONETIC SIGNALING
Difficulties in second-language
speech recognition are strongly
aggravated when the quantity of
phonetic information provided by
the target language is smaller
than the learners mother tongue.
A dificuldade de entendimento da lngua estrangeira falada
significativamente agravada se a quantidade de informao
fontica for menor que a da lngua materna.
PHONETIC SIGNALING
PHONETIC SIGNALING
PHONETIC SIGNALING
Conclusions:
1. If we want to learn about a language, we
have to acquire it first.
2. The more irregular the target language, the
more limited the result of studying it.
3. English scarcity of phonetic clues indicate
the need for oral practice rather than study.
Para se aprender a gramtica de uma lngua, preciso primeiramente saber falar esta
lngua.
Quanto maior a irregularidade da lngua-alvo, tanto menor a utilidade de se estud-la.
A escassez de pistas fonticas do ingls reforam a necessidade de prtica oral em
vez de estudo.
INTROVERTS
Introverts, who normally lack self-confidence
and often are perfectionists, will benefit little
from understanding the grammar of the
language and its irregularities. The result can
be even adverse, in the case of languages
with a high degree of irregularity such as
English.
Pessoas que tendem introverso, falta de autoconfiana ou ao
perfeccionismo, pouco se beneficiaro de conhecimento da estrutura da
lngua e de suas irregularidades. O efeito pode at ser adverso, no caso
de uma lngua com alto grau de irregularidade como o ingls.
After years of English learning in high school (grammartranslation) and language schools (audio-lingual), where
natural deviations are classified as errors and are promptly
corrected and repressed, the student who is
insecure by nature may develop a mental
block that discourages spontaneity due to
his awareness from experience that there is
a high probability of making a mistake.
Com pouco contato com a lngua falada e depois de anos de ingls inspirado em
learning no ensino mdio e em alguns cursos livres, onde desvios naturais de
linguagem so classificados como "erros" e prontamente corrigidos e reprimidos,
o aluno adquire conscincia da alta probabilidade de se cometer erros com a
lngua. Para aqueles que por sua natureza so inseguros, isto pode se
transformar num bloqueio que compromete a espontaneidade.
J fiz vrios cursos, inclusive me formei com mais ou menos uns 5 anos de
curso de ingls. No momento estou fazendo um curso preparatrio para o
exame de Cambridge (FCE - First Certificate in English) e na verdade no
consigo de jeito nenhum falar com as pessoas em ingls.
Estudei ingls por 4 anos, o que descobri ser muito pouco para quem tem
verdadeira inteno de aprender e obter fluncia. Estou desesperadamente
a procura de uma sequncia para meus estudos, pois no consegui me
soltar na conversao justamente por insegurana.
Bete Freitas 3/1/02
In my case, I had a hard to become fluent in the second language because of the
interference of two factors. The first factor was learning strategy, which was
translating (L2 to L1 to L2 again) due the fact that my foreign language classes
focused on the Grammar-Translation method. It was slow and caused me a lot of
headaches and frustration. Then later I spent a whole year translating while I was
an exchange student. The second interference was low self-esteem, the belief of
not being able to produce L2, due to the oppressed education I experienced in
undergraduate school in Brazil. Professors believed that low grades reflect a hard
school (meaning "good"), so nothing was good enough. Undergraduate students
got to graduation deaf on L2.
Marlia Conte Daros, <http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~gurney/LangConn.htm>
No meu caso, tive muita dificuldade para me tornar fluente na segunda lngua (ingls) devido
interferncia de dois fatores. O primeiro foi a estratgia de aprendizado, baseada em traduo
(da L2 para a L1 e para a L2, novamente) com aulas inspiradas pelo mtodo de traduo e
gramtica. Era lento e me dava dores de cabea e frustrao. Depois, passei um ano inteiro
traduzindo durante um programa de intercmbio. A segunda interferncia foi baixa autoestima,
acreditando no conseguir produzir a L2 devido a uma educao opressiva vivenciada em meu
curso universitrio no Brasil. Os professores acreditavam que notas baixas refletiam um curso
puxado (significando bom), ento nada era suficientemente bom. Os alunos se formavam
surdos lngua estrangeira falada. (minha traduo)
I would like to start teaching English; Ive been studying it for 10 years at *****,
now in the last book of the series. But I still have a lot of difficulties with
pronunciation and conversation. Is that normal for a person that has studied
English for 10 years?
EXTROVERTS
Extroverts, who talk too spontaneously, also benefit little
from learning. Their monitoring function is almost inoperative
and subject to an impulsive personality that manifests itself
without much concern with accuracy. The only ones who
benefit from learning are people whose personalities are
midway between introvert and extrovert, and manage to
apply the monitoring function in a moderate and effective
form.
Pessoas que tendem extroverso, a falar muito, de forma espontnea e improvi-sada,
tambm pouco se beneficiaro do conhecimento gramatical obtido por meio de learning,
uma vez que a funo de monitoramento quase inoperante, est submetida a uma
personalidade intempestiva que se manifesta sem maior cautela. Os nicos que se
beneficiam de learning, so as pessoas cujas caractersticas de personalidade se situam
num ponto intermedirio entre a introverso e a extroverso, e que conseguem aplicar a
funo de monitoramento de forma moderada e eficaz.
Conclusions:
1. If we want to learn about a language, we have
to acquire it first.
2. The more irregular the target language, the
more limited the result of studying it.
3. English scarcity of phonetic clues indicate the
need for oral practice rather than study.
4. The applicability of the monitor is narrow.
Para se aprender a gramtica de uma lngua, preciso primeiramente saber falar esta
lngua.
Quanto maior a irregularidade da lngua-alvo, tanto menor a utilidade de se estud-la.
A escassez de pistas fonticas do ingls reforam a necessidade de prtica oral em vez de
estudo.
A utilidade da funo de monitoramento da fala limitada.
Conclusions:
1. If we want to learn about a language, we have to
acquire it first.
2. The more irregular the target language, the more limited
the result of studying it.
3. English scarcity of phonetic clues indicate the need for
oral practice rather than study.
4. The applicability of the monitor is narrow.
Para se aprender a gramtica de uma lngua, preciso primeiramente saber falar esta lngua.
Quanto maior a irregularidade da lngua-alvo, tanto menor a utilidade de se estud-la.
A escassez de pistas fonticas do ingls reforam a necessidade de prtica oral em vez de
estudo.
A utilidade da funo de monitoramento da fala limitada.
Abordagens inspiradas em learning podero mais facilmente desgastar a motivao.
Conclusions:
If we want to learn about a language, we have to acquire it first.
The more irregular the target language, the more limited the result of
studying it.
3. English scarcity of phonetic clues indicate the need for oral practice
rather than study.
4. The applicability of the monitor is narrow.
5. Learning-inspired approaches are more likely to drain motivation
before proficiency is attained.
6. The younger the learner, the more efficient acquisition will
1.
2.
be over learning.
Para se aprender a gramtica de uma lngua, preciso primeiramente saber falar esta lngua.
Quanto maior a irregularidade da lngua-alvo, tanto menor a utilidade de se estud-la.
A escassez de pistas fonticas do ingls reforam a necessidade de prtica oral em vez de estudo.
A utilidade da funo de monitoramento da fala limitada.
Abordagens inspiradas em learning podero mais facilmente desgastar a motivao.
Quanto mais jovem for o aprendiz, maior ser a eficcia de acquisition sobre learning.
Instead of a
syllabus, language
acquisition
programs offer
intercultural
communication
through a personal
relationship.
Em vez de um plano didtico, programas inspirados em
language acquisition oferecem comunicao intercultural
atravs de um relacionamento pessoal.
Conclusions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Para se aprender a gramtica de uma lngua, preciso primeiramente saber falar esta lngua.
Quanto maior a irregularidade da lngua-alvo, tanto menor a utilidade de se estud-la.
A escassez de pistas fonticas do ingls reforam a necessidade de prtica oral em vez de estudo.
A utilidade da funo de monitoramento da fala limitada.
Abordagens inspiradas em learning podero mais facilmente desgastar a motivao.
Quanto mais jovem for o aprendiz, maior ser a eficcia de acquisition sobre learning.
Programas inspirados em language acquisition exigem modelos nativos de performance.
GROUP SIZE
GROUP SIZE
GROUP SIZE
GROUP SIZE
GROUP SIZE
GROUP SIZE
GROUP SIZE
Conclusions:
1. If we want to learn about a language, we have to acquire it first.
2. The more irregular the target language, the more limited the result of studying it.
3. English scarcity of phonetic clues indicate the need for oral practice rather than
study.
4. The applicability of the monitor is narrow.
5. Learning-inspired approaches are more likely to drain motivation before
proficiency is attained.
6. The younger the learner, the more efficient acquisition will be over learning.
7. Acquisition-inspired programs require native-like performance models.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Para se aprender a gramtica de uma lngua, preciso primeiramente saber falar esta lngua.
Quanto maior a irregularidade da lngua-alvo, tanto menor a utilidade de se estud-la.
A escassez de pistas fonticas do ingls reforam a necessidade de prtica oral em vez de estudo.
A utilidade da funo de monitoramento da fala limitada.
Abordagens inspiradas em learning podero mais facilmente desgastar a motivao.
Quanto mais jovem for o aprendiz, maior ser a eficcia de acquisition sobre learning.
Programas inspirados em language acquisition exigem modelos nativos de performance.
Programas inspirados em language acquisition exigem grupos pequenos.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
APPENDIX
My acquisition of English
At the age of 27, I
went to live and work
in the U.S. for 4
months. Two years
later I went again for a
period of 11 months.
At the age of 37 I went
for the third time for a
period of 18 months to
attend graduate
school and since then
Ive had contact with
native speakers on a
regular basis.
24 to 29 in Brazil
29 to 30 in Japan