Prof.Grama
Irina Cătălina,ȘcoalaGimnazialăGâdinți
English
has become the leading language of international communication, the most
popular language used on the Internet, the
language of science, and also the language of the Film Industry (which means
you no longer have to rely on subtitles). It is a widely spoken language
in the world and the official language of 53 countries.
The term Second Language Acquisition
(L2) refers to the conscious or unconscious process by which a language, other
than the mother tongue, is acquired inside or outside a classroom (Ellis,
1997). The major goals of SLA research[1]
are to describe the process of L2 acquisition, to identify the external and
internal factors that determine the way how students acquire an L2 and to
explain how the student’s knowledge develops throughout the stages of
acquisition.
The distinction between acquisition and learning has become generally accepted and used to indicate the
difference between the subconscious process of acquisition and the conscious
process of learning via instruction (Stephen Krashen’s Monitor Model 1977)[2].
Krashen’s (an expert in the field of
linguistics, specialized in theories of language acquisition and development)
theory of second language acquisition consists of the following hypotheses:
v
the Acquisition-Learning hypothesis,
v
the Monitor hypothesis,
v
the Natural Order hypothesis,
v
the Input hypothesis,
v
the Affective Filter hypothesis.
Out of all,
the most important and widely known is The Acquisition-Learning distinction.
Krashen considers that there are two independent systems of second language
performance: the acquired system or acquisition
(which is the product of a subconscious process, very similar to the process
children undergo when they acquire their first language and it requires
meaningful interaction in the target language – natural communication) and the learned system or learning
(which is the product of a conscious
process, which results in conscious knowledge about the language, knowledge of grammar rules may be a suitable
example). According to Krashen, learningis
less important thanacquisition.
The Monitor hypothesis
explains the relationship between acquisition and learning and defines the
influence of the latter on the former. The monitoring function is the practical
result of the learned grammar. It appears that the role of conscious learning
is limited in second language performance. The role of the monitor is, or
should be, minor, being used only to correct deviations from normal speech and to give speech a more polished appearance.
The Natural Order hypothesis is based on research
findings which suggested that the acquisition of grammatical structures follows
a specific, natural order and is not
influenced by first language background, age, condition of exposure.
Grammatical structures tend to be acquired in different moments of the learning
process, some early while others late and that depends on the given language.
According to Krashen, the implication of the natural order hypothesis is not
that a language program syllabus should be based on the order found in the
studies. In fact, he rejects grammatical sequencing when the goal is language
acquisition.
The Input hypothesis is an explanation of
how the student acquires a second language. It is only concerned with acquisition, not learning. According to this hypothesis, the student improves and
progresses along the natural order
when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her
current stage of linguistic competence..
The Affective Filter hypothesis, represent Krashen’s view
that a number of affective variables
(like motivation, self-confidence and anxiety) play a facilitative, but
non-causal, role in second language acquisition. Krashen claims that if a
student has a good self-image, he is self-confident, he has the chance to break
the affective filter and to decrease anxiety and in this way to better aquire
the second language. The opposite character, with a combination of negative
characteristics like low motivation, anxiety, low-self-esteem, will raise the
affective filter, in this way blocking the acquisition.
[1]
Ellis, R., Second Language Acquisition,
Oxford University Press, New York, 1997.
[2] Krashen, S., "Some issues relating
to the monitor model". In Brown, H; Yorio, Carlos; Crymes, Ruth. Teaching and
learning English as a Second Language: Trends in Research and Practice: On
TESOL '77: Selected Papers from the Eleventh Annual Convention of Teachers of
English to Speakers of Other Languages, Miami, Florida, April 26 – May 1, 1977. Washington, DC: Teachers of English to
Speakers of Other Languages. pp. 144–158
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