(SKKN CHẤT 2020) first and second language acquisition implications for ELT

VINH PHUC EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICENGO GIA TU HIGH SCHOOL REPORT ON RESEARCH Research on: FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT By: Nguyen Thi Viet Ha Research

VINH PHUC EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICE

NGO GIA TU HIGH SCHOOL

REPORT ON RESEARCH

Research on:

FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE

ACQUISITION IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT

By: Nguyen Thi Viet Ha Research code: 12.61…

Vinh Phuc, January, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATION

Page

1 Rationale for choosing the study 1

5 Date applied for implementing the study 1

7 Knowledge, skill standards and competence development 2

II.1.1 Grammar Teaching based on Behaviourism 18

II.1.2 Grammar Teaching based on Constructivism 20

REFERENCES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

SLA: Second Language Acquisition

ZPD: zone of proximal development

FL: Foreign Language

PPP: presentation, practice, production

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Nowadays English has become an international language in the world Teaching and learningEnglish play an important part in integration, cooperation and development among thecountries Vietnam is not an exception of this process

It can be denied that understanding the theories and researches relating to second languageacquisition is very important for teachers in their teaching process The ideas drawn fromresearches and theories in second language acquisition are also valuable in helping teachers

to evaluate claims made by proponents of various language teaching methods With thelimitation of this paper, I would like to introduce to Vietnamese teachers (1) three theories ofthe second language acquisition: Bahaviorisim, Cognitivism, Constructivism; (2)Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism; and offer some (3) Implications forteaching English grammar teaching to Vietnamese learners as a second language

2 Research:

Name of the research: First and second language acquisition implications for

ELT Author:

- Full name: Nguyen Thi Viet Ha

- Address: Ngo Gia Tu High School, Lap Thach, VinhPhuc

- Phone number: 0989342656

- Email: viethangt78@gmail.com

Research investor: Nguyen Thi Viet Ha

3 Scope of the study

This study focuses on:

1 Three theories of the second language acquisition: Bahaviorisim, Cognitivism, Constructivism;

2 Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism;

3 Implications for teaching English grammar to Vietnamese learners as a second

language

4 Targeted levels of the study

Pre-intermediate (students at grade 10)

5 Date applied for implementing the study:

- Academic year 2019-2020, first applied on October 2, 2019

6 Methods

- Investigate the theories, provide a general description of the study

- Practical applications in teaching

7 Knowledge and skill standards and students’ competence development

- Apply theories of the second language acquisition in English language teaching

- Apply knowledge in real life

7.3 Competence Development

- Improve teaching methods for teachers

- Develop students’ ability in mastering English

- Develop students’ ability to interact with others

- Develop students’ ability to apply their knowledge in real situations in life

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

I LITERATURE REVIEW.

I 1 Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

Nina Spada and Patsy M Lightbown (2010) stated that second language acquisition research

focuses on the developing knowledge and use of a language by children and adults whoalready know at least one other language

Second language acquisition (SLA) is a process in which a second language is learned oracquired, in addition to having a first language

I.2 Theories of Second Language Acquisition (Psychological Perspectives )

I.2.1 Behaviourism.

Behaviourism had a great effect on the teaching of second and foreign language between the1940s and the 1970s It was influenced by the development of the audio-lingual method.There were some researchers studying this theory such as Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike,

John B Watson, B.F Skinner , but B.F Skinner, a leading American psychologist of the

twentieth century – and perhaps even the greatest psychologists in the world , is consideredthe father of Behaviorism

B.F Skinner ( 1904-1990)

The theory states that instruction is to elicit the desired response from the learner who ispresented with a target structure Students who are passive will receive information

memorized dialogues and sentence patterns by heart Learning is a process of ‘conditioning’

in an environment of stimulus, rewards and punishments It is lecture - based and highly structured The teacher is responsible for students learning The theory indicates that speech

is important because it is the first medium that the child masters Skills are taught in a specific order: Listening- Speaking- then Reading / Writing.

In the process, teachers present a small part of language as a stimulus, learners repeat orsubstitute.This is reinforced by the teacher The learner develops habits through repeatinghabits Learning a language is considered as the process of acquiring a set of suitablemechanical habits

I 2.2 Cognitivism

Studied by Jean Piaget, Stephen Krashen and Chomsky, Cognitive psychology focuses onhow the people think and learn The cognitive processes are related to learning and how thelearner is engaged in the learning process

Jean Piaget ( 1896-1980) Stephen Krashen ( 1941)

Noam Chomsky ( 1928)

The learner plays an active part in the process of learning The teacher helps learnersorganize new information for later recall Learning is an active process in which learnersconstruct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge The learner selectsand transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on acognitive structure to do so

Krashen’s model

Krashen’s model is based on 5 hypotheses:

- Acquisition/learning hypothesis: Krashen indicates that learning and acquisition are two

distinguishing processes We “acquire” the second language as the same way that childrenpick up their mother tongue – with no conscious attention to language form

- Monitor hypothesis: Acquisition is more important than learning as the role of the latter is

only to monitor what one says and writes in the second language

- The natural order hypothesis: There is a natural order of morpheme acquisition that applies

to second language acquisition

- The input hypothesis: The process provides learners with comprehensible input- language

which they can understand and which is just above the learners’ level of competence

- The affective filter hypothesis: It is also called ‘affective filter’ in which the learners must

be positive and motivated acquire input

Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor Stage (birth - 2 years) : actions become more intentional and integrated into

patterns, there is an increased awareness of self and surroundings

Preoperational Thought Stage (2 - 7 years ): development of language and conceptual

thought occurs

Concrete Operations Stage (7 - 10 years): increased ability to apply logical thought to concrete problems, thinking is still primarily related to immediate experience

Formal Operations Stage (10 years on): ability to apply logic to a variety of problems;higher order thinking occurs.

Implications for teaching

Piaget states that children learn effectively through interacting in meaningful ways with theworld around them “Authentic and real” experience is very useful for learners to acquire thesecond language

I 2 3 Constructivism

Constructivism is influenced by the study of Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, Lev Vygotsky According to constructivism, learning is a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts

Cognitive Constructivism – Piaget

Piaget indicated that we have been actively related to the learning process since we wereborn We learn things from our experiences but it is various at different stages of our lives.Cognitive development occurs through a sequence of successive qualitative changes incognitive structures

Social constructivism – Vygostky

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

Vygotsky’s theory indicates that knowledge is co-constructed and that individuals learn fromone another Learners engage in the learning process with the assistance of other people.Cognitive development, including language development, is a result of social interactions

Zone of proximal development is the gap between what a child knows and is able to do aloneand what the child can do with help In this zone a child is able to solve problems on theirown with the help of others.

In the classroom: Teachers should give tasks which are too difficult for the child to do alonebut possible with the help of adults and more skilled peers Students can learn problemsolving skills through this type of tasks

I 3 Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism I.

3.1 Similarities between Behaviourism and Constructivism

1 Both theories require the internal and external conditions for learning to take place These conditions are verbal information, cognitive strategies, intellectual skills and motor skills

2 Both constructivism and behaviorism are theories of learning and relating to explain how astudent learns and acquires knowledge

3 They both have a direct influence on the methods used to pass information to learners both

in the traditional classroom and in web basing on instructions laid out

4 Both theories try to define the role of a learner in an educational system

5 Both theories try to explain the manner in which this structuring, presentation, and

implementation of learning materials are executed

I 3 2 Differences between Behaviourism and Constructivism

Learning Theories

B.F Skinner Jean Piaget

John B Watson

Learning -Stimulus-Response- -Communication, Interaction

PPP - Constructing one’s own

- Through positive / negative knowledge of the worldreinforcement and punishment through past experiences and

group interaction

Emphasis - Imitation/repetition/ -Communication, Interaction

rote learning - Focused on the learner’s role

- Focused on observable, in their own learningmeasurable behaviors

Teacher’s role - Teacher - centered - Act as facilitator / guide /

- Encourage motivation consultant

- Identify errors in behavior - Identify errors in beliefs/

- Appreciate rewards and understanding

punishment - Develop process/ sequence of

learning

Learners’ role - Passive responding to - Student-centered

environmental stimuli - Information constructor

communicative situations/natural context

Input Modified/ constituent parts authentic

Extrinsic / rewards and Intrinsic / integrative/

Age Younger is better Age is flexible

Children can imitate soundseasily

Factors influence Nature of reward, punishment, - Engagement, participation,

Role of memory - Memorize , repeating habits - Prior knowledge remixed to

and experiences- rewards and current context

punishments are the mostinfluential

Mistake Bad, should be avoided Mistakes are seen as a good

sign of learning

The representative Audio- lingualism Task-based

Technology Educational software can be - Group work, PowerPoint

Support used to assess the students project activities encourage

students to work together andcombine their knowledge inlearning process

Advantages/ Easy for T to control Able to communicate

Strength Easy to remember the input Active learners

(modified/broken)

Disadvantages/ Rote learning Fossilization

Drawbacks Passive learners

Implications to Children can feel safe if Scaffold Ss to avoid

ELT Audio - lingualism is applied fossilization

during their beginning stage Ss should be exposed to

real-life communicative situations

II IMPLICATIONS OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION TO ELT

II 1.Implications in grammar teaching.

II.1.1 Grammar Teaching based on Behaviourism

Lesson: Future plans using “going to”- UNIT 2: English 10

Time: 30 mins

Objectives: Use “going to” + infinitive to talk about future plans

Structures: "What are you going to do (this/next weekend / during the summer)?"

"I’m (not) going to…",

( +) S + am/ is /are + going to + V(infi)

- I am going to visit the museum this weekend

- He / She is going to visit the museum this weekend.

- You/ We / They are going to visit the museum this Whole class weekend.

(-) S + am/ is /are + not + going to + V(infi)

- I am not going to visit the museum go this weekend

- He / She is not( =isn’t) going to visit the museum this Whole class weekend.

- You/ We / They are not (= aren’t) going to visit the museum this weekend.

( ?) Am/ Is /Are + S + going to + V(infi) ? Yes, S + am/is/are No,

S + am/is/are +not

- Are you going to visit the museum this weekend? Whole class

Yes, I am / No, I am not.

- Is he going to visit the museum this weekend?

Yes, he is / No, he isn’t.

- What are you going to do this weekend ?

I am going to visit the museum

- Where is he going to go this weekend ? He is going to go to the beach.

2 Use

- Teacher introduce the use :

- to talk about future plans and intentions Usually the decision about the future plans has already been made.

- She is going to eat out this weekend.

We use be going to to predict something that we think is certain to happen or which we have evidence for now.

- The cloud is black It is going to rain.

- Teacher asks students to give more examples basing on the structure provided

Activity 1 Complete the correct form of the verb tobe 1.

I …… going to do my homework

2 What ……you going to do on Sunday ?

3 My friends …… going to come

4 She …… going to read comic books

5 … your teacher going to buy a car ?

Activity 2 : Make negative sentences using tobe going to 1.

She ……….sleep

2 You ………go home

3 We ……… make the beds

1 Don’t forget your a They are going to have aumbrella drink.

Individually

2 I am hungry b You are going to be late

3 My friends are c I’m going to buy her athirsty present

4 Hurry up ! d It’s going to rain

5 It’s grandmother’s e I’m going to make abirthday on Sunday sandwich

Homework Revise the form and the use of to be going to

(2 minutes)

II.1.2.Grammar Teaching based on Constructivism.

Lesson: Future plans using “going to”

Time: 45 mins

Objectives: Use “going to” + infinitive to talk about future plans

Structures: "What are you going to do (this/next weekend / during the summer)?"

"I’m (not) going to…",

Procedure

Time/Stages Activities Interactions

(5 minutes) Activity 1 Introduce the actions vocabulary: play game

- Divide students into groups of 3 or 4, sitting around a table

- Keep a card and say out the verb on the card (e.g kicking a Group workball, hitting a tennis ball, throwing a basketball, etc for the

“play a sport” card) until someone shouts out the correctanswer

- Students in turns say out the verb The student who canguess the answer gets a point Continue with the next studentuntil all the cards have been used up The student with themost points will be the winner

download by : skknchat@gmail.com

(7 minutes)

- Teacher writes on the board “This weekend” Take one of thecards from the groups and write the words from it on the board,

e.g “go shopping” Point to yourself and say you are

going to visit the museum this weekend and the phrases on theboard, say “Yes” Put a check mark (✓) next to the activity Call

some students and ask, “go shopping?” and elicit “yes” or “no”.

Next, write “I am going to” on the board Say “This weekend, I

Write “I am not going to” on the board

Write two more activities (e.g “eat out” and “sleep a lot”) on theboard and ask students to say the structure

Next, on the right-side of the board write “During the summer”,write two actions on the board and ask students to continue tospeak out the structures

Activity 3 Practice saying future plans

- Ask students to work in groups, use different cards and say

Whole class