SKKN: First and second language acquisition implications for ELT

It can be denied that understanding the theories and researches relating to second language acquisition is very important for teachers in their teaching process. The ideas drawn from researches and theories in second language acquisition are also valuable in helping teachers to evaluate claims made by proponents of various language teaching methods. With the limitation of this paper, I would like to introduce to Vietnamese teachers (1) three theories of the second language acquisition: Bahaviorisim, Cognitivism, Constructivism; (2) Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism; and offer some (3) Implications for teaching English grammar teaching to Vietnamese learners as a second language.

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 PART I : INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for choosing the study

2 Research

3 Scope of the study

4 Targeted level of the study

5 Date applied for implementing the study

6 Methods

7 Knowledge, skill standards and competence development

1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 PART II: DEVELOPMENT 3

I 2 Theories of Language Acquisition 3

II IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT ( Lesson Plan) 13

II.1.1 Grammar Teaching based on Behaviourism 18

II.1.2 Grammar Teaching based on Constructivism 20

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 secondlanguage

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 orbuilds new ideas or concepts

Cognitive Constructivism – Piaget

Piaget indicated that we have been actively related to the learning process since we were born.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 Theseconditions 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, andimplementation of learning materials are executed

I 3 2 Differences between Behaviourism and Constructivism

Jean PiagetJerome BrunerLev Vygotsky

Learning

procedure

-Stimulus-Response- Reinforcement

PPP

- Through positive / negative reinforcement and punishment

-Communication, InteractionTest-Teach-Test

- Constructing one’s own knowledge of the world through past experiences and group interaction

Emphasis - Imitation/repetition/

rote learning

- Focused on observable, measurable behaviors

-Communication, Interaction

- Focused on the learner’s role

in their own learning

Teacher’s role - Teacher - centered

- Encourage motivation

- Identify errors in behavior

- Appreciate rewards and punishment

- Act as facilitator / guide / consultant

- Identify errors in beliefs/ understanding

- Develop process/ sequence oflearning

Learners’ role - Passive responding to

Input Modified/ constituent parts authentic

Children can imitate sounds easily

Age is flexible

Factors influence

learning

Nature of reward, punishment, stimuli

- Engagement, participation, social, cultural interaction

Role of memory - Memorize , repeating habits

and experiences- rewards andpunishments are the most influential

- Prior knowledge remixed to current context

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

Task-basedCommunicativeInteractive

Advantages/

Strength

Easy for T to control Easy to remember the input (modified/broken)

Able to communicateActive learners

Disadvantages/

Drawbacks

Rote learningPassive learners

Scaffold Ss to avoid fossilization

Ss should be exposed to life communicative situations

real-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

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

Presentation

(10 minutes)

1 Structure: Introduce "going to” + Verb(infinitive)

- Teacher gives the structure of “be going to” for futureplans

( +) 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 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 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?

Yes, I am / No, I am not.

- Is he going to visit the museum this weekend?

Yes, he is / No, he isn’t.

- Are they going to visit the museum go this weekend?

Yes, they are / No, they aren’t.

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

- What are you going to do this weekend ?

I am going to visit the museum

- Where is he going to go this weekend ?

Whole class

Whole class

Whole class

Whole class

(18 minutes)

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 thestructure 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

c I’m going to buy her apresent

4 Hurry up ! d It’s going to rain

5 It’s grandmother’sbirthday on Sunday

e I’m going to make asandwich

Individually

Individually

Individually

(2 minutes)

Revise the form and the use of to be going to

II.1.2.Grammar Teaching based on Constructivism.

Lesson: Future plans using “going to”

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

(5 minutes)

(7 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 aball, 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

Activity 2 Introduce "going to” + V(infinitive)

- Teacher writes on the board “This weekend” Take one ofthe cards 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”