Theoretical perspectives on mobile language learning diaries and noticing for learners,teachers and researchers

This paper considers the issue of 'noticing' in second language acquisition, and argues for the potential of handheld devices to: (i) support language learners in noticing and recording noticed features 'on the spot', to help them develop their second language system; (ii) help language teachers better understand the specific difficulties of individuals or those from a particular language background; and (iii) facilitate data collection by applied linguistics researchers, which can be fed back into educational applications for language learning. We consider: theoretical perspectives drawn from the second language acquisition literature, relating these to the practice of writing language learning diaries; and the potential for learner modelling to facilitate recording and prompting noticing in mobile assisted language learning contexts. We then offer guidelines for developers of mobile language learning solutions to support the development of language awareness in learners

Diachronic and/or synchronic variation? The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in L2 French.

A majority of the early research in Second Language Acquisition focused on diachronic variation in the learners’ interlanguage (IL), that is, differences in the IL linked to a supposed increase in knowledge between two points in time (cf. Tarone 1988). The last decade has seen an increase in studies combining a diachronic perspective with a synchronic one, that is, where variation in production is seen as the consequence of individual differences among learners (gender, extraversion, learning strategies, attitudes, motivation, sociobiographical variables linked to the language learning experience and the use of the target language (TL)). In this perspective, non-native-like patterns are not automatically assumed to be the result of incomplete knowledge, but other possible causes are taken into consideration such as temporary inaccessibility of information in stressful situations or even a conscious decision by the L2 user to deviate from the TL norm

Language transfer as a learning strategy: a case study in interlanguage

This study is an attempt to show that language transfer is a notion which is still relevant in a theory of language learning, at least in a formal multilingual educational setting. The first chapter, which is the background -against which the problem of language transfer is perceived, deals mainly with the different views of errors from contrastive analysis to error analysis. The second chapter deals with the methodology used for the collection of data, the data themselves, the subjects and the setting. And finally, in the last chapter, the problems linked with a theory of language learning seen from the learner's standpoint are studied. The advantages the teacher can show from a knowledge of interlanguage theory are briefly examined too in the last part

Error Analysis on Learners' Interlanguage and Intralanguage: a Case Study of Two Adolescent Students

This research focuses on exploring learners' language, especially the errors that are performed by the English learners. The subjects of this study are two adolescent students who have been learning English since early age. The data analyzed is collected by doing the interview session. Identification and classification are done toward the errors performed by the subjects. After that, the pattern is drawn to find out the subjects' nature of language. The result shows that both interlanguage and intralanguage affect the students' English. However, interlanguage affects the errors more than does intralanguage. It proves that the nature of L1 affects the L2 acquisition. The errors occurred in terms of subject-verb agreement, tenses, and relative clause. At the end, the appropriate feedback given to speaking performance is implicit correction such as recast and prompts

Blistering barnacles! What language do multilinguals swear in?!

The present contribution focuses on the effects of language dominance / attrition, context of acquisition, age of onset of learning, frequency of general use of a language and sociodemographic variables on self-reported language choice for swearing. The analysis is based on a database to which 1039 multilinguals contributed through a web based questionnaire. Results suggest that, according to the self-reports, swearing happens most frequently in the multilinguals’ dominant language. Mixed instruction, an early start in the learning process, and frequent use of a language all contribute to the choice of that language for swearing. Sociodemographic variables were not found to have any effect. Frequency of language choice for swearing was found to be positively correlated with perceived emotional force of swearwords in that language. Quantitative results based on answers to close-ended questions corresponded to participants’ responses to open-ended questions

Native Language (L1) Transfer in Second Language Learning: From Form to Concept, the Implications

The influence that a student’s first language (L1) can have on their acquisition of a second language (L2) has been frequently noted by language teachers (Swan, 1997; Jarvis, 2007) and documented in the literature for decades. However, thinking has gradually evolved in terms of the form that influence could take. Early research work focussed on transfer of syntax or form, but recently the role that L1 conceptual information plays in transfer has come to the fore. The 1960s saw a plethora of contrastive studies inspired by the work of Robert Lado (1957), where languages were analysed using the prevailing structuralist approaches to language description. These contrastive studies were conceived with the view to predicting the types of errors speakers of one language would make while learning another, and this became known as the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) (Lado, 1957). This view was based in the behaviourist paradigm of the time which saw language learning as habit formation. This implied that learning a new language meant the transfer of elements and features from the first language to the target language, and that old ‘habits’ may interfere with second language acquisition (Aarts, 1982). Pairs of languages were compared in terms of their similarities and differences looking at linguistic units in relation to the overarching system to which they belonged (see Vinay & Darbelnet, 1960; Agard & Di Pietro, 1965, for examples). However, the CAH was severely criticised in the late 1960s, as it did not seem to be able to predict any classroom errors that language teachers had not already noticed, and was not able to offer any solutions with regard to how to deal with these errors (Corder, 1967).peer-reviewe

Permeability Of Interlanguage System: A Case Study Of Interlanguage System Of Junior High School Students Of SMP N 2 Surakarta Learning English As A Foreign Language

The present study aims at describing the permeability of interlanguage: a case study of interlanguage system of junior high school students of SMP N 2 Surakarta learning English as a foreign language. The objective of the study is to find out (1) the types of the students’ native language (Indonesian) and the target language (English) influence into the students’ interlanguage system; (2) the degree of the influence of Indonesian (as the students’ native language) as well as the target language (English) into the students’ interlanguage system. The type of the research is descriptive qualitative research. The writer uses elicitation technique and documentation in collecting data. The data of the present study consist of erroneous sentences taken from composition written by the students. In collecting the data, there are at least three major stages have been done: the writer assigned the students to write English composition, the writer reads every composition accurately to identify the erroneous sentences, the writers wrote down all the erroneous sentences into a list and used them as the data. In analyzing the data there are at least four major stages have been done, namely: identification of errors, classification, description, and explanation. To recognize the errors, the writer has utilized the framework provided by Shridar. The writer has accumulated approximately 288 sentences containing different type of errors and used as the data of this study. The errors accumulated, then, classified using comparative taxonomy in order to find out the influence of the students’ native language (Indonesian) and the target language (English) into the students’ interlanguage system The writer reaches the conclusion from this study as follows: (1) the students’ interlanguage system is influenced by booth native language (Indonesian) and target language (English); (2) the influence is in the level of morphology and syntax; (3) the students’ native language (Indonesian) contribute more influence compared with the target language (English) as the percentage shows 56.25% of Indonesian influence and 43.75% of English influence. Keywords: interlanguage system, permeability of interlanguage system, native language influence, target language influence

Instructed Interlanguage Development

Several theorists have claimed that interlanguage (IL) development in instructed (classroom) learners does not differ significantly from that in learners acquiring a second language (SL) naturalistically. The processses and/or sequences in SL development are held to be the same in both acquisitional contexts. Accordingly, some writers on language teaching have advocated provision of "natural" language learning experiences for classroom learners, and the elimination of structural grading, a focus on form and error correction, even for adults. This paper examines the evidence offered in support of the claims concerning instructed IL development. Some recent studies are summarized which illustrate the potential of formal instruction in four areas: (1) acquisition processes, (2) acquisition sequences, (3) rate of acquisition, and (4) level of ultimate SLA attainment. The conclusion is that the claimed similarities between instructed and naturalistic SL acquisition are based on insufficient and weak evidence, that instruction affects learning positively in three of the above four areas, and that the prescriptions for language teaching, therefore, are certainly premature and probably wrong