Multilingual Competence

Multilingualism is a widespread phenomenon in modern societies. A considerable number of people speak more than two languages in their everyday life due to historical, social, or economic reasons (Cenoz & Genesee, 1998). They may live in a multilingual community as a result of colonialism and immigration, or they might be in constant contact with different monolingual communities because of globalization (Kemp, 2009). The continuing growth of individuals and communities that use three or more languages has led many researchers to investigate multilingualism and multilingual acquisition. Of the many key issues within the field of multilingualism, this short piece will focus on multilingual competence from the perspective of proficiency and acquisition goals. Identifying the extent to which an individual should be proficient in each of his or her languages is essential for defining a multilingual and for understanding which goals are attainable in multilingual education

Effects of Output and Note-Taking on Noticing and Interlanguage Development

Recent literature in second language acquisition (SLA) suggests that opportunities for output production contribute to target like acquisition. In the course of second language (L2) production, learners are prompted to notice the gaps and/or holes in their knowledge, and thus give extra attention to such discrepancies in subsequent input (Swain, 1995). Given that whether these gaps and/or holes are indeed noticed by the learners is crucial for successful intake, researchers have resorted to approaches such as note-taking and think-aloud as measures of noticing. This study investigates the role of written output in helping learners notice linguistic forms provided in subsequent input. In particular, it examines note-taking as a way to facilitate noticing. Twenty-three advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) learners were randomly assigned to two groups ─ a note-taking group and a non-note-taking group ─ and were asked to complete a three-stage writing task: (i) to give a written description to a picture, (ii) to compare the description to a model text, and (iii) to rewrite the description. This was immediately followed by a retrospective questionnaire designed to shed light on the “noticing process.” The results suggest that written output has a positive effect on learners‟ ability to notice linguistic forms that they have previously found problematic in subsequent input, and that note-taking apparently helps learners better use the linguistic forms included in subsequent input in their own rewriting

Graduate Recital: Young Eun Kang, Piano; November 7, 2009

Kemp Recital HallNovember 7, 2009Saturday Evening6:30 p.m

A Discussion of Studies in CDST: An Introduction

In this special issue on Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), four empirical studies (by Ahmed, Choe, Ciriani Dean, and Van Horn) investigate interlanguage through a CDST perspective. As a way of extending the discussion on CDST, students in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) doctoral seminar in the Applied Linguistics and TESOL Program at Teachers College, Columbia University were asked to select and discuss one empirical study published in the current issue, reflecting on the following: the theoretical viewpoint, the findings, the methodology, and/or the significance and implications. In response, three papers were submitted to the present forum