Professional Documents
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Adult Language Learning
Adult Language Learning
Anderson
1. Introduction
Before discussing the important differences that exist between child and
adult language learning, it will first be necessary to define certain terms.
Explicit learning
The learner will be consciously aware that he/she has
modified his/her knowledge base.
Implicit learning
There will be a change in the learners knowledge base but
this will be outside his/her conscious introspection.
You may also see the following distinction made in the literature:
Foreign language learning Takes place outside of the community in which
the target language is spoken.
Cognitive differences
Adults have already learned a first language.
Adults have better-developed analytic abilities than children.
Adults have metalinguistic knowledge that children lack.
Affective differences
Adults are motivated to learn in a way that does not apply in the
case of children acquiring an L1.
Biological differences
Two versions of the critical period hypothesis are cited in the L2
literature:
o After a critical period, which ends at approximately 12 years of
age, we lose the biological attributes that allow a child to
effortlessly learn a first language.
Further comparisons:
L1 acquisition L2 learning
Proceeds rapidly Proceeds relatively slowly
Unconscious and effortless Effortful
Similar stages of development Recognizable stages of development
but subject to greater individual
variation
No negative evidence Negative evidence readily available
(particularly in classroom setting)
Exposure to spontaneous speech Training and instruction typically
is sufficient. required in addition to exposure to
spontaneous speech
Adult-like mastery of all aspects Fozzilization of errors is
of the language commonplace, as are errors involving
a transfer of features from the L1,
and the outcome of learning is not
the same across individuals.
3. Analyzing L2 data
Critical period
Ultimate attainment
Availability of principles of UG
Availability of parameter-resetting
Victor was captured in 1800, after emerging from the woods in an area of
Southern France. He did not speak and showed no evidence of hearing.
He was judged to be about twelve years old and his appearance suggested
that he had been living in the wild for a prolonged period of time.
B. Genie
Genie bad cold live father house I had a bad cold when I lived in
my fathers house.
The greater the social distance between the learner and native speakers
of the language, the greater the likelihood that the learner will fail to
achieve native-like competence. So, the quality and quantity of input is
key to the learners eventual success in mastering the L2. If social
distance remains a feature of the learners experience, then his/her
knowledge of the L2 may stabilize (or fossilize) at some level short of full
competence.
Definition of a pidgin:
A. No access to UG
Example of one such account: Finer & Broselow (1986) (discussed in Cook
1993:182-3): Korean learners of English adopt a distinctive value of the
parameter associated with reflexive binding, rather than either the L1 or
L2 value.
Reading recommendations
More advanced
Sorace, A. 2003. Near-nativeness in C. Doughty and M. Long (eds): The
Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Blackwell.
Ritchie, W. and Bhatia, T. (eds.) 1996. Handbook of Second Language
Acquisition. Academic Press. (The chapter written by K. Gregg, entitled
The logical and developmental problems of second language acquisition is
especially recommended, although it is quite advanced. Papers
contributed by L. White, S. Flynn and J. Schacter are also worthwhile.)
Herschensohn, J. 2000. The Second Time Around: Minimalism and L2
acquisition. J. Benjamins.
Nicol, J. 2001. One Mind, Two Languages: Bilingual Language Processing.
Blackwell.
Appendix I
Declaratives
Negatives
Interrogatives