Error Analysis : The Field Of Second Language Acquisition Research

Judie Haynes’ article, “Stages of Second Language Acquisition”, clearly states five stages that a new learner of English may go through. In Haynes’ theory, there are five stages in total, and they are pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. According to Haynes, new learners of English acquire language by going through the same stages. However, how much time each student spends at a particular stage may be different. Despite the different time length, the stages of people acquiring new language are worth discussing.

Language carries the beauty and persona of our thought process and the study of Linguistics helps us develop insights, appreciate and analyze many aspects of this powerful medium of expression. My fascination with Second Language Acquisition (SLA) began with the course ‘Language Acquisition and Learning’ that I took while I was in the 4th year of my undergraduate program at the University of Dhaka. In that course, for the first time, I was introduced to various theories and hypotheses about how people acquire a second language, such as Stephen Krashen’s five main hypotheses on language acquisition (the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis, the input hypothesis, and the affective filter hypothesis), Larry Selinker’s Interlanguage theory, John Schumann’s Acculturation model, and Howard Giles’s Accommodation theory. These theories helped me realize the robustness and richness of SLA research and made a permanent impression on my mind about this field. Besides SLA, I was also acquainted with Psycholinguistics through this course. I have learned about several theories of first language acquisition, e.g. the Behaviorist theory, the Innatist theory, the Cognitive theory, and the Maturational theory. It is worth mentioning here that this course really helped me set my dream to become an academic as well as a researcher in the field of language acquisition and learning.

Linguistic structure is the “social product of a language faculty” and “a body of necessary conventions adopted by society to enables the members of society utilise their language faulty” (Saussure 2014, p.11).

In the book Why Tesol?, it states that the major tenets of Cummins’ model of second language acquisition is the framework that focuses on the “distinction between social language and academic language.”Cummins suggests that academic language takes longer to acquire and social language is easier because it is in the “here and now”. Cummins’ Quadrant Model consists of 4 quadrants: Quadrant 1 - Social language; Quadrant 2 - Target language; Quadrant 3 - Target language; Quadrant 4 - Academic language. (p. 152). Although, there are many models of second language acquisition, I felt that Cummin’s model was a great representative of where Carlos’ second language acquisition has fallen behind. When beginning remediation with Carlos’ my first priority is to provide him with a solid foundation of academic vocabulary that will assist him throughout his learning experience. This process is beneficial when teaching content area. In order for Carlos to succeed in the classroom he will need to become familiar and be able to comprehend the content area. Before beginning each lesson I would have Carlos share his knowledge of the vocabulary words and academic language that is beneficial to the lesson. This will provide insight to see which areas I need to review and which areas he has a strong foundation in. Next, I would provide Carlos with various opportunities to obtain the vocabulary needed in each content area. To develop his vocabulary I would provide him with a guide prior to

Second language acquisition is a process by which people learn a second language. It refers to any language learned in addition to the first language and the differences between both processes. Second language acquisition is a controversial issue; since, there is no a general agreement about how and when it takes place. Several theories and models have tried to explain the facts that may be involved

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each play a role in language development. However, I believe that in acquiring a language, one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners learn differently and so a variety of resources will need to be used based on the ability of each student. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field on linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

The Error Analysis in Second Language Acquisition was recognized and named as “The significance of learner errors” by Corder and his colleagues. Further Corder delineated that it has two objectives: one is theoretical and the other is applied. The theoretical objective serves to explain what and how a learner learns when he studies a second language. The applied objective serves to enable the learner to learn more efficiently by exploiting our knowledge of his dialect for pedagogical purposes (Corder, 1974:122).

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at the time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Kirsten Hummel states, “The one most effective way to increase L2 competence was by exposure to ‘comprehensible input’.” (Hummel, 2014, p. 73) Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each plays a role in language development. However, I believe that to acquire language one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners acquire language differently and so using a variety of resources that are based on the ability of each student is neccesary. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field of linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

Researchers, such as Corder (1967) define the word ‘error’ when people do not follow grammatical rules or structures. At the basis of the accuracy-fluency controversy is the question of error. Once thought to be deviant behavior, error is now seen as a neutral phenomenon in learning of all kinds; learning to ice skate, to type, to analyze literature, to speak a first or second language. Of course, errors in written language can be due to intonation, memory lapse, or indifference and in an in-class writing situation, NES (Native English Speaker) as well as EFL (English as a First Language) students will make hasty performances errors. Generally, EFL errors are neither random, nor sporadic or deviant, instead they are systematic, regular and

Students in the pre-emergent stage of language acquisition have a vocabulary base of approximately 500 receptive words (Hong, 2008, p. 61). However, these students may be experiencing the “silence period” or parrot others thought they produce limited language output. Therefore, the read aloud strategy, a method of reading a book audibly either as a class or in small groups provides English Language Learners the opportunity to hear English spoken in a clear slow manner while participating in a classroom activity (Grand Canyon University School of Education website, n.d., expression 2). By reading aloud, the teacher provides a model of proficient reading and a means to provide content for ELLS who cannot yet read at the level of the text (Levine, Lukens, & Smallwood, 2013, p. 94) Also reading aloud “builds students background knowledge and develops academic vocabulary along” with proper enunciation which is vital for this stage of English development (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2013, p. 76).

Scenario 1: An elementary-aged student is an English language learner. The student is comfortable (low affective filter) trying new words and linking words together, but is not pronouncing the words correctly and/or putting words in the correct order (syntax).

There are three major theories of first language acquisition, which are nativist approach, behavior approach, and functional approach. There are still some scholars who challenge these theories. As to nativism, Chomsky (1965) held the view that we are born with a genetic capacity to perceive and acquire the language, and that the capacity is contained in the language acquisition device. He proposes that the language organ helps children acquire languages. In another word, the theory proposes that children are born with the knowledge of natural languages. In this theory, this language development is part of children’s maturation or growth, and this process is based on suitable speech input. Also, nativism believes that children can create language randomly, and the non-standard language proves that children have a set of grammar rules that applied serially in the brain. However, some scholars use the parallel distributed processing model (PDP) to challenge nativism and argue that our brain processes information simultaneously at many levels, so the rules of language are not applied serially in our brain (Brown, 2014). They say that PDP can better explain the neural connections happened in our brain when we perceives or use languages.

According to Houmanfar, Hayes, and Herbst (2005), the first and second languages are interrelated and the history of the first language is a participatory factor in the acquisition of the second language (L2) and its maintenance. The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis indicates that the structure and shape of the L1 of an individual are different from those the L2 that could create errors in speaking, reading and writing (Dulay et al., 1982). Similarities and differences between L1 and L2 acquisition will be outlined in terms of various theories.

Error types for corrective feedback. Research on the error types that need corrective feedback has reported mixed findings, indicating that while corrective feedback influenced the improvement of linguistic knowledge, its effects depended on the types of errors. Ferris (2006) categorized errors into five major groups (verb errors, noun errors, article errors, lexical errors, and sentence errors) and reported that students who received feedback only reduced the incidents of verb errors. Van Beuningen (2010) found that CF was most effective when provided on rule-governed errors (e.g., errors in verb tense and form, subject-verb agreement, article usage, plural and possessive noun endings, and sentence fragments). Van Beuningen et al. (2012) distinguished grammatical errors (morphological errors and syntactic errors) from nongrammatical errors (spelling and mechanical errors) and reported that direct feedback was more beneficial for grammatical errors and indirect feedback for nongrammatical errors. Bitchener and Ferris (2012) stated that teachers should provide feedback on errors (systematic incorrectness indicating gaps in students’ interlanguage structure) but not on mistakes (unsystematic incorrectness, such as memory failures) and suggested that teachers should respond to high-frequency and stigmatizing errors.

My seminar provided an overview of chapter 4- explaining second language learning. During my introduction, key points from each of the 5 perspectives were discussed. The cognitive perspective was given priority as it contained many subcategories within itself. This section also allowed my group mates to connect theory and practice of second language learning. My group mates were able to connect to the noticing hypothesis, processability theory and the three principles of practice through their own personal experiences while learning a second language. The first discussion question asked my group members to evaluate their own understanding of how language learning occurs and compare it with the perspectives we covered. The second discussion question provided them a chance to assess each perspective and think of one weakness and one strength for each. Overall if I were to re-do my seminar, I would like to provide more attention to the other perspectives. I would add more discussion questions in order to stimulate more in-depth discussions. Similarly, adding supplemental information from an outside source to further discussion and connect the theories to pedagogy. Additionally, I would create an activity that focused more on teaching of a second language and how these theories have influenced the current practices used.