Second language education: Practice in perfect learning conditions?

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511667275.010

Chapter 6 - Second language education: Practice in perfect learning conditions?

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2010

Robert DeKeyser

Kris Van Den Branden

Show author details

Robert DeKeyser: Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
Kris Van Den Branden: Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Introduction

In this chapter, second language acquisition (SLA) will be defined as the acquisition of a language other than the mother tongue that plays a prominent role in the environment of the language learner. Second language acquisition is commonly distinguished from foreign language learning (FLL), which takes place in settings where the target language plays no major role in the community, although the difference between the two is relative rather than absolute.

For second language learners, opportunities to learn the L2 and practice using it potentially arise in informal circumstances on the street as well as in the L2 classroom. This chapter will explore to what extent these two contexts give rise to different learning experiences in order to draw conclusions on how L2 classrooms may best serve the needs of L2 learners. The chapter will suggest that, even though the L2 classroom cannot offer L2 learners the opportunity to practice using the target language in “real operating conditions” (Johnson, 1988), it may offer the learners the opportunities for practice under perfect learning conditions, provided the L2 classroom (a) combines a focus on meaningful interaction with a focus on form, (b) allows opportunities for elaborate and repeated practice, and (c) allows the learners to use the L2 in an affectively “safe” environment.

Instructed and informal second language learning

Learning a second language outside a classroom, for instance while conversing with neighbors on the street or with colleagues in the workplace, is typically called “natural.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Practice in a Second Language
Perspectives from Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology
, pp. 161 - 179

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667275.010 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Berben, M. (2003). Uitval: waarom? Een analyse van omvang en oorzaken. Leuven: Centrum voor Taal en Migratie.Google Scholar

Brindley, G. (1984a). The role of needs analysis in adult ESL programme design. In Johnson, R. K. (Ed.). The second language curriculum (pp. 63–79). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Brindley, G. (1984b). Needs analysis and objective setting in adult migration program. Sydney: NSW Adult Migration Education Service.Google Scholar

Bygate, M. (1996). Effects of task repetition: Appraising the developing language of learners. In Willis, J. & Willis, D. (Eds.), Challenge and change in language teaching (pp. 136–46). Oxford: Heinemann.Google Scholar

Crookes, G., & Gass, S. (Eds.) (1993). Tasks in a pedagogical context: Integrating theory and practice. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

Crookes, G., & Rulon, K. (1985). Incorporation of corrective feedback in native speaker/non-native speaker conversation. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i, Mānoa.Google Scholar

D' Anglejan, A. (1978). Language learning in and out of classrooms. In Richards, J. (Ed.), Understanding second and foreign language learning: Issues and approaches (pp. 218–36). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar

Deen, J. (1995). Dealing with problems in intercultural communication. A study of negotiation of meaning in native-non-native speaker interaction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Catholic University, Tiburg.

Groof, W. (2002). Einddoelenonderzoek Nederlands als Tweede Taal in Brussel. Leuven: Centrum voor Taal en Migratie.Google Scholar

DeKeyser, R. (2001). Automaticity and automatization. In Robinson, P. (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 125–51). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Dörnyei, Z. (2002). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In Robinson, P. (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 137–58). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRef Google Scholar

Doughty, C. (2002). Cognitive underpinnings of focus on form. In Robinson, P. (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 206–57). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Doughty, C., & Varela, E. (1998). Communicative focus on form. In Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 114–38). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (1998). Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Ellis, N. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 143–88.CrossRef Google Scholar

Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Ellis, R. (2002). Does form-focused instruction affect the acquisition of implicit knowledge? A review of the research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 223–36.CrossRef Google Scholar

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Flege, J., Yeni-Komshian, G., & Liu, S. (1999). Age constraints on second-language acquisition. Journal of Memory and Language, 14, 78–104.CrossRef Google Scholar

Flege, J., & Liu, S. (2001). The effect of experience on adults' acquisition of a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 527–52.Google Scholar

Gardner, R., & Lambert, W. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar

Gallaway, C., & Richards, B. (Eds.). Input and interaction in language acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef

Gass, S. (1987). The resolution of conflicts among competing systems: A bidirectional perspective. Applied Psycholinguistics, 8, 329–50.CrossRef Google Scholar

Gass, S., Mackey, A., Alvarez-Torres, M., Fernández-García, M. (1999). The effects of task repetition on linguistic output. Language Learning, 49, 549–80.CrossRef Google Scholar

Gysen, S., Rossenbacker, K., & Verhelst, M. (2000). Kleuterobservatie-Instrument Taalvaardigheid. Leuven: Steunpunt NT2.Google Scholar

Heidelberger Forschungsprojekt “Pidgin Deutsch” (1978). The acquisition of German syntax by foreign migrant workers. In Sankoff, D. (Ed.), Linguistic variation: Model and methods. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar

Horwitz, E., Horwitz, M., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–32.CrossRef Google Scholar

Johnson, K. (1988). Mistake correction. ELT Journal, 42, 89–101.CrossRef Google Scholar

Klatter-Folmer, J., & Avermaet, P. (1997). Language shift amongst Italians in Flanders and Turks in the Netherlands. Paper presented at the 1st International Symposium on Bilingualism, Vigo.Google Scholar

Klein, W., & Dittmar, N. (1979). Developing grammars: The acquisition of German syntax by foreign workers. Berlin: Springer.CrossRef Google Scholar

Krashen, S., & Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar

Lennon, P. (1989). Introspection and intentionality in advanced second language acquisition. Language Learning, 39, 375–95.CrossRef Google Scholar

Long, M. (1985). A role for instruction in second language acquisition: Task-based language teaching. In Hylstenstam, K. & Pienemann, M. (Eds.), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition (pp. 77–99). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

Long, M. (1988). Instructed interlanguage development. In Beebe, L. (Ed.), Issues in second language acquisition: Multiple perspectives. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar

Long, M. (2005). Second language needs analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Long, M., & Crookes, G. (1992). Three approaches to task-based syllabus design. TESOL Quarterly, 26, 27–56.CrossRef Google Scholar

Long, M., Inagaki, S., & Ortega, L. (1998). The role of implicit negative feedback in SLA: Models and recasts in Japanese and Spanish. Modern Language Journal, 82, 357–71.CrossRef Google Scholar

Long, M., & Robinson, P. (2001). Focus on form: Theory, research, and practice. In Doughty, C. & Williams, J. (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 15–41). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Loschky, L., & Bley-Vroman, R. (1993). Grammar and task-based methodology. In Crookes, G. & Gass, S. (Eds.), Tasks in a pedagogical context. Integrating theory and practice (pp. 123–67). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

Mackey, A., Gass, S., & McDonough, K. (2000). Do learners recognize implicit negative feedback? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 33, 82–92.Google Scholar

Mackey, A., & Philp, J. (1998). Conversational interaction and second language development: Recasts, responses and red herrings. Modern Language Journal, 82, 338–56.CrossRef Google Scholar

MacIntyre, P., Baker, S., Clément, R., & Conrod, S. (2001). Willingness to communicate, social support, and language learning orientations of immersion students. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 369–88.CrossRef Google Scholar

MacIntyre, P., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. Modern Language Journal, 82, 545–62.CrossRef Google Scholar

MacIntyre, P., & Gardner, R. (1991). Methods and results in the study of anxiety in language learning: A review of the literature. Language Learning, 44, 283–305.CrossRef Google Scholar

MacIntyre, P., Gouthro, M., & Clément, R. (1997). “I was talking to my aunt just fooling with head”: Affective communication-related outcomes of junior high French immersion. Presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontorio, June, 1997.Google Scholar

MacWhinney, B. (1997). Implicit and explicit processes: Commentary. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 227–82.CrossRef Google Scholar

Matsumoto, K. (1989). Factors involved in the L2 learning process. JALT Journal, 11, 167–92.Google Scholar

Muranoi, H. (2000). Focus on form through interaction enhancement. Language Learning, 50, 617–73.CrossRef Google Scholar

Nicholas, H., Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. (2001). Recasts as feedback to language learners. Language Learning, 51, 719–58.CrossRef Google Scholar

Norris, J., & Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50, 417–528.CrossRef Google Scholar

Nunan, D. (1992). The learner-centred curriculum: A study in second language teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Oliver, R. (1995). Negative feedback in child NS-NNS conversation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 17, 459–81.CrossRef Google Scholar

Oyama, S. (1982). A sensitive period in the acquisition of a non-native phonological system. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 5, 261–85.CrossRef Google Scholar

Plough, I., & Gass, S. (1993). Interlocutor and task familiarity effects on interactional structure. In Crookes, G. & Gass, S. (Eds.), Tasks in a pedagogical context: Integrating theory and practice (pp. 35–56). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

Richterich, R. (1972). A model for the definition of language needs of adults learning a modern language. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar

Richterich, R. (1980). Identifying the needs of adults learning a foreign language. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar

Robinson, P. (2001). Task complexity, cognitive resources, and syllabus design: A triadic framework for examining task influence on SLA. In Robinson, P. (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 287–318). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Samuda, V. (2001). Guiding relationships between form and meaning during task performance: The role of the teacher. In Bygate, M., Skehan, P., & Swain, M. (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks, second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 109–14). Harlow, UK: Longman.Google Scholar

Schmidt, R., & Frota, S. (1985). Developing basic conversational ability in a second language: A case study of an adult learner. In Day, R. (Ed.). Talking to learn: Conversation in second language acquisition (pp. 237–326). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar

Schuurmans, I. (1994). Behoeftenonderzoek Nederlands als Tweede Taal in Vlaanderen. Leuven: Centrum voor Taal en Migratie.Google Scholar

Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Snow, C., & Hoefnagel-Höhle, M. (1982). School age second language learners' access to simplified linguistic input. Language Learning, 32, 411–30.CrossRef Google Scholar

Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In Gass, S. & Madden, C. (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235–53). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar

Tarone, E., & Liu, G. (1995). Should interlanguage variation be accounted for in a theory of second-language acquisition? In Cook, G. & Seidlhofer, B. (Eds.), Principle and practice in applied linguistics: Studies in honour of Henry G. Widdowson (pp. 107–24). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Van Avermaet, P., & Gysen, S. (2006). From needs to tasks: Language learning needs in a task-based approach. In Branden, K. (Ed.), Task-based language education: From theory to practice (pp. 17–46). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Van Avermaet, P., Colpin, M., Van Gorp, K., Bogaert, N., & Van den Branden, K. (2006). The role of the teacher in TBLT. In Branden, K. (Ed.), Task-based language education: From theory to practice (pp.175–96). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Avermaet, P., & Klatter-Folmer, J. (1998). The role of L2 self-assessment in language choice behaviour: Immigrant shift to Dutch in Flanders and the Netherlands. In Te Reo (Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand), Vol. 41, Special Issue: Proceedings of the sixth Language and Society Conference, 137–52.Google Scholar

Branden, K. (1995). Negotiation of meaning and second language acquisition. A study of primary school classes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Catholic University, Leuven.Google Scholar

Branden, K. (1997). Effects of negotiation on language learners' output. Language Learning, 47, 589–636.CrossRef Google Scholar

Branden, K. (Ed.) (2006). Task-based language education: From theory to practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Ek, J. (1980). The threshold level. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar

Varonis, E., & Gass, S. (1985). Non-native/non-native conversations: A model for negotiation of meaning. Applied Linguistics, 6, 71–90.CrossRef Google Scholar

Verhelst, M. (2006). A box full of feelings: Promoting infants' second language acquisition all day long. In Branden, K. (Ed.), Task-based language education: From theory to practice (pp. 197–216). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Wells, G. (1985). Language development in the pre-school years. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Wijnants, L. (1997). Behoeftenonderzoek Nederlands als Tweede Taal in de provincie Vlaams- Brabant. Leuven: Centrum voor Taal en Migratie.Google Scholar

Wilkins, D. (1976). Notional syllabuses. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.