Second Language Acquisition: Foundations

MA in English as a Foreign Language

Prof. Balbina Moncada-Comas

Unit 1: Foundations
Universidad Internacional de La
Rioja
Today’s Contents

Unit 1: Foundations for Second Language

Acquisition and Learning

►
1.2. Introduction
►
1.3. Development of English Language Learning in Europe
►
1.4. English Language Learning Context in Spain
►
1.5. Differences between FLL & SLA

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Introduction

SLA research: the description and explanation of

how L2 takes place

 How do learners learn?

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What is the difference between learning and acquisition?

Learning is the act of a Acquisition is picking up the

conscious process of formal language, this is an unconscious
instruction to learn about the process in which the emphasis is
process ‘about’ the language, on engaging in meaningful
for example, knowledge of communication (Shütz, 2019).
grammar rules.

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What is the difference between learning and acquisition?

LEARNING ACQUISITION
Analysis / Study of the language Natural assimilation, intuition
system

Conscious Subconscious

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English Language Learning in Europe

 In the 19th century  German and French

 In the 1920s  English introduced in Germans schools
French left behind
 After the World War II  most central European countries
began to implement English as their main second language
in schools.

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English Language Learning in Europe

 Nowadays  all European Union countries English is rapidly being

taught to young school
 EFL (English as a Foreign Language): at schools and universities.
 EMI (English Medium Instruction): more used at tertiary level.
 CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning): more used at
school level.
 Reasons: open the doors & wider university offer (Truchot, 2002)

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The Bologna Process

 Created by the European Union in 1999.

 An intergovernmental higher education reform process that includes 48

European countries and a number of European organizations
 Main purposes:
 To enhance the quality and recognition of European HE systems.
 To improve the conditions for exchange and collaboration within Europe, as
well as internationally.

 Different goals:
 Three-cycle degree structure (bachelor, master’s, doctorate).
 The European Credits Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)

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English Language Learning Context in Spain

 Three aspects to consider when looking at the Spanish context (Rouco, 2002):
• Educational component
Socio-cultural
• Historical component

Bibliographical • Materials
component

Methodological • How languages are

component taught/learnt

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The socio-cultural component

 In the 19th and 20th centuries, learning English was considered a luxury

 Globalisation  foreign languages became important

 English as a lingua franca

 Llanguage academies, conversation assistants, language exchanges, etc.

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The bibliographic component

 Materials to be used to language learning and teaching.

 Grammar and vocabulary

 Authentic material:

 To check the understanding of new vocabulary/grammatical rules

 To inculcate patriotic ideals

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The methodological component

 In Spain, in the 19th century, most students learned languages through:

 Grammar-Translation Method

 Direct Method

(See UNIT 4)
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English Language Teaching in Spain NOWADAYS

Bilingual Multilingual
education education

Monolingual Regions with

autonomous other official
communities languages

Catalonia,
Madrid,
Galicia, The
Extremadura,
Basque
Andalucía
Country

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Language Teaching NOW in Spain
Immersion
Language CLIL
Learning

Content and
Exposed to L2
Language
for 80-100% of
Integrated
the school day
Learning

American Content
School of courses taught
Madrid through English

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Differences between SLA and FLL

Second Foreign
Language Language
Acquisition Learning

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Second Language Acquisition

 A “process of an individual learning another language after the native

language has been learned” (Gass & Selinker, 2008):
 The native language is referred to as L1.
 The second language is referred to as L2.
 Exposure to the language both inside and outside of a classroom

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Second Language Acquisition

 In Spain, SLA takes place in the following contexts:

 Students learning Catalan and Spanish in schools and outside of schools,

in Catalonia.

 Students learning Galego and Spanish in schools and outside of schools,

in Galicia.

 Students learning Euskara and Spanish in schools and outside of schools,

in Basque Country.

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Foreign Language Learning

 It refers to an individual learning another language in the environment of the

person’s native language (Spanish speakers learning English in Spain):

 In Spain  English is taught and learned as a Foreign Language (EFL).

 It is a second language, which is learned because of schooling in (the context

of a classroom or an academy).

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Video

 Watch this video to learn more about the difference between acquisition and

learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V--eu2d10Cg
_ _

1. What is the difference between acquiring and learning a language?

2. How are L1s acquired?

3. Share with your classmates one piece of information that you learnt from

the video and that you found interesting!

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 Thanks for coming!!!

Next week we’ll start with Unit 2,

See you!

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www.unir.net