Second Language Acquisition Myths

Author : Steven Brown,Jenifer Larson-Hall
Publisher : University of Michigan Press ELT
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2012-03-15
Category : Education
ISBN : 9780472034987

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Second Language Acquisition Myths by Steven Brown,Jenifer Larson-Hall Pdf

This volume was conceived as a first book in SLA for advanced undergraduate or introductory master’s courses that include education majors, foreign language education majors, and English majors. It’s also an excellent resource for practicing teachers. Both the research and pedagogy in this book are based on the newest research in the field of second language acquisition. It is not the goal of this book to address every SLA theory or teach research methodology. It does however address the myths and questions that non-specialist teacher candidates have about language learning. Steven Brown is the co-author of the introductory applied linguistics textbook Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation textbook (and workbook). The myths challenged in this book are: § Children learn languages quickly and easily while adults are ineffective in comparison. § A true bilingual is someone who speaks two languages perfectly. § You can acquire a language simply through listening or reading. § Practice makes perfect. § Language students learn (and retain) what they are taught. § Language learners always benefit from correction. § Individual differences are a major, perhaps the major, factor in SLA. § Language acquisition is the individual acquisition of grammar.

Author : Steven Brown,Steven Randall Brown
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2011-02-25
Category : Education
ISBN : 9780472034598

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Listening Myths by Steven Brown,Steven Randall Brown Pdf

This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for teachers of ESL listening courses. It was written to help ensure that teachers of listening are not perpetuating the myths of teaching listening.

Author : Linda Grant,Donna Brinton
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2014-02-21
Category : Education
ISBN : 9780472035168

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Pronunciation Myths by Linda Grant,Donna Brinton Pdf

This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for pronunciation and speaking teachers in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. Like others in the Myths series, this book combines research with good pedagogical practices. The book opens with a Prologue by Linda Grant (author of the Well Said textbook series), which reviews the last four decades of pronunciation teaching, the differences between accent and intelligibility, the rudiments of the English sound system, and other factors related to the ways that pronunciation is learned and taught. The myths challenged in this book are: § Once you’ve been speaking a second language for years, it’s too late to change your pronunciation. (Derwing and Munro) § Pronunciation instruction is not appropriate for beginning-level learners. (Zielinski and Yates) § Pronunciation teaching has to establish in the minds of language learners a set of distinct consonant and vowel sounds. (Field) § Intonation is hard to teach. (Gilbert) § Students would make better progress if they just practiced more. (Grant) § Accent reduction and pronunciation instruction are the same thing. (Thomson) § Teacher training programs provide adequate preparation in how to teach pronunciation (Murphy). The book concludes with an Epilogue by Donna M. Brinton, who synthesizes some of the best practices explored in the volume.

Author : David Johnson
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 120 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2008-05-27
Category : Education
ISBN : 9780472032877

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How Myths about Language Affect Education by David Johnson Pdf

How Myths about Language Affect Education: What Every Teacher Should Know clarifies some of the most common misconceptions about language, particularly those that affect teachers and the decisions they make when they teach English language learners. The chapters in this book address myths about language in general, about first and second language acquisition, about language and society, and about language and thinking. Each chapter concludes with activities for teachers that give examples, exercises, or simple questions that relate directly to teachers' everyday dealings with ELLs and language. How Myths about Language Affect Education is not intended to be a complete introduction to linguistics; it does not contain information on phonetics or complex syntactic explanations, and technical jargon is kept to a minimum. The aim of this book is not to settle language issues but rather to highlight popular misconceptions and the ways that they influence debates regarding language and affect language policies in and out of the classroom.

Author : Keith S. Folse
Publisher : University of Michigan Press ELT
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2004-03-10
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 0472030299

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Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse Pdf

In Vocabulary Myths, Keith S. Folse breaks down the teaching of second language vocabulary into eight commonly held myths. In debunking each myth, he introduces the myth with a story based on his 25 years of teaching experience (in the United States and abroad), continues with a presentation of what empirical research has shown on the topic, and finishes with a list of what teachers can do in their classrooms to facilitate true vocabulary acquisition. The goal of Vocabulary Myths is to foster a paradigm shift that correctly views vocabulary as fundamental in any second language learning process and demonstrates that research supports this goal-that in fact there is a wealth of empirical evidence to support these views. In addition, an important theme is that teachers have overestimated how much vocabulary students really understand, and as a result, the so-called "comprehensible input" is neither comprehensible nor input. The second language vocabulary acquisition myths reexamined in this book are: *In learning another language, vocabulary is not as important as grammar or other areas. *Using word lists to learn L2 vocabulary is unproductive. *Presenting new vocabulary in semantic sets facilitates learning. *The use of translations to learn new vocabulary should be discouraged. *Guessing words from context is an excellent strategy for learning L2 vocabulary. *The best vocabulary learners make use of one or two really specific vocabulary learning strategies. *The best dictionary for L2 learners is a monolingual dictionary. *Teachers, textbooks, and curricula cover L2 vocabulary adequately.

Author : Eve C. Zyzik,Charlene Polio
Publisher : University of Michigan Press ELT
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Language and languages
ISBN : 0472036467

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Authentic Materials Myths by Eve C. Zyzik,Charlene Polio Pdf

Introduction -- Myth 1: authentic texts are inaccessible to beginners -- Myth 2: authentic texts cannot be used to teach grammar -- Myth 3: shorter texts are more beneficial for language learners -- Myth 4: activating background knowledge or making a word list is sufficient to prepare students for authentic texts -- Myth 5: authentic texts can be used to teach only listening and reading -- Myth 6: modifying or simplifying texts always helps language learners -- Myth 7: for learners to benefit from using authentic texts, the associated tasks must also be authentic -- Epilogue -- Appendices A-G: myth activities.

Author : Eve C. Zyzik,Charlene Polio
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 179 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Language and languages
ISBN : 0472123408

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Authentic Materials Myths by Eve C. Zyzik,Charlene Polio Pdf

Author : Richard Roberts,Roger Kreuz
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 245 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2017-02-03
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9780262529808

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Becoming Fluent by Richard Roberts,Roger Kreuz Pdf

Forget everything you’ve heard about adult language learning: evidence from cognitive science and psychology prove we can learn foreign languages just as easily as children. An eye-opening study on how adult learners can master a foreign lanugage by drawing on skills and knowledge honed over a lifetime. Adults who want to learn a foreign language are often discouraged because they believe they cannot acquire a language as easily as children. Once they begin to learn a language, adults may be further discouraged when they find the methods used to teach children don't seem to work for them. What is an adult language learner to do? In this book, Richard Roberts and Roger Kreuz draw on insights from psychology and cognitive science to show that adults can master a foreign language if they bring to bear the skills and knowledge they have honed over a lifetime. Adults shouldn't try to learn as children do; they should learn like adults. Roberts and Kreuz report evidence that adults can learn new languages even more easily than children. Children appear to have only two advantages over adults in learning a language: they acquire a native accent more easily, and they do not suffer from self-defeating anxiety about learning a language. Adults, on the other hand, have the greater advantages—gained from experience—of an understanding of their own mental processes and knowing how to use language to do things. Adults have an especially advantageous grasp of pragmatics, the social use of language, and Roberts and Kreuz show how to leverage this metalinguistic ability in learning a new language. Learning a language takes effort. But if adult learners apply the tools acquired over a lifetime, it can be enjoyable and rewarding.

Author : Fred R. Eckman,Jean Mileham,Rita Rutkowski Weber,Diane Highland,Peter W. Lee
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2013-10-08
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781135448981

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Second Language Acquisition Theory and Pedagogy by Fred R. Eckman,Jean Mileham,Rita Rutkowski Weber,Diane Highland,Peter W. Lee Pdf

A volume on second-language acquisition theory and pedagogy is, at the same time, a mark of progress and a bit of an anomaly. The progress is shown by the fact that the two disciplines have established themselves as areas of study not only distinct from each other, but also different from linguistic theory. This was not always the case, at least not in the United States. The anomaly results from the fact that this book deals with the relationship between L2 theory and pedagogy despite the conclusion that there is currently no widely-accepted theory of SLA. Grouped into five sections, the papers in this volume: * consider questions about L2 theory and pedagogy at the macro-level, from the standpoint of the L2 setting; * consider input in terms of factors which are internal to the learner; * examine the question of external factors affecting the input, such as the issue of whether points of grammar can be explicitly taught; * deal with questions of certain complex, linguistic behaviors and the various external and social variables that influence learners; and * discuss issues surrounding the teaching of pronunciation factors that affect a non-native accent.

Author : Bill VanPatten,Alessandro G. Benati
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2015-11-26
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781474227520

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Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition by Bill VanPatten,Alessandro G. Benati Pdf

The new edition of Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition defines the key terminology within second language acquisition, and also provides accessible summaries of the key issues within this complex area of study. The final section presents a list of key readings in second language acquisition that signposts the reader towards classic articles and also provides a springboard to further study. The whole book has been updated and expanded to take into account a wider range of theories and developments since the first edition. It remains at the top of its game. The text is accessibly written, with complicated terms and concepts explained in an easy to understand way. Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition is an essential resource for students.

Author : Abby Kaplan
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2016-04-21
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781107084926

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Women Talk More than Men by Abby Kaplan Pdf

A detailed look at language-related myths that explores both what we know and how we know it.

Author : Muriel Saville-Troike
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2012-04-05
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9781107010895

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Introducing Second Language Acquisition by Muriel Saville-Troike Pdf

A clear and practical introduction to second language acquisition, written for students encountering the topic for the first time.

Author : Norman Segalowitz
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2010-08-09
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781136968839

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Cognitive Bases of Second Language Fluency by Norman Segalowitz Pdf

Winner of the 2011 Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize Exploring fluency from multiple vantage points that together constitute a cognitive science perspective, this book examines research in second language acquisition and bilingualism that points to promising avenues for understanding and promoting second language fluency. Cognitive Bases of Second Language Fluency covers essential topics such as units of analysis for measuring fluency, the relation of second language fluency to general cognitive fluidity, social and motivational contributors to fluency, and neural correlates of fluency. The author provides clear and accessible summaries of foundational empirical work on speech production, automaticity, lexical access, and other issues of relevance to second language acquisition theory. Cognitive Bases of Second Language Fluency is a valuable reference for scholars in SLA, cognitive psychology, and language teaching, and it can also serve as an ideal textbook for advanced courses in these fields.

Author : Andrea DeCapua
Publisher : University of Michigan Press ELT
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : Second language acquisition
ISBN : 0472037234

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Culture Myths by Andrea DeCapua Pdf

Culture Myths is intended for all educators who work with culturally and linguistically diverse students. The book is designed to help readers observe, evaluate, and appreciate cultural differences in values, beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and worldviews by focusing on the underlying and mostly invisible reasons for these differences. Developing an awareness of one's own cultural assumptions deepens understanding and empathy and contributes to the breaking down of the cultural barriers that can affect communication. A goal of this book is to help readers strike a balance between minimizing cultural differences and assuming similarities across cultures on one hand, and exoticizing other cultures or accentuating surface differences on the other. The myths about culture in the classroom explored in this book are: We are all human beings, so how different can we really be? The goal of education is to develop each individual's potential, Focusing on conversational skills in the classroom is overrated, Not looking at the teacher shows disrespect, How something is said is not as important as what is said, Everyone knows what a good instructional environment is, By the time students get to middle or high school, they know how to be a student. Book jacket.

Author : Elaine E. Tarone,Susan M. Gass,Andrew D. Cohen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 381 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2013-11-05
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781135445348

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Research Methodology in Second-Language Acquisition by Elaine E. Tarone,Susan M. Gass,Andrew D. Cohen Pdf

This volume addresses salient theoretical issues concerning the validity of research methods in second-language acquisition, and provides critical analysis of contextualized versus sentence-level production approaches. The contributors present their views of competence versus performance, the nature of language acquisition data, research design, the relevance of contextualized data collection and interpretation, and the desirability of a particularistic nomothetic theoretical paradigm versus more comprehensive consideration of multiple realities and complex influencing factors. This book presents varying and antithetical approaches to the issues, bringing together the thinking and approaches of leading researchers in language acquisition, language education, and sociolinguistics in an engaging debate of great currency in the field.