ELT Methodology – Module 1 Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA)

THEORY 5:
LEARNING & ACQUISITION
Revision:
1. Discuss what young teachers like you should do to motivate students in learning English. (Grad 2009)
2. List four characteristics of good language learners that you think are important for their success in language
learning. Support your answer with your own learning experience. (Suggested Q, midterm 2010)
3. Explain the two forms of motivation and their application in language teaching. (Midterm 2008)
4. Select four out of the most common learning styles, explain what they are and then tell what the teacher should
bear in mind when teaching the students of these learning styles.

Questions
1. State the difference between acquisition and learning.
2. What does Krashen think about acquisition?
3. What is comprehensible input? What does Krashen think about this concept?
4. What is modified input? What is it called in L1 / L2 learning? Point out the features of these types of speech.
5. What is baseline talk? State its features.
6. Discuss the essential factors for acquisition to take place.

* SOME CONCEPTS:
st
1 language.: ……………………………
nd
2 language.: …………………………….

Foreign language.:………………………….

I. ACQUISITION & LEARNING – A DISTINCTION:

I.1. Acquisition:
st
1 lg. acquisition:
How children acquire L1:
 The main way that children acquire L1: by ___________________ to it, i.e. by hearing and / or reading it
all around us and without saying it. Then they _________________________ automatically, i.e. learn it
without realizing.

nd
2 lg. acquisition: A process: We acquire lg. when we are exposed to samples of the
nd st
2 lg. that we understand. This happens in much the same way that children pick up 1 lg.=
The 'acquired system' or 'acquisition' is the product of a ……………………………….. very similar to the process
children undergo when they acquire their first language.
Language acquirers are not consciously aware of the grammatical rules of the language, but rather develop a "feel"
for correctness. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which
speakers concentrate not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act. In non-technical language,
acquisition is 'picking-up' a language.
Acquisition = more important for ………………………………
Lrs. are quite fluent without ever having learned rules.
Lrs should be exposed to ………………………………….
I.2. Learning
• A conscious process of study and attention to
• Lrs. are ……………………………………………… , they may know rules but fail to apply them.
Learning - on the other hand, refers to the 'learned system' or 'learning' is the product of formal instruction of a
second language and it comprises a ………………………………… which results in conscious knowledge 'about'
the language: knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them." Thus language
learning can be compared to learning about a language.
According to Krashen, 'learning' is less important than 'acquisition'.
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ELT Methodology – Module 1 Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA)

CHARACTERISTICS:

Acquisition Learning
 subconscious
 natural
 long lasting
 successful
 attention to meaning
 fluent

II. THE INPUT HYPOTHESIS

- Input: What students hear or read.

- Comprehensible/roughly-tuned input: forms and structures which are just beyond the learner’s current level
of competence in the lg.

- Output: what Ss speak or write.

The Input hypothesis is Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a second language. In other words,
this hypothesis is Krashen's explanation of how second language acquisition takes place. So, the Input hypothesis
is only concerned with 'acquisition', not 'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and
progresses along the 'natural order' when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her
current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when
he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'. Since not all of the learners can be at the
same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural communicative input is the key
to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will receive some 'i + 1' input that is appropriate for
his/her current stage of linguistic competence.

Evidences for the input hypothesis can be found in the effectiveness of caretaker speech, of teacher talk, and of
foreigner talk.

One result of this hypothesis is that language students should be given an initial "silent period" where they are
building up acquired competence in a language before they begin to produce it.

Whenever language acquirers try to produce language beyond what they have acquired, they tend to use the rules
they have already acquired from their first language, thus allowing them to communicate but not really progress in
the second language.

II.1. Baseline talk

• the kind of talk a speaker addresses other speakers.

e.g.: People who are deprived of sleep lose energy and become quick-tempered.

II.2. Modified input/ Adjusted speech

st
• 1 lg.:
nd
• 2 lg.:

A. Caretaker talk/motherese/mother talk/baby talk

• the way talk to
• Features of caretaker talk:
- rate of speech
- higher
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ELT Methodology – Module 1 Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA)

- more intonation
- , sentence patterns
- frequent
- paraphrase
- topic of conversation are

B. Foreigner talk/teacher talk

• NS modify their speech when communicating with NNS
• Two types of FT:
Base line talk
You won’t forget to buy the ice cream on your way home, will you?

UGFT
No forget buying ice cream, eh?

GFT
The ice cream – you will not forget to buy it on your way home – get it when you are coming home. All
right?

1. Ungrammatical FT
•
• NS’s lack of
• Features:
* deletion of “be”/ modal verbs/articles
* using base form for past tense form
* using special construction like “no + V”

2. Grammatical FT
•
• Features:
* delivered at a
* the input is (shorter sent., no subordinate clauses, no tag Qs.)
* (regular/basic forms= full not contracted forms)
* elaborated lg. use (lengthening phrases & sent.)

IV. Role of input & interaction in L2 acquisition

• comprehensible input ( i+1) [ right level of input is attained automatically when interlocutors succeed in
making themselves understood in com. , using context + kinds of input modifications found in FT]
• interactional modifications
• negotiation of meaning

- Formal instruction & Learning process:

= enough?
- Acquisition: exposure, motivation, opportunities for use (real tasks to do outside class, games, drawing pictures,
arranging objects => verbal com.)
Implication
• make learning like acquisition by:
– giving learners both and input (= using authentic
materials)
– modifying this input like the way parents talk to little children (teacher talk, foreigner talk)
– increasing &

Teaching
Young lrs.: Avoid grammar teaching, children subconsciously acquire lg.
Adult lrs.: Focused lg. study= useful, desirable + activities that match motivational drive, level, situational
contexts
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ELT Methodology – Module 1 Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA)

=> Lg. study: helpful for adults > teenagers; using authentic materials + interaction
L2 learners need to be exposed to a rich variety of language, use it to communicate and interact, and have
opportunities to focus on form. This helps to make the circumstances of L2 learning more similar to those in L1
learning and allows L2 learners (who are usually older than L1 learners) to use their different abilities to process
language.

Acquisition and Learning – Remember

 Principle:
◦ acquisition is more important than learning
◦ only acquired language is readily available for natural, fluent communication
 Implication: make learning like acquisition by:
◦ giving learners
◦ this input (like the way parents talk to young children - teacher talk,
foreigner talk)
◦ Ensuring

PRACTICE:
Modify the following baseline talk

• Advances in medicine and public sanitation mean that infectious diseases no longer kill
millions of children and adults as they did in the past.
• Pronunciation practice is an important matter when studying a new language, as incorrect
pronunciation can cause misunderstandings.
• The automatic noises and gestures that had formerly sufficed would eventually have to be
replaced by words.
• Conservation conflicts arise when natural-resource shortages develop in the face of steadily
increasing demands from a growing human population.
• Whether or not we should place much reliance on trying to interpret their meaning is a
matter for debate, as dream interpretation is usually no more than inspired guesswork –
with the interpreter fantasising more than the dreamer.
• You may be ill-advised to put all your eggs in one basket.