Lingüística, Apuntes de Lingüística

¡Descarga Lingüística y más Apuntes en PDF de Lingüística solo en Docsity! Part 1. A general introduction to the discipline of Applied Linguistics 1. An overview of Applied Linguistics 1.1 What is Applied Linguistics? Some definitions. What is the scope of Applied Linguistics? Applied Linguistics, at least in USA, was first officialy recognized as an independent course at the university of Michigan in 1946 (Second world war). The term was used both in the USA and in Great Britain to refer to applying a so-called “Scientific Approach” to teaching foreign Languages, including english for non-native speakers. In Europe, the emergence of applied linguistics as an academic discipline was clasely conneted to the foundation of AILA (The association internationale de Linguistique Appliquée) in 1964 encompass the applied linguistics. Traditionally, applied linguistics isconcerned with Language teaching in mother tongue education or with the teaching and learning of foreign/second languages-->The “Narrow” definition (Wilking, 1972) At present, A.L. Refers to the application of Linguistic research to the solution of practical, educationaland social problems of all types--> the “broad”. Definition (Trudgill, 1989; Cook & North, 2009) Other Definitions: -“Applied L. is essentially a problem driven discipline, rather than a theory-driven one”, (McCarthy, 2001:4) -Applied L. is also defined as an activity. “The application of linguistic knowledge to some object, situation or problem” (Corder 1973:15) 1.2.The development of Applied Linguistics in the 20th century and its transition to 21st century The founding of other national associations of A.L.: -The British Association of A.L. (BAAL) in 1967 -The American Association (AAAL) in 1979 -The Spanish Association (AESLA) in 1982 -The Comeroon Association (CAMAILA) and over 40 different associations world-wide ----->Reflects the good health of the discipline and its fast growth Success in the A.L. Enterprise depends on: 1 Identifying and defining problems 2 Contextualising those problems within L. study and developming a theorical stance 3 Employing appropiate resurces for the exploration of possible solutions 4 Evaluating the proposed solutions 1.3.The interrelationship of the disciplines At present, A.L. Is regarded as an interdisciplinary discipline, that is one that uses or cuts across several established disciplines or traditional fields of study Interdisciplinary approaches typically focus on problems felt by the investigations to be too complex or vast to be dealt with the knowledge and tools of a single discipline. Aphasia=lang 1 In communities with more than one language, which ones should be used at school? 2 Should everyone learn foreign languages, and if so, which one or which ones. Which is the best method to do so? 3 Should deaf children learn a sign language, or a combination of lip reading and speaking? Part II. Core areas covered in Applied Linguistics 2. Applied Linguistics and First Language Acquisition (L1) Foundations of Language Acquisition 2.1. Theories of L1 acquisition 2.2.1.Behaviourist approaches: Skinner 2.2.2.Nativist approach: Chomsky 2.2.3.Functional approaches Aim at accounting for the contextual aspects of lnguage: participants, situation, time, topic, means of communication, etc. Innatism andChomsky's views of L1 learning cannot explain adequately the complex nature of human language learning and its dependance on context In child language the functional position claims that the infant acquires his cognitive capacities through interaction with the environment (the social context) – tenet The child needs to be flexible in order to deal with a changing environment Piaget's theory of cognitive development Piaget was a swiss Psychologist (1886-1980) His work is important because It is an impressive body of facts (parental diaries) about the child's early development (clinical method: experimentation, observation, hypotheses...), his studies go beyond description and attempt to explain early development and it offers an explanation of language acquisition The monitor, or editor, focuses on FORM and knows the rules (such as an a grammar test in a language classroom or when carefully writing a composition) The language that one has subconsciously acquired “initiates our utterances in a second language and is responsible for our fluency”. Whereas the language that we have consciourly learned acts as an editor in situations where the learner has enough time to edit. Krashen (1994) explains that in order to use a monitor well, three factors must be met: 1 Time: not available in normal conversation (or unplanned linguistic exchanges) 2 Focus on form: awareness of form, correctness 3 Knowledge of the rules only partially known (not internalised) 4. Comprehensible input H. Humans acquire language learning in only one way – by understanding messages orby receiving “comprehensible input” The learner improves and progresses along the “natural order” when he/she receives second language 'input' that isone step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence-->i+1 There are three key elements to the comprehensible input h.: 1)Language is acquired, not learned, by the learner receiving comprehensible input that has arrangements or structures just beyond the learner's current level of mastery (i+1) 2)Speech should be allowed to emerge on its own. There is usually a silent period and “speech will come when the acquiere feels ready, the readiness state arrives at different times for different people “ (Krashen, 1994, p.55) 3)The input should not deliberately contain grammatically programmed structures. “If input is understood, and there is enough of it, i+1 is automatically provided” (Krashen, 1994, p.57) 5. Affective filter h. Affect is defined as “the effect of personality, motivation and other affective variables on second language acquisition” (Krashen, 1994, p. 57) Krashen applies this theory to language learning and looks at its influences on the rate of second language acquisition in three areas: anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence • Anxiety: - anxiety + acquisition • Motivation: +motivation + acquisition • Self-confidence: + self-confidence + acquisition 3.1.2. The output hypothesis: Swain More input=more output Output h.: comprehensible second language input is insufficient to ensure all-round interlanguage development Research: Evidence from canadian school The immersion students exposed to French medium instruction (for extended periods of time) achieved comprehension abilities in french clase to native speakers However, their productive ability was lower Swain's claim: only second language production (i.e. output) really forces learners to undertake complete grammatical processing, and thus drives forward most effectively the development of second language syntax and morphology Most language learning researchers agree that output is necessary to increase fluency, that is, learners must practise producting second language utterances if they are to learn to use their interlanguage system. Swain (1995:128) proposes three further functions for learner output: 1)The 'noticing/triggering' function or what might be refered to as the consciourness- raising role. The activity of producting the target language may push learners to become aware of gaps and problems in this current second language system 2)The hypothesis-testing function: the activity of producing the targer language provides learners with opportunities to experiment with new structures and forms Production then “may force the learner to move from semantic processing to syntactic processing” Swain (1985: 249) 3)The metalinguistic function, or what might be referred to as its reflective role; the activity of producing the target language provides learners with opportunities to reflect on; discuss and analyse problems explicity Several students on the role ofoutput in second language development show clear benefits: esp. vocabulary. However, regarding grammar development the benefits of “pushed output” remain somewhat elusive and hard to demonstrate