Lightbown & Spada, chapter 4: Learner Language

TERM/CONCEPT DEFINITION/EXAMPLE
researchers
CAH (Contrastive Analysis Errors are the result of transfer from the learners’
Hypothesis) first language.
The dog eats it = the dog it eats (English/French)
Error analysis / Pit Corder Errors reflect the learners’ current understanding of
(1967) the second language.
I buyed some new shoes (learner assumes that you
always ad –ed to make past tense)
Interlanguage / Interlanguage is a learners’ develop knowledge of a
Larry Selinker (1972) second language. Characteristics of it are
influenced by previously learned languages, some
parts of the second language, and some general
errors that occur in all or most interlanguage
Fossilization systems.

Selinker coined this term to refer to the fact that

some features in a learner’s language may stop
changing.
first language transfer
errors (interference)

Ringbom (1986)
Kellerman (1986)
White (1989)
current views
developmental errors Similar to those made by children acquiring English
as their first language. Reflect learners’
understanding of the second language system itself
rather than an attempt to transfer characteristics of
their first language.
avoidance (Schachter, Schachter described appeared to be caused at
1974) least in part by learners’ perception that a feature in
the target language was so distant and different
from their first language that they preferred not to
try it.
Developmental grammatical morphemes : According to Krashen,
sequences students will show greater accuracy in the first
grammatical forms and increasing errors in the later
forms.
Ing, plural s, copula, auxiliary verbs, articles,
irregular past, regular past, third person singular –s,
possessive ‘s
 This order can be altered based on first language.
For example, students who use a possessive ‘s in
their native language will use it sooner than
students’ who have an L1 that doesn’t have such a
structure.

Negation: 1) No or not placed as the first word of

the sentence. 2)Don’t alternates with no or not. 3)
Negative element after auxiliary verbs but learner
still makes mistakes with don’t. 4) Do is marked for
tense, person and number and negation follows
target language.

Questions: 1) Single words or sentence fragments.

2) Declarative word order with rising intonation. 3)
Do fronting, wh-fronting with no other inversion or
other fronting. 4) inversion of wh- and copula and
yes/no questions using other auxilaries. 5)
Inversion in wh-questions using both auxiliary verb
and main verb. 6) complex questions including
tags, negative questions, and embedded questions.
Vocabulary Krashen believes that the best source of
vocabulary growth is reading for pleasure.
Krashen (1985, 1989)
Laufer has shown that it is difficult to infer the
Laufer (19920 meaning and learn new words from reading unless
you know 95 percent or more of the words in a text.
Gardner (2004)
Gardner has shown that rare certain types of words
Hulstijn & Laufer (2001) are in narratives and if students mainly read fiction
may have little chance of learning words that are
essential for their academic pursuits.

Hulstijin and Laufer provide evidence that

vocabulary development is more successful when
learners are fully engaged in activities that require
them to attend carefully to the new words and even
to use them in productive tasks.
Pragmatics Kaspar & Rose (2002)
Definition: 5 stages of development:
Pre-Basic: Highly context-dependent, no syntax,
Bardovi-Harlig (1999) no relational goals
Formulaic: Reliance on unanalyzed formulas and
Bardovi-Harlig & Hartford imperatives
(1993) Unpacking: Formulas incorporated into productive
language use, shift to conventional indirectness
 Pragmatic Expressions: Addition of new forms to
repertoire, increased use of mitigation, more
complex syntax
Fine Tuning: Fine tuning of requestive force to
participants, goals, and contexts

Bardovi-Harlig

Bardovi-Harlig & Hartford

Phonology Segmentals: The individual sounds of a language.

Define:
segmentals
suprasegmentals
Altenberg (2005)
Bongaerts (1999)
Hahn (2004)
Derwing et al. (1998, 2003)
Suprasegmentals: Patterns of intonation
Altenberg: developed a series of exercises to
determine if second language learners could
identify acceptable sounds to English from a great
variety of consonant clusters. Speakers showed
they could perceive correct sounds even if they
make changes in their pronunciation of the
consonant clusters.
Bongaerts: Second learners who have first
languages closely to second language were judged
to have most native-like accent. First language
speakers of languages farther away from second
language did not have native-like pronunciation.

Hahn: pronunciation instruction can be helpful if

instruction focuses on suprasegmentals.

Derwing: Did research supporting Hahn’s findings.

Also demonstrated that a strong foreign accent
does not necessarily lead to unintelligibility but may
create negative reactions.