Summary_PLLT_chapter 9

 

Chapter 9. Communicative Competence (p.242-254)

 

 

 1. What to deal with in this chapter

* "the L2 learners’ linguistic development from a budding beginner to an advanced competent user”

   -  How does linguistic system of L2 subsumed to a person's neutral network?

  - What are typical stepping stones in the journey, from encountering the first few words to communicating     effectively across modes of comprehension in a variety of sociocultural context?

 * "second language learning = a process of creative construction of system”

 * "learners construct what is legitimate system of language”

   - structured rules that brings order to linguistic chaos that confronts them”

                                                                                                                 

2. Learner Language

 1) Periodical change

   - the view of L2 learner’s journey markedly changed over time

Until 1960s	20th century
- “incomplete” users of foreign language - imperfectly "approximating” nativelike proficiency - overcoming the interfering effects of L1     “malformed language replete with mistake”	- SLA began to be examined same as the “First Language Acquisition” - “intelligent beings” proceed through logic, systematic stage of acquisition - “creative” on linguistic environment   “slowly internalize constructed linguistic system after the process of multiple trial and errors”

 

  2) Terms

(1) interlanguage

 : structurally intermediate status between native-target language

- Pit Corder (1971) popularized / Larry Selinker (1972) adapt from term ‘interlingual’

     - separateness of L2 learners’ system

   - legitimacy of learners’ second language system

 

(2) approximative system - William Nemser (1971)

  : successive approximation to the target language

 

(3) idiosyncratic dialect

  : learner's language is unique to particular individual (rules are peculiar)

 

 * Second language learners "form their own self-constructed linguistic system”

- neither system of L1 nor L2

      - but system based upon the best attempts of learners to bring order to linguistic stimuli around them

 

 3) Two ways of analyzing interlanguage

Production data	Comprehension data
- speaking & writing - empirically observable - reflect learner’s competence - reveal developmental change of linguistic form over time	- listening & reading - difficult to measure objectively

* obvious way to analyze interlanguage is to study learner language, production data

 3. Stages of Learner Language Development

Coder (1973), Gass and Selinker (2001), Long (2003) - L2 learners progress through 4 stages

(observation of learner's speech&writing production + erros made in the process)

 

1) Presystematic Stage

- make a number of random errors

 (reason: marginally aware of given subset of L2 system)

-incoherence of sentence

(reason: learner's guess / attempt to express thought without control of structure or lexicon)

ex) "The different city is another one in the another two” 

ex) “Society has it's hard-living bitterness way into the decaded-dragging and full troubled   life”

 

 2) Emergent Stage

- learner's linguistic production become consistent (certain rules / words /phrases applied)

- able to discern what the intended meaning is

ex) "All work without a play makes Jack a doornail”               

ex) "American food made me interesting to taste”

- learners are unable to correct errors when they're pointed out by someone else

        ex) L: I go New York. / NS: You're going to New York? / L: yes. / NS: When? /

  L: Uh, 1992. / NS: Oh, you went to New York in 1992. / L: Yes, uh,… I go 1992.

 * L1 situation could not discern error in their speech

 

- backsliding: learners grasp principle, and then regress to previous stage

- U-shaped learning: move from correct form to incorrect form, and then back to correctness

 

 

 3) Systematic stage

- manifest consistency in producing Second Language

- ability of learners to repair their errors when pointed out

ex) L: The fish are serving in the restaurants near the lake.

NS: The fish are serving?

L: Oh, no, fishing are being served in restaurants!

 

4) Postsystematic Stage = stabilization

- learners have relatively few errors

- mastered system (fluency and intended meaning are not problematic)

- learner's ability to self-correct

 ex) He passed out with very high score -sorry, I mean, he passed test -with high score.

 

* 4 stages not "globally” describe learner's status in the development of L2

* production errors alone are inadequate measure of overall competence

 

4. Variation in Learner Language

* variation that learners manifest in their interlanguage development

 1) Features of learner language development - Nick Ellis

- gradual & incremental

- evidence sudden change in performance

- suggest occasional fundamental restructuring of underlying grammar

 

 2) Gatbonton, gradual diffusion of incorrect form of language in systematic stage of development

(1) incorrect form "coexist” with correct form

(2) incorrect form "expunged”

  3) Variance Occurrence Conditions

context and style / gender-based variation / type of task (in classroom)

- both tutored and untutored learning

- to which learner is exposed to norm

 

 4) Elaine Tarone's "capability continuum paradigm”

: contextual variability

- extent to which both linguistic and situational context help / to systematically describe / what might otherwise appear as unexplained variation

 

 5) 4 domains of variation

: linguistic context / psychological processing factor / social context / language function

    ex) He must paid for the insurance. / He must pay for the parking fee.

: linguistic context explain variation

(S1: describe event in past / S2: present moment)

- free variation of main verb in a modal auxiliary context is explained

 

ex) classroom context vs natural situation outside language class

: instructional setting cause variation, not present in same students’ output in natural context

 

5. Learners’ errors: windows of opportunity

- success comes by profiting from mistake

- mistake & erroneous form important aspect of learning virtually any skill

- most successful learners are those who convert "bloopers” into learning opportunities

* Corder, "Learner's errors are significant as they provide evidence of how language is learned or acquired, what strategies or procedures learners employing in the discovery of their language”

 

 1) Mistake vs Error

Mistake	Error
performance error that is “either random guess or a slip” - failure to utilize ‘known system’ correctly  (deficiency in competence (X))  (temporary breakdown (O)) - can be self-corrected   * hesitation, slip of tongue * random ungrammaticality	reflect competence of learner - cannot be self-corrected       ex) “Does John can sing?”  - reflect competence level ‘all very require   proposed do auxiliary for question form’

 

2) Error Analysis

 * Beware to..

 place too much attention on error

- lose value of clearly expressed language which is a product of learner's progress

- diminishing error is important criterion for increasing language proficiency

- ultimate goal of SL learning: communication fluency

     ‚ overemphasize on "production” data     

- comprehension data is equally important in developing process of SLA

     ƒ fail to explain strategy of "avoidance”

- avoid particular sound/word/structure may assumed "incorrectly” to have no difficulty

- avoidance and not manifesting many errors are difficult

     „ make us too closely focused on “specific language”, rather than view “universal aspect”

 

 3) Identifying and Describing Errors  

  (1) Overt and covert error

Overt error	Covert error
- overtly erroneous utterance in sentence level - unquestionably ungrammatical   ex) This men, employed in one factory, or         laboratories in the country.   : ungrammatical & uninterpretable	- grammatically well-formed in sentence level - not interpretable within context of communication - may not be erroneous if attend to surrounding discourse   ex) S1: Who are you?        S2: I'm fine, thank you.     :grammatically correct & inappropriate

  (2) Global and local error

Global error	Local error
- impede communication - incomprehensible  to the hearer      ex) It's a great hurry around.       Sometimes could be must, know what happen           at around the man or worker.   : uninterpretable	- not inhibit communication - only minor slip - allow hearer to make accurate guess of intended meaning   ex) Let us work for the welldone of our country! The teacher was so good that the students  were nailed to his lips         : can figure out intended meaning / slight              word error

(3) Errors of addition, omission, substitution, permutation

- standard mathematical categories

- help teacher able to pinpoint error

ex) added “to” infinitive: Who to not from worse make a little better

omitted definite article: I went to movie.

road substituted for way: I lost my road.

permuted auxiliary: She have will been here two years next month

 

 (4) Levels or domains of language

- difficult to pinpoint exactly "where” error occurs

- several errors are made within one sentence

       ex) “We wich you an happy bird date”

: phonology(wich), grammar(an), pronunciation(bird date)

ex) "I was so depressed. However, I felt the world was coming to end.”

: discourse error

 

 (5) extent: the rank of linguistic unit have to be deleted, replaced, supplied to repair sentence

 ex) "I was so depressed. However, I felt the world was coming to end.”

   - change “whole clause” to positive

   - change “connector” to also

 

## How useful are such categories of error for the classroom teacher?

- teachers don't have enough time in class to undergo conscious analysis of the type of error

 (1) Teachers are remarkably accurate, quickly determining difference between mistake-error

   (2) Global-local errors are easily discerned

(global- call for immediate feedback / local- equivocal)

 

* window opportunity; for learners to benefit from awareness of a mistake; for teachers to assist learners to make progress