Chapter 1. Second Language Acquisition: The Articulation of Vowels and the Importance of Tools in the Learning Process

The following article attempts at shedding light on the role of metacognitive practices in second language acquisition, in particular, the role of critical thinking skills as a boosting factor for the language learning process. The article suggests using some psychological-methodological mechanisms that aim at promoting critical thinking in language learning thus attaching worth attention to the role of metacognitive practices in the field.

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On determining developmental stages in natural second language acquisition

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263100004137 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 109-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 234

Author(s):

Jürgen M. Meisel ◽

Harald Clahsen ◽

Manfred Pienemann

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Learning Process ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Target Language ◽

L2 Acquisition ◽

Source Language ◽

The Past ◽

Linguistic Structures

Research on Second Language (L2) Acquisition, over the past ten years, has undergone substantial changes by shifting its focus of interest away from an analysis of linguistic structures alone, concentrating more on the learner himself or, rather, on the process of learning. It had become obvious that one of the major shortcomings in contrastive studies as well as in the usual kind of error analysis is that they lack thorough investigation of factors which determine the kind of approach a learner may take to acquire a second language. This again implies that it is more fruitful to study the process of learning itself instead of merely analysing its outputs. It is by now widely accepted that the learner takes an active part in the learning process and does not merely get trapped in structural gaps which linguists may find when comparing the source language (the learner's L1) and the target language (L2).

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The roles of attention and (un)awareness in SLA: Conceptual replication of N. C. Ellis & Sagarra (2010a) and Leung & Williams (2012)

Language Teaching ◽

10.1017/s0261444814000275 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 117-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Ronald P. Leow

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Learning Process ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Methodological Issue ◽

L2 Learning ◽

Potential Benefits

There is no doubt that attention and (un)awareness in second/foreign language (L2 learning) are two constructs that have permeated, explicitly or implicitly, second language acquisition (SLA) studies since their inception. Indeed, we have witnessed several empirical studies attempting to probe more deeply into the roles of these two constructs in the L2 learning process. Given the challenging methodological issue of eliciting and interpreting data on such internal processes, this paper underscores the importance and benefits of conducting replications of studies investigating both the roles of attention and awareness, or lack thereof, in the L2 learning process. A report on two key SLA studies is provided and several suggestions for replication are made for each study together with their accompanying potential benefits.

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English Language Materials Development: Text-Driven Framework as an Approach

English Language Teaching ◽

10.5539/elt.v13n11p40 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 40

Author(s):

Sayed Ahmad Al-Mousawi

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Language Learning ◽

Learning Process ◽

English Language ◽

Field Of Study ◽

Materials Development ◽

New Approach ◽

Pedagogical Approaches

This paper sets out to explore English language materials development since the emergence of communicative language learning (CLT). Many pedagogical approaches have been innovated to reach the goal of CLT. It will discuss the most common approach of English language materials development used nowadays. This paper specifically introduces a new approach of English language materials development that aims to match second language acquisition principles which will optimize the language learning process. This new approach is called the Text-driven approach which aims to develop activities around an engaging text, in appose to many approaches that aims to find a text meeting their activities purpose. A full 60 minutes lesson based on this framework is presented and discussed in depth to clarify how it can facilitate language acquisition. Further research ideas are then proposed to enrich this field of study.

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