Second language acquisition in multilingual and mixed ability indian classrooms

Vaishna Narang · Salonee Priya Varalakshmi Chaudhry Second Language Acquisition in Multilingual and Mixed Ability Indian Classrooms Second Language Acquisition in Multilingual and Mixed Ability Indian Classrooms Vaishna Narang Salonee Priya Varalakshmi Chaudhry • Second Language Acquisition in Multilingual and Mixed Ability Indian Classrooms 123 Varalakshmi Chaudhry Linguistic Empowerment Cell Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, Delhi India Vaishna Narang Centre for Linguistics, SLL & CS Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, Delhi India Salonee Priya Linguistic Empowerment Cell Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, Delhi India ISBN 978-81-322-2603-1 DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2604-8 ISBN 978-81-322-2604-8 (eBook) Library of Congress Control Number: 2016941310 © Springer India 2016 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, 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is Springer (India) Pvt Ltd Foreword The field of second language acquisition is one of the most thought, discussed and argued, written-about areas in applied linguistics The variety of its nomenclature by itself is mind-boggling: whether you call it second language acquisition, second language learning or L2 acquisition, it refers to both the process by which people learn a second language and the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process To further complicate matters, “second language” refers to any language learned in addition to a person’s first language; although the concept is named second language acquisition, it can also incorporate the learning of third, fourth, or subsequent languages If the fact provides any comfort to the harried researcher, second language acquisition refers to what learners do; it does not refer to practices in language teaching To give a brief overview of the field seems to be required here, to teeter close to cliché; it really is the need of the hour Emerging in 1967 (with Corder’s 1967 essay The Significance of Learners’ Errors and reinforced by Selinker’s 1972 article Interlanguage), today it is an independent field of research that is broad-based enough to incorporate insight from psychology, cognitive psychology, sociolinguistics, and education Originally, following Krashen (1981), the term acquisition was used to emphasize the subconscious nature of the learning process, but in recent years “learning” and “acquisition” have become largely synonymous Teachers accept the fact that theories on how SLA takes place abound but no single view is accepted as a complete explanation by scholars This is inevitable when an area is so interdisciplinary in nature that every new input entails a fresh look There is agreement on the five stages of SLA: preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency (Haynes, 2007) It is also accepted that adults learning a second language will not be as proficient as children learning a first language due to factors like fossilization and language transfer In the last decade of the twentieth century, Vivian James Cook proposed the multi-competence approach to second language acquisition Multi-competence is “the knowledge of two languages in one mind” (Cook, 1991) It follows that those who can use two languages will communicate differently as compared to those who v vi Foreword know one One can see shades of Chomsky’s ideas on LAD in this argument, especially when Cook asserts that all human beings have the potential for becoming multi-competent, so monolinguals are not indicative of what the human mind can achieve These findings definitely hold significant implication for the language classroom So many of the do’s and don’ts of the classroom are insignificant in the light of Cook’s 1997 paper in which he argues that knowledge of more than one language can change how people think When behaviourism was shown the door by mentalist theory, the question of empirical proof was left unsaid in the face of the strong Chomsky wave The current interdisciplinary turn that SLA research has taken towards cognitive science attempts to answer this unspoken query By marrying quantitative and qualitative research methodology, researchers are making an attempt to resolve many an old dilemma of SLA Of course, pedagogically speaking, this development has the power to impact the complete SLA paradigm This volume is a part of the paradigm shift that holds the promise of optimizing ELT resources everywhere Given its strong base of SLA with a mix of classroom observation, action research and cognitive processing, it is an exciting enhancement Prof Deepti Gupta Department of English Panjab University Chandigarh, India References Cook, V J (1991) The poverty-of-the-stimulus argument and multi-competence’ Second language research, 7(2), 103–117 Cook, V J (1997) The consequences of bilingualism for cognitive processing In A.M de Groot & J.F Kroll (Eds.), Tutorials in bilingualism: Psycholinguistic perspectives Lawrence Erlbaum Corder, S P (1967) The significance of learner’s errors International Review of Applied Linguistics, 5(2–3), 161–169 Haynes, J (2007) Getting started with english language learners: How educators can meet the challenge Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ISBN 978-1-4166-0519-5 Krashen, S (1981) Second language acquisition and second language learning New York: Pergamon Press ISBN 0-08-025338-5 Selinker, L (1972) Interlanguage International review of applied linguistics, 10, 209–241 Preface The study of second language acquisition (SLA) in the multilingual, multicultural, mixed ability classes has always been an exciting and challenging experience to an English language teaching (ELT) theorist and action researcher This book presents a study on learner language in the spoken and written output of English as second language (ESL) learners of English in the Indian classroom teaching–learning context There has always been a hiatus between theories and classroom practices Either the two go completely in different directions or the practice blindly depends on theory without a consideration of the feasibility problem The basic argument in the book, based on two empirical studies reported, is that learning theories and pedagogical practices need to be constantly revised through classroom based action research studies that throw light on the appropriate convergence of theory and practice The study of SLA has looked into the relationship between input, intake, and output in the context of task performance The cognitive processes that are triggered in the mind of an ESL learner while processing input for spoken or written output in the classroom situation is the focus of the study in this book What is the nature of intake or rather what is the nature and type of processing done for subsequent output? What are the strategies used by the ESL learners at every stage of the input– intake–output framework? These are the questions put at the beginning of the study of SLA in the context of Indian ESL classroom situation Multilingual classroom refers to the minimum of two languages that the ESL learners in our study have Mixed ability classroom refers to the difference in language level among the students in terms of learning style, students’ background knowledge, knowledge of the world, their skills and talents in other areas and finally in the levels of motivation This book is based on the results of two empirical studies done to identify the relationship between input, intake, and output in spoken and written task performance For capturing the learner language in the spoken output, the learners were given a Seminar Speech Task, where the subjects spoke for on a “prepared”—3-day preparation time—topic chosen out of given by the teacher-researcher The seminar speeches were recorded and transcribed vii viii Preface phonologically For capturing the learner language in the written output, the learners were given a written test performance task The subjects selected text sources (3 minimum) to make an oral presentation on their favourite (self-chosen) topic Within a uniform preparation time of days, they prepared a script for the seminar task There were 15 subjects, each of who presented his or her seminar in front of the others Each of the seminars was followed by a written test which had content questions (on the topic) prepared by the teacher-researcher on the spot Each of the subjects thus gave speeches to the other 14 Thus, every subject took 15 tests In every test the subjects had to answer two questions The study of the learner language in the SST is based on the hypothesis that there are clearly distinguishable “acquired” and “learnt” elements in the spoken output of second language learners as theorized by Krashen (1985) through the distinction made between “acquisition” and “learning” The study of the learner language in the WTPT is based on the hypothesis that the cognitive processes involved in SLA are triggered positively when an autonomous learner processes self-chosen text input to perform a spoken task The processes would involve information processing (for idea units; chunking—reflective of script dependence; and discourse structure) and input processing (for self-corrections, creativity, and new vocabulary—involving errors as a part of all the three criteria) The task performance of subjects, irrespective of their proficiency levels, would be better on self than others A low proficiency subject would achieve successful task performance with a structured text input source and formatted notes taken while listening to others A high/medium proficiency subject works with creativity and attempts at clarity of expression for effective communication The subjects for the SST were 15 adult learners of English (20–22 years of age) enrolled in a proficiency course in English at Vivekananda School of Languages, Ramakrishna Muth (Hyderabad) Finalization of subjects was done based on the following inclusion/exclusion criteria: mother tongue (Telugu); years of exposure to English as a second language (14–20 years); age (21–22); sex, and Class X (secondary) and Class XII (higher secondary) board examination percentage and scores in the class tests The subjects were categorized into three types—high, medium, and low proficiency—based on a diagnostic test The subjects for the WTPT were (from a random sample of 32) the select sample of 15 subjects who were finalized on the basis of the following inclusion/exclusion criteria: age (range 21–22 years); mother tongue (Hindi); exposure to language (from 14 to 20 years); language proficiency (scores of the diagnostic test ranging from 15 to 24.5); socio-economic background (middle class); ethos of the college campus (same); preparation time for the seminar task and the written test (same); and test conditions (same) The analysis of the learner language in the SST revealed “acquired” (Indianisms, sentence frames, use of articles, and instances of self-monitoring) and “learnt” (routines and patterns, formulaic expressions, rote-learnt chunks, and monitoring from the learnt system) elements Depending on their fluency and discourse level strategies, the learners could be divided into good, poor, and okay speakers All learners resorted to the acquired system in seminar speeches, irrespective of their Preface ix proficiency level The data analysis of the learner language in the WTPT revealed that there are two processes involved in text processing for written test performance: information (for idea units or information chunks) and input processing (for linguistic structure) Depending on their strategies of text source processing, the learners could be categorized as high, medium, and low proficiency learners (based on the diagnostic test); high, medium, and low scorers (based on the written test); extensive, optimal, and intensive information processors; and finally, maximal, optimal, and minimal input processors The results of the SST are presented within the framework of input, intake, and output; and the relationship among the three—in the context of SLA The focus, however, is only on the spoken output We studied in detail constituents of (spoken) learner language, fluency, monitoring, and self-monitoring The results of the WTPT gave us rich insights into the role of input processing in the SLA process One obvious insight is the better task performance results by a greater number of subjects who did input processing when compared to their performance on the diagnostic test For example, as per the proficiency level categorization, there were only high proficiency level subjects out of a total of 15 The low proficiency subjects had a good score in the written test with the help of extensive and optimal information processing of their self-chosen text sources, painstaking preparation of the script, and meticulous note-taking In fact, the first rank holder in the written test—S3 with a cumulative rank of 3H (3 high ranks—5th rank on self; 1st rank as a speaker; and 3rd rank as a listener) is as per the diagnostic test a low proficiency subject! We can say that input processing has a highly positive role in the process of second language acquisition (SLA) Results indicate that low proficiency as a criterion to label a group of students is completely erroneous and unnecessary because students in this category process information as well as input, differently, i.e the choice of strategies is different The book hopes to fill the lacunae in the area of empirical studies based on the data from Indian classrooms and from the domains of learning and teaching of English as a second language There is not much research based on empirical data collected from heterogeneous and mixed ability classrooms in Indian institutions of higher learning The language of the book is lucid and accessible to dedicated teachers who have been in the field for a long time but not have the required knowledge to comprehend the complex and complicated processes that take place in the minds of the learners—the black boxes Vaishna Narang Salonee Priya Varalakshmi Chaudhry Contents Second Language Acquisition Research on Spoken and Written Output 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Problems Identified in the Classroom as a Language Teaching Theorist 1.3 Issues Addressed in the Study 1.3.1 Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Theories and a Different Perspective on What Is Acquired 1.3.2 Materials and Methods 1.3.3 Task Planning and Task Performance 1.3.4 Evaluation and Measurement: Measurement of Accuracy, Complexity, and Fluency 1.3.5 Conclusion 1.4 Perspective for Our Studies of SLA: Spoken and Written Output 1.4.1 Attitudes and Expectations of the Learners 1.5 The Importance of Language in Higher Education 1.5.1 The Indian Setting for Our Studies on SLA in Classrooms 1.5.2 The Objectives and Scope 1.5.3 The Experimental Tasks References 1 11 12 13 14 Certain Theoretical Concepts in SLA Research on Speech and Writing 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Certain Theoretical Notions Related to Language Production 2.2.1 Competence and Performance 2.2.2 Distinctions Similar to the Learning—Acquisition Distinction 2.2.3 Language Deployment 15 17 18 21 23 23 25 25 25 26 xi Appendix F 219 220 Appendix F Appendix F 221 222 Appendix F Appendix F 223 224 Appendix F Appendix F 225 226 Appendix F Appendix F 227 228 Appendix F Appendix F 229 230 Appendix F Appendix F 231 232 Appendix F Appendix F 233 .. .Second Language Acquisition in Multilingual and Mixed Ability Indian Classrooms Vaishna Narang Salonee Priya Varalakshmi Chaudhry • Second Language Acquisition in Multilingual and Mixed Ability. .. inform, enrich, and guide the discussion of personal experience with an © Springer India 2016 V Narang et al., Second Language Acquisition in Multilingual and Mixed Ability Indian Classrooms, DOI... model and operating principles, etc., are included This chapter also introduces the concepts like input, intake, output, and input processing model Keywords Input 1.1 Á Intake Á Output and input