1. Translate the following into Chinese.

When we study human languages, we are approaching what some might call the human essence, the distinctive qualities of mind that are, so far as we know, unique to humans.

 --- Chomsky

We look around us, and are awed by the variety of several thousand languages and dialects, expressing a multiplicity of the world news, literatures, and ways of life. We look back at the thoughts of our predecessors, and find we can see only as far as language lets us see. We look forward in time, and find we can plan only through language. We look outward in space, and send symbols of communication along with our spacecraft, to explain who we are, in case there is anyone there who wants to know.

                                   --- Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language

Input is the language with a communicative intent; the learner’s communicative job is to capture the message or meaning contained in the utterance or sentence, that is, the learner’s primary or focal attention is on meaning.

                             --- Bill VanPatten

 

2. Fill in the blanks with the right words:

Native language is ‘picked up’ in __________ environment and in an informal manner. People generally learn to speak and use the language in real communicative contexts, and the primary focus is on _________ instead of linguistic forms. Native language is also tightly bound to native ________, and because of this, it is often difficult to decode for a person from another culture. A target language, unlike native language, is often learned in classrooms in a _______ way. People learn to speak it in an unauthentic context. While people are learning it, their primary focus is on linguistic __________ first, and then move on gradually toward interactive communication.

The underlying knowledge of language is called ___________, while the actual use of language is called ___________________.

 

3. Match the following terms in column I to the definitions in column II.

     I                   II

(1) first language       a. the aim of language learning

(2) target language       b. a language which is acquired during childhood

(3) second language       c. a language that has no immediate practical application,

                   which might be used later for travel or be required for school

 (4) foreign language       d. an officially or socially dominant language, which is not

the speaker’s L1, but needed for education, employment or

other basic purpose

 

4. Answer the following questions.

(1) What is second language?

(2) What is second language acquisition?

(3) What are the objectives of studying the second language acquisition?

(4) What are the differences between second language acquisition and foreign language learning?

(5) What are the internal factors influencing the learning of a second language?

(6) What does ‘linguistic universals’ mean?

(7) What are the characteristics of children’s telegraphic speech? Give example to illustrate.

(8) What is the sequence of children’s acquisition of morphemes found in Brown’s study?

(9) How do native English children develop their interrogative structures? Give examples to illustrate.

 

5. Mini-discussion corner

(1) Think about the distinction between second language acquisition and foreign language learning as discussed in this chapter. Let’s assume that they are fundamentally different. How would you explain the differences? Now take the opposite position, and defend your position. Also look at the distinction from a social point of view. Discuss in terms of specific examples from your experience, such as learning English in an English-speaking country, such as the United Sates or Great Britain, or learning English in a non-English country such as China.

(2) Discuss with your classmates the following statements, telling whether they are true or false. Give reasons or examples to justify your answers.

a. A second language refers to the language that is not spoken in the community where the learner is living.

b. A foreign language is one that is learned and used in the classroom setting, but seldom used in real communicative environment outside the classroom.

c. Native language is acquired in the natural context, and it is not taught by a parent or a teacher in any formal way.

d. The purpose of studying second language acquisition is to improve teaching efficiency.

e. External factors that influence second language learning refer to those factors in the social surrounding, such as input and the learning environment.

f. A learner’s first language system and the general world knowledge belong to the internal factors influencing the second language learning.

g. A second language learner often comprehends more than he or she can produce.

h. All children can learn a second language accent-free.

i. No adult can learn a second language accent-free.

j. Teaching a second language is as effective as learning a second language in the natural environment.

k. A person who speaks two languages equally well is bilingual.

l. A person who speaks three or more languages for different communicative purposes is multilingual.

m. Competence refers to the ability of using the language in a social context, while performance refers to the way a person behaves while communicating with others.

n. Language teaching in the classroom is a waste of time.

o. Everyone has a language acquisition device in the brain, so everyone can learn any language successfully.

p. General world knowledge is of great help to the learner, even if he or she is learning a foreign language.

(3) In Part 1.4, we discussed two external factors and five internal factors which may exert an influence upon an L2 learner. What other factors might there be that affect L2 learning?

(4) According to the L1 transfer, as is discussed in 1.4, there are two kinds of transfer: positive and negative. Study each of the following two sentences. Is it a result of negative transfer? If not, what causes the error?

a. He comed late.

b. Give me two apple.

(5) We have discussed two kinds of input: conversational and non-conversational in this chapter. Do you think there are any linguistic differences between conversational input and non-conversational input? Some hints are given below and think about the differences in the following aspects:

--- level of formality

--- length of utterances

--- relative number of questions versus statements

--- incomplete sentences

--- range or type of vocabulary

(6) When defining ‘input’ and ‘output’, we hold a view that both input and output must be language that has certain kind of communicative intent. Why should it be so? Do you think the kind of language produced by learners during drills is the same as the kind of language they produce when they are engaged in communicating an idea? Why or why not?