Second Language Acquisition (9)

INSTRUCTION AND L2 ACQUISITION

A.    Form-Focused Instruction

1. Language pedagogy has emphasized form-focused instruction. The Grammar Translation Method, Audio-Lingual Method, and Communicative Language Teaching.

2.The acquisition of at least some linguistic structures can be permanently influenced by instruction.

3.The effects of form-focused instruction are not restricted to careful language use but are also evident in free communication.

B.     Learner-Instruction Matching

Learners vary in the particular types of ability they are strong in. Learners with differing kinds of ability may be able to achieve similar level of success providing that the type of instruction enables them to maximize their strengths. It is obviously important to take individual differences into account when investigating the effects of instruction.

C.     Strategy Training

 Teaching learners specific grammatical structures constitutes an attempt to intervene directly in interlanguage development. An alternative approach is to intervene more indirectly by identifying strategies that are likely to promote acquisition and providing training in them. The idea of strategy training is attractive because it provides a way of helping learners to become autonomous (i.e. of enabling them to take responsibility for their own learning).