Second Language Acquisition Essays (Examples)

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Essay
Second Language Acquisition There Is
Pages: 8 Words: 3175

These people are also, reportedly, more creative, and also excellent at problem solving. One Moroccan individual was injured in an accident, she was a bi-lingual, and she could speak both French and Arabic before the accident. During her recovery, she found to her amazement, tat she could speak French one day but not Arabic, and one day, Arabic and not French. After three months, she could speak both fluently.
Today, with the increasing advent of globalization in every sphere of life, it must be stated that almost everyone has something to say about it. While a businessman may feel that the world markets would open up as a direct consequence of globalization, some others may feel that since globalization would only serve to, eventually, widen the already wide gap between the rich and the poor of the world, it may not be such a nice thing, after all. However, the…...

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References

Cook, Vivian. Second Language Acquisition, early developments. Retrieved at Accessed 14 July, 2006http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/SLABackground.htm.

Cummins, Jim. Bi-lingual Children's mother tongue, why is it important for education?

Retrieved at   Accessed 14 July, 2006http://www.iteachilearn.com/cummins/mother.htm .

Eckman, Fred R; Linguistics Symposium of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 1993

Essay
Second Language Acquisition the Objective
Pages: 4 Words: 1252

" (Collier, 1995) Academic work through the progression of each grade brings expansion to the vocabulary, sociolinguistic, and discourse dimensions to the language higher cognition. Academic knowledge and development "transfer from the first language to the second language" (Collier, 1994) making it more efficient that academic work is developed through the first language of the student with teaching of the second language occurring during other times of the school day and through "meaningful academic content." (Collier, 1994) the fourth component in Collier's model is the component of cognition which, according to the work of Collier "has been mostly neglected by second language educators in the U.S. " (1994) These four components are so closely inter-dependent that "if one is developed to the neglect of another, this may be detrimental to a student's overall growth and future success." (Collier, 1994) Research has shown that development, both in terms of cognition and…...

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Bibliography

Berk, L., & Winsler, a. (1995). Scaffolding children's learning: Vygotsky and early childhood education. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. (ERIC Document No. ED384443)

Brock, Cynthia H. (nd) No Habla Ingles: Exploring a Bilingual Child's Literacy Learning Opportunities in a Predominantly English-Speaking Classroom. Bilingual Research Journal Spring 1998.

Clark, Beverly (nd) First and Second Language Acquisition in Early Childhood. Online available at http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/pubs/katzsym/clark-b.pdf.

Collier, Virginia P. (1995) Acquiring a Second Language for School. Directions in Language & Education. National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. Vol. 1 No. 4. Fall 1995.

Essay
Second Language Acquisition Theory of
Pages: 2 Words: 604

The Natural Order hypothesis posits that there is a "natural order" that is predictable when it comes to acquiring grammatical structures. The Input hypothesis is completely in relation to the Acquisition hypothesis and it is especially vital to the understanding of how one learns a second language. Krashen (1997) believes that "if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i' plus 1" (1997). This means that if students are at different levels, they can learn, essentially, from those who are more proficient.
The fifth and final hypothesis, Affective Filter, has to do with Krashen's belief that a number of "affective variables" play a role, though not a fundamental one, in second language acquisition. Some of these variables, according to Krashen, could be positive self-image, confidence or lack of confidence, low or high motivation, etc. The…...

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References:

Krashen, Steven. (1997). Principles and practice in second language acquisition.

Prentice-Hall International.

Essay
Second Language Acquisition Advantages and Disadvantages of
Pages: 24 Words: 6907

Second Language Acquisition
Advantages and Disadvantages of ringing up Children ilingually

Much of the debate on bilingual education is wasteful, ironic, hypocritical, and regressive. It is wasteful because instead of directing attention to sound educational practices, it has led to advocating specific "models" based solely on what language should be used for what purpose. It is ironic because most attacks on bilingual education arise from an unfounded apprehension that English will be abandoned in the United Kingdom, whereas, in fact, the rest of the world doubts the opposite; the lure of English and attention in European traditions are seen by non-English-speaking countries as a danger to their own languages and traditions. It is hypocritical for the reason that most challengers of using languages other than English for teaching furthermore want to endorse foreign language requirements for high school commencement. Additionally, it is regressive and xenophobic since the rest of the world regards…...

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Bibliography

Bialystok, E . 2001 . Bilingualism in Development, Language, Literacy, and Cognition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge .

Grosjean, F. 1982. Life with two languages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Hakuta, K., & Mostafapour, E.F. 1996. Perspectives from the history and politics of bilingualism and bilingual education in the United States. In I. Parasnis, ed., Cultural and language diversity and the deaf experience, pp. 38 -- 50. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Heath, S.B. 2003. Ways with words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Essay
Second Language Acquisition Through Child's
Pages: 2 Words: 627

The illustrations found within the pages of Dr. Seuss stories are also an attention grabber which help keep students focused and tie into the lessons of prepositions and vocabulary.
Another simple yet effective method of teaching English to ESL students is to utilize game playing strategies. Games are used in learning since birth, and for adults and kids alike, it is the best way to incorporate all the students together in the learning process. All students are encouraged t participate, which therefore raises the level of success for each individual student. Many studies have shown that students have the greatest success rate when they are more active in the learning process. Through game playing, the teacher gets the students motivated and interested in learning a second language. Tons of games can be turned into language teachers and be used to help instruct the vital lessons of the English language. Students…...

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Bibliography

Sperling, Dave. "ESL Cafe." 2007.  http://www.eslcafe.com

Essay
Second Language Acquisition Theories of
Pages: 3 Words: 1077

The sociocultural perspective is based on the work of Vygotsky who asserted that the mechanism underlying development, including linguistic development, occurs through social interaction (Eun and Lim 17). Learning occurs when "an individual interacts with an interlocutor within his or her zone of proximal development (ZPD) -- that is, in a situation in which the learner is capable of performing at a higher level because there is support from an interlocutor" (Lightbown and Spada 47). Eun and Lim add that the developmental process is always initiated between people and only gradually moves into the individual's psychological plane (17). In other words, people develop through interactions with others that are conducted primarily be means of the linguistic system. According to Eun and Lim, the two key concepts of Vygotsky's theory are mediation and meaning (15). "Mediation refers to the process by which socially meaningful activities transform impulsive, unmediated, and natural…...

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Works Cited

Eun, Barohny and Hye-Soon Lin. "A Sociocultural View of Language Learning: The Importance of Meaning-Based Instruction." TESL Canada Journal 27.1 (2009): 13-27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 June 2011.

Harrington, Michael. "Cognitive Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition." In Robert B. Kaplan (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics (pp. 124-140) New York: Oxford University Press. Print.

Lightbown, Patsy M. And Nina Spada. How Languages Are Learned. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University P, 2006. Print.

Essay
Second Language Acquisition Metacognitive Listening
Pages: 10 Words: 3409

"
Stated to be indentified in this framework are three categories of knowledge that represent "key components in the process of cognitive appraisal" which are those of:

1) Person knowledge;

2) Task knowledge; and 3) Strategy knowledge.

Task knowledge is stated to "acknowledge the successes or failures in one's learning. Person knowledge is related to one's learning abilities and knowledge about internal and external factors that affect the success of failure in one's learning." (Vandergrift, et al., 2006) Finally, strategy knowledge "is useful for achieving learning goals and appears to have the greatest impact on learning by helping learners to choose the strategies that they use." (Vandergrift, et al., 2006) the following figure lists the three factor of metacognitive knowledge and examples from listening.

Metacognitive Knowledge and Examples from Listening

Source: Vandergrift, et al. (2006)

The work of Vandergrift, et al. (2006) states that metacognitive knowledge is "in essence...both self-reflection and self-direction." As the individual reflects on…...

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Bibliography

Anderson, Neil J. (2005) L2 Learning Strategies. Brigham Young University in Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning (2005) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, New Jersey. LEA 2005.

Carrier, Karen a. (2003) Improving High School English Language Learners' Second Language Listening Through Strategy Instruction. Bilingual Research Journal 27:3 Fall 2003. Online available at http://brj.asu.edu/content/vol27_no3/art2.pdf

Chang, Cheng-Yi Kelly (2005) Intuitive-Analysis Style and EFL Listening Strategies. ARECLS E-Journal Nov 2005 Vol. 2. Online available at http://www.ecls.ncl.ac.uk/publish/Volume2/Kelly/kelly.htm

Cohen, Andrew D. And Macaro, Ernesto (2007) Language Learner Strategies: Thirty Years of Research and Practice. Oxford University Press 2007.

Essay
Goal of Second Language Acquisition
Pages: 4 Words: 1357

He have band-aid on the arm, the leg, the stomach. This boy cry in the arm of your mother.
Stage 2 -- Emergence; emergence of 'his' and 'her' with a preference for one of the forms.

For example: The mother is dressing her little boy, and she put her clothes, her pant, her coat, and then she finish.

Stage 3 -- Post-emergence; differentiated use of 'his' and 'her' but not correctly when the possessed object has gender.

For example: The girl fell on her bicycle. She look his father and cry.

Stage 4 -- Error free use of 'his' and 'her' in all contexts.

For example; The little girl with her dad play together. And the dad take his girl on his shoulder and he hurts his back (Lightbown and Spada 89-90).

In examining the developmental sequence of relative clauses, Lightbown and Spada (90) report a definitive sequence, presented below.

Subject -- The girl who was sick…...

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Works Cited:

Ellis, Rod. "Measuring Implicit and Explicit Knowledge of a Second Language: A Psychometric Study." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 27.2 (2005): 141,141-172. ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 30 June 2011.

Erlam, R. (2005). Language aptitude and its relationship to instructional effectiveness in second language acquisition. Language Teaching Research, 9(2), 147-147-172. doi:10.1191/1362168805lr161oa

Gardner, R.C. "Correlation, Causation, Motivation and Second Language Acquisition." Canadian Psychology 41.1 (2000): 10-. ProQuest Psychology Journals. Web. 30 June 2011.

Lightbown, Patsy M. And Nina Spada. How Languages Are Learned. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.

Essay
Importance of ICT SA and Oral Practice in Second Language Acquisition Applied Linguistics
Pages: 20 Words: 6142

ICT, SA, and Oral Practice in Second Language
Faculty's Name

Importance of ICT, SA and Oral Practice in Second Language Acquisition (Applied Linguistics)

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the most attracted terminology in the field of education. This very concept has managed to bring a great deal of finesse in the traditional method of teaching. here ICT has now, a fundamental importance in the traditional methods of teaching, it has also managed to embark its worth in the learning of second languages and content and language integrated learning, by acting as a major tool in doing so.

As per UNESCO, "ICT is a scientific, technological and engineering discipline and management technique used in handling information, its application and association with social, economical and cultural matters." ith the very concept of ICT, treatment towards information has differed and evolved greatly. Now, the storage, manipulation, usage and dissemination of information have a complete new…...

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Work Cited

Birmingham, P., Davies, C. Storyboarding Shakespeare: learners' Interactions with Storyboard Software in the Process of Understanding Difficult literacy texts. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 10 (3), 2001. pp. 241-252.

Bottino. Rosa Maria. The evolution of ICT-based learning environments: which perspectives for the school of the future? British Journal of Educational Technology Volume 35 No Web. 2004. 5 pp 553-567.

DeKeyser, Robert M. Practice in A Second Language. Perspective from Lingusitics and Cognitive Psycohlogy. Cambridge University Press. 2007

Freed, B. Sufumi So, And Nicole A. Lazar. Language Learning Abroad:

Essay
Report on Get it Right From the Beginning Proposal in Second Language Acquisition
Pages: 5 Words: 1769

Right from the Beginning
Lightbown and Spada present six proposals for teaching second and foreign language. The first of these is called "Get it right from the beginning" (138). This approach, known also as audiolingual teaching, was formed as a reaction to the grammar translation method. Lightbown and Spada (138) explain that with grammar translation, students translate a text line by line from the second language to their first language. Instruction under this method may also include comprehension questions (usually answered in the first language) and a focus on grammar instruction. However, instructors realized a need for oral practice which led to the development of the audiolingual method. According to Lightbown and Spada (138) the audiolingual method is based on the theories of behaviorism and contrastive analysis.

According to Second Language Acquisition, language instruction in the 1950s and 1960s followed the behaviorism theory. Language instruction under this theory is essentially a…...

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Works Cited:

Brown, H. Douglas. "Forty Years of Language Teaching." Language Teaching 40.1 (2007): 1,1-2. ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 28 June 2011.

DeKeyser, Robert. "Practice for Second Language Learning: Don't Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater." International Journal of English Studies 10.1 (2010): 155,155-165,170. ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 28 June 2011.

Hathcock, Dani. Wittgenstein, Behaviorism, and Language Acquisition. Drury University. 2000. Web. 27 June 2011.  http://www.drury.edu/multinl/story.cfm?ID=2435&NLID=166 

Lightbown, Patsy M. And Nina Spada. How Languages Are Learned. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.

Essay
Second Language Acquisition of Chinese College Students
Pages: 3 Words: 1132

Chinese Students
Introduction and Statement of Purpose

"A language achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role that is recognized in every country" (Crystal, 2003, p. 3). In China, English is a compulsory subject from the 3rd grade and designated as one of the primary subjects for national college entrance examinations, and deemed necessary for college students in securing their initial degrees at colleges and universities and a skill necessary for personal well being (He, 2002; Hu, 2202b; heng & Davidson, 2008). However, many students have not developed sufficient proficiencies and competencies in regard to English language use and usage to meet the challenges of not just securing his or her college education but the emerging and unrelenting challenges of globalization (Hu, 2000b; hu, 2003).

Background (Literature Review)

The development of English as a universal language has a history of prominent and rapid expansion that dates back several decades; specifically to…...

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Zheng, X., & Davidson, C. (2008). Changing pedagogy. London and New York:

Continuum.

Zhu, H. (2003). Globalization and new ELT challenges in China. English Today, 19(4),

Essay
When to Use Formulaic Language in Teaching
Pages: 2 Words: 432

Practices in Classroom Second Language Acquisition 1.Role-play a conversation between a travel agent and a tourist—Get it right in the end because ultimately the tourist wants the correct information and that may be difficult due to language barriers, so some struggle is expected.
2.Memorize a dialogue about buying airline tickets—Get it right in the end because ultimately the key is to get it memorized correctly.
3.Underline the past tense verbs while reading a story—Get it right in the beginning because this is an exercise that should be completed in the first go around. It could also be Just listen and read, because it focuses on reading and seeing.
4.Arrange illustrations in the correct sequence after listening to a story—Just listen and read because it focuses on listening to a story and then arranging the visual depictions in the right order.
5.Work with a partner to write a story based on a cartoon strip—Let’s talk because…...

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References

Lightbrown, P.M. & Spada, N. (2013). How languages are learned (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Essay
Communicating Effectively with ELL Students
Pages: 1 Words: 320

Feedback in Instructed Second Language Acquisition In the first case, the English speaker shortened the response to make it clearer. In the second case, the English speaker settled on one verb instead of two to make a clear response. In the third case, the English speaker used correct grammar to express a complete thought instead of attempting to stammer his way through a response.
The functions that these modifications serve in communication are that they make expressions clearer and more easily understandable. They provide clarification in each case.
This language behavior connects to what Gass et al. (2013) show in their article on second language acquisition, in which outputs act as a synthesis of integrated inputs. The modifications that the English speakers make fit into comprehended input for a language learner in the sense that they are meant to act as clarifications of thoughts that were poorly expressed the first go around. This…...

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References

Gass, S., & Varonis, E. (1985). Variation in native speaker speech modification to non-

native speaker. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 7, 37-57

 

Essay
Language Acquisition and Learning in Education
Pages: 2 Words: 640

Second language proficiency and academic achievement can be challenging to develop simultaneously. Krashen's (2010) work illustrates the various systems of learning, including the learning that takes place subconsciously and the learning that takes place more by rote methods. Likewise, Gottlieb (2006) differentiates between social and academic language proficiency and academic achievement for students. The acquisition of the language entails different cognitive processes than the acquisition of subject-specific knowledge. Educators armed with a more thorough understanding of academic versus language proficiency can better help their students succeed on both levels.
Krashen (2010) points out that each human being learns language in the same way. Individual differences may be important for current scientific paradigms, but for educators, a more universal approach will be far more helpful in creating a classroom environment and pedagogical approach that will be effective. After all, human biology is universal; so, too are the cognitive processes involved in language…...

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References

Gottlieb, M. (2006). Assessing English Language Learners. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Krashen, S. (2010). On language acquisition. Retrieved online:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTsduRreug 

"Nebraska: ELL Resources," (n.d.). Colorin Colorado. Retrieved online:  http://www.colorincolorado.org/ell-basics/resources-state/nebraska

Essay
Laufer Min Language Acquisition Literature
Pages: 6 Words: 1695

The groups were distinguished by those who participated in language acquisition activities employing enhanced reading with word-based activities and those who participated in what the researcher called 'narrow reading,' which occurred without this supplementary instruction. The two groups were asked to retain the same scope of fifty selected vocabulary words. Min would find that those in the former group, denoted as the "RV" group, performed significantly better than those in the "NR" group. In interpretation, Min tells that "the results show that the RV group demonstrated significantly more knowledge about the target vocabulary than the NR group on the acquisition and retention tests. The researcher concludes that reading plus focused vocabulary exercises are more effective and efficient than the narrow reading approach in enhancing target vocabulary acquisition and retention among EFL secondary students." (Min, p. 75)
Min would go on to suggest that the value in this study rests in…...

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Works Cited:

Laufer, B. & Rozovski-Roitblat, B. (2011). Incidental vocabulary acquisition: The effects of task type,-word occurrence and their combination. Language Teaching Research, 15(4), 391-411

Min, H.T. (2008). EFL Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention: Reading Plus Vocabulary Enhancement Activities and Narrow Reading. Language Learning, 58(1), 73-115.

Q/A
Could you suggest some essay topics related to learning english in united states?
Words: 740

Essay Topic 1: The Role of Immersion in Second Language Acquisition: Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Studying English in the United States

Introduction:
Begin with a hook that highlights the importance of immersion in learning a second language.
State the thesis statement: The United States provides an immersive environment that facilitates English language acquisition, but also presents unique challenges.

Body Paragraph 1: Benefits of Immersion
Discuss the advantages of interacting with native speakers in everyday situations.
Explain how exposure to authentic language promotes fluency, pronunciation, and cultural understanding.
Cite research or anecdotal evidence to support the benefits of immersion.

Body Paragraph 2:....

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