Universidad de Jan

ASSIGNMENT ALCC

APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE IN THE CLASSROOM CONTEXT

Universidad de Jan

ASSIGNMENT ALCC

Assignment:
- Question 1

Native Language: Spanish.

Target Language: English.
Background Information: False beginners, 12-13 year-old students
beginning last year of compulsory Primary education in Spain.
Data Source: Tape-recorded spontaneous speech of story previously
told by teacher with visual support (pictures). The interviewer recording
the sample was expected not to help students with the L2 but to motivate
them to speak.
The story is about a couple who were sleeping. The husband woke up and
looked through the window. He saw a UFO. He told her wife, who looked
through the window, but she only saw their garden and the dog. She thought
her husband was crazy and called the police and the psychiatrist. When they
came, they asked the husband if he had seen a UFO through the window. He
said he had not, so they sent the wife to prison. (from Rinvolucri, 1989:63)

DATA:

QUESTIONS:
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ASSIGNMENT ALCC

1. What communication strategies do you think the learner has come up

with?
Communication strategies can be defined in different ways. In this essay I
have followed Tarones taxonomy to describe the different examples we can
find in the text. That is:
Topic avoidance: In the first paragraph the learner refers to a UFO, he is not
very sure about the pronunciation of a word and adds in Spanish:Bueno, no se
como decirlo...
Circumlocution: The fact that this couple is sleeping is referred to as they are
in the house
Word coinage: marriach referring to marriage.
wif referring to wife.
Paraphrase: and the wife look in the window: the student means the woman
looks through the window.
Concious transfer: The student switchs several times from English to Spanish.
...there was a marriach - bueno a marriage...
...and he see a travs in the window...
...bueno, no s cmo decirlo...
Examples of literal translation can be seen in:
-look in the window instead of through the window
- rang instead of called.
-put in the prison instead of sent to prison.
Appeal for assistance: The most clear example of this kind of strategy is seen
when the student makes a pause and asks: responde?
Mime: the fact that the student signs the picture when he refers to the house.

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ASSIGNMENT ALCC

2. Identify which kind of interlanguage phenomena might account for the

forms in boldface. Give your reasons for postulating this generalization.
In this second exercise we can find the following interlanguage
phenomena:
-formulaic expressions: once upon a time
-learned chunks or memorised stock of phrases and sentences:
there was, in a house, one day, in the window, come here, in his house.
-examples of negative transfer: in the window, to the psychiatrist.
-examples of rule-generated language: they are sleeping, there was.
These examples show the level of the students capacity to speak in the
target language, he has already assimilated some prefabricated models
to use when it is necessary; the student is also acquiring the formation of
verb tenses but he is still influenced by negative transfers from Spanish.
3. Select two examples of negative transfer. Explain them again in terms of
strategic use.
Examples of negative transfer:
rang instead of called and,
to the psychiatrist with the addition of the article the.
In these two examples the student is making use of his knowledge of
Spanish and adds some characteristics of the Spanish language in the
English one.
We can make positive use of negative transfer by warning students of
these mistakes so they can became aware of similarities and
differences between their mother tongue and the target language.
4. Do you think the Output Hypothesis can be used to explain this data?
In accordance to Swains opinion, the most important element in the
learning process is comprehensible output.
In this example we can confirm that the student has understood the text
following Krashens theories.
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ASSIGNMENT ALCC

But he also has to be able to produce a summary in order he can

assimilate the learning.
The gap between what the student wants to say and what he is able to
say is evident. He realizes he lacks the knowledge of many expressions
and vocabulary. This output serves the student to control and internalize
knowledge. This output also serves the teacher to test the level of
learning he is acquiring.

- Question 2

Native Language: Spanish.

Target Language: English.
Background Information: Beginners, 10 year-old in semi-private
School. First year of English language teaching.
Data Source: Tape-recorded spontaneous speech of story previously.
told by teacher and supported by total physical response cues.

The story is about five frogs: daddy frog, mummy frog, sister frog, brother frog and
baby frog. One day it was hot, very very hot (action representing heat) and daddy
frog went jump, jump, jump (action) and sat on a leaf in a lake (action). It was hot,
very very hot (action) and daddy frog said come here. Mummy frog went jump,
(this is repeated for all the characters) Baby frog went jump, jump, jump (action)
and sat on a leaf in the lake (action) but the leaf was so full of frogs that
.SPLASH! they all fell into the water (from Phillips, 1993:21-22)

DATA:
1. One day- its - no one day wats (was) hot - very very hot - mmm - mmm jump jump jump and sat on the lear - the leaf in the lake - the mum - come
here! come here! the daddy frog -the - jump jump jump - sat on the leaf in the
lake ((pause)) Come here come here! - the sister frog -jump jump jump and
sat on the leaf in the lake - come here come here! the brother - frog jump
jump jump and sat on the leaf in the lake - the brother frog - come here come
here! The baby frog - come here come here! the baby frog jump jump jump and
sat on the leaf in the lake - the leaf its (is) very very - its small and - Splash!
ms o menos.
2. ...Pues one day its very hot daddy frog is jump jump jump and sat on a leaf
in the lake - daddy frog sais (says) come jier (here) come here mummy frog is
jump jump jump and sat on a leaf in the lake mummy frog sais come jier come
jier sister frog is jump jump jump and sat on a leaf in the lake sister frog sais
come jier come jier - brother frog is jump jump jump and sat on a leaf in the lake
- brother forg sais come jier come jier baby frog is jump jump jump and sat on a
leaf in the lake - the leaf is very small and - es que ya no me acuerdo splash
3. One day is hot - very very hot - daddy frog is a - water a water - is coming come here come here - mummy frog is very- very hot - come here - come
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ASSIGNMENT ALCC

here jump jump jump sister frog is very very hot - jump jump jump - come here
come here - baby frog is a jump jump jump is SPLASH!
QUESTIONS:
1. How can you explain the use of the past form of the verb?
Examples 1 and 2 show that the use of the past simple of the verb to be is
something that they have already learnt as they can use it without thinking.
Example 3 lacks this knowledge and he is not able to express himself in the
past tense.
2. How can you explain the use of is coming in participant number 3?
The use of is coming in participant number 3 may be seen as an example
of prefabricated pattern. A learned chunk that the student has learnt and is
able to use without thinking.
3. Which set of rules (TL//FL) is being used here? Thus, what stage of
interlanguage can these samples be ascribed to?
Ellis(1994) stated that learners create unique rules not to be found in either
the L1 or the TL and then gradually complexify these rules in the direction of
those in the TL.
Those examples of interlanguage can be abscribed to he Initial Stage.

4. Who appears to be the most advanced learner and why?

Student 1 appears to be the most advanced learner because:
-he has a better vocabulary,
-he is also able to use verbs in the right tense,
and is able to use expressions such as : come here, on the leaf, in the
lake, etc.
5. Who appears to be the least advanced learner and why?
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ASSIGNMENT ALCC

Student 3 appears to be the least advanced learner because:

-he lacks vocabulary,
-he is not able to use expressions of place,
-and although he is able to use the third person of the verb to be in the
present he cannot express himself in the past tense.
6. What kind of knowledge do the learners show: implicit or explicit? Why?
I would say that the kind of knowledge we can find is implicit because the
students are not able to explain why a determined structure is possible or
not.

- Question 3

Native Language: Mexican Spanish.

Target Language: English.
Background Information: Adult male.
Data Source: Tape-recorded spontaneous speech.

DATA:
Following are examples of this subject's use of negatives:
1. No write.
2. No like it.
3. I me no speaka too much Englee, eh?
4. Me no like stay in the house.
5. No es correct.
6. I no like tortilla.
7. You no go Calexico?
8. My brother no go to school.
9. No, ya no work.
10. Me no comin.
11. No in town.
12. No cheese.
13. No now.
14. No American.
15. The operation ya no good.
16. No money.
17. Maybe no good for me.
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Universidad de Jan

ASSIGNMENT ALCC

QUESTIONS:
1. Describe this learner's knowledge of English negation.
In this question, we can see that the student has a very basic knowledge
of the English negation. We can observe here the phenomena named
overgeneralization in which the mother tongue and the target language
are combined.
The student has simplified the morphology and syntax of English
negations:
Ex: No like it, me no comin, I no like tortilla, etc.
These processes are known as regularisation and simplification devices
respectively.
2. At this same time, this non-native speaker produced many examples of "I
don't know". Does this alter your hypothesis about the pattern described
in question 1? If so, how?
Krashens Monitor Theory explains that learning is the result of a
conscious process. This learning can be explicit or implicit. (Ellis, 1994)
Implicit learning is intuitive and cannot be explained. Explicit knowledge
refers to the learner's ability to explain why a determined pattern is
posible or not. The production of examples of I dont know can be
explained as "generalized and abstract structures which have been
internalized"

References:

Ellis, R. (1997): Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

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ASSIGNMENT ALCC

Selinker, L. & Douglas, D. (1985): Wrestling with "context" in interlangauge theory.

Swain, M. (1985): Communicative competence: some roles of comprehensible input
and comprehensible output in its development, in Gass and Madden (eds.) 1985
Tarone, Elaine E (2007). Sociolinguistic approaches to second language acquisition
research, 1997-2007. Modern Language Journal.

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ASSIGNMENT ALCC

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