Second language acquisition/learning

The study of Language by George Yule (2006)

New words
Affective factors: emotional reactions such as self-consciousness or negative feelings that may influence learning
Audiolingual method: a mid-twentieth-century approach to language teaching, with repetitive drills used to develop fluent spoken language as a set of habits
Transfer: using sounds, expressions and structures from the L1 while performing in an L2
Positive transfer: the use of a feature from the L1 that is similar to the L2 while performing in the L2, in contrast to negative transfer
Negative transfer: the use of a feature from the L1 (that is really different from the L2) while performing in the L2, in contrast to positive transfer
Interlanguage: the interim system of L2 learners, which has some features of the L1 and L2 plus some that are independent of the L1 and L2
Fossilization: the process whereby an interlanguage, containing many non-L2 features, stops developing toward more accurate forms of the L2
Instrumental motivation: the desire to learn an L2, not to join the community of L2-users, in contrast to instrumental motivation
Integrative motivation: the desire to learn an L2 in order to take part in the social life of the community of L2-users, in contrast to instrumental motivation
Foreigner talk: a way of using a language with non-native speakers that is simpler in structure and vocabulary
Negotiated input: L2 material that an acquirer/learner is exposed to when active attention us drawn to that material during interaction in the L2
Task-based learning: using activities involving information exchange and problem solving as a way of developing ability in language
Communication strategy: a way of overcoming a gap between communicative intent and a limited to express that intent, as part of strategic competence

Study questions
1 Vocabulary and grammar are easier to learn than pronunciation as an adult L2.
2 The term acquisition is used to refer to the gradual development of ability by the constant interaction, but the term learning applies to a more conscious process of accumulating knowledge, typically in an institutional setting. That’s why mathematics is learned, not acquired.
3 insufficient time, the critical period for language acquisition has passed, affective factors, insufficient incentive
4 Positive transfer is the use of a feature from the L1 that is similar to the L2 and negative transfer is one from the L1 that is really different from the L2 while performing in the L2.
5 When learners develop a fixed L2 expression containing many forms that do not match the target language, they seem not to be progressing any further.
6 grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, strategic competence