Course Syllabus

UNIVERSIDAD DE CALDAS ESCUELA DE LENGUAS MODERNAS PROGRAMA DE MAESTRIA EN DIDACTICA DEL INGLES THEORIES OF FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROFESSOR: Ph.D. CARLOS MAN OSPINA NOVA I. OBJECTIVES • To provide an opportunity for an in-depth investigation of key issues in the study of second language acquisition (SLA). • To introduce current issues in psychological and linguistic aspects of second language acquisition. • To provide an opportunity for the student to relate those issues to current and prospective learning/teaching experiences and the student´s future formal teaching. • To clarify important research methods employed in SLA research during the past several decades. II. COURSE SYLLABUS UNIT I. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS ON SLA • 1. Course introduction • 2. Applied linguistics and SLA • 3. Historical perspectives • 4. Socio-cultural factors in SLA • 5. Research methods in SLA UNIT II. THE INDIVIDUAL AND SLA. • 6. Affective factors • 7. Cognitive factors • 8. Personality factors • 9. Learning strategies UNIT III. MODELS OF FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION • 10. Comparing and contrasting first and second language acquisition • 11. The behaviorist view   • 12. The Innatist view, Chomsky´s LAD • 13. Jerome Brunner´s LASS. • 14. Stephen Krashen´s Hypotheses • 15. The interaction Hypothesis • 16. The Noticing Hypothesis • 17. Vigotsky´s Socio-cultural Perspective • 18. Merril Swain´s comprehensible output hypothesis UNIT IV. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AND SLA • 19. Communicative competence • 20. Feedback/error correction • 21. Communication strategies UNIT V. COURSE CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY • 22. Classroom research on Second Language Acquisition • 23. Presentation on probable research topics III. METHODOLOGY Three strategies define the methodology for this course: • the Seminar and “position” papers • the Presentation by the students • The Term Project. The students compile a portfolio in a BLOG FORMAT, which contains the position papers and the term project, together with any other additional class work. The strategy of the Seminar implies research, thinking, organization, discussion and application. The teacher introduces different topics for discussion and the students are responsible for the reading and discussion of said concepts. Participation in the discussions will be graded. As part of the preparation for class, students write “position” papers which are assigned and developed in and out of class. These position papers are to be written in the form of “entries” in a blog and will be graded, too. For the Presentation strategy, the students will be given a topic on which research has been conducted extensively. They will be responsible for making an oral presentation in a pertinent assigned topic for which an article is provided. The presentation will consist of: a) Summary on the main points covered in the article b) Discussing how the article relates to other readings in the course c) Discussing how the article fits in with theoretical issues we are discussing in class d) Discussing how the article relates to matters of language teaching and learning. In addition, the presenter should be able to satisfactorily answer questions raised by others concerning issues dealing with the article. Presentation length: 30 minutes each. Finally, the term Project strategy, is an assignment designed to give the students an opportunity to look at topics of interest to them in greater detail than the readings for the course permit. The project might be: • A thoughtful, creative look at the research in a well-defined area • A summary of literature on a particular topic followed by a discussion of implications for the second language classroom • A plan for a research study that would be conducted at some future date; etc. • A documentary explaining a point of interest in SLA (www.xtranormal.com for example) This paper should not exceed 500 words or 5 minutes if it is a video. This seminar is given in three weekends (Friday through Sunday). Topics have been numbered sequentially and will each be discussed in a 2-hour block. These discussions will include the discussion of the introductory video and its implications in SLA. The student assigned for each topic will refer to the reading assigned and will propose ways of implementation and validity for our own classroom realities, together with the points explained above. Argumentative essays may be assigned at the end of each presentation to be done in class or completed at home. Since there is no time for us to meet prior to the start of the course, the topics for the first weekend have been randomly assigned so that the development of the course does not get affected. The rest of the topics will be selected by the students at the end of the first session. IV. EVALUATION The grade will be assigned on the basis of a portfolio blog compiled and developed by the students. Consideration will be given to: 1. Class participation (including pair and group work, quizzes, and participation in workshops) 20% 2. Position papers (included in the final version of the “Learning Journal blog”) 40% 3. Presentation 20% 4. Term project 20%

Welcome to the course on theories of L1 andL2 LA

My main goal as the teacher of this course is to awaken in all of my students the desire to try new approaches in their daily work as language teachers so that their students´s learning results become increasingly evident and objectively measurable.
maestria didactica theories SLA

cminnova@yahoo.com


Welcome to the course on THEORIES OF FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION