P17,the definition of errors and mistakes
Errors reflects gaps in a learner‘s knowledge ; they occur because the learner does not know what is correct; mistakes reflect occasional lapses in performance; they occur because ,in a particular instance ,the learner is unable to perform what he or she knows p17,how to distinguish errors and mistakes
one way might be to check the consistency of learners‘ performance another is to ask learners to try to correct their own deviant utterances describing errors,
most common grammatical category of error is how to distinguish errors and mistakes in an analysis of Jean‘s errors. Most common general error type is ―misinformation‖ P18.ways of describing and classifying all the errors into types 1st,classify errors into grammatical categories
2nd,identify general way in which the learners‘ utterances differ from the reconstructed target-language utterances, which includes omission, misinformation , misordering explaining errors,(P18)
The identification and description of errors are preliminaries to the task of trying to explain why they occur. Errors are systematic and predictable. P19.How many sources can errors have?
some errors seem to be universal ,reflecting learners‘ attempts to make the task of learning and using the L2 simpler. 1st, learners commit errors of omission.
2nd,they overgeneralize forms that they find easy to learn and process; ie, overgeneralization
3rd,other errors reflect learners‘ attempts to make use of their L1 knowledge. These are known as transfer errors error evaluation (19)
the purpose of the error analysis is to help learners learn an L2 ,there is a need to evaluate errors. some errors can be considered more serious than others because they are more likely to interfere with the intelligibility of what someone says. global errors are difficult to understand because their structure is wrong .local errors affect only a single constituent, less likely to create any processing problems developmental patterns The early stage of L2 acquisition
Learners make no attempts to say anything to begin with in a silent period. which may serve as a preparation for subsequent production .when L2 learners begin their speech ;their utterances have two characteristics; one is formulaic chunks which can give a mistakenimpression of competence the other is propositional simplification P21.two developing questions:
1st. acquisition order-----Do Learners acquire the grammatical structures of an L2 in a definite order? Learners do seem to find some grammatical features easier than others ,so it is quite possible that acquisition follows a definite order.
2nd.sequence of acquisition----- Do learners learn such structures in a
single step or do they proceed through a number of interim stages before they master the target structure?
P21-p25 The order of acquisition .sequence of acquisition
U-shaped course of development------ initially learners may display a high level of accuracy only to apparently regress later before finally once again performing in accordance with target-language norms
Restructuring----- In order to accommodate new knowledge ,learners reorganize their existing knowledge ,which is believed to be prevalent is referred to as restructuring
It is clear that acquisition of a simple grammatical feature is a highly complex affair. not only are there general stages ,but there may be stages within stages. despite the complexity of learners‘ behaviour, it is clear that it is far from random. Follow Some implications:
L2 acquisition is systematic and to a large extent, universal, reflecting ways in which internal cognitive mechanisms control acquisition; the work on developmental pattern tells us that some linguistic feature s are inherently easier to learn than others.
A existing question: is the orders and sequences of acquisition can be altered through formal instruction ? P25-29 variability in learner language
learner language is systematic and variable. the variability is also systematic . there are some evidence of systematic variability. eg, learners choice of past tense marker depends ,in part, on whether the verb refers to
an event ,an activity, or a state .Broadly speaking ,it is determined by a variety of factors such as linguistic context, situational context and the availability of planning time
1st.learner s vary in their use of the L2 according to linguistic contexts. one linguistic form can trigger the use of another form.
2nd.learners vary the linguistic forms they use in accordance with the situational context. They are more likely to use the correct target-language forms in formal contexts and non-target forms in informal contexts. 3rd.Another factor that accounts for the systematic nature of variability is the psycholinguistic context. Which mainly refers to the availability of planning time
A characteristic of any natural language is that forms realize meanings in a systematic way. However, form-function mappings which learners make do not always conform to those found in the target language. The resulting systems are often very different from the target-language system. With time ,they becomemore target-like..
It is possible that free variation constitutes an essential stage in the acquisition of grammatical structures. Different kinds of variability may be evident at different stages of development .It is important to recognize that this general sequence of acquisition applies to specific grammatical features. Thus ,it is possible for individual learners to be at different stages in the sequence for different grammatical features. Not all learners reach the completion stage for every grammatical structure .Many will continue to show non-target language variability in at least some grammatical
features. it is for this reason that we can talk of fossilization. many learners stop developing while still short of target- language competence. Also, learners may succeed in reaching target-language norms in some types of language use but not in others.
Summary In this section ,we have examined a number of properties of learner language and in doing so ,traced the way inwhich SLA has evolved as a field of enquiry .Early on ,researchers focused on learners‘ errors, developing procedures for identifying ,describing, explaining ,and evaluating them. These studies revealed that learners‘ errors are systematic and that they reflect the stage of development that a learner has reached ,An important finding was that learner seem to go beyond the available input ,producing errors that show they actively construct rules, which although non-target-like ,guide their performance in the L2
Subsequently, researchers focused on exploring the regularities of L2 acquisition by searching for ―orders ―and ?sequences‘ of acquisition .They found evidence to suggest that learners regularly master some grammatical features misrepresented what actually occurred .Increasingly ,descriptive research in SLA has focused on how learners acquire specific grammatical subsystems such as negatives, interrogatives, relative clauses and verb tenses like the past tense, It has been able to show that grammatical features manifest clear developmental sequences, involving stages that reflect unique rules not evident in the input to which learners are
exposed .Learners seem to be actively involved in shaping how they acquire an L2.