Accommodation
The unconscious change in style of speech to sound more like the person we are talking to
Acculturation
The process through which language learners adopt the values and behaviours of the target language community
Adjacency pairs
Two related turns in conversation such as a question followed by an answer
Affective filter
Krashen’s term for the emotional attitude which enables language acquisition when the filter is lowered
Aptitude
A set of attributes which can be measured in tests such as the MLAT to predict which individuals are likely to be successful language learners
Aspect
A feature of verbs which combines with tense to show the speaker’s view of the event, for example as completed or in progress
Attention
A cognitive process that enables us to focus on selected stimuli from the environment while ignoring others
Automization
The process which enables tasks such as language production to be performed without the need for conscious attention
Behaviourism
A theory of learning popular in the 1950s which viewed learning as the result of habit formation through stimulus, response and reinforcement
Bottom-up processing
Gaining understanding of language input through synthesis and interpretation based on existing knowledge of the language system
Broca’s area
A region in the left frontal lobe of the brain that is responsible for speech production
Case marker
A feature that indicates the grammatical function of word in a clause, for example as subject (nominative case) or object (accusative case)
Cliticize
For an unstressed word, to attach in pronunciation to a stressed word
Code switching
Combining the use of two languages in a single conversation
Cognitive style
An individual’s preferred way of processing information, such as field dependence / independence
Communicative competence
The ability to use language appropriately depending on the context
Competence
The internal linguistic system which enables language performance
Competition Model
A model of language acquisition according to which learners interpret meaning based on the relative weight given to competing cues
Compound bilingualism
The organization of two languages, probably acquired simultaneously, in a single linguistic system in the brain
Comprehensible input
Input which is graded at the correct level to be understood by a language learner
Connectionism
A cognitive theory which holds that SLA takes place through repeated activation of associations present in the input
Constructionism
A view of SLA that regards interlanguage development as the progressive mastery of L2 lexis and morphology
Contrastive Analysis
An analysis of the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 that may be used to focus instruction on areas of expected difficulty and so avoid error
Coordinate bilingualism
The organization of two languages in separate linguistic systems in the brain
Creative Construction Hypothesis
A hypothesis that views SLA as essentially similar to L1 acquisition in that it is an innate process in which learners make unconscious hypotheses based on the input they receive
Critical Period Hypothesis
The view that the innate ability to acquire language is only available up to a certain age, after which SLA is achieved using general cognitive mechanisms which do not enable native-like competence
Original definitions and selection of terms © 2013 Anglo-Hellenic Teacher Training
References
VanPatten, B. & Benati, A. (2010) Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition. London: Continuum.
VanPatten, B. & Williams, J. (eds.). (2007) Theories in Second Language Acquisition: An Introduction. London: Routledge
Doughty, C. and Long, M. (eds.) (2003) Handbook of second language acquisition (2nd edition) Oxford: Blackwell.
Mitchell, R., Myles, F. & Marsden, E. (eds.). (2012) Second Language Learning Theories (3rd Edition) London: Routledge
Saville-Troike, M. (2012) Introducing Second Language Acquisition (2nd edition) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
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