accessiblity hierarchy An implicational ordering of relative pronoun functions (e.g. subject, direct object) in terms of their degree of markedness. [64]

accommodation theory According to this theory, social factors influence the extent to which speakers seek to make their speech similar or dissimilar to the speech of their interlocutors. See convergence and divergence. [39]

acculturation model According to this theory, various social and psychological factors govern the extent to which learners are able to adapt to the target language culture and, thereby, acquire the L2. See social distance and psychological distance. [39]

accuracy order The ranking of grammatical morphemes according to the accuracy with which each morpheme is produced in learner language. See acquisition order. [21]

acquisition order The ranking of grammatical morphemes according to when each morpheme is acquired by learners. Some researchers equate the accuracy order with the acquisition order. [21]

auto-input This refers to the possibility that learners' own out-put can serve as input to their language acquisition mechanisms. [49]

avoidance Avoidance is said to occur when specific target language features are under-represented in learner production in comparison to native-speaker production. Avoidance may he caused by Ll transfer. [51]

backsliding This is said to occur when learners ernploy a rule that belongs to an earlier stage of development than the learner' current stage. [34]

behaviourist learning theory A general theory that views all learning as the formation of habits through environmental stimulation. [31]

careful style The term used by Labov to refer to the language used when speakers are attending to and monitoring their speech. See stylistic continuum. [37]

case study A detailed and usually longitudinal study of a single learner. [61]

communication strategies The strategies used by both native and L2 learners to overcome communication problems resulting from lack of linguistic resources or inability to access them [51]

comprehensible input That part of the total input that the learner understands and which is hypothesized to be necessary for acquisition to take place. [47]

consciousnesss-raising A type of form-focused instruction designed to make learners aware of a specific linguistic feature. [85]

contrastive analysis A set of procedures for comparing and contrasting the linguistic systems of two languages in order to identify structural similarities and differences. [52]

convergence The process by which speakers make their speech similar to their interlocutors speech. L2 acquisition can be viewed as 'long-term convergence' towards native-speaker norms. See accommodation theory. [39]

critical period hypothesis This states that target-language competence in an L2 can only be achieved if learning commences before a certain age (e.g. the onset of puberty) is reached. [67]

divergence The process by which speakers make their speech different from their interlocutors speech. Frequent divergence can be considered to impede L2 acquisition. See accommodation theory. [39]

errors Deviations in usage which result from gaps in learners' knowledge of the target language: cf. mistakes. [12,17]

explicit knowledge The L2 knowledge of which a learner is aware and can verbalize on request. [56]

foreigner talk The variety of language used by native speakers to address non-native speakers. [45]

form-function mapping The identification by the learner of a particular function which can be performed by means of a particular form. The ensuing 'mapping' may or may not correspond to target-language norms. [28]

formulas Chunks of language that are stored either as complete units (e.g. 'I don't know') or as partially analysed units (e.g. 'Can I have a -?'). Formulas are lexical in nature. cf. rule. [8]

fossilization The processes responsible for the cessation of learning some way short of target-language competence. Most L2 learners' interlanguages fossilize. [29]

free variation The random use of two or more variants of a structure. [28]

global errors Errors that affect overall sentence structure (e.g. word order errors). See local errors. [203]

implicit knowledge The L2 knowledge of which a learner is unaware and therefore cannot verbalize. [56]

input The samples of oral and written language a learner is exposed to while learning or using a particular L2. [5]

input-based instruction Instruction that aims to teach learners a linguistic item by systematically exposing them to it in the input rather than by giving them opportunities to produce it themselves. [84]

input flooding A type of form-focused instruction that involves supplying learners with plentiful positive evidence of a specific linguistic feature. [86]

input hypothesis The hypothesis advanced by Krashen to explain how learners subconsciously acquire language from input they comprehend. See comprehensible input. [47]

instrumental motivation The degree of effort a learner puts into learning an L2 as a result of the desire to achieve some func- tional goal (e.g. to pass an exam). [75]

intake That portion of the input that learners attend to and take into short-term memory. Intake may he subsequently incorporated into interlanguage. [35]

integrative motivation The degree of effort a learner puts into learning an L2 through an interest in a desire to identify with the target-language culture. [75]

interaction hypothesis The name given to claim that the interactional modifications resulting from the negotiation of meaning facilitate acquisition. [47]

interlanguage A term coined by Selinker to refer to the systematic knowledge of an L2 that is

independent of both the target language and the learner's Ll. [31]

interlanguage continuum The series of interim systems that a learner constructs in the process of acquiring an L2. [33]

investment Learners' commitment to learning an L2, which is viewed as related to the social identities they construct for themselves as learners. [42]

item learning The learning that is involved in learning separate and discrete items of language-e.g. learning that 'maison' in French takes '1a' and that 'pantalon' takes 'le'.. cf. system learning. [13]

intrinsic motivation The degree of effort a learner makes to learn an L2 as a result of the interest generated by a particular learning activity. [75]

Ll transfer The process by which the learner's Ll influences the acquisition and use of an L2. [51]

Language Acquisition Device (LAD) According to Chomsky, the innate language faculty responsible for Ll acquisition: cf. Universal Grammar (UG). [32]

language aptitude The special ability that people have, in varying degrees, for learning an L2. [6, 73]

learner language The term given to the language that learners produce in speech and writing during the course of language acquisition. [4]

learning strategy A behavioural or mental procedure used by learners to develop their interlanguages. See communication strategies. [34, 76]

linguistic context The language that surrounds a particular grammatical feature and which may influence the particular form a learner chooses to use. [261

local errors Errors that affect single elements in a sentence (e.g. errors in the use of prepositions). See global errors. [203]

markedness This refers to the general idea that some linguistic features may be more 'basic' or 'natural' than others. More technical definitions based on linguistic theory also exist. [70]

mentalist A mentalist theory of language learning emphasizes the learner's innate capacity for acquiring a language. [13, 31]

mistakes Deviations in usage that reflect learners' inability to use what they actually know of the target language: cf. errors. [17]

motivation The effort learners put into learning an L2 as a result of their desire or need to learn it. See also integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, intrinsic motivation, and resultative motivation. [75]

multidimensional model A theory of L2 acquisition proposed by Meisel, Clahsen, and Pienemann. It distinguishes developmental and variational features according to whether they are governed by processing constraints or socio-psychological factors. [58]

negative evidence/feedback Information given directly or indirectly to learners that an interlanguage hypothesis is incorrect. [47, 67]

negative transfer Language transfer that results in errors. See Ll transfer. [5]

negotiation of meaning The interactive work that takes place between speakers when some misunderstanding occurs. It results in interactional modifications hypothesized to aid acquisition. [46]

noticing The process by which learners pay conscious attention to linguistic features in the input. [55]

notice the gap The process by which learners pay conscious attention to the differences between linguistic features in the input and their own output. [57]

omission Deviations in usage that arise when learners leave our words or parts of words (e.g. omission of the article in 'He went into shop'). [19]

operating principles Slobin's term for the strategies children use during Ll acquisition to segment and analyse input, and which account for regular properties of their output. [57]

overgeneralization The oversuppliance of an interlanguage feature in contexts in which it does not occur in target-language use (e.g. 'He ated ice-cream.') Overgeneralizations result in errors. [19]

overuse The overuse of some feature (e.g. simple coordinate structures) where some other feature (e.g. relative clauses) is preferred in target-language use. Overuse may or may not result in errors. [11, 52]

parallel distributed processing A model of language that views language use and acquisition as involving a complex network of interconnections between units rather than rules. [62]

pidginization The process by which pidgins (i.e. contact languages) are formed; according to Schumann, L2 acquisition may involve a similar process. [40]

positive evidence Input that shows the learner what is grammatical but not what is ungrammatical. [66]

positive transfer Language transfer that facilitates the acquisition of target-language forms. See Ll transfer. [51]

poverty of the stimulus The inability of input to provide the linguistic information needed for language acquisition. [66]

processing constraints Mechanisms that block learners' ability to perform the permutations involved in different grammatical structures (e.g. produce wk- questions with inversion). [59]

production-based instruction A type of form-focused instruction that aims to teach a specific linguistic feature by eliciting sen- tences containing it from the learner. [84]

psycholinguistic context The aspects of the context in which communication takes place which influence the extent to which learners are able to plan or self-correct what they say or write. [27]

psychological distance The distance between the learner and the target-language community resulting from psychological factors such as language shock and motivation. See accommodation theory. [40]

restructuring The process by which learners reorganize their interlanguage in the light of new evidence about the target language. It can occur as a result of a shift from item learning to system learning. [23]

restructuring continuum This refers to the idea that interlanguage development consists of learners gradually replacing Ll rules with target-language rules. [54]

resultative motivation The motivation that learners develop as a result of their success in learning an L2. [75]

rule A mental representation of some abstract property of grammar. Rules are part of grammatical competence and allow a speaker to construct entirely novel sentences.cf. formulas. [13, 191]

scaffolding The process by which learners utilize discourse to help them construct structures that lie outside their competence. [48]

sequence of acquisition The stages of development through which learners pass when acquiring grammatical structures such as past tense or learning how to perform language functions such as requests. [21]

silent period Some L2 learners, especially children, undergo a lengthy period during which they do not try to speak, although they may engage in 'private speech'. [20]

situational context The actual situation in which communication takes place. Situational factors such as who a learner is talking to influence the choice of linguistic forms. [26]

social distance The distance between the learner and the target-language community resulting from various social factors such as 'social dominance' and 'enclosure'. See acculturation model. [40]

speech act An action performed by the use of an utterance, in speech or writing, to communicate. [53]

stylistic continuum The idea that a variable interlanguage consists of a number of styles ranged from a careful style to a vernacular style. [37]

system learning Learning the abstract rules that underlie the use of linguistic items, e.g. learning when a French noun takes '1a' and when it takes 'le'. [13]

target language The language that a learner is trying to learn. [4]

teachability hypothesis The hypothesis that teaching learners a grammatical structure will only he successful if they are developmentally ready to learn it. [82]

transfer See Ll transfer. [19]

transitional constructions The interim grammatical structures that learners manifest during the

sequence of acquisition. Different interim structures are evident at different stages of development. [23]

Universal Grammar (UG) Chomsky's term for the abstract principles that comprise a child's innate knowledge of language and that guide Ll acquisition. [65]

U-shaped course of development The pattern of learning evident when learners use a correct target-language form at one stage, replace it with an ungrammatical interlanguage form, and then finally return to use of the correct target-language form. [23]

vernacular style The term used by Labov to refer to the language used when speakers are communicating spontaneously and freely and consequently not attending to the forms they choose. See stylistic continuum. [381

zone of proximal development Vygotsky uses this term to refer to the cognitive level that a child is not yet at but is capable of performing at with adult guidance. [48]

Back