WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY
PROPOSAL FOR NEW COURSES
Department ___ENGLISH______Date __5/11/05______
__480______Theories of Second Language Acquisition ______3______
Course No. Course Name Credits
This proposal is for a(n) ___x___ Undergraduate Course ______Graduate Course
Applies to: __x____ Major ___x___ Minor ______University Studies*
__x__ Required (TESOL students) _____ Required
_x___ Elective (all other students) __x__ Elective
Prerequisites _English 111 and English 350 or instructor permission______
Grading method __x____ Grade only ______P/NC only ______Grade and P/NC Option
Frequency of offering __yearly______
*For University Studies Program course approval, the form Proposal for University Studies Courses must also be completed and submitted according to the instructions on that form.
Provide the following information (attach materials to this proposal):
A. Course Description
1. Catalog description.
2. Course outline of the major topics and subtopics (minimum of two-level outline).
3. Basic instructional plan and methods.
4. Course requirements (papers, lab work, projects, etc.) and means of evaluation.
5. Course materials (textbook(s), articles, etc.).
6. List of references.
B. Rationale
1. Statement of the major focus and objectives of the course.
2. Specify how this new course contributes to the departmental curriculum.
3. Indicate any course(s) which may be dropped if this course is approved.
C. Impact of this Course on other Departments, Programs, Majors, or Minors
1. Does this course increase or decrease the total credits required by a major or minor of any other department? If so, which department(s)?
2. List the departments, if any, which have been consulted about this proposal.
D. University Studies Course Proposals
The form Proposal for University Studies Course must also be completed and submitted according to the instructions on that form.
Attach a Financial and Staffing Data Sheet.
Attach an Approval Form.
Department Contact Person for this Proposal:
__Ethan Krase______5447____ ______
Name (please print) Phone e-mail address
English 480: Theories of Second Language Acquisition (3 credits)
A. Course Description
1. Catalogue Description: This course introduces students to core issues in second language acquisition and research. Students work to understand what is occurring linguistically, cognitively, and socially as humans learn languages beyond their native language. The course focuses on both theoretical and pragmatic interactions among learner, language, and context. Prerequisites: ENG 111 and ENG 350 or instructor’s permission.
2. Course Outline of Major Topics and Subtopics:
1. Introduction to the course
a. Learning a first language
b. Developmental sequences
c. Theoretical understandings of first language acquisition
2. Theoretical approaches to explaining second language learning
a. Behaviorism
b. Innatism
c. Connectionism
d. Interactionism
3. Factors affecting second language learning
a. Research on learner characteristics
i. intelligence
ii. aptitude
iii. personality
iv. motivation and attitudes
v. learner beliefs
vi. age of acquisition
4. Learner language
a. Concept of learner language
b. Developmental sequences in second language learning
c. First language influence
5. Second language learning in the classroom
a. Traditional grammar
b. Audiolingual methods
b. Communicative approaches
d. Immersion
3. Basic Instructional Plan and Method:
This course will utilize lecture, discussion, cooperative group work, and student
presentations.
4. Course Requirements:
Two exams plus a final exam, a presentation, written homework exercises, academic paper.
5. Course Materials:
“Second Language Acquisition Theories” could require the following materials:
Johnson, M. (2003). A philosophy of second language acquisition. New Haven,
CT: Yale UP.
Larsen-Freeman, D., & Long, M. H. (1991). An introduction to second language
acquisition research. New York: Longman.
Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (1999). How languages are learned (Rev. ed.).
New York: Oxford UP.
Language Acquisition Biographies
Hoffman, E. (1989). Lost in translation: A life in a new language. New York:
Dutton.
Kaplan, A. (1993). French lessons: A memoir. Chicago: U of Chicago P.
Rodriguez, R. (1983). Hunger of memory: The education of Richard Rodriguez.
Boston: Bantam.
Zongren, L. (1988). Two years in the melting pot (Rev. ed.). San Francisco, CA:
China Books.
6. Bibliography:
A bibliography for “Second Language Acquisitions Theories” could include the
following texts:
Crain, S., & Thornton, R. (1998). Investigations in universal grammar: A guide to
experiments on the acquisition of syntax and semantics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Crookes, G., & Schmidt, R. (1991). Motivation: Reopening the research agenda.
Language Learning, 41(4), 469-512.
Ellis, R. (1999). Second language acquisition. New York: Oxford UP.
Ellis, R. (1997). SLA research and language teaching. New York: Oxford.
Johnson, M. (2003). A philosophy of second language acquisition. New Haven,
CT: Yale UP.
Krashen, S. D. & Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition
in the classroom. Oxford: Pergamon.
Lantolf, J. P. (2000). Sociocultural theory and second language acquisition. New
York: Oxford.
Lantolf, J. P., & Appel, G. (1994). Vygotskian approaches to second language
research. Westport, CT: Ablex.
Lyster, R. (1998). Recasts, repetition and ambiguity in L2 classroom discourse.
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20(1), 51-81.
Mitchell, R., & Myles, F. (1998). Second language learning theories. New York:
Oxford UP.
Naiman, N., Fröhlich, M., Stern, H. H., & Todesco, A. (1995). The good language
learner. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching and learning. Boston: Heinle and
Heinle.
Pienemann, M. (1989). Is language teachable? Psycholinguistic experiments and
hypotheses. Applied Linguistics, 10(1), 52-79.
Pinker, S. (1994). The language instinct. New York: William Morrow.
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics,
10(2), 209-231.
Skehan, P. (1991). Individual differences in second language learning. Studies in
Second Language Acquisition, 13(2), 275-298.
B. Rationale
1. Statement of Major Focus and Objective:
This course for upper division English majors and minors will focus on theories of second language acquisition. The English department is expanding its offerings in TESOL in an effort to meet a growing demand for coursework in this area. A course like English 480: Theories of Second Language Acquisition is absolutely seminal to students’ capacity to understand, integrate, and utilize TESOL theory and practice. The primary objective of the course is to bring students to an appreciation of the ways second language acquisition occurs across a variety of contexts.
2. Contribution to Departmental Curriculum
English 480 contributes to the English department’s mission in four primary ways:
1) The course can serve as a productive extension of some of the topics that surface in English 350: Introduction to Language Study.
2) The English department is undertaking the creation of a TESOL program, and a course like English 480: Theories of Second Language Acquisition is a logical first step in the creation of such a program.
3) The course could also be cross-listed with the education department, which would be a benefit to the English department in terms of enrollment.
4) The course will attract students from abroad, most immediately from sister campuses in China, Japan, and Taiwan.
3. Courses which may be dropped if this course is approved:
None
C. Impact of Course on Other Departments, Majors, Minors
The course does not affect the number of credits required by a major or minor in
any other department. The course does not increase or decrease total credits required by an English major or minor.
Attached: Financial and staffing data sheet
Approval Form
Syllabus for English 480
Second Language Acquisition Theories
Professor:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Course Description:
This course is intended to introduce students to the core issues in second language acquisition and research. Although much of what we discuss will be suggestive for teaching second/foreign languages, classroom applications will not be the primary focus of the course. Rather than trying to apply theory, models, or research, we will be working to understand what appears to be going on as humans learn languages and to explain why SLA might happen as it does. In particular, we will focus on interactions among the learner, language, and context.
Required Texts:
Larsen-Freeman, D., & Long, M. H. (1991). An introduction to second language
acquisition research. New York: Longman.
Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (1999). How languages are learned (Rev. ed.).
New York: Oxford UP.
Packet of articles on reserve (listed below)
Autobiographies:
Hoffman, E. (1989). Lost in translation: A life in a new language. New York:
Dutton.
Kaplan, A. (1993). French lessons: A memoir. Chicago: U of Chicago P.
Rodriguez, R. (1983). Hunger of memory: The education of Richard Rodriguez.
Boston: Bantam.
Zongren, L. (1988). Two years in the melting pot (Rev. ed.). San Francisco, CA:
China Books.
Requirements:
Reading: There will be extensive reading assignments in this class. The reading you do for class will inform your understanding of the issues, providing a context for our in-class discussions while also serving as a starting point for both your presentation and paper.
Exercises: There will be occasional written homework assignments. Additionally, each week you will be responsible for generating two discussion questions from the week’s reading and e-mailing them to me one hour before class begins.
Biography Analysis Paper (7 to 10 pages): After reading the four autobiographies required for the course (Hoffman, Kaplan, Rodriguez, and Zongren), you will select two and write a paper responding to the language learning experiences of the authors in light of what you learn about SLA in this course. The paper should not be a book report. (I have read these books already and therefore need/want no summary of them.) Rather, as you read, write notes on things that strike you as particularly noteworthy or surprising or true and relate what you are learning or have learned in the course to the actual experiences of these real language learners. You should spend the same amount of space on each of the learners, comparing them. To be successful, you will want to examine specific features of the language learning environment and compare the two authors on these specific features. This will likely be more successful than a paper in which you simply comment on various things for each author separately.
Exams: Instead of a single midterm, we will have two shorter exams. These exams will include both identification of important terms from the readings and class discussion and also questions with longer answers.
Final Exam: The final exam is a take-home exam, to be distributed one week before our final class meeting. Please type, double space, and write no more than a total of four pages in answer to the questions you get.
Grading:
10% Homework/Participation/Engagement
20% Exam 1
20% Exam 2
25% Final Exam
25% Biography Paper
Articles on Reserve
Issues in L2 Learning and SLA Research
Smith, M. S. (1994). A quick round tour. In Second language learning: Theory
Foundations. New York: Longman.
Pica, T. (1994). Questions from the language classroom: Research perspectives. TESOL
Quarterly, 28, 49-79.
Research Findings
Bongaerts, T., van Summeren, C., Planken, B., & Schils, E. (1997). Age and ultimate
attainment in the pronunciation of a foreign language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 447-465.
Schumann, J. H. (1976). Second language acquisition: The pidginization hypothesis.
Language Learning, 26, 391-408.
Linguistic Environment
Swain, M. (1998). Focus on form through conscious reflection. In C. Doughty & J.
Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp.
64-81). Cambridge: Cambridge UP
Learner Variables
Spolsky, B. (2000). Language motivation revisited. Applied Linguistics, 12, 157-169.
Theoretical Considerations and Universal Grammar
Berreby, D. (1992). Kids, creoles, and the coconuts. Discover, April, 44-53.
Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (1994). Chapter 5: SLA as a mutli-disciplinary field. In
Second Language Acquisition (p. 108-138). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Williams, J. (1992). Rule-governed approaches to language and composition. Written
Communication, 10, 542-568.
Broeder, P., & Plunklett, K. (1994). Connectionism and second language acquisition. In
N. C. Ellis (Ed.), Implicit and explicit learning of languages (pp. 423-449). New York: Academic Press.
Sokolik, M. (1990). Learning without rules: PDP and a resolution of the adult language
learning paradox. TESOL Quarterly, 24, 685-696.
Ellis, N. (1996). Sequencing in SLA: Phonological memory, chunking, and points of order.
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18, 91-126.
Wray, A. 1999. Formulaic language in learners and native speakers. Language Teaching, 32,
213-231.
Language/Teaching Issues
Lightbown, P. (2000). Classroom SLA research and second language teaching. Applied
Linguistics, 21, 431-465.
Sociopolitical Issues
Sridhar, S. (1994). A reality check for SLA theories. TESOL Quarterly, 28(4), 800-805.
Atkinson, D. (2002). Toward a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition. The
Modern Language Journal, 86(4), 525-545.
Norton, B. P. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly,
29(1), 9-31
Losey, K. M. (1995). Gender and ethnicity as factors in the development of verbal skills in
bilingual Mexican American women. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 635-
661.
Goldstein, T. (1995). Nobody is talking bad. In K. Hall & M. Bucholtz (Eds.), Gender
articulated: Language and the other socially constructed self (pp. 375-400). New
York: Routledge.
Toohey, K. (1998). "Breaking them up, taking them away": ESL students in grade one. TESOL
Quarterly, 32(1), 61–84
Long, S. (1998). Learning to get along: Language acquisition and literacy development in
a new cultural setting. Research in the teaching of English, 33, 8-47.
Tentative Weekly Schedule
Week 1: Introduction to the course (Larsen-Freeman and Long, ch.1)
Theoretical explanations of first language acquisition (Lightbown and Spada, ch.1)
Week 2: Introduction to second language acquisition (Lightbown and Spada, ch.2; articles by Smith, Pica)
Week 3: SLA research and methodology (Larsen-Freeman and Long, ch.2)
Hoffman, Lost in translation: A life in a new language
Week 4 Types of data analysis in SLA (Larsen-Freeman and Long, ch.3)
Week 5 Research findings (Larsen-Freeman and Long, ch.4; articles by Bongaerts
et. al, Schumann)
EXAM 1
Week 6 Impact of linguistic environment (Larsen-Freeman and Long, ch.5; article
by Swain)
Kaplan, French lessons: A memoir
Week 7 Learner variables (Larsen-Freeman and Long, ch.6; Lightbown and Spada,