Workshop on Second Language Acquisition – RIESI, Faculty Members
28 - 29, April 2015
Conducted by Dr. Karen Price, Lecturer, School of Education, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Doctorate, Applied Linguistics (with highest honors), Faculte des Lettres, Besancon, France. M.A., New York University and Maitrise, Applied Linguistics (with highest honors). Dr. Price is specialized in Second Language Acquisition, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Educational Contexts for Emerging Technology, Second and Foreign Language Methodologies and English as Second Language.
Dr. Price has published several articles and chapters in many authoritative books on Second Language Acquisition and Technology, she has acted as Keynote and Plenary Speaker in many International Conferences, conducted workshops and has presented numerous papers in various conferences in difference countries.
Day 1: 28 April 2015
Workshop on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) started as scheduled at the Regional Institute of English, South India on 28 April 2015 as part of faculty development programme. A very informal inauguration set the workshop. Dr. Karen Price, Lecturer, School of Education, the University of Boston, USA was welcomed by the Director, Mr. Narasimhaiah with a flower bouquet. Mr. Hitesh C Bhakat, coordinator and POC introduced the members of the faculty, RIESI to Dr. Karen Price and explained the goals of the workshop on SLA. Academic session followed immediately after the inauguration.
Second language acquisition entails three important aspects. Helping learners explore macro-skills; exploring the language, investigating components that constitute a language; and supporting learning. In other words, mastery over vocabulary, grammar, discourse; and supporting language learners in developing command over the language can be channelized through diverse learning styles, individual strategies, intelligence questions, multiple intelligences through a compatible methods of teaching. Second language learning is a complex activity of raising awareness in multiple aspects of language. While developing language skills emphasises awareness of conscious effort of harnessing listening, speaking, reading and writing; exploring language comprises conceptualization of use of morphological items, basic sentence structure and use of cohesive devices. Supporting learning stresses on language practitioners’ deliberate efforts to help learners manipulate rules to express ideas and emotions both in oral and written communication in diverse contexts.
Workshop conducted by Dr. Karen price raised some issues on SLA through language teachers’ existing beliefs in the form of a survey questionnaire. A threadbare discussion followed on the issues highlighting use of multiples materials used in learning new languages and the validity of success of such material followed by exchange of recent issues on SLA and Krashen’s concept of comprehensible input and monitoring model in second language teaching. A participatory mode of the workshop led to new insights of various pros and cons of principles of SLA. The argument brought out the fact that while Krashen’s model highlighted the positive evidence in language acquisition, the negative evidences were found to be equally important in raising awareness in the language practitioners and learners. Emphasis on learners’ efforts on being aware of their progress by developing linguistic sensibility through the tasks of input-providing and output-prompting, from explicit explanation to implicit conceptualization and vice-versa appeared to be crucial in second language learning. In other words, while explicit correction is important in helping learner become aware of learning progress, the technique of recast remains more implicit, which many learners might ignore. On the other hand, elicitation, repetition and asking for clarification act as propeller in output-prompting of learner language use in SLA. While elicitation is more explicit, repetition and clarification request act as more implicit prompt. The first day workshop ended with a positive task of learners’ effort of understanding and correcting individual use of language in a non-native context.
Day 2: 29 April 2015
A session with innovative ideas of teaching can be life-changing. The day 2 of the ongoing workshop on SLA and Technology was squeezed by one hour for the benefit of 89 participants of on-going Postgraduate Diploma in English Language Teaching (PGDELT) at the institute. Dr. Karen Price’s address on ‘Error Analysis and Corrective Feedback’ remained an eye-opening session for the participants. Participants were highly benefitted from her talk. Distributing two handouts to the participants, Dr. Price made the participants understand the importance of explicit and implicit corrective feedback in raising learners’ awareness in self correction in second language acquisition in non-native contexts.
The workshop for the members of the faculty of RIESI began at 11.30. Although, the session was to be on ‘Use of Technology,’ Dr. Price had to continue her discussion on SLA on demand. Continuing her discussion on Explicit and implicit knowledge of SLA, Dr. Price enlightened the members of the faculty how formal assessment could check just the explicit knowledge of language learning. Focusing on ‘elicited imitation’, Dr. Price elucidated the concept of ‘priming.’ Raising issues on role of output whether it tests hypothesis, develop skills of noticing, meta-linguistic functions and/or modified output following feedback, Dr. Price elicited the comments of the members. Dr. Price emphasized on conceptualization of SLA and elaborated difference between ‘learning to speak English’ and ‘speaking to learn English.’ Dr. Price further talked about raising awareness among language teachers to check how each activity practiced in the language class could enable student learn English. Language teachers’ primary job being forcing learners initiate their self repair in the form of explanation, asking for clarification and additional information, an integrated focus on form as part of the recent research should also find a place in SLA practice. Considering the needs, instructions both unobtrusive and obtrusive suggestions in tasks like input flood, task-essential language, input enhancement, negotiation, recast, output enhancement, interaction enhancement, dictogloss, consciousness raining tasks, input processing and garden path types of tasks find priorities in a SLA class. Answering queries of the members of faculty, Dr. Price elaborated the points and enlightened the members of the faculty on the issues of difference between child and adult language learning focusing Krashen’s LAD, Chomsky’s UG and Ledo’s ‘Hierarchy Difficulty.’ The interactive session on aforementioned issues made the day a very illuminating and enlightening.