Second Language Acquisition and Teaching
Code
722131096
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Formação ao Longo da Vida
Credits
10
Teacher in charge
Ana Maria Lavadinho Madeira
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
(a) To become acquainted with the main concepts and research questions in the domain of Second Language (L2) Acquisition
(b) To recognise the relevance of this scientific domain to language teaching
(c) To acquire skills which will allow the student to research and interpret information autonomously, developing the ability to reflect critically and to evaluate different theoretical proposals
Specific knowledge and skills:
(a) Ability to identify characteristics which distinguish L2 from L1 acquisition
(b) Ability to identify and characterise factors which are relevant in L2 acquisition
(c) Ability to describe properties of the acquisition of L2 Portuguese at different levels
(d) Ability to identify differences and similarities between L2 children and adults
(e) Ability to compare L2 acquisition and other types of language acquisition
(f) Ability to apply knowledge of L2 acquisition to language teaching
Prerequisites
Not applicable
Subject matter
1. Specificities of L2 acquisition and learning
2. The role of crosslinguistic knowledge
3. The development of grammatical and pragmatic knowledge
4. Age and critical period effects; child L2 acquisition
5. The role of individual factors in L2 acquisition
5.1. Learning contexts
5.2. Individual differences: e.g. motivation, attitudes, learning styles
6. Other types of acquisition: bilingual acquisition, heritage language and L3
7. L2 acquisition and language teaching
Bibliography
Doughty, C. & M. Long (eds.) (2005) The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Blackwell Publishing.
Ellis, R. (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Herschensohn, J. & M. Young-Scholten (eds.) (2013) The Cambridge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge University Press.
Mitchell, R. & F. Myles (2013) Second Language Learning Theories. Routledge. 3rd ed.
Ritchie, W. & T. Bhatia (eds.) (2009) The New Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2nd ed.
Teaching method
The seminar is structured in modules. Each module is organised as follows: video lessons and other video resources, presenting the contents of the syllabus; different resources (summaries, schemata, tables, images, etc.); bibliographic references and links to online references.
All resources and interaction with the students will be predominantly moodle-based.
Evaluation method
Assessment includes various activities (e.g. the description and analysis of learner data, problem solving, reading synopses, etc.), which are to be completed throughout the semester, and a final test, which will provide a global assessment of both the knowledge and skills acquired by the students.