Foreign Language Acquisition
Code
711131059
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Linguística
Credits
6
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
By the end of the course, students should:
1. Be able to apply previously acquired core linguistic knowledge to the domain of Second Language Acquisition.
2. Have acquired an understanding of the different models of analysis and of key theoretical concepts in the domain of Second Language Acquisition.
3. Be able to research and interpret information autonomously, as well as the ability to evaluate different theoretical proposals critically.
4. Be able to use methodological tools for the collection, treatment and analysis of learner data.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1. Introduction to second language (L2) acquisition: goals, research questions and relations with other scientific domains.
2. Methods for data collection, treatment and analysis.
3. The role of previous linguistic knowledge: Contrastive Analysis, Error Analysis and Order of Morpheme Studies.
4. An overview of the different approaches to the study of L2 acquisition: typological and functional approaches, cognitive approaches, sociolinguistic approaches and the generative model.
5. The role of input, output and interaction in L2 acquisition.
6. The development of grammatical and pragmatic knowledge.
7. The age factor and the Critical Period Hypothesis.
8. The role of individual factors in L2 acquisition.
9. L2 acquisition and explicit 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.
Gass, S. 2007. Data Elicitation for Second and Foreign Language Research. Taylor & Francis.
Gass, S. & L. Selinker 2008. Second Language Acquisition: An introductory course. Routledge, 3rd ed.
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.
Ortega, L. 2009.Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London: Hodder Education.
Ritchie, W. & T. Bhatia (eds.) 2009. The New Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2nd ed.
Teaching method
(a) Lectures;
(b) Practical classes: exercises and individual or group activities.
Evaluation method
Evaluation methods:
(a) Two written tests (40% each).
(b) Oral presentation and a short written synopsis on a topic not covered in the syllabus (20%).