The Selective Impact of Classroom Instruction on Second-language Acquisition

Bibliographic Data

ID22872282
AuthorsTeresa Pica (California University of Pennsylvania, corresponding author)
Year1985
Volume6
Issue3
Pages214-222
Publication date1985-03-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueApplied Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0142-6001 • E-ISSN: 1477-450X
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/applin/6.3.214
OpenAlexW1982729104
LanguageEN
Citations received16

A basic assumption underlying the design of most language teaching materials is that there is an inverse relationship between the linguistic complexity of a structure and the ease with which it can be produced and acquired. Second-language (L2) items are therefore presented to the learner in order of increasing linguistic complexity. Research on the acquisition of English L2 grammatical morphology has cast doubt on the validity of such an instructional sequence. It has been shown that the factor most critical to production accuracy is not a morpheme's linguistic complexity, but rather the frequency with which it occurs in the input that the learner receives (Larsen-Freeman 1975, 1976a, b). Unfortunately, morpheme production accuracy in these studies had been measured among learners who had experienced some, if not all, of their L2 exposure outside the classroom. It was possible, therefore, that contributions from input in the wider community overshadowed any effects for explicit instruction. The following study was conducted, therefore, to compare subjects acquiring English outside the classroom and those learning English in an exclusive classroom environment. It was believed that this research design could shed light on whether classroom input, in which grammatical forms and functions are isolated for presentation, then organized according to gradations of linguistic complexity, affects the development of grammatical morphology in English L2. This cross-sectional study compared the production of 18 adult native speakers of Spanish acquiring English through either (1) classroom instruction exclusively, (2) input solely from everyday social interaction, or (3) a combination of (1) and (2). Results of the study showed that classroom instruction had a selective effect on the learners' production, accelerating the development of accuracy for linguistically simple plural -s, but retarding the attainment of target-like use for the more linguistically complex progressive -ing. For highly complex grammatical morphology such as article a, instruction appeared to have little impact, as all three groups followed a similar developmental sequence, unaffected by their conditions of exposure to English L2. Findings of the study suggest that complex areas of target grammar might be excluded from direct instruction in the second-language classroom, so that increased attention can be given to items more responsive to classroom presentation and practice.

Comprehension approach · First language · Language acquisition · Language education · Language transfer · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Morpheme · Presentation (obstetrics) · Second-language acquisition · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Psychology · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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