Second Language Acquisition in Adults: From Research to Practice

Donna Moss, National Center for ESL Literacy Education

Lauren Ross-Feldman, Georgetown University
December, 2003
Second language acquisition (SLA) is the study of how second languages are
learned and the factors that influence the process. SLA researchers examine
how communicative competence-the ability to interpret the underlying
meaning of a message, understand cultural references, use strategies to
keep communication from breaking down, and apply the rules of grammar-
develops in a second language (Savignon, 1997). They also study
nonlinguistic influences on SLA such as age, anxiety, and motivation. (See
Ellis, 1997; Gass & Selinker, 2001; & Pica, 2002 for extensive discussions of
SLA theory and research.)
Little research has been conducted on SLA with English language learners in
adult education contexts. The complexities of adult English as a second
language (ESL) instruction make research in this field challenging.
Investigating issues of culture, language, and education and tracking learner
progress over time are not easy when complicated by diverse and mobile
learner populations and varied learning contexts (e.g., workplace classes,
general ESL classes, family literacy classes). However, knowing about the
SLA research that has been conducted can be helpful to adult ESL teachers
because the findings may be applicable to their populations and contexts.
The purpose of this Q&A is to show how SLA research can inform adult ESL
instruction. Research in three areas of second language acquisition are
discussed: (1) the effect of learner motivation, (2) the role of interaction,
and (3) the role of vocabulary. The research presented here includes
experimental, correlational, and descriptive studies, as well as theoretical
CAEarticles that analyze the results of other research.

What does research say about learner motivation in SLA?

Motivation has been a focus of SLA research for many years. Dornyei,
(2002a, p. 8) identifies motivation as "why people decide to do something,
how long they are willing to sustain the activity [and] how hard they are
going to pursue it." Linguist Robert Gardner (1985; Masgoret & Gardner,
2003) examined factors that affected French- and English-speaking
Canadians learning the language of the other community. His studies
support the theory that integrative motivation (wanting to learn a language
in order to identify with the community that speaks the language) promotes
SLA. This motivation seems to promote SLA regardless of the age of the
learner or whether the language is being learned as a second or foreign
language. Even if individuals do not have this positive attitude toward
learning the language, they may have instrumental motivation-that is, they
may want to learn the language to meet their needs and goals, such as to
get a job or to talk to their children's teachers (Oxford & Shearin, 1994).
Whatever the learners' motivation, research seems to support the practice of
teachers discovering and responding to learners' needs and goals when
planning instruction (Dornyei, & Csizer, 1998; Weddel & Van Duzer, 1997).
Teachers can facilitate motivation by helping learners identify short-term
goals and reflect on their progress and achievements. For example, teachers
can provide learners with self-assessment checklists to identify skill
strengths and weaknesses, weekly checklists to track their progress on
meeting a learning goal, and self-reflection tools (e.g., learning diaries) to
help learners build autonomy and take charge of their learning (Marshall,
2002).
Recent research looks at how instructional contexts also affect motivation. A
learner's motivation may vary from day to day and even from task to task
(Dornyei, 2002b; Dsrnyei & Kormos, 2000). Using varied and challenging
instructional activities helps learners stay focused and engaged in
instructional content (Dornyei & Csizer, 1998). Research examining how to
improve learner motivation suggests that social factors (e.g., group
dynamics, learning environment, and a partner's motivation) affect a
learner's attitude, effort, classroom behavior, and achievement (Dornyei,
2002b). Therefore, teachers should create an environment that is conducive
to learning by encouraging group cohesion in the classroom. Pair and group
work activities can provide learners with opportunities to share information
and build a sense of community (Florez & Burt, 2001).
Research also suggests that teachers cultivate opportunities that continue to
stimulate language use when learners are not in class (Clement, Dornyei, &
Noels, 1994). Project work provides learners with a bridge between practice
in and outside of class. In addition, projects provide opportunities for
learners to work with others to accomplish tasks, using English in real-life
situations (Moss & Van Duzer, 1998).
Research on the relationship between motivation and second language
acquisition is ongoing. Current research looks at instructional practices that
teachers use to generate and maintain learner motivation and strategies
through which learners themselves take control of factors that have an
impact on their motivation and learning, such as lack of self-confidence,
change of goals, or distractions (Dornyei, 2003; Noels, Clement, & Pelletier,
2003).

What is the role of interaction in SLA?

Another area of SLA research focuses on how interaction contributes to

second language acquisition. Interaction refers to communication between
individuals, particularly when they are negotiating meaning in order to
prevent a breakdown in communication (Ellis, 1999). Research on
interaction is conducted within the framework of the Interactive Hypothesis,
which states that conversational interaction "facilitates [language]
acquisition because it connects input [what learners hear and read]; internal
learner capacities, particularly selective attention; and output [what learners
produce] in productive ways" (Long, 1996, pp. 451-452). Interaction
provides learners with opportunities to receive comprehensible input and
feedback (Gass, 1997; Long, 1996; Pica, 1994) as well as to make changes
in their own linguistic output (Swain, 1995). This allows learners to "notice
the gap" (Schmidt & Frota, 1986, p. 311) between their command of the
language and correct, or target-like, use of the language.
Empirical research with second language learners supports the contention
that engaging in language interactions facilitates second language
development. Findings from a study to determine how conversational
interaction affects the acquisition of question formation indicate that
interaction can increase the pace of acquisition (Mackey, 1999). Research on
interaction includes studies of task-based language learning and teaching
and focus on form.

What is task-based language learning and teaching?

Researchers have used tasks to understand both the second language
learning and teaching processes (Bygate, 2000). Task-based teaching
provides learners with opportunities for learner-to-learner interactions that
encourage authentic use of language and meaningful communication. The
goal of a task is to "exchange meaning rather than to learn the second
language" (Ellis, 1999, p. 193). Research suggests that learners produce
longer sentences and negotiate meaning more often in pair and group work
than in teacher-fronted instruction (Doughty & Pica, 1986). Interactive tasks
may be most successful when they contain elements that

 are new or unfamiliar to the participants;

 require learners to exchange information with their partners or group
members;
 have a specific outcome;
 involve details;
 center on a problem, especially an ethical one, such as deciding in a small
group who should take the last spot in a lifeboat, a nuclear physicist or a
pregnant woman; and
 involve the use of naturally occurring conversation and narrative
discourse. (Ellis, 2000)

Teachers can use problem-solving tasks to provide learners with

opportunities to share ideas, build consensus, and explain decisions about
real-life issues important to them (see, for example, Van Duzer & Burt,
1999).
Information gap tasks, in which two people share information to complete a
task, can be more structured than problem-solving tasks and give learners
an opportunity to ask and answer questions. In one-way information gap
tasks, one learner has all the information (e.g., one learner describes a
picture while the other draws it). In two-way information gap tasks, both
learners have information they must share with the other to complete the
task. (See McKay & Tom, 1999, for examples.) When designing tasks,
teachers should consider the learners' language proficiency, goal of the
lesson, language to be practiced, skill and content areas, feedback
opportunities, and classroom logistics.

What is focus on form?

SLA researchers have examined the role of focus on the grammatical forms
of language in instruction. In a focus-on-form approach to language
teaching, rather than grammar being taught in isolation, learners' attention
is drawn to grammatical forms in the context of meaningful activities, and
the teacher's attention to form is triggered by learners' problems with
comprehension or production (Long, 2000). An analysis of research studies
suggests that instruction that uses a focus-on-form approach-incorporating
form with meaning-is as effective as more traditional grammar-teaching
approaches (Norris & Ortega, 2001). Focus on form in communicative
lessons can result in learners incorporating new and more correct structures
into their language use (Ellis, Basturkmen, & Loewen, 2001).
When focusing on form, teachers need to consider learners' needs and goals
and their developmental readiness to understand the instruction. Teachers
then need to make decisions about the best way to draw learners' attention
to a form and provide opportunities for practice of the form in meaningful
activities (Doughty & Williams, 1998). For example, in a workplace class with
intermediate- or advanced-level learners, a memo from an employer could
be used to highlight the use of the passive voice.

What is the role of vocabulary in SLA?

Word knowledge is an essential component of communicative competence,

and it is important for production and comprehension in a second language
(Coady & Huckin, 1997). What does it mean to know a word? Vocabulary
knowledge is the size of the vocabulary and the depth of vocabulary, which
includes knowledge of pronunciation, spelling, multiple meanings, the
contexts in which the word can be used, the frequency with which it is used,
morphological and syntactical properties, and how the word combines with
other words (Qian, 1999).
Recent research has focused on incidental vocabulary--vocabulary that
second language learners develop while they are focused on a task other
than on learning new words (see Gass, 1999, for a summary of research on
incidental vocabulary acquisition). However, learners need to understand
about 3,000 word families (e.g., the family of "think" includes think, thinks,
thought, thoughtful, thoughtfully) in order to understand meaning from
context (Laufer, 1997). Teachers can help learners build sight vocabulary by
teaching word families and using word association activities such as
semantic mapping (DeCarrico, 2001). In semantic mapping, teachers
identify key terms in a text and learners list other words in the text that
relate to the key terms.
Research also suggests that learners gain vocabulary knowledge through
extensive reading. (See Burt, Peyton, & Adams, 2003, for a detailed
discussion of vocabulary knowledge and its relationship to reading in adult
second language learners.) Moreover, reading accompanied by vocabulary
building activities can increase vocabulary knowledge (Paribakht & Wesche,
1997; Wesche & Paribakht, 2000). Teachers should include reading
opportunities in class and assist learners by selecting texts that are of high
interest and level appropriate. They should preview the key vocabulary in a
reading passage, teach high-frequency words, and help learners use
dictionaries effectively (Burt, Peyton, & Adams, 2003).
Active meaning negotiation seems to have a positive effect on vocabulary
acquisition (de la Fuente, 2002; Ellis & He, 1999; Ellis, Tanaka, & Yamazaki,
1994). Teachers can provide learners with multiple opportunities to use new
vocabulary in tasks such as those involving problem solving and information
gap. Teachers can use games such as Bingo, Password, and Concentration
and provide tasks for learners to pursue outside of class such as keeping
vocabulary journals (learners keep a log of new words they encounter and
the strategies they use to learn them).

Conclusion

Research seems to support many practices that are currently employed in

adult ESL instruction. Giving students the opportunity to interact with the
teacher and with each other, planning instruction to include tasks that
promote these opportunities, and teaching language forms and vocabulary in
the context of meaningful learning activities are all ways in which second
language acquisition research is applied in the classroom.

References

Burt, M., Peyton, J. K., & Adams, R. (2003). Reading and adult English
language learners: A review of the research. Washington, DC: Center for
Applied Linguistics.
Bygate, M. (2000). Introduction. Language Teaching Research, 4, 185-192.

Clement, R., Dsrnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1994). Motivation, self-confidence,

and group cohesion in the foreign language classroom. Language Learning,
44, 417-448.

Coady, J., & Huckin, T. (Eds.). (1997). Second language vocabulary

acquisition: A rationale for pedagogy. United Kingdom: Cambridge University
Press.

DeCarrico, J. (2001). Vocabulary learning and teaching. In M. Celce-Murcia

(Ed.), Teaching English as a second and foreign language (pp. 285-299).
Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

de la Fuente, M. J. (2002). Negotiation and oral acquisition of L2 vocabulary:

The roles of input and output in the receptive and productive acquisition of
words. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 81-112.

Dornyei, Z. (2002a).Teaching and researching motivation. Essex, England:

Pearson Education Limited.

Dornyei, Z. (2002b). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P.

Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning(pp.
137-158). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Dornyei, Z. (2003). Attitudes, orientations, and motivations in language

learning: Advances in theory, research, and applications. Language
Learning, 53(Suppl. 1), 3-32.

Dornyei, Z., & Csizer, K. (1998). Ten commandments for motivating

language learners: Results of an empirical study. Language Teaching
Research, 4, 203-229.

Dornyei, Z., & Kormos, J. (2000). The role of individual and social variables
in oral task performance. Language Teaching Research, 4, 275-300.

Doughty, C., & Pica, T. (1986). "Information gap" tasks: Do they facilitate
second language acquisition? TESOL Quarterly, 20, 305-325.

Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (1998). Focus on form in classroom

second language acquisition. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Ellis, R. (1997). Second language acquisition. New York: Oxford University

Press.

Ellis, R. (1999). Learning a second language through interaction.

Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Ellis, R. (2000). Task-based research and language pedagogy. Language

Teaching Research, 4, 193-220.

Ellis, R., Basturkmen, H., & Loewen, S. (2001). Learner uptake in

communicative ESL lessons. Language Learning, 51, 281-318.

Ellis, R., & He, X. (1999). The roles of modified input and output in incidental
acquisition of word meanings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21,
285-301.

Ellis, R., Tanaka, Y., & Yamazaki, A. (1994). Classroom interaction,

comprehension, and the acquisition of L2 word meanings. Language
Learning, 44, 449-491.

Florez, M. C., & Burt, M. (2001). Beginning to work with adult English
language learners: Some considerations. Washington, DC: National Center
for ESL Literacy Education. Available
from www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/beginQA.html

Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The

role of attitude and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.

Gass, S. M. (1997). Input, interaction, and the second language learner.

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Gass, S. M. (1999). Discussion: Incidental vocabulary learning. Studies in

Second Language Acquisition, 21, 319-333.

Gass, S. M. & Selinker, L. (2001). Second language acquisition: An

introductory course. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Laufer, B. (1997). The lexical plight in second language reading: Words you
don't know, words you think you know, and words you can't guess. In J.
Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.),Second language vocabulary acquisition: A
rationale for pedagogy (pp. 20-34). United Kingdom: Cambridge University
Press.

Long, M. H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second

language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of
research on language acquisition: Vol. 2. Second language acquisition (pp.
413-468). New York: Academic Press.

Long, M. H. (2000). Focus on form in task-based language teaching. In R. D.

Lambert & E. Shohamy (Eds.), Language policy and pedagogy: Essays in
honor of A. Ronald Walton (pp. 179-192). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Mackey, A. (1999). Input, interaction, and second language development:

An empirical study of question formation in ESL. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition, 21, 557-587.

Marshall, B. (2002). Preparing for success: A guide for teaching adult English
language learners. Washington, DC, & McHenry, IL: Center for Applied
Linguistics & Delta Systems.

Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second

language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and
associates.Language Learning, 53(Suppl. 1), 167-210.

McKay H., & Tom, A. (1999). Teaching adult second language learners. New
York: Cambridge University Press.

Moss, D., & Van Duzer, C. (1998). Project-based learning for adult English
language learners. Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy
Education. Available
from www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/ProjBase.html

Noels, K. A., Clement, R., & Pelletier, L. G. (2003). Perceptions of teachers'

communicative style and students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Modern
Language Journal, 83, 23-34.

Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2001). Does type of instruction make a

difference? Substantive findings from a meta-analytic review. Language
Learning, 51(Suppl. 1), 157-213.

Oxford, R., & Shearin, J. (1994). Language learning motivation: Expanding

the theoretical framework. Modern Language Journal, 78, 12-28.

Paribakht, T. S., & Wesche, M. (1997). Vocabulary enhancement activities

and reading for meaning in second language vocabulary acquisition. In J.
Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.),Second language vocabulary acquisition: A
rationale for pedagogy (pp. 174-200). United Kingdom: Cambridge
University Press.
Pica, T. (1994). Research on negotiation: What does it reveal about second-
language learning conditions, processes, and outcomes? Language Learning,
44, 493-527.

Pica, T. (2003). Second language acquisition research and applied

linguistics. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 18.

Qian, D. D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary

knowledge in reading comprehension. Canadian Modern Language Journal,
56, 262-305.

Savignon, S. (1997). Communicative competence: Theory and classroom

practice. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Schmidt, R., & Frota, S. (1986). Developing basic conversational ability in a

second language: A case study of an adult learner of Portuguese. In R. Day
(Ed.), Talking to learn: Conversation in second language acquisition (pp.
237-326). Rowley, MA: Newbury.

Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning. In

G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (Eds.) Principle and practice in applied linguistics:
Studies in honour of H. G. Widdowson (pp. 125-144). Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press.

Van Duzer, C., & Burt, M. (1999). A day in the life of the Gonzalez family.
Washington DC, & McHenry, IL: Center for Applied Linguistics & Delta.

Weddel, K., & Van Duzer, C. (1997). Needs assessment for adult ESL
learners. Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education.
Available
fromwww.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/Needas.html Wesche,
M. B., & Paribakht, T. S. (2000). Reading-based exercises in second
language learning: An introspective study. Modern Language Journal, 84,
196-213.