individual learner differences and sla.ppt

5 Individual learner differences  and SLA
I. Classification of learner factors

Personal factors
Learner factors
General factors
II. Personal factors
Group dynamics

facilitating
anxiety
debilitating
Attitude to the teacher and course materials
Some students prefer a teacher who creates space for them to pursue their own learning path. Others prefer a teacher who structures much more tightly.
Adult learners dislike having a coursebook imposed upon them in a rigid way. They prefer a variety of materials and the opportunity to use them in ways they choose for themselves.
Individual learning techniques
Vocabulary developing techniques:
Memorizing vocabulary lists
Learning words in context
Practicing vocabulary
III. General factors
Age
As Larsen-Freenman and Long (1991) point out, the age issue remains an important one for theory building in SLA research, for educational policy-making, and for language pedagogy.
The effects of age :
1. Adult learners have an initial advantage where rate of learning is concerned, particularly in grammar. They will eventually be overtaken by child learners who receive enough exposure to the L2. This is less likely to happen in instructional than in naturalistic settings because the critical amount of exposure is usually not available in the former.
2. Only child learners are capable of acquiring a native accent in informal learning contexts. Long (1990) puts the critical age at 6 years. But Scovel argues that there is no evidence to support this and argues for a pre-puberty start.
3. Children may be more likely to acquire a native petence. The critical period for grammar may be later than for pronunciation (around 15 years). Some adult learners, however, may eed in acquiring native levels of grammatical accuracy in speech and writing and even full “petence”.
4. Irrespective of whether native-speaker proficiency is achieved, children are more likely to reach higher levels of attainment in both pronunciation and gra