http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Writings/Papers/L1&L21979.htm

UNIT 12 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN L1 AND L2 LEARNING

This unit reflects how we can differentiate how we learned out first language or mother tongue and how we get a second language and primarily it is concerned to the ages and distinct contexts in which languages are learnt.

L1: learners acquire the language since they are babies and develop it through the pass of the life in a natural environment as at home, where the language is achieved in an unconscious way. Later, L1 is learnt in the first time of school programs to higher educational context. In these contexts, learners are really motivated by the desire to communicate with others and to convey their messages.

On the other hand, L2 is progresses mainly in school classrooms or settings, and it will continue during the period that the learner need or desire. In those kinds of settings, students will advance their English skills and also the cognitive part as well. However, according to the age of the students, they will demonstrate a mature attitude towards the language and motivation will increase if we are talking about adults.

In relation to contexts the L1 is essentially learnt by exposure and picking up, moreover imitation, interaction with the family and being plenty of opportunities to experiment with the language. Besides, L2 is principally learnt through specific language items, in a classroom, with no more than few hours of learning process. In addition, learners receive little individual attention of the teacher and they are supposed to be accurate all the time. This fact reflects how we were and are managing languages for many years, in diverse ways.

-Please go to the following links for more information:

-http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/L1%20and%20L2.htm

-http://eslprofessionaldevelopment.wikispaces.com/Second+Language+Acquisition+-+Learning+in+L1+and+L2

Bibliography

-Ellis 94 (based on Bley-Vroman 1988)

UNIT 11 THE ROLE OF ERROR

I have learnt that errors are another important part in the language learning process, because through the commitment of errors, students will encourage to pay attention to their own progress and to achieve day by day their goal to learn a second language.

Of course, there are some reasons why students make errors during their learning process: Interference that is the use of features of the mother tongue into the target language production. According to this factor a teacher can submerge the students in a series of language exercises to avoid doing the same errors like the use of False Cognates to overcome Interference.

Next, we have Developmental Errors which are really normal for any kind of learner. It occurs while a student is experimenting or using the language in the way he/she can. The teacher must use strategies to overcome this problem. Teachers can prepare exercises about the Past Tense of Regular and Irregular verbs to avoid students´ overgeneralization of the grammatical rules for this part of English grammar. Moreover, it is necessary to mention that there are some errors that cannot be easily eliminated, as a result of this fact it is produced Fossilization when learners do not have communicative reasons to improve their language.

Even there exist those reasons to commit errors it is possible to generate opportunities to let them out if students are exposed all the time to the target language to acquire it conscious and unconsciously. Encourage students to use the language in their interactions during the English classes and Focus on Form which is the job of the teacher to explain.

-Please go to the following links for more information:

 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/admin/problem-linguistic-interference-tefl

http://www.eduinnova.es/mar2010/how_to_deal.pdf 

http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/interference.htm

Bibliography:

-English Phonetics, Journal of the English Phonetic Society of Japan, 3.9-21 (2000). 

UNIT 10 EXPOSURE AND FOCUS ON FORM

What I learned from this unit is that to be a successful second language learner it is necessary to be exposed to the language, interaction and focus on form. Also, learners pick up the language automatically since they are children.

In the process of acquisition a second language, learners are thought to speak their first language naturally; they do not realize that process. Another, important aspect of the learning process is to interact with others and use the language. The more the students experiment with the target language, the more expert they will become. In fact, when learners utilize the language in different contexts, they can use some techniques to convey better their meanings, for example when a student is talking about his last vacation and reproduced some words which are not clear, he/she can paraphrase to make the teacher and classmates understand what was said.

Additionally, it is necessary to express the interest in focus on form by paying attention to formal features of the language for example word order, spelling, grammatical structures, etc. By the use of those features, students will develop accurately the use and production of the language. It can be applied when learners do not know how to spell a word; in this case, the teacher should prepare some exercises to make them practice by games of spelling on the board or to fill in to maintain them interested in the learning process.



Bibliography

-J., D. C. (20 de November de 1998). ERIC. Recuperado el 27 de November de 2014, de Focus on form in Classroom Second Language: http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED507438

-http://books.google.com.ec/books?hl=es&lr=&id=dUc7sLSt1DIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&ots=bvL3gNrSf1&sig=vE13T--jLgi70cooSah4aMHg-50#v=onepage&q&f=false