Differences In Second Language Learning

The very first lesson in the course was about individual learner differences in second language learning. According to Ellis (1985), EFL learners are different both inside and outside the classroom. They are different in the way learners learn a L2 and the way they use their L2 knowledge. Therefore, no 2 learners learn a L2 in exactly the same way. Also Lightbown and Spada (2006) have mentioned that learners are different from each other in certain aspects such as “age, interests, level of proficiency in English, aptitude, mother tongue, academic and educational level, attitude to learning and teachers, motivation, reason for learning, preferred learning style, personality which may affect the language learning ability.

Along with learners’

Considering receptive skills, a frequent distinction is made between top – down and bottom – up processing. According to Hammer (2007), in top – down processing, “the reader or listener gets a general view of the reading or listening passage by, in some way, absorbing the overall picture”. This is greatly helped if the reader or listener’s schemata allow them to have appropriate expectations of what they are going to come across. In contrast, “in bottom- up processing, the reader or listener focuses on individual words and phrases, and achieves understanding by stringing these detailed elements together to build up a whole”. Moreover, criteria to choose a coursebook for teaching receptive skills and main stages of a reading and listening lesson suggested by some well- known linguistics are carefully presented and discussed in the

According to Harmer (2001), in the first stage, the teacher contextualizes the language to be taught before presenting and explaining the language to the students. In the second phase, the students, under the teacher’s instructions, individual repetition and cue-respond drills. During this stage, learners’ mistakes are not allowed while “making errors is a key part of the process of acquisition” (Harmer, 2001). So far, many linguists have debated about errors in language learning. Although Dulay and al. (1982) stated that error correction does not help learners avoid making errors, Heinrich Schlieman believed that adult learners who have the ability for generalization and abstractionare likely to learn an L2 quickly through conscious practice and learning with correction (Cited in Mizumo Mitsuharu, 1999). More interestingly, Holley and King (1974) claimed that “Foreign language teachers have been trained to correct faulty students response quickly and consistently for grammatical and pronunciation errors assuming that correct learning will result” (Cited in Machiko Tomiyana, 1980). Similarly, in an investigation into English errors made by Chinese students done by Mohamed A., Lian G., and Eliza W. (2004), they suggested that one way to reduce the students’ grammatical errors in essay writing is to teach