Learning Strategies In SLA

Learning Strategies in SLA

Jin and Cortazzi (2011) write about memory as a crucial factor in L2 learning, but, according to them, it is not necessarily connected to vocabulary (p. 569). By memory these authors mean explicit memory strategies or “memorisation” of words. From a cognitive perspective, it is standard to make a distinction between long term memory and (short-term)/ working memory. This type of memory is called long term memory, which is the permanent store of words and language concepts. We can call it a resource from where we take language units, which we use in the production of language. We use our working memory to manipulate the input we then store in our long term memory database. According to Perani (2005) the working memory

This is an important aspect of language learning, thus also of second language learning. According to Verspoor, Lowie and De Bot (2009), language acquisition cannot happen without input. If one already knows a language then proficiency can decline when it is not used, and even a first language can be forgotten (Verspoor et al., 2009, p. 71). Hence as input of English is essential to start of English learning and developing it, it is also of major importance for maintaining proficiency. According to Vanpatten (2009) SLA is a slow process with sometimes incomplete results, because to make sense of a sentence “does not mean that all formal aspects contained in the utterance are fodder for acquisition” (p. 49). Even though input is very important in SLA, it is generally considered to be difficult for the ordinary L2 learner to acquire language solely through input, without output, interaction and instruction. Research suggests that for intermediate learners of English as a SLA, input can be beneficiary alone. Data from Verspoor and Winitz (1997, as quoted in Verspoor et al., 2009, p. 62) suggests that through just listening to English intermediate learners could improve their English in several areas, of vocabulary, grammar and reading skills. This is because our language changes constantly through interaction with the world around us, and the input we receive from this is part of a dynamic relationship with our language system (Verspoor et al., 2009, p. 71).

As Veerspoor et al. (2009) put it “first or second language development is an iterative process, which means that the present state of the learning system is the result of all previous steps or iterations” (p. 71). This is important for the SLA teacher, because the pupils will have been through different steps in the process of learning for example English, and will therefore be a group with a diverse collection of learning