Teaching code

4S001146

Teacher

Sabrina Piccinin

Coordinatore

Sabrina Piccinin

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

L-LIN/02 - EDUCATIONAL LINGUISTICS

Period

II semestre (Lingue e letterature straniere) dal Feb 17, 2020 al May 30, 2020.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students are expected to:
- acquire general knowledge on linguistic development and understand the fundamental milestones of L1 and L2 acquisition
- apply the tools for linguistic analysis in order to recognize and discuss the main phenomena characterizing L1 and L2 acquisition process at different levels of analysis (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon);
- develop critical judgments about the interpretations provided within the different theoretical frameworks for the acquisition and learning mechanisms.

Program

The course will introduce to the basic notions and specific terminology of language acquisition studies. The course will especially focus on:
spontaneous and guided learning
learning vs. acquisition,
the notion of interlanguage
input, intake and output
different types of input
L1 interference
acquisitional sequences

The course will then present the main approaches proposed to explain L1 and L2 acquisition processes (behaviourism, innatism, and cognitivism), with a special focus on the theories developed to explain second language acquisition (Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Error Analysis, the interlanguage approach, Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory).
The role of individual differences in second language learning (e.g., language learning attitude, learning styles, motivation) will also be addressed.

Exam contents are the same for attending and non-attending students. Students can find course materials in the Moodle course.

Examination Methods

The exam consists of a written test of 1 hour and comprehends open-ended and multiple choice questions, and practical exercises. The questions will refer to all the topics mentioned in the program, both those addressed during the classes and those that will be studied autonomously by the students.

The examination aims at verifying:
• the acquisition of the basic notions of the discipline, evaluated mainly by means of multiple-choice questions;
• the students’ ability to apply the acquired theoretical notions to the description of learners’ interlanguage, mainly evaluated by means of practical exercises;
• the ability to develop critical reasoning, evaluated by means of open-ended questions.