The Four Golden Rules of SLA (Second Language Acquisition)

 

 

First Principle:  Meaningful Communication

Language learners are more highly motivated when the communication in which they are involved is meaningful to them.

People learning a second language wants to learn to say, understand, read, and write those things that will be of real and immediate use to them.  When they know they can use what they learn, they are more apt to remember it.

 

As they experience success in using English to communicate in the outside world, learners will come to ESL class with more and more self-confidence and enthusiasm: “Hey, I really am learning English!  I ordered a hamburger today without just pointing to the picture on the menu.  I told the waitress what I wanted and she took my order!”

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Use ESL activities and exercises that have a real purpose to them.  You need to know why the student is coming to your class.  If you don’t know this at the beginning of class, you will find it out later as you talk to your students.

 

1. Teach learners the things they want to learn.  Find out what their goals are and teach the skills they need to meet those goals.

 

1. Use examples in class that draw from the learners’ own lives.

 

1. Set up role plays that are similar to actual situations where the learners will have to use English.

 

 

 

Second Principle:  Success, Not Perfection

The ESL learner is usually more concerned about being able to communicate successfully that about being correct.

The important thing for most beginning-level language learners is successful communication—not whether the language they use is correct.  These learners are not focusing on grammar or pronunciation issues, but on meeting their basic everyday needs such as asking directions or mailing a package at the post office.  Their situation is similar to that of a child who is learning to speak.  The child successfully communicates the fact that he or she is thirsty by saying the word juice.  Neither the child nor the mother is concerned at this stage with the child’s inability to correctly say, “May I have a cup of juice, please?”

 

Tutors and teachers need to celebrate the beginning learners’ successes and not focus on their errors. 

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Be patient and understand that a beginning ESL learner moves from zero ability to near-native fluency in stages clearly marked by a gradual progression from imprecise to accurate levels of English.  Allow the learner to move through each of these stages.

 

1. Encourage the learner to try to communicate in English at Every stage, no matter how imprecisely.  The very act of communicating is an essential part of the learning process and prepares the learner to advance to the next stage.

 

1. Recognize that comprehension always precedes production.  Beginning language learners can understand much more of the new language than they are able to speak.  They build from there.  This is as true for adults learning a second language as it is for children learning their first language.  Don’t think that simply because a learner makes a lot of errors when speaking that he or she won’t be able to understand you.

 

1. Focus on teaching the learners how to use the language to create meaning rather than on how the language works (the grammar or rules).

 

1. Resist the temptation to constantly correct learners when they make mistakes.  Keep in mind the following points about error correction:

 

1.  
   1. Correct learners if you really do not understand what they are saying.
   2. Correct learners when you are trying to teach a specific way of saying something.  At that point you will want to make sure learners are able to say the phrase correctly.
   3. Do not correct learners during activities such as role plays that are designed to encourage the learner to concentrate on communicating for meaning.  Let learners use whatever English they have at their disposal to get their ideas across.

 

1. Understand that trying to correct beginning learners can cause confusion if the                                          correcting is not done wisely.

 

 

 

 

Third Principle: Anxiety

Learners are more successful at acquiring language when their anxiety level is low.

 

This principle applies to learning anything—not just another language.  People seem to be able to learn best when

·         They are relaxed

·         They know it’s OK to make mistakes

·         They are reassured that, overall, they are doing well

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Have fun with learners, and allow them to have fun, too.

 

1. Select classroom activities in which learners can feel some degree of success.  A good kind of exercise would be one which allows learners to listen and respond without having to speak.

 

1. Begin each session with something the learners can do well.

 

1. Don’t test learners or put them on the spot during the course of conversation or oral activities.  Risk is already involved when people are trying out new language forms, so the learner’s anxiety level should be kept to a minimum wherever possible.

 

 

Fourth Principle:  Exposure

Progress in a second language depends in part on the amount of exposure to speakers of that language.

 

To move beyond a very basic language ability, people must

 

• Have an immediate opportunity to use the language they are studying
• Be in a position where they won’t get some of their basic needs met unless they can communicate in that language

 

Some ESL learners have little contact with speakers of English apart from their tutors and classmates and teachers.  Classroom practice might amount to only a few hours per week.  As a result, many learners reach a plateau, and their progress stops.  That’s because they are having their most important social needs met in their first language.  They are using their first language to discuss such things as family affairs, politics, personal desires, and plans for the future.  Such issues are closest to them, and require complex language for articulating opinions and feelings.

 

These learners probably use English only for such basic tasks as asking directions, ordering food, cashing their paychecks, or doing jobs that require only a limited number of stock phrases.

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Devise ways to motivate learners to speak about more than superficial things.

 

1. Encourage and motivate learners to have more contact with other speakers of English.

 

1. Encourage learners to identify specific things they want to be able to say or do that require better English skills.  For example, if a learner wants to buy a car or a bicycle or a bed, you could

 

• Teach the learner to read the classified ads
• Do role plays to practice contacting owners or businesses
• Help the learner make several calls to owners or businesses

 

1. Organize role plays and field trips to help prepare learners to be “out there” on their own with English speakers.

 

The principles described above are consistent with a communicative approach to teaching ESL—an approach that focuses on enabling people to use the language to communicate with English speakers to meet their own needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Principle:  Meaningful Communication

Language learners are more highly motivated when the communication in which they are involved is meaningful to them.

People learning a second language wants to learn to say, understand, read, and write those things that will be of real and immediate use to them.  When they know they can use what they learn, they are more apt to remember it.

 

As they experience success in using English to communicate in the outside world, learners will come to ESL class with more and more self-confidence and enthusiasm: “Hey, I really am learning English!  I ordered a hamburger today without just pointing to the picture on the menu.  I told the waitress what I wanted and she took my order!”

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Use ESL activities and exercises that have a real purpose to them.  You need to know why the student is coming to your class.  If you don’t know this at the beginning of class, you will find it out later as you talk to your students.

 

1. Teach learners the things they want to learn.  Find out what their goals are and teach the skills they need to meet those goals.

 

1. Use examples in class that draw from the learners’ own lives.

 

1. Set up role plays that are similar to actual situations where the learners will have to use English.

 

 

 

Second Principle:  Success, Not Perfection

The ESL learner is usually more concerned about being able to communicate successfully that about being correct.

The important thing for most beginning-level language learners is successful communication—not whether the language they use is correct.  These learners are not focusing on grammar or pronunciation issues, but on meeting their basic everyday needs such as asking directions or mailing a package at the post office.  Their situation is similar to that of a child who is learning to speak.  The child successfully communicates the fact that he or she is thirsty by saying the word juice.  Neither the child nor the mother is concerned at this stage with the child’s inability to correctly say, “May I have a cup of juice, please?”

 

Tutors and teachers need to celebrate the beginning learners’ successes and not focus on their errors. 

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Be patient and understand that a beginning ESL learner moves from zero ability to near-native fluency in stages clearly marked by a gradual progression from imprecise to accurate levels of English.  Allow the learner to move through each of these stages.

 

1. Encourage the learner to try to communicate in English at Every stage, no matter how imprecisely.  The very act of communicating is an essential part of the learning process and prepares the learner to advance to the next stage.

 

1. Recognize that comprehension always precedes production.  Beginning language learners can understand much more of the new language than they are able to speak.  They build from there.  This is as true for adults learning a second language as it is for children learning their first language.  Don’t think that simply because a learner makes a lot of errors when speaking that he or she won’t be able to understand you.

 

1. Focus on teaching the learners how to use the language to create meaning rather than on how the language works (the grammar or rules).

 

1. Resist the temptation to constantly correct learners when they make mistakes.  Keep in mind the following points about error correction:

 

1.  
   1. Correct learners if you really do not understand what they are saying.
   2. Correct learners when you are trying to teach a specific way of saying something.  At that point you will want to make sure learners are able to say the phrase correctly.
   3. Do not correct learners during activities such as role plays that are designed to encourage the learner to concentrate on communicating for meaning.  Let learners use whatever English they have at their disposal to get their ideas across.

 

1. Understand that trying to correct beginning learners can cause confusion if the                                          correcting is not done wisely.

 

 

 

 

Third Principle: Anxiety

Learners are more successful at acquiring language when their anxiety level is low.

 

This principle applies to learning anything—not just another language.  People seem to be able to learn best when

·         They are relaxed

·         They know it’s OK to make mistakes

·         They are reassured that, overall, they are doing well

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Have fun with learners, and allow them to have fun, too.

 

1. Select classroom activities in which learners can feel some degree of success.  A good kind of exercise would be one which allows learners to listen and respond without having to speak.

 

1. Begin each session with something the learners can do well.

 

1. Don’t test learners or put them on the spot during the course of conversation or oral activities.  Risk is already involved when people are trying out new language forms, so the learner’s anxiety level should be kept to a minimum wherever possible.

 

 

Fourth Principle:  Exposure

Progress in a second language depends in part on the amount of exposure to speakers of that language.

 

To move beyond a very basic language ability, people must

 

• Have an immediate opportunity to use the language they are studying
• Be in a position where they won’t get some of their basic needs met unless they can communicate in that language

 

Some ESL learners have little contact with speakers of English apart from their tutors and classmates and teachers.  Classroom practice might amount to only a few hours per week.  As a result, many learners reach a plateau, and their progress stops.  That’s because they are having their most important social needs met in their first language.  They are using their first language to discuss such things as family affairs, politics, personal desires, and plans for the future.  Such issues are closest to them, and require complex language for articulating opinions and feelings.

 

These learners probably use English only for such basic tasks as asking directions, ordering food, cashing their paychecks, or doing jobs that require only a limited number of stock phrases.

 

Functional aspects that reflect on Pedagogy

 

1. Devise ways to motivate learners to speak about more than superficial things.

 

1. Encourage and motivate learners to have more contact with other speakers of English.

 

1. Encourage learners to identify specific things they want to be able to say or do that require better English skills.  For example, if a learner wants to buy a car or a bicycle or a bed, you could

 

• Teach the learner to read the classified ads
• Do role plays to practice contacting owners or businesses
• Help the learner make several calls to owners or businesses

 

1. Organize role plays and field trips to help prepare learners to be “out there” on their own with English speakers.

 

The principles described above are consistent with a communicative approach to teaching ESL—an approach that focuses on enabling people to use the language to communicate with English speakers to meet their own needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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