Faculty Publications and Conference Presentations

This book proposes that research into generative second language acquisition (GenSLA) can be applied to the language classroom. Assuming that Universal Grammar plays a role in second language development, it explores generalisations from GenSLA research. The book aims to build bridges between the fields of generative second language acquisition, applied linguistics, and language teaching; and it shows how GenSLA is poised to engage with researchers of second language learning outside the generative paradigm. Each chapter of Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom showcases ways in which GenSLA research can inform language pedagogy. Some chapters include classroom research that tests the effectiveness of teaching particular linguistic phenomena. Others review existing research findings, discussing how these findings are useful for language pedagogy. All chapters show how generative linguistics can enhance teachers’ expertise in language and second language development. “This groundbreaking volume ably takes on the gap that currently exists between generative linguistic theory in second language acquisition (GenSLA) and second language pedagogy, by gathering chapters from GenSLA researchers who are interested in the relevance and potential application of their research to second/foreign language teaching. It offers a welcome and thought-provoking contribution to any discussion of the relation between linguistic theory and practice. I recommend it not only for language teachers interested in deepening their understanding of the formal properties of the languages they teach, but also for linguists interested in following up on more practical consequences of the fruits of their theoretical and empirical research.” Donna Lardiere, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA

<p>Despite a range of criticism communicative language teaching (CLT) has been broadly accepted as the appropriate approach to language teaching. This paper argues that large shifts in language pedagogy firstly from 'structure' to 'meaning' and more recently from progressivism to critical pedagogy need to be tempered bya restatement of the importance of linguistics to language teaching. Ten characteristics of CLT are presented and then explored from a linguistic point of view. Throughout, explicit connections are made between cutting-edge linguistic research and questions of language pedagogy within the CLT paradigm. The conclusion is a call for a renewed focus on the understanding of language for language teaching expertise.</p>

The universal introduction of a four-year curriculum for undergraduates in Hong Kong has necessitated the development of new types of courses that build on general EAP training in preparing students progressively for the specific language demands of their discipline. This important work has attracted much attention, but reports on the conceptualization of the new courses and their effectiveness have only begun to emerge. This paper discusses how a new genre-based technical communication course at HKUST aims to enable novice engineering students to function effectively in their academic studies through the adoption of a task-based learning framework which exposes students to a careful selection of genres and lexico-grammatical features. The course was piloted with 230 students, and an evaluation study was conducted using triangulated data from course surveys, focus group discussions, and textual analysis of students’ writing. Preliminary results suggest that the course has helped students to acquire the skills for writing a technical description using an appropriate writing style. Students have also learned to use technical words in contextually meaningfully ways. However, they were less successful in writing the introduction to a technical report. These findings are discussed in relation to the students’ prior learning experiences.

<p>This chapter brings together some of the core themes that emerge from the chapters in the volume and builds on them to suggest a way forward for SLA as a field, suggesting avenues for initiating dialogue and collaboration between GenSLA and instructed SLA. Appeals are made to GenSLA researchers to consider their research in relation to questions of pedagogy, by articulating their findings for practitioners in order to raise their levels of expertise. The need to better articulate the distinction between acquisition and learning is also explored, and the question of the relationship between this and concepts of explicit/implicit language development is identified as an area in need of engagement with SLA researchers working within other linguistic paradigms. Within GenSLA, it is argued that now is the time for the field to develop a subfield of Applied Generative Second Language Acquisition.</p>

<p>For the uninitiated, it might seem quite obvious that research in second language acquisition is of relevance to the profession of language teaching. Yet in reality this relationship is not very clear, especially in terms of more formal approaches to second language acquisition and Chomskyan generative second language acquisition (henceforth GenSLA), in particular. From the point of view of language pedagogy, the question of what role theory should play in practice is one of continuous debate. This is not a trivial question; researchers need to isolate variables in order to investigate phenomena. In doing so, the complexity of reality is immediately compromised. Teachers, by contrast, must contend with reality in all of its complexity whether an explanation exists or not. Nevertheless, assuming that being able to explain phenomena means having a better understanding, we take the view that the more classroom instruction is underpinned by an understanding of theoretical principles, the more effective it will be. Accepting, then, that there is a role for theory, there is the added question of which theories. As noted some time ago by Stern (1983), the practice of language teaching implicates assumptions from a number of areas of inquiry ranging from language to learning, to education and to society. Clearly, even if we limit ourselves to language and learning, this still leaves us with a broad arena of research as the range of subfields within these two subjects is as diverse as it is wide.</p>

<p>Research into the second language acquisition of quantifiers (every, any, some, etc.) sheds light on the L2 development of form and meaning in an area of language that is not usually a key focus of the language classroom. This chapter begins with an overview of some existing studies of L2 acquisition of quantifiers, the majority of which investigate phenomena that are not only absent from classroom instruction but are also not directly deducible from the input: “poverty of the stimulus” phenomena. The findings show that subtle properties of quantifiers are difficult to acquire—particularly if they involve the syntax-pragmatics interface—but they often emerge in advanced learners, even without teaching or direct evidence in the input. The chapter then explores how language teaching might accelerate acquisition of such late-emerging aspects of the L2. We report the findings of a pilot study (Gil K-H, Marsden H, Whong M. Can explicit grammar instruction serve as evidence for L2 grammar restructuring? In: Stavrakaki S, Konstantinopoulou P, Lalioti M (eds) Proceedings of GALA 2011. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Cambridge, to appear) on the effect of providing focus on form instruction about the English quantifier any. Though inconclusive, the findings raise new research questions that are of interest to both generative L2 acquisition researchers and classroom researchers. We conclude that collaborative research will enrich both fields.</p>