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Jilani Warsi & Eva Fernandez
Despite being exposed to reasonable amounts of input and in many cases receiving explicit instruction in classroom settings, most adult second language (L2) learners plateau in their linguistic development, failing to gain native-like proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. This state of fossilization is a “process whereby the learner creates a cessation of interlanguage learning, thus stopping the interlanguage from developing” (Selinker, 1996). What triggers the process of fossilization? I s fossilization inevitable? Can fossilization be overcome through pedagogical intervention?
We propose to organize a 2-hour colloquium in which Dr. ZhaoHong Han will address the above questions, focusing on characteristics of the linguistic competence and performance of non-native speakers of English as well as on theoretically grounded and pedagogically sound approaches to intervention via instruction. Our target audience consists of CUNY faculty teaching in departments directly servicing non-native speakers of English, but the colloquium will appeal to all faculty interested in issues having to do with L2 acquisition and pedagogy.
Dr. Han will lecture for one hour (scheduled for 2:00PM). After that, she will accept audience questions and comments (from 3:00PM – 3:30PM). We hope that the presentation will culminate in a round-table discussion (3:30 – 4:00 PM), moderated by the project directors. Linking L2 acquisition theory to pedagogical practice, we will discuss intervention techniques that can potentially increase the chances for these students to acquire native-like proficiency in English, and we will offer guidance for participants to incorporate such techniques into their own teaching.
Proposed Date; Location: Friday, November 11, 2005, from 2:00PM – 4:00PM; Queensborough Community College (M-136 Lecture Hall) Adult second language acquisition is not doomed to failure
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The following is the abstract of Dr. Han’s lecture:
ZhaoHong Han
Teachers College, Columbia University
A classic problem of second language acquisition, fossilization has, for decades, been the subject of scholarly and pedagogical attention. Yet, as Han (2004) reveals, the general conception of the phenomenon has been far from uniform, as has the general application of the term. In this plenary talk, I would first like to introduce and discuss two currently competing views (Birdsong, 2005; Han & Odlin, 2005), and in so doing, to clarify a number of key notions such as “failure” and “nativelikeness.” I will argue that adult second language acquisition is not doomed to failure in the oft-assumed sense of the word. Next, I will turn the discussion to a central concern, namely, the role of instruction in adult second language acquisition. Drawing on recent research on effects of L2 instruction, I will show that instruction can positively affect the rate of acquisition, but it may at the same time induce potential fossilization. I will end with an appeal for further studies of instruction to explore its positive and negative impact on acquisition, and with a proposal of a research agenda.
Selinker, L. (1996) On the notion of ‘IL competence’ in early SLA research: An aid to understanding some baffling current issues. In G. Brown, K. Malmkjaer and J. Williams (eds) Performance and Competence in SLA (pp. 92-113). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Read the Proposal (PDF) You will need Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher to view the PDF.
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