sla in the msc

SLA in the MSc | Simon Cole | March 9th, 2000

Hello everyone,

I've just finished Unit 8 of the FND (on SLA) and I'm interested in hearing from any of the participants who have done any more on SLA in the rest of the MSc. I can't find any reference to it in any of the modules and it seems odd that there is so little of such an important area of our studies. So if there is more of it, I'd really like to know so I can adjust my pathway plan accordingly.

Regards,

Simon Cole

SLA | Andrew Packett | March 8th, 2000

Interesting question, Simon, on SLA in the course. And no, I can't say it's really been that fore grounded in the modules I've done since FND. As it's 11.30pm here in Portugal and I'm heading for bed, I'm not going to check through the files now to substantiate that comment. But my recollection of FND (2 years on) is that certain strands of SLA were placed within a positivist paradigm that the module was looking to critique (very effectively I thought), and I suppose it sits uneasily with the more qualitative focus of the Aston course.

I should say I joined the modular course having done MET + TDA on the old system, so I can't speak for all the new modules, and would be interested to hear what others say. Of course, SLA certainly has a bearing on CSD, but off the top of my head again, I don't recall there being too much on it (correct me if I'm wrong, please).

Best wishes

Andrew Packett
Coimbra, Portugal

Re: SLA | Robert Salter | March 9th, 2000

I would say that SLA has a lot to do with the CSD module: Prabhu, D. Willis, Seliniker, and Corder are all mentioned. And on one of the cassettes, Jane mentions the importance of SLA theory, interlanguage, and the status of language input. I think that it is not foregrounded, but it is there. For an assignment in CSD I reckon it is rather important to make sure that SLA theory supports what the syllabus statement. I don't know that for sure as I haven't sent in my assignment yet. Still, that is in my notes for the assignment somehow.

Best,

Rob

PS: SLA certainly has a bearing, of course, on CSD but, off the top of my head again, I don't recall there being too much on it (correct me if I'm wrong, please).

SLA- response to Andrew | Simon Cole | March 9th, 2000

Andrew,

Thanks for your reply to my query regarding the attention the MSc program gives to SLA. You commented:

But my recollection of FND (2 years on) is that certain strands of SLA were placed within a positivist paradigm which the module was looking to critique (very effectively I thought), and I suppose it sits uneasily with the more qualitative focus of the Aston course.

I agree that SLA (traditionally) doesn't sit easily with the qualitative focus of this program, which appears to emphasize teachers' own action research. Just to refresh your memory, the "strands" of SLA you mention I presume refer to Rod Ellis' recommendations that we consider how to create the best conditions for language acquisition, rather than focusing only on what to teach and when.

And yes, I too, would still like to hear other participants' comments about the extent to which the program treats SLA.

Simon Cole

SLA | Jonathan Clifton | March 9th, 2000

In reply to recent stuff about the possibilities for looking at SLA within the MSc, I am at this very moment putting the finishing touches on my LEX assignment. The title of which is Learning Technical Lexis; teachers, learners, tasks and context. The basic idea being that the student will acquire the lexis from doing the task and interaction with the teacher. I think the beauty of the MSc is that if SLA is your thing you can orientate your assignments to this interest.

Best wishes to all,

Jonathan

France

Re: SLA | Steve Mann | March 10th, 2000

One book that I would certainly put in the next version of MET, as a suggestion for a book which presents the often tangled and contradictory world of SLA, is

Peter Skehan, 1998. A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning, OUP.

Good read.

I think the way the MSc encourages you to research local outcomes (in SLA) terms of particular decisions means that SLA is constantly there (especially with the pedagogic modules - MET CSD MAP). Perhaps we need to make this point with more vigor. The more we look, the more we find.

Come on you lurkers!

Steve Mann

Re: SLA | Simon Cole | March 10th, 2000

Thank you, Jonathan, for your comments on SLA. Thank you Rob, for mentioning the presence of SLA in the CSD module, I'm encouraged to view the program as balanced and flexible.

Simon