ACRONYM
DEFINITION
NOTES
EFL
English as a foreign language
Non-English speaking person is
learning English in a non-English
speaking country
ESL
English as a second language
Non-English speaking person is
learning English in an English
speaking country
ESOL
English to speakers of other
languages
Combination of EFL and ESL. Used
in public school systems
TEFL
Teaching English as a foreign
language
Teaching English in a country where
English is not the native language
TESOL
Teachers of English to speakers of
other languages
International organization and the
study of principles and practices for
teaching ESL
TOEFL
Test of English as a foreign language
Used by US universities, colleges
and workplaces to test language
proficiency
TOEIC
Test of English for International
Communication
Used by businesses to test
communication skills in English
IELTS
International English Language
Testing System
British test used to test English
proficiency
Acquisition:
Children
acquire a language
Unconscious development of language skills
2nd
Language Learning
Conscious
learning application
Similar to first language acquisition
Acquisition in a natural way leads to fluency.
 Emphasis on accuracy is formal and difficult.
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Krashen's Five Hypotheses:
 The Natural Order Hypothesis: “We acquire the rules of
language in a predictable order.”
 TheAcquisition/ Learning Hypothesis “Adults have two
distinctive ways of developing competences in second
languages .. acquisition, that is by using language for real
communication ... Learning …’knowing about’ language”
(Krashen & Terrell 1983).
 The Monitor Hypothesis: “Conscious learning ... can only be
used as a Monitor or an editor” (Krashen & Terrell 1983).
 The Input Hypothesis: “Humans acquire language in only one
way - by understanding messages or by receiving
comprehensible input.”
 TheAffective Filter Hypothesis: “a mental block, caused by
affective factors ... that prevents input from reaching the
language acquisition device”(Krashen, 1985, p.100).
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/Krashen.htm
ACQUISITION
LEARNING
Implicit, unconscious
Explicit, conscious
Informal situations
Formal situations
Uses grammatical “feel”
Uses grammatical rules
Depends on attitude
Depends on aptitude
Stable order of acquisition
Simple to complex order of learning
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/Krashen.htm
1. People speak to children acquiring their first language in special ways.
2. People speak to L2 learners in special ways.
3. L2 learners often go through an initial Silent Period.
4. The comparative success of younger and older learners reflects
provision of comprehensible input.
5. The more comprehensible input ,the greater the L2 proficiency.
6. Lack of comprehensible input delays language acquisition.
7. Teaching methods work according to the extent that they use
comprehensible input.
8. Immersion teaching is successful because it provides comprehensible
input.
9. Bilingual programs succeed to the extent they provide comprehensible
input.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/Krashen.htm

B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism
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David Ausubel: Meaningful Learning Theory
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Carl Rogers: Humanistic Psychology
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H. Douglas Brown: The Ecology of Language
Acquisition http://jillrobbins.com/gwu/brown_eco.jpg
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Principles of adult learning include:
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New knowledge has to be integrated with previous
knowledge, which requires active learner
participation.
Collaborative modes of teaching and learning
enhance the self-concepts of those involved and
result in more meaningful and effective learning.
Adult learning is facilitated when teaching activities
promote question asking and answering, problem
finding, and problem solving.
Adult skill learning is facilitated when individual
learners can assess their own skills and strategies to
discover inadequacies or limitations for themselves.
(Dewar, 1996).
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Beginning levels (1-2): Survival English including doing the grocery
shopping, eating dinner in a restaurant, going to movies, and talking to
friends. Basic conversational skills are possible.
Intermediate levels (3-4) : Students begin to reach “conversational
fluency”. They can understand most native English speakers and make
themselves understood to most people in most situations. They can
understand movies, read newspapers and understand jokes. They feel really
good about their English progress and think they speak and understand
English very well. They do, but there is more to learn.
Advanced levels (5-6): The last and longest step to proficiency. Students learn
to read and write. Communication depends on a large body of vocabulary.
Students struggle to learn many advanced skills and often feel they have
learned enough. Students will acquire and master these skills at different rates
and it is often difficult to feel progress. . Students recycle their knowledge,
refine their abilities and practice skills in different ways and at their own
changing level of increasing competence.
Levels depend on the amount of time students are exposed to the target
language and how much time they dedicate to practicing what they are
learning.
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The teacher must speak the language of the students.
Anyone who speaks English can teach it.
English majors can teach EFL.
Students must learn grammar in order to speak a language. It is
the most important tool to being correct.
Correcting students makes them learn better and more.
The best way to learn a foreign language is to go to a foreign
country.
The best way to learn a foreign language is to speak it.
It is expected that you will make many mistakes while learning.
You are a foreigner; therefore, you will have a foreign accent.
If you didn’t learn a foreign language as a child, you will never be
proficient in its grammar.
Studying pronunciation is not important.
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http://www.boiseschools.org/federal/inst_strat.pdf
http://www.yourdictionary.com/esl/SecondLanguage-Acquisition-Theory.html