LOT Winter School 2010 course description

 

Course titel
 

Evaluating theories of
second language acquisition


Teacher
 

Jan Hulstijn

 
 

E-mail: j.h.hulstijn@uva.nl

Postal Address: Department of Second Language Acquisition,

Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, Spuistraat 134, 1012 VB Amsterdam

Homepage: http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/j.h.hulstijn/

Course Level:

Intermediate
 

Course Description

The aim of this course is to evaluate a number of SLA theories (proposed either as genuine 'theories' or, perhaps more modestly, as 'approaches' or 'hypotheses') in terms of some fundamental notions of theory construction and theory assessment. We will deal with the notions of scientific inquiry and explanation in the philosophy of science, comparing relativism with critical rationalism. This will be done not just in general but these notions will be applied to, and illustrated with, existing SLA theories and hypotheses. We will pitch against each other various SLA theories and evaluate them with criteria proposed by Jordan (2004, p. 114-117), pertaining to coherence, empirical content, scope, fruitfulness and simplicity. Below, I have listed a number of theories to be evaluated on the Tuesday through Friday sessions. However, students are welcome to express their preferences (please do so before 15 December, 2009) and I will do my best to accommodate their preferences. In the last 30 minutes of each session, I will present some of the empirical studies I have been involved in over the last few years (see my webpage), as well as my own view on how to account for individual differences in the outcomes of second language acquisition.

 

Day-to-day Program

 (preliminary)

 

As indicated above, I will do my best to accommodate preferences of course participants if made known to me before December 15.

The first session will be devoted to fundamental concepts in the philosophy of science. In the four following sessions, we will apply these guidelines to a selection of SLA theories. Students will be actively involved in the preparation of the Tuesday through Friday sessions by giving presentations (with handouts or deal with the notions of scientific inquiry and explanation in the philosophy of science, comparing relativism with critical rationalism. This will be done not just in general but these notions will be applied to, and illustrated with, existing SLA theories and hypotheses. We will pitch against each other various SLA theories and evaluate them with criteria proposed by Jordan (2004, p. 114-117), pertaining to coherence, empirical content, scope, fruitfulness and simplicity. Below, I have listed a number of theories to be evaluated on the Tuesday through Friday sessions. However, students are welcome to express their preferences (please do so before 15 December, 2009) and I will do my best to accommodate their preferences. In the last 30 minutes of each session, I will present some of the empirical studies I have been involved in over the last few years (see my webpage), as well as my own view on how to account for individual differences in the outcomes of second language acquisition.

As indicated above, I will do my best to accommodate preferences of course participants if made known to me before December 15.

The first session will be devoted to fundamental concepts in the philosophy of science. In the four following sessions, we will apply these guidelines to a selection of SLA theories. Students will be actively involved in the preparation of the Tuesday through Friday sessions by giving presentations (with handouts or powerpoint) and by leading and monitoring discussions. However, preparatory work (reading and preparation of presentations) will be assigned to different students each day so that not each student has to read all papers. Hulstijn will present his own empirical work during the last 30 minutes of every session.

 

Monday

Topics:

- SLA phenomena to be explained

- Critical rationalism and criteria for theory evaluation

Readings:

- Hulstijn, J.H. (2007). Fundamental  issues in the study of second language acquisition. EUROSLA Yearbook, 7, 191-203.

- Jordan, G. (2004). Theory construction in second language acquisition. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

- VanPatten & Williams (2007), chapter 1.

 

Tuesday

Topics:

- Universal Grammar in SLA (White) and Autonomous Induction Theory (Carroll)

Readings:

- Van Patten & Williams, chapters 3 (White) and 9 (Carroll)

 

Wednesday

Topics:

- The Associative-Cognitive CREED (Ellis) and the Competition Model (MacWhinney)

Readings:

- Van Patten & Williams, chapter 5 (Ellis)

- Robinson & Ellis, chapter 14 (Mac Whinney)

 

Thursday

Topics:

- Processibility Theory (Pienemann) and Input Processing (Van Patten)

Readings:

- Van Patten & Williams, chapters 8 (Pienemann) and 7 (Van Patten)

 

Friday

Topics:

- Sociocultural Theory (Lantolf) and Input and Interaction (Gass)

Readings:

- Van Patten & Williams, chapters 11 (Lantolf & Thorne) and 10 (Gass & Mackey).

 

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Reading list

Background and preparatory readings:

 

Hulstijn, J.H. (2007). Fundamental issues in the study of second language acquisition. EUROSLA Yearbook, 7, 191-203.

 

 

Course readings:

Hulstijn, J.H. (2007). Fundamental issues in the study of second language acquisition. EUROSLA Yearbook, 7, 191-203.

Jordan, G. (2004). Theory construction in second language acquisition. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Robinson, P. & Ellis, N.C. (Eds.) (2008). Handbook of cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition. New York: Routledge.

VanPatten, B. & Williams, J. (Eds.) (2007). Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction.. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

I strongly recommend students to buy VanPatten & Williams because we will read and discuss most of its chapters.
 

Further readings: