Second Language Acquisition & the 5 Stages of SLA
Language Transfer & Contrastive Analysis
Interlanguage & Fossilization
SLA Teaching Methodologies & Implications for Teachers
Final Jeopardy
100

What is the “silent period” in SLA?

The stage where learners listen and absorb but do not yet speak.

100

What is positive transfer?

When L1 helps L2 learning

100

Who coined the term “interlanguage”?

Larry Selinker

100

What is “comprehensible input”?

Input just above learners’ current level

100

You are teaching a class of learners whose first language is Spanish. Based on SLA theory, design one activity you would do to reduce negative transfer and promote correct usage of English verb tenses. Describe how you would implement it in class.

Teachers judge the answer with their predetermined criteria. See google doc. 

200

Give one example of a learner utterance in the early production stage.

Me go home.

200

What is negative transfer (interference)?

When L1 causes incorrect usage in L2

200

Define fossilization in SLA.

When errors become permanent and resist correction

200

Name one way teachers can incorporate focus on form.

Brief grammar correction embedded in communicative activities

300

In which stage do learners begin forming simple sentences with errors?

Speech emergence

300

“He go home yesterday” is an example of which type of transfer?

Negative transfer (interlingual)

300

Give an example of a fossilized error. Why?

“He go to work every day.” (persistent error) Chinese doesn't change verb tense.

300

Why is overcorrection in early stages discouraged?

It can inhibit fluency, discourage risk-taking, or raise anxiety

400

At what stage do learners approach native-like fluency but may still make residual errors?

Advanced fluency (or near mastery)

400

What is contrastive analysis used for?

To compare L1 and L2 to predict learning difficulties/error zones

400

Why do errors become fossilized?

Causes include limited feedback, low noticing, habit strength, insufficient input, motivated by communicating rather than correctness etc.

400

List two instructional implications from SLA theory.

provide rich input, scaffold interactions, recycle forms, use meaningful tasks, adapt feedback