Key Terms for Language Teachers - A Pocket Guide - Alessandro Benati

Key Terms for Language Teachers - A Pocket Guide - Alessandro Benati

Age

Key Terms for Language Teachers - A Pocket Guide - Alessandro Benati

Alessandro Benati [+-]
University College Dublin
Professor Alessandro Benati (School of Education, University College Dublin) has held academic positions in several British and overseas institutions. He is known for his work in second language acquisition, and he published ground-breaking research on the pedagogical framework called processing instruction. His research on processing instruction has been recently driven by the use of new online measurements (e.g., eye tracking, and self-paced reading). Alessandro has coordinated national and international high-impact research projects which have been influential in determining educational policy and had an impact in providing effective language teacher training programs. He is the author and co-author of several research monographs, peer-reviewed articles in high-ranked journals, and editor and co-editor of book series and scientific journals such as Cambridge Elements in SLA and Instructed Second Language Acquisition. He was a member of the sub-panel for Modern Languages and Linguistics for the Research Excellence Framework for England (REF 2021), AHRC Panel, and he is an Honorary Professor at Your SJ University (UK), University of Hong Kong (China), Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University (Australia), and Visiting Professor at Anaheim University (USA)

Description

There might be some evidence to support the view that individuals before puberty tend to learn a language faster and more efficiently than other individuals who are in their post puberty period. However, there is also evidence that show that there is no such a thing as a critical period. Children acquiring a second language engage in activities and behaviours conducive to acquisition. The answer might be that, in some cases, the mechanisms for language acquisition used by children might not work as well for adolescents and adults. However, it could also be true that there are certain environmental and social factors that have an effect on language acquisition. Would time spent on the acquisition of a language be a major factor? Would the type of exposure to the second language be a key factor? Adults and adolescents might not be exposed to the same amount of time and type of exposure to language input as children learning a second language. As we explore some of the key terms and aspect of language acquisition and language teaching, the answer to these questions will become more explicit. Meanwhile, the main points to keep in mind are: • There might be a critical period for learning a language after which is more complex to learn a second language. However, there is a view that only some elements of the language can be affected. • There might be no such a thing as a critical period as we should consider certain environmental and social factors as responsible for a difference learning experience between children, adolescents and adults. • In examining the findings investigating the role of a critical period in language acquisition, we must conclude that conflicting results and other views have undermined the original claim that a critical period exists in second language acquisition. The critical period hypothesis fails to account for the numerous adult learners who appear to have achieved native-like proficiency • Adults achieving native-like proficiency is certainly a possibility

Notify A Colleague

Citation

Benati, Alessandro. Age. Key Terms for Language Teachers - A Pocket Guide. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 13-18 Jan 2022. ISBN 9781781798812. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=38031. Date accessed: 10 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.38031. Jan 2022

Dublin Core Metadata