This course provides students with a sufficiently detailed knowledge of the main themes of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research concerning the relationship between second language teaching and L2 acquisition by adult learners with typical development. During lab hours, students will confront with the main topics in experimental linguistics and Second Language Acquisition Research
Course Prerequisites
A basic knowledge of the terminology adopted in Linguistics and an intermediate knowledge of English is required
Teaching Methods
Lectures (n. 30 hours) and introductory experimental workshops (12 hours)
Assessment Methods
Written exam
Texts
See the italian version
Contents
Glottodidattica Sperimentale (GS) is a branch of experimental linguistics. From linguistics, GS takes its object of study; from the experimental sciences, it takes its method. The object of GS is the second language (L2): how it is acquired in the classroom and how it is represented in the mind of learners. GS filters from models of language representation and acquisition only those hypotheses that may prove potentially useful for teaching. A single filter governs the passage from theory to GS: all hypotheses must be testable with real learners in real language classrooms. The task of GS is not to explain why something is learned in a certain way, but to experimentally verify whether, by teaching in a given way, something is learned or not. Theories, models, and constructs proposed so far to describe and explain L2 acquisition and the effectiveness of its teaching are not all equally valid. Their validity can be compared and assessed. The criteria to be used are internal coherence, the predictions generated by the hypotheses, and the falsifiability of the data brought in support of them. L2 learning in instructed contexts can be studied with scientific methods fully comparable to those used to study natural phenomena.
Course Language
Italian
More information
For the updated schedule of classes and rooms, please refer to the course page on KIRO. Non-attending students are expected to prepare using the same texts as attending students. The lecturer is always available for clarifications and additional explanations.
The lecturer is available for office hours both in person and on Zoom
