(Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm) first and second language acquisition implications for ELT

VINH PHUC EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICE
NGO GIA TU HIGH SCHOOL

REPORT ON RESEARCH
Research on:
FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT

By: Nguyen Thi Viet Ha
Research code:

12.61…

Vinh Phuc, January, 2020


TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
PART I : INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for choosing the study
2. Research
3. Scope of the study
4. Targeted level of the study
5. Date applied for implementing the study
6. Methods
7. Knowledge, skill standards and competence development
PART II: DEVELOPMENT
I. LITERATURE REVIEW
I. 1. Second Language Acquisition
I. 2. Theories of Language Acquisition
I. 2.1. Behaviourism

I. 2.2. Cognitivism
I. 2.3. Constructivism
I. 3. Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism
I.3. 1. Similarities
I.3. 2. Differences
II. IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT ( Lesson Plan)
II.1. Grammar Teaching
II.1.1. Grammar Teaching based on Behaviourism
II.1.2. Grammar Teaching based on Constructivism
II.2. Findings
PART III : CONCLUSION
List of Participants
REFERENCES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
SLA: Second Language Acquisition
ZPD: zone of proximal development
FL: Foreign Language
PPP: presentation, practice, production

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PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Nowadays English has become an international language in the world. Teaching and learning
English play an important part in integration, cooperation and development among the
countries. Vietnam is not an exception of this process.
It can be denied that understanding the theories and researches relating to second language
acquisition is very important for teachers in their teaching process. The ideas drawn from
researches and theories in second language acquisition are also valuable in helping teachers
to evaluate claims made by proponents of various language teaching methods. With the
limitation of this paper, I would like to introduce to Vietnamese teachers (1) three theories of
the second language acquisition: Bahaviorisim, Cognitivism, Constructivism; (2)

Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism; and offer some (3) Implications for
teaching English grammar teaching to Vietnamese learners as a second language.
2. Research:
Name of the research: First and second language acquisition implications for ELT
Author:
- Full name: Nguyen Thi Viet Ha
- Address: Ngo Gia Tu High School, Lap Thach, VinhPhuc
- Phone number: 0989342656
- Email:
Research investor: Nguyen Thi Viet Ha
3. Scope of the study
This study focuses on:
1.

Three theories of the second language acquisition: Bahaviorisim, Cognitivism,
Constructivism;

2. Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism;
3.

Implications for teaching English grammar to Vietnamese learners as a second
language

4. Targeted levels of the study
Pre-intermediate (students at grade 10)
5. Date applied for implementing the study:
- Academic year 2019-2020, first applied on October 2, 2019

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6. Methods
- Investigate the theories, provide a general description of the study.
- Practical applications in teaching.
7. Knowledge and skill standards and students’ competence development
7.1. Knowledge
- Three theories of the second language acquisition: Bahaviorisim, Cognitivism,
Constructivism;
- Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism;
7.2. Skills
- Apply theories of the second language acquisition in English language teaching.
- Apply knowledge in real life.
7.3. Competence Development
- Improve teaching methods for teachers.
- Develop students’ ability in mastering English.
- Develop students’ ability to interact with others.
- Develop students’ ability to apply their knowledge in real situations in life.

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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
I. LITERATURE REVIEW.
I. 1. Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
Nina Spada and Patsy M. Lightbown (2010) stated that second language acquisition research
focuses on the developing knowledge and use of a language by children and adults who
already know at least one other language.
Second language acquisition (SLA) is a process in which a second language is learned or
acquired, in addition to having a first language.
I.2. Theories of Second Language Acquisition (Psychological Perspectives )

I.2.1. Behaviourism.
Behaviourism had a great effect on the teaching of second and foreign language between the
1940s and the 1970s. It was influenced by the development of the audio-lingual method.
There were some researchers studying this theory such as Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike,
John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner , .. but B.F. Skinner, a leading American psychologist of the
twentieth century – and perhaps even the greatest psychologists in the world , is considered
the father of Behaviorism.

B.F. Skinner ( 1904-1990)
The theory states that instruction is to elicit the desired response from the learner who is
presented with a target structure. Students who are passive will receive information
memorized dialogues and sentence patterns by heart. Learning is a process of ‘conditioning’
in an environment of stimulus, rewards and punishments. It is lecture - based and highly
structured. The teacher is responsible for students learning. The theory indicates that speech
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is important because it is the first medium that the child masters. Skills are taught in a
specific order: Listening- Speaking- then Reading / Writing.
In the process, teachers present a small part of language as a stimulus, learners repeat or
substitute.This is reinforced by the teacher. The learner develops habits through repeating
habits. Learning a language is considered as the process of acquiring a set of suitable
mechanical habits.
I. 2.2. Cognitivism
Studied by Jean Piaget, Stephen Krashen and Chomsky, Cognitive psychology focuses on
how the people think and learn. The cognitive processes are related to learning and how the
learner is engaged in the learning process.

Jean Piaget ( 1896-1980)

Stephen Krashen ( 1941)

Noam Chomsky ( 1928)
The learner plays an active part in the process of learning . The teacher helps learners
organize new information for later recall. Learning is an active process in which learners
construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects
and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a
cognitive structure to do so.
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Krashen’s model

Krashen’s model is based on 5 hypotheses:
- Acquisition/learning hypothesis: Krashen indicates that learning and acquisition are two
distinguishing processes. We “acquire” the second language as the same way that children
pick up their mother tongue – with no conscious attention to language form.
- Monitor hypothesis: Acquisition is more important than learning as the role of the latter is
only to monitor what one says and writes in the second language.
- The natural order hypothesis: There is a natural order of morpheme acquisition that applies
to second language acquisition.
- The input hypothesis: The process provides learners with comprehensible input- language
which they can understand and which is just above the learners’ level of competence.
- The affective filter hypothesis: It is also called ‘affective filter’ in which the learners must
be positive and motivated acquire input.
Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage (birth - 2 years): actions become more intentional and integrated into
patterns, there is an increased awareness of self and surroundings.
Preoperational Thought Stage (2 - 7 years): development of language and conceptual
thought occurs.

Concrete Operations Stage (7 - 10 years): increased ability to apply logical thought to
concrete problems, thinking is still primarily related to immediate experience.

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Formal Operations Stage (10 years on): ability to apply logic to a variety of problems;
higher order thinking occurs.
Implications for teaching
Piaget states that children learn effectively through interacting in meaningful ways with the
world around them. “Authentic and real” experience is very useful for learners to acquire the
second language.
I. 2. 3. Constructivism
Constructivism is influenced by the study of Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner, Lev Vygotsky.
According to constructivism, learning is a process in which the learner actively constructs
or builds new ideas or concepts.
Cognitive Constructivism – Piaget
Piaget indicated that we have been actively related to the learning process since we were born
.We learn things from our experiences but it is various at different stages of our lives.
Cognitive development occurs through a sequence of successive qualitative changes in
cognitive structures.
Social constructivism – Vygostky

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
Vygotsky’s theory indicates that knowledge is co-constructed and that individuals learn from
one another. Learners engage in the learning process with the assistance of other people.
Cognitive development, including language development, is a result of social interactions.

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Zone of proximal development is the gap between what a child knows and is able to do alone
and what the child can do with help. In this zone a child is able to solve problems on their
own with the help of others.
In the classroom: Teachers should give tasks which are too difficult for the child to do alone
but possible with the help of adults and more skilled peers. Students can learn problem
solving skills through this type of tasks.
I. 3. Comparisons between Behaviourism and Constructivism
I. 3.1. Similarities between Behaviourism and Constructivism
1. Both theories require the internal and external conditions for learning to take place. These
conditions are verbal information, cognitive strategies, intellectual skills and motor skills.
2. Both constructivism and behaviorism are theories of learning and relating to explain how a
student learns and acquires knowledge.
3. They both have a direct influence on the methods used to pass information to learners both
in the traditional classroom and in web basing on instructions laid out.
4. Both theories try to define the role of a learner in an educational system.
5. Both theories try to explain the manner in which this structuring, presentation, and
implementation of learning materials are executed.

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I. 3. 2. Differences between Behaviourism and Constructivism
Learning Theories
Characteristics

Behaviourism
B.F. Skinner

Constructivism

Jean Piaget

Founders and

Ivan Pavlov,

Jerome Bruner

proponents

Edward Thorndike,

Lev Vygotsky

Learning

John B. Watson
-Stimulus-Response-

-Communication, Interaction

procedure

Reinforcement

Test-Teach-Test

PPP.

- Constructing one’s own

- Through positive / negative

knowledge of the world

reinforcement and punishment through past experiences and
- Imitation/repetition/

group interaction.
-Communication, Interaction

rote learning.

- Focused on the learner’s role

- Focused on observable,

in their own learning

measurable behaviors.
- Teacher - centered

- Act as facilitator / guide /

- Encourage motivation

consultant

- Identify errors in behavior.

- Identify errors in beliefs/

- Appreciate rewards and

understanding.

punishment

- Develop process/ sequence of

Learners’ role

- Passive responding to

learning.
- Student-centered

Context

environmental stimuli.
FL classroom

- Information constructor
FL classroom with

Emphasis

Teacher’s role

communicative situations/

Input

Modified/ constituent parts
Extrinsic / rewards and

natural context
authentic
Intrinsic / integrative/

Motivation
Age

punishment
Younger is better.

communicative
Age is flexible

Children can imitate sounds
easily
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Factors influence

Nature of reward,

- Engagement, participation,

learning

Role of memory

punishment, stimuli
- Memorize , repeating habits

social, cultural interaction.
- Prior knowledge remixed to

and experiences- rewards and current context.
punishments are the most
influential.
Bad, should be avoided

Mistakes are seen as a good

The representative

Audio- lingualism

sign of learning
Task-based

techniques/

Implicit grammar

Communicative

Methods
Technology

Educational software can be

Interactive
- Group work, PowerPoint

Support

used to assess the students.

project activities encourage

Mistake

students to work together and
combine their knowledge in
Advantages/

Easy for T to control

learning process.
Able to communicate

Strength

Easy to remember the input

Active learners

Disadvantages/

(modified/broken)
Rote learning

Fossilization

Drawbacks
Implications to

Passive learners
Children can feel safe if

Scaffold Ss to avoid

ELT

Audio - lingualism is applied

fossilization.

during their beginning stage

Ss should be exposed to reallife communicative situations

II. IMPLICATIONS OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION TO ELT
II. 1.Implications in grammar teaching.
II.1.1. Grammar Teaching based on Behaviourism
Lesson: Future plans using “going to”- UNIT 2: English 10
Time:
Objectives:

30 mins
Use “going to” + infinitive to talk about future plans.
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Structures:

"What are you going to do (this/next weekend / during the summer)?"
"I’m (not) going to…",

Procedure
Time/Stages
Presentation

Activities
1. Structure: Introduce "going to” + Verb(infinitive)

Interactions

(10 minutes)

- Teacher gives the structure of “be going to” for future Whole class
plans.
( +)

S + am/ is /are + going to + V(infi)
- I am going to visit the museum this weekend..
- He / She is going to visit the museum this weekend.

-

You/ We / They are going to visit the museum this Whole class

weekend.
(-)

S + am/ is /are + not + going to + V(infi)
- I am not going to visit the museum go this weekend..
- He / She is not( =isn’t) going to visit the museum this Whole class

weekend.
- You/ We / They are not (= aren’t) going to visit the
museum this weekend.
( ?) Am/ Is /Are + S + going to + V(infi) ?
Yes, S + am/is/are
No, S + am/is/are +not
- Are you going to visit the museum this weekend?
Yes, I am / No, I am not.
- Is he going to visit the museum this weekend?
Yes, he is / No, he isn’t.
- Are they going to visit the museum go this weekend?
Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.
( ?) ( Question Words) + am/ is /are + S + going to +
V(infi) ?
- What are you going to do this weekend ?
I am going to visit the museum .
- Where is he going to go this weekend ?
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Whole class


He is going to go to the beach.
2. Use
- Teacher introduce the use :
- to talk about future plans and intentions. Usually the
decision about the future plans has already been made.
- She is going to eat out this weekend.
We use be going to to predict something that we think is
certain to happen or which we have evidence for now.
- The cloud is black. It is going to rain.
- Teacher asks students to give more examples basing on the
structure provided.
Activity 1. Complete the correct form of the verb tobe
1. I ……..going to do my homework.
Practice

2. What ……you going to do on Sunday ?

(18 minutes)

3. My friends ……..going to come.

Individually

4. She ……..going to read comic books.
5. ….. your teacher going to buy a car ?
Activity 2 : Make negative sentences using tobe going to .
1. She ………………………….sleep.

2. You ……………………go home.

Individually

3. We ………………………..make the beds.
4. John ………………………cry.
5. The children ………………………play.
Activity 3 : Match
1. Don’t forget

your a. They are going to have a

umbrella.
2. I am hungry.
3. My friends

drink.
b. You are going to be late.
are c. I’m going to buy her a

thirsty.
present.
4. Hurry up !
d. It’s going to rain.
5. It’s grandmother’s e. I’m going to make a
birthday on Sunday

sandwich.
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Individually


Revise the form and the use of to be going to
Homework
(2 minutes)
II.1.2.Grammar Teaching based on Constructivism.
Lesson: Future plans using “going to”
Time:
Objectives:
Structures:

45 mins
Use “going to” + infinitive to talk about future plans.
"What are you going to do (this/next weekend / during the summer)?"
"I’m (not) going to…",

Procedure
Time/Stages
(5 minutes)

Activities
Activity 1. Introduce the actions vocabulary: play game

Interactions

- Divide students into groups of 3 or 4, sitting around a table.
- Keep a card and say out the verb on the card (e.g. kicking a Group work
ball, hitting a tennis ball, throwing a basketball, etc. for the
“play a sport” card) until someone shouts out the correct

answer.
- Students in turns say out the verb. The student who can
guess the answer gets a point. Continue with the next student
until all the cards have been used up. The student with the
most points will be the winner.
Activity 2. Introduce "going to” + V(infinitive)
- Teacher writes on the board “This weekend”. Take one of the
cards from the groups and write the words from it on the
board, e.g. “go shopping”. Point to yourself and say you are
going to visit the museum this weekend and the phrases on the
(7 minutes)

board, say “Yes”. Put a check mark (✓) next to the activity. Whole class
Call some students and ask, “go shopping?” and elicit “yes”
or “no”.
Next, write “I am going to” on the board. Say “This weekend,
I am going to go shopping”.
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Point to one of the students who said yes, and ask “What are
you going to do this weekend?”
Make sure the student answers “This weekend, I am going to
go shopping”.

Next, ask a student who said no and elicit “This weekend, I
am not going to go shopping”.
Write “I am not going to” on the board.
Write two more activities (e.g. “eat out” and “sleep a lot”) on
the board and ask students to say the structure.

Next, on the right-side of the board write “During the
summer”, write two actions on the board and ask students to
continue to speak out the structures.
Activity 3. Practice saying future plans
- Ask students to work in groups, use different cards and say
(6 minutes)

sentences, such as:
During the summer, I am going to stay at home.
This weekend, I am not going to the theatre .etc.
Teacher goes around to observe and asks each student to say
one sentence.

Group work

Activity 4. “Wh” questions.
Teacher helps students extend their conversations by
(6 minutes)

introducing questions. Stick 2 photos of people on either side
of board. Ask students to make up a conversation basing on
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the model.
-Teacher gives structure by drawing a speech bubble from the
left person:
What _____ you ___do this weekend?
Fill in the missing words :What are you going to do this
weekend?

Whole class

Then from the right person photo draw another speech bubble:
I ____ ____________ _____ go shopping.
Students write the missing words I am going to go shopping.
Now continue the conversation. Draw a large speech bubble
from the left person photo and write:
Oh really?
Who _____ you __________ ____ __ with?
Where _____ you __________ ____ ___?
When _____ you __________ ____ ___?
Why _____ you __________ ____ ____ ?
What _____ you __________ ____ ___ ?
Ask students to write down the text from the board on their
notebooks and ask them to work in pairs to fill in the blanks. –
Then, call some students to go to the board and fill in the
blanks.
Ask students to work with the partner to write their own
answers to the questions in their notebooks. Teacher goes
around the class asking everyone for their answers and writing
one example below each question.
Activity 5. Play the “What are you going to do …? True or
False” board game.
Asks students into work in groups of 2-3 around a table and
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Pair work

gives out the game boards, instruction sheets. Explains the
game before students start playing the game.
- T goes round and gives help when necessary.
(6 minutes)

- When students all have finished, asks one student each
group to present what they are talking about.

Group work

Activity 6. Make “School Summer Plans"
This activity is aimed to reinforce the new structures with a
fun story. Ask students to work in groups of fours to make a
plan for their summer holiday.
Name
Nam
Tuan
Mai
Linh
(8 minutes)

Plans
- play tennis
- join an English speaking club
-read book
- take part in a volunteer group

Teacher: "Nam, what are you going to do during the summer

Group work

vacation?”, asks Tuan." What do you think Nam is going to
do?
Students: He is going to play tennis!
Teacher: Ok, asks Nam, “ Is it right ?
Nam : Yes, I am going to play tennis.
Teacher: Tuan, You were right, well done!
- Students note down their plan on the table.
Continue the conversation.
After making plans, ask students to go round to ask the other
students about their plan for the summer holiday and note
down.
Activity 7. Talk about Summer holiday Plan
- Ask students to work in groups of four to report about their
summer holiday plan and their friends’ plans.
- Teacher calls some students to present in front of the class
- Write about your summer holiday plan.
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Group work


(7 minutes)
Homework

Whole class

( 2 minute)

II.2. Findings

After applying Constructivism Theory in teaching grammar lesson to students, from
my observations, I found that students are more motivated and become more active in learning
process. They are able to relate the information they learnt in the classroom to their life. They
can remix their prior knowledge and their own experience to current context. Students have
opportunities to develop their social skills, support each other’s learning process and value each
other’s opinion and input through pair work and group work activities. Instead of receiving
knowledge passively through teacher’s lectures and memorization, they can actively engage in
learning process. They have more chances to communicate, interact and cooperate with others.
As a result, it is hoped that they can acquire language in natural way and get better results in
their study.

PART III: CONCLUSION
There are four sections in this chapter. The first section deals with conclusions. The
second section states some recommendations. Following are some limitations of the present
study. The last section suggests some suggestions for further study.
1. Conclusions
In brief, the three theories of second language acquisition ( Behaviourism,
Cognitivism and Constructivism) play a very important part in teaching language as a
second language .

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The writer hopes that understanding these theories of second language acquisition will
give teachers insight into language teaching practice. It may be very helpful in guiding
teachers’ reflections about pedagogy. Depending on particular students as well as particular
teaching situations, teachers may evaluate existing textbooks and materials and adapt them in
suitable ways which are more consistent with our understanding of how languages are
learned to achieve better results on the ways of mastering English as a second language.
2. Recommendations

As discussed in this study, understanding these theories can be useful for EFL teachers
to teach their students English as a second language more effectively. I have some
recommendations as follows:
First of all, teachers should spend time studying the theories and researches relating to
second language acquisition as the ideas drawn from researches and theories in second
language acquisition are also valuable in helping teachers to evaluate claims made by
proponents of various language teaching methods.
Secondly, a teaching plan for a lesson should be well and thoroughly prepared. The
teacher must point out what he/ she intends to do with the tasks.
Thirdly, after each lesson taught to students, a small survey or an informal interview
may be helpful as it will help teachers measure the appropriateness of the teaching method.
Last but not least, depending on a specific situation of each class, the teacher can
choose some suitable teaching methods based on the particular theory for the teaching plan.

3. Limitations of the study
The study has gained some success in improving students’ English through applying the
theories and researches relating to second language acquisition. However, it still bears some
limitations.
First of all, the whole research lasted for twelve weeks and the teaching plans were
applied within four weeks merely with three lessons. The results would be more reliable if
the researcher had more time to study and experiment with more lessons.

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Secondly, within the scope of the study, the participants in the study were limited in a
class with 40 students. The researcher really wishes that she could conduct the research on a
larger scale to produce better results.
Finally, the study would be more effective if the researcher were much better at
academic language proficiency, and had more experience in carrying out the research.

4. Suggestions for further study
This study is of small-scale with limited participants. Therefore, a similar study with
bigger scope of subjects at other classes might be conducted so as to get a fuller evaluation of
the implications of the theories relating to second language acquisition in ELT.
Other studies on vocabulary teaching or skills as reading, listening and writing may be also
helpful for EFL learners.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS TAKING PART IN THE RESEARCH
Number

Name

Address

Scope/ Field
English

1

Class 10A4

Ngo Gia Tu High shool Apply theories of the second
language
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acquisition( Bahaviorisim,
Cognitivism,
Constructivism) in ELT

Lập Thạch, ngày

tháng

năm 2020

Lập Thạch, ngày 10 tháng 2 năm 2020

Hiệu trưởng

Tác giả

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Nguyễn Nhật Tuấn

Nguyễn Thị Việt Hà

REFERENCES
Spada, Nina & Patsy M. Lightbown. 2010. Second Language Acquisition.
Skinner,B.F.(1957). Verbal Behavior. New York: Appleton- Century-Crofis.
Lightbown , P.M. and Spada, N. (2013). How languages are Learned. Oxford, OUP Douglas
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and Practice in Second Language Language Acquisition. New
York ,Pergamon Press.
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Vygotsky, L. S. (1980). Mind in Society : The Development of Higher Psychological
Processes. Harvard University Press

Ellis, Rod 1997. Second Langauage Acquisition. Oxford: University Press.
Gass, S. & Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New
York: Taylor & Francis.
Mitchell, R. & Myles, M. (2004). Second language learning theories (2nd ed.). New York:
Hodder Arnold.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching. From method to postmethod.
London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Anh Pham Lan (2019 ) . Issues in ELT – First and Second language Acquisition,
Implications for ELT.
Sources: www.eslkidstuff.com

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