95310 - SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Academic Year 2021/2022

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Intercultural and Linguistic Mediation (cod. 8059)

Learning outcomes

The student knows the basic features (terms, concepts and methods) relevant for the understanding of the process of acquiring non-native languages. The student is able to: - understand, describe and critically evaluate the main theoretical approaches to second language acquisition - understand and describe the psychological and social aspects of second language acquisition, and the roles of the native language and the input - understand how experiments and learner corpora are used in the study of second language acquisition - apply the gained knowledge to language teaching and translation contexts

Course contents

Within this course the students will learn about the main theoretical approaches to second language acquisition (generative, usage-based, functional), as well as the psychological and social aspects of the acquisition process, with a focus on factors such as motivation, language aptitude, and the impact of the learning context. Attention will also be given to cross-linguistic influence (especially the influence of the learners' native language), input and prospects for achieving native-like competence in a non-native language. Different methods used in second language acquisition research will be presented, as well as possible practical applications of research findings in this area.

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching and reading materials will be made available on the Virtuale platform.

Teaching methods

Frontal instruction

Assessment methods

The assessment will consist in a written exam.

Assessment scale

30-30L: Broad and in-depth knowledge of course contents, excellent ability to apply theoretical concepts in practice, excellent presentation skills, as well as excellent ability to analyse and synthesise.

27-29: Detailed and complete knowledge of course contents, good ability to apply theoretical concepts in practice, good ability to analyse and synthesise, good presentation skills.

24-26: Appropriate knowledge of course contents, fair ability to apply theoretical concepts in practice, fair presentation skills.

21-23: Appropriate but not detailed knowledge of course contents, partial ability to apply theoretical concepts in practice, acceptable presentation skills.

18-20: Sufficient but somewhat vague knowledge of course contents, basic presentation skills, uncertainties in the application of theoretical concepts in practice.

<18 (Fail): Fragmentary and superficial knowledge of course contents, errors in applying theoretical concepts in practice, poor presentation skills.

Teaching tools

All teaching materials (slides, audio/video materials) will be available on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Maja Milicevic Petrovic

SDGs

Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.