What is CAH and what are the differences between it and CLI? How can some of the concepts talked about in the Chpater (Brown ch 9) be used in the classroom, e.g., error analysis, CLI, Stages of learner language development, fossilization.
CAH stands for Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. The definition for it is at follows, the claim that the principal barrier to second language acquisition is first language interference, and that a scientific analysis of the two languages in question enables the prediction of difficulties a learner will encounter. It is rooted in the behavioristic and structuralist approach and in the end to acquire a second language you would have to overcome the differences between the two linguistic systems. It also looked at the errors in 2nd language learners and pinpointed the negative tranfers of these errors. I am amazed at how researchers look at it from this standpoint because when one is learning there native langauge it is not looked upon as negative tranfers of the process. It is just play of the language.
Cross Linguistic Influence is a concept that replaced the contrastive analyss hypothesis, recognizing the significance of the role of the first langauge in learning a second langauge, but with an emphasis on the facilitating and interfering effects both languages have on each other. It was seen as the weaker version of the CAH because it had an intuitive appeal. It recognizes the significance of interferences in the languages and it explains the difficulties.
These concepts can be used in the classroom becasue we take into consideration how students learn. We must take into consideration their prior knowledge of thier native language. Like the text says we must not overlooked it. This is important because we do not want to confuse them or mislead them. We want to clear any misunderstandings as they make connections. CAH can have a fatal fall because it is used as a tool of prediction. It is okay if we do not rely on the predictions but use it as a means of suggested areas of improvement. I did not like that we use it as a means for testing because how validity and reliablitiy is in question. I think exposing these students to interactive approaches would allow these students to gain more insight in second language learning as long as the teacher knows the level of proficiency the students has and has structured the lessons accordingly for them to progress successfully.
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- Janette
- Born in Mexico City, raised in Texas, residing in San Antonio. Currently teaching at New Frontiers Academy where I have taught Kinder and First Grade. I have been fortunate to choose a profession that teaches all other professions. I am double blessed to work in an environment that allows students to learn from me but for me to learn from them.
3 comments:
There is mention of the original "native" language interfering with the second language, what is meant by interference, and what sort of interference is most common?
Interference is seen as the negative transfer of the 1st language into the language being learned. In other words when acquiring a new language there will be some errors made becasue of what you know about your first language such as word order, verb forms, questions, possession, etc. So what you know interferes with the new found material. This is seen more in adults because we have already adopted a set of linguistic rules whereas children are barely learning the structure. Although interference is seen as a negative effect it can also be seen as a facilitator. Because if we use what we have already acquired we would be briding gaps from one language to the next. For example, English and Spanish have similar contexts such as the word "similar" is used in the same way or the sentence "I went to the store-Yo fui a la tienda" the personal pronoun, the past tense verb and the noun were positively transferred.
Yes, it is very important not to confuse second language learners. They have it hard enough trying to learn their own then having to acquire a new one especially at a young age. Prior knowledge is always the key to make learning easier for students because it will help them connect to the new information they will be learning. I agree using CAH as a means of suggestions for improvements, predictions don’t yield accurate results.
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