Is Language Teachable

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Is Language Teachable?

• Teachability Hypothesis
• MANFRED PIENEMANN

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Introduction

• Pienemann

1. When the learner is ready to acquire.
2. Psychological constraints on teachability,
relating to the Multidimensional model.

• 3. Empirical evidence for these constraints.

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Background
Pienemann thinks

• ? The discontinuity in the history of language
  teaching
• ? Misapplication of findings from parent
  disciplines.
• ? The lack of an independent theoretical basis
  for teaching itself.

? The nature of the language teaching process
? A conspicuous lack of research into language
learning ? An excessive reliance on a
posteriori explanations derived from
parent disciplines.
? Whether language is teachable
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Multidimensional model

• ? Developed in 1981 by ZISA group
• (Zweitsprachemerwerb Italienischer und Spanischer
  Arbeiter)
• Clahsen, Meisel and Pienemann

? Development Dimension
? Variation Dimension
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German Grammar
? In field, play students soccer.

• He has the homework finished.

• When I home go, ....

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First dimension DevelopmentStages of
acquisition of German word order

• 1. Stage 1 Formulas and one word sentences.
• How are you?, boy, girl

2. Stage 2 Canonical Order (stage X). SVO
The children eat an apple
3. Stage 3 Adverb preposing (stage X1).
There children play.
4. Stage 4 Verb Separation (stage X2). I
have a house built.
5. Stage 5 Inversion (stage X3). Then has
she again the bone brought.
6. Stage 6 Verb Final (stage X4). When I home
go.
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Second dimension Variation Learners
Orientation

• 1. Copula

2. The interplay of ADV and INV
3. At Any Stage
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On the basis of Multidimensional Model
1. In a mixed (formal and natural) acquisition
setting, formal language teaching can use a
natural process of language learning.
2. A number of predictions
? The next natural learning problem.
? The learners orientation
? Description of the learners rule system
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Teachability Hypothesis

• Teaching itself is subject to some of the
  constraints which determine the course of natural
  acquisition.

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Table 2 Teresa
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Table 3. Giovanni
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Table 4. The omission of the copula before and
after instruction
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Do you agree or disagree?
? Teachability Hypothesis maintains that the
influence of teaching is restricted to the
learning of items which the learner is ready
for.

• ? Items in a syllabus are needed to be taught in
  the order in which they are learnable.

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Formal and natural L2 acquisition are different ?

• Pienemann said No

? Evidence
1. Felix (1981) and Hahn (1982)
2. Daniels (1983) cross-sectional study
3. Westmoreland (1983)
4. Further Evidence by Pienemann A
longitudinal study of formal SLA
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Table 6. Learning objectives in a study of formal
L2 acquisition
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Table 7. Structure contained in the input
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Table 8. Steven
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Table 9. Guy
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Table 10. Vivian
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Two general finding from the study
1. Developing language in order regardless of
scheduling of teaching
2. The same order as the natural acquisition of
German
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Is premature learning profitable?
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Table 11. Experiment overview
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Table 12. Relative frequency of adverbs preposing
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Table 13. Adverb-initial vs. final position
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Final Remarks
1. Psycholinguistic background information
2. Overall margin
? The Teachability Hypothesis can theoretically
be extended to all structures -
morphological and syntactical