Assignment #3
Lorraine Espada
ESL 631 PH01 Second Language Acquisition and Culture
Dr. Daniel Mercado-Cruz
August 16, 2020
1. The author claims that face-to-face interaction is not absolutely necessary for second
...
Assignment #3
Lorraine Espada
ESL 631 PH01 Second Language Acquisition and Culture
Dr. Daniel Mercado-Cruz
August 16, 2020
1. The author claims that face-to-face interaction is not absolutely necessary for second
language acquisition. What do you think? Support or refute this claim based on
your own experience.
2. communicative competence is defined as “what a speaker needs to know to
communicate appropriately within a language community.” How is this different
from pure linguistic competence? do you believe linguistic competence is sufficient
for effective communication, or do you agree that communicative competence is
necessary? Provide real-life examples to support your viewpoint, combined with
theoretical explanations from the chapter.
3. Considering your own learning, or the learning of someone you know well, do you
believe in scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development? Describe examples in
your own life when you are the learner in need of scaffolding, and when you are the
more advanced learner or teacher providing a learner with more opportunity for
development.
4. Two types of communicative competence are academic competence and
interpersonal competence. In your own studies of an L2, which one of these was
stressed? Thinking of your goals for that L2, was it the right one for you? Give
examples from your life to explain why.
5. Grabe’s four functions of reading in academic settings – reading to find information,
reading for general understanding, reading to learn, and reading to critique and
evaluate – are described on p. 166. Which of these functions do you use in your L2?
Which ones are more and less challenging for you? More or less interesting? Why?
6. Listening, speaking, reading, and writing are seen as essential activities for L2 use in
an academic context, and often in interpersonal communication as well. Do you feel
any of these skill areas are stronger in your own L2 use? Why do you think that is?
7. We have seen thus far that some L2 learners have a higher degree of success than
others. Taking into consideration linguistic, psychological, and social factors, what
do you see as most crucial to the success of L2 learning? Why?
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