10. In what ways are L1 and L2 learnt similarly?

And in what ways are they

learnt differently?
L1 and L2 acquisition processes are quite similar, although many of the
learning conditions are very different. As regard processes, most learners go
through four phases: first they work out rules about how the language works;
second, they generalize these rules across a group of similar instances; third,
they go on to overgeneralize or use rules where they are not appropriate; finally
they go on to use language items correctly. With regard to language learning
conditions L2 learners do not have as much time as L1 learners. L2 learners
receive far less one-to-one interaction, may not receive such high-quality input,
or receive input from a much reduced number of sources, and have a very
different motivation for learning.
In accordance with this line of thoughts, social-interactionist views about
language acquisition argue that the social context for each tends to be different
in terms of the types and amount of input provided, the types and amount of
output produce, and the purposes for which language is used. While in L1
acquisition, language is highly contextualized and the learner highly motivated,
in L2 acquisition can be more decontextualized and learners may not be highly
motivated.
11. Is it right to say that younger mean better? Why?
According to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) language is best
learned during the early years of childhood, and after about the first dozen years
of life, everyone faces constraints in the ability to pick up a new language.
Influenced by these ideas, many countries started teaching English at primary
level. However, according to research an early start is not, in itself, automatically
an advantage; an early start is influenced by many factors: learner’s factors, as
levels of motivation and confidence, differences in language aptitude, personality;
and contextual factors, like the quality of teaching and provision of adequate
time for learning. Consequently, if primary ELT is not supported by high-quality
materials, appropriately trained teachers and favourable public attitudes, the
experience may be negative and the effects counter –productive.

12. Do tasks 2 and 3 on page 25. How are the input, the intake and the output
related?
Research has shown that comprehensible input, key factor in the process
of L2 learning, does not always encourage intake. So, the former has to be
complemented with comprehensible output in order to determine how much the
 children have learned. Then, it is possible to say that the three concepts are
closely interrelated. Input refers to the knowledge and L2 data available that an
environment offers to a learner. Intake is that particular amount of an input that a
learner has successfully processed to build up internal understanding of L2.
Finally, only through a comprehensible output or learner’s language production
is possible to determine and measure how much of the input has become intake
stored in the long-term memory of the learner.
In the example provided on page 25, where two nine-year-old children
after four months of learning English in the UK work with a poster that contains
impossible or ridiculous things, the language produce by the two kids, i.e. their
output, revels not only how much the children have learned, i.e. how much of the
input has become intake, but also tells something about the appropriateness of
the task (that the children appear to enjoy), which it resulted to be too difficult for
learners of that age.

13. This book affirms that your beliefs about how children learn languages will
strongly influence how you teach them. How much do you agree with this
idea?
Personally, I agree with the statement. In general, people act according to their
beliefs, and their beliefs act as the base from which they faced different aspects
of life. For example, what I believe about processes of acquisition of language
will determined my way of teaching and how I will be standing in front of my
students and how I will look at them. So language teaching methodology will be
influenced by a personal set of ideas, convictions and knowledge about the
language learning process. Briefly describe the beliefs based on Piaget’s
ideas.
In contrast with the transmission model of learning maintained by behaviorism,
where teaching equals learning, Piaget presented children as actively
constructing their own thinking by acting upon the physical and social
environment. Their intellectual development is seen to go through clearly defined
stages. Most children between four to eight years are at the concrete-operational
stage, where learning develops when it is heavily contextualized in concrete
situations. By eleven, most of them may move into the stage of formal operations,
where they are capable of more abstract thought and can learn in a more
decontextualized way. According to Piaget’s ideas it was no longer possible to
teach young children some things until they are ready.
14. Why is it important for a teacher to be aware of the students’ learning styles
and to know about the theory of multiple intelligences?
In addition to Berman’s theory about the three learning styles, the visual linked to
what is seen, the auditory learning linked to hearing and the kinesthetic based on
learning through movement and manipulating things, Garner’s theory about
children’s Multiple Intelligences, may help teachers to provide enough variety in
the activities they use so that as much of their pupils’ learning potential can be
tapped as possible. The text provides list of activities which develop each of the
eight intelligences. For example, chants for the musical intelligence, tongue
twisters for the linguistic, mind maps for the spatial, and so on.