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Issues and Challenges in Second/Foreign Language Acquisition

Code: 45369
Credits: 5
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English Studies: Linguistic, Literary and Sociocultural Perspectives OP 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Montserrat Capdevila Batet
Email :
montserrat.capdevila@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Ingrid Mora Plaza

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

 

- A C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) is required. Knowledge of oral and written academic English is also requires.

- Knowledge of basic linguistic concepts is required.

 

Objectives

This subject has as a main objective to train students onto the acquisition of a foreign language or second language (L2), in immersion or instruction contexts. The acquisition of the different components of language will be analysed (the lexicon, phonetics and phonology, morphology and syntax). The main theories of language acquisition will be presented, together with the different individual differences (cognitive, experiential and affective) influencing the whole process of L2/FL acquisition.

Learning outcomes

  • CA20 (Formulate research proposals on the acquisition of English applied to the needs and challenges in current society.) Formulate research proposals on the acquisition of English applied to the needs and challenges in current society.
  • CA21 (Design studies and experiments that are in line with the methodologies used in the field of the acquisition of phonology, lexical access, syntax, and morphology in second languages.) Design studies and experiments that are in line with the methodologies used in the field of the acquisition of phonology, lexical access, syntax, and morphology in second languages.
  • CA22 (Formulate research proposals to correct gender inequalities in English as a foreign language teaching and learning environments.) Formulate research proposals to correct gender inequalities in English as a foreign language teaching and learning environments.
  • KA22 (Describe the main theories and most influential models in the field of the acquisition of second or foreign languages.) Describe the main theories and most influential models in the field of the acquisition of second or foreign languages.
  • KA23 (Relate the factors, processes, and phenomena characteristic of the acquisition of English as a second language to theoretical approaches in this field.) Relate the factors, processes, and phenomena characteristic of the acquisition of English as a second language to theoretical approaches in this field.
  • KA24 (Define the epistemological, methodological, and analytical principles of the various quantitative and qualitative approaches used in research related to the acquisition of English as a second language) Define the epistemological, methodological, and analytical principles of the various quantitative and qualitative approaches used in research related to the acquisition of English as a second language
  • SA30 (Correctly use digital techniques and tools for the collection and codification of phonological, lexical, syntactic, and morphological acquisition data.) Correctly use digital techniques and tools for the collection and codification of phonological, lexical, syntactic, and morphological acquisition data.
  • SA31 (Examine the different individual factors that impact the acquisition of English as a second language.) Examine the different individual factors that impact the acquisition of English as a second language.
  • SA32 (Apply methodological knowledge and statistical analysis tools as well as tools for the generation and treatment of research data to research into second language acquisition.) Apply methodological knowledge and statistical analysis tools as well as tools for the generation and treatment of research data to research into second language acquisition.

Contents

First part of the course (Ingrid Mora)

  1. Introduction to Second/Foreign Language Acquisition (I)
  2. Review of basic notions of phonetics and phonology
  3. Main notions in empirical research in phonetics and phonology
  4. Theories and models of L2 speech acquisition
  5. Speech perception
  6. Individual differences in the acquisition of L2 speech



Second part of the course (Montse Capdevila)

  1. Introduction to Second/Foreign Language Acquisition (II)
  2. Theories of L2 acquisition of morphology, syntax and the lexicon
  3. Theories of Third Language acquisition
  4. Methods of data collection
  5. Individual differences in the acquisition of L2 morphology and syntax



Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Lectures i discussió 20 0.8
Classes pràctiques 20 0.8
Classes teòriques 30 1.2
Exercicis a casa, lectures i estudi personal 20 0.8
Assignments 27.3 1.092

 

Theoretical and practical classes, readings and discussion, homework and class exercises, comments on exercises and papers, in-class presentation, data collection.

 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Assignment 1 30 1.85 0.074 CA20, CA21
Test 2 15 1.6 0.064 CA20, CA21, CA22, KA22, KA23, KA24, SA30, SA31, SA32
In-class practice 10 0.85 0.034 CA20, CA21, CA22, KA22, KA23, SA32
Test 1 15 1.6 0.064 CA21, KA22, SA32
Assignment 2 30 1.8 0.072 CA20, CA21, CA22, KA22, KA23, KA24, SA30, SA31, SA32

Continuous assessment


Assignment 1 - On a topic related to the first half of the course (30%)

Assignment 2 - On a topic related to the second part of the course (30%)

Test 1 - Theoretical and practical exercises on topics covered in class (15%)

Test 2 - Theoretical and practical exercises on topics covered in class (15%)

Practice (10%)


The student will get the mark \"No avaluable\" if she/he has not handed in 30% of the evaluation activities.


Single Assessment

Sitting for the 2 tests Test1, 20%; Test 2 , 20%, handing in of the 2 assignments on a date provided at the beginning of the course (Assignment 1, 30%; Assignment 2, 30%)

The student will get the mark \"No avaluable\" if she/he has not handed in 40% of the evaluation activities.


Procedure for the review of marks

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.


Reassessment (applicable t0 both types of assessment)

  • A minimum course grade of 3.5/10 must be obtained.
  • All assessment items must be completed.
  • At leat 2/3 of the assessment items must be passed.


Artificial intelligence This subject does not allow the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in any of its phases. Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and entails that the activity is evaluated with a 0 and cannot be reassessed.


IMPORTANT: PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources –whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text– with the intention of passing it off as the student’s own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student’s own text. Plagiarising is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors’ intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.

This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject. Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indicating authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.

Important note for exchange students (Erasmus, etc.) on exams and other tests. Erasmus students who request to bring forward an exam or any other type of assessment activity must present the teacher with an official document from their home university justifying their request.

Bibliography



-Specialized articles on the acquisition of phonetics and phonology


Bohn, Ocke Schwen. 2002. On phonetic similarity. In P. Burmeister, T. Piske and A. Rohde (Eds.). An Integrated View of Language Development: Papers in Honor of Henning Wode. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, pp.191-216.

Baran-Łucarz, Małgorzata. 2011. The relationship between language anxiety and the actual and perceived levels of foreign language pronunciation. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 1(4), 491-514.

Best, Catherine T., & Tyler, Michael D. 2007. Nonnative and second-language speech perception: Commonalities and complementarities. In M. J. Munro & O.-S. Bohn (Eds.), Language experience in second language speech learning: In honor of James Emil Flege (pp. 13–34). John Benjamins.

Cebrian, Juli. 2006. Experience and the use of non-native duration in L2 vowel categorization. Journal of Phonetics 34, 372-387.

Darcy, Isabelle, Mora, Joan Carles, & Daidone, Danielle. 2016. The role of inhibitory control in second language phonological processing. Language Learning, 66(4), 741-773.

Flege, James Emil. 1995. Second language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research, 92(1), 233-277.

Flege, James Emil, Aoyama, Katsura & Bohn, Ocke Schwen. 2021. The revised speech learning model (SLM-r) applied. Second language speech learning: Theoretical and empirical progress, 84-118.

Leather, Jonathan. 1999. Second language speech research: an introduction. In J. Leather (ed.), Phonological Issues in Language Learning. Oxfod: Basil Blackwell, pp. 1-58.

Logan, John S. & John S. Pruitt. 1995. Methodological issues in training listeners to perceive non-native sounds. In W. Strange (Ed.). Speech perception and Linguistic Experience: Theoretical and Methodological Issues. Timonium, MD: York Press, pp. 351-378.

Munro, Murray J. & Ocke-Schwen Bohn. 2007. The study of second language speech. In Bohn, O-S. & M. J. Munro (eds.). Language Experience in Second Language Speech Learning. In honor of James Emil Flege (pp.3-11). Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Piske, Thorsten, Ian R.A. MacKay & James Emil Flege. 2001. Factors affecting degree of foreign accent in an L2: a review. Journal of Phonetics, 29, 191-215.

Saito, Kazuya, Kachlicka, Magdalena, Suzukida, Yui, Mora-Plaza, Ingrid, Ruan, Yaoyao, & Tierney Adam. 2024. Auditory processing as perceptual, cognitive, and motoric abilities underlying successful second language acquisition: Interaction model. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 50(1), 119.

Trofimovich, Pavel, & Paul John, 2011. When three equals tree: Examining the nature of phonological entries in L2 lexicons of Quebec speakers of English. In P. Trofimovich & K. McDonough (Eds.), Applying priming methods to L2 learning, teaching and research: Insights from psycholinguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 105-129.

Wayland, Ratree (Ed.). 2021. Second language speech learning: Theoretical and empirical progress. Cambridge University Press.

Weber, Andrea, & Cutler, Anne. 2004. Lexical competition in non-native spoken-word recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 50(1), 1-25.


- General readings on the acquisition of an L2 and the acquisition of the L2 morphology, syntax and the Lexicon


Archibald, John (ed) (2000) Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory, Oxford: Blackwell.

Cattel, Ray. (2000) Children’s Language: Consensus and Controversy, London: Cassell.

Corder, Pit. (1967) The Significance of Learner's Errors. De Gruyter Mouton.

Crain, Stephen. & Diane Lillo-Martin (1999) An Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Language Acquistion, Oxford: Backwell.

Dörnyei, Zoltán. (2005). The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Ellis, Rod. (2004) Individual Differences in Second Language Learning.The Handbook of Applied Linguistics.

Gass, Susan, Behney, Jennifer & Plonsky, Luke. (2020). Second language acquisition: An introductory course (5th ed.). Routledge.

Guasti, Maria Teresa (2002) Language Acquisition. The Growth of Grammar, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

Hawkins, Roger (ed) (2001) Second Language Syntax. A Generative Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell.

Horwitz, Elaine K., Horwitz, Michael B., & Cope, Joann. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132.

Lightbown, Patsy M., & Spada, Nina. (2021). How Languages Are Learned (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Oxford, Rebecca L. (2003). Language learning styles and strategies: An overview. GALA.

Radford, Andrew (2004) Minimalist Syntax. Exploring the Structure of English, Cambridge, C.U.P

Saville-Troike, Muriel, & Barto, Karen. (2017). Introducing Second Language Acquisition (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Singleton, David, & Ryan, Lisa. (2004). Language Acquisition: The Age Factor (2nd ed.). Multilingual Matters.

Slabakova, Roumyana (2016) Second Language Acquisition, Oxford: O.U.P.

White, Lydia (2003) Second language acquisition and Universal Grammar. (2nd edition) Cambridge: CUP.


Software

It does not apply.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TEm) Theory (master) 1 English first semester morning-mixed