Merrill Swain

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Merrill Swain is a Canadian applied linguist whose research has focused on second language acquisition (SLA). [1] Some of her most notable contributions to SLA research include the Output Hypothesis and her research related to immersion education. [2] Swain is a Professor Emerita at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. [3] Swain is also known for her work with Michael Canale on communicative competence. [4] Swain was the president of the American Association for Applied Linguistics in 1998. [5] She received her PhD in psychology at the University of California. [3] Swain has co-supervised 64 PhD students. [6]

Contents

The Output Hypothesis

Merrill Swain came to propose the Output Hypothesis based on her observations of French immersion classrooms that very rarely did students say anything longer than a clause, and that many graduates of French immersion programs still had grammatical inaccuracies in their speech that never went away even after many years of immersion education. [7] [6] In contrast with Stephen Krashen’s 1977 Input Hypothesis, Swain’s Output Hypothesis posited that comprehensible input on its own is not enough for language learning. [8] [9]

The Output Hypothesis proposes that “through producing language, either spoken or written, language acquisition/learning may occur”, because learners are more likely to notice gaps in their knowledge when producing output, and learn as a result of trying to fill that gap. [10]

The Output Hypothesis attributes three main functions to the production of language (output) that are relevant to language learning:

  1. The noticing/triggering function - in attempting to produce language, learners may become aware of a gap between their intended meaning and the form closest to that meaning that they can produce using their current knowledge.
  2. The hypothesis-testing function - output can be a reflection of hypotheses about the language that learners are testing.
  3. The metalinguistic (reflective) function - “using language to reflect on language produced by others or the self mediates second language learning”. [11]

Immersion Education

Merrill Swain has contributed significantly to immersion pedagogy through her extensive observation and research of French immersion classrooms and other second language learning contexts. [6] In the 1970s, immersion education in Canada centrally focused on comprehensible input, achieved by teaching school subjects in French. [12] In the 1970s, Swain pushed for change in the way immersion language teaching was conducted. [6] Swain pointed out in a 1974 paper co-authored by Henry Barik about their observations in French immersion classrooms in two schools in Elgin county that even after many years in the immersion program, that “some of the errors do not disappear”. [12] As such, Swain pushed for a “combination of emphasis on grammatical accuracy and … meaningful communication from the very start”. [13] [6] Swain hypothesized that when exposed to content instruction in the target language, learners can deduce the meaning of language through contextual knowledge without needing to understand grammatical structures, and that it is more difficult to use this kind of shortcut when producing output. [9] [6] Swain suggested that students should be given more opportunities to produce output in the target language, as it would cause students to better notice structural aspects of the language. [9] [6] These ideas formed the basis of Swain’s Output Hypothesis. [9] [6]

Merrill Swain’s research also showed that teachers’ typical language use was limited in the variety of grammatical forms used, which meant that students had a low amount of exposure to those forms not used by teachers. [7] This lopsided input was a factor in students’ continued inaccuracies in some forms. [7] To remedy this, Swain suggested that teachers should design activities that “naturally elicit particular uses of language”. [7]

Awards

Writing

Merrill Swain is the co-author or co-editor of 12 books or special issues, 95 book chapters, and 135 papers in refereed journals. [6] Listed here is a small sample of her numerous works.

Related Research Articles

In bilingual education, students are taught in two languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The time spent in each language depends on the model. For example, some models focus on providing education in both languages throughout a student's entire education while others gradually transition to education in only one language. The ultimate goal of bilingual education is fluency and literacy in both languages through a variety of strategies such as translanguaging and recasting.

Stephen D. Krashen is an American linguist, educational researcher and activist, who is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Southern California. He moved from the linguistics department to the faculty of the School of Education in 1994.

A second language (L2) is a language spoken in addition to one's first language (L1). A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a foreign language. A speaker's dominant language, which is the language a speaker uses most or is most comfortable with, is not necessarily the speaker's first language. For example, the Canadian census defines first language for its purposes as "the first language learned in childhood and still spoken", recognizing that for some, the earliest language may be lost, a process known as language attrition. This can happen when young children start school or move to a new language environment.

Language education – the process and practice of teaching a second or foreign language – is primarily a branch of applied linguistics, but can be an interdisciplinary field. There are four main learning categories for language education: communicative competencies, proficiencies, cross-cultural experiences, and multiple literacies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Language immersion</span> Use of two languages across a variety of educational subjects

Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student's native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through immersion programs and techniques. There are different types of language immersion that depend on the age of the students, the classtime spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1.

A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at school, self-teaching, or attending language courses. A foreign language might be learned as a second language; however, there is a distinction between the two terms. A second language refers to a language that plays a significant role in the region where the speaker lives, whether for communication, education, business, or governance. Consequently, a second language is not necessarily a foreign language.

Second-language acquisition (SLA), sometimes called second-language learning — otherwise referred to as L2acquisition, is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process. The field of second-language acquisition is regarded by some but not everybody as a sub-discipline of applied linguistics but also receives research attention from a variety of other disciplines, such as psychology and education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French immersion in Canada</span> A form of bilingual education in Canada

French immersion is a form of bilingual education in which students who do not speak French as a first language will receive instruction in French. In most French-immersion schools, students will learn to speak French and learn most subjects such as history, music, geography, art, physical education and science in French.

Sequential bilingualism occurs when a person becomes bilingual by first learning one language and then another. The process is contrasted with simultaneous bilingualism, in which both languages are learned at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early immersion (foreign-language instruction)</span>

Early immersion is a method of teaching and learning a foreign language. It entails having a student undergo intense instruction in a foreign language, starting by age five or six. Frequently, this method entails having the student learn all or much of his or her various "regular" subject matter via the foreign language being taught.

In the field of second language acquisition, there are many theories about the most effective way for language learners to acquire new language forms. One theory of language acquisition is the comprehensible output hypothesis.

The input hypothesis, also known as the monitor model, is a group of five hypotheses of second-language acquisition developed by the linguist Stephen Krashen in the 1970s and 1980s. Krashen originally formulated the input hypothesis as just one of the five hypotheses, but over time the term has come to refer to the five hypotheses as a group. The hypotheses are the input hypothesis, the acquisition–learning hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis and the affective filter hypothesis. The input hypothesis was first published in 1977.

Heritage language learning, or heritage language acquisition, is the act of learning a heritage language from an ethnolinguistic group that traditionally speaks the language, or from those whose family historically spoke the language. According to a commonly accepted definition by Valdés, heritage languages are generally minority languages in society and are typically learned at home during childhood. When a heritage language learner grows up in an environment with a dominant language that is different from their heritage language, the learner appears to be more competent in the dominant language and often feels more comfortable speaking in that language. "Heritage language" may also be referred to as "community language", "home language", and "ancestral language".

The main purpose of theories of second-language acquisition (SLA) is to shed light on how people who already know one language learn a second language. The field of second-language acquisition involves various contributions, such as linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and education. These multiple fields in second-language acquisition can be grouped as four major research strands: (a) linguistic dimensions of SLA, (b) cognitive dimensions of SLA, (c) socio-cultural dimensions of SLA, and (d) instructional dimensions of SLA. While the orientation of each research strand is distinct, they are in common in that they can guide us to find helpful condition to facilitate successful language learning. Acknowledging the contributions of each perspective and the interdisciplinarity between each field, more and more second language researchers are now trying to have a bigger lens on examining the complexities of second language acquisition.

Focus on form (FonF), also called form-focused instruction, is an approach to language education in which learners are made aware of linguistic forms – such as individual words and conjugations – in the context of a communicative activity. It is contrasted with focus on forms, in which forms are studied in isolation, and focus on meaning, in which no attention is paid to forms at all. For instruction to qualify as focus on form and not as focus on forms, the learner must be aware of the meaning and use of the language features before the form is brought to their attention. Focus on form was proposed by Michael Long in 1988.

The interaction hypothesis is a theory of second-language acquisition which states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by face-to-face interaction and communication. Its main focus is on the role of input, interaction, and output in second language acquisition. It posits that the level of language that a learner is exposed to must be such that the learner is able to comprehend it, and that a learner modifying their speech so as to make it comprehensible facilitates their ability to acquire the language in question. The idea existed in the 1980s, and has been reviewed and expanded upon by a number of other scholars but is usually credited to Michael Long.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to second-language acquisition:

Alison Mackey is a linguist who specializes in applied linguistics, second language acquisition and research methodology. She is currently a professor in the Department of Linguistics at Georgetown University. Her research focuses on applied linguistics and research methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Guardado</span>

Martin Guardado is a Salvadorian-born Canadian sociolinguist. He is currently a professor of sociocultural linguistics and applied linguistics at the University of Alberta. His research focuses on heritage language socialization and teaching English as a second language. He is noted for his work on heritage language socialization and for recommending that heritage languages need to be studied multidimensionally as well as from macro and micro perspectives. His recent and current research respectively examines the experiences of Japanese-Canadian mothers in mixed language families in Montreal and the characteristics of mixed language parents across a number of linguistic groups in Alberta.

Patsy M. Lightbown is an American applied linguist whose research focuses on the teaching and acquisition of second and/or foreign languages in a classroom context. Her theories of second language acquisition earned her the SPEAQ Award for "contributions which have had an impact on the entire English teaching community in Quebec". She served in the United States Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa from 1965 to 1967. In her more than forty years in the field she has taught at multiple universities across the United States, Australia and Canada. She holds the title of Distinguished Professor Emerita at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. She has written seven published books and has been featured in many book chapters and refereed journals. She currently works as an independent consultant, editor, researcher and writing in second language acquisition and learning.

References

  1. ↑ Reagan, Timothy (1985). "EVALUATING BILINGUAL EDUCATION: A CANADIAN CASE STUDY, Merrill Swain and Sharon Larkin. Clevedon, Avon, England: Multilingual matters LTD., 1982. Pp. 117". Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 7 (3): 354–355. doi:10.1017/S0272263100005593. S2CID   145225607.
  2. ↑ "OISE :: Merrill Swain :: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto".
  3. 1 2 Perspectives on language as action : festschrift in honour of Merrill Swain. Haneda, Mari, 1958-, Nassaji, Hossein, Swain, Merrill. Bristol. 22 February 2019. ISBN   978-1-78892-294-4. OCLC   1075556039.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ↑ Brown, H. Douglas (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (5th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education. pp. 219–220. ISBN   978-0-13-199128-6.
  5. ↑ "Past Presidents". American Association of Applied Linguistics. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lyster, Roy (2019-12-31), Haneda, Mari; Nassaji, Hossein (eds.), "1. Pushing Immersion Forward", Perspectives on Language as Action, Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters, pp. 11–26, doi:10.21832/9781788922944-004, ISBN   978-1-78892-294-4, S2CID   198804035 , retrieved 2020-12-04
  7. 1 2 3 4 Swain, Merrill (1988-10-26). "Manipulating and Complementing Content Teaching To Maximize Second Language Learning". TESL Canada Journal. 6 (1): 68. doi: 10.18806/tesl.v6i1.542 . ISSN   1925-8917.
  8. ↑ Krashen, S. (1977). "Some issues relating to the monitor model". In Brown, H. D., Yorio, C. A., & Crymes, R. H. (1977). Teaching and learning English as a second language: Trends in research and practice : on TESOL '77 : selected papers from the eleventh annual convention of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Miami, Florida, April 26-May 1, 1977. Washington: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Swain, Merrill (1985). "Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development". In Gass, Susan; Carolyn, Madden (eds.). Input in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
  10. ↑ Swain, Merrill (October 1993). "The Output Hypothesis: Just Speaking and Writing Aren't Enough". Canadian Modern Language Review. 50 (1): 158–164. doi:10.3138/cmlr.50.1.158. ISSN   0008-4506.
  11. ↑ Swain, M. (2004). The output hypothesis: Its history and its future [Presentation]. National Research Center for Foreign Language Education of Beijing Foreign Studies University. Retrieved from http://www.celea.org.cn/2007/keynote/ppt/Merrill%20Swain.pdf
  12. 1 2 Barik, Henri C.; Swain, Merrill (December 1974). "English-French Bilingual Education in the Early Grades: The Elgin Study*". The Modern Language Journal. 58 (8): 392–403. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.1974.tb05131.x.
  13. ↑ Harley, Brigit; Swain, Merrill (1978). "Form and Function in a Second Language: A Close Look at the Verb System". Paper Presented at the Fifth International Congress of Applied Linguistics. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
  14. 1 2 "CTL :: Merrill Swain :: Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE". www.oise.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
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