Second Language Acquisition

Catalog description

This course provides an introduction to second language acquisition theories and research, exploring the limits and possibilities of instructed and natural contexts. Topics include the nature of language, the role of the native language, second language acquisition universals, theoretical and pedagogical approaches, nonlanguage influences, instructed second language learning, and linguistic data analysis. Students will engage in critical discussions of the readings and observations of foreign/second language classes, and either produce a research-based instructional intervention or linguistic fieldwork analysis. Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Students must have fulfilled Davidson’s foreign language requirement or its equivalent before enrolling in the course.