Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (by H. D. Brown) is a must-read book at IGSE. It provides an overview to a great many theories. After reading it you might wonder “how can I adapt all these theories to my classroom? ” or doubt that you can. It is easy to think with cynicism that there is a great distance between theory and the reality of practice. This is the time to think about taking Second Language Acquisition (SLA) class by Professor Philip Hiver. If you want to attack that kind of cynicism head-on, this class is like an oasis in the middle of the desert. Also, SLA-based teaching and SLA-based material development are the most frequently used terms at IGSE. Below I will tell you more about SLA class.


On Teacher's Day


1.   Textbooks and supplements

Main textbook

 : Bill VanPatten, Jessica Williams(2014). Theories in Second Language Acquisition An introduction


This book give a detailed introduction to 10 recent SLA theories based on linguistics, cognitive science and psycholinguistics, and more-recent social approaches. The professor emphasizes the importance of recent theories. In this book, expert scholars who represent each theory introduce its basic concepts and contents. Then they relate this information to some practical SLA observations. It can be difficult to follow at first, but this course will stimulate you intellectually at the same time.




·          Reference

: Bill VanPatten, Alessandro G. Benati(2010). Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition

        This book provides definitions and examples of terms and concepts that scholars use in slightly different ways.





2.   How the class progresses

The class is run in the form of a seminar, which might be unfamiliar to many Asian students.  All the students play an equal role in the seminar such as a person who leads the discussion, who summarizes the theory, who researches, and who introduces doubts about theory, taking turns. Students should be well prepared for the 3-hour seminar, present, and discuss theories based on the weekly reading assignments.

The professor interrupts only when the discussion is sidetracked or the answers to our questions are not being found. But there were no immediate right answers or solutions from him. He just stimulated our thinking to find one on our own.

Since many Koreans are used to lectures, this format may be difficult to follow. However, I think this type of class is one of the highlights of studying at graduate school.


It was a meaningful chance for me to think about each theory, share opinions with classmates, and find ways to adapt theory to practice, exploiting the conceptual knowledge that I learned through the class.



3.   Assignments and tasks
Weekly assignments are as follows,

·         Reading for seminar
·          Preparing individual roles for the seminar
·          Summary of what was discussed
·          Keeping a learning journal
 You will have to read a lot (1-2 articles each week). The final assignment was to compare SLA theories learned so far, choose one topic or key word, and write a report (between 1-2000 words) analyzing it from various viewpoints of SLA theories. I can't say it's easy. But after finishing the report, you will definitely feel a great sense of achievement and mastery of SLA theories and topics.







4.   I recommend this class to people who…
·          Want to be an English teacher
·          Want to be a material developer
·          Want to continue to study and go into a Ph.D program
This class will help you have a big picture of recent SLA theories, understand how diverse research methods are used, and have your own perspective on what to teach and how to teach.
The class is tough, as I said. But it’s hard to take this kind of class elsewhere. And it's Professor Philip Hiver! Don’t miss it!