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THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE PLANNING IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Author(s) -
Tollefson James W.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1981.tb01388.x
Subject(s) - second language acquisition , process (computing) , macro , psychology , language planning , government (linguistics) , language acquisition , process management , computer science , linguistics , mathematics education , business , pedagogy , philosophy , programming language , operating system
In recent years, several models of second language acquisition (SLA) have been proposed in an effort to describe the relationships among variables affecting rate and eventual attainment in SLA. A major weakness of these models is that they have not included planning variables. That is, they have not accounted for the impact of government planning on SLA processes. This article explores the impact of planning variables within one of the most comprehensive SLA models that proposed by Merrill Swain that includes four sets of variables: input, learner. Learning, and learned variables. The planning process is analyzed as a complex series of policy levels having varying kinds of impact on SLA. Four components of the planning process are distinguished: macro‐policy goals, macro‐implementation decisions, micro‐policy goals. and micro‐implementation decisions. The effects of these components on input, learner, learning, and learned variables are explored in order to demonstrate the ways in which SLA is often the result of deliberate policy implementation by national, regional, and local planning agencies.