Transcript Theories of Second language Acquisition

Theories of Second language
Acquisition
Different models have been proposed:
1. The behaviorist perspective
2. The innatist perspective
3. The cognitive/developmental perspective
4. The sociocultural perspective
The Behaviorist Perspective
• Learning is explained in terms of imitation,
practice, reinforcement, and habit formation
• It had a powerful influence on second and
foreign language teaching between the 1940s
and the 1970s.
• The Audiolingual method of second language
teaching stemmed out of behaviorism: emphasis
on mimicry and memorization
• Students memorized dialogues and sentence
patterns by heart.
• Learning a language is a process of habit
formation: habits of L1 will surely interfere with
the new habits of L2 that the learner wants to
form=} Contrastive hypothesis
The Innatist Perspective
• Humans are born with innate knowledge of the
principles of Universal Grammar: UG
• UG allows all children to acquire the language of
their environment during a critical period of
their development.
• Researchers are divided on the applicability of
UG to second language acquisition:
A. Some think that the UG provides
an adequate explanation only for
first language acquisition.
UG is equally available
to second language
learners as it was for
first language learners
Instruction and corrective feedback
change only superficial appearance of
language
B.UG provides the best
explanation for second
language acquisition
UG has been altered; it
is not the same after
acquiring L1
Learners may need some explicit
information and instruction
Application:
Krashen’s Model
• It is one of the models that adopt the innatist
perspective
• It was quite influential in the 1970s.
• It emphasizes the role of exposure to
comprehensible input in second language
acquisition.
• It is based on 5 hypotheses:
1. Acquisition/learning hypothesis
2. Monitor hypothesis
3. The natural order hypothesis
4. The input hypothesis
5. The affective filter hypothesis
The Cognitive/Developmental Perspective:
Information Processing
Learning is achieved through paying
attention to any aspect of language
Gradually, by practice, those items
become old information and can be
accessed automatically, so learner will
start paying attention to other items
Transfer appropriate processing:
Information is best retrieved in
situations that are similar to those in
which they were acquired.
No need for UG
Second language acquisition is
building up of knowledge that can be
eventually called on automatically
for speaking and understanding.
Second language acquisition is seen as skill
learning
Skill learning starts with declarative
knowledge: knowledge that.
With practice, decalarative knowledge may
become procedural knowledge: knowledge
how
Connectionism
Learner develops stronger networks
of connections between linguistic
features and the specific linguistic
and situational context in which they
occur
Application:
The Interaction Hypothesis
• It is one of the hypotheses that have emerged
within the cognitive developmental perspective.
• Claims of the hypothesis:
According to this hypothesis, conversational
interaction is an essential, if not sufficient,
condition for second language acquisition.
Interactional modification, i.e. modified speech,
promotes acquisition.
It makes claims not only about comprehension
(processing input), but also about production
(output): Corrective feedback during interaction
forces learners to produce comprehensible
output.
The Sociocultural Perspective
• Vygotsky’s theory proposes:
• Cognitive development, including language
development, arises as a result of social
interaction.
• Learning occurs how?
When an individual
- interacts with an interlocutor
- within his ZPD ( a situation where the learner is
capable of performing at a higher level because
there is support from the interlocutor.
• According to the theory, second language
learners acquire language when they collaborate
and interact with other speakers.
• Interlocutors co-construct knowledge
collaboratively.
• Through collaborative dialogues, learners coconstruct knowledge while engaging in
production tasks that draw their attention to
both form and meaning. It is cognitive activity as
well as social activity.