Theories of Second language Acquisition

Different models have been proposed:1.The behaviorist perspective2.The innatist perspective3.The cognitive/developmental perspective4.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.

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 hypothesis2. Monitor hypothesis3. The natural order hypothesis4. The input hypothesis5. The affective filter hypothesis

The Cognitive/Developmental Perspective: Information Processing

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 co-construct knowledge while engaging in production tasks that draw their attention to both form and meaning. It is cognitive activity as well as social activity.