Language

Acquisition
Didáctica Especial del Inglés II
 What is language?

• Language is a communication system, used and understood by a group with

a shared history, territory, or both. Linguists consider language to be
a uniquely human ability.

• Other animals do have communication systems. However, none of these

communication systems appears to be as complex as human language, which
has been described as 'the infinite use of a finite resource'.
 How language is acquired by children?

Are babies born with an innate, or built-in, ability to acquire language?

Is language acquisition stimulated by interaction with others

(parents, carers, and siblings)?

What would happen if a child was deprived of communication, left isolated during the
optimal time for language acquisition
(roughly the first 10 years of a child's life)?

Would the child be able to acquire language after that age?

Do we acquire language because it is innate or does it develop because of our

environment?
 Language Acquisition
The study of child language acquisition is the study of the processes by which
children learn a language. At a very young age, children begin to understand,
and gradually use, the language spoken by their caregivers.

The study of language acquisition involves three main areas:

• First-language acquisition
• Bilingual language acquisition
• Second-language acquisition
 Language Acquisition

How exactly would we define language acquisition?

Language acquisition refers to the process of acquiring a language, usually due

to immersion (i.e. hearing the language often and in everyday contexts).
 Stages of language acquisition
There are four main stages in child language acquisition:

 The babbling stage (3-8 months)

Children first start to recognise and produce sounds eg 'bababa'. They don't yet
produce any recognisable words but they are experimenting with their newfound
voice.

 The one-word stage (9-18 months) - Holophrastic

The one-word stage is when babies start to say their first recognisable
words, eg using the word 'dog' to describe all fluffy animals.
 Stages of language acquisition

 The two-word stage (18-24 months)

The two-word stage is when children start communicating using two-word
phrases. For example, 'dog woof', meaning 'the dog is barking', or 'mummy
home', meaning mummy is at home.

 The multi-word stage (telegraphic stage) (24-30 months)

The multi-word stage is when children start to use longer sentences, more
complex sentences. For example, 'mummy and Chloe go school now'.
Differences between
Learning and
Acquisition
Learning a language is the conscious process in which we deliberately learn the
basic skills of a language. Language learning depends on the formal teaching
methodology in schools or institutions.

In language learning , the emphasis is greatly on teaching grammar rules. Students

are constantly exposed to the explanations, lessons, teachings, illustrations, drills,
and assignments of the grammar rules. They learn a language to pursue their business,
academic, or personal purposes.

Language acquisition is the way we naturally learn the first language. We do not
require any instructions, teacher, or school to acquire a language. It largely depends
on the innate capacity of human beings .

Language acquisition is a subconscious process in which we know what is right and

wrong in that language and acquire more by the trial and error method even though we
do not know a thing about grammar rules and word order. We are exposed to constant
communication.
Language Acquisition and Language Learning are
two different terms.

When learning, learners pay attention to different

aspects such as grammar structures or phonetics. But
when acquiring a new language, learners learn how to
use the language without paying attention to
structures.
Learning a First
Language
 01
The Behaviourist
Position
Say What I Say
The behaviourist theory suggests that language is learned from the environment
and through conditioning.

B F Skinner was a psychologist who

specialised in behaviour. He was credited
with popularising the idea of 'radical
behaviourism', which took the ideas of
behaviourism further by suggesting that
our idea of 'free will' is entirely
determined by situational factors.
 Behaviourism Learning Theory

• Skinner's imitation theory proposes that language develops as a result

of children trying to imitate their caregivers or those around them.

• The theory assumes that children have no innate ability to learn

language and rely on operant conditioning to form and improve their
understanding and use of it.

• Behavioural theory believes that children are born 'tabula rasa' - as a

'blank slate'.
 What is operant conditioning?
• Operant conditioning is the idea that actions are reinforced.
• There are two types of reinforcement that are vital to this theory: positive
reinforcement and negative reinforcement. In Skinner's theory, children alter
their use of language in response to this reinforcement.
• The theory suggests that when receiving positive reinforcement, the child
realises which use of language gets them the reward, and will continue to use
language in that way in the future.
• In the case of negative reinforcement, the child alters their use of language to
match a correction given by the caregiver, or may independently try something
different.
 Evidence for Skinner's theory
• Operant conditioning is well understood and supported as a behaviourist explanation for
many things, and there may be some ways that it can be applied to language development.

• For example, children may still be able to learn that certain sounds or phrases get certain
results, even if this doesn't contribute to their language development as a whole.

• Children also tend to pick up on the accents and colloquialisms of those around them,
which suggests that imitation may play some role in language acquisition.

• During school life, their use of language will become more accurate, and more
complex. This can be partly attributed to the fact that teachers play a more active role than
caregivers in correcting the mistakes children make while speaking.
 Evidence for Skinner's theory

• A further criticism, made by academics like Jeanne Aitchison, is that parents and care
givers don't tend to correct language use but truthfulness.

• Language use is not corrected as often as Skinner thinks.

• For a care giver, truth is more important than language accuracy. If a child says something
which is grammatically wrong but truthful the care giver is likely to praise the child. But if
the child says something which is grammatically accurate but untrue, the care giver is
likely to respond negatively.
 Limitations of Skinner's theory
Skinner's theory has numerous limitations and some of its assumptions have been
disproven or questioned by other theorists and researchers.

Developmental Milestones

• Contrary to Skinner's theory, research has shown that children go through a

series of developmental milestones at around the same age.
• This suggests that there may be more than just simple imitation and
conditioning taking place, and that children may actually have an internal
mechanism that facilitates language development.
 Limitations of Skinner's theory
The critical period of language acquisition
• Age 7 is thought to be the end of the critical period for language acquisition. If a
child has not developed language by this point, they will never be able to fully
grasp it. This suggests that there might be something universal among human
beings that governs language development, as this would explain why
the critical period is the same for everyone regardless of their first language
background.

Genie (as studied by Curtiss et al., 1974) is perhaps the most notable example of someone who has failed
to develop language by the critical period. Genie was a young girl who was raised in complete isolation
and never given a chance to develop language due to her solitude and poor living conditions. When she
was discovered in 1970, she was twelve years old. She had missed the critical period and was therefore
unable to become fluent in English despite extensive attempts to teach and rehabilitate her.
 Limitations of Skinner's theory

The complicated nature of language

• It has also been argued that language and its development are simply too
complicated to be taught sufficiently through reinforcement alone.

• Children learn grammatical rules and patterns seemingly independently of

positive or negative reinforcement.

• There are so many combinations of words, grammatical structures and sentences

that it seems impossible that this could all be a consequence of imitation and
conditioning alone. This is called the 'poverty of stimulus' argument.
 02

The Innatist Position

It’s all in your mind

The nativist theory argues that important elements of our understanding of the
world, such as language, are innate and do not necessarily need to be learned from
experience.

Avram Noam Chomsky, better known as Noam

Chomsky, is an American linguist whose work from the
1950s changed the field of linguistics as we know it
today.
Chomsky revolutionised linguistics by treating language
as a uniquely human, biologically based cognitive
ability. He suggested that all humans are born with the
innate ability to learn and make sense of both language
and grammar.
Some of Chomsky's most influential theories within
linguistics include the Nativist theory and Universal
Grammar theory.
 What is Nativist Theory?
• In the nature vs nurture debate, which has been ongoing since 1869, Nativist theorists
are typically team nature. They believe that language is innate.

Innate (adjective): Existing from the time a person or animal is born. It is inherent and is
not learned.

• In terms of language acquisition, Nativists believe that children are born with an inbuilt
ability to organize and comprehend the fundamental laws and structures of language.

• They believe this is why children can learn a native language quickly. They are 'wired' to
learn a language, almost regardless of their environment.
 Chomsky and the Nativist Theory
• During the 1960s, Chomsky questioned the idea that the human mind begins as a 'blank
slate' and rejected the behaviourist theory because children receive 'impoverished
language input' (baby talk) when growing up.

• Chomsky questioned how children could demonstrate signs of learning grammar before
receiving any formal education on grammatical rules.

• He suggested that the human brain must have evolved to contain certain linguistic
information from birth which helps children figure out the basic structures of language.

• Chomsky believes that the basic concepts of language are innate and are influenced by
language environments.
 Chomsky and the Nativist Theory

According to Chomsky, this innate ability to easily learn a native language is due to
two things: the language acquisition device (LAD) and Universal grammar
(UG).

The Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

• It is a hypothetical 'tool' in the brain that contains specific knowledge about
language and grammar.
• Chomsky proposed the LAD to explain how children are able to comprehend
the basic structures of language from such a young age. Chomsky suggests that
a child's LAD is triggered once they hear speech.
• Chomsky stated that this part of the brain is a uniquely human trait and cannot
be found in other animals, which helps explain why it is only humans who can
communicate through language.
 Chomsky and the Nativist Theory
Universal grammar

• The term Universal Grammar has been used to

describe the knowledge contained within the
Most languages:
LAD. All human languages share many of the  Differentiate between verbs
same common grammar principles. and nouns.
 Have a way of talking about
• According to Universal Grammar theory, the basic the past and present.
 Have a way of asking
grammatical structures of language are already questions.
encoded in the human brain at birth. It is a child's  Have a counting system.
environment that will determine which language
they will learn.
 Key Principles of Chomsky’s model

I. Everyone is born with the innate ability to learn a language.

II. Learning a language is instinctive.
III. Every child is born with a Language Acquisition Device
(LAD).
IV. The LAD is a tool in the brain that facilitates the learning of
language and grammar.
V. All human languages share basic grammatical rules that
humans have a subconscious ability to learn.
VI. Grammar is a necessary skill needed for learning any
language.
 Criticisms of the Nativist Theory
1. Nativism is often perceived as too theoretical and lacking scientific proof. Jeffrey Elman et
al. (1996) pointed out that it is almost impossible to judge what knowledge is innate and
exactly how it could be coded in a person's genes.

2. Chomsky tended to look more at complex explanations of grammatical structures rather

than studying actual children themselves, meaning there is little empirical evidence to
validate his theory. Subsequently, Chomsky's theory fails to account for real-life
relationships, external factors, and motivations to learn that children may face in their day-
to-day lives.

3. Although scientists have identified locations in the brain used specifically for language
processing, such as Broca's area and Wernicke's area, a specific area that could be defined as
the LAD has never been found.
 03
The Interactionist
Position
Mom’s the word
The interactionist theory emphasises the importance of interaction and social
environment in acquiring language, whilst it also recognizes that language is innate.
It suggests that children develop language as they have a desire to communicate with
the world.

Jerome Seymour Bruner (October 1, 1915 – June 5, 2016) was

an American psychologist who made significant contributions to
human cognitive psychology and cognitive learning
theory in educational psychology. Bruner focused on
early language development.
Following Lev Vygotsky, Bruner proposed that social interaction
plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition in
general and of language in particular. He emphasized that
children learn language in order to communicate, and, at the
same time, they also learn the linguistic code.
 Interactionist Theory meaning

• Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) first laid the

foundations for the interactionist point of view when
he developed the sociocultural theory of language
development.
• Vygotsky suggested that children acquire their
cultural values and beliefs through interacting and
collaborating with more knowledgeable people in
their community.
• He also emphasised the importance of the cultural
and social context in language learning, arguing
that social learning often comes before language
development.
Vygotsky developed key concepts such as:

Cultural-specific tools - these are 'tools' specific to a certain culture. This includes
technical tools such as books and media as well as psychological tools such as
language, signs, and symbols.

Private speech - this is basically talking out loud to yourself, for example, if a child
is trying to figure out a math's question they may talk themselves through it. After this
stage, children's private speech will become internalised monologues (i.e., the inner
speech in your own head)

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - This is the zone of potential

development in which a child can develop skills that require the support of a more
knowledgeable teacher. This teacher can provide scaffolding, encouraging the child
and helping them to master skills and gain more knowledge.
 Interactionist Theory

• In 1983, Jerome Bruner believed that, although children do have

an innate ability to learn language, they also require plenty of direct contact and
interaction with others to achieve full language fluency.

• This means that they can't learn to speak just by watching TV or listening to
conversations; they have to fully engage with others and understand the contexts
in which language is used.

• Caregivers tend to provide the linguistic support that helps a child learn to
speak. They correct mistakes, simplify their own speech and build the scaffolding
that helps a child to develop language. This support from caregivers can also be
referred to as the 'Language Acquisition Support System' (LASS).
 Interactionist Theory

The interactionist theory also suggests that:

• Children learn language as they have the desire to communicate with the
world around them.

• Language develops depending on social interactions. This includes the people

with whom a child may interact and the overall experience of the interaction.

• The social environment a child grows up in greatly affects how well and how
quickly they develop their language skills.
 Characteristics of Interactionist Theory
What is scaffolding?
• Bruner used the concept of 'scaffolding' to explain the role of
caregivers in child language development.

• He first developed the idea from Vygotsky's theory of proximal

development which emphasised that children need a more
knowledgeable other to develop their knowledge and skills.

• Bruner argued that caregivers provide the same kind of support

for children and this is gradually removed as the child learns
and develops by themselves.
 Characteristics of Interactionist Theory
What is the Language Acquisition Support System (LASS)?
LASS is a term used to describe the support from caregivers/parents/teachers in a
child's early language development. They provide active support in social
interactions such as:

• Adjusting language to suit the child. This is sometimes referred to as 'motherese',

'caregiver speech', 'baby talk', or 'Child-Directed Speech (CDS)'.
• Collaborative learning such as joint reading. This can involve an adult looking at
picture books with a child and pointing out key vocabulary.
• Encouraging the child and providing feedback through interactions. Providing
examples for the child to imitate.
• Games such as 'peek-a-boo' that practice the turn-taking that is necessary for
interactions.
 Characteristics of Interactionist Theory

Bruner developed the concept of the LASS in response to

Noam Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device (LAD).
Both concepts of the LASS and LAD argue that we are born with an innate
ability to acquire language, however, the LASS takes this one step further,
arguing that we also require interaction with others to learn.
 Evidence for Interactionist Theory

• A study by Carpenter, Nagell, Tomasello, Butterworth, and Moore

(1998) showed the importance of parent-child social interaction when
learning to speak. They studied factors such as joint attentional engagement
(e.g., reading a book together), gaze and point following, gestures, and
understanding/producing language. The results showed a correlation between
parent-child social interactions (e.g., joint attention) and language skills,
suggesting that interaction is important in a child's development of language.

• The importance of joint attention in language learning is also shown in Kuhl's

(2003) study. Joint attention helped children to recognise speech boundaries (i.e.,
where one word ends and another begins).
 Evidence for Interactionist Theory
The Genie Case Study about Genie the 'feral child' (1970) shows how a lack of
interaction in early life negatively affects language learning. It supports the idea that
interaction with a caregiver is vital in language acquisition.

Genie was kept locked in a room and deprived of contact for her first 13 years of life. This
early stage is believed to be the critical period of language acquisition (i.e., the key
timeframe in which a child acquires language).
When she was discovered, Genie lacked basic language skills, however, she had a strong
desire to communicate.
Over the next few years, although she did learn to acquire plenty of new words, she never
managed to apply grammatical rules and speak language fluently.
Theories of Second
Language Learning
 01
Behavioural
Approach
 Language is acquired according to the general laws of learning and is
similar to any other learnt behaviour.
Learning was viewed as process of habit formation
• The process of habit formation consists of three steps:
1. Stimulus (a signal from the environment that evokes a reaction)
2. Response (the learner’s reaction to the stimulus)
3. Reinforcement (a reward for an appropriate response: reinforced behaviour gets
internalized, a behaviour that is not reinforced is extinguished)

• Second language learning was viewed as a process of overcoming the habits of

the native language to acquire new habits of the L2. This process was achieved by
applying various drilling techniques.
• Language errors were considered by behaviourists to be the main danger in the
process of the L2 learning as they could lead to the development of bad language
habits.

• That is why the role of thoughtless drilling techniques and the fully controlled
process of learning was supposed to prevent the learner from making error.
 CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS HYPOTHESIS (CAH)

All L2 errors can be predicted by identifying the differences between the

learners’ native language and the target language.
• The role of Contrastive Analysis was to analyse languages to find differences (mainly on the
structural level) and consequently point out the potential areas of difficulty for L2 learners.

• CAH was popular in the 1960s but in the early 1970s it lost the interest of language researchers
and teachers as empirical study proved that the basic claim of CAH was incorrect. It was found
that:
1. Mainly errors were not caused by the interference between the
languages
2. Many errors predicted by contrastive analysis never occurred.

Dr. Robert Lado (May 31, 1915 - December 11, 1995)was an American expert on modern
linguistics. Lado is considered one of the founders of modern contrastive linguistics, which, as
a subdiscipline of applied linguistics, served the purpose of improving language teaching
materials.
 CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS HYPOTHESIS (CAH)

• CAH was replaced by its “weak version”, which meant not predicting but
explaining learner errors after they have been made.

• Contrastive analysis was replaced by error analysis, the function of which was
detecting the source of language errors.

• Behavioural approach to language acquisition was strongly criticized by many

linguists as it did not take into account certain properties of language, especially
language creativity.

• The strongest criticism of behaviourism came from Noam Chomsky (1969)

 Error Analysis (EA)

• Error Analysis is the study of errors.

• As opposed to Contrastive Analysis, Error Analysis did not try to predict, or

prevent errors. Its role was to:
 Collect
 Identify
 Describe
 Explain
 Evaluate language errors

Stephen Pit Corder (6 October 1918 – 27 January 1990) was a professor of applied
linguistics at Edinburgh University, known for his contribution to the study of error analysis.
In Error Analysis and Interlanguage, Corder introduced the idea that the learning of a
second or foreign language is developmental and can be studied by analysing the errors
that learners make. These errors should be viewed as signs of positive language
development rather than deficiencies. Corder's argument that learner language, later termed
'interlanguage' by Larry Selinker (1972), is a language in its own right is now generally
accepted.
 Error Analysis (EA)

• Error Analysis was criticized for the “narrowness of perspective” which was caused
by too much focus on language errors and too little interest in their role in SLA as a
whole.

• The role of Error Analysis should not be undervalued as it identified a considerable

number of error types and their sources, providing research material for further
analysis in the field of psycholinguistics.
 02
Nativist
(Innatist/Mentalist/Linguistic)

Approach
Major claims:
 Language is a human-specific faculty.
 The principles of language are inborn and not learnt
 The process of language acquisition itself is independent of cognitive
development, individual differences, form of language input, etc
 Language learning is viewed as a process of hypotheses-testing leading to rule
formation.
 Input data is required to trigger the process of rule formation (the mental
processes are given priority over the role of environment)
Evidence:
 A language learner is exposed to both correct and incorrect language; however,
the language system that is developed consists of correct language rules.
 A language learner can produce and understand sentences that he/she has never
encountered in his/her learning environment.
 Ability to acquire language is independent of intelligence, personality, etc.
 The pattern of acquisition is comparable for different individuals, languages, and
cultures.
 Chomsky’s Universal Hypothesis

• Noam Chomsky claimed that the human mind relies on an inborn mechanism,
called LAD, the function of which is to initiate, supervise and facilitate the
language acquisition process.

• The tree major functions are to help the learner to:

 Attend to the language he/she is exposed to
 Make hypotheses about the language
 Develop its grammatical system
 Chomsky’s Universal Hypothesis

• The LAD does not require any specially modified language input as it is triggered
by any linguistic input that a human being is exposed to.

• The role of UG is to “constrain the form which the grammars of individual

languages can take”.

• It includes invariant principles that are generally true across languages, as well as
parameters which allow for variation from language to language.
 Chomsky’s Universal Hypothesis

• These principles provide the learner with a framework to build a grammar of

his/her language on. They state which rule is and which is not possible in human
languages.

• The UG principles set parameters, which are selected and modified by the learner
on the basis of the particular language he/she is exposed to.

The principles may be defined as universal features of all languages, and the
parameters as the rules of the particular language discovered through exposure to
the language
 Critical Period Hypothesis

• It claims that there is a limited period in human life during which language
acquisition is possible, natural, and effortless.

• Lenneberg (1967) claimed that LAD functions correctly only if it is activated

before the brain loses its plasticity, i.e. before lateralization (brain hemispheres
specialization) is complete. It would mean that language acquisition may take place
only before the age of puberty.
 Critical Period Hypothesis

• However, some researchers claimed that here might not be a critical period after
which no complete language acquisition is possible, but a sensitive period during
which the acquisition is just easier and more efficient.

• Long claimed that LAD does not “disappear” with age, but access to it becomes
more limited with age unless it is used and kept plastic.
 L1 = L2 hypothesis

• Empirical research indicates that only the early stages of development of L1 and L2
are similar, especially in the acquisition of syntactic structures.

• Only in informal learning conditions, L2 learners are more likely to follow patterns
of acquisition similar to the native speakers of L2.

• Learning in classroom conditions leads to the use of formal learning strategies,

which results in differences between L1 and L2 acquisition.
 03

Cognitive Approach
Major claims:
 Language is a part of cognitive development. To be able to learn a new word a
learner has to understand a concept the word represents.
 Language learning is viewed as a mental process.

 Piaget believed that language is just one aspect of human

cognition.
 Cognitive development means experimenting
with the environment and contrasting one’s personal meaning
of it.
 Through experimenting with different words,
word combinations and their different uses, we establish our own language system.
Cognitive theory promotes the constructive nature of the learning process: not the
accumulation of facts, but constructing personal meaning from experience.
The process of development is seen as “constantly seeking equilibration”

Cognitive development is believed to rely on two processes:

Assimilation – modifying incoming information to fit our knowledge
Accommodation – modifying our knowledge to include new information.

These two process are essential for any form of learning and also apply in language learning: coming
across a new language form, we tend to assimilate it, to understand as much as possible on the basis of
our internalized linguistic knowledge, later, when we have understood the message and start analysing
and experimenting with the newly observed language rule, we modify our previous linguistic repertoire
so as to incorporate the new language principle.
 Cognitivists consider error as a necessary condition of learning.

 Forming a new language rule the learner makes hypotheses about it and
experiments with it. This, consequently, leads to some incorrect uses of
language, but does not lead to the internalisation of incorrect language
system.

 Within cognitivism one can find many language theories, however, all of
them are based on two major principles:

• The linguistic system of the learner is connected with his/her cognitive

system.
• The learner is active in the process of language acquisition, the process of
constructing meaning.
 Krashen’s Monitor Model

Krashen shares some views presented by Chomsky in his Universal Hypothesis, especially the idea of the rule
formation process. He also refers to Cognitivism with the idea of mental processing of the input and constructing
personal meaning by the learner.

Major claims:
 Learners construct internal representation of the language they are learning
 The internal representation develops in predictable stages towards the full language system.
 Language development depends on the quality of language input
 Language output is only an outcome of the learning process and not the cause of learning.

Stephen Krashen (born 1941) is professor emeritus at the University of Southern

California, who moved from the linguistics department to the faculty of the School of
Education in 1994. He is a linguist, educational researcher, and political activist. He is
known for introducing various hypotheses related to second-language acquisition,
including the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the input hypothesis, the monitor
hypothesis, the affective filter, and the natural order hypothesis. Most recently,
Krashen promotes the use of free voluntary reading during second-language
acquisition, which he says “is the most powerful tool we have in language education,
first and second.”
 Krashen’s Monitor Model

Krashen’s monitor model consists of five basic hypotheses:

1. The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis:

Krashen distinguishes two processes through which a second language can be mastered:

Learning – a conscious process of study, analysis, attention to form and error correction,
usually taking place in classroom settings leading to gathering metalinguistic knowledge
(knowledge about language).

Acquisition - a subconscious process similar to L1 acquisition, which attention to

meaning, taking place during meaningful interaction, usually in natural setting, leading to
automatic language use.
 Krashen’s Monitor Model

Krashen’s monitor model consists of five basic hypotheses:

2. The Monitor Hypothesis:

 The learnt system functions as a monitor or the produced utterances, the device used for
editing language production.

 Krashen specifies three conditions for monitor use:

• Sufficient time
• Focus on form
• Knowing the rule
 Krashen’s Monitor Model

Krashen’s monitor model consists of five basic hypotheses:

3. The Natural Order Hypothesis:

 Krashen claims that learners pass through similar stages in development and language is
acquired in a predictable order: some language rules are acquired earlier, other later.
 The order of acquisition does not depend on the order in which the language rules are
presented to the learner. Similarly, the order of rule acquisition does not depend on the
relative complexity of a particular rule: some complex rules are acquired earlier than
the simple ones, e.g. the rule for –s to the third person singular in the present simple
tense is one of the last to be acquired.
 Krashen’s Monitor Model

Krashen’s monitor model consists of five basic hypotheses:

4. The Input Hypothesis:

 Krashen believes that language is acquired only if the language the learner is exposed to
is understandable for the learner.

 Comprehensible Input is a necessary condition for language acquisition and it means

that the input contains language forms just beyond the learner’s language competence.

 Krashen uses the formula i +1 for comprehensible input.

 Krashen’s Monitor Model

Krashen’s monitor model consists of five basic hypotheses:

5. The Affective Filter Hypothesis:

 Affective filter is an emotional barrier which prevents the learner from receiving the
input from the environment.

 It may be caused by negative attitudes towards the language or the learning process,
lack of motivation, or just negative emotional/physical states (e.g. stress).

 Krashen places much importance in the conditions in which the language learning
process takes place.
 Krashen’s Monitor Model

It was developed into the Natural Approach, which is the classroom approach based on Krashen’s hypotheses.
However, the Model was also strongly criticized for the lack of adequate scientific research supporting the
hypotheses.
 Anderson’s Adaptive Control of Thought Model (ACT)

Major claim: learning a language is similar to any other skill learning and involves transforming declarative
knowledge into procedural knowledge which enables efficient language use.

The whole ACT model is based on the distinction between:

Declarative knowledge: is what we know about a particular problem. It is static, conscious, and based on
definitions and rules.
Procedural knowledge is about how to do something. It is the ability
to generate language or to solve a problem. It is dynamic, activated
without awareness, and developed through extensive practice.

John Robert Anderson (born August 27, 1947) is a Canadian-born American

psychologist.
In cognitive psychology, John Anderson is widely known for his cognitive
architecture ACT-R and rational analysis. He has published many papers on
cognitive psychology, including recent criticism of unjustified claims
in mathematics education that lack experimental warrant and sometimes (in
extreme cases) contradict known findings in cognitive psychology. He was also
an early leader in research on intelligent tutoring systems, such as cognitive
tutors.
 Anderson’s Adaptive Control of Thought Model (ACT)

Declarative knowledge:
 It is stored in memory as a representation independent of any language in a form of propositional network or
schemata.

 Schemata stored in long term memory are organized either by natural categories (plants, animals, cars) or by
events (personal recollection, characteristics of people, stories, etc). The first group of schemata is considered
to be easily transferred between languages, the second one being too culturally specific to be transferable.

 Schemata consists of the basic unit (node) and its relations/arguments (links) e.g. the node: animals is
connected with the links: mammals, birds, fish, etc.
This hierarchical organization has certain advantages: spreading activation (evoking of additional concepts by a
single concept), and building up interconnected schemata by joining propositional networks, enabling the learner
to make inference about concepts, organize, and understand new information independently of a specific
language.
 Anderson’s Adaptive Control of Thought Model (ACT)

Procedural knowledge:
It is stored in a form of production systems, which refer to all processes (not only language) and, in their most
basic form, contain a condition (if) and an action (then).

For example:
IF the goal is to indicate that object X belongs to me THEN say “My X”

Language components of procedural knowledge consist of:

• Reception procedures (e.g. inferencing)
• Production procedures (e.g. monitoring)
• Conversational procedures (e.g. discourse rules)
• Communication strategies
• Learning strategies.
 Anderson’s Adaptive Control of Thought Model (ACT)

Anderson’s distinction between declarative and procedural knowledge has implications

for SLA:

1- The extension of procedural knowledge to language acquisition.

2- The possibility of transfer of declarative and procedural knowledge between L1 and
L2
3- The necessity of possessing both types of knowledge for successful SLA (knowledge
of rules and the automatic use of them)
4- The requirement of different teaching techniques for either type of knowledge.
 Anderson’s Adaptive Control of Thought Model (ACT)

The process of transition of declarative knowledge into procedural knowledge takes place, according to Anderson
in three stages:

• Cognitive stage: involves conscious activity on the part of the learner. During this stage information is stored
as facts without any activation procedures. This stage is reflected through a “silent period” in the process of
SLA.

• Associative stage: involves the process of sorting the information into more manageable units by means of
composition (connecting linguistic items into one) and proceduralisation (applying a general rule to a
particular one). Errors are detected and eliminated. This stage is reflected through interlanguage.

• Autonomous stage: the associative stage become automatic. Some further generalization or discrimination of
production procedures is possible, and errors disappear. Working memory or consciousness are not involved.
This is reflected only in highly proficient learners.
 Anderson’s Adaptive Control of Thought Model (ACT)

 Anderson sees the difference between L1 and L2 only as a stage reached by the learner: L1
learners usually reach the autonomous stage whereas most L2 learners do not go beyond the
associative stage, and consequently do not reach full autonomy.

 The major drawback of Anderson’s model is its complexity, which turns it into an abstract
reasoning far from application in the language classroom.
 Anderson was not able to find a way to maintain declarative knowledge after it turns into
procedural knowledge, which may have a detrimental effect on SLA as both types of knowledge
are necessary for language mastery.
 Parallel Distributed Processing Model (PDP)/Connectionist Model

Major claim: knowledge is viewed as the strength of association between units/nodes of information
(neural connections) stored in the memory. Learning is considered to be the process of adjusting the
strength of the connections in neural networks as a result of the environmental influence (input)

Donald Olding Hebb (July 22, 1904 – August 20, 1985) was a
Canadian psychologist who was influential in the area
of neuropsychology, where he sought to understand how the function
of neurons contributed to psychological processes such as learning. He
has been described as the father of neuropsychology and neural networks.
 Parallel Distributed Processing Model (PDP)/Connectionist Model

The principles of PDP Models have been enumerated by Ellis (1994)

1- Processing is carried out in parallel: it reflects the nature of language, which requires simultaneous activation of the
phonological, semantic and grammatical subsystems.

2- The PDP Model consists of “Units” or “Nodes” connected with one another, each unit having its activation
level, and the ability to excite/inhibit other units: the units represent various types of knowledge. The activation level
associated with each unit prevents the chaotic activation of all units at the same time. E.g. The activation of a lexical unit “plants”
deactivates the lexical unit “animals.

3- Knowledge is viewed as the strength of association between units: the patterns are not stored in the memory, they are
created through the process of unit activation every time they are needed. The strength of association between units is crucial as it leads
to the recreation of the patterns.

4- Processing is activated by input, which stimulates some units, which, in turn, activate the units associated
with them: The association among activated units is strengthened, which leads to learning.
 Parallel Distributed Processing Model (PDP)/Connectionist Model

 Learning consists of discovering the right strength of connection among units of information from
the input and modifying the connections stored in the memory accordingly. It leads to building an
individual system of associations modelled on the system one is exposed to.

 The main point of criticism of PDP Model is that, although referring to cognitive views on mental
processing, they are actually deeply rooted in behaviourism. The process of learning is strictly
based on the environmental influence and not innate knowledge.
 04
Social Interactionist
Approach
Major claims:
 Language develops through interaction with other human beings, which leads to
input modification i.e. adjusting it to capacity of the learner.
 Interactionists claim that no critical period for language acquisition exists as the
process of interaction is not dependent on biological or cognitive development.

 Lev Vygotsky proposes the model of language acquisition consisting of two major concepts:
 Zone of Proximal development – level of skill or knowledge which is just beyond what the
learner currently copes with
 Mediation – the role played by “significant people” the people the learner admires, who select
and modify the learning material for the learner helping hin/her to move to the next zone of
proximal develpment
 The process of learning is the constant interaction with the mediator, who modifies
the input to make it fine tuned (adjusted) to the cognitive and communicative needs
of the learner.

 The interactionist theory focuses on both the environment and internal processing
and does not consider either of them as primary in the process of language
acquisition.

A crucial role in the process of language acquisition is played by the mediator (parent, teacher, peer) and
the modified input, simplified to the level matching the zone of proximal development the learner is
attempting to cope with.
Bruner (1985) called this system LASS (Language Acquisition Socialization System) as opposed to
Chomsky’s LAD
 Acculturation Model

Major claim: Second language learners acquire the SL only to the degree that they acculturate.
The proficiency level in SL depends on the social and psychological distance that the learner
perceives between him/herself and the second language speakers. The shorter the distance, the
higher the level of proficiency which can be achieved

John H. Schumann is a Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics and former

chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics and TESL at UCLA. His
research includes language acquisition, the neurobiology of language, the
neurobiology of learning, and language evolution. He is co-author of The
Interactional Instinct: The Evolution and Acquisition of Language (OUP, 2009)
and The Neurobiology of Learning (Erlbaum, 2004). He is also the author of
The Neurobiology of Affect in Language (Blackwell, 1997).
 Acculturation Model

Acculturation is defined as “the second language learner’s social and psychological

integration with the speaker of the second language”

 Schumman believes that the level of language proficiency the learner achieves strictly deopends on the
degree of acculturation.
 He distinguishes three functions of language – may be considered as the three stages of language
development:
•Communicative function (only referential information)
•Integrative function (membership of a particular social group)
•Expressive function (display of linguistic virtuosity)

The learner who are not able to shorten the social and psychological distance use
their L2 only for the communication function.
Their L2 becomes fossilized in the very early stages of language development.
 Acculturation Model

The Social Factors The Psychological Factors

affecting the learner as a member of a group. These factors Are of secondary importance and affect the psychological
shorten the social distance. distance.

 The target language and L2 groups: •Language shock (confusión when using L2)
•view each other as socially equal. •Culture shock (disorientation as a result of culture
•are both desirous that the L2 group will assimilate differences)
•both expect to share social facilities •Motivation

 The L2 group:
•is small and not very cohesive
•its culture is congruent with that of the target language
group
•both groups have positive attitudes to each other
•envisages staying in the target language area for an extended
period
 Nativization Model

 Schumann’s Acculturation Model is based on social and affective factors of SLA. It does not provide any
explanation for various mental processes accompanying SLA.

 The cognitive development of Schumann’s Acculturation Model was proposed in Andersen’s Nativization
Model.

 The model consists of two major processes:

•Nativization: the process of assimilation of the input. The learner modifies the L2 input to match
his/her internalized knowledge of L1, other languages and the world. This process is visible in the first
stages of language acquisition.

•Denativization: the process of accommodation. The learner modifies his/her internalized knowledge to
accommodate L2 input. The process is typical for later stages of language acquisition when L2
production is close to the target form.
 The most important advantage of both models is drawing the language
researchers’ attention to the role of social and psychological factors in SLA.
Unfortunately, the Acculturation Model is empirically untestable as it is
impossible to measure such constructs as “perceived social distance” or other
affective factors of SLA.
The second drawback is its primary application for the naturalistic SLA, however,
most of his claims may refer to classroom environment as well.
 Gardner’s Socio-Educational Model

Major Claim: learners´ attitudes towards L2 culture and the learning situation affect their
integrative motivation, which in turn, affects L2 proficiency.
Dr. Robert C. Gardner obtained his Ph.D. in psychology from
McGill University in 1960 under the direction of Wallace E.
Lambert. He spent his last year of residency studying and working
with John B. Carroll at the Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University. He has written two books concerned with
second language acquisition. He is a co-author, with Wallace E.
Lambert, of Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language
Learning, (1972) and the author of Social Psychology and Second
Language Learning: the Role of Attitudes and Motivation (1985).
In addition, he has published approximately 150 journal articles
and book chapters, many of which deal with the role of attitudes
and motivation in second language learning. Others are concerned
with ethnic relations, ethnic stereotypes and ethnic attitudes,
psycholinguistics, and statistical analysis.
 Gardner’s Socio-educational Model

 Gardner’s Socio – Educational Model focuses on L2 learning in classroom settings.

 It goes beyond strictly social factors, focusing also on learners’ social and cultural milieu
(attitudes towards target language culture and learning situation), individual learner
differences, the setting, and learning outcomes.
Gardner’s model clearly points to different factors and shows their relationship
with L2 proficiency. Unfortunately, Gardner does not explain why and how these
factors affect the process of SLA, or how they are related to particular stages of
the development of interlanguage.
Consequently, Gardner’s model should be considered as a starting point for
further research,
Thanks!
Sources:
 Trawinski, M. (2005). An Outline of Second Language Acquisition Theories.
Kraków.

 Study Smarter. Retrived from StudySmarter

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